Telemanipulator for operation in a waterbox of a steam generator for attachment underneath the tubeplate of the latter. The device has expandable grippers mounted on arms carried by a bearer unit, for engaging and locking as required in the orifices in the tubeplate, with means enabling independent movement of the apparatus underneath the tubeplate while remaining always suspended by at least two grippers. The bearer unit has four independent arms each equipped with two expandable grippers, and on the portion of it opposite from the tubeplate it supports an arm having a number of members hinged together, the end member of the arm being equipped with tool attachment means, the whole of the arm being in turn revolvable about the axis of the unit perpendicular to the tubeplate, with remote-controlled means for adjusting and maintaining the angular position of the arm with respect to the bearer unit and the angular position of each of the members of the arm relative to one another. The invention is applicable especially to steam generators in nuclear power stations.
An industrial robot hand for material handling. A fixed frame is connected to an arm of an industrial robot. A movable frame having a rectangular plan shape is horizontally movably supported on the fixed frame. Two guide rods are vertically attached to each of the four sides of the movable frame. A tapered guide extends downwardly from each of the guide rods. Sandwiching plates are provided on two opposite sides of the movable frame. Each sandwiching plate is pivotally attached to the movable frame by a horizontal axis at the central portion of the sandwiching plate. Engaging members project inwardly from the lower inner surface of the sandwiching plates to hold the material to be handled. Rollers and roller guides restrict the movement of the movable frame on the fixed frame. A driving mechanism pivots the sandwiching plates to bring the engaging members into engagement with the material.
A manipulator for servicing tubes extending through a tube sheet having three major components: a base member, a block member, and a foot member. The base member has a holder for supporting tooling or inspection devices. The base member also has at least one gripper for releasably gripping a tube extending through the tube sheet. The block member is connected to the base member for linear movement and rotation relative to the base member. The foot member is connected to the block member for linear movement relative to the block member. The foot member has at least one, and preferably two grippers, for releasably gripping a tube extending through the tube sheet. The manipulator supports itself using the two sets of expandable and translatable grippers that anchor into the tube ends and can move from tube to tube by alternately engaging each set of grippers.
