Heat exchange – With alarm – indicator – signal – register – recorder – test or... – Remotely controlled inspection means
Patent
1993-12-29
1995-11-21
Ford, John K.
Heat exchange
With alarm, indicator, signal, register, recorder, test or...
Remotely controlled inspection means
165 76, 4147443, 4147445, 4147446, 4147447, 901 15, 901 44, 376260, B25J 500, F22B 3700
Patent
active
054678137
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to a robot that is particularly, yet not exclusively, suitable for being hoisted into one of the chambers of a heat exchanger being separated from one another by a partition, in order to carry out inspection and repair work.
Dutch Patent Application 88 01431 is one of the documents disclosing a robot for carrying out operations in a heat exchanger, comprising a supporting means including two guide shafts along which a table is reciprocable, a shoulder joint arranged on the table to rotate a mounting head about a vertical axis, a forearm being pivotably connected to the mounting head and having an elbow joint at its other extremity which supports an upper table along which an upper arm is reciprocable, said upper arm being capable of carrying inspection or reparation tools at one of its extremities, and driving means for the lower table, the mounting head, the lower arm, the elbow joint, and the upper arm.
One feature of the known robots of this type is that the supporting means comprises i.a. a pair of pins that are to be fixed into the tube plate of the heat exchanger. As a result, neither of the tubes occupied by said pins can be examined in a simple manner, for example, by using a television camera, as is usual.
The invention aims to provide a solution to this problem. To this end, the supporting means according to the invention comprises a table plate including guide shafts for the lower table, and a base plate onto which suction cups are applied to attach the robot to a wall, the partition of a heat exchanger in particular.
The table plate and the base plate are preferably connected to one another by means of a double hinge, so as to enable an accurate positioning of the table plate in the planes parallel and perpendicular to the tubes of the heat exchanger.
The forearm may consist of two parallel parallelogram arms which are, at their ends facing away from the mounting head, linked together in a pivotable manner, about coupling pins, by means of a coupling arm which is pivoted about a horizontal pivot pin to a supporting plate of the elbow joint. Preferably, the stop surfaces of the coupling arm are orientated in such a manner that the upper arm is in horizontal position when in operation. The stop surfaces may be of a cranked design.
The upper arm and/or the wrist joint may be provided with means for securing the upper arm in hoisting position either onto one of the parallelogram arms and/or the mounting head.
The invention will be discussed below in more detail with reference to the drawings showing, by way of example, an embodiment of a robot according to the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a model of the robot with the lower table in the lowest position and the upper arm being folded down on the forearm,
FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the robot with the lower table in the highest position and the upper arm in horizontal position,
FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a possible way of setting the position of the table plate in relation to that of the base plate in the plane of the drawing of FIG. 2 and in a direction perpendicular to either plate, and
FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a possible way of setting the position of the table plate in relation to that of the base plate in a plane that is substantially parallel to either plate.
As FIG. 1 is based on a demonstration model, it shows two out of three legs serving to support the model on a table.
When comparing FIGS. 1 and 2, one notices that some passages of the elongated members 12 and 13 extend just between other surface pairs. These passages are provided primarily for reasons of saving weight, and therefore, their exact arrangement is of minor importance. Besides, member 6 may be provided with passages as well for the very same reason.
The invented robot is particularly suitable for being used in one of the chambers of a non-depicted heat exchanger, the chambers being separated by a partition 1. This partition 1 has a surface which is shown in FIG. 2 as being smooth and straight, thou
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patent: 5165470 (1992-11-01), Maekawa
patent: 5247251 (1993-09-01), Yost
patent: 5355063 (1994-10-01), Boone
Ford John K.
Vermaat Technics B.V.
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