A probe holder for use with a follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe
By designing a follow-type ultrasonic probe holder for pipeline inspection that includes a fixed cylinder and a mounting bracket mechanism, and utilizing an elastic support arm and a torsion spring to enable the probe to self-adjust, the problem of inconsistent distance between the probe and the inner wall of the pipeline in the existing technology is solved, and more efficient pipeline inspection is achieved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SHANGHAI DINGYIN M&E EQUIP CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-07-18
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-03
AI Technical Summary
Existing ultrasonic probe testing devices for pipelines have poor testing performance in pipelines with different inner diameters. In particular, when the inner diameter of the pipeline changes, it is impossible to ensure that the distance between multiple ultrasonic probes and the inner wall of the pipeline is consistent, resulting in unsatisfactory testing results.
A follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe holder is used, which includes a fixed cylinder, a traction flange and a mounting bracket mechanism. The multiple probe arms are adaptively adjusted inside the pipeline by using elastic support arms and torsion springs to ensure that the probes are in close contact with the inner wall of the pipeline and that the spacing is consistent, so as to achieve better flaw detection.
This design can adapt to pipes with different inner diameters, ensuring that the probe fits the inner wall of the pipe, improving detection accuracy, reducing the risk of probe failure, enhancing the adaptability and versatility of the equipment, and achieving better flaw detection results.
Smart Images
Figure CN224456684U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of ultrasonic probe auxiliary technology, and in particular to a detection probe holder used for a follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe. Background Technology
[0002] Ultrasonic detectors are used for quality inspection inside pipelines transporting liquids (such as crude oil and water). During inspection, the probe of the ultrasonic detector is placed inside one end of the pipeline (the ultrasonic detector and the ultrasonic probe are connected by a wire), and then the ultrasonic probe head is pulled from the other end by a traction rope to move from front to back inside the pipeline for seamless multi-angle inspection. The working principle of the ultrasonic probe in conjunction with the ultrasonic detector when inspecting pipeline quality mainly relies on the piezoelectric crystal inside. When voltage is applied to the piezoelectric crystal, it is excited and generates ultrasonic signals. These signals are emitted into the pipeline being inspected by the transmitting head of the ultrasonic probe. At the same time, the receiving head of the ultrasonic probe can receive the reflected ultrasonic signals and convert them into electrical signals. These electrical signals are then analyzed and processed by the main control system of the ultrasonic detector located outside the pipeline. By calculating the time difference between the transmitted signal and the echo signal, the location of defects in the pipeline (such as cracks, dents, etc. at a specific location on the inner wall of the pipeline) can be accurately determined.
[0003] To ensure simultaneous detection of various angles along the circumference of the pipe, existing ultrasonic detectors for pipelines typically employ multiple ultrasonic probes arranged in a ring around a probe holder (usually with staggered placement of the probes on the outer surface of the holder). In practice, for optimal detection, the detection and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes would be aligned with the distance between them and the pipe's inner wall, preventing signal discrepancies caused by excessive distance between a single probe and the pipe wall. To achieve this, current technology generally strives to make the outer diameter formed by the outer surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes as close as possible to the pipe's inner diameter. This means that once the device is inside the pipe, the distance between the outer diameter formed by the detection (transmitter) and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes on the probe holder and the pipe's inner diameter is approximately equal. However, this approach presents the following problems. (1) In order to ensure that the equipment can enter the pipeline, the outer diameter of the outer detection and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes on the outer side of the probe holder will inevitably be smaller than that of the pipeline. In addition, due to the influence of weight, the distance between the outer detection and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes at the lower end of the probe holder and the inner wall of the pipeline is relatively close, while the distance between the outer detection and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes at the upper end of the probe holder and the inner wall of the pipeline is relatively far. Thus, the detection effect is not good. (2) The outer shape of the existing probe holder is fixed. When the inner diameter of the pipeline changes, or when encountering pipeline deformation, welds, flange interfaces, etc., it is even more impossible to ensure that the distance between the outer detection and receiving surfaces of the multiple ultrasonic probes on the outer side of the probe holder and the inner side of the pipeline is close. Moreover, when the inner diameter of the pipeline becomes relatively small, the equipment cannot enter the pipeline for detection. Utility Model Content
[0004] To overcome the shortcomings of existing ultrasonic probe holders for pipelines, which are limited by their structure as described in the background art, this utility model provides a follow-type ultrasonic probe holder for pipelines. Under the combined action of relevant mechanisms, after the equipment enters the pipeline, it can perform flaw detection on more pipelines with different inner diameters. It also ensures that the multiple probe arms distributed in a ring and the detection and receiving surfaces of the ultrasonic probe are in close contact with the inner wall of the pipeline under elastic force and with consistent spacing. This allows the ultrasonic detector to achieve better flaw detection results.
[0005] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is:
[0006] A probe holder for a follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe includes a fixed cylinder, traction flanges, and a mounting frame mechanism. There are at least two traction flanges, with their inner sides fixedly mounted to the outer sides of the front and rear ends of the fixed cylinder, respectively. Multiple sets of mounting frame mechanisms are included, each set comprising a support base, support arms, springs, torsion springs, and elevation arms. The rear side of the support base has a fixing hole. There are at least two support arms and two support bases. A shaft connects the lower rear ends of two support arms, with the left and right sides of the shaft rotatably mounted between the middle portions of the two support bases. A rotating tube is rotatably mounted on the outer side of the middle portion of the shaft, and a guide rod is rotatably mounted on the lower outer end of the rotating tube. The front ends of the two support bases are fixedly mounted with… A guide plate has a shaft hole, a guide rod is movably sleeved in the shaft hole, a spring is sleeved on the front outer side of the guide rod and located at the front end of the guide plate, and a nut is fixedly installed at the front end of the guide rod; a spring fixing rod is fixedly installed between the upper rear sides of the front ends of the two support arms, a torsion spring is movably sleeved on the outside of the spring fixing rod, and one side of the torsion spring is fixedly installed together with the spring fixing rod; the rear ends of the elevation arm are respectively rotatably installed on the upper front ends of the two support arms, and the other side of the torsion spring is located at the lower end of the elevation arm; an ultrasonic probe is fixedly installed in the middle of the lower end of the elevation arm; multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms are respectively fixedly installed on the front and rear outer ends of the fixed cylinder, and wear-resistant strips are fixedly installed on the upper parts of both ends of the elevation arm.
[0007] Furthermore, the inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole is larger than the outer diameter of the guide rod.
[0008] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the fixing nut is larger than the outer diameter of the spring, and the inner diameter of the spring is larger than the inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole.
[0009] Furthermore, the inner diameter of the torsion spring is larger than the outer diameter of the spring fixing rod.
[0010] Furthermore, the wear-resistant strip is higher than the height of the tilt arm.
[0011] Furthermore, after the multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms pass through the outside of the fixed cylinder, the elevation arms of multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms at the front end of the fixed cylinder are located at the front side of the fixed cylinder, and the elevation arms of the other pair of mounting bracket mechanisms at the rear end of the fixed cylinder are located at the rear side of the fixed cylinder.
[0012] Furthermore, the multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms on the front side of the fixed cylinder and the additional multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms on the rear side of the fixed cylinder are staggered in the longitudinal distribution of each pair of mounting bracket mechanisms.
[0013] Furthermore, when the elevation arm of the multiple mounting bracket mechanisms is at the lower dead center, the outer diameter of the combined elevation arm of the multiple mounting bracket mechanisms is greater than the outer diameter of the two traction flanges.
[0014] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: Under the action of two springs, the elevation arms of the multiple mounting bracket mechanisms move outwards. The outer diameter of the combined elevation arms is larger than the inner diameter of the pipe to be inspected. Because the elevation arms of the multiple mounting bracket mechanisms adaptively adjust their outer diameter according to the inner diameter of the pipe (when the pipe bulges outward at the contact point, the corresponding elevation arm of one mounting bracket mechanism moves outwards; when the pipe is concave at the contact point, the corresponding elevation arm of one mounting bracket mechanism moves inwards), it can adapt to ultrasonic testing of pipes with a wider range of inner diameters. Furthermore, it ensures that the multiple probe arms distributed in a ring and the detection and receiving surfaces of the ultrasonic probe are in close contact with the inner wall of the pipe under elastic force, with consistent spacing. This allows the ultrasonic detector to achieve better flaw detection results. In summary, this invention has good application prospects. Attached Figure Description
[0015] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this utility model.
[0017] Figure 2 This is a side view schematic diagram of one of the mounting bracket mechanisms of this utility model.
[0018] Figure 3 This is a side view of the three-dimensional structure of one of the mounting bracket mechanisms of this utility model. Detailed Implementation
[0019] Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figure 3, a detection probe holder for a follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe includes a fixed cylinder 1, a traction flange 2, and a mounting frame mechanism 3. There are two traction flanges 2, with their inner sides fixedly mounted to the outer sides of the front and rear ends of the fixed cylinder 1, respectively. There are 16 sets of mounting frame mechanisms 3, each set including a support base 31, a support arm 32, a cylindrical spring 33, a torsion spring 34, and an elevation arm 35. The support base 31 has two fixing holes 311 distributed on the left and right sides of its rear side. There are two support arms 32, with a shaft connecting the lower rear ends of the two support arms 32. 321, the shaft 321 is rotatably mounted on the left and right sides between the middle of the two support seats 31. A rotating tube 322 is rotatably sleeved on the outer side of the middle of the shaft 321. A guide rod 323 is rotatably mounted on the middle of the lower outer end of the rotating tube 322. A guide plate 36 is fixedly mounted on the left and right sides of the front end of the two support seats. The guide plate 36 has a shaft hole 361 in the middle. The middle of the guide rod 323 is movably sleeved in the shaft hole 361. A cylindrical spring 33 is sleeved on the outside of the guide rod 323 and located at the front end of the guide plate 36. The front end of the guide rod 323 has an external thread. The front side of the guide rod is fixed by the thread. A fixing nut 3231 is fixedly installed; a spring fixing rod 324 is fixedly installed between the upper rear sides of the front ends of the two support arms 32, and a torsion spring 34 is movably sleeved on the middle of the outer side of the spring fixing rod 324. The left side of the torsion spring 34 and the left end of the spring fixing rod 324 are fixedly installed together; the left and right ends of the "]"-shaped elevation arm 35 are respectively rotatably installed on the front side of the upper front end of the two support arms 32, and the right side of the torsion spring 34 (located slightly to the right of the spring fixing rod 324) has longitudinal elasticity distributed in the lower middle of the elevation arm 35; the lower middle of the elevation arm is fixedly installed There is a detector base 351, and an ultrasonic probe 4 is installed at the lower end of the detector base 351. The outer side of the fixed cylinder 1 has multiple screw holes at equal intervals in a ring. 16 sets of mounting brackets are fixed together with the outer side of the fixed cylinder 1 by passing two bolts through the two fixing holes on the rear side of the support base 31 and screwing them into two of the screw holes on the outer side of the fixed cylinder 1. Two wear-resistant engineering plastic strips 352 are longitudinally fixed on the front left and right ends of the elevation arm 35 (which reduces the wear of the elevation arm and protects the ultrasonic probe, thus improving the service life of the ultrasonic probe).
[0020] Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figure 3, the inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole 361 is larger than the outer diameter of the guide rod 323 (the guide rod can move back and forth along the shaft hole, and can also move up and down along the shaft hole within a certain range). The outer diameter of the fixing nut 3231 is larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical spring 33, and the inner diameter of the cylindrical spring 33 is larger than the inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole 361. The inner diameter of the torsion spring 34 is larger than the outer diameter of the spring fixing rod 324. The wear-resistant engineering plastic strip 352 is higher than the height of the elevation arm 35. After the 16 sets of mounting bracket mechanisms are installed on the outside of the fixed cylinder 1, the elevation arms 35 of 8 sets of mounting bracket mechanisms at the front end of the fixed cylinder 1 are located on the front side of the fixed cylinder, and the elevation arms 35 of the other 8 sets of mounting bracket mechanisms at the rear end of the fixed cylinder are located on the rear side of the fixed cylinder. The two sets of mounting bracket mechanisms 3 distributed longitudinally at each front and rear end of the two sets of mounting bracket mechanisms 3 are staggered. When the elevation arms 35 of the 16 mounting bracket mechanisms are at their lower stop point, the outer diameter of the combined elevation arms 35 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the two traction flanges 2. There is a lead wire hole 101 at the middle of the outer end of the fixed cylinder. The wires connected to the 16 ultrasonic probes 4 are threaded together and inserted into a protective flexible tubing. The wires then pass through the lead wire hole into the fixed cylinder 1 and exit from the front or rear end of the hollow part of the fixed cylinder 1. One of the traction flanges 2 and the traction flange with the traction rope are bolted together. The elevation arms 35 are made of non-metallic material.
[0021] Figure 1 , 2As shown in Figure 3, before use, the equipment is introduced into the pipeline from one side using a traction rope. Under the action of the cylindrical spring 34, the upper end of the support arm 32 of each of the 16 mounting bracket mechanisms drives the elevation arm 35 to rise along the rotation point (the elastic force of the spring causes the guide rod 323 to pull the lower end of the support arm, increasing the height of the upper front end of the elevation arm 35). The torsion spring 34 drives the elevation arm 35 to rise along the rotation point. Thus, the outer diameter of the elevation arms (wear-resistant engineering plastic strips 352) of the 16 mounting bracket mechanisms is larger than the inner diameter of the pipeline to be inspected. Due to the action of the springs, the elevation arms 35 of multiple mounting bracket mechanisms will adaptively adjust their outer diameter according to the inner diameter of the pipeline (when the contact position is outside the pipeline, the corresponding elevation arm 35 of one mounting bracket mechanism will move to the outer end, contacting...). The concave location of the pipe allows the elevation arm 35 of the corresponding mounting bracket mechanism to move inward, accommodating ultrasonic testing of pipes with a wider range of inner diameters. Furthermore, it ensures that the 16 ring-shaped probe arms, along with the detection and receiving surfaces of the ultrasonic probes, adhere closely to the inner wall of the pipe under elastic force, maintaining consistent spacing (ensuring the probes are perpendicular to the pipe wall, improving detection accuracy). The follow-type mounting bracket design enhances the equipment's adaptability. Specifically, due to the presence of many uncertain defects inside the pipe, ultrasonic probes can easily malfunction or even become stuck. The elastic follow-type movement of the mounting bracket mechanism significantly reduces this risk, making the equipment more versatile and adaptable. This allows the ultrasonic detector to achieve better flaw detection results.
[0022] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of this utility model. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this utility model is limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or basic characteristics of this utility model. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects. The scope of this utility model is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and thus all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims are intended to be included within this utility model.
[0023] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes the embodiments, the embodiments do not necessarily contain only one independent technical solution. This way of describing the specification is only for clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in the embodiments can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.
Claims
1. A detection probe holder used for a following type pipeline ultrasonic probe, comprising a fixing cylinder, a traction flange, and a mounting mechanism; characterized in that, There are at least two traction flanges, and the inner sides of the two traction flanges are fixedly installed together with the outer sides of the front and rear ends of the fixed cylinder, respectively. There are multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms, each set including a support base, support arm, spring, torsion spring, and elevation arm. The rear side of the support base has a fixing hole. There are at least two support arms and two support bases. A shaft is connected between the lower rear ends of the two support arms. The left and right sides of the shaft are rotatably installed between the middle parts of the two support bases. A rotating tube is rotatably installed on the outer side of the middle part of the shaft, and a guide rod is rotatably installed on the lower outer end of the rotating tube. Guide plates are fixedly installed at the front ends of the two support bases. The guide plates have shaft holes, and the guide rods are movably sleeved on the shaft. Inside the hole, a spring is sleeved on the front outer side of the guide rod and located at the front end of the guide plate, and a nut is fixedly installed at the front end of the guide rod; a spring fixing rod is fixedly installed between the upper rear sides of the front ends of the two support arms, and a torsion spring is movably sleeved on the outside of the spring fixing rod, with one side of the torsion spring and the spring fixing rod fixedly installed together; the rear ends of the elevation arm are respectively rotatably installed on the upper front ends of the two support arms, and the other side of the torsion spring is located at the lower end of the elevation arm; an ultrasonic probe is fixedly installed at the middle of the lower end of the elevation arm; multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms are respectively fixedly installed on the front and rear outer ends of the fixed cylinder, and wear-resistant strips are fixedly installed on the upper parts of both ends of the elevation arm.
2. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole is larger than the outer diameter of the guide rod.
3. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer diameter of the fixing nut is larger than the outer diameter of the spring, and the inner diameter of the spring is larger than the inner diameter of the guide plate shaft hole.
4. The detection probe holder used in a follow-type pipeline ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner diameter of the torsion spring is larger than the outer diameter of the spring fixing rod.
5. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, The wear-resistant strip is higher than the height of the tilt arm.
6. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, After multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms pass through the outside of the fixed cylinder, the elevation arms of multiple sets of mounting bracket mechanisms at the front end of the fixed cylinder are located on the front side of the fixed cylinder, while the elevation arms of the other set of mounting bracket mechanisms at the rear end of the fixed cylinder are located on the rear side of the fixed cylinder.
7. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting bracket mechanism on the front side of the fixed cylinder and the mounting bracket mechanism on the rear side of the fixed cylinder are arranged in a staggered manner, with each pair of mounting bracket mechanisms distributed longitudinally in front and behind.
8. The detection probe holder for use with a following tube ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the elevation arms of multiple mounting bracket mechanisms are at their lower dead center, the outer diameter of the combined elevation arms of the multiple mounting bracket mechanisms is greater than the outer diameter of the two traction flanges.