JPH0755774A - Automatic inspecting apparatus for welding line - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To inspect both welding lines of a linear state extended in an axial direction and a welding line of a circular-arc state extended along an outer periphery of the specimen by the same apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A rotatable table 52 is provided rotatably on a traveling frame 51 which can travel along a pole track 1, a rotatable arm 60 is so provided at the table 52 as to approach to and separate from a specimen through a supporting frame 58, and a probe assembly 69 having probes 39, 40, 41 is mounted at the arm 60.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding line automatic inspection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a welding line of a reactor pressure vessel is subjected to ultrasonic flaw detection.
An automatic welding line inspection device as shown in 6 is used.

Thus, the automatic welding line inspection device is provided with a traveling body 2 which can travel along the pole track 1 shown in FIG. 8 and a direction D _{2 which} is orthogonal to the traveling direction D ₁ of the traveling body ₂ . The inspection body 3 that can move is provided. If the welding line to be inspected extends vertically, the pole track 1
Is laid in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 8 of this example,
Pole track 1 if the weld line extends horizontally
Is laid horizontally.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 12 and 13, the traveling body 2 has a traveling frame 4 on which a pair of left and right shafts 5 and 6 are vertically spaced. In this example, rotatable wheels 7 and 8 are fitted on the shafts 5 and 6 so as to hold the pole track 1 from the left and right.

The shaft 6 is an eccentric shaft, and the portion to which the wheel 8 is attached is an eccentric portion which is eccentric with respect to the portion penetrating the traveling frame 4. A lever 9 is attached to the eccentric part of the shaft 6 in the vicinity of the wheel 8. The upper and lower levers 9 and 9 are connected by a fluid pressure cylinder 10, and the fluid pressure cylinder 10 rotates the shaft 6 through the lever 9. By doing so, the outer circumference of the wheel 8 is
It is designed so that they can be brought close to or separated from each other.

A drive device 11 such as a hydraulic motor is arranged on the traveling frame 4, and a pinion 12 mounted on the output shaft of the drive device 11 meshes with a rack 13 mounted in the longitudinal direction of the pole track 1. By driving the drive device 11 to rotate the pinion 12, the traveling frame 4 can travel along the pole track 1.

Reference numeral 14 in FIG. 13 denotes a handle which is gripped by an operator when the traveling body 2 is attached to or detached from the pole track 1.

On both left and right sides of the traveling frame 4 in the width direction,
As shown in FIG. 13, the side plate 4 faces the pole track 1.
As shown in FIG. 9, a pair of left and right links 15 are arranged in the vicinity of the side plate 4a. Thus, the link 15 is integrally connected to the vertical member 15a and the upper and lower ends of the vertical member 15a, and lateral members 15b, 15 projecting in a direction away from the subject 16 located on the front surface of the pole track 1.
c, the side surface is formed in a substantially U-shape as a whole, and the tip of the lower lateral member 15b is pivotally attached to the lower end of the side plate 4a via a pin 17.

Above the side plate 4a, there are provided a link 18 and lateral members 18b and 18c which are integrally connected to the upper and lower ends of the vertical member 18a and project toward the subject 16, and the side surface is generally U-shaped. A pair of left and right links 18 formed to have a character shape is arranged, and the lower end of the vertical member 18a has a pin 19 at its lower end.
It is pivotally attached to the upper end of the side plate 4a through.

An upper end of a vertically oriented rod 20 is pivotally attached to a tip of a horizontal member 18c below the link 18 via a pin 21, and a lower end of the rod 20 is attached to the link 1 via a pin 22.
5, which is pivotally attached to the base end of the lateral member 15c,
A parallelogram link is formed by a line connecting 19, 21, 22, and 17.

The upper end of the fluid pressure cylinder 23 is pivotally attached below the position where the link 18 of the side plate 4a is pivotally attached, and the lower end of the piston rod 23a of the fluid pressure cylinder 23 is pivotally attached to the lateral member 15c of the link 15. Has been done.

A frame 24 is provided between the left and right links 18.
The bracket 25 attached to the lower end of the traveling frame 4 is pin-pivoted to the tip of the lateral member 15b of the link 15, and the upper end of the frame 24 is the lateral member 1 at the upper end of the link 18.
A pin is pivotally attached near 8b.

As shown in FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, one set of shafts 26 and 27 is attached to the frame 24 at the upper and lower sides with a required space left and right, and each shaft 26 and 27 is inspected. Wheels 28 that are rotatable so as to hold an arm 34 extending in a direction orthogonal to the pole track 1 of the body 3 from above and below,
29 is externally fitted.

As shown in FIG. 15, the shaft 26 is an eccentric shaft, and the portion where the wheels 28 are mounted is the frame 24.
It is an eccentric part that is eccentric with respect to the part that passes through. A lever 30 is attached to the eccentric portion of the shaft 26 in the vicinity of the wheel 28, and the lower end of the lever 30 is attached to the frame 24.
The coil spring 31 fixed to the
The shaft 26 can be rotated via the lever 30 by the pulling force of 1, and the outer periphery of the wheel 28 can be pressed against the upper edge of the arm 34.

A drive device 32 such as a hydraulic motor is disposed on the frame 24, and a pinion 33 attached to the output shaft of the drive device 32 meshes with a rack 35 attached to the arm 34 in the longitudinal direction. By driving the drive device 32 to rotate the pinion 33, the arm 34 can move in the direction D ₂ orthogonal to the pole track 1.

Rails 36 are attached to the upper and lower parts of the arm 34 of the inspection body 3 in the longitudinal direction of the arm 34, and two sets of probe assemblies 37 are attached to the rail 36. That is, the probe assembly 37 is attached to the rail 36.
The frame 38 is attached slidably by a drive device (not shown), and three types of probes 39, 40,
A rotary frame 42 to which 41 is mounted and whose rotation axis is oriented horizontally is rotatably mounted.

Rods 43 projecting toward the subject 16 are attached to the left and right ends of the arm 34.
A support means 44 containing a free ball 44a for supporting the arm 34 so as not to swing during inspection is attached to the tip of the.

For example, in the case of inspecting a weld line that extends straight in the axial direction of the subject 16, the pole track 1 is arranged vertically in front of the subject 16 such as a reactor pressure vessel as shown in FIG. Then, the traveling body 2 of the automatic welding line inspection device is set on the pole track 1 so as to be able to move up and down through the wheels 7 and 8, and the object to be inspected is provided between the wheels 28 and 29 of the traveling body 2 as shown in FIG. The arm 34 formed in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the armature 16 is set, and the driving device 32 is driven to move the arm 34 to the left and right to adjust the position of the arm 34 in the left and right direction, and the left and right probe assemblies 37. By setting the probes 39, 40, 41 to the one used this time and activating the fluid pressure cylinder 23, as shown in FIG.
As shown by the phantom line in FIG.
9 is used as a reference, and the frame 24 is rotated toward the subject 16 side.
By moving the probe 39, 40, 41 in parallel with the subject 16
And the free ball 44a of the supporting means 44 is also brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16.

When the preparation is completed in this way, the probe assembly 37 for use by the drive device (not shown) is used.
Is horizontally moved along the rail 36 so as to cross the welding line, and ultrasonic waves are oscillated from a predetermined probe among the probes 39, 40 and 41 to inspect the welding line.

When the probe assembly 37 crosses the welding line, the driving device 11 is driven to slightly raise or lower the traveling body 2 along the pole track 1, and the probe assembly 37 is moved in the same manner as described above. While moving along the rail 36 so as to cross the welding line, the probes 39, 40, 4
The ultrasonic wave is oscillated from a predetermined probe among the items 1 to inspect different positions of the welding line.

For example, in the case of inspecting a welding line extending horizontally and arcuately in the circumferential direction of the subject 16, the subject 16
A pole track 1 extending horizontally and arcuately in the circumferential direction on the front side of the vehicle, and the traveling body 2 of the automatic welding line inspection device is set on the pole track 1 so that the traveling body 2 can be moved horizontally via the wheels 7 and 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, an arm 34 formed straight in the axial direction of the subject 16 is set between the wheels 28 and 29 of the traveling body 2 and the drive unit 3
2 is driven to move the arm 34 up and down.
The vertical position of the probe is adjusted, and the one of the upper and lower probe assemblies 37 to be used this time is selected as the probe 39, 40, 4.
1 is set and the fluid pressure cylinder 23 is operated to horizontally rotate the links 15 and 18 toward the subject 16 side,
The probes 39, 40, 41 are brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16, and the free balls 44a of the supporting means 44 are also brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16.

When the preparation is completed in this way, the probe assembly 37 to be used by the driving device (not shown).
Is vertically moved along the rail 36 so as to traverse the welding line, and ultrasonic waves are oscillated from a predetermined probe among the probes 39, 40, 41 to inspect the welding line.

When the probe assembly 37 crosses the welding line, the driving device 11 is driven to move the traveling body 2 slightly horizontally along the pole track 1, and the probe assembly 37 is welded in the same manner as described above. Rail 3 to cross the line
While moving along 6, the ultrasonic waves are oscillated from a predetermined probe among the probes 39, 40, 41, and the welding line is inspected.

During the inspection, the rotating frame 42 is rotated if necessary, and the arm 34 is moved appropriately depending on the direction of incidence of ultrasonic waves on the welding line.

[0025]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above welding line automatic inspection apparatus, i) the probe assembly 37 is attached to the rail 36 of the arm 34.
The arm 34 used when inspecting an arc-shaped welding line that extends horizontally in the circumferential direction may have a straight shape because the inspection is performed while moving along the circumference. Arm 3 used to inspect lines
4 is required to have an arcuate shape along the outer circumference of the subject 16, and therefore, the arm 34 must be prepared in two types, a straight one and an arcuate one. Ii) Incident of ultrasonic waves There is a problem in that handling is complicated because it is necessary to move the arm 34 depending on the direction.

In view of the above situation, the present invention enables inspection by one type of apparatus regardless of whether the welding line extends straight up and down or extends horizontally in an arc shape in the circumferential direction, and The purpose of this is to make the incident direction of ultrasonic waves on the welding line constant.

[0027]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a rotary table is mounted on a frame adapted to run along a track laid close to the surface of a subject so that the rotation axis of the frame faces the surface of the subject. An arm whose tip is rotatable toward and away from the surface of the subject is supported by a support frame provided on the rotary table, and the subject faces the subject near the tip of the arm. A probe assembly in which the probe is arranged on the surface is attached.

Further, in the present invention, the end portion of the arm opposite to the side where the probe assembly is attached is based on the center of rotation when the arm rotates so as to approach and separate from the surface of the subject. In addition, it is possible to attach a supporting means having a free ball so that the supporting means can be moved toward and away from the subject,
Further, the probe assembly can be rotated in a direction along the surface of the subject.

[0029]

Operation: The probe is brought into contact with the surface of the subject by rotating the arm to bring the probe assembly close to the subject, and the rotary table is rotated to cover the probe assembly via the arm. The probe assembly is reciprocated along the surface of the sample and the frame is reciprocated along the track, so that the probe assembly is linearly moved along the surface of the object to be inspected.

Since the arm can be rotated according to the surface shape of the subject, the same inspection apparatus can be used when moving the probe assembly in either the axial direction or the circumferential direction of the subject. .

When the supporting means is provided, the arm does not swing during the inspection, the probe assembly can be stably supported, and the probe assembly can be rotated in the direction along the surface of the subject. In this case, the incident angle of ultrasonic waves on the inspection unit can be made constant.

[0032]

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

1 to 7 show an embodiment of the automatic welding line inspection device of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the traveling frame 51 movably mounted on the pole track 1 has the shafts 5, 6 and 5, 6 as in the case of the conventional automatic welding line inspection apparatus.
Wheels 7 and 8 rotatably fitted to the pole track 1 and holding the pole track 1, a fluid pressure cylinder 10 for moving the wheel 8 close to and away from the pole track 1, and an external output shaft of the drive device 11. A pinion 12 or the like that is fitted and fixed and that meshes with a rack 13 (see FIG. 13) mounted in the longitudinal direction of the pole track 1 is provided, and the traveling frame 51 drives the drive device 11 to drive the wheels. It can move in the longitudinal direction of the pole track 1 via 7, 8.

On the traveling frame 51, the axis L has wheels 7,
A rotary table 52 that is parallel to the axes of the pinion 8 and the pinion 12 and faces the subject 16 is provided, and a worm wheel 53 engraved on the outer periphery of the rotary table 52 meshes with a worm 53. A bevel gear 55 is externally fitted and fixed to an output shaft of a drive device 54 installed on the traveling frame 51, and the bevel gear 55 is externally fitted to a shaft 56 to which the worm 53 is attached and meshes with a fixed bevel gear 57.

An arm 60 is rotatably attached to the support frame 58 arranged on the rotary table 52 via a pin 59 extending in a direction orthogonal to the axis L of the rotary table 52, and is mounted on the rotary table 52. A tip end of a piston rod 61a of a fluid pressure cylinder 61 whose one end is pivotally attached is connected to an arm 60.

A pin 62 parallel to the pin 59 is attached to the tip of the arm 60, and a yoke-shaped bracket 63 is pivotally attached to the pin 62 via a substrate 63a, and the pin 62 is centered on the substrate 63a. Is formed as an arc-shaped angle adjusting long hole 64, and a guide pin 65 projecting from the tip side surface of the arm 60 is fitted into the long hole 64.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 to 5, the bracket 63 has a bracket 66 similar in shape to the bracket 63.
Is arranged so as to be fitted between the side plates of the bracket 63, and the pin 6 attached to the tip of the bracket 63 in parallel with the pin 62
The bracket 66 is pivotally attached to the bracket 7 so as to be rotatable with respect to the bracket 63.

A pin 68 oriented in a direction orthogonal to the pin 67 is rotatably supported by the top plate portion 66a of the bracket 66, and a probe assembly 69 is provided at the lower end of the pin 68.
Is installed. Pin 6 of the probe assembly 69
A gear 70 is engraved on the outer circumference on the 8 side, and a pinion 72 fixed to the output shaft of a drive device 71 such as a motor arranged inside the bracket 66 is engaged with the gear 70. Further, on the surface of the probe assembly 69 opposite to the pin 68 connection portion, three types of probes 39, 40, 41 are provided.
Is provided.

At the rear end of the arm 60, that is, at the end opposite to the side where the probe assembly 69 is arranged with reference to the pin 59 which is the center of rotation, the probes 39, 40, 41 are provided.
The fluid pressure cylinder 7 is arranged so that the axis line thereof becomes substantially parallel to the axis line L of the rotary table 52 when the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16 is brought into close contact with.
3 is attached, and at the tip of the piston rod 73a of the fluid pressure cylinder 73, in order to prevent the arm 60 from swinging at the time of inspection, the support means 4 containing the free ball 44a is provided.
4 is attached.

For example, in the case of inspecting a weld line that extends straight in the axial direction of the subject 16, the pole track 1 is arranged vertically in front of the subject 16 such as the reactor pressure vessel as shown in FIG. The automatic welding line inspection device is attached to the pole track 1 via the wheels 7 and 8, and the arm 60 is rotated by the fluid pressure cylinder 61 to bring the probe assembly 69 close to the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16 and the probe. 39, 40, 4
1 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16, and the fluid pressure cylinder 7
The supporting means 44 is moved forward by 3 to move the free ball 44a.
Is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16.

When the preparation is completed in this way, the driving device 54 is driven to rotate the rotary table 52, thereby swinging the arm 60 in the circumferential direction (horizontal direction) of the subject 16 and driving the driving device 11. And run frame 5
Elevate 1 along pole track 1. Then,
The probe assembly 69 horizontally moves so as to cross the welding line, ultrasonic waves are oscillated from a predetermined probe among the probes 39, 40, 41, and an inspection after welding is performed.

The loci of the respective parts when performing such an inspection are shown in FIG. 6, and the upward convex arc-shaped curve A represents the movement of the probe assembly 69 with respect to the rotary table 52, and the downward curve. The convex arcuate curved line B represents the movement of the traveling frame 51 when the traveling frame 51 moves up and down, and the horizontal straight line C represents the combination of the curved lines A and B, that is, while the arm 60 is being rotated. The movement of the probe assembly 69 when the traveling frame 51 is lowered is shown. Therefore, the probe assembly 69 can be linearly moved by moving the traveling frame 51 up and down while rotating the arm 60.

During the inspection, the drive unit 71 is driven so that the incident direction of the ultrasonic waves on the welding line is constant even if the arm 60 is rotated, and the probe assembly 69 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Rotate in the direction of arrow D to adjust the direction of the probe with respect to the welding line to a constant angle.

If the welding line is oriented vertically, the probe assembly 69 reciprocates in the circumferential direction of the subject 16,
Piston rods 61a, 7 of fluid pressure cylinders 61, 73
If the protrusion amount of 3a is kept constant, the probe 39,
The 40, 41 and the free ball 44a may move away from the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16 as the subject 16 moves in the circumferential direction, and smooth inspection may not be performed. Therefore, in this case, as the arm 60 swings and the traveling frame 51 moves up and down, the fluid pressure cylinders 61 and 73 are actuated to move the piston rods 61a and 73a back and forth, and the probe 3 is constantly operated.
It adjusts so that 9, 40, 41 and free ball 44a may contact the peripheral face of subject 16.

When the probe assembly 69 crosses the welding line, the range in which the traveling frame 51 moves up and down is slightly changed,
The arm 60 is rotated to detect the weld line in the same manner as described above. The movement of the probe assembly 69 when the flaw detection of the welding line is continuously performed becomes like a zigzag line E in FIG. 7. In addition, F in FIG. 7 is a welding line.

For example, in the case of inspecting a welding line extending horizontally and arcuately in the circumferential direction of the object 16, a pole track 1 extending horizontally and arcuately is arranged on the front surface of the object 16 and automatic welding line inspection is performed. The device is attached to the pole track 1 via the wheels 7 and 8, and the arm 60 is fixed by the fluid pressure cylinder 61.
Is rotated to bring the probes 39, 40 and 41 into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16, and the support means 4 is supported by the fluid pressure cylinder 73.
The free ball 44 a of No. 4 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the subject 16, and the driving device 54 moves the arm 60 in the axial direction (vertical direction) of the subject 16 via the rotary table 52 and drives the driving device 11. The traveling frame 51 is horizontally moved along the pole track 1. Therefore, the probe assembly 69 vertically moves so as to cross the welding line, and the welding line is inspected.

The movement of each part when performing such inspection becomes like the line obtained when the horizontal direction in FIG. 6 is changed to the vertical direction, and is obtained when the welding line is inspected by connecting. The movement of the probe assembly 69 becomes like a line obtained when the horizontal direction in FIG. 7 is changed to the vertical direction.

Further, rotating the probe assembly 69 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 6 at the time of inspection is the same as in the case where the above-mentioned welding line extends straight in the vertical direction, but the probe assembly 69 is also used. The free ball 44a of the support means 44 moves in the axial direction of the subject 16, and the probe assembly 6
9 and the free ball 44a and the subject 16 do not form a gap or exert an excessive force. Therefore, the piston rods 61a, 73 of the fluid pressure cylinders 61, 73 are not provided.
In principle, a does not need to be moved forward and backward when swinging the arm 60.

As described above, in this embodiment,
Whether the welding line of the test object such as the reactor vessel is straight or has an arc shape along the outer circumference of the test object, the inspection can be performed by the same device, and the incident direction of ultrasonic waves can be made constant.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0052]

According to the welding line automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention,
In the case of claim 1, since the welding line can be inspected by the same device, even if it is a linear welding line extending in the axial direction of the subject or an arc-shaped welding line along the outer periphery of the subject,
Since a spare device is not required, the trouble of changing the device depending on the direction of the welding line is eliminated, and in the case of claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the arm does not swing during the inspection, and the probe assembly is provided. Can be stably supported, and in the case of claim 3, in addition to the effects of claims 1 and 2, various excellent effects can be obtained such that the incident direction of ultrasonic waves can be made constant.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of an automatic welding line inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a probe assembly applied to the automatic welding line inspection apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the movement of each part when an inspection is performed by the welding line automatic inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the movement of the probe assembly when an inspection is performed along the welding line with the automatic welding line inspection apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a conventional welding line automatic inspection device.

9 is a view taken in the direction of arrow IX-IX in FIG.

10 is a plan view of FIG. 8 equipped with an arm used for moving the probe assembly in the circumferential direction of the subject.

11 is a plan view of FIG. 8 equipped with an arm used for moving the probe assembly in the axial direction of the subject.

FIG. 12 is a front view of a traveling frame of a conventional welding line automatic inspection device.

13 is a view taken in the direction of arrow XIII-XIII in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a frame in which a conventional welding line automatic inspection device can move in parallel.

15 is a view as seen in the direction of arrow XV-XV in FIG.

16 is a view taken in the direction of arrow XVI-XVI in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pole track (orbit) 39, 40, 41 Probe 44 Support means 44a Free ball 51 Travel frame (frame) 52 Rotary table 58 Support frame 60 Arm 69 Probe assembly L axis line (rotation axis line)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rotary table is provided on a frame which can run along a track laid close to the surface of the subject, and a rotary table is arranged so that the axis of rotation faces the surface of the subject. The installed support frame supports an arm whose tip can rotate in a direction in which the tip approaches and departs from the surface of the subject, and a probe is disposed near the tip of the arm on a surface facing the subject. Welding line automatic inspection device, which is equipped with the above-mentioned probe assembly. 2. A free ball is provided at the end of the arm opposite to the side on which the probe assembly is mounted, with reference to the center of rotation when the arm rotates so as to move closer to and away from the surface of the subject. The automatic welding line inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the supporting means having the above is attached so as to be able to approach and separate from the subject. 3. The automatic welding line inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the probe assembly can be rotated in a direction along the surface of the subject.