Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02605607 2007-10-22
Apparatus for Inspecting Underwater Structures
Specification
The invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting underwater
structures, equipped with a positioning device provided with a smoothly
adjustable vertical guide including a telescopic rod and with a smoothly
adjustable horizontal guide provided with a guide track for setting a path,
and
a carriage for receiving the vertical guide and conveyed thereon by way of
guide rolls, and with an underwater video camera functioning as at least one
inspection device mountable on the rod.
Such inspection devices are needed, for instance, for servicing large-
scale aquatic culture plants which are increasingly used throughout the world
for the production of algae and mussels. The organisms of the cultures grow
on or within floating or submersed systems. Such systems usually are long
line, long tube, annular systems, rafts or pole structures. Long lines and
long
tubes are horizontally suspended at the water surface or at a depth of from 1
to 10 meters below the water surface at a length of several hundred meters
and serve as support lines for culture suspension lines attached thereto. It
is
the culture suspension lines on which the algae and mussels are being
cultivated. The cultivation of such organisms is carried out for periods
extending from several months to several years. During this time, aside from
routine operations (control of the cultures, removal of organisms,
harvesting),
the condition and safety of technical structure are checked. Depending on
their weight gain as results from the growth of the organisms, submerged
structures in particular have to be furnished with additional floats.
Furthermore, the culture organisms need be monitored in order to evaluate
their exterior condition (wholesomeness, settlement) growth, predation
(aversion to feeding), food intake and competition. Such tasks may be
performed by specially trained divers. Another possibility is to lift the
complete structures by ship's derricks of special ships. Either operation can
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only be performed when the sea is calm and are very expensive. Also,
underwater cameras may be used as inspection equipment. Other fields of
application of such inspection equipment are the observation and servicing of
submerged technical devices, such as, harbor systems, etc.
The Prior Art
A simple telescoping rod on which an underwater camera may be
mounted is known from GB 2 400 451 Al. The length of the rod is adjusted
by extension sections before use. Feed lines are mounted at the exterior
along the telescoping rod. Excess lines is coiled on a spool. The equipment
is used from a pier or from a boat or pontoon for the observation, for
instance,
of harbor systems below the surface of the water. Its use on the open sea at
wind and moving waves is made very difficult by the movement of the camera
in front of a subject. Because of its weight, use of the manually guided
equipment is limited to shallow depths. A stationary inspection device for
underwater applications is known from US 6,119,630, its original purpose
being the constant observation of growth conditions of mussels under natural
environmental conditions. After setting of the depth and selection of its
application site the device cannot be adjusted in either horizontal or
vertical
directions. A semi-automatic observation system with a remote-controlled
unmanned boat and a cable-controlled video device is known from JP
10020382 A. The boat is guided over a site to be observed and the video
system is lowered to a desired depth by a winch. Image and control signals
are fed over the cable. The observation system is complex and its application
site is limited to the possible lengthy of the cable. It is not clear how the
camera maintains its line of sight while it is suspended by the cable and is
subjected to currents and swells. A similar system is disclosed by DE 103 10
550 Al. A streamlined underwater unit is guided through a body of water, at
a depth which may be adjusted by a cable, by a remote-controlled unmanned
boat and records data by means of attached sensors. The observation
system is complex and its site of application is limited by its possible line
of
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sight.
A camera stabilizer is known from US 2,945,428 A in which a camera
operator carries a horizontal frame on his shoulders. It consists of two
parallel straight guide rails which determine the horizontal path of movement
of the camera. For horizontal movement the camera is mounted on a
carriage which embraces each guide rail by at least one tubular enclosed
guide sleeve. The camera may be vertically adjusted by a telescoping rod
connected to the carriage below the camera and which is supported by the
floor (see Fig. 5). Curvilinear movement of the camera is not readily possible
with this known camera stabilizer. Furthermore, the stabilization (for camera
operator and telescoping rod) always depends upon the floor.
Furthermore, an optical encoder, for instance an X-ray apparatus,
having two apparatus components displaceable relatively to each other, is
known from WO 2004/008077 Al. A position visualization unit is mounted on
one of the apparatus components and an image acquisition unit is mounted
on the other component of the apparatus. The position visualization unit is
connected to a moving object and is optically registered in its movement by
the image acquisition unit. The encoder includes a moveable carriage
connected by four guide rolls to and below a horizontal guidance (see Figure
1). In this connection, the arrangement of the four rollers necessitates
structural security. Moreover, a telescopic vertical guidance consisting of
several moveable tetrahedral tubes which when extending show significant
bulges between each other.
JP 61082146 A from which the instant invention is proceeding as the
closest prior art, discloses a winch-actuated telescoping tube of defined
extended length having an underwater video camera attached thereto. The
observation depth is set by a hand crank on the winch. The telescoping tube
may be manually moved on a cantilever in a horizontal direction by a carriage.
The cantilever may also be manually rotated on two hinges about a support
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mast. Hence, the horizontal movement is smoothly continuous in two
dimensions. In one dimension a strictly circular movement may be executed
and a linear movement may be executed in the other dimension. The
carriage can only be moved linearly along the cantilever. Because of these
combined movements use of the camera is limited to a circle having the
radius of the cantilever and, as regards depth, to the length of extension of
the telescoping tube. Accordingly, it provides for a cylindrically limited
observation space of defined radius and length,
Object
The object of some embodiments of the invention may be considered to provide
an
inspection apparatus for underwater structures equipped with a positioning
device of the
kind described above which provides for a substantially unlimited observation
space, which can be economically manufactured and which can easily be
handled without specially trained personnel. In accordance with the
invention, the object is accomplished in the manner defined in the main claim.
Advantageous improvements of the inspection apparatus in accordance with
the invention have been described in the sub-claims and will be explained
hereafter in the context of the invention.
The inspection unit in accordance with the invention consists of a
horizontal and of a vertical guidance which set up a plane in which the
inspection apparatus can be moved smoothly. The vertical guidance is
provided with a tubular telescoping rod and always moves linearly. The
horizontal guidance may have a guide track in the plane disposed normal to
the vertical guidance, it may execute curvilinear movements, but, preferably,
it
may consist of linear sections and, most preferably, of a single linear
section.
The surface set up by the horizontal guidance and vertical guidance may thus
be planar, or it may consist of any number of surface sections disposed
angularly relative to each other, or it may be a surface bent in the third
dimension, such as, for example, a cylinder of circular cross-section. For
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setting the depth of the range of inspection, the telescoping rod may be
lengthened or shortened, without forming any bulges, by adding or taking
away tube sections. The telescoping rod is received in a guide mounted on a
carriage which is held on, and may roll along, the guide track of the
horizontal
guidance by a guide roller. To this end the guide roller has a negative or
concave profile which at least partially accommodates the profile of the guide
track. Preferably, the inspection devices are arranged at the lower end of the
telescoping rod. The setting of the operational depth selected for the
inspection devices on the telescoping rod, the smooth guidance of the
carriage with the telescoping rod and inspection devices over the horizontal
guidance as well as manipulating the inspection devices as required, are
preferably carried out manually.
The conduit harnesses required for supplying the inspection devices
with energy and for operating them and, where necessary, for providing
bidirectional signals for image and control data, as well as for mechanical
action may for protection from mechanical damage be disposed in the interior
of the telescoping rod. It is, therefore, preferably structured as a tube with
a
longitudinal slot making possible a very rapid change in length of the
telescoping rod by adding or removing slotted tube sections without having to
remove and, after such change in length, having to thread all the conduits
anew. The conduit harnesses are unwound from and wound onto a supply,
and a slotted tube section is either pushed over or removed from them. For a
change in length, the tube section is provided with a detent mechanism which
makes possible quickly to connect it in precise alignment with the its slot to
an
existing telescoping rod or to remove it from it in a simple manner. At a
constant external diameter, the tube sections of the telescoping rod may at
one end, for a length of about the diameter of the tube, have an enlarged
internal diameter and, at the opposite end a commensurately reduced
external diameter, so that one end of one tube section may be received with a
little play in one end of another tube section without forming a bulge . The
detent mechanism preferably consists of at least one resilient tongue with a
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lug seated in the interior tube section of reduced outer diameter and engaging
a bore in the interior section of enlarged diameter of another tube section
when the longitudinal slots of the two tube sections are in alignment. By
pressing the lug of the at least one tongue inwardly while at the same time
pulling the two tube sections apart they can be disconnected in a simple
manner and without any tools.
The path-setting guide track of the horizontal guidance may be a taut
guide cable consisting of a single linear cable section or any number of cable
sections abutting each other at small angles. The embodiment consisting of
several cable sections may thus follow a quasi-continuous curve upon which
the carriage may be moved. The carriage for a horizontal guidance
consisting of a taut guide cable is formed by a guide section consisting of
two
closely adjacent planar guide plates between which guide rolls are rotatably
mounted. The circumference of the guide rolls is notched inwardly and at the
bottom of the circumferential notch they are shaped such that they may run
along the taut guide cable at a snug fit but low friction. For guide cables of
different diameters the notch may have matching stepped profile with width
and height of the steps increasing from the axle of the guide roll towards the
periphery thereof The smaller steps not used at a selected diameter of the
guide cable may be covered by a collar surrounding the bottom of the notch
to be used to prevent jamming of the guide cable in the next smaller step.
For safe moving along the guide cable the planar guide plates of the carriage
may be provided with a downwardly extending guide section slightly flaring
out from the lower edge of the guide roll thereby, on the one hand, to
facilitate
placement of the carriage on the guide cable and, on the other, to prevent
jumping of the carriage off the guide cable under strong movements. The
path-setting guide track of the horizontal guidance may also be a guide tube
of any desired shape, preferably of circular shape, in a horizontal plane. In
such an arrangement, the carriage is supported and guided by at least two
pairs and one pair of cylindrical rollers mounted on a cover plate and
respectively disposed vertically on each side of and horizontally on top of
the
guide tube and conforming at least in part to the diameter of the guide tube
by
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a concave profile. The profile, especially of the upper cylindrical rollers,
is
shaped such that it would fit on the largest diameter and serves essentially
to
distribute the load of the telescoping rod and inspection devices suspended
from the carriage. As a negative profile it conforms at least in part to the
profile of the guide tube. Since they need not absorb any load and since they
only transmit lateral guide forces, the lateral cylindrical rollers need not
be
concavely profiled. In order to conform the carriage to different diameters of
the guide tube, the lateral cylindrical rollers may be attached to the cover
plate for selective movement by quick-release clamps. Non-profiled lateral
rollers need not be vertically adjustable since their straight walls will
engage a
guide tube regardless of its diameter. Below the cover plate, the axles of the
lateral guide rollers may be provided with a joint with a return spring so
that
they may adjust to different diameters and any irregularities in the surface
of
a tube.
The telescoping rod may be connected to the carriage movable on the
horizontal guidance by a guidance device. This may be a guidance aperture
in the cover plate of the carriage into which, by opening. the telescoping rod
may be quickly inserted laterally and, after closure, by secured against
escape. Lateral insertion avoids threading the telescoping rod and
associated inspection devices into the guidance aperture from above or
below. The closed guidance aperture embraces the telescoping rod such that
it may slide therein. A snap ring may be seated on the telescoping at any
desired level to fix the maximum operating depth of the inspection devices
and to secure the telescoping rod against slipping out in a downward
direction. The telescoping rod may be manually moved up and down as well
as rotated, the movement being limited in an upward direction by the
inspection devices and downwardly by the snap ring. In the embodiment of
the guidance tube where the carriage is provided with a cover plate and
cylindrical guide rollers the guidance aperture may be a simple recess in the
cover plate which can be opened and closed by a locking latch. In the case
of a guidance cable where the carriage is constructed with two guide plates
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and guide rolls therebetween, the guidance aperture may be a split guide
flange embracing the telescoping rod and the arms of which may be opened
and closed by a screw. The split guide flange may be connected to the
carriage by a simple pivot joint and a rigid spacer. The pivot joint serves to
compensate for small tilting movements of the telescoping rod relative to the
carriage as may result from irregularities in the horizontal guidance of a
carriage provided with more than one guide roller. Since because of its
leverage and weight a telescoping rod connected to the carriage would not be
able to follow such tilting movements, lack of a pivot joint would result in a
guide roll being lifted more or less off the horizontal guidance and lead to
an
imprecise lateral guidance. The rigid spaced prevents the telescoping rod
from rubbing on the carriage and provides for a minimum spacing between
the telescoping rod and associated inspection devices and the surface to be
inspected to ensure, for instance, the minimum spacing of a video camera
required for an inspection. The telescoping rod is disposed in its guidance
aperture laterally of the carriage resulting in a lever action between the
fulcrum of the weight of the telescoping rod and the point of engagement or
fulcrum of the carriage on the guidance cable or tube. In order to prevent an
inclines disposition of the telescoping rod in the water, at least one float
on an
adjustable cantilever rigidly connected to the carriage may be provided to
compensate for the weight of the telescoping rod. The length of the
cantilever and the buoyant force are set such that the weight of the
telescoping rod is compensated for to the extent that the rod assumes a
precise vertical disposition.
The inspection device is at least one underwater video camera. It may
be positioned in a housing which can be pivoted from the surface of the water
by at least 900 about the spatial axis forming a right angle with the optical
axis of the camera. In concert with the possibility of lateral rotation of the
entire telescoping rod, a view may be had over a complete relatively broad
vertical section of the subject in front of which the camera is positioned at
any
given time. As a further inspection device, a suction device provided with a
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suction hose for water samples and small organisms may be mounted on the
telescoping rod at the same level as the underwater video camera. Samples
of water and floating materials may be suctioned off the inspection site by a
small pump, and stored. A further inspection device may be a removal device
for solid body samples provided with a receptacle basked for storing solid
body samples from the inspection site. Advantageously, the bracket of the
basket may be provided with sharp edges for scraping solid body samples,
e.g. mussels, off the inspected ground and dropping them into the receptacle
basket by appropriate movements of the telescoping rod. Another removal
device for solid body samples may be provided with a separator for solid body
samples and may be structured as a mechanically actuated saw, pliers or
knife. A further embodiment of an inspection device for the removal of solid
body samples may, in addition to a receptacle sample, be provided with a
mechanical gripper for picking up solid material samples from the inspected
ground and placing them into the receptacle basket. In addition, a measuring
device, advantageously made up of two lasers disposed precisely parallel and
at a predetermined distance from each other, connected to the camera on the
telescoping rod may be provided as a further inspection device. During the
observation of underwater structures the relation between the points of
impingement of the laser light and their known distance from each other
provides an indication of the size of the observed structures, e.g. organisms.
Bowden wires may be used for manipulating the manually actuable
inspection devices to execute the necessary underwater movements from the
surface of the water. Bowden wires may be moved into desired positions by
levers or rotary elements and may then be fixed in a stable position. When
releasing the stable position the movable inspection devices may be returned
to their initial positions by return springs. Rotary elements may be provided
with a supply of cables for lengthening the telescoping rod by means of
slotted tube sections. When need, the supply may be simply be wound or
unwound.
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In one broad aspect of the invention, there is provided an inspection
apparatus for underwater structures with a positioning device provided with a
smoothly adjustable vertical guidance with a telescoping rod and a smoothly
adjustable horizontal guidance with a guide track setting a path and a
carriage
moving thereon on guide roller for receiving the vertical guidance, and with
an
underwater video camera as at least one inspection device mounted on the
telescoping rod, the telescoping rod being extendable, without forming bulges,
by
several tube sections, the guide track having a changeably set curved course
and
the guide rolls having a negative profile for accommodating the profile of the
guide
track.
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Embodiments
Embodiments of the inspection apparatus for underwater structures
provided with a positioning device in accordance with the invention will
hereafter be described in greater detail for a better understanding of the
invention with reference to the schematic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows an inspection apparatus including positioning device and
inspection devices with a guidance cable;
Figure 2 depicts a carriage with a profiled roller and guidance device;
Figure 3 shows an inspection apparatus including positioning device and
inspection devices with a guidance tube;
Figure 4 depicts a carriage with a cover plate including guidance device;
Figure 5 depicts the structure of cylindrical guide rollers;
Figure 6 depicts tube sections with latching lugs of the telescoping rod;
Figure 7 depicts a circular guidance tube;
Figure 8 depicts guidance cable in sections;
Figure 9 shows a telescoping rod with inspection devices; and
Figure 10 shows an actuator unit for Bowden wires.
Figure 1 depicts an inspection apparatus IE including a positioning
device PV, inspection devices IG and horizontal guidance HF including
guidance cable FS. A vertical guidance VF including a telescoping rod TS
consisting of several tube sections RA is received on a carriage WA for up
and down as well as rotational movements in a guidance device LE (not
shown here). A snap ring SK limits the possible strike of the telescoping rod
TS and determines the maximum submersion depth. The telescoping rod TS
is provided with an uninterrupted longitudinal slot LS for receiving conduit
harnesses LZ of for electric supply and mechanical adjustment of a video
camera VK. The control device BE for mechanically adjusting the video
camera VK may be arrested at fixed positions (not shown here). In this
embodiment, the carriage WA is provided with a profiled guide roll PR which
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rolls along the guidance cable FS and which is provided with a negative
profile NP for receiving the profile of the guidance cable FS and with a
downwardly extending and flaring guidance section FB. The video camera
VK can be pivoted at least about the horizontal spatial axis RM disposed at a
right angle relative to the optical axis KA of the camera.
Figure 2 depicts a carriage WA with two profiled rolls PR and guidance
device LE. The profiled guide rolls PR are seen to be provided with a profile
section PB matching various cable diameters in steps. For clarity, in the
depicted example the guidance cable FS extending in the plane of the
drawing is shown in cross-section in the upper profile section PB. Any
smaller non-used steps may be covered by a collar MA in order to prevent the
guidance cable FS from jamming. The collar MA may be placed in full
abutment with the next smaller step and may at its tapered ends be
threadedly connected to form a ring. The profiled guide rollers PR are
positioned between two planar plates FL forming the guide section FB and
retained on rotary axles DA for free rotation. They are secured by nuts SM.
Guide discs GS between the guide plates FL and the guide roller PR provide
for low friction movement. The rotary axles DA are supported by a common
spacer AH which at its central point ZP supports the guidance device LE for
the telescoping rod TS in a rotary journal DL. In the present embodiment, the
guidance device LE consists of a guide flange LF which may be opened by
two hinges SR and which, when closed by a safety screw SS, retains the
telescoping rod TS with sufficient play for the upward and downward as well
as rotary movement thereof.
Figure 3 depicts an inspection apparatus IE including positioning
device PV, inspection devices IG and horizontal guidance HF having a
guidance track FN constituted by a guide tube FR. The vertical guidance VF
including telescoping rod TS made of several tube sections RA is received for
upward and downward as well a rotational movement in a guidance device LE
on a carriage WA provided with a cover plate DP. In this embodiment, the
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guidance device LE consists of a guidance aperture LO to receive the cross-
section of the telescoping rod TS with sufficient play and of a latch SP
structures as a rotatable open ring. A snap-ring SK limits the possible stroke
of the telescoping rod TS and sets its maximum depth of immersion. The
telescoping rod TS is provided with an uninterrupted longitudinal slot LS for
receiving von conduit harnesses LZ. An inspection device IG here shown is a
device EF for removing samples of solid material and consists of a receptacle
basket AN including a basket bracket KH with a blade-like edge KK as a
separating device TF for solid material samples. In this embodiment, the
carriage WA provided with the cover plate DP is provided with two pairs of
cylindrical guide rollers PR disposed vertically to the left and right of the
guide
tube FR and at least one pair of cylindrical guide rollers PR arranged
horizontally above the guide tube FR, the guide rollers PR having a concave
profile conforming at least in part to the diameter of the guide tube FR to
roll
on the guide tube FR. The guide rollers PR may be adjusted to positions
matching the given diameter of a guide tube, by quick-release clamps SN and
elongated slots LL. In the case of the carriage WA provided with a cover
plate DP the weight of the telescoping rod TS and the inspection devices IG
mounted thereon is compensated by a float AK mounted on a cantilever AL at
a side of the carriage WA on the opposite side of the guide tube FR. The
cantilever AL is also adjustably mounted on the cover plate DB by quick-
release clamps SN and elongated slots LL.
Figure 4 is a top elevation of a carriage WA equipped with a cover
plate DP and a guidance device LF. The telescoping rod TS is received
therein for upward and downward as well as rotary movements. The
guidance device LE in this embodiment consists of a guide aperture LO for
receiving the cross-section of the telescoping rod TS with play and a latch SP
structured as a rod with a handle button SG and retained by two clamps SE.
The guide rollers PR arranged below the cover plate DP (not shown in this
figure) may be fixed at positions matching a given diameter of the guide tube
by quick-release clamps SN and elongated holes LL. The cantilever AL with
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its float AK for balancing the weight is mounted on the side of the carriage
WA opposite tube FR and guide track FN. The cantilever AL may be
adjustably arrested at the cover plate DP by quick-release clamps SN and
elongated holes LL.
Figure 5 depicts the cylindrical guide rollers RP in a frame-like
structure RB. As seen, the horizontally arranged guide rollers PR are
provided with a profile AP which as a negative profile NP is at least in part
conforming to the largest possible diameter of the guide tube FR and by
means of which the entire carriage WA is centered on the guide tube FR.
The vertically arranged guide rollers PR are not profiled, but their length is
designed to accommodate the largest possible diameter of the guide tube FR.
This avoids the necessity of making height-wise adjustments of the vertically
arranged guide rollers PR when changing the diameter of the guide tube FR.
The vertically disposed guide rollers PR are each rotatably mounted by axles
AS in a parallelepiped bracket QH two of each being threadedly connected by
a brace VS. The connected pairs of vertically disposed guide rollers PR thus
formed are connected by the two profiled horizontally disposed guide rollers
PR since the extended axles VA thereof are seated in lateral bores QB of
associated parallelepiped brackets QH. The parallelepiped brackets QH are
provided with central vertical bores by means the frame-like structure RB
overall is fixed on the cover plate DP by the quick-release clamps SN and the
elongated slots LL. For enhancing an adjustment to the diameter of the guide
tube FR or for compensating for irregularities therein the axles AS may be
provided with toggle links KG. To adjust the carriage WA to the diameter of
the guide tube FR the quick-release clamps SN are loosened, the carriage is
placed on the guide tube FR and the two pairs of vertically disposed guide
rollers PR are pushed along the elongated slots LL against the guide tube FR.
The horizontal guide rollers PR with their matching profiles AP can move by
means of their axles VA seated in the transverse bores QB in the
parallelepiped brackets QH until they assume a centered position on the
guide tube FR. Thereafter, the quick-release clamps SN are tightened again.
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Figure 6 depicts two tube sections RA of the telescoping rod TS of
which one at its upper end OE, at a constant external diameter dA and for a
partial section TB of the approximate length of the diameter of the
telescoping
rod TS has an enlarged internal diameter gl, and the other one of which at its
lower end UE for an equally long partial section TB and at a constant internal
diameter dl is provided with a reduced external diameter kA, so that both
ends OE, UE of the shown tube sections RA may be connected with little play
and without forming a bulge. A latching device RE consists of at least one
flexible tongue FZ provided with a lug RN disposed in the interior of the
upper
tube section RA at the lower end UE of reduced diameter kA, the lugs RN,
when the longitudinal slots LS of the connected tube sections RA are in
precise alignment, protruding into superposed bores BN in the partial sections
of the tube sections RA forming a connection site VB and thus firmly
connecting them. By pressing on the lug RN of the at least one flexible
tongue FZ and at the same time pulling the two tube sections RA apart the
connection can be easily released without any tool. The latching device RE
has been shown in dotted lines in its open position.
Figure 7 depicts the guide tube FR as a guide track FN configured as a
circle KR. The carriage WA runs around and in doing so, carries the
telescoping rod TS along. The structure makes it possible to inspect
cylindrical underwater structures.
Figure 8 depicts a guide cable FS as a guide track FN consisting of
cable sections SA connected at small angles. The carriage WA runs along
the guide cable FS and carried the telescoping rod TS with it. This structure
makes possible an inspection of underwater structures of a quasi curved
configuration.
Figure 9 depicts a telescoping rod TS with inspection devices IS which
in this case are a suction device for water samples AW with a sheathing tube
HR and suction hose SL, a mechanical gripper MG actuable by way of a
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Bowden wire BZ (not shown) and return spring RF functioning as a removal
device EF for solid body samples as well as a receptacle basket AN and a
measuring device W consisting of two lasers LR placed at a freely selectable
spacing from each other in precise parallel alignment and mounted directly on
the video camera VK. Another possible separation device TF for solid body
samples such as a mechanically actuated saw, pair of pliers or knife has not
been shown. The inspection devices IG are arranged such that all activities
are within the field of view of the optics of the video camera and that the
operator can fully control any required activities.
Figure 10 shows a control unit for a Bowden wire of an inspection
device. A detent disc RS with detent recesses RL is mounted on the
telescoping rod TS. A wire spool DS is arranged coaxially therewith by
means of a center screw ZS. The wire spool DS which may be rotated by a
hand crank HK is provided with a circumferential recess in which there is
provided a supply DV of wire for the Bowden wire. A safety pin ST is
connecting the wire spool DS with the detent disc RS. When the length of the
telescoping rod TS is changed it is necessary to wind or unwind wire. The
safety pin ST is pulled out of its detent recess RL against the bias of a
tension
spring ZF, rotated by 90 and thus arrested in a release position. The wire
spool DS can thus be rotated by the hand crank HK until the wire has either
slackened and a tube section has been removed or has assumed the new
length necessary for the Bowden wire and for adding a tube section to the
telescoping rod TS. Thereafter, the safety pin is inserted again into the
nearest detent recess RL.. To operate a given inspection device the safety
pin ST is released again and the hand crank HK is rotated until the inspection
device is in its proper position. When the hand crank HK is rotated in the
reverse direction, the inspection device is returned up to its initial
position by
the hand crank HK. In order to maintain the inspection device in a defined
position the wire spool DS may be arrested by the safety pin ST in any
present detent position.
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List of Reference Characters
AH Spacer
AL Cantilever
AK Float
AN Receptacle Basket
AP Matching Profile
AS Axle
AW Suction device for Water Samples
BE Control Unit
BN superposed Bores
BZ Bowden wire
DA Rotational axle
dA constant external Diameter
DL Rotary Journal
dl constant internal Diameter
DP Cover Plate
DS Wire Spool
EF Removal Device for Solid Material Samples
FB Guide Range
FL Guide Tongue
FN Guide Track
FS Guide Cable
FR Guide Tube
FZ flexible Tongue
gI enlarged internal Diameter
GS Slip Disk
HF horizontal Guidance
HK Hand Crank
HR Sheathing
IE Inspection Device
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IG Inspection Apparatus
KA Camera Axis
kA reduced outer Diameter
KG Toggle Joint
KH Basket Bracket
KK Blade-like Edge
KR Circle
LE Guidance Device
LF Guide Flange
LL elongated Hole
LO Guidance Aperture
LR Laser
LS elongated Slot
LZ Conduit Harness
MA Collar
MG Gripper
NP negative Profile
OE upper End
PB Profile Section
PR Guide Roller
PV Positioning Device
QB transverse Bore
QH parallelepiped Bracket
RA Tube Section
RB frame-like Structure
RE Detent Device
RF Return Spring
RM spatial Axis
RL Detent Hole
RN Lug
RS Detent Disc
-17-
Attorney Docket 070756
CA 02605607 2007-10-22
SA Cable Section
SE Clamp
SG Rod with Handle Button
SK Snap Ring
SL Suction Hose
SM Safety Nut
SN Quick-Release Clamp
SP Latch
SR Hinge
SS Safety Screw
ST Safety Pin
TB Partial Section
TF Removal Device for Solid Bode Samples
TS Telescoping Rod
US lower End
VA extended Axle
VB Connection Section
VF vertical Guidance
VK Video Camera
VS Brace
W Measuring Device
WA Carriage
wa selectable Spacing
ZB Central Bore
ZF Tension Spring
ZP Central Point
ZS Central Screw
-18-
Attorney Docket 070756
