Floor surface blasting apparatus

Abstract: This invention relates to a floor surface blasting apparatus particularly to a pressure (202) and recovery tank (201) used for removing rustproof coating (blasting) on a tank bottom surface to inspect weld lines (12) on the bottom surface of high-capacity fuel tank (8). The floor surface blasting apparatus comprises a work arm (15) which has weld line detecting sensors (17a,17b,17c) for detecting a weld line (12) at the tip end and also has a blast head (210) incorporating a suction nozzle (216); a work carriage (1), a transfer carriage (2) which has a blast device (18) for supplying blasting material to the blast head (210) and a control means which controls the blast head (210) so that the blast head (210) is positioned on a weld line (12). To perform uniform, high efficient blasting the apparatus comprises a pressure tank (202) for injecting blasting material from a blast nozzle (209) and a recovery tank (201) which is disposed above said pressure tank (202).

Description: The present invention relates to a floor surface blasting apparatus, particularly to a pressure and recovery tank, used for the inspection of, for example, the fuel tank bottom surface. More particularly, it relates to a floor surface blasting apparatus which performs the floor surface blasting operation for the inspection of the welded portions on the bottom surface of a large fuel tank. An apparatus according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from GB-A-6 171 61. High-volume fuel tanks installed in thermal power plants are obliged to be subjected to periodic checks every 5 or 10 years in accordance with the Fire Service Law. To inspect the weld line on the bottom surface, the coating must be removed. So far, workers entered the tank and performed the blasting operation. Fig. 9 shows the conventional blasting operation. In this figure, heaters b for heating the fuel, supports c, and posts d are installed on the bottom surface of a fuel tank (hereinafter abbreviated to a tank) a. A worker e performs blasting work with a blast head f being held by hands in on-off operation while avoiding the obstacles. The blast head f supplies particles from a blasting apparatus g, but does not recover the particles in almost all cases. The power cable and air pipe to the blasting apparatus runs through a manhole h. Fig. 10 shows a conventional blasting apparatus in use. As shown in Fig. 10, the conventional blasting apparatus is constructed so that the blast head f having a not illustrated blast nozzle has a T-shaped operation handle i. To this blast head is connected a blasting apparatus body 1 having wheels k for moving via a supply/recovery hose j for blast particles. The blasting operation was performed by a worker e walking while pushing the blast head f by hands along the weld line m on the bottom surface of a large fuel tank a. The conventional blasting operation presented the following problems: (1) Dust produced by the blasting operation and obstacles such as heaters b, supports c, and posts d aggravate the work environment, and make continuous work difficult. (2) The work effeciency is poor because the work is done by workers. (3) Safety measures for workers e must be tanken because the work is done in a tank a. Also, the above-described conventional blasting apparatus presented the following problems: (1) Because the blast head f is moved manually by a worker e during the blasting operation, the blast head must be made compact, which restricts the blasting effect. (2) Because the blast head f is moved manually by a worker e, much labor of worker e is required, which decreases the work efficiency. The present invention is aimed at solving these problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a floor surface blasting apparatus which rapidly transfers the blasting material in a recovery tank to a pressure tank, prevents the leakage of dust, and performs uniform blasting, so that it has a high operation rate, high efficiency and is good for the health. To attain the above object, a floor surface blasting apparatus according to claim (1) comprises a pressure tank for injecting blasting material from a blast nozzle; a recovery tank which is disposed above the pressure tank via a gate valve to temporarily store the recovered blasting material; an air bypass pipe connecting the pressure tank to the recovery tank; an opeing/closing valve installed in the air bypass pipe; and blasting material outlet lines which are installed in the pressure tank and connected to a plurality of blast nozzles. The operation of the floor surface blasting apparatus according to claim (1) and claim (2) will be described. The upper space of the recovery tank is connected to the upper space of the pressure tank through the air bypass pipe having the valve. By opening the valve, the pressurized air in the pressure tank is directed to the recovery tank. This enables rapid equalization of internal pressures of the two tanks as compared with the conventional method of releasing high-pressure air in the pressure tank into the atmosphere, so that the shifting of blasting material from the recovery tank to the pressure tank can be performed in a short time. The high-pressure air in the pressure tank is allowed to flow to the recovery tank, and it is not discharged directly into the atmosphere; therefore, a filter is unnecessary. The lower portion of the pressure tank is transversely divided into a plurality of sections, a control valve is mounted at the outlet of blasting material for each section to control the supply of blasting material, and each section is connected to the blast nozzle via a blast hose, by which two or more blast nozzles can be used with one pressure tank. The above constitution of the present invention offers the following effects: According to the floor surface blasting apparatus defined in claim (1) and claim (2), the apparatus comprises a pressure tank for injecting blasting material from a blast nozzle; a recovery tank which is disposed above the pressure tank via a gate valve to temporarily store the recovered blasting material; an air bypass pipe connecting the pressure tank to the recovery tank; an opening/closing valve installed in the air bypass pipe; and blasting material outlet lines which are installed in the pressure tank and connected to a plurality of blast nozzles. Therefore, the blasting material in the revovery tank is rapidly shifted to the pressure tank. This floor surface blasting apparatus prevents the leakage of dust, and performs uniform blasting, so that it has a high operation rate, high efficiency and is good for the health. Since almost all amounts of blasting material can be recovered and reused, blasting material can be used effectively, and the number of change and replenishment of blasting material can be significantly reduced, which enables continuous blasting operation for a long time. Since almost all amounts of dust can be recovered immediately after blasting, damage to a work such as a painted surface due to the dust can be prevented. Next, embodiment of the present invention defined in claim (1) to claim (2) will be described with reference to Figs. 1 through 5. In the drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a suction-type floor surface blast head device, Fig. 2 is a front view of a recovery/pressure tank systems, Fig. 3 is a front view of a blast head connected to the recovery/pressure tank system shown in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line A-A of Fig. 3, Fig. 5 ist a plan viev of a blast head shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 6 is a schematic viev showing a system of floor surface blasting apparatus, Fig. 7 ist a plan viev of a movable portion of the apparatus, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a work carriage, Fig. 9 is a view showing a system of conventional floor surface blasting apparatus, Fig. 10 is a perspective viev of a conventional floor surface blasting apparatus. A wide variety of blasting apparatuses are used for surface cleaning or surface preparation of metals and other industrial materials, depending on the material and size of the work. For relatively small blasting apparatuses used mainly at he work site, a suction-type blasting apparatus is often used. Figs. 1 through 5 show a suction-type floor surface blasting apparatus. In this floor surface blasting apparatus, as shown in Fig. 1, blasting material in a pressure tank 202 is supplied to a blast nozzle 209 together with high-pressure air through a blast hose 217, and injected onto the surface of work 213 such as the floor surface of a fuel tank. The injected blasting material and fine particles (hereinafter called dust) removed from the survace of work 213 by the blasting material are caried through a suction port 216 installed in the blast head 210 and a recovery hose 219 by a blower 218. The blasting material is sucked into a recovery tank 201, and the dust is into a dust collector 220. In order to reuse the recovered blasting material in the recovery tank 201, the blasting operation being interrupted temporatily, a vertically moable gate valve, which divides the recovery tank 201 from the pressure tank 202, is lowered by releasing the air in the pressure tank 202 into the atmosphere so that the blasting material drops from the recovery tank 201 into the pressure tank 202. Fig. 2 is a front view of a recovery/pressure tank system used in the floor surface blasting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a front view of a blast head connected to the revovery/pressure tank system shown of the line A-A of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blast head shown in Fig. 3. First, the recovery/pressure tank sysem will be described. As shown in Fig. 2, the gate valve 203, which opens or closes the gate by vertical movement, is installed between the recovery tank 201 and the pressure tank 202. The lower part of the pressure tank 202 is divided into right and left parts, and a control valve 204 for controlling the supply of blasting material is mounted at each part. The upper space of the recovery tank 201 is connected to the upper space of the pressure tank 202 by an air bypass pipe 206. The air bypass pipe 206 can be opened/closed by a solenoid valve 205 installed a the intermediate part of the air bypass pipe 206. With this recovery/pressure tank system, when blasting operation is performed, the presure in the recovery tank 201 is made negative by using a not illustrated suction device, and the pressure tank 202 is pressurized by supplying high-pressure air through an air inlet pipe 207 by using a not illustrated compressor or other means. Then, the vertically movabie gate valve 203 is pushed up, so that the recovery tank 201 is divided from the pressure tank 202, the recovered blasting material being collected in the recovery tank 201. During this process, the solenooid valve 205 is closed, As the blastin g operation is continued, the amount of blasting material in the pressure tank 202 is reduced. Therefore, the blasting material in the recovery tank 201 must be shifted into the pressure tank 202 when necessary. To do this, the control valve 204 is closed to stop the supply of high-pressure air into the pressure tank 202 through the air inlet pipe 207, so that the blasting operation is interrupted temporarily. After that, the suction into the recovery tank 201 is stopped and the solenoid valve is opened. Then, the high-pressure air in the pressure tank 202 flows into the recovery tank, and the internal pressures in the revovery tank 201 and the pressure tank 202 are made equal. As a result, the gate valve 203 is lowered by its weight and the weight of the blasting material, so that the blasting material in the recovery tank 201 drops into the pressure tank 202. To resume the blasting operation, the solenoid valve 205 is closed and high-pressure air is fed into the pressure tank 202, which pushes up the verticallly movable gate valve 203. As a result, the recovery tank 201 is divided from the pressure tank 202, thereby the pressure of the recovery tank 201 being made negative. The blasting material, whose supply is controlled by the control valve 204, is fed to two blast nozzles 209 together with the high-pressure air through a pipe 208 and a not illustrated blast hose, and blown onto the work 213. Next, the blast head will be described. As shown in Figs. 3 through 5, the blast nozzle 209 is installed to a slide mechanism 211, which is installed on the blast head 210 and operated transversely by air pressure, via a injection angle variable mechanism 212 which controls the inclination of the blast nozzle 209. At each end of the slide mechanism 211, a not illustrated limit switches are mounted to set the oscillation width of blast nozzle 209, that is, the blasting width. The injection angle variable mechanism 212 is provided with an arc-shaped guide so that the clearance between the blast nozzle 209 and the work 213 is kept constant even when the blast nozzle 209 is inclined. The blast nozzle 209 is installed to the slide mechanism 211 which oscillates over a certain width by using air pressure, and the blast nozzle 209 and the slide mechanism 211 are installed in the blast head 210. By moving the blast nozzle 209 at a constant speed, even a small-diameter, low-capacity blast nozzle 209 provides uniform and wide blasting. If a plurality of blast nozzles 209 with the slide mechanism 211 are installed, wide blasting can be performed with a small oscillation width, and the time required for blasting a certain area can be shortened. In addition, by installing the blast nozzle 209 to a tiltable mechanism. the injection angel of blasting material can be arbitrarily controlled in accordance with the surface shape of the work 213, by which various objects can be blasted by using one blast head 210. This method is particularly effective when it is used in the surface which is not flat, such as lap weld line. A nylon brush 223 is installed around the lower end of the blast head 210, and the lower end of the brush is in contact with the work 213. Also, a cloth seal 215 is installed between a blast gun outer cylinder 214 and the body of the blast head 210. Therefore, the leakage of blasting material and dust ist prevented, and the blast material and the dust are sucked by a suction nozzle 216. The inventor manufactured the apparatus of the present invention to test the operation and effects thereof. In the test, blasting was performed on a butt weld of plates coated with 200 - 300 µm tar epoxy paint by using the apparatus of the present invention. The angle of the blast nozzle 209 was perpendicular to the work 213. The blasting material, which was 1.0mm-dia. steel grid, was injected from each blast nozzel under a pressure of 5 kg/cm 2 at a rate of 8 kg/min. Two blast nozzles 209 were installed on the slide mechanism 211 at an interval of 150 mm, and the stroke of the slide mechanism 211 was set to 150 mm to perform blasting of the width of 300 mm with the weld line being the center. The blast head 210 was installed on the work carriage, and the work carriage was moved along the weld line at a speed of 30 cm/min. The test result was that the coating of 300 mm width was removed along the weld line, and uniform blasting was performed. The blasting material was shifted from the recovery tank 201 to the pressure tank 202 in about 2 seconds, though it took about 20 seconds with the conventional apparatus. Blasting was performed on a lap joint of 10 mm-thick plates in addition of the above-described butt joint. In this case, the blast nozzle 209 was inclined about 30 ° with respect to the surface of work 213 by driving the injection angel variable mechanism. Other blasting conditions were the same as those for the butt weld. The test result was that the inclined portion of weld, which was insufficiently blasted when the blast nozzle 209 was installed vertically, was blasted satisfactorily. This blasting apparatus offers the following effects: (1) The internal pressures of the pressure tank 202 and the recovery tank 201 are made equal rapidly by the air bypass line 206 which is installed between the two air bypass line 206 which is installed between the two tanks and has the valve, so that the recovered blasting material can be rapidly shifted from the recovery tank 201 to the pressure tank 202 for reuse. When a large area is to be blasted, therefore, the interruption time of blasting operation can be shortened and highly efficient blasting can be performed. (2) Since the blasting material can be supplied from one pressure tank 202 to a plurality of blast nozzles 209, many places can be blasted a the same time with one blasting apparatus. (3) Since the blast nozzle 209 is installed to the slide mechanism. 211, which can oscillate, even a small-diameter, low-capacity blast nozzle 209 can perform uniform and wide blasting. (4) Since the angel of the blast nozzle 209 can be controlled arbitrarily, a work 213 having a complicated surface shape can be blasted. The inventive pressure and recovery tank is used in a floor surface blasting apparatus an embodiment of it is described as follows. Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing a sysem of floor surface blasting apparatus including peripheral devices. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a movable portion of the apparatus, Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a work carriage. Referring to Fig. 6, this apparatus comprises a work carriage 1, a transfer carriage 2, an intermediate hose 3 for connecting the carriages, a supply hose 4, a console 5 as a control unit, a compressed air source 6, and a position detecting device 7. The work carriage 1, the transfer carriage 2, and the intermediate hose 3 are called a movable portion. The intermediate hose 3 and the supply hose 4 are provided with sliding members (for example Teflon material) at appropriate positions to prevent damage to the coating of the floor surface caused by the hoses being dragged when the work carriage 1 and the transfer carriage 2 move. On the floor surface of a tank 8, heaters 9 for heating the fuel, supports 1 0 therefor, and posts 1 are installed. The work carriage 1 performs blasting operation of weld line 12 while avoiding these obstacles. The console 5 is provided with a computer, a display, a recording device an so on. The weld lines 12, the pattern of heater 9, and the positions of supports and posts are stored in the computer. For a large tank, the weld line plattern is appropriately divided and stored to facilitate the control. The position detecting device 7 observes a light source 41 installed on an antenna of the work carriage 1 with two TV cameras and send signals to the console 5 to show the carriage position on the display. On the console 5, a work course is determined from the displayed weld line pattern and send signals to the work carriage 1. The transfer carriage 2 follows the work carriage 1 by using signals sent from the console 5 to prevent the intermediate hose from being taut. Refering to Fig. 2, the work carriage 1 has four sets of drive wheel device 13 which is used as a steering-type traveling device having a steering mechanism and a drive mechanism as shown in Fig. 3. In front of the work carriage 1, a work arm 15 is installed. At the tip end of the work arm, a blast head 16 is installed. The blast head 16 has weld line detecting sensors 17a, 17b, 17c, each at the front, left, and right. In the intermediate hose 3, an electrical cable, a blast supply hose, and a blast recovery hose are incorporated, though not illustrated in the figure. On the transfer carriage 2, a blast device 18, an electrical box 19, and remote control box 20 are mounted. The transfer carriage 2 supplies blasting material to the work carriage 1 and recovers it therefrom as well as serves as the center of the remote control. It has four sets of drive wheel device, which is the same as that of the work carriage 1 and remotely controlled in accordance with the movement of the work carriage under the command from the controller 21 of the console 5 (Fig. 1).

Claims: A floor surface blasting apparatus comprising, a pressure tank for injecting blasting material from a blast nozzle; and blasting material outlet lines which are installed in said pressure tank and connected to a plurality of blast nozzles; and a recovery tank disposed above said pressure tank via a valve to temporarily store the recovered blasting material, characterized in that said valve is a gate valve and that the apparatus also comprises an air bypass pipe connecting said pressure tank to said recovery tank; and an opening/closing valve installed in said air bypass pipe. A floor surface blasting apparatus according to claim (1), wherein said floor surface blasting apparatus has a blast nozzle slide mechanism and a blast nozzle injection angle variable mechanism.

Inventors: BAN YOICHIRO, HAMANAKA KENGO, IBE TOMOYOSHI, KURITA TSUTOMU, MIYACHI YOSHIKAZU, OMICHI TAKEO, UCHIDA KIYOSHI, BAN, YOICHIRO, HAMANAKA, KENGO, IBE, TOMOYOSHI, KURITA, TSUTOMU, MIYACHI, YOSHIKAZU, OMICHI, TAKEO, UCHIDA, KIYOSHI, Ban, Yoichiro, c/o MITSUBISHI Jukogyo K. K., Hamanaka, Kengo, c/o MITSUBISHI Jukogyo K. K., Ibe, Tomoyoshi, c/o MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO K. K., Kurita, Tsutomu, c/o MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO K. K., Miyachi, Yoshikazu, CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER CO., INC., Omichi, Takeo, c/o MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO K. K., Uchida, Kiyoshi, c/o CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER CO., INC
Applicants: CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER, MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD, CHUBU ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, INCORPORATED, MITSUBISHI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B24C3
IPC codes: B23K31, B24C9, B23K37, B24C3, B24C7