JPH0417520Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a liquid storage tank in which a desired position on the inner wall of a tank body storing liquid can be visually confirmed using a fiberscope.

[Prior art]

In general, it is necessary to periodically inspect a tank for storing liquid to see if there is any leakage of liquid from the tank. However, for example, underground tanks installed at gasoline filling stations cannot be directly visually inspected for liquid leakage from the outside. For this reason, conventional methods for leakage inspection of underground tanks include filling the tank with inert gas to maintain a constant pressurization state, and checking for the presence or absence of pressure drop over time using a pressure gauge, etc. There is a method of reducing the pressure inside the tank and checking for leaks by checking for the presence or absence of the sound of air being sucked into the tank from outside, or by inserting a long measuring rod through the measuring port provided at the top of the tank. Methods are being used to check whether the liquid level has dropped.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

Therefore, the various inspection methods described above only check for the presence or absence of liquid leakage from inside the tank, and do not detect liquid leakage by detecting corrosion on the inner wall of the tank to the extent that it does not lead to liquid leakage. It was not possible to prevent it in advance.

On the other hand, a method of inspecting the inner wall of the tank by inserting a fiberscope into the tank through the metering port of the tank has been considered, but there is no means for guiding the tip of the fiberscope to a desired position. For example, there is a problem in that only the inner wall directly below the metering port can be seen.

The present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the conventional technology, and allows inspection of corrosion, cracks, etc. on the tank inner wall by guiding a fiberscope to a desired position to visually check the tank inner wall. We have developed a liquid storage tank that prevents liquid leakage accidents in advance by using the above-mentioned pressurization or depressurization method, and also allows the location of the leak to be visually confirmed when a liquid leak is detected using the above-mentioned pressurization or depressurization method. This is what we provide.

[Means for solving problems]

The means of the present invention configured to solve the above-mentioned problems includes: a tank body for storing liquid; an opening provided on the upper side of the tank body and normally covered by a lid body; A support member rotatably fitted in the opening, a proximal end facing the outside of the tank body and supported by the support member, a distal end protruding toward the inner wall of the tank body, and a support member rotatably fitted into the opening. and a guide member that guides the distal end of the fiberscope toward the desired position.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

In the figure, 1 is a tank body buried underground in a gas station, and the tank body 1 has a cylindrical peripheral wall 1A.
and a side wall 1 that closes both axial ends of the peripheral wall 1A.
It consists of B and 1B. Reference numeral 2 denotes an oil filler port 2 located in the axial middle of the tank body 1 and provided on the upper side of the peripheral wall 1A, and the oil filler port 2 is normally covered airtightly with a lid 3. 4 is a vent located on one side of the tank body 1 in the axial direction and provided on the upper side of the peripheral wall 1A, and 5 is a suction located on the other side of the tank body 1 in the axial direction and provided on the upper side of the peripheral wall 1A. A measuring machine (not shown) installed on the premises of the gas station draws up the liquid in the tank body 1 through the suction pipe 5. Also, 6 is the measuring port,
A measuring rule (not shown) or the like for detecting the liquid level is inserted into the tank body 1 through the measuring port 6.

Reference numerals 7 and 7 indicate a plurality of openings located between the oil filler port 2 and the ventilator 4 and provided at a predetermined interval on the upper side of the peripheral wall 1A. Each opening 7 includes a hollow cylindrical body 8 having thick walled parts 8A and 8B at both ends in the axial direction, a sliding surface 9 formed on the end surface of the upper thick walled part 8A of the cylindrical body 8, and It consists of a male thread 10 carved on the outer peripheral surface of the flesh portion 8A. and,
The lower thick wall portion 8B of the opening 7 is fitted into a fitting hole 1C formed on the upper side of the peripheral wall 1A of the tank body 1, and is fixed by welding means. On the other hand, reference numeral 11 denotes a lid that normally covers the opening 7, and a male screw 12 is carved on the inner circumferential surface of the lid 11 to be screwed into the male screw 10 of the opening 7. An O-ring 13 is fitted to the outer periphery of the upper thick walled portion 8A of the portion 7 in sliding contact.

Reference numeral 14 indicates guide members 16, 17, 18, 1, which will be described later.
The support member 14 is a cylindrical support member for rotatably supporting the support member 9 relative to the opening 7.
A sliding cylinder part 14A that fits into the cylindrical body 8, and a flange part extending radially from the upper end of the sliding cylinder part 14A and having approximately the same diameter as the sliding surface 9 of the opening 7. It consists of 14B. The support member 14 is inserted into the opening 7 from above, and is inserted into the opening 7 via a sliding bearing 15 made of an annular flat plate interposed between the sliding surface 9 of the opening 7 and the flange 14B. It is rotatably supported by section 7.

Reference numerals 16, 17, 18 and 19 indicate four guide members made of hollow tube bodies for guiding the fiberscope 20 for visually checking the inner wall of the tank body 1 toward a desired position on the inner wall. The guide members 16 to 19 are connected to the proximal end 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
6A, 17A, 18A, 19A face the outside of the tank body 1 by integrally inserting and fixing into the support member 14, and the tip side 16B, 17
B, 18B, and 19B are positioned toward different predetermined positions on the inner wall of the tank body 1.
That is, in this embodiment, the first guide member 16 is bent at a right angle in the middle, and the distal end side 16B is directed toward the section A diagonally above the inner wall of the tank body 1. An oil drain hole (not shown) is provided between the intermediate portion and the distal end side 16B of the guide member 16 to prevent oil from accumulating in the pipe. The second guide member 17 is bent at a right angle in the middle, and the tip side 1
The guide member 7B is directed toward the middle portion B of the inner wall of the tank body 1, and the third guide member 18 is bent in a substantially dogleg shape toward the diagonally downward portion C of the inner wall of the tank body 1. Further, the fourth guide member 19 is formed in a linear shape, and its distal end side 19B is directed toward a portion D below the inner wall of the tank body 1. The proximal end surfaces 16C, 17C, 1 of each of the guide members 16 to 19 are
8C and 19C are colored to distinguish each guide position by color.

Each of the guide members 16 to 19 of this embodiment is constructed as described above, and by rotating the support member 14 by, for example, 180 degrees, each of the guide members 16 to 19 can be rotated.
The distal end sides 16B to 18B can be opposed to the A', B', and C' parts of the inner wall of the tank body 1 on the right side in FIG.

The fiber scope 20 guided by the guide members 16 to 19 is connected to a flexible fiber bundle 21 consisting of a light source fiber and a visual recognition fiber, and a base end of the light source fiber. It is comprised of a light source 22 such as an illumination lamp, and an eyepiece 23 for direct viewing connected to the base end of a viewing fiber.

The present embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will be described next.

First, before the inspection, the oil inside the tank body 1 is drained and the inside of the tank body 1 is emptied. Thereafter, the lid 11 is removed from the first opening 7 located on the left side in FIG. 1, for example. Next, from among the four guide members 16 to 19, the guide member 17 whose tip end faces the position to be inspected on the inner wall of the tank body 1, for example, the position B, is selected. Then, insert the fiber bundle 21 of the fiber scope 20 from the proximal end 17A of the guide member 17, and
Sequentially feed it into the distal end side 17B. Note that, prior to inserting the fiberscope 20, the support member 14 is rotated so that the distal end side 16B of each guide member 16 to 19 is
By swinging the guide members 16 to 19B, the oil remaining inside the guide members 16 to 19 can be shaken off by centrifugal force.

Since the fiber bundle 21 inserted into the guide member 17 has flexibility as described above, it enters while being bent along the shape of the guide member 17.
When the distal end portion 21A reaches the distal end of the guide member 17, it can be made to face portion B of the inner wall of the tank body 1. At this time, the operation is performed by the light source 2.
2 is turned on and viewed directly through the eyepiece 23, this can be easily and reliably performed.

Once the insertion of the fiber bundle 21 is completed in this way, the inner wall of the tank body 1 can be directly viewed through the eyepiece 23 to inspect for corrosion locations, etc.
Further, by rotating the support member 14, the inner wall of the tank body 1 can be inspected over a wide range.

Next, section B of the inner wall of the tank body 1 and the opposite side
When the inspection of section B' is completed, the fiber bundle 21 is pulled out from the guide member 17, and the next guide member 16, 1
8 or 19 in the same manner as described above, parts A, A', C, C', or D of the inner wall can be sequentially inspected.

Furthermore, a second opening 7 located on the right side in FIG.
By similarly inspecting the inside of the tank body 1, it is possible to inspect only a desired position within the tank body 1, or to inspect the entire inner wall of the tank body 1.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, two sets of four guide members 16 to 19 are protruded from inside the tank body 1 with their tip sides 16B to 19B located at different positions. Since the oil injected into the guide members 16 to 19 hits each of the guide members 16 to 19, it also has a wave-dampening effect that suppresses the ripples.

Note that in this embodiment, the opening 7 is located in the tank body 1.
Although it has been described that two are provided on the upper side of the tank body 1, three or more may be provided at predetermined intervals over the entire length of the tank body 1. Furthermore, although it has been described that four guide members 16 to 19 with different positions on the tip side are protruded into the tank body 1 via the support member 14, one guide member is attached to the tank body 1. It may be provided so as to be rotatable and movable up and down. By doing so, it is also possible to inspect a desired position on the inner wall of the tank body 1, and furthermore, the entire surface of the inner wall.

On the other hand, the guide members 16 to 19 in this embodiment
Although both have been described as being made of hollow tubes, they do not necessarily have to be tubes, and may be, for example, gutter-shaped guide members with a roughly C-shaped cross section. It is possible to improve the drainage of oil from the inside. Further, in this embodiment, in order to rotatably support the support member 14, a slide bearing 15 made of an annular flat plate is provided between the opening 7 and the sliding surface 9. A rolling ball bearing may be provided instead.

Furthermore, the fiberscope 20 used in this example
has been described as having a structure in which a viewing fiber is provided with an eyepiece section 23 for direct viewing, but a fiber bundle consisting of a light transmitting fiber and a light receiving fiber, an image sensor,
Of course, a structure made of CRT or the like may also be used. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the tank body 1
Although the opening 7 is provided in the structure, the oil filling port 2 may be used as an opening for inserting the fiberscope 20 by inserting the support member 14 into the oil filling port 2.

[Effect of idea]

As detailed above, according to the present invention, the tank body is provided with a guide member that can guide the fiberscope for inspecting the inside of the tank body to a desired position, so that the inner wall of the tank body can be visually recognized over the entire surface. As a result, the situation of corrosion or cracks in the tank body can be reliably grasped before the stored liquid leaks, making it possible to predict danger before a leakage accident occurs.In addition, in the event of a leakage accident, the situation of the leakage point can be checked from the outside of the tank body. It is possible to understand the details in detail, and safety can be greatly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an underground tank according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view in the direction of the − arrow in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the part indicated by A in Fig. 2. The vertical sectional view and FIG. 4 are external perspective views showing the opening of the underground tank. 1...tank body, 7... opening, 11... lid, 14... support member, 16, 17, 18, 19
...Guide member, 20...Fiber scope.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A tank body for storing liquid, an opening provided on the upper side of the tank body and normally covered by a lid, a support member rotatably fitted to the opening, and a base end. a guide member whose side faces the outside of the tank body and is supported by the support member, whose tip side projects toward the inner wall of the tank body and guides the tip of the fiberscope toward a desired position on the inner wall of the tank body; A liquid storage tank consisting of.