JPH027659B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is applicable to various applications, such as synthetic resin or metal pipes or hoses, for transporting fluids or particles between various devices or in plants, or transporting particles in nuclear power plants. The present invention relates to a cleaning device used for internal cleaning of pipes widely used including heat exchange tubes in nuclear reactors, and a cleaning brush head used therein.

(Prior Art) Pipes used for fluid transportation and heat exchange need to be cleaned by periodically removing dirt and scale adhering to their inner circumferential surfaces. For example, in pipes that transport food products such as dairy products and wine, and their raw materials, if raw material residue or waste adheres to the inside, it not only narrows the flow path and causes transportation stagnation, but also is undesirable from a sanitary standpoint. The interior is cleaned regularly. Furthermore, in the case of heat exchanger tubes in heat exchangers, if scale adheres to the inner surface, it will impede heat conduction, so it must be cleaned and removed. Furthermore, in the home, scale adheres to the pipes of the bathtub and becomes unpleasant, so it is desirable to remove this by cleaning.

Conventionally, cleaning liquid was poured into the pipe for chemical cleaning, the cleaning liquid separated the dirt and then the worker used a brush to scrape out the dirt, or water or a mixture of water and sand was added to the pipe to remove the dirt. It was thoroughly washed and washed.

On the other hand, there is a cleaning device that uses water pressure to rotate a water wheel and uses its drainage water to wash away dirt at the same time (Utility Model Application No. 16766/1983). This cleaning device is intended for use in cleaning almost flat surfaces such as automobiles and bathrooms, and as shown in FIG. A water wheel 101 is provided above the water wheel 102, and tap water is sprayed tangentially from a water discharge pipe 108 onto the water wheel 101 to make it rotate, while the water accumulated in the cover 103 surrounding the water wheel is drained through the hole 106 at the bottom of the cover and around the shaft. The water flows out from the holes 105 in the surface and infiltrates between the cleaning surface and the brush through the holes 107 in the brush 104 and the drainage channel 109 in the shaft 102 that communicates with the inside of the brush 104.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, these conventional cleaning methods are not only uneconomical as they require the use of large amounts of cleaning water and expensive cleaning fluids, but also require the use of large amounts of cleaning water and expensive cleaning solutions. There is a problem that it cannot be removed and sufficient cleaning cannot be expected. In particular, in the case of a pipe such as a bellows pipe whose inner surface is not smooth, dirt and scale easily adhere to the pipe, and it is difficult to clean it. In addition, if the pipe is long or has bends, it is almost impossible for workers to clean it with a brush, and there are many places that cannot be cleaned even with chemicals or water jets. arise. In particular, in the case of pipes for transporting food and drink products and their raw materials, cleaning equipment that can mechanically clean the inner surface of the pipes has been desired, since the use of cleaning liquids and chemicals is disliked.

On the other hand, in the case of the cleaning device of Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-16766,
Since it is for cleaning a plane perpendicular to the shaft 102, it cannot be used for cleaning the inside of a pipe with a curved surface parallel to the shaft 102. It is also conceivable to replace the brush 104 of this cleaning device with a disc-shaped brush (like a buff) with radially flocked bristles to clean the inner surface of the tube. However, since the water turbine 101 is rotated only by the injection pressure of tap water, the low-speed rotation and
It has low torque and cannot be used for cleaning inside pipes that require high speed rotation and high torque. In addition, in this conventional cleaning device, the water discharge pipe 1 protrudes in the tangential direction.
08 is essential, this water discharge pipe becomes an obstacle and cannot be inserted into a pipe that is slightly larger than the water turbine 101. Also, it may be possible to insert it into a pipe whose diameter is 2 to 3 times the diameter of the water wheel, but
Since the water discharge pipe 108 protrudes tangentially, it is not possible to send a cleaning device into the pipe using a hose connected to this water discharge pipe. Furthermore, the water used to rotate the water wheel is discharged from the inside of the brush 104 or from the hole 107 in the brush to the surface to be cleaned. Therefore, when used for cleaning inside the pipe, the waste water flows to the back of the pipe and flows outside the pipe. is not discharged. In addition, if the water wheel is made smaller, it becomes unable to rotate, so it is difficult to make it smaller. Therefore, it is impossible to realize something that can be inserted into small diameter pipes with a diameter of 10 to 15 cm or less, which are often used for fluid transportation.

The first object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that can mechanically clean the inside of various types of pipes. The second purpose is to provide equipment.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the brush head for pipe cleaning of the present invention has a rotor blade formed on one side, and a drain passage opening in the center of the rotor blade is bored at the center of the shaft. a rotor, an inner casing having a nozzle bored in its circumferential surface, supporting the rotor and surrounding the rotor's rotor blades, and having a liquid introduction section parallel to the rotor and surrounding the inner casing; and an outer casing forming a pressure chamber between the water turbine and the rotor.A spike-shaped brush is attached to the tip of the rotor that expands in a direction perpendicular to the rotational axis during rotation, and the outlet of the drain passage of the rotor is connected to the rotor. It is formed on the circumferential surface of the rotor located behind the spike brush and outside the outer casing.

Further, the cleaning device of the present invention includes a cleaning brush head having the above-mentioned configuration, and a cleaning brush head that is connected to the liquid introduction part of the cleaning brush head to support the rear end of the head and supply pressurized liquid to the pipe to be cleaned. The cleaning brush head is composed of a flexible tube that enables cleaning, and a pressure fluid supply source that supplies pressure fluid to the cleaning brush head.

(Function) Therefore, the pressure fluid introduced into the pressure chamber between the outer casing and the inner casing is further boosted in pressure and is injected into the inner casing from the nozzle to rotate the rotor at high speed. The liquid is injected from the liquid port from the rotor circumferential surface outside the casing toward the inner surface of the tube and drained. As a result, the inner surface of the tube is cleaned by the spike-like brushes that expand in the radial direction as the turbine rotates, and dirt and the like separated from the inner surface of the tube are washed away with the pressure fluid used to rotate the turbine.

(Example) The structure of the present invention will be described in detail below based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows a pipe cleaning device of the present invention.
This pipe cleaning device consists of a pressure fluid supply source 1, a cleaning brush head 2 to which a spike brush 5 is attached, and a flexible tube 3 that connects these to support the cleaning brush head 2 and supply pressure fluid.

The cleaning brush head 2 is connected to a water turbine 6.
and a spike-like brush 5 fixed to the rotor 7 of the water turbine 6. The water turbine 6 has a rotor 7 formed with rotor blades 8 on one side, a rotor 7 in which a drainage passage 9 opening at the center of the rotor blade 8 is bored at the center of the shaft, and a rotor 7 with nozzles 11 bored in the circumferential surface and supporting the rotor. An inner casing 10 surrounding the rotor blade section
and an outer casing 12 which has a liquid introduction part (inlet) 14 and forms a pressure chamber 13 between it and the inner casing, and the rotor 7 is rotated by the pressure liquid supplied from the pressure liquid supply source 1.

The rotor 7 has a rotor blade 8 integrally formed on one side thereof. In this embodiment, the rotor blade 8 is made up of four blades 15 arranged radially and connected at both ends by a disk 16, as shown in FIG. The moving blade 8 may have any number of blades 15, but four blades are preferable in consideration of manufacturing difficulty and rotational balance. Also,
Although the shape of the blade 15 is a straight plate in this embodiment, it is not limited to this and may be a curved plate curved in an arc shape. However, in the present brush head 2, where the turbine itself must be made compact, it has been confirmed through experiments that a straight plate is easier to manufacture and provides a stronger rotational force.

A drain passage 9 is bored around the axis of the rotor 7, which has the rotor blade 8 formed on one side. This drainage path 9
, one side 17 is opened in the center of the rotor blade 8 and the other side 18
is opened on the circumferential surface of the rotor 7, and discharges the pressure liquid injected from the nozzle 11 of the inner casing 10 to the outside of the turbine 6. The outlet 18 of the drain path 9 is
A hole is formed in the circumferential surface of the rotor 7 and is provided so as to inject pressure liquid toward the inner surface of the tube 4. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4b, holes of the same size are bored obliquely. However, if the hole diameter of the outlet 18 is made too large, even if the hole is drilled diagonally, the pressure fluid will not be injected diagonally, but will be injected in the centrifugal direction, and the function as a reaction turbine will be lost. I don't like making it bigger. Although not shown, the outlet 18 of this drain path 9
There are two types of holes, large and small, and the small diameter side is sometimes drilled diagonally. Diagonally drilled small diameter outlet 18
The main purpose of this is to increase the speed of the turbine rotation by the reaction when the pressure fluid is injected. Furthermore, the large diameter outlet 18 is primarily intended for the discharge of pressure fluid.

The inner casing 10 consists of a cylindrical part 19 that penetrates the rotor 7 and accommodates the rotor blade part 8, and a lid part 20 that also serves as a bearing that supports one end of the rotor 7. The cylindrical part 19 and the lid part 20 are screwed together. The rotor blade portion 8 of the rotor 7 is surrounded by the rotor 7. Of these, casing 1
A nozzle 11 is perforated on the circumferential surface of 0. The nozzle 11 has an outer casing 12 and an inner casing 10.
The pressure liquid introduced into the pressure chamber 13 formed between the rotor 7 and the rotor 7 is injected toward the moving blade section 8 of the rotor 7, and the blades 15 are perforated diagonally so that the jet stream hits the tips thereof. In the case of this embodiment, two nozzles 11 are bored in parallel so as to spray onto the same blade 15, but a plurality of nozzles 11 may be bored in series on the circumference so as to apply pressure liquid to different blades 15. There is also. In this case, it is desirable to arrange them symmetrically so as not to cause rotational balance and impair rotational force.

The outer casing 12 is a cylindrical body that surrounds the inner casing 10 and forms a pressure chamber 13 between it and the inner casing 10, and is screwed to the inner casing 10. This outer casing 12 has a liquid inlet 14 formed of a screw hole, into which the flexible tube 3 is screwed.

The spike brush 5 is embedded in an attachment 21 that is screwed to the rotor 7 of the water turbine 6 and is attached to the tip of the rotor 7. The spike-like brush 5 is made of a material suitable for the material of the pipe 4 to be cleaned, such as synthetic resin fiber or metal wire. For example, for metal pipes, use a steel or wire brush, stainless steel wire brush, or brass wire brush, etc. For synthetic resin pipes, use a synthetic oil brush such as nylon or a brush made of nylon containing an abrasive material. . In the case of this embodiment, a spike-shaped brush made of a large number of nylon fibers, steel wires, etc. bundled in the axial direction of the rotor 7 is employed. The spike-shaped brush 5 is narrow when not rotating and has approximately the same diameter as the rotor 7, but as the rotor 7 rotates, it expands into a funnel shape due to centrifugal force and is provided so as to come into contact with the inner surface of the tube 4. Therefore, this spike-shaped brush 5 can be used in a range from small diameter pipes into which the water turbine 6 can be inserted to large diameter pipes with a radius that is approximately the same as the length of the brush.

As the pressure liquid supply source 1, a known pump or the like can be used. This pressure liquid supply source 1 has a filter 22 to prevent the nozzle 11 from being clogged due to impurities entering the supplied pressure liquid. Generally, water is sufficient as the pressure fluid, but if the dirt or scale is severe, water mixed with a cleaning agent or other fluid with low viscosity may be used.

The flexible tube 3 that connects the pressure fluid supply source 1 and the cleaning brush head 2 also serves as an operating lever when feeding the brush head 2 into the tube 4, so it is a watertight and pressure-resistant cantilever tube with a certain degree of rigidity. It is necessary that For example, a rubber hose or synthetic resin tube reinforced with wire or coils is suitable.

The interior of the pipe is cleaned by operating the cleaning device thus constructed as follows.

First, the pressure fluid supply source 1 is activated and a pressure fluid, such as water, is supplied to the cleaning brush head 2 in the tube 4 through the flexible tube 3. This pressure fluid is
After being introduced into the pressure chamber 13 formed by the outer casing 12 and the inner casing 10, the flow velocity is increased by the nozzle 11 to become a high-speed flow and sprayed onto the blades 15 of the rotor blade section 8. Then, the moving blade portion 8 and rotor 7 are rotated. The pressure liquid after rotating the rotor blade section 8 passes through a drainage passage 9 in the center of the rotor 7 and is ejected from an outlet 18 on the rotor peripheral surface. The reaction during this injection further urges the rotor 7 to rotate. As the rotor 7 rotates, the spike-shaped brush 5 attached to the rotor 7 expands into a funnel shape due to centrifugal force and rotates while being strongly pressed against the inner surface of the tube 4. The spike-shaped brush 5, which is spread by centrifugal force, slides along the inner surface of the tube 4 at high speed, so even if the tube 4 is crushed or has an irregular shape, it can mechanically remove dirt and scale attached to the inner surface. Peel off. At this time, a part of the pressure liquid that has spouted out from the rotor 7 and collided with the inner surface of the tube 4 is supplied to the brush-like brush 5 side, thereby helping to cool and clean the brush-like brush 5. In addition, the remaining pressure fluid flows out toward the pipe inlet side and discharges the dirt and scale removed by the spiked brush 5, thereby cleaning the inner surface of the pipe. Here, since the pressure liquid supplied to the spike brush 5 side is a part of the liquid that collides with the inner surface of the tube 4 and loses some of its force, there is no need to pack the spike brush 5 which spreads due to centrifugal force. Rather, it wets and penetrates the dirt and scale on the inner surface of the tube prior to the spike brush 5, making it easier to separate and peel off the dirt.

The inside of the pipe can be cleaned by simply holding the flexible tube 3 and feeding the cleaning brush head 2 into the pipe 4. Furthermore, even if the pipe 4 is bent, the cleaning can proceed because the flexible tube 3 pushes the cleaning brush head 2 forward while bending along the pipe 4. Therefore, the cleaning brush head 2 supported by the flexible tube 3 can be used not only for straight pipes but also for curved pipes and irregularly shaped pipes.
It can be easily cleaned using the spike-like brush 5.

In addition, for cleaning the inner surface of tubes in environments where workers cannot access them due to the risk of toxicity or radiation contamination, the above-mentioned cleaning brush head 2 is attached to a straight tube or flexible tube of a working robot that is automatically fed out. It is also possible to carry out the process while supplying pressure liquid by mounting and remote control. For example, it can be used to clean reactor heat exchange tubes in nuclear power plants.

Furthermore, at home, the flexible tube 3 can be connected to a water faucet, and the water turbine 6 can be rotated using tap water, which can be used to clean pots, bottles, and pipes for bathtubs.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the present invention uses pressure fluid to rotate a water turbine equipped with spike-like brushes that spread out in a funnel shape due to centrifugal force and are pressed against the inner surface of a pipe when rotating. The pressure fluid used to rotate this water turbine is injected from the circumferential surface of the rotor toward the rear of the brush brush, that is, closer to the outlet, so that the brush brush, which rotates at high speed on the inner surface of the tube, is perpendicular to the rotation axis due to the centrifugal force. It spreads out in the direction of sliding contact with the inner surface of the tube, peels off dirt and scale, washes it away with pressure liquid, and discharges it outside the tube. Moreover, the brush spreads due to centrifugal force and is pressed against the inner surface of the pipe, so even if the relationship changes midway through the pipe, such as a different diameter pipe, a bellows pipe, a collapsed pipe, or an irregularly shaped pipe, the brush will spread along the shape of the pipe. Can be cleaned reliably. Furthermore, if the outlet of the liquid drainage path on the circumferential surface of the rotor is perforated obliquely, the rotation of the rotor will further increase due to the reaction at the time of discharge and ejection, thereby further increasing the cleaning power. In addition, the compact cleaning brush head is supported by a flexible tube and pressure fluid is supplied from the pressure fluid supply source, so even if the pipe is long or curved, the cleaning brush head can be easily removed by simply inserting and removing the flexible tube. Can be moved freely within the pipe for cleaning.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a pipe cleaning device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a cleaning brush head according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing a conventional cleaning device. FIG. 4a is a perspective view showing an example of the rotor, and FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view taken along the line -. 1... Pressure liquid supply source, 2... Cleaning brush head, 3... Flexible tube, 4... Tube,
5, 5'...Eared brush, 6...Water turbine, 7
... Rotor, 8 ... Moving blade section, 9 ... Drainage path, 10
... Inner casing, 12 ... Outer casing, 13
...Pressure chamber, 14...Liquid introduction section, 17...Drainage path inlet, 18...Drainage path outlet.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A rotor having a rotor blade formed on one side and having a drainage passage opened at the center of the rotor blade formed at the center of the shaft, and a rotor having a nozzle formed on the circumferential surface and supporting the rotor. an inner casing surrounding a rotor blade, a liquid introduction part parallel to the rotor;
A water turbine includes an outer casing that surrounds a casing and an outer casing forming a pressure chamber between the inner casing and the rotor, and a spike-shaped brush that spreads in a direction perpendicular to the rotational axis during rotation is attached to the tip of the rotor, and further, A brush head for cleaning pipes, characterized in that an outlet of the passage is formed on the circumferential surface of the rotor located behind the spike-like brush and outside the outer casing. 2. The pipe cleaning brush head according to claim 1, wherein the outlet of the drain passage is bored parallel to the tangential direction of the rotor circumferential surface. 3. The pipe cleaning brush head according to claim 1, wherein the outlet of the drain passage is formed into a plurality of holes of different sizes, and the small diameter hole side is diagonally bored. 4. A rotor with a rotor blade formed on one side and a drainage passage opening in the center of the rotor blade formed at the center of the axis, and a rotor having a nozzle bored in the peripheral surface, supporting the rotor, and surrounding the rotor blade part. A water turbine that rotates when rotating at the tip of the rotor of a water turbine comprising an inner casing that has a liquid inlet parallel to the rotor, and an outer casing that surrounds the inner casing and forms a pressure chamber between the inner casing and the inner casing. A cleaning brush head is provided with a brush in the form of a spike extending in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and an outlet of the drainage passage of the rotor is formed in the shape of the brush on the circumferential surface of the rotor located behind the brush and outside the outer casing. a flexible tube that is connected to the liquid introduction part of the cleaning brush head, supports the rear end of the head, supplies pressure liquid, and allows the fluid to be introduced into the pipe to be cleaned;
and a pressure fluid supply source that supplies pressure fluid to the cleaning brush head.