Pipe-inspection device propelled by an Archimedes screw
AssigneeCommissariat A L'energie Atomique Et Aux Energies Alternatives
InventorFlorent Souvestre
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A robotic device for inspecting a pipe includes at least one pair of propulsion elements each including a rotary drum, an outer surface of which has a screw thread. The device also includes a body associated with at least one pair of propulsion elements and in which are inserted sensor, at least one pair of electric motors each capable of rotating a rotary drum, and at least one pair of electric power sources each capable of powering an electric motor. The body is shaped such that a ventral portion and a dorsal portion of the device are symmetrical with one another relative to a median frontal plane of the device, thus allowing the device to move indistinctly on the belly or on the back.
Claims14
A robotic device for inspecting a pipe, comprising:
- at least one pair of propulsion elements each including a rotary drum, an outer surface of each rotary drum having an Archimedes screw thread, the propulsion elements of a pair extending in a longitudinal direction such that they are symmetrical with one another relative to a median sagittal plane of the device,
- wherein the robotic device further comprises a body associated with the at least one pair of propulsion elements and in which are inserted at least one sensor, at least one pair of electric motors, each capable of rotating a rotary drum, and at least one pair of electric power sources, each capable of powering an electric motor, the body being shaped such that a ventral portion and a dorsal portion of the robotic device are symmetrical with one another relative to a median frontal plane of the robotic device, thus allowing the robotic device to be displaced indifferently on its front or on its back by the at least one pair of propulsion elements.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.