Inspection robot for horizontal tube inspection having vertically positionable sensor carriage
US11307063B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 17, 2019 |
| Grant date | Apr 19, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2040 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05D3/125
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An inspection apparatus for inspecting horizontal tubes in an industrial environment includes a drive module including a pair of wheels to engage a top tube of a vertically arranged layer of tubes, a telescoping pole, a sensor carriage assembly coupled to the telescoping pole, a lowering mechanism operationally coupled to the telescoping pole to selectively extend or retract the telescoping pole providing a selected vertical position of the sensor carriage assembly, and an encoder including a passive wheel, a spring, and a sliding coupler. The spring biases the passive wheel toward the top tube to ensure contact between the passive wheel and a surface of the top tube.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.