JPH0582276B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a pipe cleaning device for removing deposits from inside pipes such as water pipes and sewer pipes.

[Summary of the invention]

In the present invention, deposits on the inner wall of the pipe are decomposed and removed by irradiation with a laser beam.

[Conventional technology]

When water pipes, sewer pipes, etc. are used for a long period of time, rust, dirt, etc. become attached to the inner walls of the pipes. As the amount of these deposits increases, water,
Not only does this impair the flow of sewage, but it also becomes unsanitary.

Conventionally, in order to remove these deposits, a brush attached to the tip of a wire was passed through the inside of the pipe, and the wire was moved forward and backward in the hand, thereby scrubbing the inner wall of the pipe with the brush. was.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in this conventional method, the brush is brought into contact with the inner wall of the pipe for cleaning, which not only places a heavy burden on the operator, but also causes the wire to break in the middle if the brush is placed deep inside the pipe. The disadvantage is that the brush is bent and the force is not efficiently transmitted to the brush, making it difficult to remove deposits sufficiently.

The present invention has been developed in view of this situation, and it is intended to lighten the burden on the operator and also to sufficiently remove deposits from deep locations.

[Means to solve the problem]

The pipe cleaning device of the present invention includes a flexible cable consisting of an optical fiber that transmits a laser beam, an outer sheath that covers the periphery of the optical fiber, and a flexible cable that reflects the laser beam transmitted from the optical fiber in the direction of the outer circumference of the cable. and a head that is attached to the tip of the cable and outputs the laser beam in the outer circumferential direction.

[Effect]

A cable with a head attached to the end is inserted inside the pipe. A laser beam is transmitted to the head through an optical fiber inside the cable.
The laser beam is reflected toward the outer periphery by a reflecting means, such as a prism, and is output from the head. A laser beam output from the head is irradiated onto the inner wall of the pipe, decomposing and removing deposits.

Therefore, it is possible to reliably remove deposits from deep inside the pipe without placing a burden on the operator.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 show the structure of the tip of the pipe cleaning device of the present invention. In these figures, 1 is a cable, and 3 is an elastic body 2 such as rubber.
motor attached to cable 1 via 4
is a head attached to the motor 3 and rotated. A prism 5 serves as a reflecting means, and is fixed at the center of the head 4. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the cable 1. In the figure, 11 is an optical fiber that transmits a laser beam for decomposing deposits. Reference numeral 12 designates a conductor cable made of copper or the like for transmitting electric signals for video signals, for example, and reference numeral 13 designates a conductor cable that supplies power for lighting. 14 is a metal wire for reinforcement, and 15 is a conductor cable for control signals. 16 is a small diameter metal wire for reinforcement;
17 is an elastic body such as rubber, and 18 is a cap tire surrounding the entire body.

Conductor cables 12, 13, 15 and wires 14
are arranged symmetrically around the outer circumference of the optical fiber 11. Further, a wire 16 is arranged so as to fill in the space between the conductor cables 12, 13, 15 and the wire 14, and an elastic body 17 surrounds the entire body, and a cap tire 18 surrounds the outside thereof. The cable 1, which is formed by surrounding the outer periphery of the optical fiber 11 with a jacket, has flexibility as a whole, and even a curved pipe can be inserted into the cable 1.

The motor 3 has a flat plate shape, and the hole 3 in the center
An optical fiber 11 is inserted through the cable 1 and fixed to the cable 1. A head 4 is fixed to a rotor 32 of the motor 3.

The entire head 4 is formed into a substantially truncated conical shape, and a tapered surface 41 thereof is formed with a large number of transparent parts 42 through which the laser beam passes. The light-transmitting portion 42 may simply be a hole, but it may also be covered with transparent glass or the like to prevent deposits from entering the inside.

Next, how to use this device will be explained. The head 4 is inserted into the pipe (not shown) to be cleaned. The diameters of the head 4 and the cable 1 are made sufficiently thinner than the inner diameter of the pipe.
Therefore, the head 4 and the cable 1 can be easily inserted into the pipe.

At the end of the optical fiber 11 opposite to the head 4, a light source (not shown) such as an argon laser is provided.
is located. When the head 4 is inserted to a predetermined position, this light source is activated and a laser light source is output. This laser beam is transmitted through the optical fiber 11 and output into the head 4. At the center of the head 4 facing the output end of the optical fiber 11, a conical prism 5, for example, is arranged with its apex facing the optical fiber 11. Therefore, the laser beam output from the optical fiber 11 is reflected by the surface of the prism 5 toward the outer circumference of the cable 1. Since a light transmitting portion 42 is formed on at least a portion of the tapered surface 41 of the head 4, the laser beam transmitted through the light transmitting portion 42 is irradiated onto the inner wall of the pipe. Debris attached to the inner wall of the pipe,
Deposits such as grime are decomposed and removed by the heat of the laser beam.

The cable 1 is gradually introduced deep into the pipe from the entrance. This allows the entire long pipe to be cleaned.

Furthermore, power is supplied to the motor 3 via a conductor cable 15 as required.
Rotate. This averages out the output distribution of the laser beam, making it possible to uniformly irradiate the entire inner wall of the pipe with the laser beam.

The head 4 can also be fitted with a small TV camera and an illumination lamp (not shown).
At this time, power is supplied from the conductor cable 13 to illuminate the inside of the pipe, and the lamp is turned on. If the conductor cable 13 is an optical fiber, light from the outside can be supplied to the head. The output from the TV camera is then output via the cable 12. In this way, the image inside the pipe can be monitored from the outside if necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the laser beam supplied to the head via the optical fiber is output from the head in the direction of the outer circumference, deposits on the inner wall of the pipe can be reliably removed. Furthermore, since the task is simply to insert the cable with the head attached into the pipe, the burden on the worker is reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the distal end of the pipe cleaning device of the present invention in an assembled state, FIG. 2 is a side view of the disassembled state, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cable. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Cable, 2... Elastic body, 3... Motor, 4... Head, 5... Prism, 11... Optical fiber, 12, 13... Conductor cable, 14...
...Metal wire, 15...Conductor cable, 16...
Metal wire, 17... Elastic body, 18... Cap tire, 31... Hole, 32... Rotor, 41...
Tapered surface, 42...transparent part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flexible cable consisting of an optical fiber that transmits a laser beam, an outer sheath that covers the periphery of the optical fiber, and a flexible cable that reflects the laser beam transmitted from the optical fiber toward the outer circumference of the cable. A pipe cleaning device comprising a reflecting means and a head that is attached to the tip of a cable and outputs a laser beam in an outer circumferential direction. 2. The pipe cleaning device of claim 1, further comprising a motor for rotating the head, and wherein the cable includes a conductor for supplying power to the motor. 3. The pipe cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the head has a tapered surface, and the laser beam is output from the tapered surface in an outer circumferential direction. 4. The pipe cleaning device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the reflecting means is a conical prism attached to the center of the head.