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AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsSamuel C. McCaslin, John J. Wilhelm
Estimating the term…
An improved tube inspection probe is provided of the type that includes a probe head assembly formed from a body member and a sensor holding mechanism for resiliently engaging a sensor against the inner wall of a tube, and a flexible cable connected to the body member for helically moving the probe head assembly through the interior of a tube. The improved probe comprises at least one centering device mounted around the cable for maintaining the axis of rotation of the cable in alignment with the center line of the tube, which includes a plurality of resilient finger members mounted around and extending away from the periphery of an annular member that surrounds the cable, wherein each of the fingers is canted at an acute angle with respect to a line tangent to the periphery of the annular member. The improvement may further comprise a button member resiliently mounted within the probe body in opposition to the resiliently-loaded sensor holding mechanism for maintaining the axis of the probe head assembly in alignment with the center line of the tube during operation, as well as a modular mount for detachably mounting the probe sensor to the sensor holding mechanism to facilitate the replacement or repair of the sensor.
An improved probe of the type having a probe head assembly that includes a sensor, and a flexible cable connected to said assembly for rotating said assembly within a tube such that said sensor scanningly inspects the inner walls of said tube, wherein the improvement comprises a centering device including an annular member mounted around said cable in the vicinity of said probe head assembly for maintaining the axis of rotation of said cable in alignment with the center line of said tube, said member including a plurality of resilient finger members mounted around and extending away from the periphery of said annular member for engaging the inner walls of said tube and applying a centering force to said cable through said member, wherein each of said fingers is disposed in a plane that is orthogonal to the axis of rotation of said cable, but which is canted at an acute angle with respect to a line tangent to the portion of said periphery of the annular member that it extends away from.
An improved probe for inspecting tubes of the type having a rotatable probe head assembly that includes a body member, and a sensor holding mechanism for resiliently holding a sensor with respect to said body member such that said sensor wipingly engages the inner walls of said tube when the head assembly is rotated, wherein the improvement comprises a button member resiliently mounted within and reciprocally movable with respect to said probe body member opposite to said sensor holding mechanism for maintaining the axis of rotation of said probe head assembly in alignment with the center line of said tube.
An improved probe for inspecting tubes of the type having a rotatable probe head assembly that includes a body member, and a sensor holding mechanism for resiliently holding a sensor with respect to said body member such that said sensor wipingly engages the inner walls of said tube when the head assembly is rotated, wherein the improvement comprises a modular means for detachably mounting said sensor to said holding mechanism to facilitate replacing said sensor, and wherein said probe head assembly is of the type that includes a body member, and a sensor holding mechanism for resiliently holding said sensor with respect to said body member such that said sensor wipingly engages the inner walls of said tube when the head assembly is rotated, wherein said improvement further comprises a button member resiliently mounted within and reciprocally movable with respect to said probe body member opposite from said sensor holding mechanism for maintaining the axis of rotation of said probe head assembly in alignment with the center line of said tube.
An improved probe for inspecting a tube of the type having a probe head assembly that includes a body member, a sensor holding mechanisms for resiliently holding a sensor with respect to said body member such that said sensor wipingly engages the inner walls of said tube when the probe head assembly is rotated and a gap is formed between the ends of said body member and said sensor holding mechanism, and a flexible cable that extends completely through said probe head assembly and which is secured to the body member of said assembly for rotating said assembly, wherein the improvement comprises:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.