JPH0321345Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Field of industrial application) The present invention relates to a walking robot that guides an insert into any hole by walking along a perforated plate drilled at a predetermined pitch in a grid pattern. It is.

(Prior art) The heat transfer tubes of multi-tube heat exchangers in nuclear power plants form the boundary between the primary coolant and the secondary coolant, and are regularly inspected to confirm their integrity. Non-destructive testing of heat exchanger tubes is performed every time. During this non-destructive inspection, an inspection probe is inserted into the heat transfer tube from the water chamber side to check for defects, but since this work is performed in a location where there is residual radioactivity,
A walking robot shown in Fig. 4 is used, and a visual device such as an industrial television is used, and the walking robot is remotely controlled from a safe place outside the heat exchanger and moves to any heat exchanger tube position. The presence or absence of defects is inspected.

A conventional walking robot will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The walking robot has an X-direction arm 1 that can move in the X direction and a Y-direction arm 2 that can move in the Y direction. A robot positioning leg 4 is attached to both ends of the robot positioning leg 2, and during inspection, the fixed part 5 of the robot positioning leg 4 is inserted into the heat transfer tube 8 whose end is attached to the tube plate 7, and the fixed part 5 is expanded. Then, the arms 1 and 2 are fixed, and then the inspection probe is inserted into the heat exchanger tube 8 from the inspection probe introduction tube 6 provided at the end of the arm 3,
It may be pulled out from the heat exchanger tube 8. Furthermore, when moving the walking robot in the Y direction, the fixing part 5 provided on the positioning leg 4 of the Y direction arm 2 is released by the drive position provided in the positioning leg 4, while the X direction arm 1 is fixed. , stored in the positioning leg 4, and then moved the Y-direction arm 2 in the direction of the arrow by the drive device 9, and when it came to a predetermined heat transfer tube position, stopped the Y-direction arm 2, inserted the fixing part 5, Expand and fix the Y-direction arm 2. Also, when moving the walking robot in the X direction,
Directional arm 1 is operated in the same manner as described above to move in the X direction. By repeating these operations,
The walking robot moves to an arbitrary position of the heat exchanger tube, an inspection probe is inserted through the inspection probe introduction tube 6, and a non-destructive inspection is performed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) As a result of the inspection by the walking robot, if defects such as small holes or cracks are found in the heat exchanger tube, the heat exchanger tube 8
The end of the tube plate may be closed with a plug.
Since the number of heat exchanger tubes in a heat exchanger is several thousand, the number of heat exchanger tubes closed with plugs is also quite large.
If heat transfer tubes closed by plugs are concentrated, when the heat exchanger tubes are closed by the plugs, the positioning legs 4 will not be fixed due to obstruction by the plugs, and the walking robot will be unable to walk, and the inspection will be interrupted. It becomes necessary for the inspector to enter the water chamber A and correct the position of the walking robot. This not only lengthened the testing period but also put the inspectors at risk of exposure to radiation.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems, and the inserts are inserted into arbitrary holes by stepping along a perforated plate drilled at predetermined pitches in a grid pattern. In the walking robot for guiding, a pair of arms are provided on the drive body of the robot so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the perforated plate, a support arm is attached to the drive body, and the base end of the guide arm is attached to the support arm. The insert guide tube is attached to the distal end of the guide arm, with the effective length from the base end to the distal end of the guide arm being an integral multiple of the predetermined pitch. Regarding the walking robot, its purpose is:
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved walking robot that can reduce the number of interruptions in an inspection and the number of inspectors' work in the water chamber, shorten the inspection period, and reduce the amount of radiation exposure for inspectors.

The present invention is a walking robot that guides an insert into an arbitrary hole by walking along a perforated plate drilled in a checkerboard shape at a predetermined pitch as described above, and the present invention includes an arm integrated into the drive body of the robot. A support arm is attached to the drive unit main body, a base end of a guide arm is pivotally connected to the support arm, and the guide arm is moved from the base end to the distal end. An insert guide tube is attached to the tip of the guide arm, and the effective length of the guide arm is set to an integral multiple of the predetermined pitch. Walking is possible by operating each arm in the same way as before, but the support arm The insert can be inserted into the hole through the insert guide tube provided at the tip of the guide arm by rotating the guide arm pivotally connected to the support arm in a direction parallel to the perforated plate. The scanning range of the body has been expanded, and even if the walking robot reaches a location where obturator foramen is concentrated, it can scan beyond each obturator foramen, and the examiner does not have to approach the perforated plate to correct the position of the walking robot. This reduces the number of interruptions in inspections and the amount of work the inspectors have to do in the water chamber, thereby shortening the inspection period and reducing the amount of radiation exposure for inspectors.

(Embodiment) Next, the walking robot of the present invention will be explained using an embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. The walking robot also has an X-direction arm 1 that can move in the There is a Y-direction arm 2, and robot positioning legs 4 are provided at both ends of each arm 1, 2.
Next, to explain the most distinctive features of this invention, 1.
2 is a horizontal arm drive motor mounted on the drive device (see 9 in Figures 4 and 5), 13 is a reducer connected to the output shaft of the horizontal arm drive motor 12, and 10 is the reducer 13. A support arm whose central portion is fixed to the output shaft. Guide arms 11, 11 are pivotally attached to both ends of the support arm 10, and an insert guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube) is attached to the tips of the guide arms 11, 11. 6 is provided. Also 14,14
is a stopper provided on the support arm 10, and each guide arm 11 comes into contact with the stopper 14, 14, and the overall size of the walking robot is reduced.
The walking robot can enter and exit through a manhole installed in the wall of the water chamber.

(Function) Next, the function of the walking robot will be explained. When moving the walking robot in the Y direction, while the X direction arm 1 is fixed, the fixing part (see 5 in FIG. 5) provided on the positioning leg 4 of the Y direction arm 2 is moved by a driving mechanism provided inside the positioning leg 4. It is released by the device and stored in the positioning leg 4, and then the drive device 9
The Y-direction arm 2 is moved in the direction of the arrow, and when it reaches a predetermined heat transfer tube position, the Y-direction arm 2 is stopped, and the fixing part 5 is inserted and expanded to fix the Y-direction arm 2. Also, when moving the walking robot in the X direction, the X direction arm 1 is operated in the same manner as described above to move in the X direction. By repeating these operations, the walking robot moves to an arbitrary heat transfer tube position.

Also, during inspection, the guide arms 11, 11
Turn as shown. If the effective length of the guide arm 11 is L ₁ , then the effective length of the guide arm 11 is L ₁
may be set to an integral multiple of the pitch of the heat exchanger tubes. If the effective length L ₁ of the guide arm 11 is set to an integral multiple of the pitch of the heat transfer tube, and the rotation range of the guide arm 11 is about 90 degrees, the insert guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube) 6 is It is effective for inspection because it is located directly below the heat exchanger tubes in at least two places, but as shown in Figure 3, the guide arm 1
If the effective length L _{1 of the heat exchanger tube 1} is set to 5 times the pitch of the heat transfer tube, and the rotation range of the guide arm 11 is approximately 90 degrees, then the insert guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube) 6 is set to A, B. , C, and D, it is more effective for inspection. That is, the guide arm 11 is moved from the solid line position in FIG.
When the insert guide tube (inspection probe introducing tube) 6 comes to point B (or F), point B (or F) is located at l ₂ = 3 from the solid line position of the guide arm 11.
Pitch, located l ₃ = 4 pitches from the two-dot chain line position, insert guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube) 6
is located directly below the heat exchanger tube. Similarly, point C (or E) is l ₃ =4 from the solid line position of the guide arm 11.
Pitch, located l ₂ = 3 pitches from the two-dot chain line position, insert guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube) 6
is located directly below the heat exchanger tube. By making the effective length L ₁ of the guide arm 11 five times the pitch of the heat exchanger tubes in this way, a plurality of heat exchanger tubes can be continuously inspected by just one rotation of the guide arm 11. Note that the positioning of the guide arm 11 with respect to points A to F can be performed accurately by a combination of the horizontal arm drive motor 12 (for example, a pulse motor) and the reducer 13, and the insertion body guide tube (inspection probe introduction tube ) 6 is connected to the heat exchanger tube without error, and the inspection probe is smoothly inserted into the heat exchanger tube.

(Effects of the invention) The present invention provides a walking robot that guides an insert into an arbitrary hole by walking along a perforated plate drilled in a checkerboard pattern at a predetermined pitch as described above. A pair of arms are provided to enable movement in a direction parallel to the perforated plate, a support arm is attached to the main body of the drive unit, a base end of a guide arm is pivotally connected to the support arm, and a base of the guide arm is attached to the support arm. The effective length from the end to the tip is an integral multiple of the predetermined pitch, and the insert guide tube is attached to the tip of this guide arm, and by operating each arm in the same way as before, walking is possible. However, by pivoting the support arm in a direction parallel to the perforated plate and by pivoting the guide arm pivotally connected to the support arm, the insert can be inserted into the hole through the insert guide tube provided at the tip of the guide arm. Since it can be inserted, the scanning range of the inserter is expanded, and even if the walking robot reaches a location where obturator foramen is concentrated, it can scan beyond each obturator foramen, and it is possible for the examiner to approach the perforated plate and scan the walking robot. There is no need to correct the position, the number of interruptions in the inspection and the inspector's work in the water chamber can be reduced, which has the effect of shortening the inspection period and reducing the amount of radiation exposure for the inspector.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the walking robot according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of its operation, FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional walking robot, and FIG. The figure is a side view thereof. 6... Insert guide tube, 7... Perforated plate, 8...
Hole, 12, 13... Drive unit main body, 10... Support arm, 11... Guide arm.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a walking robot that guides an insert into an arbitrary hole by walking along a perforated plate drilled in a checkerboard shape at a predetermined pitch, a pair of arms are attached to the drive unit body of the robot in a direction parallel to the perforated plate. A support arm is attached to the main body of the drive unit,
The proximal end of a guide arm is pivotally connected to the support arm, and the effective length from the proximal end to the distal end of the guide arm is an integral multiple of the predetermined pitch, and the insert is guided at the distal end of the guide arm. A traveling robot characterized by having a tube attached to it.