JPH034433B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a crawler-type traveling device, and in particular, a rotating device that rotates the traveling device around the traveling direction between the crawler track and the inner wall of the pipe, such as a traveling device inside a pipe. The present invention relates to a crawler-type traveling device suitable for use in cases where force is applied.

[Prior Art] As a device used for the purpose of inspecting the inside of piping, etc., a plurality of running bodies equipped with front and rear wheels are arranged around a main frame, and a direction is created between the main frame and the running bodies to separate them. A structure is used in which an elastic member is arranged to press the traveling body against the inner wall of the pipe. However, it has been difficult for such wheel-type pipes to run smoothly because they fall into branch pipes or boss holes that open on the inner wall of the pipe. Therefore, instead of these wheels, a traveling device having a crawler-type traveling body including front and rear wheels and a crawler belt wound around the wheels has been developed and used. This track-type traveling body has a wide contact area between the crawler track and the inner wall of the tube, and the load is distributed, so unlike the case of wheels, slips between the tubular object and the traveling body are suppressed, and
The running body does not get caught or falls on the unevenness of the inner surface of the tubular object, and running performance is significantly improved.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, the traveling device as described above normally travels with its center of gravity facing downward, but the attitude of the traveling device changes in curved pipe sections, etc. Therefore, since the center of gravity moves, a lateral frictional force acts between the inner wall of the tube and the crawler (or wheels) in an attempt to return it to its original position. Therefore, in the above-mentioned crawler-type traveling devices and wheel-type traveling devices, accidents are likely to occur in which the crawler comes off from the wheel (pulley, etc.) around which it is wound when traveling on a curved pipe. In some cases, it may be necessary to separate the piping and take out the equipment. In addition, the load on the drive device increases due to frictional force, and the force on the pulley shaft and the support structure for this shaft also increases.As the strength of these parts must be increased, the weight increases, making the drive even more difficult. There was a problem that the load on the device increased. There were also problems such as the crawler track slipping on the inner wall of the pipe, causing damage to the inner wall and lining of the pipe.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes at least a pair of front and rear wheels having rotational axes perpendicular to the running direction, and a wheel wound around these wheels. In a crawler-type traveling device that is equipped with an endless crawler track and travels in a pipe by rotationally driving a wheel, the crawler includes an axis parallel to the traveling direction and a rotating body rotatably supported around the axis. The configuration includes the following.

[Function] In such a traveling device, when a rotational moment about the traveling direction is applied to the traveling device while traveling on a curved pipe section, the rotating body provided on the crawler rotates and the traveling device quickly rotates. Because it rotates on its own axis, there is very little lateral frictional force between the inner wall of the pipe and the crawler track.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 8, reference numeral 1 denotes a chassis, in which a connecting portion 2 is formed by bending both ends of a rectangular plate, and a flange 3 is formed by further bending the ends. These chassis 1 have 3 front and rear seats.
The two chassis 1 are arranged so that the line connecting the ends of each chassis 1 is on the chord of the same circle, and between the connecting parts 2 of adjacent chassis 1 is a hinge equipped with a coil spring 4 (pressing mechanism). 5 is attached to the flange 3 via a bolt 6 to the inside of the connection part 2, and a hinge 7 without a coil spring is fixed to the side end of the connection part 2 by a bolt 8 and is attached to the outside of the connection part 2. It is provided. That is, these hinges 5 and 7 are located so that their axes 5a and 7a are perpendicular to each other, and these hinges 5 and 7 connect the chassis 1 so that they can be opened and closed while being biased in a direction that separates them from each other. ing. The coil spring 4 is attached to the second part of the hinge 5.
It is wound a plurality of times between the opening/closing plates 5b, 5b, so that its elastic force is maintained even when the hinge 5 is opened. In addition, the corresponding front and rear chassis 1, 1 are connected by a plate-shaped connecting frame 9 to constitute the traveling device A, and the deformation of these connecting frames 9 enables the traveling of the bent pipe section. The connection frame 9 is provided with a support plate (not shown) on which necessary equipment is mounted.

A pair of fixing members 11, 11 having a dogleg-shaped cross section are attached to the outer surface of the connecting portion 2 of each chassis 1 with bolts 12, and a frame 14 of the track type traveling 13 is attached to each of the fixing members 11, 11 as a supporting member. 15 and is fixed by a bolt 15a. Rotating shafts 16, 16 are supported between the frames 14 at their front and rear ends, respectively, and a pair of left and right sprockets 1 are mounted on these rotating shafts 16.
7 and 17 are fixed, and the front and rear sprocket 1 are integrated.
A crawler (crawler) 18 is endlessly wound around the wheels 7 and 17, and a drive motor 19 is attached to at least one running body 13 to drive the sprocket 1.
7 is configured to rotate and run on its own.

The crawler 18 has a pair of left and right chains 21.
The shaft is connected to the chain 21 between the frame member 24 whose both ends are supported by the opposing chain pieces 22 via mounting brackets 23 having an L-shaped cross section, and the side plates 25, 25 of the frame member 24. It is composed of three roller wheels (rotating bodies) 26 that are rotatably supported in parallel. It is desirable that the pitch of the chain pieces 22 be made finer to some extent in accordance with the radius of the sprocket 17 for smooth running. The roller wheels 26 may be made of any suitable material such as plastic, rubber, ceramic, or metal.Crawlers 18 having roller wheels 26 made of various materials may be prepared in advance to suit the purpose of use. It may be possible to change it by changing it.

Next, the operation of the crawler-type traveling device configured as described above will be described.

First, a traveling device A having a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the pipe P through which the device travels is selected and inserted. in this case,
It is sufficient that the hinge 5 is in a slightly open state at the minimum diameter of the pipe P, and the coil spring 4 allows each chassis 1 to
are separated and expanded until the outer surface of the crawler 18 comes into contact with the inner wall of the pipe P, and the crawler 18 is accommodated within the pipe P. At this time, the posture of the traveling device A is rotated by the roller wheels 26 and the center of gravity of the traveling device A is at the bottom. Set it eccentrically. When the drive motor 19 of the traveling body 13 is operated in this state, the sprocket 17 interlocked with the output shaft of the drive motor 19 rotates, and the connecting pin 22a of the chain piece 22 is pulled by the teeth of the sprocket 17, causing the crawler 18 to move at both ends. It revolves around sprocket 17 of. At this time, at the bottom of traveling device A,
The roller wheels 26 constituting the crawler 18 come into contact with the inner wall one after another from the side ends, and the frictional force acting in the axial direction pulls the traveling device A and moves it forward, but it does not travel on curved pipe sections etc. In this case, when the center of gravity moves, the roller wheels 26 rotate around the axis to quickly rotate the traveling device A and return it to a constant posture with the center of gravity downward. Therefore, accidents such as the crawler 18 coming off from the sprocket 17 are less likely to occur, and since the load applied to the rotating shaft of the sprocket 17 and the support structure for this rotating shaft is small, the strength is small and the weight can be reduced. Therefore, the capacity of the drive device can also be small. Furthermore, since the slip of the crawler 18 is suppressed to a minimum, the inner wall or lining of the pipe P will not be damaged.

At the enlarged diameter section and the reduced diameter section of the pipe P, the diameter of the traveling device A itself changes due to the action of the hinge 5 having the coil spring 4, and the crawler 18 is always pressed against the inner wall with an appropriate pressure to drive the drive motor 19. Force is transmitted. Furthermore, even if there are local irregularities or deposits in the pipe P, the coil spring 4 always applies an appropriate pressing force, preventing the drive motor 19 from being overloaded and impairing the drive force transmission function. Not at all. The roller wheels 26 of the crawler 18 are provided in three rows in the width direction of the crawler 18, and at least two of them come into contact with the inner wall even if the inner wall has local irregularities. In addition, the roller car 26 is
8, the roller wheel 26 rotates and the crawler 18 does not slip even if a rotational moment in the traveling direction is applied to the traveling device A in a curved pipe section or a part where the slope changes. Move laterally. Therefore, there is little deterioration in the driving force transmission function due to slippage of the crawler 18, and the running performance is good.

In this traveling device A, the front and rear chassis 1
The connecting frame 9 installed on the wall ensures a wide space for mounting equipment, and when inspecting the inside of the pipe P with an ITV camera, a device to rotate the ITV camera is installed to move the field of view in a spiral shape. You can also.

In this traveling device A, the ability to change the diameter of one spring-loaded hinge 5 is greater than before, but by removing the bolt 6, the width l (edge and shaft) of the opening/closing plate 5b can be changed. By attaching a spring-loaded hinge 5 with a larger distance (distance), it is possible to accommodate even larger diameter pipes. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, this width l is limited by the interference between the shafts 5a at the center of the pipe P. This restriction can be lifted by providing the tube at both positions, and therefore, in theory, it can be applied to any large diameter pipe. Another advantage is that by removing the hinges 5 and 7 at one location, it can be used as a traveling device on a flat plate.

In the above example, three chassis 1 are arranged in the circumferential direction of the traveling device A, but four or more chassis 1 may be arranged, and although two chassis 1 in the front and back are connected, more chassis 1 may be arranged in series. If it is constructed from four chassis 1, it can also run inside a duct or the like with a square cross section. Further, in the above example, the spring-loaded hinge 5 includes a coil spring 4, but a plate spring or the like may be used. Roller car 26 is crawler 1
Although the crawler 18 is arranged in three rows in the width direction of the crawler 18, it may be arranged in one or more rows.
1 and the frame member 24, it is also possible to have a structure in which three or more chains are connected by a plurality of frame members (three or more sprockets 17 are also arranged).

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the present invention includes at least a pair of front and rear wheels having rotational axes perpendicular to the running direction, and an endless track wound around these wheels. , in a crawler-type traveling device that rotates and drives a wheel body to travel inside a pipe, the crawler track is provided with an axis parallel to the traveling direction and a rotating body that is rotatably supported by the rotating axis, Accidents such as the crawler track coming off the wheel are less likely to occur, and since the load on the wheel shaft and the support structure for this shaft is small, the strength is low and the weight can be reduced, which makes it easier to drive the drive system. The capacity can be small, and furthermore,
Since the slippage of the crawler track is kept to a minimum, it has excellent effects such as not damaging the inner wall or lining of the piping.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken from the - arrow in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a - arrow view in FIG.
Fig. 4 is a front view of the hinge, Fig. 5 is a side view thereof, Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the crawler, Fig. 7 is a side view thereof, and Fig. 8 is a - arrow view of Fig. 6. It is a diagram. 17... Sprocket (wheel body), 18... Crawler (crawler), 26... Roller wheel (rotating body), A...
Traveling device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle comprising at least a pair of front and rear wheels having rotational axes perpendicular to the running direction and an endless crawler track wound around these wheels, and driving the wheels to rotate to move inside the pipe. A crawler-type traveling device for traveling on a track, wherein the crawler track is provided with an axis parallel to the traveling direction and a rotating body rotatably supported around the axis. 2. The crawler-type traveling device according to claim 1, wherein the shafts and rotating bodies are provided in plural rows on one crawler track. 3. The crawler type traveling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the crawler tracks are provided and a pressing mechanism for pressing the crawler tracks against a pipe wall is provided.