JP3113197B2 - Remote plasma cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote plasma cutting device, and more particularly, to a method in which an operator approaches such as a pipe contaminated with radioactive material and it is difficult to cut by a manual operation or the like. The present invention relates to a remote plasma cutting device capable of remotely cutting a pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, cutting and dismantling of waste (used pipes and the like) to which high-level radioactive substances are adhered, which is used in a nuclear reactor or the like, is usually performed by a frogman operation using a band saw or the like. It is performed using a general cutting tool.

[0003]

However, in cutting and dismantling work in a radiation atmosphere, it is difficult to completely avoid radiation exposure even with radiation protection equipment. If the radiation protection equipment is damaged, the worker will be exposed to a large amount of radiation, which will place an excessive burden on the worker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plasma cutting apparatus capable of easily and surely cutting a pipe by remote control without an operator approaching the pipe. Aim.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a remote plasma cutting apparatus according to the present invention is a remote plasma cutting apparatus for cutting a pipe contaminated with a radioactive substance by remote control. If, (a) said plurality of rollers attached to the body frame, a pressing mechanism for pressing to be circulating on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe (b) said plurality of rollers, some of the plurality of rollers
Shift frame that holds the rollers of the
An air cylinder for moving the air cylinder.
Move the shift frame with the
Press the part of the rollers held by the frame against the pipe.
In this way, the pipe to be cut is
At least one of a pipe gripper having a pressing mechanism to be gripped by a roller, a plasma torch for cutting a pipe held by the main body frame, and a roller constituting the pipe gripper. By rotating one,
And a rotation driving means for rotating the plasma torch together with the main body frame in a circumferential direction of the pipe.

[0006] Further, the present invention is characterized in that the position of a predetermined roller among the plurality of rollers constituting the pipe gripping means is variable so that pipes having different diameters can be gripped.

Further, the apparatus is characterized by comprising a plasma torch control means for adjusting an angle of the plasma torch with respect to the pipe and a distance from the plasma torch to the pipe.

[0008]

In the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to the present invention,
A plurality of rollers attached to the body frame, said plurality of
And a pressing mechanism for rotatably pressing the roller on the outer circumferential surface of the pipe. And the pipe is cut (blown) in the circumferential direction by the plasma arc from the plasma torch rotating in the circumferential direction of the pipe by the rotary drive means. In addition, since the cutting is performed by the plasma arc, it is possible to suppress the scattering of molten steel in which the steel material constituting the pipe is melted in the cutting process, and radioactive substances (contaminants) are generated in the cutting step. It is possible to efficiently prevent the molten steel from being diffused together with the molten steel. That is, according to the present invention, for example, the plasma torch can be moved at a predetermined distance from the pipe without the necessity of disposing a rotating rail for rotating the plasma torch around the pipe. It is possible to reliably cut the pipe by orbiting around the pipe while maintaining the condition.

Therefore, the main body frame is moved by a remote operation means such as a robot arm to engage with a predetermined position of the pipe (that is, the pipe is gripped by the pipe gripping means), and the rotary drive means is remotely operated. By activating and rotating the plasma torch, for example,
A pipe used in a nuclear reactor or the like and contaminated with a radioactive substance can be easily and reliably cut without an operator approaching the pipe. Also,
A plurality of rollers and a pressing mechanism for pressing the plurality of rollers against the outer peripheral surface of the pipe constitute a pipe gripping means (clamping means).
The pipe can be reliably gripped (clamped) and the main body frame can be rotatably engaged with the pipe in the circumferential direction. Further, since at least one of the rollers constituting the pipe gripping means is rotated (that is, at least one of the rollers is used as a driving roller), the main body frame and the plasma torch held by the main body frame are connected to the pipe. It is possible to rotate easily and reliably in the circumferential direction.

Further, by making the positions of a plurality of rollers constituting the pipe holding means variable as in the remote plasma cutting apparatus of the second aspect, it is possible to hold pipes having different diameters. Two remote plasma cutting devices make it possible to cut pipes of different diameters.

Further, the plasma torch control means is provided as in the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to claim 3, so that the angle of the plasma torch with respect to the pipe and the distance from the plasma torch to the pipe can be adjusted, so that the diameter of the plasma torch is different. The adaptability to various pipes is improved, and the present invention can be made more effective.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a remote plasma cutting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing a main part of the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The remote plasma cutting device of this embodiment is a remote plasma cutting device for remotely cutting a pipe contaminated with a radioactive substance. As shown in FIGS. Pipe gripping means (clamping means) 3 for gripping a pipe 2 to be cut attached to a main body frame 1, and a plasma torch 4 held by the main body frame 1 for cutting the pipe 2
Rotation driving means 5 for rotating the plasma torch 4 in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2 (in this embodiment, rotating the main body frame 1 to rotate the plasma torch 4 held on the main body frame 1); Plasma torch control means 1 for controlling the angle and position of torch 4
0.

In this embodiment, the pipe holding means 3
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each shaft 23a, 23
rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d, two rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d,
And a pressing mechanism 21 for pressing the outer surfaces of the pipes 6c and 6d. The pressing mechanism 21
Is a shift frame 7 holding rollers 6a and 6b,
Air cylinder 8 for moving shift frame 7
It is composed of

In the gripping means 3, when the shift frame 7 moves, the rollers 6a and 6b are pressed by the pipe 2, and the pipe 2 is gripped between the rollers 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d, and the shift is performed. By moving the frame 7, the distance between the rollers 6a, 6b and 6c, 6d can be changed to grip the pipes 2 having different diameters.

However, in the remote plasma cutting apparatus of the present invention, the configuration of the pipe gripping means 3 is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but may be various configurations capable of gripping the pipe 2. It is.

The plasma torch 4 is held by a torch clamp 9. And the torch clamp 9
The plasma torch control means 10 for controlling the plasma torch 4 via a torch clamp 9 includes a swing worm gear 11, a swing worm wheel 12, a swing knob 13, a shift knob 14, and the like.
The angle of the plasma torch 4 held by the torch clamp 9 and the distance from the plasma torch 4 to the pipe 2 can be adjusted. The configuration of the plasma torch control means 10 is not limited to this, and the angle of the plasma torch 4 and the plasma torch 4
Various configurations can be adopted as long as the distance from the to the pipe 2 can be adjusted.

Further, the rotation driving means 5 includes a motor 15 and a gear 1 attached to a shaft 16 of the motor 15.
7 and a gear 18 that rotates the roller 6d by engaging with a gear 19 that rotates integrally with the roller 6d.

That is, according to the rotation driving means 5,
By rotating the motor 15, the gear 17 rotates, and the rotation is transmitted to the roller 6d via the gear 18. When the roller 6d rotates, the main body frame 1 engaged with the pipe 2 rotates in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2, and the plasma torch 4 held in the main body frame 1 rotates in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2.

However, the configuration of the rotary driving means 5 is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and the plasma torch 4 can be rotated in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2 within the scope of the present invention. Various configurations are possible.

Further, the remote plasma cutting apparatus of this embodiment is provided with remote control means 22 such as a so-called robot arm.
A mounting flange 20 is provided so as to be able to be detachably engaged with the mounting member.

When cutting a pipe by using the remote plasma cutting device configured as described above, first, if necessary, the angle and position of the plasma torch 4 are adjusted by the plasma torch control means 10, and then the air is cut. By moving the shift frame 7 holding the rollers 6a, 6b by the cylinder 8, and pressing the rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d against the pipe 2, the pipe 2 is gripped.
The main body frame 1 holding the plasma torch 4 is engaged with the pipe 2.

Then, the motor 15 constituting the rotation driving means 5 is operated to rotate the gears 17, 18, 19, thereby driving the roller 6d to rotate. Thereby, the main body frame 1 engaged with the pipe 2 and the plasma torch 4 held by the main body frame 1 rotate around the pipe. Then, the pipe 2 is cut (blown) in the circumferential direction by the plasma arc from the plasma torch 4 rotating in the circumferential direction.

As described above, by using the remote plasma cutting apparatus of this embodiment, the pipe can be easily and reliably cut by remote control without the operator approaching the pipe and performing the cutting operation. become. In addition, since the cutting is performed by the plasma arc, in the cutting process, the steel material that is a constituent material of the pipe 2 suppresses the scattering of molten steel, and radioactive substances (contaminants) are generated together with the molten steel generated in the cutting process. Spreading can be efficiently prevented.

In the above embodiment, the plurality of rollers 6
a, 6b, 6c, 6d and the plurality of rollers 6a, 6b,
Pressing mechanism 21 for pressing 6c, 6d against the outer peripheral surface of pipe 2
And the pipe gripping means 3 is constituted by combining the pipe 2 with the roller 6 with a relatively simple configuration.
The body frame 1 can be engaged with the pipe 2 so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction by being gripped (clamped) between a, 6b, 6c, and 6d.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the roller 6d constituting the pipe gripping means 3 is rotated (ie, the roller 6d is used as a driving roller), it is held by the main body frame 1 and the main body frame 1. The plasma torch 4 can be easily and reliably rotated in the circumferential direction of the pipe 2.

In the above embodiment, the shift frame 7
Is moved so that the positions of the rollers 6a and 6b held by the shift frame 7 can be changed, so that the pipes 2 having different diameters can be reliably gripped. The remote plasma cutting device makes it possible to cut pipes 2 having different diameters.

In the above embodiment, the plasma torch 4
Is provided with the plasma torch control means 10 for adjusting the angle of the plasma torch 4 with respect to the pipe 2 and the distance from the plasma torch 4 to the pipe 2. Therefore, the angle and the position of the plasma torch 4 are adjusted according to the diameter of the pipe 2. And adaptability to pipes having various diameters can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The structure and shape of the main frame, the configuration of the pipe gripping means and the rotation driving means, etc., and the plasma torch control for controlling the angle and position of the plasma torch Various applications and modifications can be made to the specific configuration of the means within the scope of the invention.

[0030]

As described above, the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to the present invention comprises a main body frame, a pipe gripping means attached to the main body frame, a plasma torch, and a rotation driving means for rotating the plasma torch in a circumferential direction of the pipe. The pipe is gripped by pipe gripping means.
In addition, since the plasma torch is rotated in the circumferential direction of the pipe by the rotation driving means, the pipe can be cut easily and reliably by remote control. In addition, since a plurality of rollers and a pressing mechanism that presses the plurality of rollers against the outer peripheral surface of the pipe are configured to constitute the pipe gripping means, the pipe is gripped reliably with a relatively simple configuration. And the main body frame can be engaged with the pipe so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction. Further, since at least one of the rollers constituting the pipe gripping means is a driving roller, the main body frame can be easily and reliably rotated in the circumferential direction of the pipe. That is, according to the present invention, for example, the plasma torch can be moved at a predetermined distance from the pipe without the necessity of disposing a rotating rail for rotating the plasma torch around the pipe. While keeping the orbit around the pipe,
The pipe can be reliably cut.

Therefore, the remote plasma cutting apparatus of the present invention is particularly significant when applied to the cutting of a pipe to which a high level of radioactive substance is adhered, for example, used in a nuclear reactor. In addition, since the cutting is performed by a plasma arc, in the cutting process, the steel material that is the constituent material of the pipe suppresses the scattering of molten steel, and radioactive substances (contaminants) diffuse with the molten steel generated in the cutting process. This is also significant in that it can be efficiently prevented from being performed.

Further, by making the positions of the plurality of rollers constituting the pipe gripping means variable as in the remote plasma cutting apparatus of the second aspect, pipes having different diameters can be gripped. Two remote plasma cutting devices make it possible to cut pipes of different diameters.

Further, as in the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to the third aspect, a plasma torch control means is provided so that the angle of the plasma torch with respect to the pipe and the distance from the plasma torch to the pipe can be adjusted, so that the diameter differs. The adaptability to various pipes is improved, and the present invention can be made more effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a remote plasma cutting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing a main part of the remote plasma cutting apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame 2 Pipe 3 Pipe gripping means 4 Plasma torch 5 Rotation drive means 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d Roller 7 Shift frame 8 Air cylinder 9 Torch clamp 10 Plasma torch control means 11 Swing worm gear 12 Swing worm wheel 13 Swing knob 14 Shift knob 15 Motor 16 Shaft 17, 18, 19 Gear 20 Mounting flange 21 Pressing mechanism 22 Remote control means 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d Shaft

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tokujiro Sakasaka 4002 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture Within Nuclear Technology Co., Ltd. 4002 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki-gun Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation Oarai Engineering Center Nuclear Technology Co., Ltd. References JP-A-8-43594 (JP, A) JP-A-56-48600 (JP, A) JP-B-56-31199 (JP, B2) JP-B-4-48548 (JP, B2) JP-B-48 -27273 (JP, B1) JP-B-63-31759 (JP, B2) JP-B-59-12140 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23K 10/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] By 1. A remote control, in a remote plasma cutting apparatus for cutting a pipe that has been contaminated by radioactive substances, and the body frame, and a plurality of rollers attached to (a) the body frame, (b) the A pressing mechanism that presses a plurality of rollers to an outer peripheral surface of a pipe so as to be able to rotate around the pipe, and a part of the plurality of rollers.
Shift frame that holds the rollers of the
An air cylinder for moving the air cylinder.
Move the shift frame with the
Press the part of the rollers held by the frame against the pipe.
In this way, the pipe to be cut is
A pipe holding means having a pressing mechanism for holding the pipe, a plasma torch for cutting the pipe held by the main body frame, and at least one of rollers constituting the pipe holding means. A remote driving means for rotating the plasma torch together with the main body frame in a circumferential direction of the pipe by rotating the plasma torch. 2. The remote plasma cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of a predetermined roller among the plurality of rollers constituting said pipe gripping means is made variable so that pipes having different diameters can be gripped. . 3. The remote plasma cutting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plasma torch control means for adjusting an angle of the plasma torch with respect to the pipe and a distance from the plasma torch to the pipe.