JPH11211707A - Pipe inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save labor for inspecting a pipe and to simplify a pipe inspecting device. SOLUTION: A pipe inspecting device 1 for inspecting a group of pipes is provided with a sensor 4 for inspection and a driving truck 2 that clings to a pipe 15 to be inspected and can drive in the longer direction of the pipe and can rotate in the peripheral direction of the pipe. In the driving truck 2, an upper truck 2a and a lower truck 2b are connected by a linking mechanism 3 so that they can be opened and closed in upper and lower directions, one drive wheel 6 for driving and two drive wheels 7 for rotation are provided at the front and rear, respectively, in the upper truck 2a, and two drive wheels 7a and one drive wheel 6a for driving are provided at the front and rear, respectively, in the lower truck 2b. Then, wheels 6, 6a, 7, and 7a are omnidirectional wheels 5 that are capable of a drive at right angle to a rotary shaft 8 and are capable of following in the same direction as the rotary shaft 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe inspection apparatus and, more particularly, to a pipe inspection apparatus for inspecting a pipe group such as an inner pipe of a fluidized-bed boiler.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An in-layer pipe of a pressurized fluidized bed boiler (PFBC) has a plurality of panel-shaped pipe groups arranged with a narrow gap in order to maintain high heat exchange. The group of pipes is arranged so as to alternately turn left and right in the horizontal direction, meander, and connect vertically.

[0003] The panel-shaped pipe group is buried in the fluidized bed, and the pipe is worn by a fluid medium and pulverized coal as if sanded with sandpaper. The thickness of the layer is detected periodically.

As described above, as a pipe inspection apparatus for inspecting a panel-shaped pipe group horizontally disposed in a narrow portion such as an inner pipe of a boiler, a pipe inspection apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-1459).
No. 07 publication) has been proposed.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tube inspection apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-145907. This pipe inspection device
A traveling vehicle that travels on a rail laid along the pipe axis direction above the panel-shaped piping group, and can be raised and lowered in a gap between the panel-shaped piping group and the piping group below the traveling vehicle. It consists of an inspection device that has a traveling mechanism that is suspended and can travel in the pipe axis direction while gripping the pipe to be inspected, and that has an inspection mechanism that moves the pipe inspection device in the circumferential direction of the pipe to be inspected. is there. According to the main inspection apparatus, the inspection device is suspended from the traveling carriage so as to be able to ascend and descend, so that the mounting and dismounting of the inspection device can be remotely controlled and labor saving can be achieved.

[0006]

However, in the pipe inspection apparatus described above, rails for running the traveling carriage must be laid. However, it is difficult to lay the rails above the pipe group because the space is narrow. is there. Since the inspection device is hung in the gap between the panel-shaped piping group and the piping group, the mechanism for gripping the piping to be inspected and the mechanism for scanning the inspection device in the circumferential direction of the pipe are turned into a thin type. It must be stored inside the body. Further, in order to secure a gap over the entire inspection range, the interval between panels must be increased by an air bag or the like, and a lot of time has been spent on the preparation work. Further, if the pipe groups are arranged in a staggered manner, or if the pipe groups are arranged in three rows, it is difficult to apply them to the pipes arranged on the back side of the panel.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the various problems described above. That is, the present invention reduces the preparation work time for expanding the panel interval by an airbag or the like, eliminates the steering mechanism, and simultaneously moves in the axial direction and the circumferential direction with a small load and is affected by the arrangement shape of the piping group. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pipe inspection apparatus capable of performing inspection at all positions without any need, thereby saving labor in pipe inspection and simplifying the apparatus.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a pipe inspection apparatus for inspecting a group of pipes, which has an inspection sensor and is held in a pipe to be inspected in a longitudinal direction of the pipe. It has a traveling bogie that can run and rotate in the pipe circumferential direction. The traveling bogie is connected to the upper bogie and the lower bogie so that they can be opened and closed in the vertical direction by a link mechanism. And the lower bogie has two rotating drive wheels in the front and one traveling drive wheel in the rear. A tube inspection apparatus is provided, wherein each wheel is an omnidirectional wheel capable of driving in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis and driven in the same direction as the rotation axis.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the upper bogie has two traveling drive wheels in the front and one rotating drive wheel in the rear, and the lower bogie has the front drive wheels. Has one driving wheel for rotation and two driving wheels for traveling behind.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the two or four driving wheels is provided,
At least one of the four or two rotating drive wheels is respectively connected to a drive motor.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The omnidirectional wheel has a base portion fixed to a rotating shaft and two wheels each having a spindle-shaped roller portion rotatably mounted on the base portion at an interval of 120 ° in parallel, and are arranged side by side by being shifted by 60 °. It becomes.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. If the interval between the piping group having the piping to be inspected and the piping group is narrow, the interval is expanded in advance by an airbag or the like. An upper bogie and a lower bogie are connected in the gap between the expanded pipe group and the pipe group so as to be openable and closable in a vertical direction by a link mechanism. From the top to the side of the pipe to be inspected. The upper trolley and the lower trolley are opened slightly larger than the outer circumference of the pipe to be inspected by the link mechanism, and are pushed horizontally above and below the pipe to be inspected from the lateral direction of the pipe to be inspected. After being pushed in, the upper carriage and the lower carriage are closed from above and below by a link mechanism, so that each wheel comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the pipe to be inspected and is held. Release the grip bar from the carriage. The upper bogie has one driving drive wheel in the front and two rotating drive wheels in the rear, and the lower bogie has two rotating drive wheels in the front and one running drive wheel in the rear. Therefore, the traveling trolley is supported by three-point support by forming a triangular shape and an inverted triangular shape, and it is easy to grip and position the pipe to be inspected. In this way, the traveling carriage is held and held on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe to be inspected, and the traveling driving wheel is driven when moving in the axial direction of the pipe, and the rotating driving wheel is driven when moving in the circumferential direction of the pipe. I do. The driving wheels are
Since it is an omnidirectional wheel, one wheel performs rotational driving and following. Therefore, even in a narrow portion such as the inner tube of the boiler, the inspection can be performed while coping with the change in the outer diameter of the tube and the arrangement of the tubes in three rows. Because of such a structure, it is small as a whole, requires less space around the piping at the time of inspection, and in many cases, it is not necessary to expand the space by an airbag or the like. In addition, when removing the traveling vehicle from the pipe to be inspected, the procedure is performed in the reverse procedure of when the traveling vehicle is attached.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a pipe inspection apparatus of the present invention, showing a state where the pipe inspection apparatus is attached to a pipe to be inspected. FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a view showing an installation state of the pipe inspection device of the present invention.

1 to 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a pipe inspection apparatus. The pipe inspection apparatus 1 has an inspection sensor 4, a traveling trolley 2 embraced by a pipe 15 to be inspected and rotatable in a pipe longitudinal direction and a pipe circumferential direction, and an upper trolley 2 a and a lower trolley 2 b.
Are connected by a link mechanism 3 so that they can be opened and closed in the vertical direction. The upper bogie 2a has one traveling drive wheel 6 in the front and two rotational drive wheels 7 in the rear, and the lower bogie 2b has two rotational drive wheels 7a in the front. It has one traveling drive wheel 6a at the rear. Each wheel 6,
The omnidirectional wheels 6 a, 7, and 7 a can be driven in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft 8 and driven in the same direction as the rotation shaft 8.

The upper carriage 2a and the lower carriage 2b are composed of two front and rear bases, and the front and rear bases are connected by connecting members 2c and 2d. The pipe inspection sensor 4 is mounted on an arm 4a provided on the front surface of the upper carriage 2a, and can be moved toward and away from the pipe 15 to be inspected by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the link mechanism 3 is composed of one upper link 3a in the form of two quadrants and one upper part having a combination of an upper vertical portion and a lower quadrant arc. The lower link 3b is combined with the upper link 3a so as to sandwich the lower link 3b, and is connected by a pin 3c. The upper end of the upper link 3a is rotatably connected to the connecting member 2c of the upper bogie 2a. The lower end is the connecting member 2 of the lower carriage 2b
It is rotatably connected to d. Reference numeral 16 denotes an air cylinder, and a base end 16b of the air cylinder 16 is rotatably connected to the connecting member 2c of the upper carriage 2a.
Is rotatably connected to the upper end of the lower link 3b.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the omnidirectional wheel. The driving wheels 6, 6a for driving the omnidirectional wheels 5 and the driving wheels 7,
As shown in FIG. 6, a unit 11a includes a base 9 fixed to the rotating shaft 8 and a spindle-shaped roller 10 rotatably mounted on the base 9 at intervals of 120 °. Are arranged in parallel and shifted by 60 °.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The driving wheel 6a of the vehicle a is driven by a driving motor 12 provided in the upper vehicle 2a, and the driving wheel 6a of the lower vehicle 2b is driven by a driving motor 12a provided in the lower vehicle 2b.
Accordingly, the rotating shaft 8 is driven and rotated via the bevel gears 17 and 17a. Then, the spindle-shaped roller portions 10 and 10a attached to the base portion 9 are driven to rotate in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft 8 without rotating by themselves, and the traveling vehicle 2
Moves in the axial direction of the pipe 15 to be inspected. On the other hand, the drive wheel 7 for rotation of the upper truck 2a is driven by a drive motor 13 provided in the upper truck 2a, and the drive wheel 7a for rotation of the lower truck 2b is driven by a drive motor 13 provided in the lower truck 2b.
When the rotating shaft 8 is driven and rotated by the a, the spindle-shaped roller portions 10 and 10a attached to the base portion 9
The trolley 2 is driven to rotate in the circumferential direction of the rotary shaft 8 without rotating by itself, and the traveling vehicle 2 moves in the circumferential direction of the pipe 15 to be inspected. When the traveling vehicle 2 is moved in the axial direction of the pipe 15 to be inspected, the driving wheels 6, 6a are driven to stop the driving of the rotating wheels 7, 7a. , 7a follow the movement of the traveling vehicle 2 and freely rotate (self-rotate) via the support shafts of the roller units 10, 10a to be driven. When the traveling carriage 2 is moved in the circumferential direction of the pipe 15 to be inspected, the driving wheels 7, 7a are driven to stop the driving of the traveling wheels 6, 6a. 6a roller section 10,
10a, the roller unit 10,
It freely rotates (self-rotates) via the support shaft 10a and follows.

The driving wheels 6, 6a and the driving wheels 7, 7a are respectively connected to the driving motor 12,
12a, 13 and 13a, the driving wheels 6 and 6a drive at least one of the two and the driving wheels 7 and 7a rotate at least one of the four wheels. What is necessary is just to connect to a motor.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an encoder disposed so as to be directly connected to the wheels 7 of the upper bogie 2a. The encoder 14 detects the amount of movement of the traveling bogie 2 in the circumferential direction, and 14a is disposed so as to be directly connected to the wheels 6a of the lower bogie 2b. The moving amount of the traveling vehicle 2 in the axial direction is detected by the encoder (FIGS. 1 and 2).

A cable for supplying power to the drive motors 13 and 13a, a hose for supplying compressed air to the air cylinder 16, and the like are:
Each of them is suspended from above by a cable (not shown) or the like, and moves following the movement of the traveling vehicle 2.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. If the interval between the piping group having the piping to be inspected and the piping group is narrow, the interval is expanded in advance by an airbag or the like. In the gap between the expanded piping group and the piping group,
The upper carriage 2a and the lower carriage 2b are connected by a link mechanism 3 so as to be openable and closable in the vertical direction. Insert up to the side. Upper trolley 2
a and the lower carriage 2b are connected to the inspection pipe 15 by the link mechanism 3.
Is opened slightly larger than the outer circumference of the pipe to be inspected, and is pushed horizontally above and below the pipe to be inspected 15 from the lateral direction of the pipe to be inspected 15. After being pushed in, the upper bogie 2a and the lower bogie 2b are closed from above and below by the link mechanism 3 so that the pipe 15 to be inspected can be closed.
The driving wheels 6, 6a, 7, 7a are held in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the vehicle. Release the gripping rod from the traveling vehicle 2. One traveling drive wheel 6 and two rotating drive wheels 7 are provided on the upper trolley 2a in the front, and two rotating drive wheels 7a are provided on the lower trolley 2a and one in the rear. , The traveling vehicle 2 is supported by three-point support by forming a triangle and an inverted triangle, and it is easy to grip and position the piping 15 to be inspected. Thus, the traveling carriage 2 is held and held on the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 15 to be inspected, and the traveling driving wheels 6, 6a are moved when moving in the axial direction of the pipe, and are rotated when moving in the circumferential direction of the pipe. Drive wheels 7, 7a. Drive wheels 6, 6a, 7, 7a
Is an omnidirectional wheel 5, so one wheel performs rotational driving and following. Therefore, even in a narrow portion such as the inner tube of the boiler, the inspection can be performed while coping with the change in the outer diameter of the tube and the arrangement of the tubes in three rows. Because of such a structure, it is small as a whole, requires less space around the piping at the time of inspection, and in many cases, it is not necessary to expand the space by an airbag or the like.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the open / closed state of the link mechanism 3, wherein FIG.
FIG. 3B is a view showing that the link mechanism 3 is about to be opened. The opening and closing of the link mechanism 3 is performed by operating the air cylinder 16 as described above. For example, when the distance between the pipe 15 to be inspected and the pipe 15a on the near side is narrow as shown in FIG. 4, the air cylinder 16 is operated to extend the piston rod 16a, and the upper bogie 2a and the lower bogie 2b are closed to close the pipe. , The lower carriage 2b is pushed horizontally from the side into the pipe to be inspected 15 so as not to obstruct the pipe 15a on the near side, and is closed from above and below. The driving wheels 6, 6a for rotation and the driving wheels 7, 7a for rotation are held in contact with each other. When the link mechanism 3 is opened, the upper link 3a and the lower link 3b are connected to each other with their backs extended vertically.
Since it enters the inside of b, it can be narrowed down to the width of the bogie compared to when the tube 15 is gripped. Therefore, it can be inserted also into a narrow gap between the pipe groups.

FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment of the second aspect, and is a view corresponding to the view taken along the line AA of FIG. The upper bogie 2a has two traveling drive wheels 5b in the front and one rotary drive wheel 7b in the rear, and the lower bogie 2b has one rotary drive wheel (not shown). It has wheels and two traveling drive wheels behind, and each wheel 6b,
Reference numeral 7b denotes an omnidirectional wheel 5 which can be driven in a direction perpendicular to the rotating shaft 8 and driven in the same direction as the rotating shaft 8. The two traveling drive wheels 6b of the upper carriage 2a are rotated by driving the rotating shaft 8 via a bevel gear 17b by a drive motor 12b provided in the upper carriage 2a. One rotation drive wheel 7b of the upper carriage 2a is rotated by driving the rotating shaft 8 by a drive motor 13b provided in the upper carriage 2a. 1
Reference numeral 4b denotes an encoder that detects the amount of movement of the traveling vehicle 2 in the circumferential direction, which is disposed so as to be directly connected to the drive motor 13b of the upper vehicle 2a. The configurations of the link mechanism 3 and the omnidirectional wheels 5 are the same as in the above embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the upper link of the link mechanism may have the same structure as the lower link, and the opening and closing of the link mechanism may be performed by two air cylinders. A spring may be used in place of the air cylinder, and two omnidirectional wheels may be provided in parallel, but one or more may be provided if four or more spindle-shaped roller portions are provided to reduce the roller interval. Of course, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0026]

According to the tube inspection apparatus of the present invention described above,
It is possible to reduce the preparation work time for expanding the panel interval by an air bag or the like, eliminate the steering mechanism, and simultaneously move the pipe in the axial direction and the circumferential direction with a small load. Therefore,
Since the inspection can be performed at all positions without being affected by the arrangement of the pipe groups and the outer diameter of the pipes, excellent effects such as labor saving of the pipe inspection and simplification of the apparatus can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a pipe inspection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrows BB in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an installation state of a pipe inspection device of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing an open / closed state of the link mechanism, wherein FIG. 5A is a view trying to close the link mechanism, and FIG. 5B is a view trying to open the link mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an omnidirectional wheel.

FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment, and is a view corresponding to the view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional pipe inspection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pipe inspection apparatus 2 Traveling trolley 2a Upper trolley 2b Lower trolley 3 Link mechanism 3a Upper link 3b Lower link 3c Pin 4 Sensor 5 Omnidirectional wheel 6,6a, 6b, 7,7a, 7b Wheel 8 Rotating shaft 9 Base part 10 Roller Unit 11 unit 12, 12a, 12b, 13, 13a, 13b drive motor 15 pipe to be inspected 16 air cylinder

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Takashi Osato Inventor Takashi Osato 3-2-16-1 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A pipe inspection apparatus for inspecting a group of pipes, comprising: a traveling bogie having an inspection sensor and capable of traveling in a longitudinal direction of the pipe and rotating in a circumferential direction of the pipe while being held by a pipe to be inspected. The traveling trolley has an upper trolley and a lower trolley connected by a link mechanism so as to be openable and closable in a vertical direction. The upper trolley has one driving wheel for driving forward and two driving wheels for rotation rearward. The lower bogie has two rotating drive wheels in the front and one traveling drive wheel in the rear, and each wheel has a drive and a rotation axis in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. A pipe inspection device characterized in that it is an omnidirectional wheel that can be driven in the same direction as the above. 2. The upper bogie has two traveling drive wheels in the front and one rotating drive wheel in the rear, and the lower bogie has one rotating drive wheel in the front. 2. The pipe inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising two traveling drive wheels at the rear. 3. The driving motor according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the two or four driving wheels and at least one of the four or two rotating driving wheels are connected to a driving motor. The pipe inspection device according to claim 2. 4. The omnidirectional wheel includes two wheels having a base portion fixed to a rotating shaft and a spindle-shaped roller portion rotatably mounted on the base portion at 120 ° intervals in parallel, and 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the parts are shifted by 60 degrees.
Pipe inspection device as described.