Method and apparatus for permissive control of a mast and grapple
OwnerMichael JOHNSONinventor
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for the permissive control of a mast and fuel grapple to be used in the movement of reactor fuel components, including fuel assemblies, single blade and double blade guides, to be used in a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) nuclear reactor. The Permissive Control System reduces the chance of human error associated with the movement of reactor components by assisting in controlling the location (plant coordinate) of the mast for picking-up and dropping-off reactor components, the sequence of reactor component movements, the orientation (angular rotation) of the mast and fuel grapple, the raising and lowering of the grapple, and the opening and closing of the fuel grapple.
Claims9
A mast orientation sensing apparatus, comprising:
- a gimbal plate, the gimbal plate configured to rotate in unison and in response to an angular rotation of a mast with a grapple on an end of the mast;
- a cam attached to the gimbal plate, the cam, the gimbal plate, the mast and the grapple configured to rotate bi-directionally and in a same direction with each other;
- a plurality of switches positioned in proximity to the gimbal plate, the switches configured to detect a position of the cam;
- a controller configured to determine an orientation of the mast and grapple based on the detected position of the came.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.