JP7401386B2 - Inspection device for long structures - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inspection device that remotely inspects the condition of long structures such as tunnels and bridges. Note that in this specification, a long structure refers to a structure that is constructed in a long shape using various materials such as concrete and steel frames.

For example, shear of rocks, earth, and the like that occurs during tunnel excavation work is conveyed to the outside of the tunnel by a belt conveyor placed inside the tunnel (see Patent Document 1).

There may be fallen objects on or around the conveyor, which may interfere with work or cause the conveyor to malfunction, so it is necessary to inspect the conveyor and its surroundings before, during, and after work. .
However, depending on the specifications of the tunnel, the length of the tunnel may extend to several kilometers, and it is troublesome and requires a great deal of labor and time for workers to inspect the tunnel on foot. Furthermore, the tunnels may be extremely narrow, and in such cases, it is very difficult for workers to move inside the tunnels for inspection.

Therefore, we developed a technology to remotely photograph the situation inside the tunnel by laying rails in the length direction of the tunnel, equipping a moving body with an imaging unit on the rail, and configuring this moving body to be movable by a linear motor. has been proposed (Patent Document 2).
Such inspection work inside the tunnel is required to be carried out within a short period of time, for example, before the start of work. For example, when inspecting a belt conveyor in a tunnel with a length of about 5 km, it is required to complete the inspection in about 10 minutes.

However, in the case of the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2, the structure of the moving body made up of linear motors is complex and heavy, so it is not suitable for inspection movement within a tunnel at high speed and in a short time. . Furthermore, since a linear motor is used, not only the cost at the time of introduction is high, but also the cost for repair when a failure occurs is also high.
Therefore, due to the various problems mentioned above, no product has actually been offered on the market.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-212888 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-323099

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and its purpose is to provide an inexpensive long structure that allows inspection of long structures such as tunnels and bridges to be performed easily and quickly by remote control. Our goal is to provide inspection equipment for things.

A first aspect of the present invention provides a rail portion provided along the length of an elongated structure;
a moving body movable along the rail portion;
an operation unit for remotely operating the movable body,
The rail portion includes a locking portion and a wheel groove that are continuously recessed in the rail laying direction,
The mobile body is
The main body and
a fall prevention part provided on the upper surface of the main body part and slidably suspended and supported by the rail part ;
The fall prevention part is
a first member formed vertically upward in the vertical direction from a center line extending in the length direction of the upper surface of the main body;
a second member formed in a horizontal direction from the top surface of the first member;
a wheel portion guided along a wheel groove of the rail portion;
The wheel portion is vertically provided at a position higher than the second member of the fall prevention portion from the left and right support portions protruding from the front and rear surfaces of the main body portion, respectively, and is equipped to rotate about the rotational axis of the
a propeller part provided in the main body part and capable of being driven in forward or reverse rotation by the operating part;
The apparatus for inspecting a long structure is characterized in that it includes an imaging section that is provided in the main body and that photographs a moving area.

A second aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting a long structure based on the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the propeller portions are provided on the left and right sides of the main body portion in the moving direction.

A third aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting a long structure based on the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the propeller section is provided before and after the main body section in the moving direction.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects of the present invention, the main body portion is divided into a plurality of parts from a first part to an nth part,
The inspection device for a long structure is characterized in that the wheel portion is provided for each of the plurality of divided parts.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for inspecting a long structure according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, wherein the main body portion is provided with a mechanism for transporting objects. This is what happened.

According to the present invention, it was possible to provide an inexpensive inspection device for long structures that can easily and quickly perform inspections on long structures such as tunnels and bridges by remote control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the first embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a moving body according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a state in which the moving body of the present embodiment is suspended from a rail. It is a schematic sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a moving body according to a second embodiment. It is a schematic front view which shows the rail suspension state of the moving body of 2nd embodiment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
In this embodiment, a tunnel is assumed as an example of a long structure.
Note that this embodiment is only an example of the present invention and is not to be construed as being limited thereto, and design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention. Further, the scope of the present invention is not limited to tunnels, and any long structures such as bridges and viaducts are within the scope of the present invention.

"First embodiment"
1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the invention.
Inside the tunnel T, a conveyor C of a predetermined length is disposed along the length direction A2 of the tunnel T to carry out shear such as rocks and earth and sand generated during tunnel excavation to the outside of the tunnel T. Here, this conveyor installation area is defined as work area A1.
It should be noted that this conveyor is not limited to its use form except when carrying out shelving, and for example, it is also possible to convey necessary tools and the like in a work area.

The tunnel situation confirmation device in this embodiment includes a rail section 1, a movable body 15 disposed movably along the rail section 1, and an operation section (not shown) for remotely operating the movable body 15. It consists of

The operation unit is not particularly limited in interpretation, but may be anything that can transmit operation signals to the mobile object 15 by radio, and for example, it may be provided in a control room set up outside the tunnel T, The operation signal is wirelessly sent to a receiving unit provided in the mobile body 15 via a wireless station disposed at a predetermined position such as inside the tunnel T. The wireless stations are not particularly limited and may have a well-known configuration, and an appropriate number may be provided depending on the length of the tunnel T.
Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor is provided at a predetermined position of the operation unit so that the operator can check the image displayed by the imaging unit 41 in a timely manner. Note that a display device may be provided at a predetermined position separately from the operation section.

The rail section 1 is mounted on the inner tunnel wall (upper surface of the inner wall) of the conveyor C disposed above the working area A1, for example, in the longitudinal direction A2 in the tunnel T in this embodiment. A1) is provided in parallel and opposite to each other (see Fig. 1).

The rail part 1 includes a rail main body 3 having a rectangular shape in cross section, and a locking part 5 and a wheel groove 11 that are continuously recessed in the rail main body 3 in the rail laying direction (same as the tunnel length direction A2). (See Figure 3.)

The locking portion 5 is recessed continuously from one end of the rail portion 1 to the other end in the rail laying direction A2 in the approximately central region of the lower surface 3a (surface facing the conveyor) of the rail body 3 (Fig. 1 and see Figure 2).

In this embodiment, the locking part 5 opens a second accommodation area 9 for accommodating a second member 23 of a fall prevention part 19 of a moving body 15, which will be described later, and opens the lower part of the second accommodation area 9. The first accommodation area 7 is narrower than the accommodation area 9 and is provided in a continuous manner, and its lower end is opened to accommodate the first member 21 of the fall prevention part 19, which will be described later. It is set up in a shape.
It is preferable that the locking portion 5 is made of a material with low frictional resistance and excellent sliding properties because the forward and backward movement of the movable body 15 becomes smooth.

The wheel groove 11 is a continuous recess from one end of the rail portion 1 to the other end in the rail installation direction A2 in the substantially central region of each of the left side surface 3b and right side surface 3c of the rail body 3 (areas facing each other). It is set up.
In this embodiment, it is formed into a rectangular shape in cross section with a depth and height that can accommodate a part of the wheel portion 25 of the moving body 15, which will be described later, and each opening is formed on the left side surface 3b and the right side surface 3c. positioned.
Specifically, the distance L1 connecting the closest position between the left wheel part 25 and the right wheel part 25 of the moving body 15, which are located opposite to each other in the left and right directions, and the distance between the left and right wheel grooves 11, 11. The relationship between the distance L2 connecting the closest depth positions (deepest positions) and the distance L3 connecting the farthest positions (opening parts) of the left and right wheel grooves 11, 11 is as follows:
L2<L1<L3
(See Figure 3.)

The moving body 15 has a main body portion 17 that is movably held with respect to the rail portion 1 . The main body section 17 includes a fall prevention section 19, a wheel section 25, a propeller section 35, and an imaging section 41. Although not shown, the main body 17 is equipped with a drive source (motor) that drives the propeller 35 in forward or reverse rotation. For example, power is supplied to the imaging unit 41 and the motor via the rail 1. Sent.

The fall prevention part 19 is provided on the upper surface 17a of the main body part 17, and is slidably locked to the rail part 1. A plurality of drop prevention parts 19 are provided protruding from the upper surface 17a of the main body part 17 at predetermined intervals. In this embodiment, a cylindrical first member 21 is vertically integrally molded upward from the center line extending in the length direction of the upper surface 17a of the main body 17, and and a rectangular second member 23 having a predetermined thickness that is integrally molded to form a substantially T-shape when viewed from the front (see FIG. 3).

It is preferable that the fall prevention part 19 be made of a material with low frictional resistance and excellent sliding properties, since this will allow the moving body 15 to move back and forth smoothly.
Further, it is also possible to provide a lubricant between the fall prevention part 19 and the locking part 5, and this is within the scope of the present invention. In this case, in order to prevent the lubricant from leaking to the outside, it is preferable to adopt a sealing structure for the opening portion of the locking portion 5 or the first member 21 of the fall prevention portion 19 located at the opening portion.
The fall prevention section 19 is designed to prevent the moving object 15 from falling and being damaged in the event that the wheel section 25 of the moving object 15 unexpectedly comes off the wheel groove 11 of the rail section 1. The present embodiment is not limited to the present embodiment as long as the movable body 15 can be slidably suspended and supported on the rail portion 1, and the number of the movable bodies 15 provided is one. It can be arbitrarily set within a range of 1 to 2 or more.

Further, the first member 21 may be formed into a prismatic shape, and the second member 23 may be formed into a disk shape, and the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention. be.
In this embodiment, a material with low frictional resistance and excellent sliding properties is used for both the locking part 5 and the drop prevention part 19. It may also consist of

The wheel portion 25 is provided upright in the vertical direction (height direction indicated by arrow H in the figure) from left and right support portions 27, 27 protruding from the front surface 17b and rear surface 17c of the main body portion 17, respectively. That is, in this embodiment, two pieces are provided on the front surface and two pieces are provided on the rear surface, spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and provided on the same axis at the front and rear. As described above, the predetermined interval is such that the distance L1 connecting the closest position between the left wheel part 25 and the right wheel part 25 is the distance L1 between the closest depth positions of the left and right wheel grooves 11, 11 (the deepest position). The relationship between L2 and L2 connecting the two parts is configured such that L2<L1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

Specifically, it includes a cylindrical shaft part 29 that is fixed to the support part 27 and stands upright, and a disc-shaped rotating part 31 that is supported at the tip of the shaft part 29 so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions. By fitting a portion of each of the rotating parts 31, 31 forming the left and right wheel parts 25, 25 into the left and right wheel grooves 11, 11 of the rail part 1, the wheel grooves 11, 11 You will be guided along the Further, in this embodiment, as shown in the figure, the wheel portion 25 is configured to protrude upward in the height direction H than the fall prevention portion 19 (see FIG. 3).
In this embodiment, two contact parts 33, 33 are provided on the circumferential surface of the rotating part 31 to reduce the contact area with the wheel groove 11, thereby reducing frictional resistance and contributing to high-speed movement. . In addition, since the relationship is as described above, there is no possibility that the rotating part 31 of the wheel part 25 will come off the wheel groove 11 of the rail part 1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).

Further, the number of wheel portions 25 to be provided is not particularly limited, and the wheel portions 25 may be provided upright on the upper surface 17a of the main body portion 17.
Note that in this embodiment, it is assumed that the rotating part 31 rotates in the horizontal direction around a vertical rotation axis. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the portion rotates in the front-back direction, and the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention.

The propeller parts 35 are provided one each at opposing positions on both the left and right side surfaces 17d and 17e of the main body part 17, and as described above, the propeller parts 35 are operated by operating signals from the operating part to the motor provided in the main body part 17. Remotely controlled to enable forward or reverse rotation.
In this embodiment, the left side surface 17d and the right side surface 17e of the main body part 17 are provided with support arms 37, 37 that protrude in the horizontal direction at opposing positions, respectively, and at the ends of the support arms 37, 37. It is comprised of wing parts 39, 39 that are rotatably provided in forward and reverse directions on a rotating shaft provided in a protruding manner.
Note that the number of propeller sections 35 to be provided is not limited to this embodiment, and can be increased or decreased as appropriate within the scope of the present invention depending on the specifications.

The imaging section 41 is provided on the lower surface 17f of the main body section 17, and remotely photographs the work area A1 as a moving image or a still image using the operating section. Further, the imaging section 41 is equipped with, for example, a wireless transmitter, and wirelessly transmits the photographed video signal to the operation section in real time. As the imaging section 41, a well-known configuration can be adopted.
In this embodiment, the lens surface 41a of the camera is disposed at a position near the front of the lower surface 17f of the main body 17 so that the lens surface 41a of the camera is tilted downwardly toward the front. By arranging the lens surface 41a so as to be tilted diagonally forward, obstacles O such as falling objects on the conveyor C can be detected quickly.
Note that the orientation of the lens surface 41a can be changed by selecting an optimal position within the scope of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 41 is integrally provided on the lower surface 17f of the main body 17, but an arm of a predetermined length is suspended from the lower surface 17f of the main body 17, and the end of the arm It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the imaging unit 41 is provided in the camera, and the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, a plurality of imaging units 41 may be provided, and in this embodiment, one imaging unit 41 that can take images in the direction in which the moving body 15 moves forward is provided. It is also possible to further dispose an imaging unit capable of photographing obstacles O and the like even in the backward direction when moving the moving body 15 backward.

According to this embodiment, since the above-described configuration unique to the present invention is adopted, the following effects are achieved.
For example, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the presence or absence of an obstacle O such as a fallen object on the conveyor C (work area A2) is inspected before, after, or during tunnel construction work.
First, the operator operates the operating section outside the tunnel T to send a signal to the moving body 15 to move forward, and also sends a signal to start photographing the imaging section 41 . The movable body 15 that has received these signals transmits its power to the left and right propeller parts 35, 35 by the motor provided in the main body part 17, the propeller parts 35, 35 rotate normally, and the movable body 15 It moves forward at high speed along the rail part 1 by the propulsive force of 35, 35.
At this time, the imaging section 41 provided in the moving body 15 also starts photographing, and the top of the conveyor C is photographed in accordance with the movement of the moving body 15, and the photographing signal is sent to the operation section by radio.
The operator checks the image displayed on the liquid crystal monitor of the operation section to check whether there is an obstacle O such as a falling object on the conveyor C.
According to the present embodiment, the movable body 15 equipped with the imaging unit 41 has a simple configuration in which the rail portion 1 disposed along the inside of the tunnel T can be moved forward and backward by the propulsion force of the propellers 35, 35. The overall weight of the body 15 can be reduced, and the device can be provided as a tunnel situation confirmation device that can move at high speed and has an extremely low cost structure, thereby meeting the needs of users.
In this embodiment, it is assumed that captured images are recognized through a monitor, but this is not to be construed as limiting in any way, and design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, it is possible to recognize and process images using various technologies such as HMD (Head Mounted Display), VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and AI (Artificial Intelligence). Within range.

In this embodiment, an embodiment has been described in which the locking part 5 provided on the rail part 1 is configured in a concave shape, and the fall prevention part 19 provided in the moving body 15 is configured in a convex shape. The locking part provided on the section 1 may be configured in a convex shape, and the fall prevention section provided on the movable body 15 may be configured in a concave shape. As long as the structure does not fall, the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention.
Furthermore, it is also within the scope of the present invention to configure the positions and configurations of the drop prevention section 19 and the wheel section 25 in a manner opposite to that of this embodiment. That is, for example, a configuration is adopted in which locking portions are provided on the left and right side surfaces 3b and 3c of the rail portion 1, and the drop prevention portion 19 is locked to the locking portions provided on the left and right side surfaces 3b and 3c of the rail portion 1. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a wheel groove is provided on the lower surface 3a of the rail portion 1, and the wheel portion is disposed in the wheel groove provided on the lower surface 3a of the rail portion 1.

Furthermore, it is also possible to add components other than the imaging section 41 to the moving body 15 within the scope of the present invention.
For example, it is possible to include a gripping mechanism (not shown) in the main body 17 that can be remotely controlled by an operating section. By adding such a configuration, when the imaging unit 41 detects an obstacle O such as a fallen object on the conveyor C, the gripping mechanism can be remotely controlled by the operation unit to remove it from the conveyor C. Very useful. As described above, the inspection device of the present invention is particularly useful in inspecting equipment such as a belt conveyor that is disposed over a long length in a long structure such as a tunnel.
Further, the main body 17 can be provided with a mechanism for transporting objects, and furthermore, it is within the scope of the present invention to mount a 3D scanner, thermography, vital signs, etc., and can be adopted as appropriate.
Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, it can also be used as a remote confirmation device for other conditions inside a tunnel, such as for quickly detecting and confirming the occurrence of a vehicle accident or a fire accident inside a tunnel.
Note that when used to inspect cracks or damaged areas on the underside of a bridge or viaduct, the rail section is provided in a suspended form on the underside of the bridge or viaduct. Various options are available depending on the specifications, such as installing the camera of the imaging unit on the top side of the moving body with it facing the bottom side of a bridge or viaduct, so that it can move at high speed along the rail part. can do.

"Second embodiment"
4 to 6 show a second embodiment (another embodiment) of the present invention.
This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the moving body 15. Since the other configurations and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same parts are given the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The moving body 15 includes a main body 17, a fall prevention section 19, a wheel section 25, and an imaging section 41, as in the first embodiment.
The main body part 17 is configured by integrally molding a box part 43 and a mounting plate part 45 formed on the upper surface of the box part 43 in a shape longer than the box part 43. Therefore, a portion of the mounting plate portion 45 protrudes from the front and rear of the box portion 43 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The mounting plate section 45 has a fall prevention section 19 and a wheel section 25 erected on its upper surface.
Further, on the lower surface, a box portion 43 is integrally provided in the central region, and propeller portions 35, 35 are integrally provided in the front and rear positions of the box portion 43 in a suspended state, respectively.

The fall prevention part 19 is arranged on the same axis in the longitudinal direction (direction indicated by the symbol L4) of the mounting plate part 45 in a predetermined area on the upper surface of the mounting plate part 45 corresponding to the front end area and the rear end area of the box part 43. Two of them are placed upright at a predetermined interval (see Fig. 5). The form (configuration) of the fall prevention section 19 is the same as in the first embodiment.

Two wheel parts 25 are provided in the front area of the fall prevention part 19 located in the front, two in the rear area of the fall prevention part 19 located in the rear, and two in the middle area of the front and rear fall prevention parts 19, 19 in the lateral direction. (The lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L4 of the mounting plate portion 45, the direction indicated by the symbol W in the figure) is arranged vertically at a predetermined interval (see FIGS. 5 and 6).
The wheel portion 25 includes a cylindrical shaft portion 29 that is fixed and erected on the upper surface of the mounting plate portion 45, and a disc-shaped rotating portion 31 that is pivotally supported at the tip of the shaft portion 29 so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions. It consists of and. Also, in this embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the wheel portion 25 is configured to protrude upward in the height direction H than the fall prevention portion 19 (see FIG. 6).

The propeller parts 35, 35 are connected to hanging parts 47, 47 that are integrally hung down from the lower surfaces of the front and rear protruding areas of the mounting plate part 45, and from the front and rear surfaces provided at the ends of the hanging parts 47, 47. The wing portions 39 and 369 are configured to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions around a protruding rotating shaft (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

In this embodiment, since the propeller parts 35, 35 are arranged in the front-rear direction of the box part 43, the width of the entire moving body 15 can be narrowed. Therefore, the structure is particularly suitable for moving within an extremely narrow tunnel T.
In this case, it is preferable to prevent the field of view of the imaging section 41 from being obstructed by the propeller sections 35, 35 located at the front and rear, since there is no risk of hindrance to photographing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the imaging unit 41 is configured to avoid the turning area of the propeller unit 35 (the area indicated by the symbol R1 in FIG. 4).

Note that the vertical length of the hanging portion 47 constituting the propeller portion 35 is not limited to this embodiment, and the design can be changed within the scope of the present invention. Moreover, even if the propeller part 35 is provided in either the front or the rear, it is within the scope of the present invention.

"Third embodiment"
Although not shown in the drawings, this embodiment employs a structure in which the main body portions of each of the moving bodies in the first and second embodiments described above are divided into a plurality of parts from the first part to the n-th part. Assume that
The reason why the body of the movable body is divided into multiple parts is to enable smooth movement in situations such as meandering tunnels.
Although the number of divisions is not particularly limited, it is possible to accommodate various rail arrangement configurations (meandering configurations) by employing a large number of division configurations.
It is assumed that a wheel portion and a fall prevention portion are provided for each of the plurality of divided parts.
Since the other configurations and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, it is possible to adopt the configuration of each embodiment as necessary.

The present invention can be used as an inspection/confirmation device for long structures such as tunnels, bridges, and road/railway viaducts.

1 Rail part 5 Locking part 11 Wheel groove 15 Moving body 19 Fall prevention part 25 Wheel part 35 Propeller part 41 Imaging part A1 Working area T Tunnel C Conveyor

Claims (5)

A rail section provided along the length of the elongated structure;
a moving body movable along the rail portion;
an operation unit for remotely operating the movable body,
The rail portion includes a locking portion and a wheel groove that are continuously recessed in the rail laying direction,
The mobile body is
The main body and
a fall prevention part provided on the upper surface of the main body part and slidably suspended and supported by the rail part ;
The fall prevention part is
a first member formed vertically upward in the vertical direction from a center line extending in the length direction of the upper surface of the main body;
a second member formed in a horizontal direction from the top surface of the first member;
a wheel portion guided along a wheel groove of the rail portion;
The wheel portion is vertically provided at a position higher than the second member of the fall prevention portion from the left and right support portions protruding from the front and rear surfaces of the main body portion, respectively, and is equipped to rotate about the rotational axis of the
a propeller part provided in the main body part and capable of being driven in forward or reverse rotation by the operating part;
An inspection device for an elongated structure, comprising: an imaging unit that is provided in the main body and photographs a moving area. The inspection device for a long structure according to claim 1, wherein the propeller portions are provided on the left and right sides of the main body portion in the moving direction. The inspection device for a long structure according to claim 1, wherein the propeller section is provided before and after the main body section in the moving direction. The main body portion is divided into a plurality of parts from a first part to an nth part,
4. The inspection device for a long structure according to claim 1, wherein the wheel portion is provided for each of the plurality of divided parts. 5. The inspection device for a long structure according to claim 1, wherein the main body includes a mechanism for transporting objects.

Images