Pipe crawler with extendable legs

Patent · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:868341

Zollinger, William T ^[1]

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1. 3927 Almon Dr., Martinez, GA 30907

A pipe crawler for moving through a pipe in inchworm fashion having front and rear leg assemblies separated by air cylinders to increase and decrease the spacing between assemblies. Each leg of the four legs of an assembly is moved between a wall-engaging, extended position and a retracted position by a separate air cylinder. The air cylinders of the leg assemblies are preferably arranged in pairs of oppositely directed cylinders with no pair lying in the same axial plane as another pair. Therefore, the cylinders can be as long a leg assembly is wide and the crawler can crawl through sections of pipes where the diameter is twice that of other sections. The crawler carries a valving system, a manifold to distribute air supplied by a single umbilical air hose to the various air cylinders in a sequence controlled electrically by a controller. The crawler also utilizes a rolling mechanism, casters in this case, to reduce friction between the crawler and pipe wall thereby further extending the range of the pipe crawler.

• Research Organization: WESTINGHOUSE SAVANNAH RIVER CO
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• Assignee: Zollinger, William T. (3927 Almon Dr., Martinez, GA 30907)
• Patent Number(s): US 5121694
• OSTI ID: 868341
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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air
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air cylinders
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controller
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cylinder
cylinders
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