AU2009100136A4

AU2009100136A4 - Safety System for High Pressure Water Jetting

Info

Publication number: AU2009100136A4
Application number: AU2009100136A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Niall Conlon; Jason Weeks
Original assignee: VICON SERVICES Pty Ltd
Current assignee: VICON SERVICES Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2009-02-13
Filing date: 2009-02-13
Publication date: 2009-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 2017-02-13

Description

EDITORIAL

NOTE

THERE ARE 3 PAGES

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DESCRIPTION

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INNOVATION PATENT SAFETY SYSTEM FOR HIGH PRESSURE WATER JETTING WITH LIMITED RADIUS SUPPORTING FRAME TO REPLACE HAND HELD OPERATION The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to our organisation: High pressure water-jet cleaning (also known as shot-gunning, hydro-blasting or echo o blasting) uses a stream of supersonic water at pressures between 10,000 to 60,000 PSI O (207-414 MPa) to quickly remove difficult coatings and debris from a material (substrate. High pressure water-jet cleaning is different than conventional cleaning processes in that it uses much higher water pressures which require unique pump, hydraulic and control systems. Very hard coatings are essentially eroded from the substrate by the high pressure water droplets, while brittle coatings are fractured and e spall.

High pressure water-jet cleaning covers all forms of water jetting, including the use of O additives or abrasives at high pressures and is mainly used in industrial cleaning Cf processes. The technique requires the participation of a trained operative who has a demonstrated the ability and knowledge to operate the machinery in accordance with O the original equipment manufacturer's instructions, specifications, and training programs.

0 o Serious harm or injury may result from the misuse or misapplication of water-jetting N equipment and the use of improper fittings, hoses, or attachments. Human error is a constant risk to the health and safety of the operator and can result in long term injuries and deaths to operators who are concerned with construction, maintenance, repair, cleaning, cutting, and demolition work. The principal concern to the operator is the potential to lose control of the shot gunning equipment and inflict injury by directing the high pressure water towards the operator or other adjacent individuals.

The Safety System eliminates the potential for injury or harm to the operator by positively restraining a shotgun blast during the de-scaling of process pipe work and constricting the direction of the water stream to a limited sphere in front of the frame.

The aim is to restrain the gun and reduce the risk of harm to the operator, whilst allowing the gun to move in a plane parallel to the flange of the target pipe, both vertically and horizontally. The device is designed to fit a range of equipment, including various pipe flange sizes, attached to a gantry, attached to a handrail or other safety railing system, or secured to the ground surface through the use of retaining weights.

The Safety System consists of two vertical support braces (50NB pipe or scaffold tube). These two vertical braces are diagonally braced back to ground/surface using additional braces (50NB pipe or scaffold tube). The braces have a base plate mounting assembly that allow them to be fixed to a grid mesh decking, existing handrail, or secured to the ground surface through the use of retaining weights. From the two vertical braces extend two horizontal braces, each fitted with an adjustable flange mounting bracket (Part Each flange mounting bracket has a slotted plate that allows it to bolt to the flange of the pipe if pipe work is being cleaned. The bracket assemblies are positively located along the horizontal braces by means of threaded tbars (Part that can be tightened to provide a friction grip and prevent movement.

The gun mount comprises the slide (Part and bracket (Part #1 The gun mount retains the shotgun blast to eliminate reaction force on the operator from the gun. The shotgun blast assembly passes through a hole in the retaining plate (Part Two plates (Part #3 are bolted to this retaining plate to provide a sliding connection with the two RHS sections. A T-bar lock (Part is used to lock the O assembly in place. The two RHS sections extend to the vertical support columns and a are welded onto oversize hollow bar (Part which allows it to slide vertically along 0 the vertical braces length and can be locked in place by two perpendicular t-bars Cl \0 0 Cc 0 0 ^o 0

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Claims

1. A safety system for high pressure water jetting that combines an adjustable qframe attached to fixed scaffolding/handrail/gantry to remove the need for hand-held water jetting and the possibility of injury to nearby persons. The _water gun can swivel around a fixed clamp in the centre of the frame giving limited forward impact radius, and can slide along the horizontal bars of the frame to give further lateral impact radius. The control and direction of the O water stream is regulated by the operator who remains behind the frame and Cf does not take any physical pressure from the equipment on his torso. C O 2. A safety system according to claim 1 wherein the operator cannot possibly direct the flow of water towards him/herself removing the principal danger associated with the practice of high pressure water jetting. 0 S3. A safety system according to claims 1 and 2 wherein the physical pressure of holding a high pressure water jet is transferred from the torso (shoulder and arms) of the operator to the fixed frame of the Safety System thereby significantly reducing the physical toll of operating the equipment.

4. A safety system according to claims 1-3 wherein the safety system is manufactured from steel or similarly durable materials. A safety system substantially as herein described with reference to the engineering drawings attached. VICON SERVICES PTY LTD 1 0 th FEBRUARY 2009