JPH09254780A - In-pipe moving device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) An object of the present invention is to provide an in-pipe moving device capable of reliably exerting a reaction force on an inner wall surface of a pipe to smoothly perform a rotational movement in the pipe and easily switching between forward and reverse movements. SOLUTION: A motor 3 for generating a rotational force and a co-rotation preventing member 4 that presses against an inner wall surface of a pipe and receives a reaction force to prevent co-rotation of the motor 3 are attached to a base 2, and a drive for transmitting the rotational force of the motor 3 is provided. The shaft 7 was attached to the base 2 and the like. A plurality of drive rollers 8 arranged at a constant spiral angle θ and pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 7, and a working means such as a micro camera 14 is mounted. . By generating a rotational force in the motor 3 by a remote control device outside the pipe, the co-rotation preventing member 4 takes a reaction force to the inner wall surface of the pipe, and the drive roller 8 spirally moves on the inner wall surface of the pipe to move inside the pipe. It moves back and forth along the tube axis.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inside of a pipe which is used for inspecting / cleaning the pipe, exploring the pipe, pulling a cable, etc. by moving through the pipe (including a bent pipe). The present invention relates to a moving device, and more particularly, to a moving device in a pipe used in a small-diameter pipe for moving the inside of a small-diameter pipe in a desired forward or backward direction to accurately perform the inspection and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, what has been developed as a device for moving inside a pipe for inspecting or exploring the inside of the pipe is
Most of them are relatively large devices used in large-diameter pipes, and in reality, compact design devices that can move in small-diameter pipes (for example, caliber of 100 mm or less) have not been developed. is there.

In recent years, a device as illustrated in FIG. 4 has finally been developed as an in-pipe moving device applicable to a small-diameter pipe (for example, in the pipe described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 186937/1995). See the moving mechanism, etc.). The moving device shown in FIG. 4A includes a motor a, an annular structure g that is connected to the motor a through a universal joint b and a power transmission shaft c, and is rotated by the motor a, and around the annular structure g. The main elements are a plurality of rotatable rollers k supported by elastic arms j and press-contacted to the inner wall of the pipe while being inclined with respect to the pipe axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the annular structure g includes a transmission mechanism T for transmitting the rotational force from the motor a to the annular structure g. That is, the annular structure g forms a planetary gear mechanism together with the transmission mechanism T, and the annular structure g is a ring gear m of the planetary gear mechanism. The transmission mechanism T includes a frame e provided on one side of the annular structure g, a sun gear d having a tube axis as a rotation center, and a sun gear d and a ring gear m rotatably attached to the frame e. And a planet gear f that meshes. The frame e
A through hole h which is bored in the tube axis direction and through which wirings can be inserted is provided in a portion where the planetary gear f is not attached. Therefore, the rotational force of the motor a is transmitted to the sun gear d of the transmission mechanism T by the power transmission shaft c and is transmitted to the annular structure g via the planetary gear f. And the annular structure g
When the gyro rotates about the tube axis, the roller k supported by the spiral elastic arm j advances while being pressed against the inner wall of the tube while being inclined and in contact with the tube axis direction, so that the device moves in the tube while rotating. It is configured to do.

[0005]

In order to transmit the rotational force of the motor a to the annular structure g, the in-pipe moving device shown in FIG. 4 comprises the annular structure g together with the transmission mechanism T as a planetary gear mechanism. The sun gear d of the transmission mechanism T and the motor a must be connected by using the universal joint b or the power transmission shaft c, which is a complicated structure.
Moreover, since the roller k is only supported by the annular structure g via the linear elastic arm j, the pressure contact with the inner wall surface of the tube may become unstable and a sufficient reaction force may not be obtained. There is. That is, the rollers k ... Rotated with the rotation of the annular structure g may slip on the inner wall surface of the pipe, and the rotation may be disturbed, so that the rotational movement may not be smoothly performed.

Further, the device of FIG. 4 cannot be used easily because it can be advanced in only one direction due to its structure. That is, in order to change the traveling direction of the apparatus of FIG. 4, at least the rollers k ...
Must be arranged on opposite sides of the annular structure g. However, since the annular structure g is formed substantially in the same cross-sectional shape as the pipe, the rollers k ... At the tip of the elastic arm j attached to the outer periphery of the annular structure g are arranged in the pipe opposite to the annular structure g. It is impossible to place it on the side. Eventually, the device is rotated and moved to the end of the pipe,
After taking the device out of the tube, it is necessary to change the direction of the device and set it again in the tube.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is not only a compact design with a simple structure, but also a reaction force can be reliably applied to the inner wall surface of the pipe to smoothly rotate the pipe in the pipe, and the traveling direction of the device. It is intended to provide an in-pipe moving device that is easily used by easily switching (forward or reverse).

[0008]

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the in-pipe moving device according to the invention of claim 1 has a motor 3 for generating a rotational force and an inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1. A co-rotation preventing member 4 that is pressed against the motor 3 to prevent co-rotation of the motor 3 is attached to the base 2, and a drive shaft 7 that transmits the rotational force of the motor 3 is attached to the base 2 or the motor 3. A plurality of drive rollers 8 arranged at a constant spiral angle θ and pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 7, and a working means such as a micro camera 14 is mounted on the device. When the co-rotation preventing member 4 takes a reaction force to the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 by generating a rotational force in the motor 3 with a remote control device outside the tube, the drive roller 8 moves inside the tube 1. Do not spirally move on the wall 1a Characterized in that it is configured to move back and forth along the al tube 1 to tube axis s.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the in-pipe moving device has a motor 3 for generating a rotational force, a co-rotation preventing member 4 for preventing co-rotation of the motor 3, and a drive shaft 7 for transmitting the rotational force of the motor 3. And a plurality of drive rollers 8 attached to the drive shaft 7, the work means is mounted on the device, and the device moves in the pipe in the front-back direction.
(A) The motor 3 is provided with a gear 11 on its rotating shaft 13 and is attached to the base 2 in the tube 1 at a position avoiding the axis s of the tube 1, and (b) the co-rotation preventing member 4 is ,
The pressure roller 5 that is in pressure contact with the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 and generates a reaction force is attached to the upper surface of the leaf spring 6 in a position to rotate in the tube axis s direction, and the leaf spring 6 is attached to the base portion 2. (C) The drive shaft 7 has a hollow interior, one end of which is provided with a gear 12 that meshes with a gear 11 of the motor 3, and the base 2 is located at a position on the tube axis.
(D) The plurality of drive rollers 8 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 7 in a state of being inclined at a constant helix angle θ with respect to the direction orthogonal to the tube axis s. Being pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1,
(E) The motor 3 is controlled by a remote control device outside the pipe, the rotational force of the motor 3 is transmitted to the drive shaft 7 via the gears 11 and 12, and the pressure contact roller 5 is transferred to the inner wall surface 1 of the pipe 1.
While taking the reaction force to a, the drive roller 8 makes the inner wall surface 1 of the pipe 1
a structure in which the pipe 1 is moved forward along the pipe axis s while rotating spirally on a, and the motor 3 is reversely rotated to move the pipe 1 in the backward direction along the pipe axis s. It is characterized by being.

The in-pipe moving device according to the invention of claim 3 relates to the drive roller 8 according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pipe axis s
Is attached to the outer periphery of a plurality of wing-shaped members 9 fixed to the drive shaft 7 in an arrangement orthogonal to the respective wing-shaped members in a state of being inclined at a constant small spiral angle θ with respect to the direction orthogonal to the tube axis s, and It is characterized in that it can be pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 by a spring 10 provided in the diametrical direction of the cylindrical member 9.

An in-pipe moving device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention relates to the drive shaft 7 according to the second aspect, wherein an inner pipe 7a and an outer pipe 7b are provided.
And a double tube structure, wherein one end of the inner pipe 7a is fixed to the base 2 in a non-rotatable state, and one end of the outer pipe 7b is rotatably supported by a bearing 16 attached to the base 2. Gear 1 mounted on the outer periphery of one end of 7b
2 is a gear 11 attached to the rotary shaft 13 of the motor 3.
And the rotational force of the motor 3 is transmitted to the outer pipe 7b through the two gears 11 and 12, and the outer pipe 7b
It is characterized in that only b is rotatable.

The in-pipe moving device according to the invention of claim 5 relates to the drive shaft 7 according to claim 1, 2 or 4, wherein a micro camera 14 for in-pipe inspection is installed at the tip of the drive shaft 7. The wiring 15 of the micro camera 14 is provided inside the hollow
Etc. are stored.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The pipe moving device according to the present invention moves (self-propells) in a pipe such as a gas pipe, a water pipe, a special pipe or the like installed vertically or horizontally or in a bent state. In particular, in order to inspect and search the pipe, pull the cable into the pipe, etc., it is carried out especially in a small small-diameter pipe having a diameter of about 10 cm or less. An ultra-small sensor or camera for inspecting or exploring pipe cracks, or a cleaning nozzle for cleaning the inside of the pipe is mounted on the tip of the drive shaft, and at the end of the device to pull cables, ropes, etc. A hook etc. is installed.

In the in-pipe moving device according to the first aspect of the invention, a motor 3 for generating a rotational force and a co-rotation preventing member 4 for exerting a reaction force on the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe are attached to the base portion 2.
The drive shaft 7 is attached to the base 2 or the like (FIG. 3A), and a plurality of drive rollers 8 arranged at a constant spiral angle θ and pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 7. The working means such as the micro camera 14 is mounted on the device (FIG. 1). Therefore, when the remote control device outside the pipe electrically connected to the motor 3 by wire or wirelessly is operated to control the motor 3 and the rotational force of the motor 3 is transmitted to the drive shaft 7, co-rotation is prevented. While the member 4 takes a reaction force to the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe, the driving roller 8 spirally rotates and moves on the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1 as if to make a spiral motion of the screw (FIGS. 2B and 2C). The moving device can be moved along the tube axis s in the tube 1 (FIG. 2).
A). In the present embodiment, it is also possible to transmit the rotational force of the motor 3 to the drive shaft 7 by a direct drive system in which the rotary shaft 13 of the motor 3 and the drive shaft 7 are directly connected.

The in-pipe moving device is preferably implemented particularly in a mode using a gear mechanism as described in claim 2. That is, the motor 3 is provided with a gear 11 on its rotating shaft 13 and is attached to the base 2 at an eccentric position avoiding the tube axis s (FIG. 3). The co-rotation preventing member 4 is attached to the upper surface of the leaf spring 6 in a position where the pressure contact roller 5 rotates in the direction of the tube axis s, and the leaf spring 6 is attached to the base portion 2. Pressure roller 5 with tension
Is pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the tube 1 to generate a rotational reaction force, and the motor 3 never rotates about the drive roller 8 as a fulcrum. The gear 11 of the motor 3 is attached to one end of the drive shaft 7.
Since the gear 12 that meshes with the gear is provided and is rotatably attached to the base 2 at a position on the tube axis s, when the motor 3 is rotated, the two gears 11 and 12 are meshed and rotated, Effective torque is transmitted to the drive shaft 7 (FIGS. 3A and 3B). The plurality of drive rollers 8 ... Are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 7 in a state of being inclined at a constant helix angle θ with respect to the direction orthogonal to the tube axis s, so that as the drive shaft 7 rotates, The drive roller 8
While being in pressure contact with the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1, the inner wall surface 1a
While moving spirally (rotating) on the above, it is possible to move forward along the tube axis s, and it is possible to accurately perform the inspection and inspection inside the tube. According to the present embodiment, since a large torque is generated by the gear mechanism and there is a pulling force, it can be used for pulling a cable or the like. On the other hand, by simply rotating the motor 3 in the opposite direction, the drive roller 8 moves backward in the tube 1 along the tube axis while performing a spiral motion as if to remove a screw, and the moving device is moved to the original position. Etc. can be moved backwards.

As described in claim 3, the drive roller 8 is provided on the outer periphery of the wing-shaped member 9 fixed to the drive shaft 7 in an arrangement orthogonal to the pipe axis s (FIGS. 2B and C). By mounting it in a state in which it is tilted at a constant small helix angle such as 6 degrees, which is equal to the helix angle of a general screw thread, with respect to the orthogonal direction (Fig. 1), it is possible to smoothly move forward or backward by spiral motion. Can be done. Further, the drive roller 8 has a good pressure contact state with the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1 due to the spring 10 (FIGS. 2B and 2C) provided in the diametrical direction of the wing-shaped member 9, and the protrusion formed on the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe 1. It is possible to surely perform the movement and the stop by the spiral motion regardless of the obstacles such as the above and the change of the diameter of the tube.

As described in claim 4, the drive shaft 7 has a double pipe structure composed of an inner pipe 7a and an outer pipe 7b (FIG. 3A), and one end of the inner pipe 7a cannot rotate on the base 2. The outer tube 7b is fixed in a fixed state, and one end of the outer tube 7b is rotatably supported by a bearing 16 attached to the base 2. Therefore, the gear 12 can be attached to the outer circumference of one end of the outer pipe 7b, and the gear 12 of the motor 3 can be meshed with the rotational force of the motor 3 to be transmitted only to the outer pipe 7b of the drive shaft 7. Therefore, as described in claim 5, the microminiature camera 14 (FIGS. 1 and 2A) is attached to the tip of the outer tube 7b.
By installing a cleaning nozzle or the like (not shown) and accommodating the wiring 15 of the ultra-small camera 14 in the inner tube 7a that does not rotate, it is possible to prevent the wiring 15 from being worn or broken due to rotational friction ( FIG. 3A).

[0018]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG.
The whole figure of a pipe moving device is shown. The total weight of the in-pipe moving device is about 1.2 kg. It is roughly divided into a base portion 2 on the rear side of the device and a drive shaft 7 portion extending on the front side.
The base portion 2 is assembled by arranging two upper and lower circular side plates 2a and 2b having a diameter of 100 mm, which is slightly smaller than the diameter (104 mm) of the pipe 1, in the cross-sectional direction of the pipe 1 (see FIG. 2A).

FIG. 2, particularly FIG. 2B and FIG.
The specific structure of the drive roller 8 is shown. The drive roller 8 is attached to the outer end of the wing-shaped member 9 fixed to the drive shaft 7. The wing-shaped member 9 is composed of a central metal fitting 9a having a through hole, and four wing-shaped metal fittings 9b attached to the outer periphery of the central metal fitting 9a in a cross shape at equal intervals of 90 degrees. The spring 10 is attached in the diametrical direction inside each wing-shaped metal fitting 9b. A pair of upper and lower drive rollers 8 made of synthetic resin are attached to the outer end of the spring 10 (see FIG. 2A), and the drive roller 8 can be pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe by the spring 10. Has been done. After all,
A total of four sets of rollers 8 ... Are attached to one wing member 9. Each roller 8 is inclined by 6 degrees with respect to the direction orthogonal to the tube axis s so as to be suitable for spiral movement in the front-back (up-down) direction. Feather members 9 (one set) with the driving roller 8
Are attached to the drive shaft 7 at approximately the center thereof.
As shown in FIG. 2C, the upper and lower two sets of wing-shaped members 9 are arranged 45 degrees apart from the center wing-shaped member 9 shown in FIG. 2B to ensure the spiral movement of the roller 8. There is.

FIG. 3 shows a specific structure of the motor 3, the co-rotation preventing member 4 and the drive shaft 7. The motor 3 is attached so as to be substantially sandwiched between the side plates 2a and 2b at a position on one side of the base 2, that is, at a position avoiding the axis s of the tube 1. The motor 3 includes a speed reducer (reduction ratio 1/6).
0), 12 kgf. It produces a torque of cm. A spur gear 11 is attached to the rotary shaft 13.

The co-rotation preventing member 4 includes a leaf spring 6 arranged in the tube axial direction and two pressure contact rollers 5 and 5 on the leaf spring 6 as a set, and the base portion 2 is provided with 120 in the circumferential direction. Three sets are attached at equal intervals (see FIG. 3B). Both ends of the leaf spring 6 are bent inward toward the pipe by about 19 degrees in advance,
Pressing rollers 5 are attached to the respective upper surfaces of the bent ends, and the pressing rollers 5 are pressed against the inner wall surface 1a of the pipe by the tension of the leaf springs 6 (FIG. 3A).

The drive shaft 7 is, as shown in FIG. 3A, a telescopic inner tube 7a (diameter 9 mm, total length 443 m).
m) and the outer tube 7b (diameter 12 mm, total length 395 mm) form a double tube structure and are arranged on the axis s of the tube center. The base end of the inner pipe 7a is extended and bent,
It is fixed inside the upper side plate 2 a of the base 2. The base end of the outer tube 7b is rotatably supported by a bearing 17 and a bearing 16 attached to the outer surface of the side plate 2a. The motor 3 is attached to the outer periphery of the base end of the outer tube 7b.
The spur gear 12 meshing with the spur gear 11 is attached, and only the outer pipe 7b is rotated. Inner tube 7 of the drive shaft 7
A micro camera 14 is attached to the tip of a (FIG. 2A), and the wiring 15 of the camera 14 and the wiring 18 of the motor 3 are inserted into the inner pipe 7a and extend outside the pipe ( FIG. 3A).

[0023]

According to the in-pipe moving device of the present invention, its structure is compact and can be downsized, which contributes to the reduction of manufacturing cost. By the spiral motion of the drive roller with a certain spiral angle supported by the wing-shaped member, the device realizes smooth long-distance movement in the pipe while reliably applying reaction force to the inner wall surface of the pipe with the co-rotation prevention member. To be done. Further, since the ultra-small camera and the like are attached to the tip of the drive shaft in a non-rotatable state, it is possible to carry out inspections, surveys, etc. inside the pipe with high accuracy. Moreover, the traveling direction (forward or backward) of the device can be easily switched by simply changing the rotation direction of the rotation shaft of the motor, which is excellent in usability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a pipe moving device.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view showing a state where the in-tube moving device is set in the tube, B is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of A, and C is a line II-II of A.
3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III.

FIG. 3A is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state where a motor and a co-rotation preventing member are set in a pipe, and B is a cross-sectional view showing a meshing state of gears.

4A and 4B are perspective views showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tube 1a inner wall surface 2 base 3 motor 4 co-rotation prevention member 5 pressure contact roller 6 leaf spring 7 drive shaft 8 drive roller 9 wing-shaped member 10 springs 11, 12 gears 14 ultra-small camera 16 bearing

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Takaaki Okubo Inventor Takaaki Okubo 3-24-3, Minamisenzuka, Ota-ku, Tokyo

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A motor for generating a rotational force and a co-rotation preventing member, which is pressed against an inner wall surface of a pipe and receives a reaction force to prevent co-rotation of the motor, are attached to a base portion to transmit the rotational force of the motor. A drive shaft is attached to the base or the motor, a plurality of drive rollers arranged at a constant spiral angle and pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipe are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft, and the working means is mounted on the device. By generating a rotational force on the motor with a remote control device outside the pipe,
The co-rotation preventing member takes a reaction force to the inner wall surface of the pipe, and the drive roller is configured to move in the front-rear direction along the pipe axis while spirally moving on the inner wall surface of the pipe. In-pipe moving device characterized by. 2. A motor for generating a rotational force, a co-rotation preventing member for preventing co-rotation of the motor, a drive shaft for transmitting the rotational force of the motor, and a plurality of drive rollers attached to the drive shaft. A device configured to move working means in the pipe in the front-back direction, the working means being mounted on the device,
(A) The motor is provided with a gear on its rotation shaft and is attached to a base portion inside the pipe at a position avoiding the axis of the pipe. (B) The co-rotation preventing member is pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipe. The pressure contact roller that takes a reaction force is attached to the upper surface of the leaf spring in a position to rotate in the tube axis direction, and the leaf spring is attached to the base. (C) The drive shaft has a hollow inside. And a gear that meshes with the gear of the motor is provided at one end thereof, and is rotatably attached to the base at a position on the tube axis, (d) the plurality of drive rollers are in directions orthogonal to the tube axis. To the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft in a state of being inclined at a constant helix angle with respect to, and being pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipe, (e) the motor is controlled by a remote operation device outside the pipe, and Rotational force is driven through the gear While being transmitted to the shaft, the pressure roller takes a reaction force on the inner wall surface of the pipe, and the drive roller spirally moves on the inner wall surface of the pipe while moving forward in the pipe along the pipe axis and reverses the motor. An in-pipe moving device, which is configured to move in a reverse direction in a pipe along a pipe axis by rotating. 3. The drive roller is inclined with respect to the outer periphery of a plurality of wing-shaped members fixed to the drive shaft so as to be orthogonal to the pipe axis, in a state in which the drive roller is inclined at a certain slight spiral angle with respect to the direction orthogonal to the pipe axis. The in-pipe moving device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the in-pipe moving device is configured to be capable of being pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipe by a spring that is attached and provided in the diametrical direction of the wing-shaped member. 4. A bearing in which the drive shaft has a double pipe structure including an inner pipe and an outer pipe, one end of the inner pipe is fixed to the base in a non-rotatable state, and one end of the outer pipe is attached to the base. A gear that is rotatably supported by the outer pipe is engaged with a gear that is attached to the outer periphery of one end of the outer pipe, and the rotational force of the motor is transmitted through the two gears to the outside of the drive shaft. The intra-tube moving device according to claim 2, wherein the outer tube is transmitted to the tube and only the outer tube is rotatable. 5. A micro-camera or the like for in-pipe inspection is installed at the tip of the drive shaft, and wiring of the micro-camera or the like is housed inside the hollow of the drive shaft. The in-pipe moving device described in 1 or 2 or 4.