JPH08160012A - Rotary propulsion type flaw detector and moving direction selecting method at branch part of flaw sensor of the flaw detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make a rotary propulsion type flaw detector possible to select the moving direction of a flaw sensor at a branch part. CONSTITUTION: The rotary propulsion type flaw detector comprises a flaw sensor 3, a leading element 5 connected to the front side of the sensor 3 via a coiled spring 4, a long coiled wire 2 so formed as to connect at the end to the sensor 3, a rotary propulsion unit 1 for rotating the wire 2 to propel spirally by a protrusion engaged with a recess between the wire, and a flaw detector body 10 installed at the unit 1 side and connected to the sensor 3 via a wire 11 passing inside the wire 2. The protrusion is so formed as to be detachably connected by the advancing and retreating operation to the wire 2, an elongated part by energization of an electric an electric heater is formed at the spring 4, and a proximity sensor 40 for detecting the approach of the tees of the branch unit of a piping system to the bottom is provided at the leading element 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flaw detector for inspecting a corrosion state of a pipe such as a city gas supply pipe, and more particularly to a rotary propulsion flaw detector capable of flaw detection of a piping system including a bent portion. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for detecting flaws in a piping system such as a buried pipe, particularly a piping system including a bent portion such as an elbow and a tee, a flaw detection sensor, a driving vehicle, a camera head, etc. are flexibly connected. For example, a pipe inspection robot that self-propels in the pipe, a device that pulls a wire connected to the flaw detection sensor with a winch, and moves the flaw detection sensor into the pipe are used.

On the other hand, for flaw detection on a straight pipe, a flaw detection sensor is constructed by connecting a transmission unit equipped with a transmission coil and a reception unit equipped with a reception coil at a predetermined distance, and the flaw detection sensor is embedded in a buried pipe by a wire or the like. A remote field eddy current flaw detector is used to perform measurements while running. This flaw detector uses a low-frequency alternating current of, for example, several tens of Hz in the transmission coil to generate an electromagnetic wave, which is propagated to the reception coil across the pipe, and corrosion thinning existing in the vicinity of the reception coil. The detection target is detected by measuring the change in propagation time caused by the detection target such as a defect such as a through hole or a through hole, or a joint. At the same time, the position where the detection target is present is measured based on the running distance of the flaw detection sensor at this time.

On the other hand, as a conventional technique for moving a sensor or the like into a pipe including a bent portion, the sensor or the like is fixed to the tip of a coil wire, and the coil wire is rotationally propelled by a screw-shaped propulsion mechanism to move the sensor. There is a mechanism. See, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-49728.

[0005]

All of the above-mentioned devices for detecting flaws in a piping system including a bend are large in scale and must be purged by cutting both ends of the target pipe range. In addition to the high drilling costs,
Not applicable for small diameter piping systems.

On the other hand, in the prior art in which a sensor or the like is moved to a pipe system including a bent portion by a coil wire which is rotationally propelled by a screw-shaped propulsion mechanism, the moving direction at the branch portion of the pipe is not taken into consideration, and the moving direction is It is indefinite. That is, at the branching portion that branches from the straight pipe to the left and right straight pipes via the elbow and the tee, the sensor or the like cannot enter the straight direction and enters the left or right straight pipe.
For this reason, it has been difficult to perform flaw detection on a desired portion of the piping system by applying it to the flaw detection device.

The present invention was devised in view of the above point, and a flaw detection device such as a remote field eddy current flaw detection device which has been conventionally used only for a straight pipe can be applied to a complicated piping system including a curved pipe. The purpose of the present invention is to use a rotation-propulsion type so that it can be used, and to make sure that the branch portion can move in a desired direction.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, it is possible to connect a flaw detection sensor, a front conductor connected to the front side of the flaw detection sensor via a coil spring, and a flaw detection sensor at the tip. A long coil wire configured, a rotary propulsion device that rotates the coil wire and propels it in a screw shape by a protrusion that engages with a recess between the wires, and an electric wire that is installed on the rotary propulsion device side and that passes through the coil wire. The flaw detection device main body is connected to the flaw detection sensor through the protrusion, and the protrusion is configured to be engageable with and disengageable from the line recess by the coil wire advancing and retracting operation. We propose a rotary propulsion flaw detector with an extension part and a proximity sensor that detects the proximity of the branch part of the piping system to the bottom surface of the tee.

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned rotary propulsion flaw detector, when the front conductor reaches the tee from the elbow at the branch portion of the piping system by the rotary propulsion of the coil wire and approaches the bottom surface of the tee, the rotary propulsion operation is performed. The first operation of passing through the branch portion by continuation and the rotation propulsion being temporarily stopped by the detection of proximity, and then the coil wire was reversely rotated for a while while energizing the extension portion with the projection retracted from the inter-line recess After that, a method of selecting the moving direction at the branch portion by selecting the second operation in which the protrusion is again engaged with the recessed portion between the wires and the coil wire is rotated forward to pass through the branch portion is selected. To do.

According to the present invention, in the above structure, the proximity sensor is constructed by installing a proximity switch operated by the pipe wall of the pipe at a position close to the tip of the leading conductor and far from the side surface, and the extension portion is It is proposed that at least a part of the coil spring is made of a shape memory alloy or a thermal expansion material, and an electric heater is installed in the space in this part.

The flaw detection sensor to which the present invention is applied can be a remote field eddy current flaw detection sensor in which a transmission unit provided with a transmission coil and a reception unit provided with a reception coil are connected with a predetermined distance.

On the other hand, the rotary propulsion device rotatably supports the storage container in which the coil wire is wound and stored on the base body, and also has the support cylindrical portion on the base body corresponding to the surrounding upper part of the coil wire loading / unloading portion of the storage container. We propose a structure in which an actuating rod having a projection and a protrusion at its tip is movably supported on the side of the supporting projection, and the operating rod operating means is provided in the actuating cylinder.

[0013]

The coil spring, which is rotated and propelled by the coil wire through the flaw detection sensor, advances while bending itself while pressing the tip conductor against the inner wall of the tube at the bend by imparting appropriate elasticity. When the coil wire is propelled while rotating in the clockwise direction with respect to the traveling direction, the front conductor is pushed forward by the coil spring while being pressed against the inner wall on the left side with respect to the traveling direction, and therefore the branch conductor must be on the left side. Go in. Similarly, when the coil wire is propelled while rotating counterclockwise with respect to the traveling direction, the coil wire always enters the right side at the branch portion. When the coil wires are thus rotationally propelled in the same direction, the lead conductor, and thus the flaw detection sensor, can be moved only to one side of the branch portion depending on the winding direction of the coil wire.

However, when the leading conductor reaches the tee from the elbow of the branch portion of the piping system due to the rotational promotion of the coil wire and approaches the bottom surface of the tee, the rotational promotion of the coil wire is temporarily stopped, and a protrusion is formed in the stopped state. When the electric heater is energized and the coil wire is rotated in the reverse direction by the rotary propulsion device while the screw-shaped propulsion operation is released by retracting from the wire wire recessed portion of the coil wire, the lead conductor separates from the inner wall that had been pressed until then. , The inner conductor of the other side is pressed, and the extended portion of the coil spring is extended to push the front conductor forward, so that the front conductor enters the other side of the branch portion. After that, the projection is again engaged with the inter-wire concave portion and the coil wire is normally rotated,
The front conductor and the flaw detection sensor can be advanced in the direction in which the branch portion has entered.

Therefore, by selecting any one of the above operations, it is possible to select the moving direction at the branch portion of the flaw detection sensor.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows the structure and operation of a rotary propulsion flaw detector according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a rotary propulsion apparatus equipped with a screw-shaped propulsion mechanism, and 2 is a long-sized propeller that is rotationally propelled by this rotary propulsion apparatus. It is a tightly wound coil wire. Reference numeral 3 is a flaw detection sensor, and a front conductor 5 is connected to the front side of the flaw detection sensor 3 via a coil spring 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a piping system. In this piping system 6, an elbow 8 is connected to a horizontally installed straight pipe 7a, and a tee 9 is connected to the elbow 8, so that the right and left sides of the straight pipe 7a are connected to each other. A branch portion is formed to branch to the straight pipes 7b and 7c. Reference numeral 10 denotes a flaw detection apparatus main body, and the flaw detection circuit system and the power supply circuit system of the flaw detection apparatus main body 10, the flaw detection sensor 3, and a proximity sensor and an electric heater which will be described later are used for power supply and signal insertion through the coil wire 2. It is configured to be electrically connected via the electric wire 11 for use.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a specific example of the structure of the rotary propulsion device, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged views of the essential parts of FIG. In this rotary propulsion device 1, an outer shell 13 is mounted on the outer side of an inner shell 12, and a housing container 15 in which a cylindrical coil wire housing space 14 is formed between them is rotatably supported by a rotary bearing 17 on a base body 16. In the supported configuration, the storage container 15 is configured to be rotationally driven by, for example, driving the lower rotary shaft with an electric motor via a gear mechanism, a belt transmission mechanism, or the like. The storage container 15 constitutes a coil wire inlet / outlet portion 18 above the coil wire storage space 14, and the coil wire 2 is wound around the coil wire storage space 14 to be stored therein, and is inserted / removed via the coil wire inlet / outlet portion 18. I am trying. The end portion of the coil wire 2 which is inserted into the coil wire housing space 14 from the coil wire loading / unloading portion 18 and is housed is fixed to the housing container 15 below the coil wire housing space 14. At this time, the electric wire 11 is also a connector or the like. It is the structure connected by.

On the other hand, a supporting tubular portion 19 is fixedly provided on the base body 16 and protrudes above the periphery of the coil wire loading / unloading portion 18,
The coil wire 2 is inserted into the passage 20 of the support tubular portion 19. Then, on the side portion of the support tubular portion 19,
An operating rod 22 having a protrusion 21 at its tip for engaging with the recessed portion of the coil wire 2 is movably supported. Although the actuating rod 22 is formed only at one place in the drawing, it is actually formed at a plurality of places such as three places on the periphery. The rear end of the operating rod 22 is connected to the lower end of an operating link 24 that is rotatably supported at a fulcrum 23.
An operating roller 25 is provided at the upper end of 4. The actuating roller 25 is positioned in the inclined space 27 of the operating portion 26 to restrain the movement in the lateral direction in the figure. Inclined space 27
Is formed in an annular shape so as to correspond to the operating links 24 of the operating rods 22 at the plurality of locations. Further, the operating portion 26 is configured to be slidable on the outside of the support tubular portion 19, and a spring 28 is provided upward in the drawing.
It is urged by the lever and is locked so as not to slide at the positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 by the lock mechanism operated by the lever 29. The connection tube 30 is screwed onto the upper end of the support tube portion 19, and the connection tube 31 is fitted to the connection tube 30. The connecting pipe 31 is connected to the end of the rising pipe 7d standing on the ground in the piping system 6 via the water seal 32 as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a concrete example of the flaw detection sensor 3. The flaw detection sensor 3 is a remote field eddy current flaw detection sensor. That is, the flaw detection sensor 3 is configured by connecting a transmitting unit 34, around which the transmitting coil 33 is wound, and a receiving unit 36, around which a receiving coil 35 is wound, with a coil spring 37 at a predetermined distance. A pair of receiving coils 35 are provided on the front and rear sides of the moving direction of the receiving unit 36, respectively, to form a differential coil. And the transmission unit 34
As described above, the spherical front conductor 5 is connected to the front side of the through the coil spring 4. The coil spring 4 has a relatively long length in order to smoothly move the front conductor 5 at the bent portion of the piping system 6. The coil spring 4 has bending elasticity capable of supporting the weight of the front conductor 5 in the lateral direction. The coil spring 4 is partially or wholly formed as a stretched portion 38 of a shape memory alloy or a thermal expansion material, and an electric heater 39 is installed inside the stretched portion 38. Further, a proximity switch 40 that operates by the pipe wall of the pipe is installed in the front conductor 5 at a position close to the tip of the front conductor 5 and far from the side surface. Therefore, the proximity switch 38 is configured to issue an operation signal only when the tip end side of the leading conductor 5 approaches the tube wall. The electric wire 11 'for the proximity switch 40 and the electric heater 39 is inserted through the coil spring 4 toward the flaw detection sensor 3 and connected to the flaw detection apparatus body 10 through the coil wire 2. Although not shown, the coil wire 2 and the electric wire 11 for power supply and signal are detachably connected to the rear side of the receiving unit 36 via a connector.

In the state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the above construction, the operating link 24 is restrained by the lock mechanism, the operating rod 22 is in the protruding state, and the projection 21 is in the coil wire 2.
The state in which it is engaged with the line recess is maintained. Further, in this state, when the lever 29 is operated to release the lock mechanism and the operation portion 26 is pushed down against the urging force of the spring 28, the operation roller 25 moves inward along the inclined space 27 as shown in FIG. Since the operation link 24 is rotated, the lower end of the operation link 24 is moved outward, so that the operation rod 22 is moved and the projection 2 is moved.
One retreats. In this state, the protrusion 21 does not engage with the inter-line recess of the coil wire 2, so that the coil wire 2 can freely move along the passage 20 of the support tubular portion 19.

As described above, the projection 21 has the coil wire 2
When the storage container 15 is rotationally driven by a drive source such as a motor in a state of being engaged with the line recessed portion, the coil wire 2 is rotationally driven together with the storage container 15 and the support tubular portion 1
Since the coil wire 2 rotates in the passage 20 of the coil wire 2,
Is driven and propelled in a screw shape by the projection 21 in a fixed state with respect to the support tubular portion 19. That is, assuming that the coil wire 2 is right-handed, it moves forward when it is rotating clockwise in the forward direction and moves backward when it is rotating counterclockwise.

As described above, the coil wire 2 is rotated, propelled in the pipe 7 of the pipe system 6 to move the flaw detection sensor 3, and flaw detection can be carried out at various places. At this time, the position of the flaw detection sensor 3 can be detected by the moving distance that can be calculated from the pitch of the coil wire 2 and the integrated rotation speed.

The straight pipe 7a is produced by the rotational propulsion of the coil wire 2.
The leading conductor 5 that has moved inside reaches the elbow 8 at the branching portion, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the coil spring 4 supports the weight and moves forward, and contacts the inner wall of the elbow 8 in front. When the leading conductor 5 contacts the inner wall, the coil spring 4 pushes the leading conductor 5 in the bending direction, that is, downward. When the leading conductor 5 moves downward in this manner, the coil spring 4 is pressed against the inner wall in front of the elbow 8, and the leading conductor 5 is advanced while bending along the inner wall as shown in FIG.

At this time, assuming that the coil wire 2 is right-handed and is propelled by clockwise rotation in the forward direction, the coil spring 4 uses the point of contact with the inner wall of the elbow 8 as a fulcrum to move in the forward direction. Since the front conductor 5 is propelled in a clockwise direction toward the elbow 8 while being pressed against the inner wall on the left side in the propelling direction as shown in FIG.
And it descends in the tee 9. Since the leading conductor 5 is propelled by the coil spring 4 while receiving a force in the left direction,
As shown in FIG. 9, when it reaches the space of the branch portion of the tee 9, it enters in the direction of the forward direction toward the left straight pipe 7b. On the contrary, when the coil wire 2 is left-handed and is propelled by counterclockwise rotation in the propelling direction, the front conductor 5 enters in the direction of the right straight pipe 7c.

When the coil wire 2 is rotationally propelled in the same direction in this way, the leading conductor 5, and thus the flaw detection sensor 3 can be moved only to one side of the branch portion depending on the winding direction of the coil wire 2. .

Therefore, in the present invention, when the leading conductor 5 reaches the tee 9 from the elbow 8 of the branch portion of the piping system 6 by the rotational propulsion of the coil wire 2, the following operation is performed to perform the propulsion operation in the same rotational direction. The front conductor 5 can be moved in the opposite direction to the case of continuing. That is, the front conductor 5 reaches the tee 9 from the elbow 8 of the branch portion by the rotation and propelling of the coil wire 2, and the tip of the front conductor 5 approaches the bottom surface of the tee 9 as shown in FIG. When it is emitted, the flaw detection apparatus main body 10 stops the rotation of the storage container 15 by stopping the electric motor or releasing the clutch. Next, the operating portion 26 is pushed down, and this state is maintained to maintain the state in which the projection 21 of the actuating rod 22 is retracted from the recessed portion of the coil wire 2 so that the screw wire is not propelled even when the coil wire 2 is rotated. State. In this state, the electric heater 39 is energized from the flaw detection apparatus body 10 via the electric wire 11 inserted into the coil wire 2, and the storage container 15 is temporarily rotated in the reverse direction. Therefore, the coil wire 2 rotates in the reverse direction, and the front conductor 5 is separated from the inner wall that has been pressed until then, and is pressed against the inner wall on the other side, that is, the inner wall on the right side, which is opposite to the state shown in FIG. . At the same time, the extension portion 38 of the coil spring 4 extends and pushes out the front conductor 5, so that the front conductor 5 continues to rotate in the same direction as that shown in FIG. 10, that is, in the same direction. The straight pipe 7b, which is opposite to the straight pipe 7b. Therefore,
Thereafter, the operating portion 26 is brought to the upper position by the urging force of the spring 28, and the protrusion 21 is again engaged with the inter-wire concave portion by the lock mechanism to rotate the storage container 15 in the forward direction to rotationally propel the coil wire 2. The flaw detection sensor 3 can be moved forward.

Therefore, when any of the above operations, that is, the rotational propulsion of the coil wire 2, the leading conductor 5 reaches the tee 9 from the elbow 8 of the branch portion of the piping system 6 and approaches the bottom surface thereof, the rotational propulsion operation is performed. Is continuously passed through the branch portion and the rotation propulsion is temporarily stopped by the detection of the proximity, and then the electric heater 39 is energized while the projection 21 is retracted from the inter-wire concave portion and the coil wire. 2 is rotated in the reverse direction for a while, and then the projection 21 is engaged with the recessed portion between the wires again, and the second operation in which the forward rotation of the coil wire 2 is propelled in the forward direction is selected. It is possible to select the moving direction at the branch portion of.

[0028]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. Since it moves in the pipe while rotating the flaw detection sensor,
Good mobility in pipes, especially insertability in obstacles and curved pipes. It is a relatively simple device, can be applied to small diameter pipes, and does not require purging or excavation and is inexpensive. If there is a branch in the piping system, the flaw detection sensor can be moved in the selected direction by simply selecting the operation without replacing the rotary propulsion device or replacing the coil wire. Because it can be done, flaw detection is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing the configuration and operation of a rotary propulsion flaw detector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a rotary propulsion device applied to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of an essential part showing a state in which the state of FIG. 2 is operated to release the engagement of the protrusion.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a flaw detection sensor applied to the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a point in time of the moving operation in the branch portion of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another time point of the moving operation in the branch portion of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing still another time point of the moving operation in the branch portion of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing still another time point of the moving operation in the branch portion of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing still another time point of the moving operation in the branch portion of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rotational propulsion device 2 Coil wire 3 Flaw detection sensor 4 Coil spring 5 Lead conductor 6 Piping system 7a, 7b, 7c Straight pipe 8 Elbow 9 Tee 10 Flaw detection device body 11 Electric wire 12 Inner shell 13 Outer shell 14 Coil wire storage space 15 Storage container 16 Base 17 Rotating bearing 18 Coil wire entry / exit 19 Support tube 20 Passage 21 Projection 22 Actuation rod 23 Support point 24 Actuation link 25 Actuation roller 26 Operation part 27 Inclined space 28 Spring 29 Lever 30 Connection tube 31 Connection pipe 32 Water seal Device 33 Transmission coil 34 Transmission unit 35 Reception coil 36 Reception unit 37 Coil spring 38 Extension part 39 Electric heater 40 Proximity sensor (proximity switch)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A flaw detection sensor, a front conductor connected to the front side of the flaw detection sensor via a coil spring, a long coil wire configured to be connectable to the flaw detection sensor at the tip, and the coil wire is rotated to A rotary propulsion device for propelling it in a screw shape by a projection engaging with a line recess, and a flaw detection device main body installed on the rotary propulsion device side and connected to a flaw detection sensor via an electric wire passing through the coil wire, The projection is configured to be engageable with and disengageable from the recess between the wires by advancing and retracting the coil wire, the coil spring is provided with an extension portion by energization of an electric heater, and the leading conductor is connected to the bottom surface of the tee at the branch portion of the piping system. Propulsion type flaw detector with a proximity sensor for detecting the proximity of 2. The proximity sensor comprises a proximity switch which is operated by a pipe wall of the pipe and is installed at a position near the tip of the leading conductor and far from the side surface.
Rotational propulsion flaw detector described 3. The rotary propulsion flaw detector according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the coil spring is formed of a shape memory alloy as an extension part, and an electric heater is installed in a space within this part. 4. The rotary propulsion flaw detector according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the coil spring is formed as an extension part by a thermal expansion material, and an electric heater is installed in a space in this part. 5. The rotary propulsion flaw detector according to claim 1, wherein the flaw detection sensor is a remote field eddy current flaw detection sensor in which a transmission unit provided with a transmission coil and a reception unit provided with a reception coil are connected at a predetermined distance. 6. A rotation propulsion device rotatably supports a storage container in which coil wires are wound and stored on a base body, and a support cylinder portion is provided on the base body at a position above and around the coil wire loading / unloading portion of the storage container. 2. The rotary propulsion according to claim 1, wherein an actuating rod which is projectingly provided with a protrusion at its tip is movably supported on a side portion of the supporting protrusion, and an operating means for the actuating rod is provided on the actuating cylinder portion. Type flaw detector 7. A flaw detection sensor, a front conductor connected to the front side of the flaw detection sensor via a coil spring, a long coil wire configured to be connectable to the flaw detection sensor at the tip, and the coil wire being rotated, A rotary propulsion device for propelling it in a screw shape by a projection engaging with a line recess, and a flaw detection device main body installed on the rotary propulsion device side and connected to a flaw detection sensor via an electric wire passing through the coil wire, The projection is configured to be engageable with and disengageable from the recess between the wires by advancing and retracting the coil wire, the coil spring is provided with an extension portion by energization of an electric heater, and the leading conductor is connected to the bottom surface of the tee at the branch portion of the piping system. In a rotary propulsion flaw detector equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the proximity of the lead wire, the tip conductor moves from the elbow at the branch part of the piping system to the tee due to the rotation propulsion of the coil wire, and comes close to the bottom surface. In such a case, the first operation of passing the branch portion by continuing the rotational propulsion operation and the temporary stop of the rotational propulsion by the detection of proximity, and then the projection is retracted from the inter-line concave portion to energize the extension portion. Meanwhile, after the coil wire is reversely rotated for a while, the projection is engaged with the inter-line concave portion again, and the second operation of passing the branch portion by the forward rotation of the coil wire is selected. For selecting the moving direction at the branching portion of the flaw detection sensor in the rotary propulsion flaw detector, characterized in that the moving direction of the flaw is selected