US2682069A - Implement for cleaning the interiors of tubes - Google Patents

Description

June 29, 1954 AR. SCRIMINGER 2,632,069

IMPLEMENT FOR CLEANING THE INTERIORS OF TUBES Filed July 1, 1949 INVENTOR ARCH/E R; SCR/M/NGER AT TORNEY Patented June 29, 1954 IMPLEMENT FOR CLEANING THE INTERIORS OF TUBES Archie R. Scriminger, Hartford, Conn., assignor to The Fuller Brush Company, Hartford, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 1, '1949, Serial No. 102,656

7 Claims. (Cl. -104.06)

The invention relates to an implement for cleaning open-ended tubes as for instance those of 'a surface condenser, and the invention relates more particularly to an implement for this purpose which includes a cylindrical brush and which is adapted to be driven through the tube by fluid pressure.

The water flowing through condenser tubes is ordinarily not clean and scale and other deposits collect on the interior surfaces of the tubes. Fre quent cleaning or" the tubes is usually necessary and devices including brushes have been proposed and used for this purpose, such devices being driven through the tubes by air or other ffuid pressure. These prior devices have been unsatisfactory and the general objective of the present invention is to provide an implement of the type mentioned which very efiectively cleans the tubes, which will not damage the condenser or associated parts, and which is strong and durable.

One object of the invention is to provide a piston included in the implement at the trailing end thereof for enabling air or other fiuid under pressure to eiiectively drive the implement through the tube.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bumper included in the implement at the leading end thereof for preventing damage to the implement or to stationary objects when the implement emerges from the tube at considerable speed.

Another object of the invention is to provide similar members included in the implement at opposite ends thereof, each of which members is adapted to serve either as a piston at the trailing end or as a bumper at the leading end, the implement being thus reversible.

Still another object of the invention is to provide various details of construction whereby the foregoing more general objects are attained.

In the drawing I have shown in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it will be understood that various changes may be made from the construction shown, and that the drawing is not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a portion of a surface condenser with an implement embodying the invention in place in one of the condenser tubes.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the implement.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central longitudinal sectional view of the implement at one end thereof.

Fig. 4. is an end view of one of the rubber members of the implement.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, A, A represent tubes of a surface condenser or other apparatus having tubes requiring cleaning. Ordinarily the tubes are horizontal as shown. The tubes A, A are heldin fixed positions and in spaced relationship with each other by plates B, B which are vertical when the tubes are horizontal. The condenser also has end heads, not shown, which are spaced from the plates B, B, and from the ends of the tubes. One or both of the heads are re moved when the tubes are to be cleaned.

The implement for cleaning the tubes A, A is represented in its entirety by 10, this including a unitary cylindrical brush I4 and preferably including two-end members It, I6 fixedly connected with each other and fixedly connected with the unitary brush at the opposite ends thereof. A detachable handle l2 may be provided for more conveniently placing the implement in a tube as shown at the left in Fig. 1. When the implement H3 is in place the handle I2 is removed, and a hose, not shown, is applied to the adjacent end of the tube for supplying air or other fluid under pressure. The implement H3 is driven through the tube by the fluid pressure, emerging table fibers, or bristles or other animal fibers, or

synthetic fibers, or metallic wires, or any other suitable filaments or brush material.

The member H5 at one end of the brush I4 is formed of an elastic material such as rubber. The term rubber is herein used in a generic sense and is intended to include natural rubber and compounds thereof, and also various rubber substitutes. Preferably there are two similar rubber members l6 fixedly connected to the brush at opposite ends thereof. Each member 16 has a diameter approximating the diameter of the brush and its outer end is exposed at the corresponding end of the implement. As shown, the diameter of each member I6 is slightly less than the diameter of the brush.

The member [6 at the leading end of the implement is adapted to serve as a motion limiting bumper for absorbing shock and for preventing damage to the implement itself or to stationary parts when the implement emerges at great speed from the end of the tube and impinges upon the condenser head or other stationary object. The member [6 at the trailing end of the implement is adapted to serve as a piston which is engaged by the air or other fluid under pressure in the tube for driving the implement through the tube. It will be readily understood that in the preferred embodiment of the invention as shown, either of the two similar members It may serve as a bumper and :eithermay serve as a piston. The implement in its preferred form is therefore reversible and either end thereof may be entered into the tube to be cleaned.

The details of the brush I4 and of the rubber members I6 may be widely varied, but the preferred construction as shown in the drawing will now be described in detail.

A core member or core is provided having a central body 18 and two heads 20 and 22. One head 28 is integral with the body and the other head 22 is preferably a nut having threaded engagement with the body. The cylindrical brush I4 preferably comprises an elongated brush element 24 helically wound .to fit the body 18. The brush element 24 may be wound on a separate core and thereafter placed on the body [8. Preferably, the brush element 24 includes a channelshaped metallic strip 26 having a longitudinal core wire 28 therein and having fibers 3.0 looped around the core Wire and extending transverse- I ly of the strip from the neck between the side walls of the channel strip. When the strip 24 is wound on the body 18 the fibers 3.0 are generally radial although varying to some extent from exactly radial positions.

It will be seen that the core member and the channel-shaped strip thereon constitute a core structure of substantial diameter, this diameter as shown being substantially greater than onehalf of the diameter of the brush. Thus the fibers are supported relatively closely to the tube face and are relatively short. The fibers are stiff and some of them may be metallic wires. The provision of short stiff fibers is important as the scale and other deposits in the tube resist removal and cannot be removed to any substantial extent by brushes having long easily flexed fibers.

Each rubber member 16 has .a portion fitting the central body 18 of the core member between the brush l4 and the corresponding head 20 or 22. The member [6 extends endwise beyond the corresponding head and has a recess 32 in which the said head is located. The recess 82 is open at the end, thus providing an annular peripheral wall 34 which is expansible. The recess 32 is preferably of substantially uniform diameter.

When the brush [4 is formed by helically winding a brush element such as 24, the inner end of each rubber member 16 is shaped to fit the adjacent end of the helically wound brush element. The member l6 has a helical face with a step or shoulder 36, as shown in Fig. 4, adiacent the end of the brush element 24. T'ref: erably each shoulder 36 engages the corresponding end of the brush element.

When one of the heads of the core member is a threaded nut such as .22, the various parts may be readily assembled and then held in place by the nut. As viewed in Fig. 2, the rubber member I6 at the left is first placed on the core member, then the coiled brush [4 is placed on the core member, and finally the rubber member It at the right is placed on the core member. Then the nut 22 is screwed in place to hold the various parts. The end of the core member may be upset, if necessary, to prevent the nut 22 from loosening during use of the implement.

The handle 12 may advantageously be formed of wood. One end thereof is of such size that it can loosely fit the recess 32 in one of the rubber members IS, the handle being freely removable from the recess.

In use the .implement is placed in a tube A at one end thereof, as shown in Fig. l. The handle 12 may conveniently be used for placing the implement, the handle being disengaged from the implement and removed as soon as the implement is in place. If preferred the implement may be placed manually without using the handle.

When the implement is in the tube, a hose with air or other fluid under pressure is applied to the tube. The fluid acts on the member l6 at the adjacent or trailing end, the said member serving as a piston. The fluid pressure within the recess 32 expands the annular wall 34 so that it effectively engages or approximately engages the interior surface of the tube, as shown in the upper right portion of Fig. 1 and as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, thus insuring a substantial fit and enabling the fluid pressure to effectively drive the implement through the tube. The initial diameter of the cylindrical brush I4 is preferably slightly greater than the interior diameter of the tube, and as the implement is driven through the tube the brush [4 effectively cleans the interior surface. The implement emerges from the opposite end of the tube, and the continuing fluid flow removes any scale or other dirt that has been loosened by the brush l4.

The rubber member 18 at the leading end extends endwise substantially beyond the corresponding head on the core member, and it acts as a bumper when the rapidly moving implement engages the head of the condenser or any other stationary object. This prevents any damage to the implement Or to the object which it may strike.

Inasmuch as the two rubber members are identical in construction, either of them may serve as a piston and either of them may serve as a bumper. Thus the implement is reversible and it is immaterial which end thereof is leading or trailing.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the combination of a unitary cylindrical brush comprising radially disposed fibers and having an exterior diameter at least as large asthe interior diameter of the said tube, and two similar oppositely extending rubber members fixedly connected with each other and fixedly connected with the brush at the opposite ends thereof and each extending longitudinally beyond any other part of the implement each of which members has an initial exterior approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller, each said member being expansible within the said tube and being adapted to serve either as a motion limiting bumper or as a piston according to the direction of implement movement through the tube and the member which serves as a piston being expanded by fluid pressure applied to the tube at the corresponding end thereof and serving to drive the implement through the said tube.

2. In a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the combination of a unitary cylindrical brush, comprising radially disposed fibers and having an exterior diameter at least as large as the interior diameter of the said tube, and two similar oppositely extending rubber members fixedly connected with each other and fixedly connected with the brush at the opposite ends thereof and each extending longitudinally beyond any other part of the implement each of which members has an initial exterior diameter approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller and each of which members has therein a concentric open-ended recess enabling the end portion of the member to expand in response to pressure within the recess, each said member being adapted to serve either as a motion limiting bumper or as a piston according to the direction of implement movement through the tube and the member which serves as a piston being expanded by fluid pressure applied to the tube at the corresponding end thereof and serving to drive the implement through the said tube.

3. In a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the combination of a central longitudinally extending core, a cylindrical brush separate from and surrounding the core which brush comprises radially disposed fibers and has an exterior diameter at least as large as the interior diameter of the said tube, and two similar oppositely disposed rubber members fixedly connected with the core at the opposite ends of the brush and each extending longitudinally beyond the core each of which members has an initial exterior diameter approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller, each said member being expansible within the said tube and being adapted'to serve either as a motion limiting bumper or as a piston according to the direction of implement movement through the tube and the member which serves as a piston being expanded by fluid pressure applied to the tube at the corresponding end thereof and serving to drive the implement through the said tube.

4. In a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the combination of a longitudinally extending core having a central body and having heads at the ends of the body, a cylindrical brush separate from and surrounding the body of the core and positioned between the heads thereof which brush comprises radially disposed fibers and has an exterior diameter at least as large as the interior diameter of the said tube, and two similar oppositely disposed rubber members at the opposite ends of the brush each having an initial exterior diameter approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller each of which members is provided with a portion fitting the body of the core between the brush and the corresponding head and each of which members is provided with an open-ended recess within which the corresponding head of the core is located, each said member extending longitudinally beyond the core and being adapted to serve either as a motion limiting bumper or as a piston according to the direction of movement through the tube and the member which serves as a piston being expanded by fluid pressure applied to the tube at the corresponding end thereof and serving to drive the implement through the said tube.

5. In a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the combination of a longitudinally extending core having a central body and having heads at the ends of the body, a cylindrical brush comprising an elongated brush element with transversely disposed fibers which brush element is helically wound to fit the body of the core member between the heads thereof with the fibers disposed radially, the exterior diameter of the brush being at least as large as the interior of the said tube, and two similar oppositely disposed rubber piston members at the opposite ends of the brush each having an initial exterior diameter approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller each of which members is provided with a portion fitting the body of the core and extending between and engaging the brush and the corresponding head, the last said portion of each member being shaped at its inner end to fit the corresponding end portion of the helically wound brush element and the said portion having a shoulder adjacent the corresponding end of the brush element.

6. A cleaning implement as set forth in claim 5, wherein each rubber member extends longitudinally beyond the core and has a concentric open-ended recess therein enabling the end portion of the member to expand in response to pressure within the recess and wherein each rubber member is adapted to serve either as a motion limiting bumper or as a piston according to the direction of implement movement through the tube, the member which serves as a piston being expanded by fluid pressure applied to the tube at the corresponding end thereof and serving to drive the implement through the said tube.

7. The combination of a cleaning implement adapted to be moved longitudinally through a tube to be cleaned, the said implement including a cylindrical brush comprising radially disposed fibers and having an exterior diameter at least as large as the interior diameter of the said tube and also including two oppositely disposed piston members fixedly connected with the brush at the opposite ends thereof and extending longitudinally beyond any other portion of the implement each of which member has an initial exterior diameter approximating that of the brush but slightly smaller and each of which members has therein a concentric open-ended recess of substantially uniform diameter, and a handle which fits the said recess in one of the piston members and is freely removable therefrom and is adapted to similarly fit the recess in the other of the piston members, the said handle serving to place the implement in a tube.

References Cited in the file of thi patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 95,468 Greenfield Oct. 5, 1869 1,218,005 Schlemmer Mar. 6, 1917 1,325,348 Bowman Dec. 16, 1919 1,580,294 Gawley Apr. 13, 1926 1,598,771 Gerhardt Sept. 7, 1926 1,713,895 Ford May 21, 1929 2,087,414 Schaer July 20, 1937 2,194,122 Krams Mar. 19, 1940 2,298,752 Crockford Oct. 13, 1942 2,332,490 Rowland Oct. 19, 1943

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