Apparatus for Automated Positioning of Eddy Current Test Probe
AssigneeBabcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Inc.
InventorThomas O'Dell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for automated inspection and repair of a tube sheet. The apparatus has a rotating gripper pod, comprising at least one tube gripper, a sliding body portion containing the gripper pod; a housing portion comprising at least one tube gripper and a tool head coupling. The tool head coupling swapably attaches to a eddy current test probe and at least one kind of tube repair tool. Novel, auto-locking tube grippers are also disclosed. A serial bus connects electronic modules within the apparatus and also connects the apparatus to an external controller.
Claims10
1-12. (canceled)
An apparatus for automated inspection and testing of a tube sheet wherein the tube sheet has a plurality of tube openings arranged on a tube sheet plane, the apparatus comprising:
- a core assembly comprising:
- a rotating module with three tube grippers;
- a tool head coupling hingedly mounted to said core assembly;
- and
- outer housing actuators;
- and
- left and right outer housings;
- each outer housing comprising one or more tube grippers;
- wherein said core assembly is arranged between said left and right outer housing portions, and wherein said core assembly, including said rotating module, and said left and right outer housing portions have top surfaces aligned on a common plane which, when the apparatus is in use, is parallel to said tube sheet plane, and wherein said tube grippers emerge from said rotating module and left and right outer housings, respectively, perpendicular to said common plane and
- wherein said core assembly actuators move said left and right outer housings with respect to said core assembly such that said top surfaces remain in said common plane.
(canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.