TWI866736B - Flange gap measurer - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to a flange gap measurer, which includes at least a vernier caliper and a set of positioning bases. Said vernier caliper is provided with a main ruler and an auxiliary ruler, a main ruler outer measuring claw is provided below said main ruler, and an auxiliary ruler outer measuring claw is provided below said auxiliary ruler. Said positioning base is provided with a first base and a second base, a first slot is provided on the right side of said first base, the main scale outer measuring claw of said vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in said first slot and aligned with the right side wall of said first base, and a first positioning block is provided below and on the left side of said first base. A second slot is provided on the left side of said second base, the auxiliary ruler outer measuring claw of said vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in said second slot and aligned with the left side wall of said second base, and a second positioning block is provided below and on the right side of said second base.

Description

Flange gap measurement

The present invention relates to a flange gap measuring device, and more particularly to an innovative measuring mechanism that can be used to calibrate the fastener position of a flange and measure the flange gap at the position.

According to the invention announcement No. I772169 "Pipe Flange Bolt Locking Robot", invention announcement No. I788260 "Chain Ring Positioning Device for Pipe Flange Nuts" and invention announcement No. I791406 "Pipe Flange Nut Positioning Assembly" previously invented by the inventor team of this case, when connecting pipelines, the flanges of adjacent pipelines are generally butt-jointed and then locked and fixed using multiple fasteners (bolts and/or nuts) to ensure the safety of pipeline construction. Since there is a gasket between adjacent flanges and the adjacent flanges cannot be locked to be completely tight, the locking of each fastener will affect the structural stability and safety of the flange connection. The locking operation must be performed in sequence according to a predetermined locking sequence and locking torque value. After each set of locking operation process is completed, the pipeline flange gap must be measured to ensure that the flange connection is a linear movement without skew or deviation. Once the flange gap is found to be obviously inconsistent, additional inspection and adjustment are required.

However, the common vernier calipers on the market are not easy to measure very small gaps. Currently, the measurement personnel can only measure the smaller flange gaps based on their own experience and feelings. Therefore, their accuracy is relatively poor and there is a very large human error. In addition, their measurement speed is slow and their efficiency is relatively poor. They are not suitable for measuring pipeline flange gaps. Therefore, only a few operators with more than decades of experience in pipeline flange measurement are able to perform this task and make subsequent pipeline installation adjustments in a timely manner.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, before using the pipe flange bolt locking robot and other equipment developed by the inventor team of this case, the operator must manually adjust the fastener to a fixed position and keep the position of the nut or bolt head at the front and rear ends of the fastener consistent. Therefore, more precise and convenient equipment is needed to assist the operator in adjusting the position of the fastener.

To this end, the inventor team of this case has accumulated many years of experience in the research and development of technologies in the fields of electronics, electrical machinery, and machinery, and has conducted research on the above-mentioned problems and invented this case.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an innovative flange gap measuring device, which also has the function of fast adjustment and positioning of fastener positions, and can accurately and quickly measure the gap data of adjacent flanges at each fastener position, so that operators can more efficiently complete the adjustment and positioning of fastener positions and the measurement of flange gaps. Furthermore, the present invention can be equipped with a signal converter, and cooperate with a pipe flange bolt locking robot to systematically process, analyze, output and record all pipeline flange measurement data, so that operators can easily perform intelligent information processing design of all pipeline flange measurement records, so as to quickly analyze the change trend of the flange gap of each interval pipeline, timely perform subsequent pipeline installation adjustments, and improve the overall construction quality. It should be particularly emphasized that the present invention can obtain the experience, judgment ability and work efficiency of pipeline flange gap measurement professionals for more than 30 years in the shortest time through systematic and intelligent pipeline flange gap measurement, reducing the workload of operators who manually judge the traditional pipeline flange gap measurement and the problem of incorrect data caused by human errors.

In order to achieve the aforementioned purpose, an embodiment of the flange gap measuring device of the present invention includes a vernier caliper and a positioning base. The aforementioned vernier caliper is provided with a main scale and a secondary scale, and the upper and lower parts of the aforementioned main scale are provided with a main scale inner measuring jaw and a main scale outer measuring jaw, respectively, and the upper and lower parts of the aforementioned secondary scale are provided with a secondary scale inner measuring jaw and a secondary scale outer measuring jaw, respectively. The aforementioned positioning base is provided with a first base body and a second base body, and a first slot is provided on the right side of the aforementioned first base body. The main scale outer measuring jaw of the aforementioned vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in the aforementioned first slot and aligned with the right side wall of the aforementioned first base body. A first positioning block is provided on the lower left side of the aforementioned first base body, and the first positioning block is provided to cooperate with a flange fastener. The distance from the right side wall of the aforementioned first positioning block to the right side wall of the aforementioned first base body is The second seat body has a second slot on its left side, the outer measuring jaw of the secondary scale of the vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in the second slot and aligned with the left side wall of the second seat body. The second positioning block is provided at the lower right side of the second seat body, and the second positioning block is designed to cooperate with the fastener of the flange. The distance from the left side wall of the second positioning block to the left side wall of the second seat body corresponds to the thickness of the flange.

Another embodiment of the flange gap measuring device of the present invention comprises a vernier caliper and a positioning base. The vernier caliper is provided with a main scale and a secondary scale, the upper and lower parts of the main scale are provided with a main scale inner measuring claw and a main scale outer measuring claw respectively, and the upper and lower parts of the secondary scale are provided with a secondary scale inner measuring claw and a secondary scale outer measuring claw respectively. The aforementioned positioning base is provided with two adjustable base bodies, and two slots are respectively provided on the left and right sides of the adjustable base bodies. The main outer measuring claw of the aforementioned vernier caliper is inserted into the right slot of one adjustable base body and is aligned and fixed to the right side wall of the adjustable base body, and the secondary outer measuring claw of the aforementioned vernier caliper is inserted into the left slot of the other adjustable base body and is aligned and fixed to the left side wall of the adjustable base body; a positioning element is provided below the aforementioned adjustable base body, and the positioning element is provided to cooperate with a flange fastener. A sliding mechanism is provided between the aforementioned positioning element and the aforementioned adjustable base body, so that the aforementioned positioning element can slide laterally below the aforementioned adjustable base body and adjust its position.

The flange gap measuring device of the present invention, wherein the secondary scale may be provided with a signal converter, and the signal converter performs digital data acquisition and computer program processing on the measurement result of the secondary scale to obtain a visualized measurement value information display, and upgrades the vernier caliper to a digital vernier caliper. The signal converter may be provided with a wireless transmission module to upload the measurement information of the signal converter to a server for background analysis, and then all the measurement data are processed, analyzed, output in a form and recorded through the dedicated system of the server, so as to facilitate the operator to perform intelligent information processing design of all pipeline flange measurement records, so as to quickly analyze the change trend of the flange gap of each interval pipeline, assist the subsequent installation and adjustment of the pipeline, and improve the overall construction quality.

In order to further understand the present invention, the best implementation of the flange gap measuring device is shown in Figures 1 to 8, which at least includes a vernier caliper 1 and a positioning base 2:

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the vernier caliper 1 is provided with a main scale 10 and a secondary scale 11. The main scale 10 is provided with inner measuring jaws 100 and outer measuring jaws 101 above and below the main scale 10, respectively. The secondary scale 11 is provided with inner measuring jaws 110 and outer measuring jaws 111 above and below the secondary scale 11, respectively.

The auxiliary scale 11 may be provided with a signal converter 12, which performs digital data acquisition and computer program processing on the measurement result of the auxiliary scale 11 to obtain a visualized measurement value information display, so that the vernier caliper 1 can be upgraded to a digital vernier caliper. The aforementioned signal converter 12 may be provided with a wireless transmission module (such as a Bluetooth module or a WIFI module) to upload the measurement information of the aforementioned signal converter 12 to a server for background analysis, and then all the measurement data are processed, analyzed, output in a form and recorded through the dedicated system of the server, so as to facilitate the operator to carry out the intelligent information processing design of all pipeline flange measurement records, so as to quickly analyze the change trend of the flange gap of each interval pipeline, assist in the installation and adjustment of the subsequent pipeline, and improve the overall construction quality.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 , a first embodiment of the positioning base 2 is shown. The positioning base 2 is provided with a first base 20 and a second base 21. The upper end of the first base 20 is provided with a first gripping portion 200, and a first slot 201 is provided on the right side of the first base 20. The first slot 201 is provided with at least one first bolt hole 202. The main scale outer measuring claw 101 of the vernier caliper 1 is inserted and fixed in the first slot 201 and aligned with the right side wall of the first base 20. Then, at least one first fastener 203 is locked from the first bolt hole 202 to fix the main scale outer measuring claw 101 in the first slot 201. The aforementioned main ruler outer measuring claw 101 can also be fixed in the aforementioned first slot 201 by bonding, depending on the usage requirements; the aforementioned first slot 201 can be extended forward to set a first supporting guide plate 204, and the first supporting guide plate 204 can assist the aforementioned main ruler outer measuring claw 101 to align with the right side wall of the aforementioned first base 20 to avoid measurement errors caused by skewed installation.

A first positioning block 205 is provided at the lower left side of the first base 20. The first positioning block 205 is provided to cooperate with the fastener 30 of the flange 3, so that the first positioning block 205 can be used to position the fastener 30 on the flange 3. The first positioning block 205 can be integrally formed with the first base 20, or can be provided with a fastener (not shown in the figure), so that the corresponding first positioning block 205 can be replaced with fasteners 30 of various specifications. The distance L1 from the right side wall of the first positioning block 205 to the right side wall of the first base 20 corresponds to the thickness D of the flange 3, so that the flange distance can be measured more accurately.

A second gripping portion 210 is disposed at the upper end of the second base body 21, and a second slot 211 is disposed on the left side of the second base body 21. The second slot 211 is provided with at least one second bolt hole 212. The secondary outer measuring claw 111 of the vernier caliper 1 is inserted and fixed in the second slot 211 and aligned with the left side wall of the second base body 21, and then locked from the second bolt hole 212 through at least one second fastener 213 to fix the secondary outer measuring claw 111 in the second slot 211. The aforementioned auxiliary ruler outer measuring claw 111 can also be fixed in the aforementioned second slot 211 by bonding, depending on the usage requirements; the aforementioned second slot 211 can be extended forward to set a second supporting guide plate 214, and the second supporting guide plate 214 can assist the aforementioned auxiliary ruler outer measuring claw 111 to align with the left side wall of the aforementioned second base 21 to avoid measurement errors caused by skewed installation.

A second positioning block 215 is provided at the lower right side of the second base 21. The second positioning block 215 is provided to cooperate with the fastener 30 of the flange 3, so that the second positioning block 215 can be used to position the fastener 30 on the flange 3. The second positioning block 215 can be integrally formed with the second base 21, or can be provided with a fastener (not shown in the figure), so that the corresponding second positioning block 215 can be replaced with fasteners 30 of various specifications. The distance L2 from the left side wall of the second positioning block 215 to the left side wall of the second base 21 corresponds to the thickness D of the flange 3, so that the flange distance can be measured more accurately.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , this is a second embodiment of the positioning base 2. The positioning base 2 is provided with two adjustable bases 23. The upper end of the adjustable base 23 is provided with a gripping portion 230, and two slots 231 are provided on the left and right sides of the adjustable base 23, respectively. The slots 231 may be provided with at least one bolt hole 232. When the adjustable base 23 is assembled with the vernier caliper 1, the main scale outer measuring claw 101 of the vernier caliper 1 is inserted and fixed in the right side slot 231 of the adjustable base 23, and aligned with the right side wall of the adjustable base 23, and then locked (or bonded) through at least one fastener from the bolt hole 232 to fix the main scale outer measuring claw 101 in the adjustable base 23. The aforementioned right side slot 231; the auxiliary scale outer measuring claw 111 of the aforementioned vernier caliper 1 is inserted and fixed in the left side slot 231 of another adjustable base 23, and aligned with the left side wall of the aforementioned adjustable base 23, and then locked (or bonded) through at least one fastener from the aforementioned bolt hole 232 to fix the aforementioned auxiliary scale outer measuring claw 111 in the aforementioned left side slot 231.

The two slots 231 may be extended forward to be provided with a supporting guide plate 234, which can assist the main scale outer measuring claw 101 and the auxiliary scale outer measuring claw 111 to align with the side wall of the adjustable base 23 to avoid measurement errors caused by skewed installation.

A positioning element 235 is disposed below the adjustable seat 23. The positioning element 235 is configured to cooperate with the fastener 30 of the flange 3. A sliding mechanism 236 is disposed between the positioning element 235 and the adjustable seat 23, so that the positioning element 235 can slide horizontally and adjust its position below the adjustable seat 23. The sliding mechanism 236 may be a dovetail track and a dovetail track groove, and at least one longitudinal screw hole 237 may be disposed on the positioning element 235, and the positioning element 235 may be locked and fixed by at least one bolt 238. In this way, the two adjustable seats 23 can adjust the positioning element 235 to be set on the left or right side according to the corresponding main scale outer measuring claws 101 and the auxiliary scale outer measuring claws 111, and then adjust the position of the positioning element 235 according to the thickness D of the flange 3, so that the inner walls of the main scale outer measuring claws 101 and the auxiliary scale outer measuring claws 111 can correspond to the inner walls of the two adjacent flanges 3, ensuring that the flange distance is measured more accurately and can be used for gap measurement of various flanges.

As shown in an operation example of FIG8 , when the flange gap measuring device of the present invention is used, the user can push the positioning base 2 to the sides a distance in advance, and then move it to the side of the flange 3. At this time, the positioning element of the positioning base 2 can be aligned with the two fasteners 30 on the flange 3 (the adjacent flanges and fasteners are symmetrically arranged) to calibrate the two fasteners 30 to be in the same position. After that, the positioning base 2 is pushed inward, and the vernier caliper 1 can measure the gap between the adjacent flanges 3, quickly completing the measurement of the flange gap and the correction of the flange fastener position, so as to facilitate the subsequent pipe flange bolt locking robot (not shown) to perform the fastener locking operation.

In summary, the flange gap measuring device of the present invention has the function of quickly adjusting and positioning the fastener position, and accurately and quickly measuring the gap data of the adjacent flanges of each fastener position, so that the operator can more efficiently complete the adjustment and positioning of the fastener position and the measurement of the flange gap. In addition, the present invention can cooperate with the pipe flange bolt locking robot, and systematically integrate and manage all measurement data to more efficiently integrate all operation data, reduce labor costs and reduce the risks caused by human errors, which is the composition of this case.

The above-mentioned words such as first and second are used to indicate the difference between names, but do not indicate any specific order. The above-mentioned embodiments or drawings do not limit the aspects or usage of the present invention. Any appropriate changes or modifications by a person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field should be regarded as not departing from the patent scope of the present invention.

1: Vernier caliper 10: Main scale 100: Inner measuring claw of main scale 101: Outer measuring claw of main scale 11: Secondary scale 110: Inner measuring claw of secondary scale 111: Outer measuring claw of secondary scale 12: Signal converter 2: Positioning base 20: First base 200: First gripping part 201: First slot 202: First bolt hole 203: First fastener 204: First support guide plate 205: First positioning block L1: Distance 21: Second base 210: Second gripping part 211: Second slot 212: Second bolt hole 213: Second fastener 214: Second support guide plate 215: Second positioning block L2: distance 23: adjustable seat 230: grip 231: slot 232: bolt hole 234: support guide plate 235: positioning element 236: sliding mechanism 237: screw hole 238: bolt 3: flange 30: fastener D: thickness

Figure 1 is an assembly schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a three-dimensional diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a three-dimensional diagram of Figure 2 from another angle. Figure 4 is a front view of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a three-dimensional diagram of the first embodiment of the positioning base of the present invention. Figure 6 is a three-dimensional diagram of the second embodiment of the positioning base of the present invention. Figure 7 is a side view of Figure 6. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the flange gap measuring device of the present invention measuring the gap between adjacent flanges.

1: Vernier caliper

10: Main ruler

100: Measuring claw inside the main ruler

101: Main ruler outer measuring claw

11: Secondary ruler

110: Measuring claw inside the secondary ruler

111: Secondary ruler external measuring claw

12:Signal converter

2: Positioning base

20: The first seat

200: First gripping part

203: First fastener

204: The first support guide plate

205: First positioning block

21: Second seat

210: Second gripping part

211: Second slot

212: Second bolt hole

213: Second fastener

214: Second support guide plate

Claims (10)

A flange gap measuring device comprises at least a vernier caliper and a positioning base: The vernier caliper is provided with a main scale and a secondary scale, the upper and lower parts of the main scale are provided with a main scale inner measuring claw and a main scale outer measuring claw respectively, and the upper and lower parts of the secondary scale are provided with a secondary scale inner measuring claw and a secondary scale outer measuring claw respectively; The positioning base is provided with a first base and a second base, the right side of the first base is provided with a first slot, the main scale outer measuring claw of the vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in the first slot, and is aligned with the right side wall of the first base, the lower left side of the first base is provided with a first positioning block, the first positioning block is provided in conjunction with a flange fastener, and the distance from the right side wall of the first positioning block to the right side wall of the first base is Corresponding to the thickness of the flange; a second slot is provided on the left side of the aforementioned second base, and the outer measuring claw of the secondary scale of the aforementioned vernier caliper is inserted and fixed in the aforementioned second slot and aligned with the left side wall of the aforementioned second base. A second positioning block is provided at the lower right side of the aforementioned second base, and the second positioning block is provided to cooperate with the fastener of the aforementioned flange. The distance from the left side wall of the aforementioned second positioning block to the left side wall of the aforementioned second base corresponds to the thickness of the flange. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 1, the first slot is provided with at least one first bolt hole, the main scale outer measuring claw of the vernier caliper is inserted into the first slot and aligned with the right side wall of the first base, and then locked from the first bolt hole through at least one first fastener to fix the main scale outer measuring claw in the first slot; and the second slot is provided with at least one second bolt hole, the secondary scale outer measuring claw of the vernier caliper is inserted into the second slot and aligned with the left side wall of the second base, and then locked from the second bolt hole through at least one second fastener to fix the secondary scale outer measuring claw in the second slot. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 1, the first slot is extended forward to set a first supporting guide plate, and the second slot is extended forward to set a second supporting guide plate. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 1, the first positioning block is provided with a fastener so that the first positioning block can be replaced, and the second positioning block is provided with a fastener so that the second positioning block can be replaced. A flange gap measuring device comprises at least a vernier caliper and a positioning base: The vernier caliper is provided with a main scale and a secondary scale, the upper and lower parts of the main scale are provided with a main scale inner measuring claw and a main scale outer measuring claw respectively, and the upper and lower parts of the secondary scale are provided with a secondary scale inner measuring claw and a secondary scale outer measuring claw respectively; The positioning base is provided with two adjustable bases, and two slots are provided on the left and right sides of the adjustable bases respectively. The main outer measuring claw of the vernier caliper is inserted into the right slot of one adjustable base and aligned and fixed to the right side wall of the adjustable base, and the secondary outer measuring claw of the vernier caliper is inserted into the left slot of the other adjustable base and aligned and fixed to the left side wall of the adjustable base; a positioning element is provided below the adjustable base, and the positioning element is provided in conjunction with a flange fastener. A sliding mechanism is provided between the positioning element and the adjustable base, so that the positioning element can slide horizontally below the adjustable base and adjust its position. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 5, the slot of the adjustable seat is provided with at least one bolt hole, and at least one fastener is provided in the bolt hole to lock and fix the positioning element. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 5, the two slots mentioned above are extended forward and provided with supporting guide plates. According to the flange gap meter described in claim 5, the aforementioned positioning element is provided with at least one longitudinal screw hole, and the aforementioned positioning element is locked and fixed by at least one bolt. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 1 or 5, the aforementioned sub-scale is provided with a signal converter, and the signal converter performs digital data capture and computer program processing on the measurement results of the aforementioned sub-scale to obtain a visual display of the measurement value information. According to the flange gap measuring device described in claim 9, the aforementioned signal converter is provided with a wireless transmission module, and the measurement information of the aforementioned signal converter is uploaded to a server for background analysis, and then all the measurement data are processed, analyzed, output in a form and recorded through the dedicated system of the server, so as to quickly analyze the change trend of the flange gap of each interval pipeline, and assist in the installation and adjustment of the subsequent pipeline.

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