JPH0627710B2 - Tank inside observation device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an observation apparatus for observing the inside of a tank such as a low temperature liquefied gas tank such as LNG or LPG.

[Conventional technology]

In a low temperature liquefied gas tank such as LNG or LPG, it is desirable to be able to observe the inside during normal times and during abnormal times such as earthquakes in order to understand the behavior of the liquid level and the state of internal structures.

A conventional apparatus for such observation is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-297600. As shown in FIG. 5, this device comprises an observation cylinder 2 having a lower end opened to an upper part inside the tank 1 at an upper part of a tank 1, and an observation device main body 3 is vertically moved in the cylinder 2. The inside of the tank 1 is observed by the built-in observation means 4 in a state in which the observation device main body 3 is supported by the lower part of the cylindrical body 2 while being made possible.
Is an upper base 6 which can be supported at the lower part of the cylindrical body 2 and has a swivel means 5 built-in, and is projecting downward from the upper base 6, and can be swung about the longitudinal axis by the swivel means 5. And a container 8 supported on the support 7 so as to be rotatable about a lateral axis. The container 8 is provided with the observation means 4 and the container 8 is provided. The tilting means 9 for tilting is constructed. In such an apparatus, the upper base body 6 is supported by the supporting means such as the support seat 10 projecting to the inner periphery of the lower end of the tubular body 2, and the container body 8 is positioned outside the tubular body 2 in such a state. Then, the vessel body 8 is swung and tilted by the swiveling means 5 and the tilting means 9, respectively, and an appropriate place inside the tank 1 is observed. The body 8 cannot be retracted inside the tubular body 2 in such an observation posture, that is, in the tilted state, and therefore must be returned to the upright posture when retracted. Therefore, in the apparatus, the tilting means 9 is provided with the electromagnetic clutch 11 so that the body 8 can be freely rotated, and the body 8 biases the center of gravity below the rotation shaft 12. With such a configuration, even if the tilting means 9 fails, the body 8 is returned to the upright posture by free movement due to gravity, and the tubular body 2 can be pulled inward.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in such return by gravity, due to the frictional force of the rotating shaft 12, the body 8 does not completely stand upright and remains inclined, and in some cases, the tubular body 2 is not pulled inward. The inconvenience of becoming impossible occurs.
The occurrence of such an inconvenience can be prevented by increasing the deviation of the center of gravity. However, if this is done, the force required for tilting will increase, the tilting means will become large, and the overall size of the device will become large. In addition, there is an inconvenience that the structure and arrangement of the observation means are limited. In addition to this, the rotating shaft 12
The distance L between the upper end of the body 8 and the upper end of the body 8 can be shortened so that the body 8 can be retracted into the cylindrical body 2 even if the inclination remains, but in this case, the counterweight is used to balance the torque. It is difficult to realize because of the inconvenience of becoming essential.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems.

[Means for solving problems]

The structure of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 corresponding to the embodiments. First, the apparatus described in the first paragraph is for observation in which the upper end of the tank 1 is opened and the lower end is opened to the upper part inside the tank 1. In addition to constituting the cylindrical body 2, the observation device main body 3 is configured to be movable up and down in the cylindrical body 2, and the observation means 4 incorporated therein in a state where the observation device main body 3 is supported below the cylindrical body 2. In the device for observing the inside of the tank 1 by means of the above, the observation device main body 3 can be supported at the lower part of the cylindrical body 2, and the upper base 6 having the turning means 5 built therein, and the upper base 6 From a support body 7 projecting downward and configured to be pivotable about a vertical axis by the pivot means 5, and a body 8 supported on the support body 7 to be pivotable about a horizontal axis. Configure and
The observing means 4 is provided on the body 8 and the tilting means 9 provided with the electromagnetic clutch 11 is provided, and the lower end of the hoisting wire 14 reaching the hoisting means 13 through the upper part of the cylindrical body 2 is connected to the upper part. The base 6 is penetrated and connected to the upper part of the body 8.

Next, in the device described in the second item, in the device described in the first item, the hoisting wire 14 or the hoisting device 13 is provided with a constant tension device 15.

Next, the apparatus described in item 3 is the same as the device described in item 1, except that the observation apparatus main body 3 is moved up and down by the lifting wire 14.

Further, in the apparatus described in the fourth item, the upper base body 6 is also connected with another lifting wire.

[Operation and Example]

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with examples. First, the observation apparatus main body 3 is raised to the storage space 16 above the cylindrical body 2 as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 1 except when the observation is performed, and is made by an appropriate airtight partitioning means (not shown). Tank 1
It is kept in a storage state in isolation from the inside of the vehicle, and if necessary, taken out from the storage space 16 to the outside for inspection or observation means 4.
Exchange.

However, when observing the inside of the tank 1 at the time of start-up after the construction of the tank, at the time of an abnormality such as an earthquake, or at a normal time, along with other predetermined operations such as operation of the partitioning means and purging with nitrogen gas. The hoisting means 13 is operated to lower the observation device body 3 by the lifting wire 14. Then, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, the upper base body 6 is supported by the supporting means 10 below the tubular body 2 in a state where the container body 8 projects below the lower end of the tubular body 2. Support means 1
As shown in the figure, 0 is not limited to the configuration of the support seat 10 projecting to the inner periphery of the lower end of the cylindrical body 2, and the configuration of the wedge-shaped locking piece disclosed in the above-mentioned publication is also appropriate.

By supporting the electromagnetic clutch 11 as described above and operating the tilting means 9 while the electromagnetic clutch 11 is energized, the body 8 can be rotated around the rotation shaft 12 and tilted in the vertical direction. The lifting wire 14 must be further extended downward from the state in which the upper base body 6 is seated on the support seat 10 in order to prevent the tilting of the body 8 from being hindered. In this case, the lifting wire 14 or the winding wire is wound. If the lifting means 13 is provided with a constant tension means 15 to the extent that tilting is not a burden, the slack of the lifting wire 14 can be prevented. The constant tension means 15 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a floating roll 18 provided with a weight 17.

By tilting the body 8 by the tilting means 9 as described above, the observation target range of the observing means 4 can be moved in the vertical direction of the tank 1. Further, by operating the swivel means 5 to swivel the body 8 by the support body 7, the observation target range of the observation means can be moved in the inner circumferential direction of the tank 1, and in conjunction with the operation of the tilting means 9. The observation target range can be appropriately moved to the entire inside of the tank 1. The observing means 4 is composed of an illuminating means 19 and an imaging means 20 as shown in the figure, or may be composed of only the imaging means 20 if it is possible to illuminate from a proper place or to take natural light.

When the observation apparatus main body 3 is again raised to the upper part of the tubular body 2 after the above observation is completed, first, the tilting means 9 is operated to bring the body 8 upright, and then the hoisting means 13 is operated. Raise the lifting wire 14. At this time, if the tilting means 9
If it fails to return to the upright state, the electromagnetic clutch 11 is de-energized. Then, the body 8 is released from the linkage with the tilting means 9 and can freely rotate around the rotation shaft 12. When the hoisting means 13 is operated to raise the hoisting wire 14 in such a state, the hoisting wire 14 is
First, the upper portion of the body 8 is moved to the upper center, and the body 8 is rotated around the rotation shaft 12 to be in the upright state. Thereafter, the hoisting wire 14 is applied with the entire load of the observation device body 3 via the body 8, and thus the observation device body 3 can be lifted up into the cylindrical body 2. The inclination of the upper base body 6 at this time is restricted by the inner surface of the cylindrical body 2,
In the discontinuity on the inner surface of the cylindrical body 2 like the valve provided in
On the inner surface of the through hole for the lifting wire 14 provided on the upper base 6,
By configuring the suspension wire so as to contact and support it, the suspension wire can be regulated within an allowable value.

As described above, in the present invention, when the tilting means 9 fails, the hoisting wire 14 forcibly restores the body 8 from the tilted state to the upright state, so that it is restored by free movement due to gravity. The rotating shaft 1 of the body 8 like the device
It is not necessary to consider the deviation of the center of gravity with respect to 2. Therefore, the tilting means 9 can be downsized by making it smaller or balanced, and the tilting means 9 and the observing means 4 can be freely configured and arranged. For example, a larger illuminating means 19 or an image pickup means 20 having a lens with a larger aperture is built in, or a tilting mechanism for aligning the optical axes of the illuminating means 19 and the image pickup means 20 is provided as a body 8. In addition to the tilting mechanism 9 described above, a more complicated mechanism such as a two-stage tilting mechanism added can be configured, and thus the observing ability can be improved.

In the above description, the load of the observation device body 3 is entirely supported by the lifting wire 14 via the body 8, but in some cases, the other lifting wires (not shown) may be attached to the upper base body 6. (Omitted) may be connected so that the other lifting wire supports a part or most of the load of the observation device body 3.

Although the power supply and signal cables for the turning means 5, the tilting means 9 and the observing means 4 and the external device are not shown, they may be appropriately configured.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the tank is observed by the observation means built in the tiltable and swivel body while the observation device body is supported on the lower part of the observation cylinder formed on the upper part of the tank. In this device, when the tilting means fails, the hoisting wire forcibly restores the body from the tilted state to the upright state. It is not necessary to consider the deviation of the center of gravity of the body with respect to the rotation axis, the tilting means can be downsized, and the degree of freedom in the configuration and arrangement of the tilting means and the observing means is increased, which facilitates the design. Moreover, there is an effect that the observation ability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 4 correspond to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall schematic explanatory view, and FIG. 2 (a) is an enlarged explanatory view of a main part of FIG.
FIG. 2 (b) is an explanatory side view of FIG. 2 (a), and FIGS. 3 and 4 are enlarged explanatory views of main parts in other operating states. Also, FIG. 5 (a),
(b) is an enlarged front and side explanatory view of a main part of a conventional example. Reference numeral 1 ... Tank, 2 ... Observation cylinder, 3 ... Observation device main body, 4 ... Observation means, 5 ... Rotating means, 6 ... Upper base body, 7 ... Support body, 8 ... Instrument body , 9 ... tilting means, 10
...... Support seat (support means), 11 ...... Electromagnetic clutch, 12
...... Rotating shaft, 13 ...... Hoisting means, 14 ...... Hoisting wire, 15 ...... Constant tension means, 16 ...... Storing space, 17 ......
Weight, 18 ... Floating roll, 19 ... Lighting means, 20
…… Image pickup means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kunihiko Takahashi, 3-4-6 Miyamadai, Tarumi-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo (72) Inventor Masayuki Iida 5-121-15-769, Sakashita-cho, Kasugai-shi, Aichi (1-6)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An observation tube body having a lower end opened to an upper part in the tank is formed on an upper portion of a tank, and an observation apparatus main body is configured to be movable up and down in the cylinder body. In a device that allows the inside of the tank to be observed by the built-in observation means while being supported at the bottom of the
The observation device main body is capable of being seated and fixed to the lower part of the tubular body, has an upper base body having a turning means built therein, and projects downward from the upper base body, and the turning means vertically extends along an axis line of the observation cylinder body. And a supporting body configured to be rotatable about an axis in the direction, and a supporting body supported on the supporting body so as to be rotatable about an axis in a lateral direction perpendicular to the axis of the observation cylinder. Along with observing means, constituting tilting means via an electromagnetic clutch, the lower end of the hoisting wire reaching the hoisting means via the upper part of the tubular body is penetrated through the upper base body to the upper part of the body. A tank internal observation device characterized by being connected. 2. An apparatus for observing the inside of a tank according to claim 1, wherein the hoisting wire or the hoisting means comprises a constant tension means. 3. An apparatus for observing the inside of a tank according to claim 1, wherein the observing apparatus main body is moved up and down by a lifting wire. 4. An apparatus for observing the inside of a tank according to claim 1, wherein another lifting wire is also connected to the upper substrate.