JP5901380B2 - Self-propelled aircraft - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-pipe self-propelled machine that is self-propelled on a pipe inner wall surface.

When inspecting the state of various pipes such as a gas pipe from the inside of the pipe, it is necessary to send an inspection sensor into the pipe, and for that purpose, an in-pipe self-propelled machine that runs on the inside wall of the pipe is required.
The inside of the pipe into which the in-pipe self-propelled machine is fed is not necessarily uniform. For example, even if the tube has a circular cross section, the inner diameter may change greatly. Further, in a plug valve or the like provided in the middle of a pipe, the cross section of the pipe may be a trapezoid instead of a circle. In addition, the pipes are not only straight, but may be bent at elbows or branches. For this reason, the self-propelled in-pipe machine is required to have a function of smoothly running on the inner wall surface of the pipe even when the internal shape of the pipe changes.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a spiral body that is constructed by forming a plate member that is elastically deformable in a spiral shape along the axial direction, and a plurality of drive mechanisms that are arranged at a predetermined pitch in the longitudinal direction of the spiral body. An in-pipe moving device comprising a is described. Each drive mechanism is composed of a motor and a disk-like wheel in order to create a drive force that advances the spiral body in one direction. At this time, the drive mechanism is arranged so that the motor or the like does not contact the pipe. Only a part is projected from the radially outer surface of the spiral body, and is mounted on the radially inner surface side of the spiral body. In other words, in this self-propelled pipe, even if the inner diameter of the pipe fluctuates, the wheel can be pressed against the pipe wall by the force expanding outward in the radial direction of the spiral body. As you go, the entire spiral can swivel into the inside of the tube.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2011-16467 (paragraph number [0004-0033], FIGS. 1 and 4)

However, in the in-pipe self-propelled machine described in Patent Document 1, most of the drive device is housed on the radially inner surface side of the spiral body, and only a small part of the wheel protrudes from the radially outer surface of the spiral body. And since the plate-shaped member which comprises a helical body is an elastic body which is easy to expand / contract in radial direction, there exists a danger that a plate-shaped member will contact a pipe inner wall surface unexpectedly.
In view of the above situation, there is a demand for a structure that reduces the possibility of contact of the airframe portion other than the wheels with the inner wall surface of the pipe in a self-propelled in-pipe machine in which a driving wheel is mounted on the airframe made of a spiral plate.

An in-pipe self-propelled machine that self-propells on an inner wall surface of the pipe according to the present invention is arranged at a predetermined interval on a spiral machine body including a spiral plate elastically expanding and contracting in a radial direction extending spirally around a longitudinal axis. A spherical wheel, a wheel drive shaft for driving the spherical wheel by extending inside the spherical wheel in a transverse direction passing through the center of the spherical wheel and crossing the extending direction of the spiral plate, and driving the wheel drive shaft The wheel drive shaft is located outward from the outer surface of the spiral plate , power from the drive unit is transmitted to the wheel drive shaft via a speed reduction mechanism, and the speed reduction mechanism is the spherical shape. Built in a wheel, the drive unit is disposed inside the spiral machine body and fixed to the spiral plate, and the speed reduction mechanism is supported by the drive unit via a suspension unit .

  In the above configuration, the wheel driven by the drive unit via the wheel drive shaft is formed in a spherical shape, and the wheel drive shaft is located outward from the outer surface of the spiral plate constituting the airframe. Compared to a conventional self-propelled in-pipe machine, the distance from the outer surface of the spiral plate to the inner wall surface of the pipe is greater, and the possibility of contact of the body part other than the wheels with the inner wall surface of the pipe is reduced. Furthermore, even if the wheels are tilted during traveling, the wheels are spherical, so that stable traveling properties can be obtained. Also, since the wheel is a spherical body, the wheel is likely to skid sideways, but by using this skidding, traveling in the tube axis direction of the spiral machine body is converted into a tube diameter, the tube shaft is bent, and the tube cross-sectional shape Can respond appropriately to changes in Therefore, the in-pipe self-propelled aircraft of the present invention does not require a steering function for the wheels.

In the above configuration , power from the drive unit 3 is transmitted to the wheel drive shaft 23 via the speed reduction mechanism 4, and the speed reduction mechanism 4 is built in the spherical wheel 2. By adopting the speed reduction mechanism 4, it is possible to rotate the spherical wheel at an appropriate rotation speed while driving the motor at a rated drive. In addition, by incorporating the speed reduction mechanism 4 in the spherical wheel, the space required for the drive unit is substantially only the size that the motor occupies, and the travel drive system becomes compact.

Further, in the above configuration , the drive unit 3 is disposed inside the spiral machine body 1 and is fixed to the spiral plate 10, and the speed reduction mechanism 4 is supported by the drive unit 3 via a suspension unit. . In this configuration, since the speed reduction mechanism 4 that supports the spherical wheel is supported via the suspension unit, traveling vibration that the spherical wheel receives during traveling is absorbed by the suspension unit, and traveling stability is improved.

  As a preferred embodiment, when the wheel drive shaft 23 is supported by the speed reduction mechanism 4, a bearing for bearing the spherical wheel becomes unnecessary, and the structure of the driving force transmission system to the spherical wheel becomes simple and compact.

  Furthermore, in one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the spherical wheel includes a left hemispherical wheel and a right hemispherical wheel, and a boss portion formed on the left hemispherical wheel has a left end of the wheel drive shaft. The wheel drive shaft has a right end fixed to a boss formed on the right hemispherical wheel. Such a spherical wheel division configuration not only simplifies the production and assembly of the spherical wheel, but each hemispherical wheel divided into two is assigned to both ends of the wheel drive shaft, and the wheel drive is stable. To do.

It is a side view of an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft. It is the front view seen along the axial direction of the center part of an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft. It is a perspective view of the drive unit which assembled | attached the wheel. It is a side view of the drive unit which assembled | attached the wheel. It is an exploded view of a drive unit. It is an exploded view which shows a wheel, a deceleration mechanism, and a wheel drive shaft. It is a figure explaining the movement state of an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft. It is a figure explaining the movement state of an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The in-pipe self-propelled aircraft according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft, and FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the in-pipe self-propelled machine includes a spiral machine body 1 that spirally extends around the longitudinal axis XL, a plurality of drive units 3 that are mounted on the spiral machine body 1, and this drive A spherical wheel 2 driven by a unit 3 is provided. The in-pipe self-propelled machine is configured to be able to move inside various pipes 9 such as gas pipes. The in-pipe self-propelled machine is used to send equipment (camera, inspection sensor, etc.) for checking and inspecting the state of the tube 9 from the tube wall inner surface 91 side into the tube 9. The pipe 9 on which the self-propelled machine travels includes a place where the inner diameter of the pipe 9 changes, a place where the pipe 9 is bent (elbow, branch, etc.), a place where the cross-sectional shape of the pipe 9 is not circular (for example, a plug valve Etc.). Therefore, in this in-pipe self-propelled machine, the spiral outer diameter of the spiral machine body 1 is changed so as to follow the change in the inner diameter of the pipe 9 and the bending of the pipe 9, and further the deformation that enables such a change in the outer diameter of the spiral. In spite of the nature, a structure is adopted in which the possibility of the spiral machine body 1 colliding with the tube wall inner surface 91 is as low as possible. Further, in order to obtain good traveling performance of the spiral machine body 1, a structure is adopted in which the drive unit 3 and the spherical wheel 2 attached to the spiral machine body 1 are compact.

  The spiral machine body 1 is a spiral plate 10 made by forming an elastically deformable plate material in a spiral shape along the direction of the longitudinal axis XL (that is, around the longitudinal axis XL). In this embodiment, the spiral plate 10 is made of a metal plate having elasticity. Since the spiral body 1 has elastic deformation like a spiral spring, it can be bent in any direction. Therefore, the in-pipe self-propelled machine can bend itself according to the bending of the pipe 9. In addition, the spiral body 1 can be deformed and expanded and contracted in the direction of the longitudinal axis XL. For example, when the spiral body 1 extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis XL, the spiral body 1 becomes thin (that is, the spiral diameter becomes smaller). Smaller). Thereby, the in-pipe self-propelled aircraft can change its outer diameter.

  In the spiral body 1, one surface (outer surface 10 a) of the spiral plate 10 is uniformly directed radially outward (side away from the longitudinal axis XL) of the spiral body 1 and the other surface (inner surface 10 b) of the spiral plate 10. Is formed in a spiral shape in a state of being uniformly directed radially inward of the spiral body 1 (side approaching the longitudinal axis XL). That is, since one surface (outer surface 10a) of the plate-like spiral plate 10 faces the tube wall inner surface 91 of the tube 9 uniformly, the self-propelled in-tube can smoothly travel on the tube wall inner surface 91. it can. In addition, the spiral diameter of the longitudinal end regions of the spiral body 1 is formed smaller than the spiral diameter of the longitudinal center region. Therefore, even when the in-pipe self-propelled machine moves in either the forward or reverse direction (see FIG. 8), it can enter in a form with a small spiral diameter, and the tip of the spiral plate 10 serving as the head of the spiral machine body 1 is the tube. There is little possibility of being caught by the wall inner surface 91.

  Further, the spiral body 1 is formed such that the maximum spiral diameter in a natural state when the spiral body 1 is not inside the tube 9 is equal to or larger than the inner diameter of the tube 9. Therefore, when the spiral body 1 is inside the tube 9, the spiral body 1 is applied to the inner surface 91 of the tube wall via the spherical wheel 2 that protrudes radially outward from the spiral plate 10 with a pressing force to increase the spiral diameter. give. Thereby, the spherical wheel 2 is pressed against the tube wall inner surface 91, and the driving force can be reliably applied to the tube wall inner surface 91.

  Devices for confirming and inspecting the state of the tube 9 (cameras, inspection devices, etc.) are installed at the leading end of the spiral body 1 in the traveling direction, the hollow portion in the central region of the spiral body 1, and the like. You may employ | adopt the form which is towed with an in-pipe self-propelled aircraft.

Next, the spherical wheel 2 and the drive unit 3 that gives a driving force to the spherical wheel 2 will be described. 3 and 4 are a perspective view and a side view of the drive unit 3 assembled with the spherical wheel 2, FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the drive unit 3, and FIG. 6 shows the spherical wheel 2, the speed reduction mechanism 4, and the wheel drive shaft. FIG.
This drive unit 3 rotationally drives the spherical wheel 2 in the forward or backward direction, but does not have a steering function for changing the direction of the spherical wheel, that is, the steering angle. That is, the wheel is supported so as to be rotatable with respect to the spiral machine body 1, but the steering angle does not move in a state in which it coincides with the extending direction of the spiral plate 10 constituting the spiral machine body 1.

  Each drive unit 3 transmits a driving force to the spherical wheel 2 pressed against the inner surface 91 of the pipe wall by the radial pressing force of the spiral machine body 1 and rotates the spherical wheel 2, so that the spiral machine body 1 moves the inside of the tube 9 through the tube axis. Travel along the heart 90. In this embodiment, the drive unit 3 includes a motor 32 and a speed reduction mechanism 4 that reduces the rotational speed of the motor 32 and transmits it to the spherical wheel 2. The motor 32 is supplied with power from the outside through a cable 60 pulled by the spiral machine body 1. As apparent from the exploded view of FIG. 6, the speed reduction mechanism 4 is housed inside the spherical wheel 2.

  The drive unit 3 includes a housing 30 including a flat base portion 30b and a pair of left and right arm-shaped attachment portions 30a rising from both ends of the base portion 30b so that the drive unit 3 can be attached to the spiral plate 10. The motor 32 is held in a vertical posture via the suspension unit 33 on the base portion 30b. The suspension unit 33 is disposed between the suspension bracket 31 functioning as a mounting plate for the motor 32, the suspension rod 33a disposed across the suspension bracket 31 and the base portion 30b, and the suspension bracket 31 and the base portion 30b. And a coil spring 33b on which the suspension rod 33a is externally fitted. The suspension unit 33 attaches the motor 32 and the speed reduction mechanism 4 connected to the motor and further the spherical wheel 2 to the base portion 30b, that is, to the spiral plate 10 with cushioning properties. An opening is formed in the center of the base portion 30b so that the rear end portion of the motor 32 can protrude.

  As can be understood from FIG. 5, the output shaft of the motor 32 is connected to the speed change input shaft 40 of the speed reduction mechanism 4 having a gear for changing the direction of the rotating shaft by 90 ° at the tip. The speed reduction mechanism 4 is incorporated in a gear box 5 including a bottom plate 51, left and right side plates 52 rising from both ends of the bottom plate 51, and a cross rod 53 that connects the left and right side plates 52. The gear transmission mechanism 41 is composed of a gear and an intermediate shaft. The structure of the gear transmission mechanism 41 is well known and will not be described in detail. However, the gear transmission mechanism 41 is a flat gear that reduces the rotation received through a gear that meshes with a gear fixed to the transmission input shaft 40 by a rotation shaft different by 90 °. A gear group and a wheel drive shaft 23 that is an output shaft of the speed reduction mechanism 4 are configured. Both ends of the wheel drive shaft 23 protrude outward from the left and right side plates 52, respectively. The bottom plate 51 of the gear box 5 is provided with mounting holes that are mounted on the two stepped support poles 34 provided on the base portion 30 b of the housing 30. With this stepped support pole 34, the speed reduction mechanism 4 is assembled with a predetermined height from the base portion 30b.

  The spherical wheel 2 has a two-part configuration, and includes a right hemispherical wheel 21 and a left hemispherical wheel 22. In each case, a boss portion 24 and a rib 25 for reinforcing the boss portion 24 are formed. The right hemispherical wheel 21 is connected to the right end of the wheel drive shaft 23, and the left hemispherical wheel 22 is connected to the left end of the wheel drive shaft 23, so that a substantially spherical spherical wheel 2 incorporating the speed reduction mechanism 4 is created. It is. Accordingly, the axis of the wheel drive shaft 23 becomes the wheel rotation axis XW of the spherical wheel 2. The diameter of the spherical spherical wheel 2 is set to about ½ to 4/5 of the width of the spiral plate 10. Further, the wheel rotation axis XW of the spherical wheel 2, that is, the extending direction of the wheel drive shaft 23 is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the spiral plate 10, and the traveling direction by the spherical wheel 2 is basically that of the spiral plate 10. It becomes the longitudinal direction. Since the peripheral surfaces of the opposed regions of the right hemispherical wheel 21 and the left hemispherical wheel 22 are in contact with the tube wall inner surface 91, wheel rubbers 26 and 27 for increasing the contact resistance and improving the running performance are attached to this region. ing. In this embodiment, the wheel rubbers 26 and 27 slightly protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface of the spherical body created by the right hemispherical wheel 21 and the left hemispherical wheel 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 30 of the drive unit 3 is mounted on the inner surface 10 b side of the spiral plate 10, and the spherical wheel 2 protrudes from the through holes 11 provided in the spiral plate 10 at a predetermined pitch. ing. In addition, as can be understood from FIG. 2, the spherical wheel 2 has its wheel rotation axis XW disposed at a further distance from the outer surface 10a of the spiral plate 10, and the spiral plate 10 is deformed during traveling, Even if the tube wall inner surface 91 is uneven, the possibility of the spiral plate 10 coming into contact with the tube wall inner surface 91 is reduced, and stable running is guaranteed. Further, since the speed reduction mechanism 4 is built in the spherical wheel 2 and the housing 30 of the drive unit 3 including the motor 32 is located on the inner surface 10b side of the spiral plate 10, they do not contact the inner surface 91 of the tube wall. .

  By changing the rotation direction of the motor 32 of the drive unit 3, the forward and backward movements of the spiral machine body 1 can be changed. The rotation direction of the motor 32 can be changed by a simple method such as changing the polarity of the power source connected to the cable 60.

  The mounting pitch of the drive unit 3, that is, the spherical wheel 2 to the spiral plate 10 depends on the inner diameter of the tube 9 to be traveled, but three or more spherical wheels 2 are arranged in one turn of the spiral plate 10. It is preferable to set so that. Further, when a large number of spherical wheels 2 are arranged for traveling stability, the drive units 3 may be omitted and the guide wheel type may be omitted without using all the spherical wheels 2 as the drive wheel type.

  Next, with reference to FIG.7 and FIG.8, the state when the in-pipe self-propelled machine is moving the inside of the pipe 9 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a state where the in-pipe self-propelled machine is moving along the bent portion of the pipe 9. Since the in-pipe self-propelled machine is composed of a spiral machine body 1 in which an elastically deformable spiral plate 10 is spiraled, the pipe self-propelled machine bends in accordance with the bending state of the pipe 9. The shape change (in this case, “bend”) of the self-propelled in-pipe is automatically performed by the elastic force of the spiral plate 10. Therefore, a special control mechanism is not necessary for the shape change of the spiral body 1.

  FIG. 7 shows a state where the in-pipe self-propelled machine is moving in a region where the inner diameter of the tube 9 is changing. The spiral body 1 is formed so that the spiral diameter of the end portion along the direction of the longitudinal axis XL is smaller than the spiral diameter of the central portion, so that the spiral body 1 smoothly enters the portion having the small inner diameter of the tube 9 from the end portion. Can do. Further, since the spiral machine body 1 advances while rotating, for example, the entire spiral machine body 1 enters the narrow part at the back of the tube 9 while turning, so that the tip of the screw turns into the narrow part. Can do. At this time, the central region of the spiral body 1 having a relatively large original spiral diameter enters the portion of the tube 9 having a small inner diameter while changing its outer diameter in accordance with the change in the inner diameter of the tube 9.

  As described above, since the helical machine body 1 is elastically deformable, it can be deformed and expanded / contracted along the direction of the longitudinal axis XL and the radial direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis XL, and has a cross-sectional shape other than circular. The tube 9 can also be handled.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, the spiral plate 10 constituting the spiral machine body 1 may be made of a material other than metal such as resin as long as it is elastically deformable. Furthermore, the spiral plate 10 may not be plate-shaped. For example, the cross section of the spiral plate 10 may be another shape such as a circle or an ellipse.
(2) In the above embodiment, the power supply to the motor 32 is performed via the cable 60. However, the spiral machine body 1 may be provided with a battery and may be self-powered, and a battery may be assigned to each motor 32. However, power may be supplied from one battery in units of groups. At this time, it is convenient to collectively operate the ON / OFF control of the motor 32 by radio or wire.
(3) In the said embodiment, although the spherical wheel 2 was a 2 division structure, you may comprise by the division | segmentation number beyond it .

  The self-propelled in-pipe according to the present invention can be used when a device for inspecting the state of various pipes such as a gas pipe from the inside of the pipe is sent into the pipe.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spiral machine body XL Longitudinal axis 10 Spiral plate 10a Outer surface 10b Inner surface 11 Through hole 2 Spherical wheel 21 Left hemispherical wheel 22 Right hemispherical wheel 23 Wheel drive shaft 3 Drive unit 30 Housing 32 Motor 33 Suspension unit 4 Deceleration mechanism 5 Gear box 9 Tube 90 Tube axis 91 Tube wall inner surface XW Wheel rotation axis

Claims (3)

An in-pipe self-propelled aircraft that runs on the inner wall of the pipe,
A spiral machine body composed of a spiral plate elastically expandable / contractible in the radial direction extending spirally around the longitudinal axis;
Spherical wheels arranged at predetermined intervals on the spiral plate;
A wheel drive shaft for driving the spherical wheel by extending through the center of the spherical wheel in a transverse direction transverse to the extending direction of the spiral plate and driving the spherical wheel;
A drive unit for driving the wheel drive shaft;
With
The wheel drive shaft is located outward from the outer surface of the spiral plate ;
Power from the drive unit is transmitted to the wheel drive shaft through a speed reduction mechanism, and the speed reduction mechanism is built in the spherical wheel ,
The in- pipe self-propelled aircraft, wherein the drive unit is disposed inside the spiral machine body and is fixed to the spiral plate, and the speed reduction mechanism is supported by the drive unit via a suspension unit . The in-pipe self-propelled aircraft according to claim 1 , wherein the wheel drive shaft is supported by the speed reduction mechanism. The spherical wheel is composed of a left hemispherical wheel and a right hemispherical wheel, and a left end of the wheel drive shaft is fixed to a boss formed on the left hemispherical wheel, and formed on the right hemispherical wheel. The self-propelled in-pipe machine according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein a right end portion of the wheel drive shaft is fixed to the boss portion.

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