Patent Number: 056446071
Section: abstract

An automatic refueling apparatus has a travel carriage, a traverse carriage and a fuel assembly grappling apparatus composed of a grapple, an extension pipe and a hoist. The automatic refueling apparatus also includes a system for controlling automatic fuel transferring operations, in which a calculation unit and a control unit are provided. After the positions of a start point and a target terminal point of a fuel assembly transfer are input through an input device, the calculation unit determines the shortest route from the start point to the terminal point in a preset fuel transferring permitted region, and the control unit generates driving command signals for moving the fuel assembly grappling apparatus along the obtained shortest route through a simultaneous control along X, Y, Z (Z: an elevation direction vertical to a X-Y horizontal plane of the grapple) and .theta. (a rotation direction in a X-Y horizontal plane of the grapple) axes.