Railways – Tubular way – Internal service device
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-04
2002-08-13
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railways
Tubular way
Internal service device
C324S220000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06431079
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a vehicle for traversing a surface such as for carrying out an inspection, survey or maintenance operation upon that surface. For example, vehicles of this type may be used to traverse a flat surface, or a space between two such surfaces, or to traverse internally or externally the length of a generally tubular conduit such as a pipe, shaft, tunnel, drain, chimney or the like, in a horizontal, vertical or intermediate direction.
Vehicles and similar tools for use in carrying out operations such as inspection and maintenance of the interior of tubular conduits are known and used. Many such vehicles can be used only in conduits which are horizontal or do not depart greatly from the horizontal; many of these rely upon the conduit being more-or-less uniform in cross-section throughout its length.
If a vehicle is to traverse the length of a generally vertical or steeply-inclined surface, then the vehicle must be able to grip the face of the surface sufficiently well to support itself, and any equipment which it is required to carry or move, against the effects of gravity, friction and any other resistance. Thus vertically-traversing vehicles are more difficult to devise and such vehicles as are available for this purpose are usually suitable for use only in tubular conduits of uniform cross-section and having diameters of a specific value or lying within a narrowly-defined range.
Few, if any, prior vehicles are suitable for carrying out exploratory or other operations other than over the interior surfaces of such uniform tubular conduits. Such vehicles are not able satisfactorily to carry out such operations even in tubular conduits of varying cross-sectional size or shape, whether or not those conduits are generally horizontal. They are also usually unsuitable for use when the inner surface of a tubular conduit has irregularities such as hollows or localised projections.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Against this background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a surface traversing vehicle which is suitable for use upon a wide variety of smooth and/or irregular surfaces, including those of a wide range of generally tubular conduits of uniform or irregular cross-sectional size and/or shape and also generally planar surfaces of uniform or irregular shape, any of which surfaces may be horizontal, vertical or intermediate these directions.
The surface traversing vehicle according to the present invention comprises two bodies interconnected by means to move the bodies towards and away from each other, each said body being supported upon a multiplicity of resilient bristles extending from it. It has unexpectedly been found that alternate moving of the bodies towards and away from each other causes the vehicle to move in successive steps along a generally linear path over the surface upon which the vehicle is supported. For example, when the vehicle is placed within a tubular conduit having an average inside diameter a little less than the maximum overall dimension of the bristles measured in that diametrical direction, the vehicle traverses the length of the conduit in this way.
Subject to the foregoing features, the particular detailed form of the surface traversing vehicle according to the present invention will depend upon the general nature of the surface to be traversed. For example, the shape of the bristle-carrying bodies may be generally flat when the vehicle is to be used to traverse a generally planar surface or when it is to traverse a space between two adjacent generally planar, generally parallel surfaces. For use upon or within tubular conduits they may be elongate in the direction of the length of the vehicle or relatively short in that direction and are preferably rotationally symmetrical about that direction. Thus, for example, they may be generally cylindrical in shape. However, they may also be non-symmetrical or irregular in shape, in order to correspond to the cross-sectional shape of the conduit upon or within which they are intended to be used.
The bristles extending from these bodies are resilient and are directed generally towards the surface which is to be traversed. For example, if that surface is a single generally flat surface, then the bristles may extend generally parallel to each other in a single direction away from each of the bodies. If the surface is one of a pair of such surfaces, then the bristles will normally extend in two opposite directions. When the vehicle is intended for use within a generally tubular conduit, the bristles are directed outwardly from the bodies. However, the bodies may alternatively be of generally annular cross-section, with the bristles directed inwardly, for use to traverse the outside of a chimney, post, cable or the like.
The bristles upon which the bodies are supported may extend, when in an unstressed state, in a direction which is generally perpendicular to the surface of the body, for example radially outwardly or inwardly in the case of a generally cylindrical (including annular) body. Alternatively, the bristles may be slightly inclined to that direction. They may all be mounted in mutual parallel or they may be off-set from parallel, for example in pairs of mutually inclined bristles.
When the vehicle according to the present invention is in use, it is necessary for the bristles to be diverted to a greater or lesser extent from their unstressed orientation. The required resiliency of the bristles enables them to return, or to tend to return, to that unstressed orientation and then, if the vehicle is to be reversed, to be diverted beyond that orientation into a new inclination in an opposite direction. The bristles may be natural bristles or may be of any other material having the desired resiliency, for example a synthetic polymeric material or a metal. The material ideally displays a relatively high stiffness coupled with a high rate of elasticity. When the vehicle is used to carry a relatively light load, for example a camera to inspect the surface in question, then synthetic polymeric material bristles, for example of nylon, are suitable. When better traction is required, for example when the vehicle is to tow behind it a relatively heavy load, then metal bristles, for example of steel, are preferred. Mixtures of bristles of different materials and/or of different lengths may also be used.
If, having performed the desired function, the vehicle is required to move in the reverse direction, for example to enable it to be retrieved or because it has encountered an obstruction, it is necessary for the inclination of the bristles to be reversed. This result may be achieved in any of a number of different ways. Since movement of the vehicle over a surface requires one of the bodies to remain stationary while the other moves towards or away from it, the main requirement is to reverse the inclination of the bristles on a first body, preferably that one which is rearmost during the initial forward movement of the vehicle. The vehicle may therefore be constructed with, for example, shorter bristles on the first unit, to enable more ready reversal of the bristles.
As another approach to aiding reversal of the vehicle, one or more of the bodies may be constructed with retractable bristles and/or a mechanism may be provided specifically for the purpose of reversing the inclination of the bristles. As a further alternative, the vehicle may be reversed simply by pulling the whole vehicle, or just the rearmost body, backwards by a distance sufficient to cause the bristles to move to the oppositely-inclined position. This may be achieved by pulling manually upon a line attached to the vehicle, or by, say, operating a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder included in such a line.
When as in most operating situations, the vehicle is required to change from forward motion to rearward motion within a limited space, for example within a tubular conduit, the movement of the bristles within that space may be aided by providing means to rotate one or more of the bodies about
Appleton Ernest
Stutchbury Neil William
Morano S. Joseph
Olson Lars A.
Rodman & Rodman
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