Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
DRIVING DEVICE OF ALL-DIRECTIONAL AUTOMATIC WELD SEAM FLAW
DETECTION INSTRUMENT AND APPLICATION THEREOF
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw
detection instrument
driving device and an application of the comprehensive automatic weld seam
flaw detection
instrument driving device, which belongs to the technical field of non-
destructive flaw detection
techniques for weld seams.
Background Art
Ultrasonic flaw detection has become one of major techniques for internal flaw
detection in
equipment manufacturing processes for pressure vessels, ships, and boilers,
etc., owing to its
advantages such as high directionality, high intensity, high penetration
capability, and free of injury
or damage to human body, etc. At present, ultrasonic flaw detection is mainly
accomplished
through manual operations, including weld seam cleaning, couplant application,
flaw detection,
flaw positioning, and shape determination, etc., which require collaboration
among workers.
Operating in a single posture for a long time may result in fatigue, and has
shortcomings such as
low working efficiency, high labor intensity, low accuracy, and missing
inspection, etc. Though
existing flaw detection aiding mechanisms can aid flaw detection of weld seams
to a certain degree,
especially flaw detection of large-size welded structural parts such as
hydraulic supports, it is
difficult to realize mechanical flaw detection owing to shape irregularity of
weld seams.
The Chinese patent document CN204758540U has disclosed an ultrasonic rapid non-
destructive
flaw detection apparatus for narrow lapped weld seams of sheets, which
comprises two probes, a
flaw detection instrument, and an arithmetic device, wherein, in an entire
process that the ultrasonic
wave emitted by a left probe is emitted, propagated, reflected by a left side
wall of the weld seam,
and received by a chip of the left probe, the ultrasonic propagation distance
(i.e., sound distance) is
S I, the ultrasonic sound distance on the right side is S2; the ultrasonic
wave emitted by the probe
encounters the nearest wall of weld seam and is reflected by the wall, and
then is received by the
original probe; in that process, the ultrasonic propagation distance S is two
times of the distance
from the emitting chip of the probe to the nearest wall of weld seam, the weld
seam width W is
W=L+2L0-(S I +S2)/2, where, LO is the length of leading edge of the probe; the
two probes can slide
along the weld seam, and the detection result can be obtained rapidly with the
arithmetic device
once the probe scanning process is finished. The apparatus can detect the pool
width of weld seams,
detect the quality of lapped weld seams, especially non-destructive ultrasonic
detection technology
which measures the pool width of narrow weld seams especially, can carry out
rapid ultrasonic
detection of laser lapped weld seams of sheets, support quality assessment of
laser lapped weld
seams of sheets, find flaws in the weld seams in advance and ensure product
quality. However, the
apparatus carries out flaw detection only for weld seams in regular shapes,
directly excludes weld
seams with unacceptable pool width when it defects the pool width of weld
seams, and cannot carry
out surface flaw detection for weld seams; in addition, when the apparatus is
used for weld seams in
irregular shapes, the detection result is not reliable, and the detection
accuracy is too low to meet
the actual requirement for weld seam detection.
In view of the huge impact of flaws and defects of weld seams on the quality
of weld seams, it is
very important to carry out flaw detection of weld seams, especially weld
seams in irregular shapes.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection
instrument driving
device to improve flaw detection effect for weld seams and improve accuracy of
detection result.
= i =
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
Contents of the Invention
To overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, the present invention provides a
comprehensive
automatic weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device.
The present invention further provides a method for applying the comprehensive
automatic weld
seam flaw detection instrument driving device.
The technical scheme of the present invention is as follows:
A comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device,
comprising a
travelling mechanism, a three-dimensional adjusting frame, a rotary driving
device and a
comprehensive adaption device, wherein, the three-dimensional adjusting frame
is arranged on the
travelling mechanism, the rotary driving device is arranged on the three-
dimensional adjusting
frame, and the rotary driving device is connected with the comprehensive
adaption device. In the
comprehensive weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device provided in
the present
invention, a required flaw detection instrument can be mounted on the
comprehensive adaption
device, and can be moved in a three-dimensional space by dint of the flexible
adjusting ability of
the three-dimensional adjusting frame and the comprehensive adaption device,
so that the probe
approaches to the weld seam for ultrasonic flaw detection. In the flaw
detection process, the probe
is kept at a position tangent to the weld seam all the time by means of
adjustment of the
comprehensive adaption device at small angles, and thereby the weld seam can
be effectively
detected under the condition that the weld seam is not flat or has small
angles, etc., and the accuracy
of detection can be improved.
Preferably, the travelling mechanism comprises a car body, wheels are arranged
on the two sides of
the car body, motors are arranged on the bottom of the car body, and the
output shafts of the motors
are drive-jointed with wheels.
Preferably, the motors are step motors. An advantage of the design is that the
output shafts of the
step motors are connected with the driving shafts of the wheels via couplings,
and thereby the
wheels are driven to run; the step motors can achieve accurate positioning and
speed adjustment,
and can meet the requirement for accurate flaw detection of weld seams.
Preferably, a first slide rail, a first connecting block, and a first motor
are arranged on the top of the
car body, wherein, the first motor is arranged at one side of the first slide
rail and drives the first
connecting block via a driving belt to move horizontally in the first slide
rail.
Preferably, the three-dimensional adjusting frame comprises a second slide
rail, a second
connecting block, a second motor, and a telescopic cylinder, wherein, the
bottom end of the second
slide rail is fixedly connected with the first connecting block, the second
motor is arranged at one
side of the second slide rail and drives the second connecting block via a
driving belt to move
vertically in the second slide rail, and one end of the telescopic cylinder is
fixedly connected with
the second connecting block.
Preferably, the rotary driving device comprises a connecting clamp, a first
rotating motor, and a
motor housing, wherein, one end of the connecting clamp is fixedly connected
with one end of a
piston rod in the telescopic cylinder, the first rotating motor is arranged on
the other end of the
connecting clamp and is drive-jointed with the rotating shaft, and the
rotating shaft is fixedly
connected with the motor housing. An advantage of the design is that the first
rotating motor is
drive-jointed with the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is fixedly connected
with the motor housing,
the first rotating motor drives the rotating shaft to rotate when it operates,
the rotating shaft drives
the motor housing to rotate accordingly when it rotates, and thereby
corresponding adjustment can
= -) .
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
be made to the comprehensive adaption device.
Preferably, the comprehensive adaption device comprises a second rotating
motor, a spherical
hinged mandrel housing, a pressure spring, a spherical hinged mandrel, and a
spherical hinged
casing, wherein, the top end of the spherical hinged mandrel housing is drive-
jointed with an output
shaft of the second rotating motor, the bottom end of the spherical hinged
mandrel housing is
arranged with a spherical body that includes a spherical cavity, the pressure
spring is arranged in the
spherical cavity, one end of the pressure spring is connected with the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing, the other end of the pressure spring is connected with the spherical
hinged mandrel, the
spherical hinged mandrel is arranged in the spherical hinged casing, the
spherical hinged casing is
connected with the spherical hinged mandrel housing, and the second rotating
motor is mounted in
the motor housing.
Preferably, the spherical body is arranged with three openings that
communicate with the spherical
cavity. An advantage of the design is: utilizing the three openings arranged
on the spherical body,
the spherical body turns into a structure with three jaws, where a soft
material is used; when the
spherical body is not subject to external force, the mandrel and the spherical
hinged mandrel
housing lock with each other and the spherical hinged mandrel abuts against
the bottom surface of
the housing; when the spherical hinged mandrel is subject to external force,
the sphere at the
mandrel is pushed into the spherical hinged mandrel housing, and the three-jaw
structure is pushed
open; after the sphere on the head part of the mandrel enters into the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing, the mandrel is seized.
Preferably, the weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device further
comprises an angular
ultrasonic probe fixedly connected with one end of the spherical hinged
mandrel.
A method for applying the comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection
instrument driving
device, comprising the following steps:
Starting the travelling mechanism so that the angular ultrasonic probe
approaches to a surface to be
detected when ultrasonic weld seam flaw detection is to be carried out, and
then extending the
piston rod in the telescopic cylinder so that the angular ultrasonic probe
fits closely with the weld
seam, contacts with the surface to be detected and is stressed owing to the
movement of the
telescopic cylinder, and thereby transfers the force to the spherical hinged
mandrel, the spherical
hinged mandrel pushes open the spherical hinged mandrel housing and enters
into the spherical
hinged mandrel housing, so that the spherical hinged mandrel and the spherical
hinged mandrel
housing lock with each other and the spherical hinged mandrel and the angular
ultrasonic probe
thereon move together with the spherical hinged mandrel housing; starting the
first motor and the
second motor so that the angular ultrasonic probe detects the surface to be
detected step by step by
dint of the horizontal movement of the first connecting block and the vertical
movement of the
second connecting block; retracting the telescopic cylinder after the flaw
detection is finished, so
that the angular ultrasonic probe is separated from the detected surface, the
compressed pressure
spring resets and the spherical hinged mandrel is ejected out of the spherical
hinged mandrel
housing and returns to its initial position.
The present invention attains the following beneficial effects:
With the comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection instrument driving
device provided in
the present invention, the work pattern of conventional manual weld seam flaw
detection is changed,
manual flaw detection is replaced, and flaw detection automation is achieved;
in addition, utilizing
the novel comprehensive adaption device and the three-dimensional adjusting
frame, the position of
a probe can be comprehensively adjusted under the condition that a detected
surface is not flat or
has small angles, or the shape of the weld seam is irregular, the probe is
tangent to the weld seam all
the time, and thereby accuracy and efficiency of weld seam flaw detection are
improved. The
= 3 =
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
beneficial effects are obvious and remarkable, and the device is worthy of
wide application.
Description of Drawings
Fig. 1 is a 3D view of the weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device
in the present
invention;
Fig. 2 is a 3D view of the travelling mechanism in the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a bottom 3D view of the travelling mechanism in the present
invention;
Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the three-dimensional adjusting
frame in the present
invention;
Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the telescopic cylinder in the
present invention;
Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the rotary driving device in the
present invention;
Fig. 7a is a 3D view of the comprehensive adaption device in the present
invention;
Fig. 7b is a front view of the comprehensive adaption device in the present
invention;
Fig. 7c is a sectional view along the A-A direction of the structure shown in
Fig. 7b;
Fig. 7d is a right view of the comprehensive adaption device in the present
invention;
Fig. 7e is a sectional view along the B-B direction of the structure shown in
Fig. 7d;
Fig. 8a is a front view of the comprehensive adaption device with a spherical
hinged casing in the
present invention;
Fig. 8b is a sectional view along the C-C direction of the structure shown in
Fig. 8a;
In the figures: 1 - travelling mechanism; 2 - three-dimensional adjusting
frame; 3 - telescopic
cylinder; 4 - rotary driving device; 5 - comprehensive adaption device; 6 -
car body; 7 - first
connecting block; 8 - first motor; 9 - first slide rail; 10 - wheel; 11 - step
motor; 12 - wheel; 13 -
second motor; 14 - second connecting block; 15 - connecting base; 16 -
cylinder tube; 17 - front end
cover; 18 - piston rod; 19 - connecting clamp; 20 - first rotating motor; 21 -
second rotating motor;
22 - motor housing; 23 - spherical hinged mandrel housing; 24 - pressure
spring; 25 - spherical
hinged mandrel; 26 - angular probe; 27 - spherical hinged casing.
Embodiments
Hereunder the present invention will be further detailed in embodiments with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to those
embodiments.
Example 1:
As shown in Figs. 1-8b, this example provides a comprehensive automatic weld
seam flaw
detection instrument driving device, which comprises a travelling mechanism 1,
a
three-dimensional adjusting frame 2, a rotary driving device 4 and a
comprehensive adaption device
5, wherein, the three-dimensional adjusting frame 2 is arranged on the
travelling mechanism I, the
rotary driving device 4 is arranged on the three-dimensional adjusting frame
2, and the rotary
driving device 4 is connected with the comprehensive adaption device 5.
Wherein, the travelling mechanism 1 comprises a car body 6, four wheels 10 and
12 are fixedly
= 4 =
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
mounted on the two sides of the car body 6 symmetrically in the front-rear
direction, two step
motors 11 are fixedly mounted on the bottom of the car body 6 diagonally, and
the two step motors
are drive-jointed with two wheels (one front wheel and one rear wheel)
respectively. Wherein, the
wheels 12 are connected with the step motor 11 via existing structures
including coupling, shaft,
bearing, and shaft sleeve, etc., and are fixed to the car body 6 through
threaded connections; the
wheels 10 are fixed to the car body 6 through threaded connections via
existing structures including
shaft, bearing, and shaft sleeve, etc.
A first slide rail 9, a first connecting block 7 and a first motor 8 are
arranged on the top of the car
body 6, wherein, the first motor 8 is a step motor, mounted at one side of the
first slide rail 9, and
drives the first connecting block 7 via a belt to move horizontally in the
first slide rail 9, the top
surface of the first connecting block 7 is a flat surface arranged with
threaded mounting holes, so
that the first connecting block 7 can be connected to the connecting base 15
at the bottom end of the
second slide rail by bolts. The flat bottom surface of the first connecting
block is fixed to the belt by
four sets of bolts via the fixing hole structures on the belt, and the bolts
are fixed in two small
grooves on the other end surface of the slide rail; utilizing the belt and
slide rail structure, the space
can be saved, and the left-right sliding distance along the rail can be
increased; in addition, since the
belt and slide rail structure are driven by a step motor, precision control
can be realized, and the
moving speed of the slide rail can be adjusted more easily when flaw detection
is carried out for
weld seams that are irregular in shape and the weld seams have a spatial
structure.
The three-dimensional adjusting frame 2 comprises a second slide rail, a
second connecting block
14, a second motor 13, and a telescopic cylinder 3, wherein, a connecting base
15 is arranged at the
bottom end of the second slide rail, and has threaded mounting holes
corresponding to the threaded
mounting holes in the first connecting block 7, the second slide rail is
connected to the top surface
of the first connecting block 7 by bolts via the connecting base 15 at the
bottom end of the second
connecting block 14, the second motor 13 is mounted at one side of the top
part of the second slide
rail by bolts, the output shaft of the second motor 13 extends into the second
slide rail and drives the
second connecting block 14 to move vertically in the second slide rail via the
driving belt; one end
of the cylinder tube 16 of the telescopic cylinder 3 is connected with the
second connecting block
14 by bolts, and the other end of the cylinder tube 16 is the end where the
piston rod 18 extends.
The rotary driving device 4 comprises a connecting clamp 19, a first rotating
motor 20, and a motor
housing 22, wherein, the connecting clamp 19 is a L-shaped annular structure
with a cavity in the
middle part, one end of the connecting clamp 19 is fixedly connected with one
end of the piston rod
18 of the telescopic cylinder 3 via a pin shaft, the first rotating motor 20
is mounted at one side of
the other end of the connecting clamp 19, the output shaft of the first
rotating motor 20 is connected
with a rotating shaft that penetrates through the connecting clamp 19 and is
fixedly connected with
the motor housing 22; when the first rotating motor 20 operates, the output
shaft drives the rotating
shaft to rotate, and the rotating shaft drives the motor housing 22 to rotate
accordingly when it
rotates. The rotating shaft is fixedly connected with the second rotating
motor 21 and drives the
second rotating motor 21 to rotate when the rotating shaft rotates, so as to
adjust the position of the
comprehensive adaption device 5 and thereby adjust the position of the angular
ultrasonic probe.
The comprehensive adaption device 5 comprises a second rotating motor 21, a
spherical hinged
mandrel housing 23, a pressure spring 24, a spherical hinged mandrel 25, and a
spherical hinged
casing 27, wherein, the top end of the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23 is
drive-jointed with the
output shaft of the second rotating motor 21, the bottom end of the spherical
hinged mandrel
housing 23 is arranged with a spherical body that contains a spherical cavity
and has three openings,
the spherical body is designed into a three-jaw structure and is made of a
soft material, the pressure
spring 24 is disposed in the spherical cavity and hung from a circular ring
structure on the inner
surface of the spherical cavity hole, the bottom end of the pressure spring 24
contacts with the
spherical hinged mandrel 25 naturally, and the spherical hinged mandrel 25 is
fixedly connected
= 5 =
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
with an angular ultrasonic probe 26 via the end of a long extension rod. The
pressure spring 24, the
spherical hinged mandrel 25, and the spherical body at the bottom end of the
spherical hinged
mandrel housing 23 are disposed in a spherical hinged casing 27, the spherical
hinged casing 27 is a
hollow casing, the top end of the spherical hinged casing 27 is connected with
the spherical hinged
mandrel housing 23 into an integral assembly, and the spherical hinged mandrel
25 contacts with
the inner wall of the spherical hinged casing 27. The second rotating motor 21
is mounted in the
motor housing 22.
The spherical hinged mandrel 25 contacts with the pressure spring 24 naturally
without connection,
because slight relative sliding may occur between the spherical hinged mandrel
25 and the pressure
spring 24 in the automatic adjusting process, but in an initial state, the
pressure spring 24 applies
low pressure to the spherical hinged mandrel 25, the spring pressure works
with the bottom end of
the spherical hinged mandrel housing to press the spherical hinged mandrel 25
on the inner wall of
the spherical hinged casing 27; the spherical hinged mandrel 25 and the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing 23 are two parts, in the initial state, the spherical hinged mandrel
25 contacts with the
bottom end of the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23, and the spherical
hinged mandrel 25 and
the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23 abut against each other; when the
spherical hinged
mandrel 25 is subjected to high force (i.e., contacts with the working surface
and is stressed), the
spherical hinged mandrel 25 is pressed into the spherical cavity of the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing 23, and the spherical hinged mandrel 25 is seized by the three-jaw
structure at the bottom
end of the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23, so that the spherical hinged
mandrel housing 23
and the spherical hinged mandrel 25 are moved together.
Example 2:
A comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection instrument driving device,
having a structure
as described in embodiment 1, with the following differences: a hydraulic
system is used to drive
the first connecting block 7 and the second connecting block 14, the piston
rod of the hydraulic
cylinder is connected with the first connecting block 7 or the second
connecting block 14, and the
first connecting block 7 or the second connecting block 14 is driven to move
in the first slide rail 9
or the second slide rail under the telescopic action of the piston rod.
Example 3:
A method for applying the comprehensive automatic weld seam flaw detection
instrument driving
device as described in the embodiment 1, comprising the following steps:
When ultrasonic weld seam flaw detection is to be carried out, the travelling
mechanism 1 is started,
the step motor 11 operates and drives the wheels 10 and 12 to rotate, so that
the angular ultrasonic
probe 26 approaches to a surface to be detected as the car body 6 approaches
to the object to be
detected, and then the step motor 11 is stopped, the piston rod 18 in the
telescopic cylinder 3
extends so that the angular ultrasonic probe 26 fits closely with the weld
seam, contacts with the
surface to be detected and is stressed owing to the movement of the telescopic
cylinder 3, and
thereby transfers the force to the spherical hinged mandrel 25, the spherical
hinged mandrel 25
pushes open the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23 and enters into the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing 23, so that the spherical hinged mandrel 25 and the spherical hinged
mandrel housing 23
lock with each other, the spherical hinged mandrel 25 and the angular
ultrasonic probe 26 thereon
move together with the spherical hinged mandrel housing 23. Then, the first
motor 8 and the second
motor 13 are started, so that the angular ultrasonic probe 26 detects the
surface to be detected step
by step by dint of the horizontal movement of the first connecting block 7 and
the vertical
movement of the second connecting block 14; when the angular ultrasonic probe
26 encounters an
irregular weld seam in the detection process, the comprehensive adaption
device 5 makes
adjustment to the angular ultrasonic probe 26 in real time. When flaw
detection is to be carried out
= 6 =
CA 02975417 2017-07-31
Description
for weld seams on an inclined surface, the rotary driving device 4 is turned
to a position where the
bottom surface of the ultrasonic probe is essentially parallel to the surface
to be detected, before the
next step of operation is executed; when flaw detection is to be carried out
for a weld seam that is
irregular in shape or has a spatial structure, the control system (i.e., a
single-chip microcomputer) is
programmed to control the movement among the first slide rail 9, the second
slide rail, the
telescopic cylinder 3, and the rotary driving device 4, so that an expected
travel trajectory (path) is
formed by the movements and the angular ultrasonic probe 26 is tangent to the
weld seam to be
detected all the time to detect flaws accurately.
The piston rod 18 of the telescopic cylinder 3 is retracted after the flaw
detection is finished, so that
the angular ultrasonic probe 26 is separated from the detected surface, the
compressed pressure
spring 24 resets and the spherical hinged mandrel 25 is ejected out of the
spherical hinged mandrel
housing 23 and returns to its initial position.
= 7 =
