MXPA98007397A - Tube cleaner composed of easy inserc - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composite tube cleaner comprising an axis having a nozzle portion at a front end and a terminal portion at a rear end thereof, and a plurality of spaced scraper devices secured to the intermediate shaft to the portion nozzle and the terminal portion, said scraper devices comprise a U-shaped metal scraper having a base and at least two support portions, said support portions extending in the direction of said terminal portion and having scraper sections extending outwardly from a terminal end of the same, and a plastic liner secured to, and enclosing said scraper sections and at least a portion of said portion of suppressor.

Description

COMPOSITE PIPE CLEANSER OF EASY INSERTION Field of the Invention The present invention is for a pipe cleaning device for use in cleaning the inner wall of a pipe or conduit and more specifically to a pipe cleaner that is inserted into an end Open from a tube, such as a condenser tube and forced through the tube by means of a fluid, such as water, discharged from a pressurized fluid gun to remove deposits on the surface of the inner wall of the tube. Background of the Invention In cleaning the inner wall of the tube, such as condenser tubes, in power plants, to improve the efficiency of the heat transferred therethrough, a resilient scraper tool is inserted into an open end of the tube. and a pressurized fluid is loaded to the open end of the tube to push the scraper tool through the tube. During the passage through the tube, the scraping tool scrapes the deposits on the inner wall of the tube and discharges the deposits from the other end of the tube. Such tube cleaners have been used extensively and examples of such typical tube cleaners are shown, for example, in US Pat. No. 2,170,997; the E.U. 2,418,509; the E.U. 2,734,208 and in the U. U. 4,281,432. These pipe cleaners use scraper elements that are spaced along an axis, with scraper blades of adjacent scraper elements offset from one another so that the deposits inside the pipe wall are removed along a circumference total interior of 360 ° thereof. The scraper elements, with the scraper blades, are usually formed of steel and are flexible enough to be inserted into the open end of a tube while contacting and removing deposits from the tube wall once it passes through the tube. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tube cleaner that is easier to insert into an open end of a tube to be cleaned. It is another object of the present invention to provide a tube cleaner that is more easily inserted into an open end of a tube to be cleaned, whose tube cleaner is a composite tube cleaner formed primarily of metal but having a plastic liner on the tubes. scraper elements to avoid metal-to-metal contact during the passage of the tube cleaner through a tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is for a composite tube cleaner that is more easily inserted into an open end of a tube, the tube cleaner has an axis with a nozzle portion at one end and a terminal portion at the other end. , with a plurality of scraper devices positioned along the axis between the nozzle and terminal portions. Scraper devices are formed of metal and comprise a U-shaped scraper having a base and at least two support portions extending toward the terminal portion of the tube cleaner and having a scraper section - extending outwardly from the end of the support portion. A plastic liner such as a molded nylon liner, is secured to and encloses the scraper section and at least a portion of the support portion, which liner has at least one surface inclined along the support portion extending to starting from the support portion rearwardly and externally towards the scraper section of the scraper device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be understood more clearly by reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the composite tube cleaner of the present invention; Figure 2 is a front view of the composite pipe cleaner shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through a scraper device used in the composite pipe cleaner; and Figure 4 is a view showing the insertion of the composite tube cleaner of Figure 1 at one end of a tube to be cleaned. Detailed Description Referring now to the drawings, a composite pipe cleaner 1, in accordance with the present invention for easy insertion into an open end of a pipe to be cleaned, shows that it has an axis 2, a nozzle portion 3 at the end front and a terminal portion 4 at the rear end thereof. The nozzle portion 3 may have a rivet head for holding the scraper devices on the shaft 2, while the terminal portion 4 is adapted to collide by means of a pressurized fluid to drive the tube cleaner through a tube, as is known in the art. technique. A plurality of scraper devices 5, shown as four scraper devices 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d in Figure 1 are spaced along the axis 2 between the nozzle portion 3 and the terminal portion 4. The scraper devices 5 are scrapers in U-shape having a base 6 and at least two support portions 7. The support portions 7 extend in the direction of the terminal portion 4 of the composite pipe cleaner 1 and have at least two scraper sections 8 which extend externally from the terminal end 9 of the support portion 7. The scraper devices 5 are placed on the axis 2 of the composite pipe cleaner 1, such that the support portions 7 of each scraper device 5 are offset from the portions of support of an adjacent scraper device 5. The placement of such an adjacent scraper device is not new but is used in commercially available pipe cleaners. In the present composite pipe cleaner 1, the scraper devices 5 are formed of metal, such as steel, and a plastic liner 10 is provided which is secured to, and encloses the scraper sections 8 and at least a portion of the portion thereof. 7 support of it. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the plastic liner 10 has at least one inclined ramp or surface 11 formed therein, along the support portion 7 of the scraper device 5 extending from the supporting portion 7. backward and outwardly towards the scraper edge 12 of the scraper section 8 of the composite pipe cleaner. Preferably, two such inclined surfaces 11 are provided in each support portion 7, as illustrated in the drawings. The plastic liner 10 can be formed of any plastic material having sufficient abrasion resistance to provide a scraping force on the contaminants of the inner wall of a tube to be cleaned without abrasion or disintegration of a desired number of passages through a tube. . Such plastic is nylon. In forming, the composite pipe cleaner, the steel scraper device 5 is preferably cut from a strip of steel metal, such as a carbon steel or stainless steel and the plastic liner 10 is molded around the scraper sections 8 and at least a portion of the support portion 7. The scraper devices 5 are then secured to the shaft 2 between the nozzle portion 3 and the terminal portion 4 which are then joined. The plastic liner 10 can be incorporated into an abrasive material. For example, a nylon plastic material may be used with glass fiber dispersed therein or pumice, silica or some other fine abrasive material may be incorporated into the plastic. Other non-harmful materials can also be incorporated into the plastic used for the plastic liner, such as coloring or luminescent materials which can give the scraper a "glow-in-darkness" appearance for easy location. The plastic liner 10 provides a number of benefits over the existing metal tube cleaners. The ramp or inclined surface 11 causes the support portions 7 to curve inwardly when inserted into a tube 13, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 4 and therefore causes the support portions to move together and provide a less severe contact of the end of the tube with the scraper section 8 and with the plastic liner 10 around it of the tube cleaner 1. In this way, by moving the support portions 7 together, an easier insertion of the tube 1 at an open end of tube 13. Also, in some situations, the metal-to-metal contact of a scraper blade and the inner wall of a tube is of interest and avoids it by the use of the easy-insert composite tube cleaner I presented. In addition, as previously mentioned, various additives can be provided in the plastic used in the liner to meet various objectives of the tube cleaner.

Claims (16)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the present invention, it is considered as a novelty and therefore the property described in the following claims is claimed as property. A composite pipe cleaner comprising an axle having a nozzle portion at a front end and a terminal portion at a rear end thereof; and a plurality of spaced scraper devices secured to the intermediate shaft to the nozzle portion and to the terminal portion, said scraper devices comprise a U-shaped metal scraper having a base and at least two support portions, said support portions extending in the direction of said terminal portion and having scraper sections extending outwardly from a terminal end thereof; and a plastic liner secured to, and enclosing said scraper sections and at least a portion of said support portion.
2. 2. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plastic liner has at least one surface inclined along said support portion extending from said support portion rearwardly and outwardly to said scraper section.
3. 3. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of scraper devices are positioned on said shaft in such a manner that the support portions of each scraper device are offset from the support portions of an adjacent scraper device.
4. 4. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of scraper devices comprises three of them.
5. 5. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plurality of scraper devices comprises four of them.
6. 6. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plastic liner is molded in and around said scraper section and support portion.
7. 7. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plastic liner comprises nylon.
8. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that an abrasive material is incorporated in the plastic used to form said plastic liner.
9. 9. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 8, characterized in that said abrasive material is pumice.
10. 10. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that said plastic liner comprises nylon with glass fiber dispersed therein.
11. 11. A composite pipe cleaner comprising an axis having a nozzle portion at a front end and a terminal portion at a rear end thereof and a plurality of spaced scraper devices secured to the intermediate shaft to the nozzle portion and portion terminal, said scraper devices comprising a U-shaped metal scraper having a base and at least two support portions, said support portions extending in the direction of said terminal portion and having scraper sections extending outwardly from one end terminal of it; and a plastic liner secured to and enclosing said scraper section and at least a portion of said support portion, said at least one plastic liner having a surface inclined along said support portion extending from said portion of said support portion. support backward and outwardly towards said scraper section.
12. 12. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 11, characterized in that said two inclined surfaces are provided in said plastic liner, each of said inclined surfaces adjacent a lateral edge of said support portion.
13. 13. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 11, characterized in that said plastic liner is nylon.
14. 14. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 11, characterized in that said plastic liner is nylon with glass fiber dispersed therein.
15. 15. The composite tube cleaner according to claim 11, characterized in that an abrasive material is incorporated in the plastic used to form said plastic liner.
16. 16. The composite pipe cleaner according to claim 15, characterized in that said abrasive material is pumice.