The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 31, 1987
Filed:
Nov. 09, 1984
Ralph W Tolino, Wilkinsburg, PA (US);
Edward H Smith, Brave, PA (US);
Stephanie M Havoic-Conroy, N. Huntingdon Twp., Westmoreland County, PA (US);
Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
A light-weight, portable, pipe crawler vehicle includes a four-wheeled chassis, with the sets of wheels along the opposite sides of the chassis being respectively driven by two hydraulic motors. A foldable mast is removably pivotally mounted on the chassis and carries a pneumatic cylinder which, when the mast is in its erected position, forces bearing wheels against the opposite side of the pipe to force the chassis wheels into firm frictional engagement with the pipe so that it can traverse vertical pipe sections while remaining under control. The dimensions of the vehicle are such that when the mast is folded the vehicle will fit through a 16'-diameter manway of a nuclear steam generator vessel. The chassis also carries a three-axis remote manipulator and one or two remotely-controlled video cameras. A position indicator including a star wheel and proximity sensor is disposed for rolling engagement with the pipe to sense distance travelled.