JPH0769284A - Swimming type underwater visual inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enlarge the degree of freedom for swimming and a visual observation range in a swimming type underwater visual inspection device containing a pressure casing in which a camera and a lighting device are loaded by providing a propulsive mechanism in which longitudinally and vertically propulsive mechanisms are arranged so as to meet the axes at right angles with each other. CONSTITUTION:This submergible vehicle 1 in a swimming type underwater visual inspection device applied to visual inspection of a pressure vessel or the like in a nuclear power station and the like, is constituted by mounting a longitudinally propulsive mechanism 5, a vertically propulsive mechanism 6, a balance weight 7 as a posture control means, a movable television camera 8 and a lighting device for visual observation, and the like in a pressure vessel 4 of nearly spherical form and transparence at a part. The longitudinally propulsive mechanism 5 has a drive mechanism rotating normally or reversely a pair of propellers arranged right and left at the same height of the behind part of the casing 4, the vertically propulsive mechanism 6 is provided so as to meet the axis at right angles with that of the propulsive mechanism 5, and has a drive mechanism rotating a cylindrical screw normally or reversely in a water passage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus applied to visual inspection of internal structures or equipment of pressure vessels or pools in nuclear power plants, etc. or various underwater inspections other than nuclear facilities. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when performing visual observation in water by remote control, such as in a nuclear facility, it has been common to use a fixed camera or a camera provided on a moving body along an orbit.

However, since these devices have a drawback that they can see only a certain portion and the inspection range is restricted, in recent years, an inspection device which is equipped with a camera and can freely move in water is being developed. . For example, a pressure-resistant casing equipped with a visual observation camera and a lighting device is provided with a propulsion mechanism and attitude control means to form an underwater vehicle, and a visual inspection is performed while the underwater vehicle is remotely operated to swim in water. It was done like this.

[0004]

However, while there are many narrow parts inside the nuclear reactor and the like, the structure of the conventional inspection apparatus cannot necessarily be sufficiently miniaturized. Further, if an attempt is made to improve the degree of freedom of swimming or to expand the visual range, the structure becomes complicated, and various problems are likely to occur in production and use.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and has a simple structure and can be downsized, can easily approach each part of a nuclear reactor, etc., and is effective in expanding the degree of freedom of swimming and the range of visual observation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus which can be easily adjusted and can perform detailed visual inspection easily by freely changing the direction of the camera.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an underwater vehicle is constructed by providing a propulsion mechanism and an attitude control means in a pressure-resistant casing equipped with a visual observation camera and a lighting device. In a swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus configured to perform a visual inspection while swimming in water by remote control, as a propulsion mechanism, a forward-backward propulsion mechanism and a vertical propulsion mechanism capable of forward / reverse propulsion in the casing are mutually propelled with respect to each other. Is provided so as to be orthogonal to each other, and as an attitude control means, a balance weight that is rotatable on an outer surface of the casing on an axis orthogonal to the propulsion axes of the propulsion mechanisms is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to the first aspect, the front-rear direction propulsion mechanism and the up-down direction propulsion mechanism are arranged parallel to each other along the axial direction of the balance weight. It is characterized by being.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the camera is provided in the casing so that the direction of the camera can be changed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to the third aspect, a plurality of illuminating devices are arranged along the direction of the change in the direction of the camera, and the illuminating device is arranged in the direction of the camera. It is characterized in that it can be turned on correspondingly.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as the propulsion mechanism, the casing is provided with the forward and backward propelling mechanism capable of forward and reverse propelling and the vertical propelling mechanism in such a manner that the propelling axes are orthogonal to each other. The underwater movement can be easily performed by the operation of each propulsion mechanism. Also,
As the attitude control means, a balance weight rotatable on an axis orthogonal to the propulsion axes of both propulsion mechanisms is provided on the outer surface of the casing, so that the casing moves counter to the center of gravity due to the rotation of the balance weight. Can change the posture of. Therefore, since the drive mechanism is relatively simple, the structure is simple, the size can be reduced, and each part of the nuclear reactor or the like can be easily approached.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, a longitudinal propulsion mechanism and a vertical propulsion mechanism are provided.
Since the pairs are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the balance weight, the propulsion direction can be changed by making the propulsion force and the direction different for each propulsion mechanism. Therefore, a steering mechanism or the like is not required, the degree of freedom of swimming can be increased, and the casing can be made smaller, for example, by making it spherical.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, by providing the camera so that the orientation thereof can be changed with respect to the casing, in addition to the large degree of freedom of swimming as described above, the orientation of the camera can be independently set up and down. It can be changed freely for detailed visual inspection. Therefore, the range of visual observation can be expanded as compared with the conventional apparatus, and the inspection direction can be improved because the visual direction can be changed while keeping the casing in a fixed posture.

According to the invention of claim 4, a plurality of lighting devices are arranged along the direction of change of the direction of the camera, and the lighting device can be turned on in accordance with the direction of the camera. Therefore, a limited power source is used. It is possible to efficiently and clearly illuminate and observe the necessary visual target.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The present embodiment relates to a swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus for in-reactor inspection, which is roughly divided into an underwater vehicle 1 and a controller 2 for remotely operating the same, as shown in FIG. , These are connected by the cable 3.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the underwater vehicle 1 includes a pressure-resistant casing 4 having a substantially spherical shape and a part of which is transparent, a longitudinal propulsion mechanism 5, a vertical propulsion mechanism 6, and a balance weight as attitude control means. 7, a movable television camera 8 for visual observation, a lighting device 9 and the like are mounted.

In order to facilitate the explanation, FIG.
1 is a basic posture, a portion where the TV camera 8 is arranged (left side portion in FIG. 1) is a front portion, a portion where the forward-backward propulsion mechanism 6 is arranged (right side portion in FIG. 1) is a rear portion, and further from the rear portion to the front portion. The up and down directions and the left and right directions will be explained while looking at the parts.

The pressure-resistant casing 4 includes a plurality of vertically split elements, for example, a center frame 4a located at the center,
The left and right side frames 4b sandwiching this are combined with each other, and the television camera 8 is attached to the center frame 4a, and the front and rear direction propulsion mechanism 5, the vertical direction propulsion mechanism 6, and the balance propulsion mechanism 6 are attached to each side frame 4b. A weight 7 and a lighting device 9 are attached. TV camera 8
The front part of the casing 4 that covers the lighting device 9 is made of transparent pressure-resistant glass.

The front-back propulsion mechanism 5 includes a pair of left and right propellers 10 arranged at the same height at the rear of the casing 4.
And a drive mechanism 11 for rotating them in forward and reverse directions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the motor as the drive mechanism 11 is mounted in each of the left and right side frames 4b, and the output shaft 12 and the propeller 10 are connected to each other by a sealed magnet type connection structure. That is, the output shaft 12 and the propeller 10 are separated by the cylindrical partition wall 13, and the output shaft 12 and the propeller 10 are magnetically coupled via the magnets 14 and 15 arranged inside and outside the partition wall 13, The propeller 10 is driven to rotate.

Then, the pair of front-back propulsion mechanisms 5
Can be driven independently of each other, and the jet flow is controlled by changing the rotation speed or the rotation direction, whereby the left and right turning can be performed during forward / backward movement or in a stopped state.

The vertical propulsion mechanism 6 is arranged such that the propulsion axis is orthogonal to the longitudinal propulsion mechanism 5, and each side frame 4b.
It is provided in. That is, the vertical propulsion mechanism 6 is
Water passage holes 16 that are located substantially in the center of the front and rear direction of each side frame 4b and pass through in the up and down direction, and cylindrical screws 17 that are spirally formed in the water passage holes 16 respectively.
And a drive mechanism 18 for rotating them forward and backward. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the motor as the drive mechanism 18 is mounted in each of the left and right side frames 4b, and the hollow shaft 23 is connected to the output shaft 19 thereof via the belt 20 and the pulleys 21 and 22. There is. The hollow shaft 23 and the screw 17 are connected to each other by a sealing magnet type connecting structure. That is, the hollow shaft 23
The screw 17 and the screw 17 are separated by a cylindrical partition wall 24. The magnets 25, 2 arranged inside and outside the partition wall 24 are separated from each other.
The hollow shaft 23 and the screw 17 are magnetically coupled to each other via 6, and the screw 17 is rotationally driven. The pair of vertical propelling mechanisms 4 can also be driven independently of each other, and the jet speed is controlled by varying the rotational speed or the rotational direction, whereby the casing 4 can be tilted left and right at an arbitrary inclination angle. It has become.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the balance weight 7 is a flat plate having a substantially triangular shape with a bulged lower portion, and is arranged in a pair on the left and right outer surfaces of the casing 4. A position above the center of gravity of each balance weight 7 is connected via a bolt 28 to a support shaft 27 along a direction (left-right direction) orthogonal to the propulsion shaft centers of both propulsion mechanisms 5 and 6, and the support shaft 27 It is rotatable about its axis. The support shaft 27 is supported by the side frame 4b, and the motor 29 provided on the center frame 4a is connected to the gear 3.
It is connected via 0 and 31 and can be rotated forward and backward. With the rotation of the support shaft 27, the balance weight 7
When is rotated, the position of the center of gravity of the balance weight 7 changes back and forth relative to the casing 4. However, since the center of gravity of the balance weight 7 is always vertically downward, the reaction thereof causes the casing 4 to tilt in the front-back direction. I will change my posture.

The movable television camera 8 for visual observation is attached to a disc 32 which rotates in the center frame 4a, and can change its direction in the vertical direction at the front portion of the casing 4. That is, the disc 32 is supported by a shaft 33 extending in the left-right direction at the center of the center frame 4a, and the disc 32 is connected to a motor 36 via a gear 34 provided on the peripheral portion and a gear 35 meshing with the gear 34. ing. The disk 3 is driven by the motor 36.
When 2 rotates forward and backward, the TV camera 8 is turned up and down. This TV camera 8
The lens portion 8a of the motor 37 attached to the disk 32
Is rotatably connected to the lens via a belt 38 and pulleys 39 and 40, which enables focus adjustment.
The rotation position of the TV camera 8 is the potentiometer 4
7 is detected.

The illuminating device 9 is arranged on both the left and right sides of the television camera 8 and has a plurality of, for example, three lamps 41 arranged on the side frame 4a at intervals. Reflectors 42 are arranged on the side and the back of each lamp 41,
A certain area in front of the casing 4 is irradiated. Each of the lamps 41 is turned on at a position corresponding to the direction of the television camera 8 by the control means provided in the controller 2, so that the object can be efficiently illuminated.

It should be noted that the direction of each lamp 41 may be generally set so as to stand up from the casing 4 as shown in FIG. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7 to 9, the lamps are mounted horizontally or vertically depending on the lamp position. As a result, it is possible to effectively improve the reflectivity according to the arrangement of the lamps and simplify the mounting structure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the cable 3 has a terminal portion 43 in the casing 4, and the motors, the television camera, the lamp and the like are connected to the terminal portion 43. Further, the controller 2 includes a control device 44, a monitor television 45, a joystick 46 and the like.

When the apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above is used for inspection inside the nuclear reactor, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the controller 2 installed on the nuclear reactor 48 is used.
The underwater vehicle 1 is introduced into the furnace by the operation. Then, the front-rear propulsion mechanism 5 and the vertical propulsion mechanism 6 are operated by remote control, and the underwater vehicle 1 is levitated, submerged, moved forward, retreated, turned, and moved to a target position. After that, the television camera 8 and the illumination device 9 irradiate and perceive the object. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the balance weight 7 is rotated rearward of the casing 4 so that the television camera 8 faces upward.

According to the apparatus of this embodiment as described above, since the forward / reverse propulsion mechanism 5 and the vertical propulsion mechanism 6 capable of forward / reverse propulsion are provided in the casing 4 in such a manner that the propulsion axes thereof are orthogonal to each other, the front / rear direction and the vertical direction The unidirectional water movement can be easily performed by the operation of each propulsion mechanism 5, 6.

As the attitude control means, the casing 4
Since the balance weight 7 rotatable on the axis orthogonal to the propulsion axes of both propulsion mechanisms is provided on the outer surface of the, the posture of the casing 4 is reactively moved by the movement of the center of gravity by the rotation of the balance weight 7. Can be changed. Therefore, since the drive mechanism for attitude control is relatively simple, the structure is simple and downsized, and each part of the reactor can be easily approached.

Since the pair of front-rear propulsion mechanism 5 and vertical propulsion mechanism 6 are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the balance weight 7, the propulsive force and direction may be different for each propulsion mechanism. Can change the driving direction. Therefore, a steering mechanism or the like is not required, the degree of freedom of swimming can be increased, and the casing 4 can be made smaller by making the shape of the casing 4 spherical.

Further, since the television camera 8 is provided so as to be able to change its orientation with respect to the casing 4, the orientation of the television camera 8 can be independently changed up and down to perform a detailed visual inspection. Therefore, it becomes possible to expand the range of visual observation as compared with the conventional device,
Since the viewing direction can be changed while keeping the casing 4 in a fixed posture, the inspection speed can be improved.

Furthermore, the illumination device 9 is replaced by the television camera 8
In addition to arranging a plurality of them along the direction of change in direction, it is possible to light in correspondence with the one that matches the direction of the TV camera 8. Therefore, by using the limited power supply, the necessary visual target can be efficiently used, It is possible to clearly illuminate and observe.

[0033]

As described above, according to the swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus of the present invention, the structure is simple and the size can be reduced, each part such as a nuclear reactor can be easily approached, and the degree of freedom of swimming can be improved. The visual range can be effectively expanded, and by freely changing the direction of the camera up and down, it is possible to easily perform a detailed visual inspection.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an embodiment of a swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to the present invention for pumping water.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the underwater vehicle of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a left side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the underwater vehicle of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a camera section of the underwater vehicle of the embodiment.

6 is a side sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a ramp portion of the underwater vehicle of the embodiment.

8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of FIG.

9 is a plan view of an essential part of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a usage state of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state where the orientation of the underwater vehicle is changed in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Underwater vehicle 4 Casing 5 Front-rear propulsion mechanism 6 Vertical propulsion mechanism 7 Balance weight 8 Television camera 9 Lighting device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G21C 19/02 C 8908-2G H04N 5/225 C

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An underwater vehicle is constructed by providing a propulsion mechanism and a posture control means in a pressure-resistant casing equipped with a visual observation camera and a lighting device, and a visual inspection is performed while the underwater vehicle is remotely operated to swim in water. In the swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus configured to perform the above, as a propulsion mechanism, a forward-backward propulsion mechanism capable of forward and reverse propulsion and a vertical propulsion mechanism are provided in the casing in such a manner that their propulsion axes are orthogonal to each other, and the attitude control means is provided. The swimming type underwater visual inspection apparatus is characterized in that a balance weight is provided on the outer surface of the casing so as to be rotatable on an axis orthogonal to the propulsion axes of the propulsion mechanisms. 2. The swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front-rear direction propulsion mechanism and the up-down direction propulsion mechanism are arranged in parallel along the axial direction of the balance weight. A characteristic swimming type underwater visual inspection device. 3. The swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the camera is provided on the casing so that the orientation can be changed. 4. The swimming-type underwater visual inspection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of lighting devices are arranged along the direction of change of the orientation of the camera, and can be turned on in accordance with the orientation of the camera. A swimming-type underwater visual inspection device characterized in that