CABLE INSERTION NOZZLE

Abstract: A cable insertion nozzle is provided of the type having a spherical seat formed by two, female and male, split seg­ ments, which is characterized in that in the inner peripheral surfaces of the female and male segments is formed a cutout void which assumes a rectangular shape in longitudinal cross section and a circular shape in transverse cross section when the axial line of the female segment coincides with that of the male segment, and in the cutout void is floatably inserted a cylindrical member whose either end portion is provided with a collar section and whose inside diameter is substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female and male segments, whereby no step is created in the inner face of the nozzle, thereby permitting smooth conveying of the cable and the like.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a nozzle of a manipulator used to insert a cable with a sensor into various heat exchanger pipes in nondestructive inspection of these pipes. 2. Description of the Prior Art Nondestructive inspection of heat exchanger pipes provided in the thermal and nuclear power plants is generally performed by the use of either the ultrasonic flaw detection method or the eddy current examination method, and in either method, a cable with a float, having a sensor at its point, is inserted into the heat exchanger pipes from their respective ends by the aid of pressurized water or compressed air to perform inspection. Fig. 6 shows the state in which a cable with a float having been inserted in one heat exchanger pipe is going to be withdrawn through a nozzle of a manipulator press-attached to one pipe end section of the heat exchanger pipe ( or to a tubesheet ) under application of a back pressure. Of course, a nozzle similar to the above is press-attached to the other pipe end section opposite to that shown in Fig. 6 to apply the back pressure thereto. One conventional configuration will now be described with reference to Fig. 6. In Fig. 6, after heat exchanger pipes 1 are inserted in the counterbore section of a tubesheet 2, they are seal-welded as indicated by reference numeral 3. The nozzle section of the manipulator is split into a female segment 4 and a male segment 5 of the spherical type, these segments are joined together by the use of a nozzle cap 6 and cap screws 7, and a rubber packing 8 is bonded to the sheet face of the female segment 4 to prevent leakage of pressurized water or compressed air. To a cable 9 is attached a float 9a for generating thrust which is effective in conveying ( inserting and withdrawing ) the cable. In short, the feature of the conventional nozzle is that it is split into two segments and a spherical seat is provided. By the configuration as above, it is easy to insert the nozzle in the pipe end section ( hole section ) even when the center of the nozzle is dislocated owing to flexure of the manipulator and the like. However, the spherical seat shown in Fig. 6 tends to create a step of a portion of the spherical seat (in the inner face of the nozzle). Hence, the float 9a was sometimes caught in the course of conveying (inserting and withdrawing) the cable and conveying of the cable became unattainable. The prior art disclosed in US-A-4 045 054 is related to an apparatus for rigidly interconnecting the ends of two pipes whose axes are misaligned. It has two coupling members for connection at one end to one of the pipes. One coupling member has an annular radially outwardly enlarged portion having forward and rearward sides, with the forward sides being generally spherical shaped. The other coupling member has a housing with a seat portion for receiving the forward side of the enlarged portion in mating engagement to accommodate axial misalignment between the coupling members. Gripping means are supported between the housing and the enlargedportion for radial and axial movement relative to the housing seat portion between a retracted position in which the enlarged portion is freely received into the housing and mateable with the housing seat portion and a set position engaging the rearward sides of the enlarged portion and holding them in positive contact with the housing portion to provide a connection of the two coupling members. Setting means are provided for effecting relative axial and radial movement between the gripping means and the housing seat portion to place the gripping means in the set position and for holding the coupling members connected. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a cable insertion nozzle which does not create a step in the inner face of the nozzle, thereby making smooth conveying of the cable and its float. To achieve the foregoing object, the present invention provides a cable insertion nozzle of the type having a spherical seat formed by two, female and male, split segments, which is characterized in that in the inner peripheral surfaces of the female and male segments is formed a cutout void which assumes nearly a rectangular shape in longitudinal cross section and a circular or substantially circular shape in transverse cross section when the axial line of the female segment coincides with that of the male segment, and in the cutout void is floatably inserted either a cylindrical member or a cage-like member whose either end portion is provided with a collar section and whose inside diameter is substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female and male segments. As will be apparent from the foregoing configuration, the nozzle of the present invention does not loss the essential function of the spherical seat because a spacing is left between either the cylindrical member or the cage-like member newly inserted in accordance with the present invention and the inner peripheral surface of the spherical seat. Further, since the inside diameter of the cylindrical member or the cage-like member is set equal to that of the female segment and the male segment of the nozzle, no step is created in the inner face of the nozzle, thereby permitting smooth conveying of the cable and float. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view explanatory of a cable insertion nozzle in service of the present invention; Figs. 2 and 3 show a cylindrical member to be inserted in a cutout void formed inside the cable insertion nozzle of the present invention, in which Fig. 2 is a plan view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line II-II of Fig. 3 and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line III-III of Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 show a cage-like member to be inserted in the cutout void formed inside the cable insertion nozzle of the present invention, in which Fig. 4 is a plan view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line IV-IV of Fig. 5 and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken in the direction of the arrows along the line V-V of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional side view explanatory of a cable insertion nozzle in service of the prior art. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a cable insertion nozzle according to the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 1 through 5. In Fig. 1, a member bearing the same reference numeral as that of Fig. 6 achieves the same function, hence, its description is omitted here. According to the present invention, in the portion of a spherical seat of a cable insertion nozzle joined integrally, i.e. in the inner peripheral surfaces of a female segment 14 and a male segment 15, is formed a cutout void V composed of cutout portions 14a and 15a, which void is rectangular in longitudinal cross section and circular in transverse cross section when the axial lines of the female segment 14 and the male segment 15 coincide with each other. In this cutout void V is floatably inserted a cylindrical member whose either end portion has a collar section 16a having an outer diameter a little smaller than the inside diameter of the cutout void V and whose inside diameter is substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female segment 14 and male segment 15. Since the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 16 except the collar sections 16a, i.e. of its cylinder section 16b, is concave in cross section and creates a V-shaped space in longitudinal cross section between it and the cutout portion 15a of the male segment 15, the upper portion of the male segment 15 can oscillate freely within the spherical seat of the nozzle. Further, since the inside diameter of the cylindrical member 16 is made substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female segment 14 and male segment 15 of the nozzle, no step is created in the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle, so that the cable 9 and the float 9a can be conveyed smoothly. In addition, if the whole or the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 16 is made by fluorine contained resins such as Teflon ( the trade name of polytetrafluoroethylene ), conveying of the cable 9 and float 9a can be performed more smoothly because that material has a small frictional resistance. Figs. 4 and 5 show a cage-like member 17 to be inserted in the cutout void formed inside the cable insertion nozzle of the present invention. In Figs. 4 and 5, reference numeral 17a designates rings disposed at the upper and lower end portions, which correspond to the collar sections 16a of the cylindrical member 16 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Reference numeral 17b designates piano wires whose upper and lower portions are inserted into holes bored at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the upper and lower rings 17a and secured there by solder, these wires corresponding to the cylinder section 16b of the cylindrical member 16 shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Although the cage-like member 17 is made up of the rings 17a and the piano wires 17b, it is identical in function and effect with the cylindrical member 16. As described hereinabove, the cable insertion nozzle according to the present invention is of the type having the spherical seat formed by the two, female and male, split segments, which is characterized in that in the inner peripheral surfaces of the female and male segments is formed the cutout void which assumes a rectangular shape in longitudinal cross section and a circular shape in transverse cross section when the axial line of the female segment concides with that of the male segment, and in the cutout void is floatably inserted either the cylindrical member or the cage-like member whose either end portion is provided with the collar section and whose inside diameter is substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female and male segments; thus, the nozzle, or the upper portion of the male segment, can oscillate freely within the spherical seat, and because no step is created in the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle the cable with the float for nondestructive inspection can effectively be inserted and withdrawn easily.

Claims: A cable insertion nozzle of the type having a spherical seat formed by two, female (14) and male (15), split segments, characterized in that in the inner peripheral surface of the female and male segments (14, 15) is formed a cutout void (14a, 15a) which assumes a rectangular shape in longitudinal cross section and a circular shape in transverse cross section when the axial line of the female segment (14) coincides with that of the male segment (15), and in the cutout void (14a, 15a) is floatably inserted a cylindrical member (16) whose either end portion is provided with a collar section (16a) and whose inside diameter is substantially identical with the originally-intended inside diameter of the female and male segments (14, 15). A cable insertion nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical member (16) is a cage-like member made up of two end rings (17a) and a plurality of piano wires (17b) coupled at either end with the respective rings (17a). A cable insertion nozzle according to claim 1, wherein each of the female segment (14) and the male segment (15) has a cutout portion (14a, 15a) and the cutout portion (15a) of the male segment (15) is shaped so as to leave a space substantially V-shaped in longitudinal cross section between its inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member (16) when the upper portion of the male segment (15) is oscillated. A cable insertion nozzle according to claim 1, wherein at least the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical member (16) is made by fluorine contained resins.

Inventors: IWAMOTO, KEIICHI NAGASAKI TECHN., TORICHIGAI, MASAAKI NAGASAKI TECHN.
Applicants: MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1986
Main classification: H02G1
IPC codes: G01N29, H02G1, F28F11, G01N27, G21C17