JPH02216389A - Underwater inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an underwater inspection device used for inspecting reactor internal structures and reactor equipment, for example, in a nuclear power plant.

(Prior Art) In general, in boiling water nuclear power plants, in order to ensure the safety of the plant, it is mandatory to stop the operation of the reactor once a year and conduct periodic inspections. This periodic inspection is performed by filling the inside of the reactor pressure vessel and the upper part of the reactor containment vessel with pool water, so when inspecting reactor internal structures such as shroud supports and internal reactor equipment such as steam dryers, Inspection work is carried out by lowering underwater TV cameras and lighting equipment into the pressure vessel or pool from a platform installed above the reactor containment vessel.

However, with this method, if the coordination between the underwater TV camera and the lighting equipment is poor, it may not be possible to observe the place to be inspected with the underwater TV camera. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, a method is being considered in which an underwater TV camera and lighting equipment are attached to an underwater vehicle that can move freely underwater, and inspections of the reactor internal structures and equipment are carried out using the underwater vehicle. .

However, the problem here is that the underwater TV camera must be directed upward, horizontally, or downward depending on the inspection location.

In this case, the simplest method is to attach a tilt mechanism or other swing mechanism to the underwater TV camera, and use this swing mechanism to watch the underwater TV.
This method involves changing the direction of the camera, but if a swinging mechanism is attached, the underwater vehicle becomes larger, making it impossible to inspect narrow spaces with the underwater vehicle. Another method is to control the attitude of the underwater vehicle with a propulsion device to change the direction of the underwater TV camera, but in this case, at least two vertical propulsion devices are required, and these propulsion devices Since the direction and speed of rotation of the machine must be delicately controlled, there was a problem in that the control method was complicated.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, in the past, underwater TV cameras and lighting equipment were attached to underwater vehicles that could move freely underwater, and inspections of reactor internal structures and equipment were carried out using underwater vehicles. When attempting to do so, the underwater TV camera must be directed upward, horizontally, or downward depending on the inspection location. Therefore, attaching a swing mechanism to the underwater TV camera increases the size of the underwater vehicle, and the attitude of the underwater vehicle must be adjusted by the propulsion device. If an attempt was made to change the direction of the underwater TV camera by controlling it, there was a problem in that the control method would be complicated.

The present invention was made in view of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an underwater inspection device that can change the direction of an underwater TV camera up and down in a simple manner without increasing the size of the underwater vehicle. Our goal is to provide the following.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an underwater inspection device in which an underwater TV camera and a lighting device are attached to an underwater vehicle that can freely move underwater. A weight on an underwater vehicle,
The present invention is characterized by being provided with a weight moving mechanism that moves the weight in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle.

(Function) In the present invention, by moving the weight provided on the underwater vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle using the weight moving mechanism, the combined center of gravity of the underwater vehicle and the weight is adjusted to the amount of movement of the weight. Because it is displaced accordingly, the underwater vehicle can be tilted at any angle. Therefore, since there is no need to attach a swinging mechanism to the underwater TV camera, the direction of the underwater TV camera can be changed up and down without increasing the size of the underwater vehicle and by simply moving the weight.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

Figures 1 to 4 show the configuration of the underwater inspection device according to the present invention. Figure 1 is a plan view, Figure 2 is a rear view, Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3. 1 in Figures 1 to 4 is an underwater vehicle (equipment main body), and this underwater vehicle 1 has five propulsion units 2a.
, 2b, 2c.

2d and 2e. The propulsion device 2a,
Reference numeral 2b is for forward and backward movement, and is provided in water holes 3a and 3b formed in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle 1. Further, the propulsion devices 2c and 2d are used for steering, and are provided in water passage holes 3c and 3d formed in the left-right direction of the underwater vehicle 1. The propulsion device 2e is for depth adjustment and is provided in a water passage hole 3e formed in the vertical direction of the underwater vehicle.

A TV camera 4 and a lighting device 5 are installed at the front of the underwater vehicle 1.
The TV camera 4 is covered with a hemispherical waterproof cover 6. Furthermore, a weight 7 and a weight moving mechanism 8 for moving the weight 7 in the front-rear direction of the underwater vehicle 1 are provided at the lower part of the underwater vehicle 1 . The above weight moving mechanism 8
As shown in FIG. 4, it is composed of a motor 9, a ball screw IO connected to the motor 9, and slide guides lla and llb provided in parallel with the ball screw 10. Ball screw I
When O rotates, the weight 8 slides into the slide guide lla, 1
．． 1b. Note that the interior of the underwater vehicle 1 is formed of a buoyancy material I2 to generate buoyancy. Further, a cable 13 is connected to the rear of the underwater vehicle 1, and this cable 13 is connected to a remote control device (not shown).

Figure 5 shows the center of gravity Gv of the underwater vehicle 1 and the center of gravity GW of the weight 7.
As shown in the figure, when the center of gravity Gv% of the underwater vehicle 1 and the center of gravity CW of the weight 7 and the center of buoyancy F of the buoyancy material 12 are on the vertical line, the composite of the centers of gravity Gv and Gw The center of gravity G is also located on the vertical line, and the underwater vehicle 1 is kept in a horizontal state. When the weight 7 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle 1 from this state, the position of the center of gravity G changes according to the movement distance MX of the weight 7, as shown in FIG. It tilts until the straight line connecting it to the center of buoyancy F becomes a vertical line. Incidentally, the inclination angle θ of the underwater vehicle 1 in this case is expressed by the following equation.

θ"="' (L -1) -Z Here, in this embodiment, the weight 7 is placed at the bottom of the underwater vehicle 1, and the weight that moves the weight 7 in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle 1 is used. By providing the weight moving mechanism 8, the attitude of the underwater vehicle 1 can be tilted to an arbitrary angle. Therefore, since there is no need to attach a swinging mechanism etc. to the TV camera 4, the underwater vehicle 1 can be saved without increasing its size.
Moreover, the direction of the TV camera 4 can be changed up and down by a simple method of moving the weight 7.

In the above embodiment, the weight 7 was moved linearly in the longitudinal direction of the underwater vehicle 1, but as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ffi weight 7 was moved in a pendulum shape to move the underwater vehicle 1. It may also be tilted up and down.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the attitude of the underwater vehicle can be tilted to any angle by moving the weight in the front-back direction of the underwater vehicle, thereby increasing the size of the underwater vehicle. Underwater TV in a simple and easy way
It is possible to provide an underwater inspection device that can change the direction of the right camera from below.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 6 are views showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the underwater inspection device, Figure 2 is a rear view thereof, and Figure 3 is a cross section taken along ■-■ of Figure 1. Figure 4 is IV-IV of Figure 3.
The sectional view, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the same embodiment, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing other embodiments of the present invention. 8 is a plan view, and FIG. 8 is a rear view. 1... Underwater vehicle, 2a to 2e... Propulsion device, 3a
~3e...Water hole, 4...TV camera, 5...Lighting device, 6...Waterproof cover 7... Weight, 8... Weight moving mechanism. a b b Figure 1 Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue C C Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an underwater inspection device in which an underwater TV camera and lighting equipment are attached to an underwater vehicle that can freely move underwater, the underwater vehicle includes a weight and a weight moving mechanism that moves the weight in the front and back direction of the underwater vehicle. An underwater inspection device characterized by the following: