JP2564051B2 - Robot for chimney maintenance - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a chimney maintenance robot used for various maintenance work such as cleaning and inspection of a lining in a chimney of a power plant or spraying the lining.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a chimney of a power plant or the like, it is desired to perform cleaning work for removing soot and ash adhering to the inner lining of the chimney and internal inspection work as needed. Since these works are high-place works and are highly dangerous, and work is performed in a bad environment, it is an urgent task to eliminate manual work as much as possible and to mechanize it.

Therefore, conventionally, a wire is stretched from the top to the bottom of the chimney, a working robot is housed in the chimney, and the robot is connected to the wire by using an endless winch or the like in which the wire is wound. A device has been developed which is automatically moved up and down to perform cleaning work.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the worker fixes the wire to the top of the chimney tower by using the wire fixing device suitable for the shape of the chimney, the dangerous position is high. Not only can work be lost, but it also takes a lot of time to prepare for the start of this work, such as cleaning and inspection, and if the chimney diameter is different, it is necessary to prepare a wire fixture suitable for it. However, there was a drawback that it was inferior in versatility.

The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks. Needless to say, the automation of the original work such as cleaning is required, the preparatory work process is reduced, and various inner diameters and cross-sectional shapes of the chimney can be easily obtained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a chimney maintenance robot that can cope with the above requirements and can improve versatility.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wire fixing device installed at an opening end of a chimney on the tower top side, and a wire fixing device side and a chimney bottom side in the chimney. A robot elevating wire stretched between the robot elevating wire and a robot body for performing a predetermined work while elevating the inside of the chimney along the robot elevating wire, and remotely controlling the wire fixing device and the robot on the ground side. The wire fixing device comprises a support device and a balloon for levitating the main body of the wire fixing device from the top of the chimney tower to the outside, and the outer peripheral side of the main body so as to be openable and closable in the radial direction of the chimney at equal intervals. A plurality of pivoted fixed legs and the fixed legs closed in the chimney are fully opened when the main body goes out from the tower top, and the main body is pulled downward from that position and driven. Above opening Until it contacts the part is obtained by a structure comprising a fixed leg opening and closing mechanism to maintain the fully open state.

In particular, when the tip of the fixed leg comes into contact with the open end on the tower top due to the lowering of the main body of the wire fixing device, a sensor for detecting the contact pressure is attached to the tip of the fixed leg. Good.

[0008]

With the above structure, since the main body of the wire fixing device to which the wire for raising and lowering the robot is connected can be levitated to the top of the chimney tower by the balloon, it is not necessary for the worker to work at a high place such as climbing to the top of the tower. , The safety and speed of the preparatory work can be achieved. Moreover, since the wire fixing device has the fixing leg that can be opened and closed, even a stack having a different inner diameter can be adapted in a safe use state by arbitrarily adjusting the opening degree of the fixing leg. it can.

Further, since the sensor detects the pressure when the fixing leg is fully opened and comes into contact with the opening end on the tower top side of the chimney, the wire fixing device is installed in the opening end in a proper and safe state. Can be made.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a chimney maintenance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a steel chimney erected in a thermal power plant or the like, the inner surface of which is lined (not shown). 2 is the top part 1 of the chimney 1
a wire fixing device installed at the open end 1b of a,
Inside the chimney 1, the wire fixing device 2 side and the chimney 1
The robot lifting wire 3 is stretched between the bottom 1c side of the robot. Reference numeral 4 denotes a robot body that moves up and down in the chimney 1 along the robot lifting wire 3 to perform a predetermined work. Reference numeral 5 denotes a support device installed on the ground, which supplies a power source such as air pressure and electric power to the robot body 4, and the robot body 4 and the wire fixing device 2
In addition to remotely controlling and controlling the vehicle, it is also configured to record inspection results. A manhole 6 for taking out the wire 3 and various wiring cables is provided on the bottom 1c side of the chimney 1.

As the robot body 4, for example, an articulated one is used as shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 2, 11 is a main body frame, and a turning inspection unit 12 capable of turning around the wire 3 is attached to the upper end side thereof. On the outer side surface of the swivel inspection unit 12, an articulated arm 16 including first and second arms 13, 14 and a head 15 is provided, and the head 15 has an inspection or cleaning tool,
For example, a rotary brush 17 with a suction mechanism is attached.
Reference numerals 18 and 19 denote video cameras and lights installed in the turning inspection unit 12, and reference numerals 20, 21 and 22 denote arm drive motors (FIG. 4).

A pedestal 24 to which an endless winch 23 is attached is fixed to the upper end of the main body frame 11, and by winding the wire 3 around the endless winch 23, the robot main body 4 is driven up and down. Has been done.

Numerals 25 (25A, 25B) are a plurality of pressing legs arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the main body frame 11 and pivotally supported so as to be openable and closable in the radial direction. It is arranged. These pressing legs 25 are set so as to keep the robot body 1 at the axial center by a tensioning action on the inner surface of the chimney 1, and each end is provided with a floating wheel 26 that rolls on the inner surface of the chimney 1. It is attached. 27 is an air cylinder for opening and closing the pressing leg 25, 28 is an air cylinder 2
7 is a pneumatic control valve box for 7. 29 is a cable hose for wiring between the robot body 11 and the support device 5 side.

On the other hand, the structure of the wire fixing device 2 is shown in FIG.
Shown in In FIG. 3, a pair of upper and lower bases 31 and 32 are connected by a pillar 33 to form a main body portion 34. 35
(35A, 35B) are upper and lower helium balloons,
The main body 34 is suspended from the balloon 35 via a suspension rope 36 moored to the upper base 31. This balloon 35 is for suspending the main body 34 from the bottom 1c of the chimney 1 to float the work and to transport it from the top of the tower to a position slightly outside when starting the work.

A plurality of fixing legs 37 are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the lower base 32 in the main body 34, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the fixed legs 37 are rotatably supported by a base end portion 37 a thereof via a bearing member 38 fixed to the base 32, whereby the fixed legs 3 a.
7 is configured to be opened and closed in the radial direction of the chimney 1. Each tip 37b of the fixed leg 37 has a substantially triangular fixing member 40 having wire mooring portions 38 and 39 on the upper and lower surfaces thereof.
Is stuck.

A pulley 43 is attached to the upper base 31 to wind a fixed leg drive wire 42 that is rotatably driven by a DC geared motor 41 and moored to the wire mooring portion 38 of the metal fixture 40. Reference numeral 44 is a ratchet mechanism interposed between the motor 41 and the pulley 43. Reference numeral 45 denotes a controller that drives and controls the motor 41 installed on the base 31, and includes a battery 46, a relay circuit 47, a transmitter 48A and a receiver 48B.
And the like, and the motor 41, the pulley 43, and the like constitute a fixed leg opening / closing mechanism 49. That is, when the main body 34 is levitated by the balloon 35, the controller 45 receives a signal transmitted from the ground based on the feed amount of the robot elevating wire 3, and the fixed leg 37 causes the chimney 1 to move.
The motor 41 is designed to open slightly near the top of the tower and fully open at a position slightly outside the tower.

A reference numeral 50 indicates a predetermined opening when the fixed leg 37 is opened, and the motor 41 is detected through a controller 45.
Is a limit switch for stopping driving of the motor 41, and 51 is a solenoid type stopper for keeping the fixed leg 37 at a predetermined opening when the motor 41 is stopped. Reference numeral 52 denotes a spreading wire, which is stretched between the lower wire mooring portion 39 of the fixing member 40 and the wire stretching device 53 to which the robot lifting wire 3 is moored.

The fixing member 40 has a guide member 54 for guiding the fixing member 40 to the tower-side opening end 1b of the chimney 1 when the fixing leg 37 is fully opened and the apparatus main body 34 descends. Mounted downward. Further, a pressure sensor 55 that detects a contact pressure when the opening end 1b is contacted and sends a signal to the controller 45 is attached to the lower surface of the fixing metal fitting 40.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. First, after the balloon 35 is carried in from the bottom portion 1c of the chimney 1, the body portion 3 of the wire fixing device 2 is attached to the balloon 35.
4 is suspended and the balloon 35 is inflated and levitated,
The main body 34 is transported toward the tower top 1a. At this time, the fixed leg 37 of the wire fixing device 34 hangs by the weight of the robot lifting wire 3 and is in a closed state.

The height position of the main body 34 levitated and carried by the balloon 35 is successively calculated on the ground side from the feeding amount of the robot lifting wire 3. When it is determined that the main body portion 34 has approached the tower top portion 1a of the chimney 1 based on this amount of extension, a leg opening signal is wirelessly transmitted from the ground and received by the receiver 48A on the wire fixing device 34 side. And D
The C leg motor 41 is driven to wind the fixed leg drive wire 42 by the pulley 43, so that the fixed leg 37 is slightly opened. In this case, the wire fixing device 34 is positioned at the axial center of the chimney 1 by setting the opening such that the tip of the fixing leg 37 contacts the inner surface of the tower top 1a of the chimney 1 as shown in FIG. be able to.

If it is determined that the fixed leg 37 has reached the height of the main body 34 of the wire fixing device 2 from the top of the chimney 1 to the outside while the fixed leg 37 is in the opening state shown in FIG. Wirelessly to fully open the fixed leg 37 as shown in FIG. The fully open state of the fixed leg 37 is detected by the limit switch 50, and the detection signal is sent from the transmitter 48B to the ground side, so that it can be confirmed on the ground that the fixed leg 37 is in the fully open state.

Further, the DC guard motor 41 is stopped via the relay circuit 47 by the detection signal of the limit switch 50. At this time, the fixed leg 37 tends to hang down by its own weight, but the solenoid type stopper 51 operates to prevent the hang down, so that the fixed leg 37 is kept in a fully opened state.

When it is confirmed that the fixed leg 37 is fully opened outside the tower top 1a of the chimney 1, on the ground, the robot elevating wire 3 is retracted to operate the wire fixing device 34.
Is gradually lowered as it is. Along with this, the fixed leg 3
Since the guide member 54 attached to the fixing metal fitting 40 of No. 7 is in sliding contact with the inner edge of the tower top side opening end portion 1b, the fixing metal fitting 40 receives the guiding action and contacts the opening end portion 1b as shown in FIG. Then, the wire fixing device 34 is automatically installed at the opening end 1b on the tower top side via the fixing leg 37.

When the fixing metal fitting 40 comes into contact with the opening end 1b, the contact pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 55, and the detection signal is transmitted from the transmitter 48B to the ground side. Can be stopped and the wire fixing device 34 can be properly installed at the open end.

In this case, the body portion 34 of the wire fixing device 2
Since it can be carried by the balloon 35 and automatically installed at the tower-side open end 1b of the chimney 1, the number of preparation work steps can be reduced and the workability can be improved. In particular, since it is installed via the openable / closable fixed leg 37 provided in the wire fixing device 34, even a chimney 1 having a different diameter can be easily dealt with by changing the open leg degree of the fixed leg 37. You can

The wire fixing device 2 has the open end portion 1b.
If it is installed in the above, the robot body 4 is remotely operated by the support device 5 on the ground to start cleaning the inner surface of the chimney 1.
That is, the endless winch 23 is operated in response to a command from the support device 5 to selectively move the robot body 4 in the vertical direction, while the rotary brush 17 with a suction mechanism at the tip of the articulated arm 16 is rotated in the circumferential direction. By doing so, the inner lining surface of the chimney 1 is continuously cleaned. The removed substances such as soot and ash are sucked by an ejector (not shown) attached to the main body frame 11 of the robot main body 4 and collected on the ground side through a transfer hose (not shown). Here, since the arm length can be changed by using the articulated robot body as the robot body 4, the work can be properly performed regardless of the chimney diameter.

When inspecting the inner surface of the chimney 1, a predetermined device may be attached to the tip of the arm 16. In this case, if the robot body 4 is fixed to a predetermined height and the pressing leg 25 is extended to press the idle wheel 26 against the inner surface of the chimney 1, the robot body 4 is prevented from swinging and an accurate inspection is performed. Can be done.

When the above cleaning and inspection work is completed, the robot body 4 is removed from the robot lifting wire 3, and then the wire 3 is loosened. Then, after the wire fixing device 2 is moved from the installation position to a sufficiently upper position, a signal to close the fixed leg 37 is sent wirelessly from the ground. When the wire fixing device 2 receives this signal, the solenoid type stopper 51 retracts, so that the fixed leg 37 hangs down due to the weight of the wire 3 to be in the closed leg state. In this state, the wire 3 for raising and lowering the robot is wound on the ground side, so that the wire fixing device 2 is collected on the ground.

If the shape of the tower-side opening end 1b of the chimney 1 is different, a fixing metal fitting 56 corresponding to the shape may be used as shown in FIG.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the chimney can be automatically cleaned and inspected by the robot main body that is moved up and down along the robot lifting wire stretched in the chimney. Of course, since the main body of the wire fixing device was carried by the balloon to the tower top side of the chimney and installed, there is no need for work at height when preparing for starting cleaning or inspection work. In addition, the preparation work can be speeded up and the efficiency can be improved. Further, the open / closed fixed leg of the wire fixing device is used to install the fixed leg at the opening end on the tower top side, thereby adjusting the degree of open leg of the fixed leg even for those having different chimney diameters. Only by doing so, it is possible to easily adapt to the chimney diameter, and the versatility of the pot can be enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a chimney maintenance robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a robot body.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a wire fixing device.

4 is a view taken in the direction of arrows IV-IV in FIG. 2;

5 is a view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a fixed leg opening / closing mechanism in the wire fixing device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a fixed leg opening / closing mechanism in the wire fixing device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an open state of the fixed leg when the wire fixing device is near the top of the chimney tower.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram when the fixed leg of the wire fixing device is set to the fully open state.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view when the fixed leg of the wire fixing device is located at the open end of the chimney tower.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a modified structure of a fixing metal fitting at the tip of the fixing leg.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Chimney 1a Tower top 1b Open end 1c Bottom 2 Wire fixing device 3 Robot lifting wire 4 Robot main body 5 Supporting device 34 Main body 35 (35A) (35B) Balloon 37 Fixed leg 49 Fixed leg opening / closing mechanism 55 Sensor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Yutaka Yamada, Inventor Yutaka Yamada, No. 3-28, Nishikujo 5-chome, Konohana-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture (56) References JP-A-52-111037 (JP, A) Actual Kosho 44-17423 (JP, Y1)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wire fixing device installed at an opening end of a chimney on the tower top side, and a robot lifting wire stretched in the chimney between the wire fixing device side and the chimney bottom side. The robot main body performs predetermined work while moving up and down in the chimney along the robot lifting wire, and the wire fixing device on the ground side and an assisting device for remotely controlling the robot. Balloon that floats the part from the top of the chimney tower to the outside, a plurality of fixed legs pivotally supported at equal intervals on the outer peripheral side of the main body so that it can be opened and closed in the radial direction of the chimney, and the closed legs in the chimney Fixing the fixed leg in the state where it is fully opened when the main body goes out from the tower top, and the full open state is maintained until the main body is pulled downward from that position and comes into contact with the opening end. Leg opening / closing mechanism A robot for chimney maintenance, comprising: 2. A sensor which detects the contact pressure and sends a control signal when the tip of the fully open fixed leg comes into contact with the open end of the tower as the main body of the wire fixing device descends. The chimney maintenance robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot is provided at the tip of the fixed leg.