Apparatus for automated positioning of eddy current test probe
AssigneeBWXT Nuclear Energy, Inc.
InventorThomas O'Dell
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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.
Claims5
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 sliding body portion comprising:
- a rotating gripper pod with three tube grippers;
- and
- a tool head coupling hingedly mounted to said sliding body portion;
- left and right outer housings;
- each outer housing comprising one or more tube grippers;
- wherein said sliding body portion is arranged between said left and right outer housings, and wherein said sliding body portion, including said rotating gripper pod, and said left and right outer housings 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 gripper pod and left and right outer housings, respectively, perpendicular to said common plane, and
- wherein said left and right outer housings move with respect to said sliding body portion such that said top surfaces remain in said common plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.