JPH0325364A - Pipeline inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a sensor from falling at a T-shaped tube part and to prevent the sensor from breaking by adjusting the angle of the arcuate deflection angle of a leaf spring by the reciprocal motion of the movable part of a reciprocal motion mechanism. CONSTITUTION:The reciprocal motion mechanism 10 equipped with the movable part 9 which moves reciprocally in the lengthwise direction of a pipe 1 is installed in the main body 3 of a capsule 2, one end of the leaf spring 6 fitted with the sensor 7 is fixed to the capsule main body 3 while the other end is fixed to the movable part 9, and its arcuate deflection angle is adjusted by the reciprocal movement of the movable part 9. In this case, a pulse motor 11 drives a ball screw 12 to put the movable part 9 engaging the screw 23 in axial reciprocal motion. Consequently, the leaf spring 6 fixed to the movable part 9 on its rear end side is varied forcibly in the arcuate deflection angle in the stationary state and controlled into a state where the sensor 7 is pressed against the pipe internal surface with specific pressure and a state wherein the sensor 7 is separated from the pipe internal surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in a pipeline inspection device that automatically inspects the wall thickness and cracks of a pipe while traveling inside the pipe.

[Prior Art] FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional pipeline inspection device of this type. In the figure, 1 is a pipe to be inspected, 2 is a capsule of a pipeline inspection device that is inserted into the pipe 1 and runs inside it, and a pair of seal cups 4.5 are fitted and fixed to the front and rear of the main body 3. These seal cups 4.5 have side walls 4b. The outer peripheral surface of 5b is
It is designed to tightly fit and slide freely on the inner surface of the vibrator.

Between the seal cups 4 and 5, a plurality of leaf springs 6 extending in the longitudinal direction of the pipe are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction in a state of being bent outward, and both ends of each leaf spring 6 are It is fixed to the main body 3. A sensor 7 for pipe inspection is attached to each leaf spring 6 at the top of the arc formed by the leaf springs 6. During pipeline inspection, each sensor 7 is pressed against the inner surface of the pipe by its respective leaf spring 6. The vibrator is inspected for wall thickness and cracks while sliding. Here, as the sensor 7, an ultrasonic sensor is normally used, and the pipe is inspected using ultrasonic waves of several hundred Hz.

In such a device, the capsule 2 is inserted into the pipe 1 to be inspected, and is driven by a traction means (not shown) (for example, one that utilizes a fluid pressure difference before and after the seal cup 4.5) to travel therein. Each sensor 7 pressed against the inner surface of the pipe by a leaf spring 6 inspects the wall thickness and cracks of the pipe 1.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the pipeline to be inspected usually has a T-shaped pipe section as shown in FIG. 7, and in this T-shaped pipe section,
A plurality of guide bars 8 are provided along the longitudinal direction of the straight pipe 1a at the connecting end of the branch pipe 1b branching from the straight pipe 1a, so that a pipe cleaning brush or the like can be used to clean the branch pipe when cleaning the pipe. This is designed to prevent the situation from falling to 1b.

However, as shown in FIG. 8, the guide bar 8 is configured with a thin plate standing in the direction of fluid flow so as not to obstruct the flow of fluid flowing in the pipeline. In the conventional device in which T 7 is always pressed against the inner surface of the pipe by the leaf spring 6, T
The sensor 7 protrudes beyond the straight pipe 1a at the cross-pipe portion and falls into the gap between the guide bars 8, and as the capsule 2 continues to advance in this state, the fallen sensor 7 branches into the straight pipe La. Sometimes it came into contact with the corner of the tube 1b and was damaged.

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pipeline inspection device that can prevent the sensor from falling in the T-shaped pipe portion and prevent the sensor from being damaged.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A pipeline inspection device according to the present invention includes a reciprocating mechanism that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the vibrator installed in the main body of a capsule that can run inside the vibrator to be inspected, and a sensor installed in the main body of the capsule. One end of the attached leaf spring is fixed to the main body of the capsule, and the other end is fixed to the movable part of the reciprocating mechanism, so that the arcuate deflection angle can be adjusted by reciprocating the movable part.

[Function] In the present invention, since the arcuate deflection angle of the leaf spring can be adjusted by the reciprocating movement of the movable part of the reciprocating mechanism, the movable part is driven in the T-shaped tube part to cause the plate spring to bend. By increasing the arcuate deflection angle of the spring (making it flat) and pulling the sensor held by this leaf spring away from the inner surface of the pipe,
It is possible to prevent the sensor from falling into the branch pipe.

[Embodiment] The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which parts corresponding to the conventional ones are denoted by the same reference numerals. A reciprocating mechanism 10 having a movable part 9 that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the vibrator 1 is installed in the main body 3 of the vibrator 1, and one end of the leaf spring 6 to which the sensor 7 is attached is attached to the main body 3 of the capsule, and the other end is reciprocally moved. They are each fixed to the movable part 9 of the mechanism 10, and the arcuate bending angle thereof can be adjusted by reciprocating the movable part 9.

That is, the reciprocating mechanism IO includes a pulse motor 11 installed in the capsule body 3, a ball screw l2 fixed to the rotating shaft of the pulse motor l{, a movable part 9 screwed thereto via a ball (not shown), and a movable part 9. It is made up of a plurality of guides 13 which pass through a hole 9b drilled in a flange 9a and are fixed at both ends to the main body 3 and the rear seal cup 5,
By driving the ball screw 12 with the pulse motor 11, the movable portion 9 screwed with the ball screw l2 can be reciprocated in the axial direction (the longitudinal direction of the vibrator). As a result, the plate spring 6 whose rear end side is fixed to the movable part 9 is forced to change its arcuate bending angle in the steady state, and the sensor 7 is pressed against the inner surface of the pipe at a predetermined pressure ( (see FIGS. 1 and 3) and a state in which the sensor 7 is separated from the inner surface of the pipe (see FIG. 4).

The pipeline inspection apparatus of this embodiment is constructed as described above, and when inspecting the pipeline, as shown in FIG.
and inserted into the pipe 1.

The preceding capsule 15 has a plurality of branch pipe detection switches 17 arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner circumferential surface of the side wall IBa of the distal end side seal cup 16, and a plurality of branch pipe detection switches 17 consisting of nearby switches etc. are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. , a control unit and a power supply for controlling the device of this embodiment are housed.

FIG. 5 shows the circuit configuration of the control section housed in the main body 18 of the leading capsule 15, and shows the circuit configuration of the control section housed in the main body 18 of the leading capsule 15.
The detection signal is amplified by amplifier l9 and then branched,
One is input directly to the motor controller 20, and the other is input to the motor controller 20 via the timer 2l. Based on the two inputs described above, the motor controller 20 outputs a pulse motor 1 1 het < pulse signal via a delay circuit (not shown) installed inside the motor controller 20 to control the rotation direction and rotation amount of the pulse motor 11.

That is, when one input is received, the motor controller 20 instructs the pulse motor 1l to perform a forward rotation operation via the delay circuit, and when the time-up signal from the timer 21 is input, the motor controller 20 instructs the pulse motor 1l to perform a forward rotation operation via the delay circuit. This command instructs the pulse motor l1 to perform a reverse rotation operation.

The above-mentioned delay circuit is installed to adjust the operating time difference due to the distance between the branch pipe detection switch 17 and the sensor 7, and the set time of the timer 2l is as follows.
It is set to the time required for the sensor 7 to pass through the branch pipe lb section within the straight pipe la.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

First, when inserting both capsules 2 and i5 into the vibrator 1, close the valve Va of the branch pipe 1b, and drive the pulse motor 11 of the reciprocating mechanism io of the capsule 2 to move the movable part 9 to the left in the figure. to reduce the arcuate deflection angle of the leaf spring 6. As a result, when the sensor 7 is in a state where it can be in constant contact with the inner surface of the vibrator 1, both the capsules 2 and 15 are inserted into the vibrator 1, and fluid is introduced into the vip 1 from behind them. The introduction of this fluid generates a pressure difference between the front and rear of both capsules 2.15 within the pipe 1, and both capsules 2.15 move at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow using this as a propulsion source.

While maintaining this state in the portion where only the straight pipe 1a exists, the sensor 7 performs a wall thickness inspection and a crack inspection of the vibrator.

When the leading capsule 15 approaches the T-shaped pipe section (Figure 3)
, the branch pipe detection switch i7 notifies the motor controller 20 that the branch pipe 1b is present, and the timer 21 starts its timer operation.

The motor controller 20 waits until the sensor 7 of the succeeding capsule 2 approaches the branch pipe 1b, and then instructs the pulse motor 11 of the reciprocating mechanism 10 to perform a normal rotation operation. As a result, the movable part 9 moves to the right in the figure, and the leaf spring 6, which was pressing the sensor 7 against the inner surface of the pipe at a predetermined pressure, is forcibly increased in its arcuate deflection angle.
The sensor 7 is separated from the inner surface of the pipe (FIG. 4) and passed through the branch pipe 1b in that state.

The time required for passing is preset in timer 2i,
The motor controller 20, which has already received the time-up signal from the timer 2l, waits for the sensor 7 to finish crossing the branch pipe 1b, and then starts the pulse motor 1 of the reciprocating mechanism lO.
Instructs l to perform a reverse operation. by this,
The movable part 9 moves to the left in the figure, and the leaf spring 6, which had been separating the sensor 7 from the inner surface of the vibrator, is forcibly reduced in its arcuate deflection angle, and presses the sensor 7 against the inner surface of the vibrator with a predetermined pressure. to return to its original state.

The above operations are repeated at a portion of the pipeline where there is a T-shaped pipe.

In this way, the pipeline inspection device of this embodiment allows the sensor 7 to pass through the branch pipe 1b portion in a floating state, so the sensor 7 does not come into contact with the corner portions of the straight pipe 1a and the branch pipe 1b. Damage to the sensor 7 can be prevented.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, a pair of seal cups 4.5 are provided at the front and rear of the capsule 2, but these can be set, for example, by increasing the diameter of the capsule body 3 and connecting this to the inner surface of the pipe. If the sealing performance of the cup is improved, the seal cup can be made unnecessary.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a ball screw is used as the reciprocating mechanism, but this may be replaced with other means such as a cylinder, and even in such a case, the same effects and effects as in the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained. play.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the arcuate deflection angle of the plate spring to which the sensor is attached can be adjusted by the reciprocating mechanism, it is possible to prevent the sensor from falling into the branch pipe. This has the effect of making it possible to prevent damage to the sensor.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the pipeline inspection device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1, and FIGS. Each of the figures is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the T-shaped pipe section of the device of this embodiment, Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the electric circuit of the control section of the device of this embodiment, and Fig. 6 is a straight pipe of the conventional device. An explanatory diagram showing the operating state at the T
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the guide bar installed in the T-shaped tube. In the figure, 1 is the vibrator, 2 is the capsule, 3 is the main body, and 6
1 is a leaf spring, 7 is a sensor, 9 is a movable part, and 10 is a reciprocating mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In the main body of the capsule that can run inside the pipe to be inspected,
In a pipeline inspection device, a plurality of plate springs extending in the longitudinal direction of the pipe are bent outward and arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and a pipe inspection sensor is attached to each of these plate springs. , a reciprocating mechanism that reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the pipe is installed, and the leaf spring has one end fixed to the main body of the capsule and the other end to the movable part of the reciprocating mechanism, so that its arcuate deflection angle is A pipeline inspection device characterized in that it is configured to be adjustable by reciprocating movement of the movable part.