Technology for concrete pipe manipulator

The pipe manipulator is a developing mechatronic system to enhance productivity and protects workers from cave-ins in the trench while excavating and laying pipe. The pipe manipulator is for installing concrete pipe into the trench. It is an optical-electro-mechanical system. The mechanism is make up of two parts, the upside and underside. The upside is for lifting the equipment by backhoe and rotating the underside mechanism. It includes rigidity lift beams, holding pad, four-bar linkages, hydraulic cylinder, rotating support, and rotating mechanism. Holding pad will press the bucket back to keep the bucket hooking the pipe man safely and stably. The underside mechanism is for lifting, holding and adjusting the pipe section's stance. The underside mechanism includes support trolley, and lift fork. The support trolley is driven by hydraulic cylinder for moving the fork forward or backward while laying a pipe into trench. The fork is with a self-lock mechanism for preventing the pipe from slide out of the prongs. A new photoelectric locating system is developed for auto-measuring the installing pipe section's stance within the work area. The laser target has been developed as a key part in the photoelectric locating systems. The photoelectric target is a rotating polar coordinate. Photodiodes are used for making the polar radius. There is an angular displacement sensor sitting on the heart-axis of the target for measuring angle of the target rotating. The pipe manipulator can be located by the system, and the locating methods have been presented at last of the paper.