JP2820835B2 - Device for preventing foreign matter from adhering to pipe inner surface - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is intended to prevent foreign matter from adhering to the inner surface of a pipe such as the intake of marine organisms to the inner surface of an intake pipe or the like of a thermal power plant installed on the coast. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, marine organisms such as barnacles and mussels adhere to the inner surface of an intake pipe or the like of a thermal power plant installed on a coast. If such marine organisms adhere to the inner surface of an intake pipe or the like, it becomes difficult to intake water, which seriously hinders the operation of the thermal power plant.

Therefore, conventionally, marine organisms are prevented from adhering to the inner surface of the intake pipe by means of injecting chlorine or the like into the intake pipe or applying an antifouling paint to the inner surface of the intake pipe. I was However, such a method has an adverse effect on the environment and has a problem in terms of maintenance.

[0004] There is a demand for the development of a device that solves the above-mentioned problems and that prevents biological adhesion to the inner surface of the pipe without adversely affecting the environment. For example, the following device is known. As disclosed in JP-A-62-26158, shown in FIG.
A moving device in a fluid, comprising: A traveling vehicle 41 having a plurality of wheels 42 moving in the pipe A in the axial direction thereof, and a propeller rotatably supported by the traveling vehicle 41 via a shaft 43 and rotated by the flow of fluid in the pipe A. The worm gear 45 is provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 43 of the propeller 44.
A gear 46 meshes with the worm gear 45, and a pulley 47 is coaxially mounted on the gear 46, and a pulley mounted on the pulley 47 and one of the wheels 42.
A belt 49 is stretched between the first and second belts 48 (hereinafter referred to as prior art 1).

According to the device of the prior art 1, the rotation of the propeller 44 due to the flow of the fluid in the pipe A is transmitted to one of the wheels 42 via the worm gear 45, the gear 46 and the belt 49,
Due to the rotation of the wheels 42, the traveling vehicle 41 travels in the pipe A along its axis without requiring external energy. As a result, the propeller of the traveling vehicle 41 traveling in the pipe A
By 44, the flow rate of the fluid in the pipe A on the inner surface of the pipe is increased, so that adhesion of marine organisms to the inner surface of the pipe is prevented.

FIG. 6 disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 3-23236
An apparatus for preventing organisms from adhering to the inner surface of a pipe, comprising: A traveling vehicle 41 having a plurality of wheels 42 that moves in the pipe A in the axial direction, a propeller 44 attached to the traveling vehicle 41 and rotated by a flow of fluid in the tube A, and a propeller
A worm gear 45 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of the propeller 44, and a worm gear 45 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft of the propeller 44.
A gear 46 is meshed with the gear 46. A pulley 47 is mounted coaxially with the gear 46, and a belt 49 is looped between the pulley 47 and a pulley 48 mounted on one of the wheels 42. (Hereinafter referred to as Prior Art 2).

According to the device of the prior art 2, the rotation of the propeller 44 rotated by the flow of the fluid flowing through the pipe A causes the rotation of the wheel 42 via the worm gear 45, the gear 46 and the belt 49 as in the prior art 1. Due to the rotation of the wheels 42, the traveling carriage 41 travels in the pipe A along its axis without the need for external energy. As a result, the inner surface of the pipe A is rubbed by the brush 50 attached to the tip of the rotating propeller 44, so that adhesion of marine organisms to the inner surface of the pipe is prevented.

[0008]

The above-mentioned prior arts 1 and 2 have the following problems. That is, both
The rotation of the propeller 44 due to the flow of the fluid in the pipe A
The rotation of the propeller 44 is transmitted to one of the wheels 42 of the traveling vehicle 41 by a belt 49 wound around a pulley 47 mounted coaxially with a pulley 48 mounted on one of the wheels 42. It is done by doing. Therefore, propeller 44
Accordingly, the driving force of the traveling vehicle 41 against the wheels 42 is weak, and in actual operation, the traveling vehicle 41 is easily flowed by the fluid in the tube A, and the traveling vehicle 41 can smoothly travel in the fluid in the tube A. Have difficulty. Further, the traveling carriage 41 has a structure in which the axle of the wheel 42 is provided on both sides of the traveling propeller 44 with the shaft 43 of the rotating propeller 44 interposed therebetween.
When a bending moment is applied to the bogie and a strong force is applied to the bogie during traveling, the bogie itself is easily damaged.

Prior art 2 has the following problem. That is, in the curved portion or the deformed portion of the tube A, the brush 50 attached to the tip of the propeller 44 does not come into contact with the inner surface of the tube, and therefore, the adhesion of organisms to the inner surface of the curved portion or the deformed portion of the tube. Can not be prevented. Further, the rotational force of the propeller 44 is reduced by friction between the brush 50 and the inner surface of the pipe, and the brush 50 has a large wear and its life is short.

[0010] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to allow a traveling vehicle to travel smoothly using the rotational force of a propeller due to the flow of fluid as a power without being caused to flow into the fluid in the pipe. Thereby, the flow velocity of the fluid in the pipe on the inner surface of the pipe is reduced, or the adhesion of foreign matter to the inner surface of the pipe can be properly prevented by a brush attached to the traveling vehicle, and the rigidity of the truck itself is reduced. An object of the present invention is to provide a strong device for preventing foreign matter from adhering to the inner surface of a pipe.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a traveling vehicle having a plurality of wheels, which moves in an axial direction in a pipe, is rotated by a fluid flow in the pipe attached to the traveling vehicle. A propeller and a rotational force transmission mechanism provided on the traveling vehicle, for transmitting the rotation of the propeller to the wheels of the traveling vehicle so as to be capable of normal and reverse rotation, and the propeller includes a propeller of the traveling vehicle. One at one end
A rotating shaft provided in the traveling vehicle along a central axis thereof, for transmitting the rotation of the propeller to the rotating shaft so as to be capable of normal and reverse rotation. A first gear mechanism, a second gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the rotation shaft to the wheels, and a rotation with the rotation shaft, which is horizontally movably mounted on the rotation shaft, and rotating the rotation in a forward direction or A clutch for switching in the opposite direction, and a clutch switching mechanism for horizontally moving the clutch to change the rotation direction of the rotating shaft , wherein the clutch switching mechanism comprises a switching rod.
One end is connected to the body of the traveling bogie via
First push rod projecting from the end through the propeller
And a second protrusion having one end protruding from the other end of the vehicle body of the traveling vehicle.
To the middle part of the switch rod and the switching rod
Switch, the tip of which engages the groove of the clutch
A first member protruding from one end of the vehicle body.
A push rod or a second projecting from the other end of the vehicle body.
By pressing a push rod, the switching piece
And moving the traveling vehicle forward and backward through the clutch,
It is characterized by removing foreign matter adhering to the inner surface .

[0012]

In the apparatus according to the present invention, a rotating force transmitting mechanism for transmitting rotation of a propeller provided on the traveling vehicle to wheels of the traveling vehicle is provided inside the traveling vehicle along a central axis thereof. Shaft, a first gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the propeller to the rotating shaft in a forward and reverse rotation, a second gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft to the wheels, and a horizontally movable to the rotating shaft. It comprises an attached clutch that rotates with the rotating shaft and switches the rotation in the forward or reverse direction so that the rotation of the rotating shaft is transmitted to all the wheels. Also, the body of the traveling cart
A first push rod projecting from one end through the propeller
Push that protrudes from the other end of the vehicle body of the vehicle and the traveling bogie
By pushing the rod, the clutch mechanism runs
The carriage can be easily moved back and forth . Therefore, the driving force on the wheels of the traveling vehicle by the propeller, and
The rigidity of the bogie itself is strong, and the propeller's rotational force due to the flow of fluid is used as power, without being flowed by the fluid in the pipe,
Since the traveling bogie can move forward and backward smoothly, the propeller of the traveling bogie speeds up the flow velocity of the fluid inside the pipe on the inner surface of the pipe, or the inner surface of the pipe is rubbed by a brush attached to the tip of the propeller. In addition, foreign matter such as marine organisms can be properly prevented from adhering to the inner surface of the pipe.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line aa of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line bb of FIG. As shown in FIGS.
The traveling vehicle 1 is composed of a vehicle body 1a having a cylindrical cross section. At the upstream end of the fluid in the tube A of the traveling vehicle 1, a propeller 2 composed of four blades slightly shorter than the inner diameter of the tube A is provided. Are rotatably attached to the vehicle body 1a by the boss 3.

Each of the front and rear portions of the vehicle body 1a has a pipe A
The three wheels 4 rotatably contacting the inner surface of the support legs 5
And are radially mounted in the same plane via a. Each of the wheels 4 is mounted at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the pipe A. The wheel 4 is always in contact with the inner surface of the pipe A by a sprung mechanism (not shown) provided on the support leg 5.

The rotation of the propeller 2 is controlled by the
A rotational force transmitting mechanism for transmitting the rotational force to the vehicle in a forward and reverse direction includes a rotating shaft 7 provided along the center axis in the vehicle body 1a;
It comprises a first gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the propeller 2 to the rotating shaft 7 so as to be able to rotate forward and backward, and a second gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft 7 to the wheels 4.

The first gear mechanism is provided in the vehicle body 1a.
A first gear 8 coaxial with the shaft 2a of the propeller 2, a second gear 9 meshing with the first gear 8, and a third gear 11 attached to the other end of a shaft 10 having the second gear 9 attached to one end thereof. And the third
A fourth gear that meshes with the gear 11 and idles around the rotating shaft 7
12, a fifth gear 13 meshing with the fourth gear 12, and a fifth gear 13
A sixth gear 14 coaxial with the third gear 14, a seventh gear 15 meshing with the sixth gear 14 and rotating around the rotating shaft 7, and
A clutch 16 for switching the rotation direction of the rotating shaft 7, which is provided so as to be able to move horizontally along the rotating shaft 7 and rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 7, and a clutch 16 provided at one end of the clutch 16. A first engagement piece 16a engageable with the seventh gear 15;
A second engagement piece 16b provided on the other end side of the clutch 16, an eighth gear 17 that can engage with the second engagement piece 16b and idle around the rotating shaft 7, and an eighth gear 17 A ninth gear 18 meshes with a tenth gear 20 which is attached to the other end of a shaft 19 having a ninth gear 18 at one end and meshes with the sixth gear 14. Reference numeral 21 denotes a torque limiter provided on the fourth gear 12 for idling at an abnormal output.

The second gear mechanism includes a first bevel gear 22 provided at each of both ends of the rotary shaft 7, a second bevel gear 23 meshing with the first bevel gear 22, and a second bevel gear 23 at an upper end thereof. It comprises a third bevel gear 25 attached to the lower end of the shaft 24 and a fourth bevel gear 26 that is engaged with the third bevel gear 25 and is attached to the rotating shaft 4a of the wheel 4.

A clutch switching mechanism for horizontally moving the clutch 16 to change the rotation direction of the rotary shaft 7 has one end projecting from the vehicle body 1a of the traveling vehicle 1 through the boss 3 of the propeller 2 and the other end. Horizontal first push rod whose part abuts a vertical rod 28 provided in the vehicle body 1a
27, a second push rod 29 having one end protruding from the other end of the vehicle body 1a and the other end abutting on a vertical rod 30 provided in the vehicle body 1a;
A horizontally movable switching rod 31 pivotally mounted at the lower end of the rod 28 and the other end pivotally mounted at the lower end of the rod 30.
And a switching piece 32 whose lower end is attached to a substantially intermediate portion of the switching rod 31 and whose tip engages with the groove 16c of the clutch 16.

Each of the rods 28 and 30 is movable in the left-right direction about an upper shaft-mounted portion mounted on the vehicle body 1a, and a roller 33 is attached to a lower end of each of the rods via a spring 34. The roller 33 is in contact with the cam 35.

The second push rod 29 of the clutch switching mechanism is pressed by a switching rod operating mechanism (not shown), and the switching rod 31 is horizontally moved to the left via the rod 30 to be engaged with the groove 16c of the clutch 16. Piece
32, the first engagement piece 16a of the clutch 16 is connected to the seventh gear 15
Mesh with. As a result, the rotation of the propeller 2
The first gear 8, the second gear 9, the third gear 11, the fourth gear 12, the fifth gear 13, the sixth gear 14, the seventh gear 15, and the clutch 16
The power is transmitted to the rotating shaft 7 by the clutch 16 via the engagement piece 16a. Thus, the rotating shaft 7 rotates clockwise around the axis as indicated by the solid arrow.

As a result, the first bevel gear 22, the second bevel gear 23 at the upper end of the shaft 24, the third bevel gear 25 at the lower end of the shaft 24, and the horizontal rotating shaft 4a are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 7, respectively. Via the attached fourth bevel gear 26, all the wheels 4 rotate forward. As described above, the wheels 4 are mounted at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the pipe A.
The robot advances in the pipe A while rotating about the axis.

The first push rod 27 of the clutch switching mechanism is pressed by a switching rod operating mechanism (not shown), and the switching rod 31 is horizontally moved rightward via the rod 28 to be engaged with the groove 16c of the clutch 16. Piece
32, the second engagement piece 16b of the clutch 16 is connected to the eighth gear 17
Mesh with. As a result, the rotation of the propeller 2
Gear 8, second gear 9, third gear 11, fourth gear 12, fifth gear 13, sixth gear 14, tenth gear 20, ninth gear 18, eighth gear
Shaft 17 via the second engagement piece 16b of the clutch 16
Is transmitted to Thus, the rotating shaft 7 rotates counterclockwise around the axis as shown by the dotted arrow.

As a result, the first bevel gear 22, the second bevel gear 23 at the upper end of the shaft 24, the third bevel gear 25 at the lower end of the shaft 24, and the horizontal rotating shaft 4a are provided at both ends of the rotating shaft 7, respectively. Through the attached fourth bevel gear 26, all the wheels 4 rotate in the reverse direction. Therefore, the traveling vehicle 1 moves backward in the pipe A while rotating about the axis.

A first push rod 27 or a second push rod 29 by a switching rod operating mechanism (not shown)
Of the rods 28 and 30 as shown in FIG.
When the lower roller 33 is positioned in the intermediate recess 35a of the cam 35, the switching piece 32 of the switching rod 31 causes the clutch 16 to engage its engagement piece 16a, 16b with either the seventh gear 15 or the eighth gear 17. Are also located in the middle part where they do not engage. Therefore,
The rotation of the propeller 2 is not transmitted to the wheels 4, and the traveling vehicle 1 is stopped.

As described above, the traveling vehicle 1 moves forward and backward in the pipe A while rotating about the axis thereof. Accordingly, the rotating propeller 2 increases the flow velocity of the fluid in the pipe A on the inner surface of the pipe, so that the adhesion of foreign substances such as marine organisms to the inner surface of the pipe A is properly prevented in the circumferential direction and the length direction of the pipe A. Is done. Note that the wheels 4 of the traveling vehicle 1 are not always
May not be installed obliquely with respect to the axis of the pipe A, and may be mounted parallel to the axis of the pipe A, whereby the traveling vehicle 1 may be moved forward and backward only in the axial direction of the pipe A.

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the device of the present invention. The device of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment only in that the wheel 4 is mounted at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the tube A, and the brush 6 that is in contact with the inner surface of the tube A is mounted on the support leg 5 of the wheel 4. , Differs from the device of the first embodiment.

Therefore, in the device of the second embodiment,
While the brush 6 attached to the support leg 5 of the wheel 4 always spirally contacts the inner surface of the tube A, the traveling vehicle 1 moves forward and backward in the tube A. As a result, the brush 6 rubs the inner surface of the tube A in the circumferential direction and the length direction, so that foreign matter such as marine organisms adheres to the inner surface of the tube A over the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the tube A and the tube A It can be prevented accurately even in the curved part or the deformed part of the above. Also, compared to the case where the brush 6 as in the prior art 2 is attached to the propeller 2, the brush 6
And the brush 6 does not reduce the rotational force of the propeller 2.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A rotational force transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the propeller provided on the traveling vehicle to the wheels of the traveling vehicle includes a rotating shaft provided along the center axis of the traveling vehicle, and a rotation shaft of the propeller. A first gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft to the wheels, a second gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the rotating shaft to the wheels, and rotating with the rotating shaft mounted on the rotating shaft so as to be horizontally movable; A clutch for switching the rotation in the forward or reverse direction is provided, and the rotation of the rotating shaft is transmitted to all the wheels. Therefore, the driving force of the propeller on the wheels of the traveling vehicle and the rigidity of the vehicle itself are strong, and the traveling vehicle is smoothly run using the rotational force of the propeller due to the flow of the fluid as a power without being flowed by the fluid in the pipe. Therefore, the flow velocity of the fluid in the pipe on the inner surface of the pipe is reduced by the propeller of the traveling vehicle, or the inner surface of the pipe is rubbed by a brush attached to the tip of the propeller. There are many industrially useful effects, such as the ability to accurately prevent the adhesion of chromium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line aa of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line bb of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the device of the prior art 1.

FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a device of the prior art 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A pipe, 1 traveling trolley, 1a body, 2 propeller, 3 boss, 4 wheels, 4a rotating shaft, 5 support leg, 6 brush, 7 rotating shaft, 8 first gear, 9 second gear, 10 shaft, 11 third Gear, 12 fourth gear, 13 fifth gear, 14 sixth gear, 15 seventh gear, 16 clutch, 16a first engagement piece, 16b second engagement piece, 16c groove, 17 eighth gear, 18 ninth Gear, 19 axis, 20th 10th gear, 21 torque limiter, 22 first bevel gear, 23 second bevel gear, 24 axes, 25 third bevel gear, 26 fourth bevel gear, 27 first push rod, 28 rod, 29 2nd push rod, 30 rod, 31 switching rod, 32 switching piece, 33 roller, 34 spring, 35 cam, 41 traveling trolley, 42 wheels, 43 shaft, 44 propeller, 45 worm gear, 46 gear, 47 pulley, 48 pulley , 49 belts, 50 brushes.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tomoaki Sato 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nippon Kokan Co., Ltd. (72) Koji Ueda 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan Inside Kokan Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukihiko Okamoto 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Japan Kokan Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-62-227484 (JP, A) JP-A-62-227483 ( JP, A) JP-A-52-129183 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B08B 9/02-9/04

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A traveling vehicle having a plurality of wheels that moves in a pipe in an axial direction thereof, a propeller mounted on the traveling vehicle and rotated by a flow of fluid in the pipe, and provided on the traveling vehicle. A rotational force transmitting mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the propeller to the wheels of the traveling vehicle so as to be capable of normal and reverse rotation, wherein the propeller is provided at one end of the traveling vehicle. And a first gear mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the propeller to the rotation shaft so that the rotation of the propeller can be forwardly and reversely rotated, the rotation force transmission mechanism being provided along the center axis in the traveling vehicle. And a second for transmitting rotation of the rotating shaft to the wheel.
A gear mechanism, a clutch mounted on the rotating shaft so as to be horizontally movable, rotating with the rotating shaft and switching the rotation in a forward or reverse direction, and rotating the clutch horizontally to rotate the rotating shaft. A clutch switching mechanism for changing the direction , wherein the clutch switching mechanism is connected via a switching rod.
One end of the interconnected vehicle is
A first push rod projecting through the
A second push rod whose end projects from the other end of the vehicle body of the traveling vehicle
And the switching rod is attached to an intermediate portion of the switching rod.
In addition, a switching piece whose tip engages with the groove of the clutch,
A first pusher protruding from one end of the vehicle body.
Push rod or a second pusher projecting from the other end of the vehicle body
By pressing the feed rod, the switching piece and
The traveling vehicle is moved forward and backward through the clutch, and
An apparatus for preventing foreign matter from adhering to the inner surface of a pipe, which removes foreign matter that adheres. 2. The brush according to claim 1, wherein a brush for contacting the inner surface of the tube and preventing foreign matter from adhering to the inner surface of the tube is attached to the traveling vehicle via a support shaft. apparatus. 3. Each of the plurality of wheels is mounted at a predetermined angle with respect to the axis of the tube,
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the traveling carriage is caused to travel in the pipe along the axis while rotating about the axis.