JPH02120169A - Pipe travel carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make even such a bent pipe as a miter bend or the like smoothly passable by setting up plural numbers of driving wheels in the circumference of a carriage body via plural numbers of frames free of turning motion, while installing a synchronizer which operates each frame symmetrically in relation to the carriage body. CONSTITUTION:A carriage body 11 is formed into a section hexagonal tubular body, and plural numbers of frames 14 with a driving wheel 20 at each tip are pivotally attached to a pin 13 of a base 12 fixed to each side of the body. In each frame 14, a motor 15 for wheel driving and each of transmission means 17, 18 or the like are held in between. In addition, the driving wheel 20 is made up of pivotally attaching a lot of barrel rollers 22 to the circumference of a frame 21 free of rotation. Moreover, a cylinder 25 is interposed between the carriage body 11 and the frame 14, thereby pressing the driving wheel 20 to a pipe wall inner surface. On the other hand, in an interval between these upper and lower frames 14 and 24, a synchronizer 30 consisting of plural numbers of wire mechanisms 31, 32 operating these frames symmetrically in relation to the carriage body 11 is interposingly installed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial applicability! l'F] This invention relates to an ITV camera, etc. for investigating the condition of the inner surface of gas pipes, oil pipes, sewerage pipes, etc., an M1 measuring device for investigating the wall thickness of pipes, and a welding machine for repair welding. This invention relates to a self-propelled intra-pipe trolley for towing items such as pipes to predetermined positions within the pipe.

[Prior art] Conventionally, as a trolley running in a pipeline,
951, JP 58-214845, JP 59-14
7260, Utility Model Application No. 60-188373 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 1987-
119446 etc.

Further, as methods for towing when a bent pipe is present in the conduit, there are Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-140311, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60249800, and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-125469.

Furthermore, if both ends of the conduit are opened, there are two methods: the vig method, in which air is blown from one end to move the conduit, and the wire method, in which a wire is attached to both ends of the cart, and the wire is wound with a winch at both ends, and then returned and moved. has been adopted.

[Problem to be solved] However, the above-mentioned conventional trolley that travels inside the pipeline can be used satisfactorily when the pipeline is straight, but when the pipeline is curved vertically, horizontally, etc. It cannot be applied to roads.

The first two of the above three methods of pulling when a curved pipe exists in the conduit are applicable to curved pipes with a certain radius, but they are not suitable for connecting short pipes cut diagonally. It cannot be applied to miter bent pipes manufactured by

In other words, in the case of a curved pipe with a certain radius, JP-A-60-1
Since the inclination of the wheels 3a s3b shown in FIG. 2 of 40311 is small, the wheels change direction while causing slight slippage between them and the pipe wall. However, for example, in the case of a miter bend pipe made by connecting three 90° bent pipes with three 30° cut pipes, the inclination of the pipe axis is approximately 30°. This 30″
If you want to change the direction of the inclination at once, please use JP-A-60-14
As shown in Fig. 2 of 0311, this is considered impossible with ordinary wheels such as 3a s3b drive wheels and tension wheels. In other words, if the wheels are strongly pressed against the pipe wall surface and the frictional force is used to obtain driving force, the maximum angle is considered to be about 15 degrees, depending on the length of the drive cart. In this case, it is possible to change the direction by weakening the pressing force of the wheels and reducing the frictional force, but in this case, problems arise such as the driving force decreases and the vehicle becomes unable to travel.

The latter technique also has the same disadvantages as the former, and since it uses magnetic rollers, it cannot be applied to anything other than iron pipes.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned VIG method and wire method, both ends of the conduit must be left open, resulting in high civil engineering costs. In addition, in the case of the wire method, due to sliding friction between the inside of the curved pipe (the side that the wire rope comes into contact with) and the wire rope,
There are problems such as wear of the bent pipe or breakage of the wire rope.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-pipe traveling truck that can be used not only for straight pipes but also for curved pipes such as miter-bend pipes without any problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The in-pipe traveling truck of the present invention includes a plurality of pairs of frames provided symmetrically with respect to the tube axis, facing forward and backward from the center of the truck body, respectively, and the base end thereof is A plurality of barrel-shaped rollers can be freely rotated along the outer periphery of the wheel in a direction perpendicular to the running direction using a rotatable drive wheel that is rotatably provided on the main body and a rotatably driven drive wheel that is provided at the tip of the frame. A mechanism that moves in synchrony a pair of frames provided symmetrically with respect to the tube axis, a cylinder that drives the drive wheel forward and backward toward the inner wall of the tube, and a mechanism that moves the two ends of the flexible guide tube in unison. a first wire mechanism having a flexible wire extending therefrom, fixing one end of the flexible wire to a bracket fixed to the main body and fixing one end of the flexible guide tube to the frame; The other end of the guide tube is fixed to a bracket fixed to the main body, and the other end of the wire is fixed to a frame on the other side that is paired with the frame, and a first wire mechanism having the same configuration as the first wire mechanism. The second wire mechanism is attached in the opposite direction to the first wire mechanism.

[Function] Driving wheels are provided at the tips of a plurality of frames that are rotatably provided in the main body of the truck in pairs facing forward and backward with respect to the tube axis. By rotating towards the wall, the drive wheel is pressed against the tube wall and thus the required traction force can be obtained.

In addition, multiple barrel-shaped rollers are provided along the outer periphery of the drive wheel, and these rollers can freely rotate in the circumferential direction of the pipe, so even when passing through a miter bend pipe section, the barrel-shaped rollers can be rotated freely. Since the roller rotates freely between the tube wall and the tube wall, the tube can pass through without loss of traction force.

In addition, since the plurality of frames provided in pairs with respect to the pipe axis are rotated symmetrically by the synchronization device, the main body is located at the center of the pipe, so even when passing through a curved pipe section, the main body is rotated symmetrically. part does not come into contact with the inner wall of the tube.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

The trolley body 11 is a tubular body with a hexagonal cross section, and a base 12 having a pin 13 is fixed to the center of each side thereof. A frame 14.14 having a drive wheel 20 at its tip is pivotally mounted to this pin 13 facing in the front-rear direction. Therefore, in this example, the main body 11 is provided with three pairs of frames 14 facing forward and frames 14 facing backward.

Connecting hardware 26 is provided at the front and rear of the main body 11, to which a work cart (not shown) or the like is connected via a universal joint 27. Also, when passing through a curved pipe section,
A stopper disk 28 is provided with a conical portion 28a against which the outer periphery of the end of a connected truck or the like comes into contact, in order to prevent it from being extremely bent at the universal joint and causing trouble in running.
is provided.

Each frame 14 is constructed by connecting left and right members 14a and 14b, and a wheel drive motor 15 and a speed reducer 16 are sandwiched between the two members. The power from the motor 15 is transmitted to the reducer 16 via the belt 17, and the output from the reducer is transmitted to the drive wheels 20 via the chain 18.

The drive wheel 20 includes a wheel member in which three barrel-shaped rollers 22 having a curvature forming the outer periphery of the wheel are rotatably pivoted around the axis of the frame 2 and are equally spaced around the frame 2. , 60'' phase shifted and stacked one on top of the other. In this way, the outer peripheral surface of the wheel 2° is covered with six barrel-shaped rollers 22.
The barrel-shaped roller 22 can freely rotate in the circumferential direction of the tube, and can move smoothly in the tube axis direction.

A cylinder 25 is connected at both ends to the main body 11 and each frame 14 via pins, and the drive wheel 20 is pressed against the inner wall of the pipe.

In this way, even when passing through a miter bend pipe section,
Since the barrel roller 22 freely rotates between the pipe wall and the pipe wall,
It can be passed through without loss of traction force.

In this case, if each frame rotates asymmetrically with respect to the tube axis, there is a risk that the main body section will be deviated from the center of the tube and come into contact with the inside of the curved tube when passing through the curved tube section. Therefore, an upper and lower frame tuning device 30 is provided that controls the paired frames arranged symmetrically with respect to the main body 11 to move symmetrically with respect to the main body. Regarding this device, the fourth
．． 5, a case will be described in which a pair of upper frames 14 and lower frames 24 are vertically symmetrically arranged with respect to the main body 11.

This tuning device 30 is composed of a first wire mechanism 31 and a second wire mechanism 32. The configuration of the second wire mechanism 32 is the same as that of the first wire machine 31, only the mounting direction is reversed.The configuration of the first wire mechanism 31 will now be described.

A flexible wire 35 is inserted into a flexible guide tube 38 with both ends thereof extending. The upper end of the wire 35 is fixed to an upper bracket 33 fixed to the main body 11 via a fixture 36.

The upper end of the guide tube 38 is fixed to the upper frame 14 via a metal fitting 37. The lower end of the guide tube 38 is fixed to a lower bracket 34 fixed to the main body 11 via a fixture 39. The lower end portion of the wire 35 is fixed to the lower frame 24 via a fixture 40.

A second wire mechanism 32 having the same configuration as the first wire mechanism 31 is installed in the opposite direction, as shown in FIG.

In this way, the pair of upper and lower frames 14, 24 rotated by each cylinder 25 move vertically symmetrically with respect to the main body 11, so that the main body 11 is always maintained at the center position of the tube. Therefore, even when passing through the bent pipe, the main body does not come into contact with the inner wall of the bent pipe.

The above embodiment has been described with reference to the case where three pairs of frames 14 are provided facing in the front-rear direction from the main body 11, but if the traction force is not so necessary, the number of frames [4] may be There may be four, that is, two pairs.

[Effects of the Invention] The in-pipe traveling trolley of the present invention as described above can run not only on a straight pipe section and a bent pipe section having a certain radius, but also on a miter bend pipe section without any problem.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a plan view of a pair of front and rear frames, and FIGS. FIG. 5 is a side view and a front view showing the state in which the tuning device is attached to a pair of upper and lower frames. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Main body, 14... Frame, 20... Driving wheel, 22... Barrel-shaped roller, 25... Cylinder,
30...Frame tuning device, 31...First wire mechanism, 32...Second wire mechanism, 35...Flexible wire, 38...Flexible guide tube Applicant's attorney Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A plurality of pairs of frames provided symmetrically with respect to the tube axis, facing forward and backward respectively from the central part of the trolley main body, the base end of which is rotatably provided on the main body. and a rotatably driven drive wheel provided at the tip of the frame, with a plurality of barrel-shaped rollers rotatably provided along the outer periphery of the wheel in a direction perpendicular to the running direction; It is a mechanism that moves a cylinder that moves forward and backward toward the wall, and a pair of frames that are installed symmetrically with respect to the tube axis in synchrony. 1, one end of the flexible wire is fixed to a bracket fixed to the main body, one end of the flexible guide tube is fixed to the frame, and the other end of the guide tube is fixed to the main body. the first wire mechanism is fixed to a bracket, the other end of the wire is fixed to a frame on the other side that is paired with the frame, and a second wire mechanism having the same configuration as the first wire mechanism. An in-pipe traveling trolley consisting of a and a vehicle installed in the opposite direction.