US2499655A - Combination brush spacer and support for rotatable pipe cleaning machine brushes - Google Patents

Description

March 7, 1950 M. P. LAURENT COMBINATION BRUSH SPACER AND SUPPORT FOR ROTATABLE PIPE CLEANING MACHINE BRUSHES Filed June 3, 1946 HF! LAllRE NT IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEKS- Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED: STATES PATENT orrice COMBINATION "BRUSH SPACER AND SUP- PORT FOR-ROTATABLE PIPE CLEANING MACHINE. BRUSHES MiItonP. Laurent, Houston, Tex.

Ap lication June-.3, 1946, Serial No. 67%;9'79 21 Claims. (Cl..1588) The; invention-relates tot-8,1? spaceri for. rotating brushes so as tozavoid overloadingand: excessive flexing of the bristles of-the brush..,

In accomplishingzbrushing operation by. using rotating: brushes, itis. notuncommon that'excessive-pressureis. applied to" the-brush inan attempt to obtain maximum; cuttingor'cleaning action but'it'has, been found thatv such excessive pressure results :in-. consequent movement ofthe brush towardthe work to such: an extentthat the" bristles ofthe-brush are; bent overan excessi'veamount soythattheydo-not obtain the desired. whipping; action upon; striking the; work which, results in. an efficient operation;

It is" difficult: to accurately adjustsar brush ro.- tating' at high: speed and particularly brushes which travel along the work while the brushes are rotating: Because the adjustment of the parts are difiicult, the brushes are often subjected to excessive pressure and moved too. close to the work for efiicient operation.

To overcome this, the present invention contemplates a spacer which. will'bear against and roll on the work as the brushes-rotate and .travel so as to form a positive stop for movement of the brush against the workand to also absorb any pressure beyond thewamount necessary to flex the bristles of the brush- The invention has alwide application but will. be here described as particularly applied to rotating brushesused in the cleaning of pipe. M

It is one of the objects of. the invention to provide aspacer for rotatingbrushes whichwill support any excessive loads beyond that required to properly flex the bristles of the brush and to also space the brush the desired distance from the work.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a combination rotating brush and spacer to support the brush in the proper position relative to the work.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a gauge for rotating bristled brushes which will roll on the work and space the brush relative thereto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rotating brush spacer member which can be arranged to wear at the same rate as the wear on the bristles of the brushes so that the desired spacing of the brush relative to the work is maintained.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a support disc for brushes so as to avoid undue flexing and injury to the bristle itself.

A still further object of the invention is td provide a device for effecting wear for'supporting brush: discs at the-same rate of wearas thewear on the bristles occurs.

Other and further objects offthe inventionwill be readily apparent when the followingdescription is considered in connection with the :accoma panying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a rotating brush which has been equipped With'the supporting disc of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the support disc in the brush in; actual operation;

The invention herein described can be applied to the type of: rotating brush employed .to travel along a pipe' being cleaned but; may be applied in many other fields. of brushing;

In Fig. 1 a rotatable shaft 2 is supported in the bearings.3 which are inturn carried by a housing 4. This shaft has a drive pinion 5 thereon which receives a fiexible belt" or other driving member 6 so. as to impart rotation to the shaft; The shaft is outstanding at 8 beyondthe interbearing 9 and has af xed thereonthe brush units iii and. made up of the flanges l2 and it on opposite ends thereof so as to generally clamp and retain the metal bristles 59. Each brush is further made up of flanges it andltl" positioned by enlarged collar it on opposite ends thereof to retain and clamp metal bristles it. The enlarged col lar on the shaft tends to space the respective brushes apartand the nut 22 serves to draw the shaft inwardlysoas to confine the fiangeson opposite sides of the brush it while the nut 23 and the retainer pin 24 clamp the brush H into position.

In Fig. 2 a piece of work 25 such as a pipe having a surface 26 which is to be cleaned has,

been illustrated. This pipe is being brushed by the brushes it and Il being applied thereto by tilting of the housing 4. Suitable pressure is applied to the housing and the brush to force it against the work while the brush is being rotated.

In the copending application referred to, a housing 4 is carried by a rotatable cage which travels around the pipe while the brush in turn rotates against the pipe during this traveling movement.

In order to properly space the brushes I!) and l I relative to the work so that the ends 30 of the bristles l9 execute the proper sweeping action as they contact the surface 26, it is necessary to space the axle of the brushes a proper distance from the work. This proper distance varies of course upon the amount of cleaning, speed of Each of these'bruSh-units is rotation of the brushes, the rate of travel, and various other conditions which must be taken into consideration. In many instances, it is often necessary to cut and try in order to obtain the desired spacing of the brush from the surface being cleaned.

The present invention embodies a disc or plate 35 which is shown as having been mounted upon a hub flange 36 by the cap screws 31. This hub is fixed to the collar of the shaft and is arthe work and move into a position where they are ready to leave the work, the bristles will flex or snap outwardly so that they move from the curved position 43 to the straight position 44 also seen in Fig. 2.

It will be noted that the periphery 40 of the support disc is traveling peripherally at 26 of the pipe to provide a solid or rigid support for the brush. In this manner, only enough pressure to hold the brush from moving out by centrifugal force is required and then any additional pressure is controlled by the disc 35.

Regardless of the amount of pressure applied to the brush, only a suflicient pressure can be applied to the bristles to cause them to flex and execute the desired cleaning action because any additional pressure is taken up by the wheel or disc 35 traveling on the periphery of the pipe.

This arrangement prevents undue flexing, crys tallization, and fatigue in the metal of the bristles and always maintains the bristles in position to execute the maximum cleaning or cutting action.

The disc may be of any suitable material and is preferably constructed so that it will wear by rolling on the periphery of the work at approximately the same rate that the metal bristles are subjected to wear. In this Way, the brushes and the disc will be used and worn out simultaneously.

If desired, however, a suitable grinder 50 may be arranged in the form of an abrasive material supported on an arm 5| pivoted at 52 on the housing 4. This arm may be urged against the periphery 40 of the disc 35 by a lever 53 pressing against a spring 54 and adjustable by the cap screw 55 passing through a slot 56 in the heel 51 of the lever 53. By suitable adjustment, the desired abrasive action may be applied to the periphery 40 of the support wheel so as to cause it to wear in unison with the wear on the bristles.

As stated heretofore the invention has been described in connection with a rotating pipe cleaning brush" but it seems it may be utilized with various types of grinders and in various types of cleaning and brushing equipment.

Broadly the invention contemplates a support or gauge for rotating bristle brushes to position the brush for the most efficient operation.

What is claimed is:

1. A rotatable circular brush for pipe cleaning machines comprising a shaft, both a cylindrical spring wire bristle brush unit and a spacer disc of rigid material mounted on said shaft to rotate therewith, said disc being of a slightly lesser diameter than said unit to engage the work to be cleaned and retain said shaft a distance from said Work such that said bristles are caused to sweep against the work, means to carry and rotate said shaft, and an abrasive member mounted on said means to rub against said disc to insure that said disc is maintained worn to a slightly lesser diameter than said unit.

2. In a cleaning device, the combination of, a rotary shaft, both a cylindrical brush and a disc slightly smaller in diameter than said brush mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, a housing to support said shaft for rotation, and an abrasive block on said housing adjustably held against said disc to insure that it is maintained worn to a slightly lesser diameter than said brush.

MILTON P.'LAURENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 339,585 Root Apr. 6, 1886 508,668 Bassett Nov. 14, 1893 692,129 Ferguson Jan. 28, 1902 1,521,593 Benjamin Jan. 6, 1925 1,576,223 Robbins Mar. 9, 1926 1,809,725 Roe June 9, 1931 1,990,710 Riebel Feb. 12, 1935 2,293,865 Sykes -1 Aug. 25, 1942 2,353,125 Carpmail July 11, 1944 2,436,099 Cummings et al Feb. 17, 1948

Images