JPS60154963A - In-conduit transferring apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain an in-pipe transferring apparatus with which the inside state of a gas pipe, water service pipe, etc. can be observed by constituting the captioned transfer apparatus in the utilization of the extension and contraction of a link mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A parallel link is formed into a parallelogram in the connection by turnable joints 5, 6, and 8 and has a gear 11 at the top edge. The link can be extended and contracted by revolving the gear 11 by a motor 10. A transfer mechanism is constituted by combining four links above-described, and each parallel link is installed onto a supporting plate 31, and the position of the link is changed by a motor 33 by obtaining the position of the link by a potentiometer 32. The link part 46 of the transfer apparatus is covered by a bellows, and contactors 40-43 for pressing the inner surface of a pipe protrude from the front and rear parts 44 and 45. The transfer apparatus can be advanced by extending and contracting the link, alternately pressing the inner surface of the pipe by said contactors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] This invention relates to an improved intra-pipe moving device that can move within a vibrator-like passageway for inspecting the inner surface of pipes, laying cables, and the like.

(2) Prior art and its problems In order to know the condition of the inner surface of piping for gas, water, etc., a device that enters and moves inside the piping is required. In other words, pipes that cannot be viewed by taking out the pipes and cutting them generally have complicated pipe routes, often winding in various directions, such as vertically, horizontally, diagonally, etc. Furthermore, it may have branches such as a T branch or a Y branch.

In the conventional example, when movement is possible only by straight motion (i.e., when the radius of curvature is large or there are no branches)
Various types of mobile machines have been realized. However, there are no practical examples of bending at right angles or having branches, and in order to deal with such situations, in addition to straight movement, a function to change direction in any direction is required.

The mechanism that realizes this function is complicated, and inevitably increases in weight and size. Furthermore, it is difficult to dispose of these wiring cables, and as a result, the reliability of the signal and control systems is often lacking.

(2) Purpose of the invention It is to realize a compact and highly reliable conduit circular moving machine using a small motor.

[4 Contents of the Invention Figure 1 shows the basic structure of the parallel link mechanism used in the present invention. The links 1, 2, 3.4 are connected by rotatable joints 5, 6, 7.8 and form a parallelogram. The links 1, 2 have gears 11, 12 at their tips. This gear can be rotated by motors 9 and 10. Furthermore, 1. A large gear 1 is attached to joint 5 of links 1 and 2.
3 is attached. When the gears 11 and 12 rotate, the links] and 2 rotate accordingly.

The situation is shown in FIGS. 2(a), (b), and (C). α represents the angle of one diagonal of the parallel link, and β represents one interior angle of the parallelogram. By rotating the gears 11, 12, α and β can be changed, and as a result, the position of one end T of the parallelogram changes.

It can be seen that it has two degrees of freedom on a plane. By using three sets of such parallel link mechanisms, a moving table having six degrees of freedom can be constructed. An example of this is shown in FIG. In Figure 4, parallel links 22, 23, 24
is connected to the upper plate 20 and the lower plate 21 by a rotatable joint, and as a result, the structure is such that the distance and inclination between the upper plate and the lower plate can be changed.

In FIG. 4, each parallel link is attached to a support plate 31, a potentiometer 32 is used to adjust the position of the link, and a motor 33 is used to change the position of the link.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the positional relationship between the upper plate and the lower plate. As shown, the upper plate rotates, moves up and down, and tilts relative to the lower plate. That is, it can take any position in any direction.

In the present invention, by vertically connecting one or more such moving mechanisms, the contactor 40.4 can be moved in any direction.
1 has a structure that protrudes from the front part 44, and presses down the inner surface of the pipe at the front. The pressers 42 and 43 have a structure that protrudes from the rear, and press the inner surface of the pipe at the rear. The internal structure of the rear part is shown, but the front part has the same structure. The presser hands 4 and 2 are rotatably attached to a shaft 55 by a universal joint, and are driven by a motor 50.
The rotation causes linear motion. The rotation of the motor 50 is transmitted to the ball screw 53 via a reduction gear system 51. This causes the movable plate fixed to the nut to move linearly. This linear motion is transmitted to the presser foot 42 by the presser foot shaft 55. The link parts 4 and 6 have the structure shown in FIG. 4 and are covered with soft bellows, and connect the front part 44 and the rear part 45. As is clear from Figure 4,
The center part of the link part is empty, and a wiring cable for motor control, a transmission line for sensor signals, and even an image fiber for direct image transmission can be passed through the center part.

The wiring cable 54 of the motor 50 joins a harness 56 that passes through the center and flows toward the control side. The harness 56 also includes an image fiber.

The intra-vibrator moving device configured in this manner can be bent in any direction and can be made light because a relatively small motor can be used. Furthermore, since a small and lightweight image transmission path such as an image fiber can be easily installed, a pipe inner surface inspection device can be easily realized.

In FIG. 6, the imaging section of the image fiber is fixed at the center of the front. When the rear part is fixed to the inner surface of the pipe, the front part can be turned in any direction, allowing you to look around.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the movement pattern within the pipe.

In (a), the front part is fixed to the pipe wall and the rear part is separated from the wall. In (b), the link is retracted, the rear part is moved, and then the rear part is fixed to the wall. In (c), the front part is separated from the wall, the link is stretched, bent, and fixed to the wall.

In (d), the rear part is moved and fixed to the wall in the state closest to the front part. In (e), the front part is moved forward. In (f), the rear part is moved to complete the bending movement.

These operations are performed in one step while the operator visually confirms the status through an image fiber attached to the front. Furthermore, multiple nodes can be added by connecting the link mechanisms vertically. An example of this is shown in FIG.

In the example of FIG. 8, three sets of link mechanisms 60, 61, 6
2 is used. Two sets of links are connected in series to increase the range of motion between the front part 68 and the rear part 64 and to make movement more flexible. The imaging section 65 of the image fiber at the tip is attached to the end of the link 60 so that it can be moved independently.

4. Effects of the invention (1) Since a relatively small motor can be used, a small and lightweight multi-degree-of-freedom joint can be realized, and the structure is simple because the device pull can be concentrated in the center. and high reliability can be obtained.

(3) It is easy to attach (pass) an image fiber (and it is easy to realize a visual function for inspection).

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic structure of a parallel link mechanism that is a feature of the present invention. FIGS. 2(a), (b), and (c) are diagrams showing how the parallel links in FIG. 1 move. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a change in position of one end T of the parallel link mechanism, which is a feature of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration in which a plurality of parallel link mechanisms, which are a feature of the present invention, are used. Figures 5(a), (b), and (c) are diagrams showing the positional relationship such as the inclination between the first plate and the lower plate when a parallel link mechanism is used.33 Figure 6 is a diagram showing the implementation of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example. FIGS. 7(a), (1), (C), (d), (C) and (f) are diagrams showing how the device of the present invention moves in the pipe, and in the figure f means the front of the device and γ means the rear. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the device of the present invention using a plurality of link mechanisms. 1.2, 3, 4: Link 5.6.7 + 8: Joint 9.10: Drive motor 11.12: Gear 20 = Upper plate 21: Lower plate 22. 23, 24: Parallel link 31: Support plate 82 : Potentiometer make 83 : Motor 40.41, 4.2, 4.3 : Presser foot or contact 4.
4. : Front part 4/5 : Rear part 50 : Motor 51 : Reduction gear 53 : Ball screw 54 : Wiring cable 55 : Shaft for presser or contactor 56 : Harness 60, 61, 62 : Link mechanism 63 : Front part 64・: Rear part 65: Image fiber imaging unit Figure 3, Figure 4 row (and jl (b) (C) Figure 5 (α) (C) (d) (e) Figure 7

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) One or more pantograph mechanisms that rotatably combine four links in the shape of a parallelogram and perform positioning by rotating two of the links around their joint axes. For individual use, the connecting shaft at one end of each pantograph is rotatably attached to the upper plate, and the connecting axis at the other end is rotatably attached to the lower plate, and by changing the angle between the links of the pantograph, the upper plate and lower plate can be attached. It consists of a joint part that can change the distance, inclination, direction, etc., and two support parts that have a mechanism to extend hands in multiple directions. A conduit circular moving device characterized by changing and moving the pipe. (2) A conduit according to claim 1, characterized in that the range of movement of the upper plate and the lower plate is increased by configuring a plurality of joints to be mounted in series on a common axis. Circular moving device. (3) Wiring and cables for driving and signal transmission and image fiber for image transmission are centrally arranged in the center of the pantograph-shaped link mechanism.