Weld inspection device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a weld inspection device, and more particularly, to a weld inspection device capable of accurately inspecting welds. The present invention discloses a weld inspection device for inspecting whether a weld (20) in a pipeline (10) has defects, comprising: a housing (100) surrounding the pipeline (10) to cover the weld (20) and forming a sealed inspection space (S) inside; an inspection tool (200) disposed in the housing (100) to confirm the state of the weld (20) in the inspection space (S); and a defect judgment unit for judging whether the weld (20) has defects based on the state of the weld (20) confirmed by the inspection tool (200).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a weld bead inspection device, and more particularly, to a weld bead inspection device capable of accurately inspecting a weld bead. Background Art

[0002] Generally, welding is the process of joining two solid materials by establishing direct atomic bonds between them, and is mostly used for welding metal materials.

[0003] In particular, welding is used to install the pipes used in substrate processing equipment and substrate processing systems used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. If there are defects in such welding, chemical substances used for substrate processing may leak, which may threaten the safety of workers. Therefore, an inspection device is needed to determine whether there are defects in the welding.

[0004] In the past, skilled workers directly checked the weld bead from the outside with their naked eyes to confirm the integrity of the weld and the presence of defects. However, the defect resolution ability varied depending on the worker's proficiency and operating conditions, and there were problems such as the inability to objectify and increased inspection costs.

[0005] Based on this, a device has been developed in the past that irradiates the weld bead surface with a laser beam to check whether the weld bead has defects. However, the inspection object needs to be placed in the correct position of the device, so there is a problem that it is limited in inspection in narrow and high sections.

[0006] In addition, some inspection methods using cameras to image weld beads have been disclosed. However, the image formed changes depending on the illumination of the operating environment, so there is a problem that accurate inspection cannot be performed. Summary of the invention

[0007] Problem to be solved

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a weld bead inspection device which has excellent portability and can inspect a weld bead consistently and accurately.

[0009] Means of solving the problem

[0010] The present invention is proposed to achieve the purpose of the present invention as described above. The present invention discloses a weld inspection device for inspecting whether a weld 20 in a pipeline 10 has defects, comprising: a shell 100, which surrounds the pipeline 10 to cover the weld 20 and forms a sealed inspection space S inside; an inspection tool 200, which is arranged in the shell 100 to confirm the state of the weld 20 in the inspection space S; and a defect judgment unit, which judges whether the weld 20 has defects based on the state of the weld 20 confirmed by the inspection tool 200.

[0011] The housing 100 may be portable so as to be installed and disassembled on the weld bead 20 of the pipe 10 .

[0012] The inspection tool 200 may be disposed on an inner side of the housing 100 facing the weld bead 20 .

[0013] The inspection tool 200 may include a visual inspection unit 210 for imaging the weld bead 20 , and an illumination unit 230 for forming appropriate illumination in the inspection space S for imaging by the visual inspection unit 210 .

[0014] The inspection tool 200 may include a laser inspection part 220 that measures a displacement of the weld bead 20 .

[0015] The inspection tool 200 is rotatable along the outer circumference of the pipe 10 on the inner side of the housing 100 .

[0016] A plurality of inspection tools 200 may be disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 along the outer circumferential surface of the pipe 10 .

[0017] The pipeline 10 may be provided for supplying and exhausting gas to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system for processing a substrate.

[0018] The inspection tool 200 may include a leakage sensor for determining whether the pipeline 10 leaks gas.

[0019] The defect determination unit may determine the presence or absence of a defect based on at least one of the width W, the height, and the presence or absence of micropores of the weld bead 20 confirmed by the inspection tool 200 .

[0020] The defect determination unit may determine whether there is a defect based on whether the distances from a pair of horizontal marking lines L spaced at both ends of the weld bead 20 in the pipe 10 to the center C of the weld bead 20 are consistent.

[0021] Effects of the Invention

[0022] The weld inspection device of the present invention has the advantages of excellent portability and easy installation and disassembly at the weld position, so the preset object can be inspected.

[0023] In particular, the weld inspection device of the present invention has the following advantages: it has a compact structure, so it can be inspected regardless of the environment of the preset object, and stable weld inspection can be performed even in difficult-to-access areas such as narrow areas and high areas.

[0024] In addition, the weld bead inspection device of the present invention has the following advantages: a consistent inspection space is provided, and inspection can be performed with constant lighting, so that stable weld bead inspection can be performed even if the external environment changes during inspection.

[0025] In addition, the weld bead inspection device of the present invention has the following advantages: the inspection tool performs inspection from multiple aspects using various parameters of the weld bead, rather than subjective inspection by a worker, and the presence or absence of defects is determined based on numerical data, so that weld bead inspection with high reliability can be performed.

[0026] In addition, the weld inspection device of the present invention has the following advantages: various parameters of the weld portion are measured, and the presence or absence of defects is determined based on the measured parameters through a preset algorithm, so that inspection can be performed consistently, highly reliably and quickly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 It is a perspective view showing the appearance of the weld bead inspection device of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A cross-sectional view showing the appearance of a weld inspection device taken along the AA direction.

[0029] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A cross-sectional view showing the appearance of a weld inspection device taken along the BB direction.

[0030] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 A cross-sectional view showing the appearance of a weld inspection device in the CC direction.

[0031] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 1 A perspective view of the appearance of a visual inspection portion of a weld bead inspection device.

[0032] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 1 A perspective view of the appearance of a laser inspection unit of a weld bead inspection device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Hereinafter, the weld bead inspection device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0034] like Figures 1 to 4As shown, the weld inspection device of the present invention inspects whether the weld 20 in the pipeline 10 has defects, and includes: a shell 100, which surrounds the pipeline 10 to cover the weld 20 and forms a sealed inspection space S inside; an inspection tool 200, which is arranged in the shell 100 to confirm the state of the weld 20 in the inspection space S; and a defect judgment unit, which judges whether the weld 20 has defects based on the state of the weld 20 confirmed by the inspection tool 200.

[0035] The pipe 10 used here is a target to be joined by welding and may have various structures.

[0036] For example, the pipeline 10 is provided for supplying and exhausting gas to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing system for substrate processing. In order to realize pipeline systems of various shapes according to the setting environment of the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing system, a plurality of pipelines 10 may be welded to each other.

[0037] At this time, when welding the pipes 10 , in order to determine whether the welding is defective, marking lines L parallel to each other may be marked at the ends of the pipes 10 .

[0038] That is, when welding the pipe 10, the distance and degree of parallelism between the center line of the weld bead 20 and the pre-marked marking line L can be used to determine whether the weld bead 20 has defects. At this time, the marking line L can be used as a reference.

[0039] The marking line L may be marked in various ways, for example, by using a laser to mark along the circumference of the end side of the pipe 10 , and may be marked at a point spaced a predetermined distance from the end of the pipe 10 in consideration of the predicted width of the weld bead 20 to be formed.

[0040] The weld bead 20 is a portion where the ends of the pair of pipes 10 are brought into contact with each other and welded, and may have various structures.

[0041] For example, by combining a pair of pipes 10 by welding, the weld bead 20 may be formed to have a predetermined width based on a welding point and further to have a predetermined height from the pipes 10 .

[0042] The housing 100 is a structure that surrounds the pipe 10 to cover the weld bead 20 and forms a sealed inspection space S inside, and may adopt various structures.

[0043] In addition, the housing 100 may be portable so as to be installed and disassembled on the weld bead 20 of the pipe 10 .

[0044] For example, the housing 100 may include housing parts 110 and 120 surrounding the pipe 10 to cover the weld 20 ; and a hinge part 130 disposed at one end of the housing parts 110 and 120 , and the hinge rotates the housing parts 110 and 120 to make the housing parts 110 and 120 surround the pipe 10 .

[0045] The housing members 110 and 120 are formed into a pair and a sealed inspection space S is formed by being coupled together, and various structures may be adopted.

[0046] For example, Figure 1 As shown, the housing components 110 , 120 may form an inspection space S surrounding the outside of the pipe 10 and corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the pipe 10 .

[0047] At this time, the shell parts 110 and 120 are formed into a semicircular shape on the front side corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 10, and are in contact with each other for combination, thereby surrounding the pipe 10 and forming an inspection space S. To give another example, the front side can be formed into an angled shape whose outer contour includes a curve and a part of a linear structure.

[0048] On the other hand, the housing components 110 and 120 can form a sealed and dark inspection space S by being combined, thereby forming a predetermined illumination environment for inspection by the inspection tool 200, thereby enabling a consistent inspection to be performed.

[0049] To this end, in the housing members 110 and 120, sealing members 111 and 121 may be formed at the portions connected to the pipe 10 at both ends, so that the inspection space S can be sealed and a dark space can be formed while both ends are closely attached to the pipe 10.

[0050] On the other hand, further, in the shell components 110 and 120, elastic materials are arranged at the parts connected with the pipes 10 at both ends, so that the shell components 110 and 120 can be tightly combined with pipes 10 of various sizes.

[0051] For example, in the shell components 110 and 120, elastic materials are arranged at the locations where the pipes 10 are in contact with both ends. When the diameter of the pipe 10 is relatively large, the elastic material causes the pipe 10 to be pressed tightly against the pipe 10, thereby being applicable to pipes 10 of various diameters.

[0052] On the other hand, the lower ends of the shell parts 110 and 120 are maintained in a coupled state by the hinge part 130 described later, and can be coupled to the pipe 10 by relative rotation based on the hinge part 130, and the opposite side of the hinge part 130, that is, the upper end, can be coupled to the pipe 10 in various ways.

[0053] For example, the housing components 110 and 120 may be combined by various methods such as using an interference fit of plastic, screwing, or combining using magnetic force, and the inspection space S may be formed by the combination.

[0054] The hinge portion 130 is a structure that is coupled to one side of the housing components 110 and 120 to enable at least one of the housing components 110 and 120 to rotate relative to each other and thereby surround the outer circumference of the pipe 10 , and various structures may be adopted.

[0055] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the hinge part 130 rotates relatively with respect to a hinge shaft 131 that passes through a pair of housing components 110 and 120, and then rotates with respect to the lower end of the hinge shaft 131 to connect or separate the upper end, and then the upper end can be connected to the pipe 10.

[0056] The inspection tool 200 is provided in the housing 100 to check the state of the weld bead 20 in the inspection space S, and may adopt various structures.

[0057] For example, the inspection tool 200 is disposed on an inner side surface of the housing 100 where the inspection space S is formed, facing the weld bead 20 .

[0058] More specifically, the inspection tool 200 is disposed to surround the outer circumferential surface of the weld bead 20 on the inner side surface of the housing 100 forming the inspection space S, so that all parts of the weld bead 20 can be inspected along the circumferential direction.

[0059] Furthermore, a plurality of the inspection tools 200 are disposed on the inner side surface of the housing 100 along the outer circumferential surface of the pipe 10 , so that all parts along the circumferential direction of the weld bead 20 can be inspected.

[0060] As another example, the inspection tool 200 may be configured to rotate along the outer circumference of the pipe 10 on the inner side of the housing 100 , more specifically, to rotate along the circumferential direction of the weld bead 20 inside the housing 100 , thereby inspecting all parts of the weld bead 20 .

[0061] In this case, the inspection tool 200 has a rotation drive unit (not shown) so that the inspection tool 200 can rotate. Using the weld bead 20 as a rotation axis, the inspection tool 200 can rotate along the inner side surface of the outer shell 100. In order to stabilize the rotation, a rotation guide can be formed on the inner side surface of the outer shell 100.

[0062] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the inspection tool 200 images the weld bead 20 to confirm the state of the weld bead 20 , and various structures may be used.

[0063] For example, the inspection tool 200 may include: a visual inspection unit 210 for imaging the weld bead 20 ; and a lighting unit 230 for forming appropriate illumination in an inspection space S for imaging by the visual inspection unit 210 .

[0064] The visual inspection unit 210 may adopt various structures as a structure for imaging the weld bead 20 .

[0065] For example, the visual inspection unit 210 may include: a support portion 211, which is arranged on the inner side of the housing 100; a camera 212, which is protrudingly combined with the support portion 211 toward the weld bead 20 to image the weld bead 20; and a protruding guide portion 213, which is combined at the front end of the camera 212 and contacts the weld bead 20.

[0066] The visual inspection unit 210 may provide an image of the weld bead 20 by communicating with a defect determination unit described later, so that the defect determination unit may determine whether the weld bead 20 has defects.

[0067] The support portion 211 is a structure disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 and may adopt various structures.

[0068] For example, the support portion 211 may be disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 to stably position a camera 212 to be described later.

[0069] The camera 212 is a structure that is protruded toward the weld bead 20 and is coupled to the support portion 211 to image the weld bead 20 , and various structures may be employed.

[0070] For example, the camera 212 is arranged to face the weld bead 20 from the support portion 211 , and can image the weld bead 20 , and send the imaged image to the defect judgment unit, and then determine whether there are defects based on the imaged image of the weld bead 20 .

[0071] In this case, the camera 212 two-dimensionally images the curved weld bead 20 to provide a two-dimensional image.

[0072] The protruding guide portion 213 is a structure that is combined with the front end of the camera 212 and contacts the weld bead 20 , and may adopt various structures.

[0073] For example, the protruding guide portion 213 is combined on both sides based on the lens of the camera 212 , can protrude toward the weld bead 20 , and has a curvature so that the end contacts a part of the circumference of the weld bead 20 , and thus the protruding guide portion 213 can be installed on the weld bead 20 .

[0074] Thus, the protruding guide portion 213 is installed in contact along the circumference of the weld bead 20, thereby guiding the camera 212 to image the correct position of the weld bead 20. More preferably, as shown in FIG. Figure 5As shown, a pair of protruding guide portions 213 protrude from the side of the camera 212 lens and contact the weld bead 20 to clamp the weld bead 20, thereby enabling the camera 212 to image the correct position of the weld bead 20 as the imaging object.

[0075] On the other hand, the visual inspection unit 210 is rotatably disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 in a singular manner, and can image the circumference of the weld bead 20 by rotating.

[0076] In addition, as another example, a plurality of visual inspection units 210 are fixedly arranged on the inner side of the housing 100, for example, Figure 4 As shown, four visual inspection units 210 are fixedly arranged to respectively image the preset positions of the weld bead 20 , thereby obtaining images of various positions of the weld bead 20 .

[0077] In this case, eight protruding guides 213 are provided, and may be provided to surround the circumference of the weld bead 20 .

[0078] The laser inspection unit 220 is a structure for measuring the displacement of the weld bead 20 and may adopt various structures.

[0079] For example, the laser inspection unit 220 may include: a laser support unit 222 disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 to dispose a laser module 221 ; and a laser module 221 disposed on the laser support unit 222 toward the weld bead 20 to emit laser toward the weld bead 20 .

[0080] The laser support part 222 is disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 to stably dispose the laser module 221 , and various structures may be adopted.

[0081] In addition, the laser support part 222 may further be provided with an illumination part 230 described later.

[0082] The laser module 221 is a structure for emitting laser light toward the weld bead 20 to measure the displacement of the weld bead 20 , and may adopt various structures.

[0083] For example, the laser module 221 emits and receives a line beam, thereby measuring the surface height of the weld bead 20 , and for this purpose may include a light emitting portion for irradiating light and a light receiving portion for receiving reflected light.

[0084] Thus, the surface height of the weld bead 20 confirmed by the laser module 221 through numerical data can be provided to the defect determination unit, so that the defect determination unit can determine whether the weld bead 20 has defects based on the surface height of the weld bead 20 .

[0085] The lighting unit 230 may adopt various structures as a structure for forming appropriate illumination in the inspection space S for imaging by the visual inspection unit 210 .

[0086] For example, the lighting unit 230 is an LED lighting unit, which is disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 to form an appropriate illumination in the inspection space S, and can also be disposed at any location inside the housing 100 .

[0087] More specifically, the lighting unit 230 is disposed on the support unit 211 of the visual inspection unit 210, and can form an illumination for the camera 212 to image. As another example, Figure 3 As shown, the laser support part 222 is set to form an appropriate illumination in the inspection space S, and further form an illumination for imaging by the camera 212.

[0088] On the other hand, the pipe 10 may be a structure for supplying and exhausting gas, and further, as a structure for supplying and exhausting process gas for substrate processing, a flow channel for the flow of gas harmful to the human body may be formed.

[0089] In this case, there is a problem that a part of the weld bead 20 is exposed, which may adversely affect the human body or the durability of the weld bead 20 may be reduced, causing continuous gas leakage.

[0090] Accordingly, the inspection tool 200 may include a leakage sensor for determining whether the pipeline 10 leaks gas.

[0091] The leakage sensor is a structure for determining whether gas is leaking from the pipeline 10 and may adopt various structures.

[0092] For example, the leakage sensor may be a structure disposed on the inner side of the housing 100 to detect whether there is gas leakage in the weld 20 , and the inspection space S may be sealed by disposing the housing 100 toward the pipeline 10 , thereby stably sensing whether there is gas leakage.

[0093] On the other hand, the inspection tool 200 may include at least one of the visual inspection unit 210 , the laser inspection unit 220 , and the leakage sensor, and may be configured in the housing 100 according to various combinations.

[0094] The defect determination unit can adopt various structures as a structure for determining whether the weld bead 20 has a defect based on the state of the weld bead 20 confirmed by the inspection tool 200 .

[0095] For example, the defect determination unit may determine whether the weld bead 20 has defects based on the image of the weld bead 20 imaged by the visual inspection unit 210 , and may determine whether the weld bead 20 has defects based on the height of the weld bead 20 confirmed by the laser inspection unit 220 .

[0096] More specifically, the defect judgment unit confirms the presence or absence of the width W of the weld bead 20, micropores or undercuts, etc. on the image of the weld bead 20 imaged by the visual inspection unit 210, and can judge whether there are defects. Furthermore, a pair of parallel marking lines L are marked at intervals from both ends of the weld bead 20 in the pipeline 10, and the presence or absence of defects can be judged based on whether the spacing from the pair of marking lines L to the center C of the weld bead 20 is consistent.

[0097] That is, the presence or absence of a defect can be determined by whether the distances d from the center C of the weld bead 20 to the pair of marking lines L located on both sides and marked on the pipe 10 are the same pitch. If the distances are different from each other, it can be determined that a defect exists.

[0098] In addition, the presence or absence of defects can be determined based on whether the width W of the weld bead 20 is a preset appropriate value, and the presence or absence of defects can be determined based on whether micropores exist in the imaged image.

[0099] On the other hand, in addition to the visual inspection unit 210, the defect judgment unit can judge that there is a defect if the height of the weld bead 20 formed on the pipe 10 exceeds a preset range by measuring the height of the weld bead 20 by the laser inspection unit 220.

[0100] In addition, when the leakage sensor determines that there is a gas leak, the defect determination unit may determine that there is a defect in the weld bead 20 .

[0101] On the other hand, the defect determination unit may also determine the presence or absence of defects through a combination of the visual inspection unit 210, the laser inspection unit 220 and the leakage sensor.

[0102] The weld inspection device of the present invention can be portable and can determine whether the weld 20 of a preset pipeline 10 has defects.

[0103] In particular, the housing 100 can be carried by a worker and can be detached and installed on the weld bead 20 of a preset pipeline 10, thereby determining whether the preset pipeline 10 has defects in addition to the newly installed pipeline 10.

[0104] Furthermore, the presence or absence of defects can be determined without being restricted by the setting environment of the pipeline 10. In particular, when the setting environment is a narrow interval or a high interval that is difficult for workers to distinguish with the naked eye, it is also possible to determine whether the weld 10 of the pipeline 10 has defects through simple settings.

[0105] The above is only a part of the relevant description of the preferred embodiments that can be implemented by the present invention. It is well known that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. The technical ideas of the present invention described above and their fundamental technical ideas can all be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A weld inspection device for inspecting a weld (20) in a pipeline (10) for defects, characterized in that: include: A housing (100) surrounds the pipe (10) to cover the weld (20) and forms a sealed inspection space (S) inside; an inspection tool (200) disposed in the housing (100) to confirm the state of the weld bead (20) in the inspection space (S); A defect judging unit judges whether the weld bead (20) has a defect based on the state of the weld bead (20) confirmed by the inspection tool (200), The inspection tool (200) comprises: A visual inspection unit (210) for imaging the weld bead (20); and an illumination unit (230) for forming appropriate illumination in the inspection space (S) for imaging by the visual inspection unit (210), The housing (100) forms a sealed and dark inspection space (S) by combining with the pipe (10), so that a predetermined illumination environment of the inspection space (S) is formed by the lighting unit (230). The housing (100) is portable and can be installed and disassembled on the weld bead (20) of the preset pipe (10). The inspection tool (200) further comprises: A laser inspection unit (220) includes a light emitting unit for irradiating light and a light receiving unit for receiving reflected light, so as to measure the surface height of the weld bead (20). The inspection tool (200) is rotatable on the inner side surface of the housing (100) along the outer peripheral surface of the pipe (10). The housing (100) comprises: a pair of housing components (110, 120) which surround the pipe (10) by being joined to cover the weld bead (20), The pair of shell components (110, 120) are respectively provided with the inspection tool (200) so that the pair of shell components (110, 120) are combined to form mutual symmetry based on the combined surfaces of the pair of shell components (110, 120).

2. The weld inspection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inspection tool (200) is arranged on the inner side surface of the housing (100) facing the weld bead (20).

3. The weld inspection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of the inspection tools (200) are arranged on the inner side surface of the housing (100) along the outer peripheral surface of the pipe (10).

4. The weld inspection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pipeline (10) is provided for supplying and exhausting gas to a substrate processing device and a substrate processing system used for substrate processing.

5. The weld inspection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inspection tool (200) comprises a leakage sensor, and the leakage sensor determines whether the pipeline (10) leaks gas.

6. The weld inspection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The defect determination unit determines the presence or absence of a defect based on at least one of the width (W), height, and presence or absence of micropores of the weld bead (20) confirmed by the inspection tool (200).

7. The weld inspection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The defect judgment unit judges whether there is a defect based on whether the distances from a pair of horizontal marking lines (L) spaced apart from both ends of the weld bead (20) in the pipe (10) to the center (C) of the weld bead (20) are consistent.

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