Patent ID: 7950098

Claim:
A support unit of a scraper movable through a pipeline, the support unit comprising: supporting sensors; a connecting member; radially expandable support elements for said supporting sensors, said supporting sensors facing a pipe wall of the pipeline, said support elements being successively arranged in a circumferential direction of the pipeline, wherein each of said radially expandable support elements is pivotably connected to at least another one of said radially expandable support elements by at least one said connecting member articulated thereto, said radially expandable support elements being pivotable in said circumferential direction such that said radially expandable support elements are equidistantly spaced in each expanded position, said support elements being pivotable about radially extending axes; a support frame comprising a spreading mechanism, which brings into and fixes in a desired radial position said supporting sensors facing the pipe wall, said spreading mechanism comprising individual spring elements, which are at least located on several support elements and act radially, said spreading mechanism comprising individual spring elements, which are at least located on several support elements and act tangentially to said circumferential direction of the pipeline and as a result of the action of the pipeline in a coupling direction a radial component is produced for positioning the support elements.