Inspection method and apparatus for tanks and the like

• US 5,956,077 A
• Filed: 05/14/1998
• Issued: 09/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: George R. Mcnulty, Iqbal Qureshi
• Original Assignee: George R. Mcnulty, Iqbal Qureshi
• Inventors: McNulty, George R., Qureshi, Iqbal
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIEP, NHON THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/078,771
• Time in Patent Office: 495 Days
• Field of Search: 348/82, 348/83, 348/84, 348/85, 901/15
• US Class Current: 348/82
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/023 including video camera means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/06 characterised by multi-articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/954 Inspecting the inner surface of hollow bodies, e.g. bores
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/2476 Non-optical details, e.g. housings, mountings, supports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A method and apparatus for remotely visually inspecting the interior of an elongated tank. The apparatus includes an articulated arm which extends into the tank through an access opening and is adapted to pivot at successive joints by operation of associated servomotors to enable it to follow a path along the axis of the tank. A TV camera is carried on the lead end of the arm and scans the interior of the tank through 360° rotation about the tank axis. The arm carries the camera to the zones where the tank end walls are joined to the sidewall for viewing the zones from advantageous lines of view.

Claims

1. A device for remotely visually inspecting the interior of an elongated tank comprising a support, a viewing device carried on the support and a unit for displaying images of the interior of the tank scanned by the viewing device exterior of the tank, the support including a rigid member with a lead end capable of entering the tank through an access hole in the side of the tank in a radial direction and thereafter extending its lead end in translation axially from the zone of the access hole along the axis of the tank to a point relatively remote from the access hole and adjacent an end of the tank, the viewing device being carried on the rigid member adjacent its lead end and being capable of scanning the full inner circumference of the tank sidewall while the viewing device is carried by the rigid member axially from the zone of the access hole to a point adjacent an end wall of the tank.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said support comprises a series of articulated segments.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said segments have a length approximately equal to one-half the vertical height of the tank measured from the access hole to a point opposite the access hole.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said lead end is capable of rotating about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tank through 360°

relative to an adjacent portion of the support, said viewing device being supported by said lead end.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, including a carrier supported on said lead end, said carrier being capable of turning about an axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said lead end.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said viewing device is a TV camera having a lens for viewing the interior surfaces of the tank along a line of sight and an illumination source carried on said support aligned with the line of sight of said camera lens.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6, including a laser distance measuring device carried by the lead end of said support and being capable of measuring the distance between the support and the sidewall of the tank.

8. A device as set forth in claim 7, wherein said laser distance measuring device is carried on said carrier and has its measuring beam aligned with the line of sight of said camera lens.

9. A system for remotely visually inspecting the interior of an elongated tank comprising a receiver, an elongated articulated arm, the receiver supporting said arm between a retracted vertical position external of the tank and an extended position in the tank, a coupling device for aligning the receiver with an access opening in the top of the sidewall of the tank, the articulated arm having a lead end segment and a series of segments trailing the lead end segment, each of said segments being joined to an adjacent segment by a single axis joint, the axes of the series of joints being parallel to one another and generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the tank, a servomotor associated with each joint capable of selectively positioning the associated adjacent arm segments in a desired angular relation about the respective joint, a TV camera on the lead end section, a servomotor for extending and retracting the arm from and to the receiver, and a controller for operating the servomotors for causing the lead end of the arm to descend vertically into the tank through the access hole and then generally follow a path in translation along the longitudinal axis of the tank, the controller causing successive ones of the joint servomotors to be actuated to cause successive segments to each rotate about a trailing joint axis from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation.

10. A system as set forth in claim 9, wherein the lead end segment of said arm has a portion capable of rotating about an axis perpendicular to the axis of its associated joint and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tank when the arm is extended along the longitudinal axis of the tank, a carrier on said rotating lead end portion, and a TV camera carried on said carrier.

11. A system as set forth in claim 10, wherein said carrier is rotatable on said lead end portion about an axis perpendicular to said lead end portion axis, and a servomotor connected to said controller for selectively rotating said carrier about said perpendicular axis.

12. A system as set forth in claim 11, including a laser distance measuring device on the lead end portion of said arm and being capable of measuring the distance of the lead end portion from the wall of said tank.

13. A system as set forth in claim 12, including a servomotor under control of said controller arranged to rotate portions of said arm about a vertical axis to align said arm with the longitudinal axis of the tank.

14. A method of remotely visually inspecting the interior of an elongated tank comprising moving a remote viewing device along a path parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tank, rotating a light receiver for the viewing device around an axis defined by the path to visually scan the sidewall of the tank, the light receiver being arranged to transmit light to the image sensor of a TV camera, and displaying and/or recording the image received by the TV camera at a point remote from the tank, the viewing device being supported on a rigid arm that is extended into the tank radially through an access opening and thereafter is caused to extend axially in a first direction to a point spaced from the access opening a distance greater than the diameter of the tank and adjacent an end wall of the tank.

15. A method as set forth in claim 14, wherein the arm is withdrawn from the point adjacent the first mentioned end wall to the point at which it is extended into the tank and is then caused to extend in a section direction opposite said first direction.

16. A method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the viewing device is simultaneously rotated about the axis of said path and about an axis perpendicular to said path to scan the end wall of the tank.

17. A method as set forth in claim 16, wherein a laser distance measuring device is provided on the arm adjacent the viewing device to gauge the distance between the viewing device and a surface which it is viewing.

18. A method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the arm is provided in the form of a series of articulated segments and a forward end of the arm is moved along a horizontal path by a combination of translation and pivotal movement of other trailing segments.