GB1358173A - Conduit cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1358173 Cleaning conduit interiors CONGO Inc 11 June 1971 [9 Sept 1970] 27487/71 Heading F2N Conduit cleaning apparatus includes flexible rods 24, Fig. 1, interconnected at 26, a rod storage device 22 rotatable about shaft 20, and a pair of driven chains 120, arranged side-by-side and carrying blocks 118 for engaging the rod interconnections 26 to drive the composite rod, carrying a cleaning tool (not shown) at its leading end, into or out of a conduit (not shown). An internal combustion engine 50 acts through pulleys and belts or chains and sprockets to rotate the device 22 during introduction or withdrawal of the rods into or from the conduit, the composite rod itself and the cleaning tool thus rotating at these times. Movement of a hand lever 64 to an inoperative position breaks the drive between engine 50 and device 22 and operates a brake to stop rotation of the device. Engine 50 is drivingly connected to an hydraulic pump/motor 76, rotation of the output shaft of which is used to drive the chains 120 through sprockets 106, 110 and chain 108. An hydraulic shunt path across unit 76 includes lines 80, 82 and valves 102. One of the valves 102 is manually adjustable to regulate the hydraulic resistance of the shunt path for one direction of flow, the other valve being manually adjustable to regulate resistance for the reverse flow direction. The resistance for the flow direction corresponding to operation of unit 76 to drive the rods into the conduit is set lower than the resistance for the reverse flow direction, so that the maximum available force for propelling the rods into the conduit is less than that for withdrawing same. A manual control 94 is operable to control the direction and speed of rotation of the output shaft from unit 76. The sprockets, around which the chains 120 are trained, are mounted on shafts 112, 114, which are themselves mounted in pillow block bearings depending from the base of an inverted channel section, which is coextensive with the length of the chain runs, Figs. 2-4 (not shown). The upper chain run, which is used to propel the rods, extends over the base of the channel section and beneath a longitudinally-extending bar, which latter may be removed to free any rods which become broken or jammed in the driving section.