JP7422703B2 - Pipe repair equipment, pipe repair methods - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an internal pipe repair device and a pipe internal repair method capable of repairing a pipe from inside the pipe.

A method for repairing piping is disclosed in which a sealing material is applied from the outside to repair cracks in the piping, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this piping repair method, a half-cylindrical clamp member fitted with a half-ring-shaped sealing material surrounds the piping so that the inner peripheral edge of the sealing material contacts the outer periphery of the piping. Then, while removing air from the space formed by the inner circumferential surface of the clamp material, the side surface of the sealing material, and the outer circumferential surface of the piping, a filler with a pressure higher than the pressure of the fluid flowing inside the piping is applied. Fill by injection and repair the piping from the outside.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-151292

By the way, when piping is placed underwater (under the sea) or buried underground, there is a problem that the piping cannot be repaired from outside the piping. On the other hand, when repairing pipes from inside the pipes, there are problems in that there is no power source inside the pipes, and there is no light source such as lighting or sunlight. Furthermore, if the piping is replaced without being repaired, there is a problem in that an enormous renewal cost is incurred, which is much higher than the cost of repair.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an internal pipe repair device and a pipe internal repair method that allow pipe repair work to be performed from inside the pipe.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by the following present invention.
That is, the pipe repair device of the present invention (1) has the following features:
A welding machine that has a welding torch section and a robot arm section that supports the welding torch section so that the position of the welding torch section can be changed, and is capable of welding within a pipe;
a visual sensor unit that acquires image information including a location to be repaired in the piping, or image information including the location to be repaired and a marker placed near the location to be repaired;
The marker and the area to be repaired near the marker are recognized based on the image information obtained by the visual sensor unit, and the robot arm unit and the welding torch unit are controlled to weld the area to be repaired. A control unit to be repaired;
a generator that supplies power to the welding machine, the visual sensor section, and the control section;
Equipped with

Further, the pipe repair device according to the present invention (2) is the pipe repair device described in (1),
The visual sensor unit acquires the image information corresponding to the bottom of the pipe.

Further, the pipe repair device according to the present invention (3) is the pipe repair device described in (1) or (2),
A cart is provided on which the welding machine, the visual sensor section, the control section, and the generator can be placed.

Further, the pipe repair device according to the present invention (4) is the pipe repair device according to any one of (1) to (3),
The welding machine is a gas shielded arc welding machine.

Further, the pipe repair device according to the present invention (5) is the pipe repair device according to any one of (1) to (4),
It has a light source that receives power from the generator and illuminates the inside of the pipe.

The method for repairing inside piping according to the present invention (6) is as follows:
A welding machine having a welding torch section and a robot arm section that supports the welding torch section so that the position of the welding torch section can be changed; a visual sensor section; a control section that controls the welding machine and the visual sensor section; and supplying power to these. A method for repairing pipes using a pipe repair device comprising:
Prepare the environment inside the piping,
An inspector moves inside the piping and places markers on areas to be repaired,
moving the internal pipe repair device within the pipe, and acquiring image information including a location to be repaired in the pipe and a marker placed near the location to be repaired using the visual sensor unit;
controlling the robot arm section based on the image information by the control section to move the welding torch section near the location to be repaired;
The welding torch section is controlled by the control section to weld and repair the location to be repaired.

The internal pipe repair method of the present invention (7) is the internal pipe repair method described in (6), comprising:
The visual sensor unit acquires the image information corresponding to the bottom of the pipe.

The method for repairing inside a pipe according to the present invention (8) is the method for repairing inside a pipe according to (6) or (7),
The pipe repair device includes a cart on which the welding machine, the visual sensor section, the control section, and the generator are placed,
In the step of moving the in-pipe repair device within the pipe, the in-pipe repair device is moved by the cart.

The method for repairing inside a pipe according to the present invention (9) is the method for repairing inside a pipe described in (6) to (8),
The welding repair is gas shielded arc welding.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an in-pipe repair device and an in-pipe repair method that can perform repair work on a pipe from inside the pipe.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the pipe interior repair device according to the embodiment arranged in the pipe, the pipe being cut along a plane along its central axis. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the pipe repair device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. It is a flow chart which shows the inside pipe repair method using the inside pipe repair device of an embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the welding repair process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3. FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A pipe repair device and a pipe repair method using the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The internal pipe repair device is capable of repairing, for example, a cylindrical pipe such as a crude oil pipeline or a rectangular pipe from the inside. In addition, the pipe repair device enables semi-automatic welding repair by automating most of the other work, although some of the work requires manual intervention when repairing the pipe.
[Embodiment]

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a description will be given of a pipe repair device 11 according to a first embodiment and a pipe repair method using the same.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pipe repair device 11 includes a welding machine 14 having a welding torch section 12 and a robot arm section 13, a visual sensor section 16 that acquires image information within the pipe 15, and a welding A control unit 17 that controls the welding torch unit 12 and robot arm unit 13 of the welding machine 14, a generator 18 that supplies power to the welding machine 14, the visual sensor unit 16, and the control unit 17, and a light source that illuminates the inside of the pipe 15. 21, a gas cylinder 22 storing shielding gas to be supplied to the welding torch section 12 of the welding machine 14, a controller 23 (teaching pendant) for inputting commands to the control section 17, and one or more on which these are mounted. A trolley 24 is provided. The piping 15 to be repaired is often made of carbon steel. The trolley 24 may be configured by one unit, or when configured by two or more, they may be connected to each other via a connecting portion.

The welding machine 14 is, for example, a semi-automatic welding machine (GMAW; CO ₂ , MAG) that operates semi-automatically under computer control and is partially robotized. The welding machine 14 is a gas shielded arc welding machine, and uses a welding method called Gas Metal Arc Welding. This welding method called Gas Metal Arc Welding includes CO ₂ welding and MAG welding. The welding machine 14 can perform semi-automatic welding within the pipe 15 according to a program stored in the control unit 17. The welding machine 14 includes a welding torch section 12 that includes a tangential wire that also serves as a welding rod and a gas nozzle outside the welding torch section, and a robot arm section 13 that supports the welding torch section 12. The tangential wire constitutes the electrode during gas-shielded arc welding. The welding machine 14 has a power supply circuit (not shown) that receives power from the generator 18 and supplies power to each part. Welding machine 14 has a ground wire electrically connected to piping 15 . The welding machine 14 can repair the bottom of the pipe 15 by welding. Here, the bottom of the pipe 15 is a portion corresponding to approximately 5 o'clock to 7 o'clock when the zenith direction of the cylindrical pipe 15 is the 12 o'clock direction. When the piping 15 is formed in a rectangular duct shape, the bottom of the piping 15 is a portion corresponding to the lower surface of the piping 15 located at the lowest side.

The robot arm section 13 is, for example, composed of an orthogonal three-axis moving robot (X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis moving table), but may be composed of other multi-jointed arm-shaped robots.

The visual sensor unit 16 is composed of a general camera or video camera having an image sensor (CCD sensor or CMOS sensor) and a lens, and can acquire the inside of the pipe 15 as image information. Alternatively, the visual sensor unit 16 may be a laser displacement sensor that can measure the distance to the area to be repaired and the height displacement of the area to be repaired and the unevenness around it using laser light. It may be. The visual sensor unit 16 configured with a laser displacement meter can obtain information as image information by three-dimensionally obtaining unevenness on the inner surface of the pipe 15 including the portion to be repaired. The image information acquired by the visual sensor section 16 is sent to the control section 17 and stored in the storage device of the control section 17. The visual sensor section 16 may be configured with a camera that does not require a separate light source 21, such as a night vision camera. The visual sensor section 16 may include a laser measuring device or other distance sensor capable of measuring the distance between the part of the pipe 15 to be repaired and the welding torch section 12.

The control unit 17 is configured with a general PC (personal computer), but may also be configured with a one-chip microcomputer, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), another computer, or the like. The control unit 17 includes, for example, a CPU, storage devices such as ROM, RAM, HDD (hard disk drive), and SSD (solid state drive), an internal bus that connects them, and a robot arm that is electrically connected to the CPU. It has various driver ICs that drive the motor of the section 13 and control the welding torch section. The storage device stores various control programs (control software) for controlling the robot arm section 13 and welding torch section 12 of the welding machine 14. The storage device also stores an image analysis program (image analysis software) that analyzes the image information acquired by the visual sensor unit 16. The storage device can store image information sent from the visual sensor section 16 at any time. The control unit 17 may store the safety stop program in a storage device. That is, the pipe repair device 11 includes an acceleration sensor that is connected to the control unit 17 and can detect abnormalities in the posture of the pipe repair device 11 (for example, rolling over), various sensors that can detect abnormalities in the generator 18, etc. may have. When the control unit 17 detects an abnormality based on signals from an acceleration sensor or various sensors, it may emergency stop the pipe repair device 11 according to a safety stop program. After the internal pipe repair device 11 is brought to an emergency stop, the control unit 17 may issue an error signal to notify the administrator that there has been an emergency stop.

The controller 23 has a plurality of operation buttons 25 for the administrator to input commands, and a button for displaying commands input by the administrator through the operation buttons 25 and error messages from the control unit 17. It has a liquid crystal display section 26. The controller 23 may include a switch for returning the pipe repair device 11 from the emergency stop state according to the safe stop program. The controller 23 may include an emergency stop switch that can be manually operated by an administrator to forcibly turn off the power to the pipe repair device 11 in an emergency. Note that the emergency stop switch may be provided on a remote control carried by the administrator, and a signal is exchanged wirelessly between the remote controller and the controller 23 to turn off the power to the pipe repair device 11. Good too. The controller 23 may have a power switch for starting the pipe repair device 11 or restarting the pipe repair device 11 whose power has been turned off by operating the emergency stop switch.

The generator 18 is comprised of a general diesel engine generator. The trolley 24 is a general trolley 24 (trolley) made of a metal material. Although the trolley 24 is self-propelled by a motor supplied with power from the generator 18, it may be moved forward and backward by the manual power of the administrator.

The light source 21 can receive power from the generator 18 and illuminate the inside of the pipe 15 . The light source 21 is composed of, for example, an LED illumination, but may be composed of another light source lamp such as a halogen lamp. When the visual sensor section 16 is composed of a night vision camera, the light source 21 may be omitted.

The gas cylinder 22 stores shielding gas (CO ₂ gas or inert gas such as argon) inside, and receives operation from the welding machine 14 to adjust the amount of shielding gas and send it to the gas nozzle of the welding torch section 12. shielding gas can be supplied to

Next, a method for repairing a pipe using the pipe repair apparatus 11 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and the like. First, a step is performed to prepare the environment inside the pipe 15. In the step of preparing the environment inside the pipe 15, specifically, fluid such as crude oil is removed from the pipe 15, and cleaning or the like is performed as necessary. Subsequently, air is circulated within the pipe 15 to create an environment within the pipe that can be entered by the inspector and the manager who manages the welding repair.

Prior to repair, an inspector moves inside the pipe, visually inspects it, and performs a step (step S11) of attaching a marker made of chalk, a sticker, or other mark to the area 27 to be repaired. After applying the marker, the pipe repair device 11 is introduced into the pipe 15. Inside the pipe 15, along with the pipe repair device 11, a manager for managing welding repairs by the pipe repair device 11 enters. Although the pipe repair device 11 is self-propelled by a motor that receives power from the generator 18, it may be capable of moving forward and backward by the manual power of the administrator. Immediately after the pipe repair device 11 is introduced into the pipe 15, the generator 18 is started, and the light source 21 receives power from the generator 18, and the pipe repair device 11 is operated directly under the pipe repair device 11 within the pipe 15. The area ahead of the pipe repair device 11 can be illuminated.

After the internal pipe repair device 11 completes its movement to the vicinity of the point to which the marker has been added (step S12), the process moves to the next welding repair process (step S13). The welding repair process (step S13) is performed without removing the welding machine 14, visual sensor section 16, and control section 17 from the trolley 24. 15 via a magnet or the like.

The administrator operates the controller 23 to start the control section 17, the welding machine 14, and the visual sensor section 16 of the pipe repair device 11. Alternatively, the control unit 17, welding machine 14, and visual sensor unit 16 of the pipe repair device 11 may be activated by the administrator immediately after being introduced into the pipe 15.

When the control section 17, welding machine 14, and visual sensor section 16 of the pipe repair device 11 are activated, the welding repair process starts (step S13). Details of the welding repair process (step S13) are shown in FIG. The control unit 17 acquires image information inside the pipe 15 including the marker and the location to be repaired near the marker via the visual sensor unit 16 (step S21). The control unit 17 activates the image analysis software and performs image recognition of the marker in the image information and the location to be repaired (a recess formed by corrosion in the pipe 15) near the marker (step S22). At this time, the control unit 17 obtains image information of a location corresponding to the bottom of the pipe 15, rather than the entire 360° circumference of the inner surface of the cylindrical pipe 15, through the visual sensor unit 16. Reduce the storage capacity required to store. Further, by eliminating unnecessary image information that does not include the portion 27 to be repaired, the calculation processing speed of the control unit 17 can be maximized and the operation can be stabilized. This allows the entire work to proceed smoothly.

The control unit 17 further controls the robot arm unit 13 to move the welding torch unit 12 directly above the location 27 to be repaired (step S23). Subsequently, the control section 17 drives the welding torch section 12 and supplies shielding gas to the gas nozzle of the welding torch section 12 to repair the area 27 to be repaired by welding (gas shield arc welding). (Step S24). After the welding repair is completed, the control section 17 controls the robot arm section 13 to move the welding torch section 12 back to the initial position (step S25). This completes one welding repair process.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 17 checks whether there is a marker or a location 27 to be repaired in the acquired image information other than the location where the welding repair has been completed (step S14). If the marker and the location 27 to be repaired remain in the image information, the control unit 17 performs the welding repair process on the remaining location 27 to be repaired using the same procedure as above. (Step S13). If the marker and the location 27 to be repaired do not remain in the image information, the welding repair process at that location is completed.

If a marker and a point 27 to be repaired remain at another position in the pipe 15, for example, ahead of the current position (step S15), the pipe repair device 11 is moved to the vicinity of the other point to which the marker is attached. (step S12). At that position, a welding repair process (step S13, step S14) is performed in the same manner as above. If all repair points in the pipe 15 have been repaired and no markers or repair points 27 remain in the pipe 15, the repair work for the pipe 15 is completed (step S15).

According to this embodiment, the following can be said. The pipe repair device 11 includes a welding torch section 12, a robot arm section 13 that supports the welding torch section 12 so that the position of the welding torch section 12 can be changed, and a welding machine 14 capable of welding inside the pipe 15. , a visual sensor unit 16 that acquires image information including a repaired location 27 in the pipe 15 and a marker placed near the repaired location 27; A control unit 17 that recognizes a marker and a location 27 to be repaired near the marker and controls a robot arm 13 and a welding torch 12 to repair the location 27 to be repaired by welding, a welding machine 14, and a visual sensor. 16 and a generator 18 that supplies power to the control section 17 .

There is a shortage of skilled welders who can handle special environments, and passing on the skills of skilled welders has become an important issue. Furthermore, since the welding work is performed inside the dark and sealed pipe 15, there may be unpredictable risks. According to the above configuration, by introducing the pipe repair device 11 having the generator 18 into the pipe 15 where there is no power supply, repair work of the corroded parts in the pipe 15 can be performed without relying on human power. This can be done semi-automatically by the device 11. This solves the problem of passing on the advanced skills of welding workers. Also, potential risks to welding workers can be eliminated.

The visual sensor section 16 acquires the image information corresponding to the bottom of the pipe 15. When the piping 15 is a crude oil pipeline or the like, the portion of the piping 15 that corrodes is limited to the bottom of the piping 15, and the wall thickness of the bottom of the piping 15 decreases due to corrosion. This is because water and seawater mixed in crude oil accumulate at the bottom of the pipe 15 due to their specific gravity. According to the above configuration, since the image information acquired by the visual sensor unit 16 corresponds to the bottom of the pipe 15, a plurality of visual sensor units 16 are provided so as to correspond to the entire 360° circumference of the pipe 15. This eliminates the need, and the device configuration can be simplified. Furthermore, the capacity of the storage device that stores the acquired image information can also be reduced. Further, by eliminating unnecessary image information that does not include the portion 27 to be repaired, the calculation processing speed of the control unit 17 can be maximized and the operation can be stabilized. This allows the entire work to proceed smoothly. Furthermore, the device configuration of the welding machine 14 can also be simplified.

A cart 24 on which a welding machine 14, a visual sensor section 16, a control section 17, and a generator 18 can be placed is provided. According to this configuration, when transporting the heavy welding machine 14 and the generator 18 within the pipe 15, the transport work can be carried out easily.

Welding machine 14 is a gas shielded arc welding machine. For example, in welding repairs performed by welding workers, it is assumed that covered arc welding, which is cost-effective and the most common welding method, is used. However, in a series of covered arc welding operations, the welding surface is first prepared using a grinder, and the build-up is performed using covered arc welding. After covered arc welding, slag and spatter are generated in the welded area. must be removed again using a grinder. In this way, repair using covered arc welding by welding workers not only requires many man-hours and is complicated, but also poses safety and health problems due to the dust generated by the grinder. It is assumed that there is. On the other hand, it is conceivable to bring a battery or the like into the pipe 15, but the battery has the problem of insufficient power capacity, or the problem that the amount of power supplied decreases in a low-temperature environment. According to the above configuration, compared to covered arc welding, slag and spatter are not generated, the number of work steps can be reduced, and welding repair work can be completed in a short time. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden on the manager who manages the welding work by the pipe repair device 11, reduce potential risks by shortening the work time, and eliminate long working hours for the manager.

It has a light source 21 that receives power from the generator 18 and illuminates the inside of the pipe 15. According to this configuration, lighting can be installed inside the dark pipe 15. This makes it possible to smoothly obtain high-resolution images by the visual sensor unit 16 and improve the accuracy of welding work by the welding machine 14.

The inside pipe repair method includes a welding machine 14 having a welding torch part 12 and a robot arm part 13 that supports the welding torch part 12 so that the position of the welding torch part 12 can be changed; a visual sensor part 16; A method for repairing pipes using a pipe repair device 11 comprising a control unit 17 for controlling the pipes and a generator 18 for supplying power to the pipes, the method includes removing fluid from the pipes 15 and passing air through the pipes 15. , the inspector moves inside the pipe 15 and places a marker on the part 27 to be repaired, moves the pipe repair device 11 inside the pipe 15, and identifies the part 27 in the pipe 15 to be repaired using the visual sensor section 16. The control unit 17 controls the robot arm unit 13 based on the image information to place the welding torch unit 12 in the vicinity of the area 27 to be repaired. is moved, and the welding torch section 12 is controlled by the control section 17 to weld and repair the location 27 to be repaired.

According to this configuration, by introducing the pipe repair device 11 having the generator 18 into the pipe 15 where there is no power supply, the pipe repair device 11 can repair corroded areas in the pipe 15 without relying on human power. 11 can be performed semi-automatically. This solves the problem of passing on the advanced skills of welding workers. Also, potential risks to welding workers can be reduced.

The embodiments described above can be implemented with various substitutions and modifications.

11 Internal pipe repair device 12 Welding torch section 13 Robot arm section 14 Welding machine 15 Piping 16 Visual sensor section 17 Control section 18 Generator 21 Light source 24 Dolly 27 Location to be repaired

Claims (6)

A gas-shielded arc welding machine capable of MAG welding , which has a welding torch section and a robot arm section that supports the welding torch section so that the position of the welding torch section can be changed, and is capable of welding inside piping;
a visual sensor unit that acquires image information including a location to be repaired in the piping, or image information including the location to be repaired and a marker placed near the location to be repaired;
The marker and the area to be repaired near the marker are recognized based on the image information obtained by the visual sensor unit, and the robot arm unit and the welding torch unit are controlled to weld the area to be repaired. A control unit to be repaired;
a diesel engine generator that supplies power to the welding machine, the visual sensor section, and the control section;
a trolley on which the gas shielded arc welding machine, the visual sensor section, the control section, and the diesel engine generator can be mounted;
A pipe repair device equipped with The pipe repair device according to claim 1, wherein the visual sensor unit acquires the image information corresponding to the bottom of the pipe. The pipe repair device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a light source that receives power from the generator and illuminates the inside of the pipe. A gas-shielded arc welding machine capable of MAG welding , which has a welding torch part and a robot arm part that supports the welding torch part so that the position of the welding torch part can be changed, a visual sensor part, and a control for controlling the welding machine and the visual sensor part. A method for repairing pipes using a pipe repair device comprising a diesel engine generator and a diesel engine generator for supplying power to the pipes,
Prepare the environment inside the piping,
An inspector moves inside the piping and places markers on areas to be repaired,
moving the internal pipe repair device within the pipe, and acquiring image information including a location to be repaired in the pipe and a marker placed near the location to be repaired using the visual sensor unit;
controlling the robot arm section based on the image information by the control section to move the welding torch section near the location to be repaired;
A method for repairing inside piping, wherein the welding torch section is controlled by the control section to repair the location to be repaired by welding. The method for repairing inside a pipe according to claim 4 , wherein the visual sensor unit acquires the image information corresponding to the bottom of the pipe. The pipe repair device includes a cart on which the gas shielded arc welding machine, the visual sensor section, the control section, and the diesel engine generator are mounted,
6. The pipe repair method according to claim 4 , wherein in the step of moving the pipe repair device within the pipe, the pipe repair device is moved by the trolley.

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