JPH0141723Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention automatically and gradually inserts coil wires into pipelines with complicated routes such as curved parts and steps, such as pipelines for city gas supply. The present invention relates to a support mechanism for a tip member in a pipe insertion device that is used to perform various operations such as measuring the length of a pipe, detecting specific points such as bent portions, inspecting the inside, and removing obstacles.

(Prior art and its problems) An example of a conventional pipe insertion device that performs work by inserting a coil wire into a pipe having a complicated route such as a curved portion is a drainage pipe cleaning device. A storage container containing a wire is rotatably supported, and a coil wire inserted into a conduit is rotated by the rotation of the storage container, and work is performed by a member provided at the tip of the coil wire. However, this device does not automatically insert the coil wire. For example, without rotating the storage container or the coil wire, a person directly holds the coil wire in their hands and pulls it out of the storage container while inserting it into the conduit. After temporarily fixing the coil wire to the storage container so that it cannot move forward or backward, move the storage container while rotating and push it into the conduit, then release the temporary fixation and retreat only the storage container. It is inserted by repeating this process. In this way, conventional devices cannot perform the insertion work automatically, making the work complicated. For example, when measuring the length of a pipe, it is necessary to attach scales to the coil wire itself. It's actually very difficult because you have to do it.
It is also very difficult to detect specific locations such as bends in pipes. Attempts have been made to automatically propel such coil wires, but the current situation is that none of them are satisfactory.

(Purpose of the invention) In order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional device, the inventors of the present invention have previously proposed, for example, Utility Model Application No. 59-53734,
Disclosed in the specifications and drawings of U.S. Pat. No. 60-165163, U.S. Pat. By considering the coil wire equivalently as a screw shaft and configuring a screw-like propulsion mechanism, a long closely wound coil wire with a tip member is rotatably propelled from the main body to move the conduit. We devised a conduit insertion device that allows the pipe to be inserted. In such a conduit insertion device, the present invention interposes a non-tightly wound flexible coil spring between the coil wire and the tip member to ensure good and reliable insertion of the coil wire and the tip member. In addition, the purpose is to prevent damage to such coil springs.

(Means for solving the problems) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

Reference numeral 1 indicates the conduit insertion device as a whole;
This conduit insertion device 1 has a configuration in which a long, tightly wound coil wire 3 provided with a tip member 2 is rotatably propelled from a main body 4 by a screw-like propulsion mechanism to insert a conduit 5 therethrough. The conduit insertion device 1 may have any suitable configuration as long as it has such a function. To explain the configuration of the embodiment shown in the figure, the main body 4 of this embodiment can freely store the coil wire 3 in the storage space 8 formed between the outer shell 6 and the inner shell 7, and has a coil wire 3 on one side. A storage container 10 configuring the inlet/outlet portion 9 for the coil wire 3 is rotatably mounted on the base 11, and the inlet/outlet portion 9 is attached to the base 11.
Corresponding to this, a screw-like propulsion mechanism section 12 is constructed by engaging protrusions between wires at a plurality of locations around the coil wire 3, and the coil wire 3 is moved from the main body 4 by rotating the storage container 10. It rotates and propels it. Therefore, the present invention provides a plurality of non-tightly wound coil springs 13, 13 between the tip member 2 and the coil wire 3 so as to gradually increase flexibility from the coil wire 3 side to the tip member 2 side.
a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e,... are connected. For example, as shown in FIG.
The ends of the coil spring 13e and the coil wire 3 to be connected may be connected by screwing them onto the outer periphery of the connecting metal fitting 14, and then connecting them by soldering or the like. In addition to the method of removably connecting the male member 16 and female member 17 of 15 by joining them by screwing and soldering as described above, fitting these members 16 and 17 and fixing them with screws 18, Any suitable connection method may be applied. Further, the number of connected coil springs 13 is also appropriate.

(Function) In the above configuration, when the storage container 10 is rotated by the motor 19, the coil wire 3 is transferred to the main body 4.
In this way, the tip member 2 moves forward in the conduit 5 together with the coil spring 13 and the coil wire 3, and can be automatically and gradually inserted into the conduit 5 having a bend 20, a step 21, etc. . Then, when the storage container 10 is rotated in the reverse direction, the coil wire 3
returns to the main body 4, and the tip member 2 can be retracted together with the coil spring 13 and returned from the conduit 5. For example, if the coil wire 3 is a tightly wound one with an outer diameter of φ10 and a wire diameter of d2.3, and the rotation speed is 500 rpm, the coil wire 3 will be approximately 19 mm/
It can be inserted at a moving speed of seconds. Thus, in the above-mentioned insertion work, various detection signals from appropriate sensors S configured on the tip member 2 etc. are transmitted to the main body 4 via the elastic electric wire 24 passed through the coil spring 13 and the coil wire 3. It can be obtained by the detection device 22 on the side, and it is possible to measure the length and detect the condition of a specific section of the pipe 5.

By the way, since the coil wire 3 has to transmit rotational propulsive force over such a long distance, it requires relatively high rigidity, so it is configured to be tightly wound. If the tip member 2 is directly supported by the coil wire 3, if there is a step 21 in the bent portion 20 of the conduit 5 as shown in FIG. This causes the inconvenience that the coil wire 3 becomes a rod shape that is difficult to bend, making it impossible to insert it any further. Therefore, the present invention attempts to prevent such problems from occurring by interposing a highly flexible coil spring 13 between the tip member 2 and the coil wire 3. However, when a single coil spring 13 is interposed between the tip member 2 and the coil wire 3, the stiffness of the coil wire 3 and the coil spring 13 is significantly different. 2 passes through the bend 20 and the connection point 23 between the coil spring 13 and the coil wire 3 approaches the bend 20, the coil wire 3 resists the bend even though the coil spring 13 is bent. Therefore, a large force is applied to the vicinity of the connecting portion 23 of the coil spring 13, and this portion is likely to be permanently deformed or broken.

However, as described above, in the present invention, between the tip member 2 and the coil wire 3, the coil wire 3 is
Since a plurality of non-tightly wound coil springs 13 are connected so that the flexibility gradually increases from the side to the tip member 2 side, the rigidity of the coil spring 13a and the coil wire 3 adjacent to the tip member 2 is significantly increased. Even if they are different, the difference in rigidity between adjacent coil springs 13 as well as between the coil spring 13e and the coil wire 3 becomes smaller, so that at the bend 20, the side of the coil spring 13 with greater flexibility of the connection point 23 The force applied to it also becomes smaller.
Therefore, this part can be effectively prevented from being permanently deformed or broken, and the coil spring 13 improves the insertability of the tip member 2 at the bent part 20, and The coil wire 3 is well guided by the coil spring 13, and the insertion of the coil wire 3 is improved.

The length of each coil spring 13 may be set to a length sufficient to straddle the bent portion 20 as shown in FIG. 6, or may be made shorter or longer as appropriate.

(Example) In the above configuration, the coil spring 13 is connected to the coil wire 3 as shown in FIG.
By configuring the coil spring 13 to be more tightly wound (including tightly wound) than the tip member 2 side, the rigidity of the coil spring 13 itself can be changed, so that the rigidity of the adjacent coil springs 13 and the connection points between these and the coil wire 3 can be changed. The difference in rigidity between them can be further reduced, and the effect of preventing permanent deformation and breakage of the coil spring 13 in the vicinity of the connection point 23 can be further enhanced. Furthermore, if the connection between the coil spring 13e and the coil wire 3 is configured to be removable as shown in FIG. 3 and described above, it can be removed when not in use when various sensors are incorporated in the tip member 2, etc. Failure or damage can be prevented by this, and in the event of failure or damage, it can be easily dealt with by replacement. Reference numeral 25 is a connector for a stretchable electric wire 24 that connects the sensor and the detection device 22 on the main body 4 side. Furthermore, the first
3, the coil spring 1 next to the coil spring 13a adjacent to the tip member 2
3b is configured to have a large diameter, this is to prevent the coil spring 13a, which has the greatest flexibility, from meandering or folding back at the bending portion 20 when inserted.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, the present invention provides a conduit insertion device configured to insert a conduit by rotating and propelling a long closely wound coil wire supporting a tip member from the main body using a screw-like propulsion mechanism. A plurality of non-tightly wound coil springs are connected between the tip member and the coil wire so that the flexibility gradually increases from the coil wire side to the tip member side, so that the coil springs adjacent to the tip member By increasing the flexibility of the coil spring, it is possible to improve the insertion of the tip member, and by increasing the rigidity of the coil wire, it is possible to effectively transmit rotational thrust over a long distance. Moreover, despite the large difference in rigidity between the coil spring and the coil wire adjacent to the tip member, the other coil springs constructed between them
There is a small difference in rigidity between the coil springs to be connected, as well as between the coil spring and the coil wire.
Therefore, near the connection point caused by the difference in stiffness,
This has the special effect of preventing permanent deformation or breakage of the more flexible coil spring.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3, 6 and 7 correspond to embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the overall structure, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the portion shown in FIG. 1. 3 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of the main part, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the main part of another embodiment, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating inconveniences when not doing so. Reference numeral 1... Conduit insertion device, 2... Tip member, 3... Coil wire, 4... Main body, 5... Conduit, 6... Outer shell, 7... Inner shell, 8... Storage space, 9... Entrance/exit part,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Storage container, 11... Base body, 12... Screw-shaped propulsion mechanism part, 13, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13
d, 13e, ... coil spring, 14, 15
…Connection fitting, 16…Male member, 17…Female member,
18...Screw, 19...Motor, 20...Bent part, 21
...Step, 22...Detection device, 23...Connection point, 24
...Wire, 25...Connector.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. A conduit insertion device configured to insert a conduit by rotating and propelling a long tightly wound coil wire supporting a tip member from the main body by a screw-like propulsion mechanism, A conduit insertion device characterized in that a plurality of non-tightly wound coil springs are connected between the tip member and the coil wire so as to gradually increase flexibility from the coil wire side to the tip member side. Support mechanism for tip member. 2. A support mechanism for a distal end member in a conduit insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring is wound more tightly on the coil wire side than on the distal end member side.