Abstract: Provided is a liquid level measuring technique capable of measuring a liquid level with high accuracy even if a liquid stored in a container is boiling.

Abstract: Provided is a liquid level measuring technique capable of measuring a liquid level with high accuracy even if a liquid stored in a container is boiling.

Abstract: An improved laser shock hardening method and apparatus which can eliminate spattering of a liquid and waving of the liquid surface upon laser irradiation, and can stably irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. In a laser shock hardening method for carrying out surface processing of a workpiece in contact with a liquid by irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with a pulsed laser beam intermittently emitted from a laser irradiation device, the disclosed method provides a solid transparent to the wavelength of the laser, serving as an entrance window to the liquid surface; allowing the liquid to be present in the light path of the laser beam between the solid and the surface of the workpiece; and allowing the laser beam to enter through the solid and irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam.

Abstract: A cleaning apparatus is generally composed of a suction unit provided with a suction source, a suction nozzle equipped with a suction port adapted to suck dust or like from a surface to be cleaned, a suction hose connected at one end to the suction nozzle and connected at another end to the suction unit, a low-center-of-gravity support member provided for the suction hose so as to serve as a fulcrum when the suction hose is bent and deformed, a wire member supported at a distal end by the suction nozzle and arranged along the suction hose, and a control unit used to bend and deform the suction hose by manipulating the wire member with the low-center-of-gravity support member serving as a fulcrum. This cleaning apparatus is specifically usable for a bottom surface of a reactor pressure vessel.

Abstract: An apparatus for inspecting and measuring an object to be measured includes: a distance measurement device having a light projector that projects a two-dimensional optical pattern onto a measurement target of the measurement object, imaging devices disposed in a stereoscopic arrangement that image the measurement object, and a driving device that rotates a posture of at least one of the imaging devices to control a parallax angle between the imaging devices; a working distance control device that controls the driving device and adjusts a position at which optical axes of the imaging devices intersect; and a distance calculation device having a correspondence position calculation device that determines a correspondence position at which the same region is imaged among images of the imaging devices, and a distance calculation devices that calculates a distance to the measurement target of the measurement object based on a calculation result of the calculation device.

Abstract: There is provided an improved laser shock hardening method and apparatus which can eliminate spattering of a liquid and waving of the liquid surface upon laser irradiation, and can stably irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. Thus, the present invention provides in a laser shock hardening method for carrying out surface processing of a workpiece in contact with a liquid by irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with a pulsed laser beam intermittently emitted from a laser irradiation device, the improvement comprising: providing a solid transparent to the wavelength of the laser, serving as an entrance window to the surface of the liquid; allowing the liquid to be present in the light path of the laser beam between the solid and the surface of the workpiece; and allowing the laser beam to enter through the solid and irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam, thereby shock-hardening the surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: There is provided an improved laser shock hardening method and apparatus which can eliminate spattering of a liquid and waving of the liquid surface upon laser irradiation, and can stably irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. Thus, the present invention provides in a laser shock hardening method for carrying out surface processing of a workpiece in contact with a liquid by irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with a pulsed laser beam intermittently emitted from a laser irradiation device, the improvement comprising: providing a solid transparent to the wavelength of the laser, serving as an entrance window to the surface of the liquid; allowing the liquid to be present in the light path of the laser beam between the solid and the surface of the workpiece; and allowing the laser beam to enter through the solid and irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam, thereby shock-hardening the surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: According to an embodiment, a submersible electric motor assembly has: a casing; an electric motor that is accommodated in the casing; and an electric insulating substance that is filled between the electric motor and the casing and has a thermal conductivity higher than that of air. The electric motor includes: a stator, a rotor that is rotated by an interaction with a magnetic field of the stator, a coil that magnetizes the stator and/or the rotor, and a shaft that is rotated by rotation of the rotor.

Abstract: A cleaning apparatus is generally composed of a suction unit provided with a suction source, a suction nozzle equipped with a suction port adapted to suck dust or like from a surface to be cleaned, a suction hose connected at one end to the suction nozzle and connected at another end to the suction unit, a low-center-of-gravity support member provided for the suction hose so as to serve as a fulcrum when the suction hose is bent and deformed, a wire member supported at a distal end by the suction nozzle and arranged along the suction hose, and a control unit used to bend and deform the suction hose by manipulating the wire member with the low-center-of-gravity support member serving as a fulcrum. This cleaning apparatus is specifically usable for a bottom surface of a reactor pressure vessel.

Abstract: An apparatus for inspecting and measuring an object to be measured includes: a distance measurement device having a light projector that projects a two-dimensional optical pattern onto a measurement target of the measurement object, imaging devices disposed in a stereoscopic arrangement that image the measurement object, and a driving device that rotates a posture of at least one of the imaging devices to control a parallax angle between the imaging devices; a working distance control device that controls the driving device and adjusts a position at which optical axes of the imaging devices intersect; and a distance calculation device having a correspondence position calculation device that determines a correspondence position at which the same region is imaged among images of the imaging devices, and a distance calculation devices that calculates a distance to the measurement target of the measurement object based on a calculation result of the calculation device.

Abstract: There is provided an improved laser shock hardening method and apparatus which can eliminate spattering of a liquid and waving of the liquid surface upon laser irradiation, and can stably irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. Thus, the present invention provides in a laser shock hardening method for carrying out surface processing of a workpiece in contact with a liquid by irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with a pulsed laser beam intermittently emitted from a laser irradiation device, the improvement comprising: providing a solid transparent to the wavelength of the laser, serving as an entrance window to the surface of the liquid; allowing the liquid to be present in the light path of the laser beam between the solid and the surface of the workpiece; and allowing the laser beam to enter through the solid and irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam, thereby shock-hardening the surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: A laser processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a laser oscillator that emits a continuous-wave or pulsed-wave laser beam for heat processing or a pulsed-wave laser beam for surface treatment, an incident optical system that causes the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator to enter an optical fiber, a condenser lens that condenses the laser beam emitted from the optical fiber, and a processing unit that moves close to a processing object by carrying the condenser lens and irradiates a surface of the processing object with a laser beam, in which the laser oscillator emits the laser beam for the heat processing when performing the heat processing and emits the laser beam for the surface treatment when performing a pre-treatment or a post-treatment for the heat processing.

Abstract: There is provided an improved laser shock hardening method and apparatus which can eliminate spattering of a liquid and waving of the liquid surface upon laser irradiation, and can stably irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. Thus, the present invention provides in a laser shock hardening method for carrying out surface processing of a workpiece in contact with a liquid by irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with a pulsed laser beam intermittently emitted from a laser irradiation device, the improvement comprising: providing a solid transparent to the wavelength of the laser, serving as an entrance window to the surface of the liquid; allowing the liquid to be present in the light path of the laser beam between the solid and the surface of the workpiece; and allowing the laser beam to enter through the solid and irradiating through the liquid the surface of the workpiece with the laser beam, thereby shock-hardening the surface of the workpiece.

Abstract: A laser emitting head for irradiating a portion to be machined with laser beams outputted from a laser unit (624) incorporates an emitting head body having a light guide member (625) in the head for guiding the laser beams; a light converging lens (677) for converging the laser beams transmitted from the light guide member in the head; a reflecting mirror (678) for irradiating the portion to be machined with the converged laser beams; mirror rotating means (684) for holding the reflecting mirror to be rotative around the optical axis of the laser beam; distance-adjustment means (674) for adjusting the relative distance between the reflecting mirror and the converging lens; and moving means (665) for moving the reflecting mirror and the converging lens such that the relative distance is maintained so that the light guide member in the head. The converging lens and the reflecting mirror can be introduced/discharged with respect to a portion to be machined and formed in a narrow gap in an incore structure.

Abstract: A laser transmission system for transmitting laser beam to an optical fiber comprises a pulse laser oscillator unit, a beam guide unit having an optical condensing unit for condensing a pulse laser beam radiated from the pulse laser oscillator unit, an optical fiber unit for transmitting the pulse laser beam condensed by the optical fiber beam guide unit, and a device for reducing a coherence of the pulse laser beam provided for at least one of the pulse laser oscillator unit, the beam guide unit and the optical fiber unit. This coherence reducing device is for making substantially uniform distribution of laser beams at a beam entrance portion of the optical fiber unit and preventing the laser beams from focussing or converging on one point in the optical fiber unit.

Abstract: A laser maintaining and repairing apparatus including a laser oscillator 7, beam guiding apparatus 8 connected to guide a laser beam of the laser oscillator 7, and emitting head 12 for converging the laser beam from the beam guiding apparatus 8 and emitting the beam to a portion to be processed. The beam guiding apparatus 8 includes liquid-tight tubular beam guiding members 9a to 9h. The beam guiding members 9a to 9h are provided with reflecting members 13a, 13b and at least one of mechanisms 10a, 10b and 11a, 11b for providing horizontal turning, horizontal extending, vertical turning and vertical extending operations at the beam guiding members 9a to 9h. With the laser maintaining and repairing apparatus of the noted structure, a laser beam of high energy density can be utilized and processing by the laser beam can be facilitated or the applying range can be increased.

Abstract: An underwater laser processing method is carried out by irradiating, through a laser beam irradiation apparatus, a laser beam having a high output, a short pulse and a visible wavelength to a surface of a structure immersed in a water to improve residual stress of a material of the surface of the structure and remove a crack or a CRUD thereof. The laser beam irradiation apparatus comprises a pulse laser device suspended into a water in which a metal material is accommodated from an upper side thereof for irradiating a laser beam having a visible wavelength to a processing position, a beam strength adjusting device for adjusting an output per 1 pulse of a laser beam generated by the pulse laser device and a mechanism for adjusting a spot diameter and a multiplexing ratio of an irradiated beam.

Abstract: An oil detecting system for detecting a leakage oil by optical fluorescence measurement means even in the presence of external fluorescent light, for example, from parts and equipments of a vehicle and a plant comprises an irradiation apparatus for irradiating a light including an absorption wavelength of an oil to be detected and exciting molecules of the oil to make the oil fluoresce, a wavelength selection apparatus operatively connected to the irradiation apparatus and adapted to select a fluorescence wavelength of the leakage oil fluoresced by the irradiation apparatus, and an observation apparatus for detecting the fluorescence of the leakage oil and selecting only a period of observing fluorescing of the leakage oil over substantially the same time period that the leakage oil fluoresces light. A processing apparatus may be further provided so as to be operatively connected to the observation apparatus and adapted to process an image or a signal from the observation apparatus.

Abstract: An underwater laser processing method is carried out by irradiating, through a laser beam irradiation apparatus, a laser beam having a high output, a short pulse and a visible wavelength to a surface of a structure immersed in a water to improve residual stress of a material of the surface of the structure and remove a crack or a CRUD thereof. The laser beam irradiation apparatus comprises a pulse laser device suspended into a water in which a metal material is accommodated from an upper side thereof for irradiating a laser beam having a visible wavelength to a processing position, a beam strength adjusting device for adjusting an output per 1 pulse of a laser beam generated by the pulse laser device and a mechanism for adjusting a spot diameter and a multiplexing ratio of an irradiated beam.