JPS62283055A - Pipe-inside inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inside pipe inspection device for inspecting the inside of a pipe, for example, inspecting a welded joint.

[Prior Art] In chemical plants, nuclear couplants, etc., pipe weld joints are periodically inspected by inspection methods such as visual inspection using a television camera, fluoroscopic inspection using gamma rays (film photography), and color checking by applying a test liquid. However, in cases where the working environment is poor, such as small-diameter pipes that cannot be accessed by workers or piping for atomic couplants, inspections must be conducted by remote control.

There are systems shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 that inspect the inside of piping by such remote control.

In the one shown in FIG. 8, an inspection unit mounting base 11 and a holding base 2 are arranged at the front and rear, and both are connected by a reciprocating cylinder 3, and lock cylinders 4 are arranged on the sides of the inspection unit mounting base 1 and holding base 2, respectively. ing. Further, the inspection unit mount 1 is provided with a required inspection unit 5.

Therefore, the inspection unit mounting base 1 by the lock cylinder 4
release of fixation, release of fixation of holding table 2 by lock cylinder 4, approach and separation of inspection unit 5 and holding table 2 by advancing/retracting cylinder 3, etc. -2 = move forward and backward like inchworms by cooperation of cylinders 3, 4, and 4. Then, the inspection unit 5 is aligned and the device is moved.

Furthermore, in the one shown in FIG. 9, an inspection TV 7 is attached to a link frame 6 configured in a pantograph style, and is configured to be self-propelled.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional inspection apparatus described above has the following problems.

First, in the former inspection device 8, the size of the tube to be inspected is limited in both the radial direction and the axial direction. Therefore, when attempting to insert the device 8 into the piping 9, the piping must be cut or some portions removed, and the device must be inserted from the removed portions. This makes the work extremely troublesome, and the piping must be installed and repaired after the inspection work is completed.
As a result of the repair, a welded joint has been created, and this joint will also need to be inspected. Furthermore, when the piping is a buried pipe, it is even more troublesome as it involves digging out the removed portion of the piping and backfilling after repair.

In addition, since the latter inspection device IO can be manufactured in a small size, it is possible to remove the valve at the required position and insert it from the opening, but it can only be equipped with a small camera, and inspection can be done using a TV monitor. It is only a visual inspection.

Furthermore, the welded joint may be corroded or contaminated by the fluid flowing through the pipe, and a simple visual inspection without cleaning or polishing the welded joint is not sufficient for inspection. Furthermore, as described above, welded joints are required to be subjected to various inspections, and such small-sized inspection equipment is insufficiently equipped and cannot be expected to perform accurate inspections.

In addition, the one shown in Figure 8 in particular does not have the function of expanding and contracting in response to changes in the pipe diameter, and cannot pass through the diffuser section provided midway through the front, so if there is a diffuser section, it must be re-charged. There must be.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an in-pipe inspection device which can be equipped with various inspection units and which can be loaded through an opening in a valve mounting portion without removing a part of the piping.

[Means for Solving Problems] The present invention enables the bogie frame to bend in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel at required locations, and at least the front and back positions of the bogie frame at required intervals in the circumferential direction. 3
Wheels are provided at the ends of the arms arranged at more than one point and biased to expand in the radial direction, at least one of the wheels is driveable, and a polishing unit is installed at an appropriate position on the trolley frame.
It is characterized by being equipped with a working unit such as a television camera unit.

[Function] The bogie frame bends at appropriate points and the wheels expand and contract, so charging can be done even through narrow openings such as valve mounting nozzles, and after charging, the radial force applied to the wheels is reduced. This ensures the position of the device within the tube.

Example of implementation] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The truck frame 15 is made up of three front flat plates 1B and an intermediate flat plate 17.
, a rear flat plate 18, each connected by a hinge 19 (one not shown), and can be bent at each connection point. or,
Fixing plates 20 (one not shown) having a U-shaped cross section are slidably fitted to the side edges of the front flat plate 16 and the rear flat plate 18, and fixed with bolts 2■. The bolt through holes 22 of the fixing plate 20 are connected to the intermediate plate 17 and the rear plate 18.
It is a long hole that can be spanned between the plates and completely retreated to the rear flat plate 18 side.If the fixing plate 20 is stretched between the plates and fixed with the bolts 21, the bending between the plates will be restrained. Refraction becomes possible when the beam is completely retracted.

The rear flat plate 18 and the middle flat plate 17 each have wheels 23°2.
3 and wheels 24 are provided, and the support arm (described later) of each wheel is tiltable along a plane parallel to the axis and dividing the center into three equal parts.

First, the wheels 23, 23 provided on the rear flat plate 18, the support mechanism for the wheels 24, and the drive mechanism will be explained.

The shaft support box 25 is attached to the lower surface of the rear flat plate 18, and the shaft support box 25
A flexible rotary shaft 26 is rotatably supported, and wheels 23 and 23 are fixed to both ends thereof. Also, the rear flat plate 18
An arm support box 27 is attached to the upper surface, and the left and right arms 28.29 are pivoted to the arm support box 27 via pins 30.3G so that they can rotate in an imaginary plane 30' with respect to the rear flat plate 18. urge Note that the left and right arms 28 and 29 pass through the rear end surface of the arm support box 27, and are attached to the rear flat plate 18 by 3.
A guide hole 31 with an inclination of 0" is bored. Pins 32, 32 are installed at the front ends of the left and right arms 28, 29, and between the pins 32, 32 and the arm support box 27. A spring 8 biases the rear ends of the arms 2B and 29 in the direction of separation.
3. Set up 33. Further, the rotary ring 26 is rotatably passed through the tips of the left and right arms 28 and 29 via bushings 34, and the rotary shaft 26 is bent as the arms 28 and 29 rotate. There is.

An arm support fitting 35 with both ends bent upward is fixed to the upper surface of the arm support box 27, and an undulating arm 36 formed by bending a bar with a circular cross section into a U-shape is attached to the support fitting 35.
is pivoted at the lower end of the leg. The undulating arm 36
A wheel 24 is rotatably provided on the tip shaft portion 37 of the wheel 24 via a bearing 38, and a spring 39 is stretched between the arm 36 and an undulating arm 36 similarly provided on the intermediate plate 17.
The erecting arms 3θ and 3B are urged in the erecting direction.

Worm wheel 40 housed in the shaft support box 25
is fitted onto the rotating shaft 2B, and a worm 41 is engaged with the worm wheel 40. A stepping motor 42 is further attached to the rear flat plate 18, and the worm 41 is fitted onto the output shaft of the stepping motor 42.

Next, wheels 23, 23 and 24 provided on the intermediate plate 17
Support mechanism, left and right arms 2B, 29, undulation arm 3B
The support mechanism for the rear plate is the same as the support mechanism for the rear flat plate described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Required inspection units are loaded on the upper surface of the intermediate plate 17. In addition, in the figure, 43 television cameras are loaded.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a lens barrel supported by a rotating barrel to be described later, and 45 is a reflecting mirror supported by the lens barrel and inclined by 45 inches with respect to the optical axis.

An end plate 4B is fixed and erected at the front end of the truck frame 15. A through hole 47 concentric with the optical axis is bored in the end plate 46, and a required number of support rollers 48, three in this embodiment, are rotatably attached around the through hole 47.

A rotating tube 49 with an obliquely cut end surface is disposed concentrically with the through hole 47, and a guide groove 50 is carved on the outer surface of the base of the rotating tube 49.
It is fitted onto the support roller 48 to rotatably support the rotating cylinder 49. A ring gear 52 is fixed to the rear surface of the bottom plate 51 of the rotating tube 49, and a stand 53 is fixed to the end plate 4B.
A stepping motor 54 is attached through the ring gear 5, and a binion gear 55 fixed to the output shaft of the motor is attached to the ring gear 5.
It meshes with 2.

Also, a bracket 5 is provided on the bottom plate 51 of the rotating cylinder 49 and projects rearward.
6, and the main body of the cylinder 57 is pivotally mounted to the bracket 5B. A vertical sensor 59 is rotatably suspended from the rear end of the bracket 5B via a pin 58 in the left-right direction. At the lowest position of the vertical sensor 59, a detector 60 such as a photodetector or a proximity switch is attached to the truck frame 15 via a mounting base 61 so as to be able to engage with the lower end thereof.

A lever 62 is pivotally attached to the longest generatrix position of the rotating cylinder 49 via a bracket 68, and the base end of the lever 62 is connected to the tip of the cylinder 570. A rotary brush 63 is rotatably provided at the tip of the lever 62, and a motor 6 for driving the brush is provided.
4 is provided in the middle of the lever 62. The rotating shaft of the rotating brush 63 and the output shaft of the motor 64 are respectively projected from the lever 62, and a pulley fi5. BB is fitted, and a belt 67 is passed between both pulleys 65 and 66.

Reference numeral 69 denotes a cylinder support stand erected in front of the end plate 46, and a cylinder 70 for moving the rod in and out in the front-rear direction is attached to the support stand B9, and a trigger play is attached to the tip of the support stand 69.
71 is pivotally supported, and the trigger plate 71 is tilted as the rod moves in and out. Moreover, the rotating cylinder 49
A required number of flaw detection liquid cylinders 72 are removably installed on the front surface of the bottom plate 51 at positions equidistant from the rotation axis.

The lens barrel 44 described above is fixed to the rotating tube 49 and rotates integrally with the rotation of the rotating tube 49.

Further, each of the motors and each cylinder is connected to a power source, a pressure source, and a control device by cables and hoses, respectively, so that remote control is possible.

The operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be explained below with reference to FIG.

Note that 73 and 74 in FIG. 7 are working units represented by a television camera, a unit provided on the front surface of the end plate, etc. in this embodiment.

A valve (not shown) is removed from a valve installation nozzle 76 provided on the pipe 75, and the above-mentioned inspection device is inserted through this valve installation nozzle 7G.

First, the bolts 2I are loosened and the fixing plate 20 is slid to a position where the fixing plate 20 is out of the joining line of each flat plate, so that the flat plates can be bent toward each other. Furthermore, each of the front and rear left and right arms 2B, 29 and the undulating arm 36 are rotated toward the center of the device, and the device is mounted through the valve mounting nozzle 76 while maintaining the position of each wheel 23° 23.24 toward the center. Enter.

These wheels 23, 23, 24 each have a spring 33.
Each arm 28.29.36 urged outwards at 39 (;I
When inserted into the pipe, each wheel 23
, 23 and 24 come into contact with the inner wall surface of the tube, support the truck frame 15 at an appropriate position, and expand and contract accordingly. In addition, since the truck frame 15 is bent at appropriate locations (as described above, two locations in this embodiment), even if the loading path of the device is bent as shown in FIG. It is possible to bend and charge depending on the condition of the path. When charging the inspection device, the rotating tube 49 is rotated by the stepping motor 54 depending on the state of the valve number (-1 nozzle 76), and the obliquely cut portion at the tip of the rotating tube 49 is set to the optimum position convenient for charging. Work in the same direction.

When the device is completely inserted into the pipe, the fixing plate 20 is slid to span between the plates, and then fixed with bolts 21. The fixed plate 20 restrains the bending of each flat plate, and provides the required rigidity to the bogie frame I5 composed of the front flat plate 16, the intermediate flat plate 17, and the rear flat plate 18.

Next, the stepping motor 42 is controlled by an external control device.
The rotary shaft 26 is driven via the worm 41 and the worm wheel 40 to rotate the rear wheels 23 and 23 to move forward or backward. The amount of movement can be controlled by managing the number of pulses that drive the stepping motor 42.

Also, regarding the posture while running, a vertical sensor 59 and a detector 60 are used.
By monitoring the signal emitted in cooperation with the robot frame I5, the attitude of the truck frame I5 can be detected.

When the position of the rotating brush 63 coincides with the welded joint, the driving of the stepping motor 42 is stopped and the energized state is maintained to restrain the rotating shaft 26.

The motor 64 is driven to rotate the rotary brush 63 via the pulley 66, belt 67, and pulley 65. Next, the cylinder 57 is extended and the lever 62 is rotated. Rotation of the lever 62 brings the rotating brush 63 into contact with the weld joint, and polishing begins. At this time, by appropriately setting the working fluid pressure of the five cylinders, the contact pressure necessary for polishing can be ensured.

While maintaining the rotation of the rotating brush 63, the stepping motor 54 is driven and the pinion gear 55 is rotated. Rotation of the pinion gear 55 is transmitted to the rotating cylinder 49 via the ring gear 52. Therefore, by rotating the rotating tube 49 for 360'' or more times, the welded joint can be polished and the joint can be inspected.

Although scale, dust, etc. are scattered during such polishing work, since the reflector 45 is in a state with its back to the rotating brush 63, the reflector 45 is not contaminated.

In addition, in order to further prevent the reflective mirror 45 from becoming dirty, the reflective mirror 45
The lens barrel 44 may be rotated by an actuator such as a cylinder, and the lens barrel 44 may be closed by a reflecting mirror during polishing.

Further, the position of the rotating cylinder 49 in the rotational direction is set to zero based on the signal emitted by the cooperation of the vertical sensor 59 and the detector 60, and the drive pulse of the stepping motor 54 is set to zero based on the position where the signal is emitted. By counting, the rotation angle of the rotating cylinder 49 from the reference position can be known, and the rotation angle during rotation can be controlled by controlling the number of pulses.

When the polishing is completed, the five cylinders are retracted and the lever 62 is activated.
The rotating brush 63 is returned to the non-polishing state and the motor 64 is stopped.

The stepping motor 42 is driven to rotate the wheels 23.23 to move the truck frame I5 until the reflector 45 coincides with the position of the weld joint.

The television camera 43 is activated to take an image of the welded joint, and the image is displayed on an external monitor television. Furthermore, stepping motor 5
4 to rotate the rotating barrel 49, the lens barrel 44 and the reflecting mirror 45 also rotate, allowing the welded joint to be observed over its entire circumference. At this time, if the angle detection based on the number of pulses of the stepping motor 54 is made to correspond to the image, the imaging position can be determined, and when a defect is discovered, the defect position can be known immediately.

In addition, liquid flaw detection inspection (color check) is performed as follows.

The rotating tube 49 is rotated by the pulse motor 54 so that the flaw detection liquid cylinder 72 to be used for spraying the flaw detection liquid is positioned directly below the trigger plate 71. When the flaw detection liquid cylinder 72 and the trigger plate 71 are aligned, the rotating tube 49 is positioned and the rod of the cylinder 70 is made to protrude. The protrusion of the rod pushes down the central end of the trigger plate 71 and pushes down the nozzle portion of the flaw detection liquid cylinder to spray the flaw detection liquid at a desired position on the welded joint.

It is known from experience that liquid flaw detection can be performed on specific points, but in order to improve the accuracy of the inspection,
Trigger mechanisms (cylinder 70, trigger plate 71, etc.) for injecting the flaw detection liquid cylinder may be provided at multiple positions on the end plate 46, or the trigger mechanism may be provided in the rotating tube 49 in pair with the flaw detection liquid cylinder. . Further, although the flaw detection liquid cylinder 72 has a plurality of stages, the contents thereof may be changed depending on the type of inspection when a plurality of types of inspections are to be carried out, or the same type of liquid may be prepared as a spare.

-16= Next, a fluoroscopic inspection using gamma rays is performed using the above-described apparatus by removing the television camera 43 and mounting a gamma ray test unit (not shown). Since gamma rays have a negative effect on imaging by the television camera 43, the television camera and gamma ray test unit are not mounted at the same time.

When replacing the television camera 43 and the gamma ray test unit, use the stepping motor 42 to reversely rotate the wheels 23° 23 and return this device to just below the valve mounting nozzle 76, making use of the space opened by the valve mounting nozzle 7B. Perform the replacement work.

Further, as described above, there is a diffuser part in the middle of the pipe, and since each arm 28, 29, 38 expands and contracts, the pipe can pass through the diameter-reduced part. The minimum diameter through which this device can pass is as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.

To take out the device, move the device to just below the valve mounting nozzle portion 7B, loosen the bolt 2I, slide the fixing plate 20 to allow the flat plates to bend freely, and then pull out the device by reversing the procedure. At this time, since the wheels 23, 24, 24 follow the inner surface of the pipe, each arm 28, 29 expands and contracts as appropriate, and there is no need for the operator to hold the arms 28, 29, 36 in the contracted position. Further, in order to facilitate the removal of the device, a rope or the like may be fastened to the device, and the device may be pulled up via this rope at the time of removal.

In the above embodiments, stepping motors were used as the motors for driving the wheels and rotating tubes, but servo motors may also be used.For non-driving wheels, the flexible rotating shaft 26 is omitted and the left and right arms are used. 28. The rotating shaft may be supported in a cantilever manner by 29, the fixed plate 20 may be remotely controlled by an actuator such as a cylinder, and the vertical sensor and detector detect left and right inclinations with respect to the direction of travel. However, it is also possible to change the direction by 90 degrees and install it to detect the inclination in the front and back direction.Although the trolley frame can be bent at two places, it may also be possible to bend it at one or three or more places. The advantages of the present invention include that a wheel that can be expanded and contracted may be provided for each flat plate constituting the truck frame, and that the number of wheels may be three or more in the same direction, and the intervals between the wheels do not need to be equal. It goes without saying that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Furthermore, it is of course possible to inspect the inner surface of pipes other than welded joints.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be exhibited.

(1) The polishing device in the inspection department and the pipe inspection device equipped with multiple types of inspection units can be inserted through narrow places such as the opening of the valve installation nozzle, so it is possible to remove part of the pipe or remove the pipe after inspection. Troublesome setup work such as repair is no longer required, and inspection work can be performed extremely efficiently, especially since buried pipes do not need to be dug up and reburied.

(IT) Safety is improved because the operator does not have to work directly at the inspection area.

(G) Since the wheels expand and contract, even if there is a reduced diameter part in the diffuser part, it will not interfere with inspection work.

(f) Since the inspection device can be equipped with various functions, multiple inspections can be performed efficiently.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken along line B-B in FIG. 1, and FIG. Figure 5 is a view from arrow D in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a view from arrow D in Figure 1.
The figure is a partial cross-sectional view of the rotating cylinder drive section, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the charging state of this embodiment, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are explanatory views of the conventional example. 15 is a truck frame, 19 is a hinge, 20 is a fixing plate, 26
is the rotation axis, 28.29 is the arm, 33 is the spring, 3
B is a lifting arm, 39 is a spring, 42 is a stepping motor, 43 is a television camera, 63 is a rotating brush, 7
6 indicates a valve attachment nozzle.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) The bogie frame can be bent in a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel at required locations, and at least three locations are arranged at the front and back of the bogie frame at required intervals in the circumferential direction, and the bends are expanded in the radial direction. A pipe inspection device characterized in that a wheel is provided at the end of the biased arm, at least one of the wheels is driveable, and a working unit such as a polishing unit, a television camera unit, etc. is mounted at an appropriate position on the trolley frame.