JPH0640983B2 - Robot for in-pipe painting and pinhole inspection - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a robot for in-pipe coating / pinhole inspection, which is used for, for example, internal coating of a hydraulic iron pipe in a hydroelectric power plant and pinhole inspection of a coating film after painting. To be done.

2. Description of the Related Art Taking a penstock for a hydraulic power plant as an example,
It is a penstock that supplies the water of the dam to the impeller part of the generator at a high head, and its inner surface is covered with a protective coating, but since the protective coating peels off with use,
It is necessary to inspect regularly and repair the bad parts.

It is necessary to carry out these works on a sloping ground in the mountains.For pipes with a diameter larger than a certain level, the work vehicle is carried directly into the bogie suspended by a winch, but it is impossible to work with small diameter pipes. The current situation is to leave it alone.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention One that automatically coats the inner surface of a large-diameter pipe on a flat surface is
Although it already exists, it is the current situation that what is suitable for use on sloping mountainous areas, such as the above-mentioned penstock, and that can be shared from large diameter to small diameter is not yet developed. , Ventilation function is not sufficient in the penstock, and flammable volatile components such as solvents contained in the paint fill the pipe, which may cause a fire explosion, and the surveillance cameras and lighting lamps in the pipe are sprayed. Since there is a problem such as fog on the paint, existing ones cannot be applied as they are.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been developed in view of the above problems of the prior art, and is a self-propelled trolley capable of traveling in a pipe, and a self-propelled type that is rotatable around a pipe axis. Painting nozzle head mounted on the front of the trolley, lighting lamps and IT mounted on the self-propelled trolley
A V camera, a paint feed pump for sending paint from outside the pipe to the painting nozzle head through a hose, and after painting, it is mounted on a self-propelled trolley that replaces the painting nozzle head and rotates around the pipe axis. Pinhole inspection head equipped with a conductive brush at the tip of the arm, traveling control of a self-propelled trolley from outside the pipe, turning control of the painting nozzle head, illumination lamp and IT
In a coating / pinhole inspection robot for pipes equipped with a control device for controlling a V camera and a pinhole inspection head, an air motor is used as a traveling drive source for a self-propelled carriage and a rotation drive source for a coating nozzle head. And,
Air is introduced from the outside of the pipe to make the internal pressure higher than the external pressure, and an explosion-proof box with a window glass attached to the front is mounted on a self-propelled trolley. An illumination lamp and an ITV are installed in the front of the explosion-proof box.
The camera, the illumination lamp, the ITV camera, and the air motor control / operation equipment are collectively stored in the rear part, and
An air blow nozzle for preventing fogging is installed on the front surface of the window glass of the explosion-proof box, and a winch for loading / unloading the self-propelled carriage into and out of the pipe via the wire rope is installed outside the pipe. During the painting work, the self-propelled carriage was wound up so that the self-propelled speed was constant.

Action The self-propelled carriage self-propels in the pipe axis direction, and the coating nozzle head swivels around the pipe axis to spirally apply the paint to the inner surface of the pipe. This coating work situation is illuminated by an illumination lamp, photographed by an ITV camera, and monitored by a monitor TV outside the pipe, and proper control of the free-running speed and the turning speed is performed from outside the pipe through a control device.

The paint is pressure-fed from the outside of the pipe through a hose by a paint feed pump, so that the painting unit to be inserted into the pipe can be downsized and can be applied to small diameter pipes. Lighting lamp and IT
An air blow nozzle is provided on the front of the V camera,
The spray paint is prevented from scattering and adhering. The traveling and turning motors are air motors to prevent explosion, and the lighting lamp, ITV TV, and control / operation equipment are stored together in an explosion-proof box, so the risk of explosion is avoided. .

The painting work is performed by retracting the self-propelled carriage from the back to the front.

In this case, the present invention, by the winch, during the painting operation,
The self-propelled trolley was wound so that the self-propelled trolley would have a constant self-propelled speed, so that when the inclination angle is not uniform and there are many variations, such as the penstock of a hydroelectric power plant. Also, the self-propelled speed during painting does not change and is controlled to be constant,
This prevents paint spots from occurring.

After painting, take out the whole body from the outside of the pipe, replace the painting nozzle head and the pinhole inspection head, and inspect for the presence of pinholes. This inspection is performed by connecting one electrode to the tube and connecting the other electrode to the conductive brush. The principle of this inspection is that if paint intervenes as an insulator between the pipe and the conductive brush, and there is a pinhole or a cracked part, the short-circuit phenomenon will occur due to the tip of the conductive brush entering that part. However, this is detected by a detection means such as a buzzer or a lamp.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an application example of the present invention,
(1) is a self-propelled trolley that can travel inside the pipe by a traveling air motor (1a), and (2) is a swivel air motor (2a) that can rotate around the pipe axis. Painting nozzle head mounted on the front part, (3) is illumination lamp (3a) and ITV
The camera (3b) is stored in the front and the control / operation equipment (3
c) are stored together, and an air blow nozzle (3
Explosion-proof box equipped with d) and mounted on the self-propelled carriage (1),
(4) is a paint feed pump that pumps paint from outside the pipe to the painting nozzle head (2) through the hose (4a), and (5) is a control device installed outside the pipe, which includes a power / signal cable (5a). It is connected to the relay box (1b) mounted on the self-propelled trolley (1) via. (6) is an engine-driven compressor installed outside the pipe, and is connected to an air tank (1c) mounted on the self-propelled carriage (1) via an air hose (6a). (7) is a winch installed outside the pipe, which is connected to the self-propelled carriage (1) via a wire rope (7a).

The self-propelled carriage (1) has a main body as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.
(1d) has a plurality of drive wheels (1e) on both sides at the bottom of the lower part with an opening angle of about 120 °, and the rear air motor (1a) for the lower part to the clutch (1f), reduction gear (1g) and interlocking movement. The devices (1h) are driven to travel all at once, and air is supplied to the air motor (1a) from the air tank (1c) through the control valve.

The coating nozzle head (2) has a spray nozzle (2e) attached via a support pipe (2d) to the tip of a rotating shaft (2c) that rotates from a swirling air motor (2a) through a speed reducer (2b). The paint is supplied from the paint feed pump (4) outside the pipe through the hose (4a) through the rotary shaft (2c) and is supplied through the support pipe (2d). The flange of (4) is detachably and replaceably bolted to a fitting hole on the front surface of the main body (1d) of the self-propelled carriage (1).

The explosion-proof box (3) is attached to the upper surface of the main body (1d) of the self-propelled trolley (1), and the illumination lamp (3a) and the IT are installed inside the front surface.
The V camera (3b) is housed through the window glass, the air blow nozzle (3d) for preventing the fogging of the window glass is provided on the front surface, and the control / operation equipment (3c) is housed together in the rear part. Air is constantly supplied to the inside from the air tank (1c) to raise the internal pressure more than the outside so that the air containing the flammable volatile components in the pipe does not enter the inside.

The paint feed pump (4) is an airless pump, is installed outside the pipe together with the paint tank, and pressure-feeds the paint to the paint nozzle head (2) via the hose (4a).

The control device (5) is for remotely controlling the traveling control of the self-propelled carriage (1), the turning control of the coating nozzle head (2), the starting control of the ITV camera (3b), etc. from outside the pipe. · Connected to each of the above devices via the relay box (1b) mounted on the self-propelled carriage (1) via the signal cable (5a), remote control operation panel, ITV monitor TV, relay circuit, etc. Is equipped with.

The compressor (6), which is the drive source of the self-propelled air motor (1a) and the turning air motor (2a), is not installed in the self-propelled carriage (1) but is installed outside the pipe, and is installed in the self-propelled carriage (1). Is equipped with only the air tank (1c), and air is supplied from the compressor (6) outside the tube to the air tank (1c) by the air hose (6a), thereby reducing the size of the painting unit inserted into the tube.

The winch (7) attaches the self-propelled carriage (1) to the wire rope (7
It is for loading and unloading to and from the painting position via a). It is installed outside the pipe and is wound by the self-propelled carriage (1) so that the self-propelled speed is constant during the painting work. It can be operated.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are a side view and a front view in which the pinhole inspection head (8) is mounted on the self-propelled carriage (1) in an interchangeable manner. The pinhole inspection head (8) is a turning motor. (8
In a), a conductive brush (8c) is attached to the tip of an arm (8b) that rotates around the tube axis.

The arm (8b) can be expanded and contracted according to the pipe diameter.

The self-propelled trolley (1) uses attachments with different lengths of mounting legs to the main body (1d), so that the swing center of the coating nozzle head (2) and the arm (8b) of the pinhole inspection head (8) can be used. The center of rotation of () is made to coincide with the center of the pipe axis.

The embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, and the operation will be described below.

At the time of painting, move the self-propelled carriage (1) so that the winch (7) pulls it back toward the near side starting from the back side of the painting range, and turn the painting nozzle head (2) in relation to this moving speed. The paint is spirally applied to the inner surface of the tube. The painting situation inside the pipe is monitored by the monitor TV outside the pipe through the ITV camera (3b) and appropriate measures are taken.

When the painting is completed, the self-propelled carriage (1) is pulled back, the painting nozzle head (2) is removed, and the pinhole inspection head (8) is attached to perform the pinhole inspection of the painting part. Also in this case, the self-propelled carriage (1) is self-propelled in the tube axis direction, and the arm (8b) is swung at a speed related to the self-propelled carriage (1), whereby the conductive brush (8c) spirals the inner surface of the tube. Rub on and inspect. This test connects the negative pole to the tube,
It is carried out by connecting a positive electrode to the conductive brush (8c) and applying a predetermined voltage between both electrodes, and the coating film has a uniform thickness and is finished on a dense smooth surface without pinholes or cracks. In the portion where the coating film becomes an insulator, current does not flow between both electrodes, but if there is a pinhole or a crack, short-circuit discharge occurs between the conductive brush (8c) and the tube. This is notified and detected by a buzzer, a lamp or the like.

Although the above-mentioned example is applied to a penstock,
Of course, it can be applied to other uses.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the inside of a pipe can be safely and efficiently coated, and the entire size can be reduced. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a small diameter pipe.

In addition, the pinhole inspection after painting can be performed in the same way. Especially, it is necessary to wait for the paint to dry before performing the pinhole inspection after painting. Since the head and the head are exchanged, they are convenient for handling and transportation, and are suitable for transportation to the mountains such as hydroelectric power plants.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a schematic side view showing an application example of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a coating unit, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 4 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a pinhole inspection unit. Side view,
FIG. 6 is a front view thereof. (1) …… Self-propelled trolley, (1a) …… Traveling air motor, (2) …… Coating nozzle head, (2a) …… Swiveling air motor, (3) …… Explosion-proof box, (3a) …… Illumination lamp, (3b) ... ITV camera, (3c) ... Control / operation equipment, (4) ... Paint feeding pump, (4a) ... Hose, (5) ... Control device, (8) ...... Pinhole inspection head, (8a) …… Swivel motor, (8b) …… Arm, (8c) …… Conductive brush.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A self-propelled carriage capable of traveling in a pipe, a coating nozzle head that is rotatable around a pipe axis and is mounted on a front portion of the self-propelled carriage, and a lighting mounted on the self-propelled carriage. A lamp and an ITV camera, a paint feed pump for sending paint from outside the pipe to a paint nozzle head via a hose, and after painting,
It is mounted on a self-propelled trolley in exchange for a painting nozzle head, and a pinhole inspection head equipped with a conductive brush at the tip of an arm that rotates around the pipe axis, and traveling control of the self-propelled trolley from outside the pipe, A robot for combined in-pipe painting and pinhole inspection equipped with a control device that controls the rotation of the coating nozzle head, the control of the illumination lamp and the ITV camera, and the rotation control of the pinhole inspection head. The rotation drive source of the nozzle head is an air motor, air is introduced from the outside of the pipe to increase the internal pressure above the external pressure, and an explosion-proof box with a window glass attached to the front is installed in a self-propelled carriage. Lighting lamp and ITV on the front
In the rear part of the camera, the lighting lamp, the ITV camera, and the control / operation equipment of the air motor are housed together, and the anti-fog air blow nozzle is installed on the front surface of the window glass of the explosion-proof box. A winch for loading and unloading the wire into and out of the pipe via a wire rope was installed outside the pipe, and the winch was wound up so that the self-propelled carriage had a constant self-propelled speed during painting. A robot that is used for both pipe painting and pinhole inspection.