Microbot pigging system
First Claim
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1. A microbot pigging system for cleaning the interior of a pipe, the system comprising:
- a. a plurality of microbots, each microbot in said plurality of microbots comprising an automated attachment mechanism that releasably attaches said microbot to at least one other of said plurality of microbots;
b. a drive adapted to urge the plurality of microbots through the pipe; and
c. a programmable computer processor having computer executable instructions, the computer processor being operatively associated with and thereby controlling one or more of the attachment mechanisms;
wherein the computer processor is programmed to instruct at least one of the attachment mechanisms of one or more of the plurality of microbots to attach to at least one other of the plurality of microbots to collectively form a pig within the pipe.
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Abstract
A self-adjusting microbot pigging system for cleaning the interior of a pipe, the system comprises a plurality of microbots, each microbots comprises a propulsion device and a programmable computer processor operatively associated with the propulsion device, each of said processors programmed to instruct its associated propulsion device to operate in cooperation with one or more of the other microbot propulsion devices of said plurality of microbots to form a pig in the pipe.
13 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A microbot pigging system for cleaning the interior of a pipe, the system comprising:
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a. a plurality of microbots, each microbot in said plurality of microbots comprising an automated attachment mechanism that releasably attaches said microbot to at least one other of said plurality of microbots; b. a drive adapted to urge the plurality of microbots through the pipe; and c. a programmable computer processor having computer executable instructions, the computer processor being operatively associated with and thereby controlling one or more of the attachment mechanisms; wherein the computer processor is programmed to instruct at least one of the attachment mechanisms of one or more of the plurality of microbots to attach to at least one other of the plurality of microbots to collectively form a pig within the pipe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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- 15. A self-adjusting microbot pigging system for cleaning the interior of a pipe, the system comprising a plurality of microbots, each microbot of said plurality of microbots comprising a propulsion device and an attachment mechanism configured to releasably attach said microbot to a different microbot of said plurality of microbots when both said microbots are positioned within a predetermined distance of each other, each microbot of said plurality of microbots further comprising a programmable computer processor operatively associated with the propulsion device and the attachment mechanism of said microbot, each of said computer processors being programmed to instruct its associated propulsion device to move said microbot into proximity to a different microbot of said plurality of microbots and to controllably attach said two microbots together.
Specification