An adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism

Abstract

This invention discloses an adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism, belonging to the field of pipe maintenance engineering technology. It includes two symmetrically arranged diameter changing units connected by a connecting unit. The connecting unit is equipped with a wheel assembly for pressing against the inner wall of the pipe to achieve movement. A driving mechanism is also provided between the two diameter changing units. Each diameter changing unit includes several diameter changing parts (first type) and diameter changing parts (second type) located on the side of the diameter changing parts (first type) away from the connecting unit. The connection method between diameter changing parts (first type) and diameter changing parts (second type) is as follows: the center of one diameter changing part (first type) is connected to the center of its corresponding diameter changing part (second type), and both ends of the diameter changing part (first type) are respectively connected to one end of two adjacent diameter changing parts (second type). The adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism provided by this invention not only enables overall diameter changing but also adapts to relatively complex pipe environments, simplifying the structure and improving operational stability and reliability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pipeline maintenance engineering technology, and in particular to a diameter-adaptive pipeline reducing mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] Pipelines, as essential tools for gas or liquid transport, are widely used in modern production and daily life. However, after prolonged use, pipelines often develop corrosion, cracks, or deposits of impurities and other build-up on their inner walls. These issues can lead to blockages and affect the pipeline's lifespan. Currently, robots are typically used to enter pipelines for cleaning and maintenance. However, the diameter of a complete pipeline is usually irregular, varying significantly. Furthermore, long-term use causes deposits and build-up on the inner walls, and the pipeline itself may deform, resulting in an irregular circular cross-section. Existing pipeline robots typically use combined diameter-changing units with limited ranges. Each extension mechanism requires a separate drive, leading to complex structures, high costs, instability, and poor adaptability to complex pipeline environments. Therefore, a pipeline diameter-changing unit that can change diameter as a whole and adapt to complex pipeline environments is needed to simplify the structure and improve operational stability and reliability. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide an adaptive pipe diameter-changing mechanism to solve the problems of the traditional pipe robot diameter-changing structure being relatively complex and having poor adaptability to complex pipe environments and poor stability of movement within the pipe, as mentioned in the background art.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism, comprising two symmetrically arranged diameter changing units connected by a connecting unit, wherein the connecting unit is provided with a wheel assembly for pressing against the inner wall of the pipe to achieve movement; a driving mechanism is also provided between the two diameter changing units, the driving mechanism driving the two diameter changing units to synchronously contract and expand, this driving mechanism only needs to apply a radial force of the same magnitude to any identical part of the two diameter changing units at the same time to synchronously drive the contraction and expansion of the two diameter changing units;

[0005] Both of the variable diameter units include several variable diameter parts 1 and variable diameter parts 2 disposed on the side of the variable diameter parts 1 away from the connecting unit. The connection method between the variable diameter parts 1 and the variable diameter parts 2 is as follows: the center of one variable diameter part 1 is connected to the center of the corresponding variable diameter part 2, and the two ends of the variable diameter part 1 are respectively connected to one end of the two adjacent variable diameter parts 2. The movement of any part can drive the movement of the entire variable diameter unit.

[0006] Preferably, both the first variable diameter part and the second variable diameter part are configured as obtuse angle structures with an angle of 150° and equal side lengths.

[0007] Preferably, each of the variable diameter units has 12 variable diameter parts one and 12 variable diameter parts two.

[0008] Preferably, each of the first diameter-changing parts is provided with a protruding rod at both ends and the center on the side near the second diameter-changing part, and each of the second diameter-changing parts is provided with a groove at both ends and the center on the side near the first diameter-changing part to match the protruding rod.

[0009] Preferably, the connecting unit comprises six sets, each set including a connecting node. Four spring rods are evenly distributed around the periphery of each connecting node, and the free ends of the spring rods are respectively connected to the diameter-changing part. As the diameter-changing unit expands and contracts, the spring rods are synchronously driven to move radially. The spring rods can be compressed radially, providing pressure on the inner wall of the pipe to the wheel assembly mechanism, ensuring its movement within the pipe. Furthermore, when deposits or sediments appear on the inner wall of the pipe, causing a slight change in the pipe's inner diameter, the spring rods, due to their radial extension and retraction capacity, can adapt to these changes.

[0010] Preferably, a circular groove is provided on one end of the variable diameter part near the spring rod and on the connecting node, and both ends of the spring rod are provided with ball ends that are adapted to the circular grooves, and the ball ends are fitted into the circular grooves.

[0011] Preferably, the wheel assembly includes a roller mounted on the top of the connecting node for movement and direction change. A pressure sensor is mounted on the roller for detecting the pressure exerted by the roller on the inner wall of the pipe. The pressure value output by the pressure sensor and the drive mechanism form a closed-loop adjustment system. The expansion and contraction of the variable diameter unit stabilizes the pressure sensor within a certain pressure range, ensuring that the roller has sufficient pressure against the inner wall of the pipe, thus enabling movement within the pipe.

[0012] Preferably, a driving component is connected to the bottom end of the connecting node, and the driving component is connected to the driving mechanism.

[0013] Therefore, the present invention employs the above-mentioned adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0014] (1) The variable diameter unit structure is simple and has strong continuity, and the movement of any part can achieve the effect of overall diameter change;

[0015] (2) The variable diameter unit used has a large range of variable diameter, and has a wider range of applicability to changes in the inner diameter of the pipe within a complete pipe section;

[0016] (3) By setting 24 radially telescopic spring rods in the circumferential direction, it can still have good adaptability to complex pipeline environments without using combined diameter changers;

[0017] (4) By setting up 6 wheel groups in a circumferentially equidistant arrangement, the pressure is pressed on the inner wall of the pipe within a specified range, and the distribution of the wheels is uniform, which can effectively improve the stability when moving in the pipe, especially in the vertical pipe.

[0018] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism according to the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is an enlarged view of point A of the adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the fully folded state of the adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the semi-expanded state of an adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism according to the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the fully deployed state of an adaptive pipe diameter-changing mechanism according to the present invention.

[0024] Reference numerals: 1. Variable diameter unit; 101. Variable diameter part one; 102. Variable diameter part two; 2. Connecting node; 3. Spring rod; 4. Roller. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0026] Please see Figures 1-2 An adaptive pipe diameter-changing mechanism includes two symmetrically arranged diameter-changing units 1. Each diameter-changing unit 1 includes 12 diameter-changing parts 101 and 12 diameter-changing parts 102. The diameter-changing parts 102 are located on the side of the diameter-changing parts 101 away from the connecting unit. Both diameter-changing parts 101 and diameter-changing parts 102 are obtuse-angled structures with an angle of 150° and equal side lengths. The diameter-changing parts 101 and diameter-changing parts 102 are connected as follows: the center of one diameter-changing part 101 is connected to the center of its corresponding diameter-changing part 102, and both ends of the diameter-changing part 101 are connected to one end of each of the two adjacent diameter-changing parts 102. The movement of any part can drive the movement of the entire diameter-changing unit 1. Each reducing part 101 has protruding rods at both ends and the center on the side near reducing part 2 102, and each reducing part 2 102 has grooves at both ends and the center on the side near reducing part 101 that fit the protruding rods; the protruding rods can rotate freely within the grooves.

[0027] In this embodiment, if the length of the two equal sides of the variable diameter part 101 and the variable diameter part 102 is set to 21cm and the obtuse angle is set to 150°, then... Figure 3 As shown, when the variable diameter unit 1 is in the folded state, its maximum outer diameter is approximately 87.4 cm; when the variable diameter unit 1 is fully unfolded, as shown... Figure 5 As shown, the maximum outer diameter is approximately 156.5 cm, and the maximum outer diameter in the fully unfolded state is approximately 1.8 times the maximum outer diameter in the fully folded state. If a drive mechanism is installed at the center of the two diameter-changing units 1, and a thrust or pull force of equal magnitude in the radial direction is simultaneously applied at any node where diameter-changing parts 101 and 102 mate in the same location of the two units, the entire diameter-changing unit 1 can be driven to expand and contract radially within the pipe. Therefore, this diameter-changing unit 1 is suitable for pipelines where the maximum pipe diameter does not exceed approximately 1.8 times the minimum pipe diameter, has a large diameter-changing range, a simple structure, and expands and contracts as a whole in the radial direction from the center of the diameter-changing unit 1, exhibiting good continuity.

[0028] The distance between the two diameter-changing units 1 is fixed, and they are driven synchronously by a drive mechanism. The two diameter-changing units 1 are connected by a connecting unit, which consists of six sets. Each of the six sets of connecting units includes a connecting node 2, and four spring rods 3 are evenly arranged around the periphery of the connecting node 2. The free ends of the spring rods 3 are connected to the diameter-changing part 101. When the diameter-changing unit 1 expands and contracts, the spring rods 3 are synchronously driven to move in the radial direction. The spring rods 3 can be compressed in the radial direction. By compressing the spring rods 3 in the radial direction, pressure can be provided to the wheel assembly mechanism on the inner wall of the pipe, ensuring that the wheel assembly mechanism can move on the inner wall of the pipe. At the same time, when there are attachments or deposits on the inner wall of the pipe that cause a small change in the inner diameter of the pipe, the spring rods 3 have a certain degree of expansion and contraction in the radial direction, which can adapt to the changes in the inner wall of the pipe by the expansion and contraction of the spring rods 3.

[0029] The variable diameter part 101 has a circular groove on one end near the spring rod 3 and on the connecting node 2. Both ends of the spring rod 3 have ball ends that fit into the circular grooves. The circular grooves are larger than semicircles, which can ensure that the ball ends of the spring rod 3 can be locked in the circular grooves and not separated from them, and can rotate freely in the circular grooves.

[0030] The connecting unit is equipped with a wheel mechanism for pressing against the inner wall of the pipe to achieve movement. Furthermore, by adding one more variable-diameter unit 1 in the lateral direction using this connection method, six more identical wheel mechanisms can be added. The increased number of wheel mechanisms enhances stability during movement within the pipe, especially in vertical pipes. This effectively improves the stability and reliability of the variable-diameter unit 1's movement within the pipe, solving problems such as instability and even falls caused by the complex structure and large weight of some pipe robots in vertical pipes. The wheel mechanism includes rollers 4 mounted at the top of the connecting node 2 for movement and direction changes. Pressure sensors are installed on the rollers 4 to detect the pressure exerted by the rollers on the inner wall of the pipe.

[0031] When the pipe diameter is small, the reducing unit 1 contracts radially and is in a folded state, such as... Figure 3As shown, this is the minimum folded state. A pressure sensor allows roller 4 to press against the inner wall of the pipe within a certain pressure range. This pressure range should ensure stable movement of the reducing unit 1 within the pipe. Each wheel assembly is connected to four spring rods 3, allowing for some radial extension and retraction. When debris or other conditions appear on the inner wall of the pipe, roller 4 can extend or retract radially via the spring rods 3, ensuring good lateral movement of the reducing unit 1 even in complex pipe environments. When the pipe diameter increases, the pressure value output by the pressure sensor on roller 4 decreases, feeding back to the drive mechanism that folds and unfolds the reducing unit 1, causing the drive mechanism to unfold the reducing unit 1. Figure 4 The diagram shows the semi-expanded state of the reducing unit 1. By expanding the reducing unit 1, the roller 4 is pressed against the inner wall of the pipe again at a pressure within the specified range. This process is controlled by a closed-loop regulating system to ensure that the roller 4 always maintains a stable pressure range, thus ensuring the stability and reliability of its movement.

[0032] The bottom end of the connecting node 2 is connected to a driving component, which is connected to the driving mechanism. The driving component can be a telescopic rod, a hydraulic cylinder, or other components that can achieve driving motion.

[0033] Therefore, the present invention adopts the above-mentioned adaptive pipe diameter changing mechanism, which can not only change the overall diameter, but also adapt to a relatively complex pipe environment, so as to simplify the structure and improve the working stability and reliability.

[0034] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the technical solutions of the present invention, and these modifications or equivalent substitutions cannot cause the modified technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

1. A self-adaptable pipe reducing mechanism, characterized by, Two variable diameter units are symmetrically arranged, and the two variable diameter units are connected through a connecting unit, and a wheel group mechanism for pressing against the inner wall of the pipeline to realize movement is arranged on the connecting unit; a driving mechanism is further arranged between the two variable diameter units; Each of the two variable diameter units comprises a plurality of variable diameter parts one and a variable diameter part two arranged on the side of the variable diameter part one away from the connecting unit one, and the connection mode of the variable diameter part one and the variable diameter part two is that the center of one variable diameter part one is connected with the center of the variable diameter part two arranged correspondingly, and the two ends of the variable diameter part one are respectively connected with one end of the two adjacent variable diameter part twos; The variable diameter part one and the variable diameter part two of each variable diameter unit are respectively provided with 12; The two ends and the center of the side of each variable diameter part one close to the variable diameter part two are provided with convex rods, and the two ends and the center of the side of the variable diameter part two close to the variable diameter part one are provided with grooves matched with the convex rods; The connecting unit is provided with six groups, and each of the six groups of connecting units comprises a connecting node, and the periphery of the connecting node is uniformly provided with four spring rods, and the free ends of the spring rods are respectively connected with the variable diameter part one; The wheel group mechanism comprises a roller arranged on the top end of the connecting node, and a pressure sensor is arranged on the roller.

2. A self-adapting pipe reducing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The variable diameter part one and the variable diameter part two are both arranged as obtuse angle structures with an angle of 150° and equal lengths of two sides.

3. A self-adapting pipe reducing mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the side of the variable diameter part one close to the spring rod is provided with a circular groove on the connecting node, and the two ends of the spring rod are provided with ball head ends matched with the circular groove, and the ball head ends are embedded in the circular groove.

4. The self-adapting pipe reducing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The bottom end of the connecting node is connected with a driving member, and the driving member is connected with the driving mechanism.

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