Tubesheet walker for heat exchanger inspections
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsLyman J. Petrosky, Phillip J. Hawkins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A robotic tubesheet walker having two rails connected by a central hinge, wherein the central hinge can be opened or closed by an actuation device. Upon each rail is mounted a carriage, wherein each carriage can move along its respective rail toward or away from the central hinge by means of a drive mechanism. Each carriage further contains at least two “gripper” attachment mechanisms, such as camlocks, to grip the tubesheet. The grippers either insert into tube holes within the tubesheet to fasten the respective carriage to the tubesheet, or retract to disengage. Further attached to the central hinge is a tool support fixture, and attached to the tool support fixture is a coupler that holds maintenance or inspection tools.
Claims17
A robotic tubesheet walker for heat exchanger inspections and maintenance comprising:
- a) a first rail and a second rail;
- b) a central hinge connecting the first rail to the second rail, the central hinge being configured such that one or both of the first rail or the second rail can rotate at least partially about the central hinge;
- c) a first carriage and a second carriage, the first carriage being mounted to and configured to move along the first rail and the second carriage being mounted to and configured to move along the second rail;
- d) a first attachment mechanism for fastening the first carriage to a surface of a tubesheet;
- e) a second attachment mechanism for fastening the second carriage to a surface of a tubesheet;
- and
- e) a tool support fixture connected to the robotic tubesheet walker.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.