Patent US3477337A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
Patent EP0177112A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0177112A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Self-traversing vehicle for pipe
Assignee: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
•
Filing: 1985-04-10
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2005-04-10
Abstract
Abstract A vehicle (1) for traversing the interior of a pipe or the like under self-locomotion comprises a pair of arm members (3s, 3b) extending outwardly from a main body (2) in opposite directions and disposed in alignment with each other, said arm members (3a, 3b) being movable along their common longitudinal axis, biasing means (4) for biasing said arm members outwardly with respect to said main body, at least one chassis (9) which is pivotally connected to one of said arm members and which is provided with two wheels (8a, 8b), at least one wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm members, a first driving device (6b) for driving at least one of said two wheels (8a, 8b) which are provided on said chassis (9), a second driving device (6a) for driving said wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm member, detecting means (10) for detecting the angle formed between the common longitudinal axis of said arm members and the common tangential line of said two wheels (8a, 8b) of said chassis, and a servo-system for controlling said first and second driving devices (6a, 6b) in response to the detected angle so as to maintain said angle at a predetermined value.
Inventors
- 👤 Tokuji Okada
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 12:02
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01B; G01B5/00; G01B5/20; G01B5/207; F; F16; F16L; F16L55/00; F16L55/26; F16L55/28; F16L55/30; F16L55/32; H; H02; H02G; H02G1/00; H02G1/06; H02G1/08; H02G1/088; F16L2101/00; F16L2101/30; F16L2101/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
233 words
A vehicle for traversing the interior of a pipe or the like under self-locomotion which is characterized in that said vehicle comprises: a main body (2); a pair of arm members (3a, 3b) extending outwardly from said main body (2) in the opposite directions and disposed in alignment with each other, said arm members (3a, 3b) being movable along the common longitudinal axis thereof; biasing means (4) for biasing said arm members (3a, 3b) outwardly with respect to said main body (2); at least one chassis (9) which is pivotally connected to one of said arm members (3a, 3b) and which is provided with two wheels (8a, 8b); at least one wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm members; a first driving device (6b) for driving at least one of said two wheels (8a, 8b) which are provided on said chassis (9); a second driving device (6a) for driving said wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm member (3a); at least one detecting means (10) for detecting the angle formed between the common longitudinal axis of at least one of said arm members (3a, 3b) and the common tangential line of said two wheels (8a, 8b) of said chassis (9); and a servo-system for controlling said first and second driving devices (6b, 6a) in response to the detected angle so as to maintain said angle at a predetermined value.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
233 words
A vehicle for traversing the interior of a pipe or the like under self-locomotion which is characterized in that said vehicle comprises: a main body (2); a pair of arm members (3a, 3b) extending outwardly from said main body (2) in the opposite directions and disposed in alignment with each other, said arm members (3a, 3b) being movable along the common longitudinal axis thereof; biasing means (4) for biasing said arm members (3a, 3b) outwardly with respect to said main body (2); at least one chassis (9) which is pivotally connected to one of said arm members (3a, 3b) and which is provided with two wheels (8a, 8b); at least one wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm members; a first driving device (6b) for driving at least one of said two wheels (8a, 8b) which are provided on said chassis (9); a second driving device (6a) for driving said wheel (7) supported by the other of said arm member (3a); at least one detecting means (10) for detecting the angle formed between the common longitudinal axis of at least one of said arm members (3a, 3b) and the common tangential line of said two wheels (8a, 8b) of said chassis (9); and a servo-system for controlling said first and second driving devices (6b, 6a) in response to the detected angle so as to maintain said angle at a predetermined value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
120 words
A vehicle set forth in Claim 1, wherein the other of said arm members (3a, 3b) supports two wheels (7a, 7b) through the intermediary of a second chassis (9') on which said two wheels (7a, 7b) are provided, said second chassis (9') being pivotally connected to the other (3a) of said arm members, there is provided second detecting means (10') for detecting a second angle which is formed between the common longitudinal axis of said other arm member (3a) and the common tangential line of the two wheels (7a, 7b) of said second chassis (9'), and said servo-system controls said first and second driving devices (6a, 6b) so that said first and second angles are maintained equal to each other.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A vehicle set forth in Claim 2, wherein a rotary articulation (16) is intervened in one of said arm members (3a, 3b).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
A vehicle set forth in Claim 2, wherein a rotary articulation (16) is intervened in both of said arm members (3a, 3b).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
A vehicle set forth in any one of Claims 2 through 4, wherein said first driving device (6b) drives the two wheels (8a, 8b) of said first chassis (9), and said second driving device (6b) drives the two wheels (7a, 7b) of said second chassis.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
A vehicle. . set forth in Claim 1, wherein a steering device (15) is intervened in either of said arm members (3a, 3b).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
213 words
A vehicle for traversing the interior of a pipe or the like under self-locomotion which is characterized in that said vehicle comprises: a main body (2); an arm member (3a) extending outwardly from said main body (2) and being movable along its longitudinal axis; biasing means (4) for biasing said arm member (3a) outwardly with respect to said main body; a first chassis (9') which is pivotally connected to said arm member (3a) and which is provided with two wheels (7a, 7b); a second chassis (9) which is fixed to said main body (2) and which is provided with two wheels (8a, 8b); a first driving device (6a) for driving at least one of the two wheels (7a, 7b) which are provided on said first chassis (9'); a second driving device (6b) for driving at least one of the two wheels (8a, 8b) which are provided on said second chassis (9); detecting means (10) for detecting an angle which is formed between the longitudinal axis of said arm member (3a) and the common tangential line of the two wheels (7a, 7b) of said first chassis (9'); and a servo-system for controlling said first and second driving devices in response to the detected angle so as to maintain said angle at a predetermined value.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
213 words
A vehicle for traversing the interior of a pipe or the like under self-locomotion which is characterized in that said vehicle comprises: a main body (2); an arm member (3a) extending outwardly from said main body (2) and being movable along its longitudinal axis; biasing means (4) for biasing said arm member (3a) outwardly with respect to said main body; a first chassis (9') which is pivotally connected to said arm member (3a) and which is provided with two wheels (7a, 7b); a second chassis (9) which is fixed to said main body (2) and which is provided with two wheels (8a, 8b); a first driving device (6a) for driving at least one of the two wheels (7a, 7b) which are provided on said first chassis (9'); a second driving device (6b) for driving at least one of the two wheels (8a, 8b) which are provided on said second chassis (9); detecting means (10) for detecting an angle which is formed between the longitudinal axis of said arm member (3a) and the common tangential line of the two wheels (7a, 7b) of said first chassis (9'); and a servo-system for controlling said first and second driving devices in response to the detected angle so as to maintain said angle at a predetermined value.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
A vehicle set forth in Claim 7, wherein a rotary articulation (16) is intervened in said arm member (3a).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
43 words
A vehicle set forth in Claim 7 or 8, wherein said first driving device (6a) drives the two wheels (7a, 7b) of said first chassis (9'), and said second driving device (6b) drives the two wheels (8a, 8b) of said second chassis (9).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
108 words
A train comprising two or more self-traversing vehicles, wherein the adjacent self-traversing vehicles are joined to each other by a coupling rod member (17) in which elastic means (18) and at least one rotary articulation (1 6 ) are intervened, there is provided detecting means for detecting the length of said elastic means (18), there is provided a servo-system for controlling one of the adjacent self-traversing vehicles in response to the detected length so that the length of said elastic means (18) is maintained constant, and each of said self-traversing vehicles is constructed in accordance with the vehicle set forth in any one of Claims 1 through 9.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.