JP7274217B2 - moving device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for traveling in pipes or the like.

Conventionally, various devices for moving inside a pipe have been devised. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an in-pipe moving device for smoothly moving a long distance in a thin pipe.

JP 2018-158693 A

However, in the tube moving device 10 disclosed in Patent Document 1, as described in FIG. Since the air is supplied by 42 and 43, the number of air tubes equal to the number of air chambers R is required. As a result, the configuration of the in-pipe moving device 10 incorporating these air tubes 41, 42, 43 is inevitably complicated, and there is a problem that the miniaturization of the entire device is restricted.

In addition, as the number of air tubes increases, the weight of the air tubes themselves increases, and the load that must be pulled by the moving device also increases. There is a problem of stowing.

In addition, as the number of air tubes increases, the diameter of each air tube is restricted, so the amount of air that can be supplied and exhausted in each air chamber R per unit time decreases, resulting in propulsion. There is a problem that the speed cannot be increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile device that has a simple and compact configuration and that can move at high speed.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a first space that expands and contracts in a first direction, a first space that communicates with the first space in the first direction, and expands and contracts in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. a first housing having a second space that expands and contracts in a second direction; a third space that expands and contracts in a second direction; communicates with the third space in the first direction and expands and contracts in the first and second directions; A mobile device is provided having a fourth space, the fourth space comprising a second housing enclosed within the first space.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a moving device that has a simple and compact configuration and can realize high-speed movement.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a moving device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mobile device 1 shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a moving device 50 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; 4 is a diagram showing an example of utilization of the mobile device 50 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the moving device 50 shown in FIG. 3 is advanced in a curved pipe P, and FIG. ) shows a case in which a plurality of moving devices 50 are used to pull wires W. FIG.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

[Embodiment 1]
A movement device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention that moves in a pipe by performing a so-called inchworm movement will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a mobile device 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the moving device 1 has hatched air chambers R1 and R2 communicating in a first direction (vertical direction in the figure, hereinafter referred to as the "axial direction"). , a cylindrical housing B1 that expands and contracts in the axial direction and in a second direction perpendicular thereto (hereinafter referred to as the “radial direction”), air chambers R3 and R4 communicating in the axial direction, and an air chamber R4. is enclosed in the air chamber R1 and includes a cylindrical housing B2 that expands and contracts in the axial direction and the radial direction. The housings B1 and B2 are preferably made of a flexible first elastic material such as silicon resin.

Here, the air chamber R2 includes a partition section 7 that partitions the housing B1 and connects the housings B1 and B2, a partition section 9 that is provided at one end of the mobile device 1, and connects both the partition sections 7 and 9. The cylindrical cloth 13 restricts expansion and contraction in the axial direction, and allows expansion and contraction only in the radial direction.

Similarly, the air chamber R3 also includes a partition 3 provided at the other end of the moving device 1, a partition 5 connecting the housings B1 and B2, and a cylindrical cloth connecting the partitions 3 and 5. 11 restricts expansion and contraction in the axial direction, and allows expansion and contraction only in the radial direction.

A spring 10 is wound around the housing B1 between the partitions 5 and 7 as a second elastic body for biasing the expansion and contraction in the axial direction. elongation is regulated, and it is possible to expand and contract only in the axial direction.

The air chamber R2 is provided with a tube T1 communicating with the outside, and the air chamber R4 is provided with a tube T2 passing through the air chamber R2 and communicating with the outside. Here, two tubes T1 and T2 are required to supply air to the air chambers R1 to R4. Further, since the portion between the partitions 7 and 9 is restricted from expanding and contracting in the axial direction as described above, the tube T2 in the air chamber R2 also does not expand and contract. Since the mobile device 1 has such a simple configuration, it can be easily miniaturized.

As described above, the moving device 1 has a configuration in which the air chambers R1 and R4 overlap between the partitions 5 and 7, so this configuration is hereinafter referred to as an "overlap". Also, both the constituent parts between the partitions 3 and 5 and between the partitions 7 and 9 are called "non-overlapping parts".

Air is supplied from the outside through tubes T1 and T2 to the air chambers R1 to R4, or air flows out to the outside to control the pressure in the chambers. The axial elongation of the parts occurs in different pressure ranges.

Specifically, as will be described later, the pressure required to inflate the non-overlapping portion is lower than the pressure required to extend the overlapping portion. Therefore, when air is supplied to the air chambers R1 to R4 through the tubes T1 and T2, the non-overlapping portions expand first, and then the overlapping portions expand.

Since the pressure of the air supplied to the air chambers R1 to R4 is controlled outside the moving device 1, the moving device 1 does not need to have an air control valve such as a solenoid valve. Therefore, the possibility of ignition due to electricity can be eliminated, and explosion-proofness can be ensured.

Further, since the mobile device 1 is not equipped with an air control valve and associated equipment, the risk of failure is reduced and the size of the device can be easily reduced.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mobile device 1 shown in FIG. Note that the X-axis in the figure is a coordinate axis indicating the position of the moving device 1 in the axial direction. The operation of the mobile device 1 will be described below with reference to this figure.

In the propulsion operation of the mobile device 1, the pressures of the air chambers R1 to R4 are switched between four states of pressures P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ and zero pressure (open to the atmosphere) as follows. Here, pressure _P1 is greater than zero, pressure _P2 is greater than pressure _P1 , and pressure _P3 is greater than or equal to pressure _P2 . The values of these pressures P ₁ , P ₂ and P ₃ are defined by the material of the housings B ₁ and B ₂ and the characteristics of the spring 10 . A propulsion operation is realized by setting ₃ to 100 kPa.

The pressure switching as described above can be controlled by a valve (electro-pneumatic regulator) that varies the pressure according to an electrical signal, and the electro-pneumatic regulator can be controlled by a sequence control by a microcomputer.

As shown in FIG. 2(a), the moving device 1 is assumed to be placed still in a pipe (not shown) so that the tip thereof is positioned at the coordinate X1 in the initial state. Next, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the air chamber R2 is inflated by supplying air of pressure _P1 to the air chambers R1 and R2 through the tube T1. As a result, the moving device 1 is pressed against the pipe at the air chamber R2, so that the tip is fixed at the coordinate X1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(c), when the pressure of the air supplied to the air chambers R1 and R2 through the tube T1 is increased to pressure _P2 , the air chamber R1 around which the spring 10 is wound is It extends in the X-axis direction until the tip reaches the coordinate X2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(d), when the pressure of the air chambers R1 and R2 is maintained at the pressure _P2 and the air of the pressure _P3 is supplied to the air chambers R3 and R4 through the tube T2, Air chamber R3 expands. As a result, the moving device 1 is pressed against the pipe at the air chamber R3, so that the tip is fixed at the coordinate X2.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(e), with the pressure in the air chambers R3 and R4 maintained at pressure _P3 , the air chambers R1 and R2 are released to the atmosphere to reduce the pressure in the chambers to zero. The chamber R2 is contracted and separated from the pipe.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2(f), when the pressure of the air supplied to the air chambers R3 and R4 through the tube T2 is reduced to the pressure _P1 , the tip is fixed at the coordinate X2. Then, the elasticity of the spring 10 causes the air chamber R4 to contract in the X-axis direction. If the air chambers R3 and R4 are released to the atmosphere and the pressure in the chambers is reduced to zero, the moving device 1 will return to the state shown in FIG.

As described above, the moving device 1 moves forward by the length of the coordinate (X2-X1) in the X-axis direction by sequentially performing the one-cycle operations shown in FIGS. By repeating this motion, it becomes possible to move forward like an inchworm. Further, by performing the operations shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(f) in reverse order, the moving device 1 can be retracted within the pipe.

In the above, the force (holding force, ie, gripping force) that holds the pipe wall in the pipe is generated by the pressure _P1 , and the larger the pressure _P1 , the larger the holding force. This is because the expansion of the air chamber with a higher pressure results in a higher degree of adhesion with the piping, resulting in greater friction. Therefore, the greater the pressure _P1 , the less likely it is to slip and the more stable the vehicle will be during propulsion.

On the other hand, the forward elongating force is produced by the differential pressure between pressures _P3 and _P2 , the greater the differential pressure, the greater the elongating force. Therefore, setting the pressure _P3 high is effective in increasing the extension force.

The shape of the housings B1 and B2 is not limited to a cylindrical shape as long as it has a space extending in the axial direction. Further, instead of the spring 10 of the overlapping portion, spirally arranged fibers may be woven into the silicon material so that the silicon material expands and contracts only in the axial direction.

In addition, by providing a non-slip material around the cylindrical cloths 11 and 13, the traveling performance of the moving device 1 can be improved.

In addition, in the moving device 1, the stroke in one cycle of operation can be lengthened, and the number of tubes T1 and T2 is reduced and the diameter of each tube T1 and T2 is increased. Since the amount of air that can be supplied and exhausted per unit time can be increased, high-speed movement can be realized.

Furthermore, since the housings B1 and B2 have flexibility, the moving device 1 can easily move inside the pipe even when the pipe is curved.

As described above, according to the moving device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, since a simple configuration is adopted, design, manufacturing, and miniaturization are easy, the manufacturing cost is reduced, and the moving speed is high. It is possible to simultaneously realize high passability in a curved pipe and a curved pipe.

[Embodiment 2]
Since the mobile device 50 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention has the same configuration as that of the mobile device 1 according to Embodiment 1, the description of the common parts will be omitted and only the differences will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a moving device 50 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the moving device 50 includes a hollow tube RC extending in the axial direction and arranged to pass through the housing B2 and the air chamber R2, and a hollow tube RC extending in the axial direction. It further comprises a spring 15 built into the tube RC.

Here, more specifically, the hollow tube RC is a core material in which the periphery of the spring 15 is covered with an elastic material such as silicone rubber, and is arranged at the center of the axis of the moving device 50 .

According to the moving device 50 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention having such a configuration, the same effects as those of the moving device 1 according to Embodiment 1 are obtained, but in addition, a hollow body is formed along the central axis. Since a hollow part can be secured in the spring 15 of the tube RC, wiring of industrial endoscopes, cameras, and other sensors can be passed through this hollow part and integrated with the external device, so that the external device It can be easily used as a means of transportation for

An example of utilization of the mobile device 50 will be described below with reference to FIG. When the moving device 50 travels through a pipe over a long distance, a large force is required to pull the tubes T1 and T2 and the wiring (hereinafter referred to as "wiring"). Therefore, it is apprehended that the propulsive force will be insufficient if only the single moving device 50 is used.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, it is preferable to obtain a greater propulsive force by combining a plurality of moving devices 50 having wires W passed through the hollow portion. The double-headed arrows in the drawing indicate that each moving device 50 performs the above-described expansion and contraction operation.

In order for the moving device 50 to pull the wiring W, the wiring W needs to be fixed to the moving device 50 . Here, for example, a method of fixing the wires W to the forward end of the moving device 50 can be considered. In this method, when the moving device 50 moves forward, the wires W are pulled in the direction of movement by the force that causes the device to expand, and when the moving device 50 moves backward, the wires W are pulled in the direction of movement by the force that causes the device to contract. will be pulled in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, instead of fixing the wires W to the moving device 50 as described above, the wires W and the moving device 50 are not fixed, and as shown in FIG. may be adopted. In this method, the wires W are pulled by utilizing the fact that the moving device 50 is caught by the stopper ST when moving forward or backward. As a result, the wires W are pulled by the force that the moving device 50 tends to extend, both when the moving device 50 moves forward and backward.

Also, by using a plurality of moving devices 50 connected together as shown in FIG. 4, it is possible to improve the passability of the device through curved pipes. In the following, this passability will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The arrows in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b) both indicate the traveling direction of the mobile device 50. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), when the moving device 50 passes through the curved pipe P, the wires W are pressed against the inner portion CN of the curved pipe P. As shown in FIG. At this time, when the moving device 50 to be used is a single unit, the moving device 50 pulls the wires W from the front, so a large amount of friction is generated on the contact surface between the inner portion CN and the wires W. and passability decreases.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5(b), when a plurality of moving devices 50 are used, the wires W are not only pulled from the front but also pushed from the rear. Friction generated on the contact surface between the wire and the wiring W is reduced, making it easier to pass.

Further, when a plurality of moving devices 50 are connected and used as described above, the tubes T1 and T2 of the moving devices 50 are grouped together and air is supplied using a common tube. For example, even when the number of moving devices 50 to be connected increases, it is possible to drive without increasing the number of tubes.

In the above, the moving devices 1 and 50 can also be driven using a fluid other than air, such as liquid such as water or oil, instead of air. When air is used, a delay in response occurs due to the compressibility of the mobile device 1, 50 when it is driven. It can be made smaller to speed up movement.

In addition, if the use environment does not require explosion-proofness or significant miniaturization, by incorporating a solenoid valve in the moving device 1, 50, the time required for switching the pressure can be shortened, and the moving speed can be improved. be able to. Similarly, the time required for switching the pressure can be shortened by incorporating a micro-sized pump in the moving device 1,50. In particular, when the moving devices 1 and 50 are driven for a long distance, the length of the tubes T1 and T2 reduces the amount of air that can be supplied and exhausted per unit time, which reduces the moving speed. valid.

1, 50 moving devices 3, 5, 7, 9 partitions 10, 15 springs 11, 13 cloths B1, B2 housings R1 to R4 air chambers RC hollow tubes T1, T2 tubes

Claims (7)

A first space that expands and contracts in a first direction, and a second space that communicates with the first space in the first direction and expands and contracts in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. a housing;
a third space that expands and contracts in the second direction; and a fourth space that communicates with the third space in the first direction and expands and contracts in the first and second directions; A fourth space is a mobile device comprising a second housing enclosed in the first space. The first and second housings are composed of a first elastic body that expands and contracts in the first direction and the second direction,
The first elastic body forming the first space is restricted from being stretched in the second direction, and the first elastic body forming the first space is stretched in the first direction. a second elastic body that biases the expansion and contraction of
2. The moving device according to claim 1, further comprising a restricting body restricting said first elastic body constituting said second space and said third space from expanding and contracting in said first direction. the first elastic body is silicone resin,
3. The moving device according to claim 2, wherein said second elastic body is a spring. The regulator is
two partitions that define the second or third space in the first direction;
3. The moving device according to claim 2, further comprising a connecting portion that connects the two partitions. 5. The moving device of claim 4, wherein the connecting portion is cloth. a first pipe communicating between the second space and the outside;
2. The moving device according to claim 1, further comprising a second pipe that passes through said second space and communicates said fourth space with said outside. a hollow tube extending in the first direction and arranged to pass through the second housing and the second space;
2. The moving device of claim 1, further comprising a spring extending in said first direction and contained within said hollow tube.

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