Manipulator for inspection and possible repair of the tubes of heat exchangers, especially of steam generators for nuclear reactors
US4231419A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 21, 1978 |
| Grant date | Nov 4, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 21, 1998 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S165/003
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Manipulator for inspecting and, if required, repairing the tubes of heat exchangers, especially for nuclear reactors, in which a tube bundle set in a tube sheet lead into a steam generator chamber and a manipulator is brought in through a lead-in nozzle. An inspection arm can be inserted and removed through the lead-in nozzle and the nozzle can be closed off tight by a blind flange. The inspection arm comprises a guide tube supported in the lead-in nozzle, and a swivel arm supported at the end of the guide tube so that it can rotate in a plane parallel to the tube sheet. The swivel arm carries at its outer end an extendable and retractable mouthpiece carrier with a mouthpiece which can be aligned onto the tube openings. The outer contour of the swivel arm and the mouthpiece carrier in the stretched-out transport position is not greater than the inner contour of the lead-in nozzle.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.