JPH0347227B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a self-propelled pipe traveling device.

Conventionally, as a self-propelled pipe traveling device, one shown in FIG. 1 has been put into practical use. This traveling device includes a front moving body 2 and a rear moving body 3 connected by a pneumatic cylinder 1, and the peripheral surfaces of circular support plates 4, 5, which are components of these moving bodies 2, 3, are It has a configuration in which the protrusions 6 are arranged so as to be freely retractable. Note that the protrusion 6
is protruded by pneumatic pressure, and the tip thereof is connected to the pipe 7.
Press the inner wall of the

This device is operated in the following manner. That is, first, the protrusion 6 of the support plate 5 of the rear movable body 3 is urged to fix the movable body 3 to the tube 7, and in this state, the cylinder is pushed and operated to move the front movable body 2 into the cylinder. Move it forward (to the left in FIG. 1) by the stroke length. Next, the protrusion 6 of the support plate 4 is energized to fix the front movable body 2 to the tube 7, and the protrusion 6 of the support plate 5 is deenergized to release the lock of the rear movable body 3 from the tube 7. The cylinder 1 is retracted to move the rear moving body 3 forward by the stroke length of the cylinder.

The device thus advances by the stroke length of cylinder 1. By repeating the expansion and contraction operations of the cylinder 1 and the energizing and deenergizing operations of the protrusion 6, the tube 7 travels in an inchworm-like manner.

By the way, due to its mechanism, this conventional traveling device has
The running speed was extremely slow, and since it was driven by fluid pressure, the components were expensive. Furthermore, since the projections 6 travel while strongly pressing against the pipe wall, there is a risk of causing damage such as cracks to the pipe wall, and if the pipe wall is not smooth, the front and rear moving bodies 2 , 3 was difficult to move.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an in-pipe running device that can solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and can provide good running performance for various pipes with different diameters.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes first and second frames that support the left and right running tracks, respectively, and a second frame that is fixed to the first and second frames, respectively, and that brings the left and right running tracks close to each other. The first pin is pivotally connected to separate the
and a second frame connecting member, and locking means for locking the first and second frame connecting members to each other at an arbitrary swing position.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the in-pipe traveling device according to the present invention is equipped with crawlers 10L and 10R made of rubber or the like on the left and right sides, and these crawlers are connected to a plane 1 that is perpendicular to these surfaces.
1L and 11R are arranged so as to form a figure eight shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, the crawler track 10R has driving wheels 13 supported on the front and rear parts of the frame 12R.
Tension is provided by a group of rollers 14R that are wound between R and driven wheels 13R' and arranged between these driving wheels.

Each of the rollers 14R is pivotally supported at the tip of an arm 15R, as shown in FIG. 4, and the base of this arm 15R is connected to a shaft 16R that is pivotally supported on the frame 12R. The base of another arm 17R is connected to the shaft 16R, and a coil spring 19R is interposed between the tip of this arm 17R and a spring hook 18R attached to the upper end of the frame 12R. (See Figure 3). Therefore, each of the rollers 14R constantly presses the crawler track 10R downward by the tensile force of the coil spring 19R.

Note that the crawler belt 10L is similarly wound around a driving wheel 13L and a driven wheel 13L' supported by a frame 12L, and is tensioned by a group of rollers 14L.

Motors 20L and 20R are attached to the frames 12L and 12R, respectively, and a reduction gear and an electromagnetic clutch 21 are connected between the motor 20L and the drive wheel 13L.
There is also a power transmission mechanism 22L comprising a reduction gear and an electromagnetic clutch 21R between the motor 20R and the drive wheel 13R.
2R are each interposed.

The frame 12L and the frame 12R have substantially L-shaped metal fittings 23, 24 at the front and rear as shown in FIG.
are connected via. Each of the above metal fittings 23, 24
are rotatably connected to each other by a screw 25 at their bases, and the frames 12L,
12R is screwed. A guide groove 26 is provided in the metal fitting 24 along an arc centered on the screw 25, and the two metal fittings are fixed together by a locking screw 27 that is screwed onto the metal fitting 23 through the guide groove 26. Therefore, if the locking screw 26 is loosened and the metal fitting 23 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, the frame 12L is moved to the position shown by the imaginary line in the figure, and thereby the frames 12L and 12R are moved in the vertical direction. The axes 28L and 28R have an eight-shape shape. Note that in this embodiment, the center line 28
Angle θ formed by the axes 28L and 28R with respect to C
The grooves 26 are formed so that each angle can be varied within a range of approximately 0° to 45°.

The traveling device according to this embodiment has such metal fittings 2
3 and 24, the crawler tracks 10L and 10R are positioned in a figure eight shape as shown in FIG. Further, in order to increase the contact area between the crawlers 10L and 10R and the inner circumferential surface of the tube 30, the outer surfaces 29L and 29R of these crawlers are given an appropriate curvature along the width direction.

Therefore, the running device of this embodiment has good stability and landing performance when installed in a pipe, and thereby provides extremely stable running performance.

FIG. 6 shows a pipe 3 by mounting an inspection device such as a television camera 32 on the pipe traveling device according to this embodiment.
This shows a mode when inspecting the inner circumferential surface of 0.
In such a case, drive signals for the motors 20L, 20R and clutches 21L, 21R, control signals for the television camera, power for an illumination light (not shown), etc. are supplied from the controller 33 via the cable 34. Further, a video signal output from the television camera 32 is input to the controller 33 via the cable 34, and an image of the inner peripheral surface of the tube 30 based on this video signal is displayed on the monitor 35, and the surface image is displayed on the video device. recorded in

Note that when this device runs along a corner of the pipe 30, the posture of the device is normally automatically corrected by the sliding action of the tracks 10L and 10R, but depending on the degree of curvature of the corner, the device may There is a risk that the material may climb the pipe wall. Therefore, if it is determined from the image on the monitor 35 that there is a possibility that such a phenomenon may occur,
It is preferable to selectively drive the clutches 21L and 21R to actively rotate the vehicle body.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 2 of the present application, the crawler track 1
Line segments 11L and 11R perpendicular to the treads of 0L and 10R
Considering the case where is perpendicular to the tangent to the tube 30 at the crawler contact portion, in this case, the contact area of the tread with the inner circumferential surface of the tube 30 is large, so good running performance can be obtained.

On the other hand, when the crawler track having the inclination angle shown in FIG. 2 is applied to a pipe having a diameter different from that of the pipe 30, for example, a large diameter pipe 30' as shown in FIG.
Since the end portion of the tread surface of 10R comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the tube 30', the contact area of the tread surface is reduced compared to the case of FIG. 2. This results in reduced running performance and local wear of the tread.

However, according to the above embodiment, by loosening the lock screw 26, the frame connecting fitting 2
3 and 24, that is, the crawler track 10
Since the inclination angle of the tracks L and 10R can be adjusted by moving them closer to each other, the tube 30'
It is possible to make the contact area of the crawler track tread with the inner circumferential surface of the track as large as possible.

That is, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 7, if the inclination angles of the tracks 10L and 10R are adjusted appropriately so that they are smaller than those in FIG. 2, the line segments 11L and 1
Since the angle between 1R and the tangent to the pipe 30' is brought closer to 90 degrees, the contact area of the crawler tread increases, and as a result, deterioration in running performance and partial wear of the crawler tread are suppressed as much as possible. .

In this way, in the above-described embodiment, the inclination angle of the crawler belt can be adjusted so as to increase the contact area of the crawler tread surface, so that it can be applied to various pipes with different diameters.

The apparatus of the above embodiment is equipped with a television camera 32 as an inspection device, but may also be equipped with an ultrasonic flaw detector, an eddy current flaw detector, etc. depending on the content of the inspection.

As described above, the pipe running device according to the present invention includes:
Since it uses tracks as a means of traveling,
It can run at higher speeds than the conventional device described above, and there is no risk of damage to the pipe wall or difficulty in running because the pipe wall is not smooth. Furthermore, compared to conventional devices, it can be constructed at a lower cost, and travel control is easier. Furthermore, since it is possible to adjust the inclination angle of the crawler track to increase the contact area of the track tread surface, it is possible to obtain good running performance on various pipes with different diameters, and the part of the track tread surface Target wear can also be suppressed as much as possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a conventional pipe running device, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an embodiment of the pipe running device according to the present invention and how it runs in a pipe, FIG. Figure 4 is a side view and a plan view of the above embodiment in the case where the left and right frames have no angle change, Figure 5 is a diagram showing the structure and function of the metal fittings connecting the frames, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the structure and function of the metal fittings connecting the frames. A conceptual diagram showing how the device according to the present invention is used,
FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a state in which the inclination angles of the left and right abdominal bands are changed. 10L, 10R...Crawler track, 12L, 12R...
Frame, 20L, 20R...Motor, 21L,
21R...clutch, 22L, 22R...power transmission mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. First and second frames supporting the left and right running tracks, respectively; and a frame attached to the first and second frames, respectively, for moving the left and right running tracks toward and away from each other. A pipe interior characterized by comprising first and second frame connecting members that are pivotally connected with a pin, and a locking means that locks the first and second frame connecting members to each other at an arbitrary rocking position. Traveling device.