Patents Represented by Attorney Harold N. Dixon
  • Patent number: 5375530
    Abstract: A pipe crawler having a midsection that provides the stability and flexibty to allow the pipe crawler to negotiate curved and uneven segments of piping while traveling through piping systems. The pipe crawler comprises a front leg assembly, a rear leg assembly, a midsection with a gimbal at each end for connecting the midsection to the front and rear leg assemblies in a flexible manner, and an air cylinder for changing the distance between the front and rear leg assemblies. The pipe crawler moves in "inch worm" fashion with the front and rear leg assemblies alternating between an extended and a retracted position as the air cylinder moves the retracted leg assembly forward. The midsection has a plurality of legs extending radially for holding the midsection within a maximum displacement from the piping axis so that the gimbals are not pivoted to extreme angles where they might lock up or seize.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1994
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Energy
    Inventors: William T. Zollinger, Richard C. Treanor