US2756455A

US2756455A - Fuel oil strainer cleaner

Info

Publication number: US2756455A
Application number: US271129A
Authority: US
Inventors: Mattie M Slaughter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-02-12
Filing date: 1952-02-12
Publication date: 1956-07-31
Anticipated expiration: 1973-07-31

Description

1956 B. E. SLAUGHTER, SR 2,756,455

FUEL on STRAINER CLEANER Filed Feb. 12, 1952 '2 Sheets-Sheet I.

I I2 n I 1 3 i 7 9 4 6 INVENTOR BUELL. E. SLAUGHTER y 1956 B, E. SLAUGHTER, SR 2,756,455

FUEL OIL STRAINER CLEANER Filed Feb. 12, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BUELL E. SLAUGHTER "BY ti ATTORNEY United States Patent FUELoIL STRAINER CLEANER Buell E. Slaughter, Sr., Forrest City, Ark.; Mattie M. Slaughter, executrix of the estate of said Buell E. Slaughter, Sn, deceased Application February -12,' 1952, Serial No. 271,129

3 Claims. (Cl. -306) This invention relates to the art of cleaning and in particular to apparatus for removing grease and oil sediment from strainers and filters through which oil is passed.

The present invention is designed particularly for cleaning fuel oil strainers.

Industrial fuel oil strainers are used in various sizes and in general comprise cylinders of reticulated material open at one end through which the oil is fed and closed at the other end so that the oil is discharged through the material of the casing and is cleaned of its sediment and foreign matter in suspension. Heretofore it has been customary practice to clean these strainers with liquid solvents such as kerosene, diesel oil, and like material. The cleaning process is necessarily time consuming and considerable care must be taken to prevent injury to personnel employed in the cleaning operation. Disposal of the sediment under such conditions has always been aproblem and the entire operation is productive of considerable soilage of equipment and adjacent areas.

The present invention is designed'to eliminate the disadvantages of conventional cleaning practice in this regard, and has for an object the provision of a novel apparatus for cleaning fuel oil strainers in a rapid and economical manner by the use of steam.

Another object is to provide fuel oil strainer cleaners arranged to rotate the surface of the cleaner past a fixed jet of steam or other fluid cleaning medium so that the entire surface of the cleaner is freed of the material collected thereon.

Still another object is to provide an improved cleaner of the character specified which is simple and inexpensive, and adaptable to cleaning of strainers of different sizes.

Other objects will be apparent to persons skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is substantially a vertical longitudinal section partly in elevation, ofa preferred form of apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on the line 44 of Fig.2.

In the structural embodiment of the invention herein shown and described, the apparatus comprises a tubular casing 1 of cylindrical form adapted to be supported at a vertical position for carrying out the cleaning operation. Adjacent its upper end,'the cylinder wall mounts an inwardly directed elbow '23 that is adapted at its outer end for connection with a steam supply source, shown in dotted lines. The elbow has a screw threaded detachable connection with a steam header 2 which extends longitudinally within the casing closely adjacent its wall and which extends at its lower end through an aperture in a closure plate 7 that isfixed on the lower end of the casing. The closure plate 7 is permanently at- 2 tached to the casing end by any suitable -means such as Welding or the like. The header pipe 2 projects through and beyond plate 7 and through a pipe coupling 3 that is butt welded to the exterior face of the closure plate. The coupling 3 has threaded connection with a removable pipe nipple 4 which in turn has threaded connection with the removable cap 5 which seals the end of the nipple. This arrangement of coupling, nipple and cap, provides for access to the header pipe whenever it becomes necessary to remove the header or to replace it. In this operation it is merely necessary to remove the cap and nipple whereupon the projecting end of the header pipe which is closed at its end by a cap 6, can be easily unscrewed at its connection with the elbow 23 and removed longitudinally from the bottom-closure plate 7.

The closure plate 7 is also provided with a combined pressure relief and drain aperture therethrough in registry with .a pipe nipple 9 that is butt welded to the exterior face of the closureplate. The nipple 9 is adapted for connection to a discharge line, not shown, or may be positioned'directly over a sewer or sump so that the sediment collecting at the bottom of the cylinder may be discharged continuously during the cleaning operation.

The bottom closure plate 7 mounts on its inner face a spindle '8 having a diametrically reduced portion which rotatably supports the hub 12 of a support spider 10 that is adapted to seat the open end of a cylindrical fuel oil strainer, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, that is to be cleaned. The spider is provided with a series of guide pins or studs 11 which project upwardly from the top face of the spider for engagement by the strainer and to center the strainer on the support. The support spider is freely rotatable on the spindle 8 on the axis of the cylinder.

The opposite end of the cylinder, which is its upper end in service, carries a removable closure plate 22 which has hinged connection 3% with the exterior of the cylinder so that the closure may be swung to and from closed position. The under face of theremovable closure plate 22 is provided with an annular groove adjacent itsmarginal edge which seats a gasket of rubber or other suitable compressible material which bears upon and seals the cylinder end when the closure is secured in service position. Preferably the plate 22 is closed-by clamping against the end of the cylinder through the agency of dog bolts 15 pivoted by'pintles '14 in ear brackets 13 welded or otherwise suitably rigidly secured to the casing wall. The dog bolts engage bifurcated lugs 17 carried by the closure plate 22, and nuts 16 on the ends of the dog bolts provide a means for dogging down the closure plate into tight sealed engagement'with the end of the casing.

The removable closure plate 22 is axially apertured to receive therethrough a shaft or stem 19arranged for both rotation and axial movement in and through the closure plate. The shaft 19 extends through the closure plate downwardlywithin the casing 1 and carries at its lower end a fixed clutch member 24 that is adapted to engage the adjacent end of a strainer, not shown, mounted on the support spider 10. As shown best in Fig. 3, clutch member 24 comprises a cup shaped element provided with diametrically opposed lateral ears extending from its mouth and with diametrically aligned notches ofiset with relation to the ears. This arrangement enables the clutch to engage the strainer end with a positive drive action so that when the shaft 19 is rotated the clutch will rotate the engaged fuel oil strainer and the support 10 correspondingly.

The shaft 19 has a movement of rotation as well as axial movement through a stufiing gland 25 on the exterior face of the closure 22. A packing nut 26 cooperates with the stufling; gland to vprovide an etfectiveseal 'manual manipulation of the hand wheel.

with a hand wheel '18 by which it may be rotated manually during the cleaning operation.

. 3 ,The .removableclosure plate 22 also has mounted thereona pair of axially projected posts 2-1, rigidly athxed to the closure plate and receiving at their outer ends a yoke bar 20 that is clamped to the post ends by nuts 29 in the conventional manner of such assemblies. .The yoke bar 20 is apertured on the axis of thecasing to receive the 'shaft 19 therethrough both for rotation and for axial or is so arranged that the discharge nipple 9 is connected to a discharge line and the removable cover plate 22 is swung-back to expose the open upper end of thevcasing. A fuel oil strainer to be cleaned is then inserted through the open upper end of the casing in such manner 7 that its open end is disposed downwardly in the casing so that it sits upon the spider support 10, being centered thereon by the pins 11. At this point it should be noted that the internal diameter of the cylindrical casing 11 is appreciably greater than the external diameter of the strainer to be cleaned. It follows, therefore, that the header pipe 2 extends longitudinally in this cylinder over the full length of the strainer and externally with respect to the wall of the strainer. In fuel oil strainers the body of the strainer becomes clogged by grease and sediment which collects on its surface from the interior. In the cleaning action effected by this apparatus, steam under pressure is directed from a plurality of ports in the header 2 so that it is discharged radially within the casing against the exterior of the strainer to be cleaned and over the full length of the strainer. With a strainer inposition on the spider 19, the closure plate 22 is closed and sealed against the upper end of the casing and the shaft 19 is moved axially inwardly until its-clutch member 24 is in appropriate driving engagement with the adjacent closed end of the strainer. The thrust bearing 27 is then moved axially along the shaft into engagement with the under face of the yoke bar 20 and its position of adjustment is anchored by manipulation of the set screw 28. This adjustment maintains the proper'driving engagement the clutch 24 with the strainer to be cleaned.

When the parts are so positioned steam under pressure for the shaft. At its outer end the shaft is provided I is supplied through the elbow 23 and'nozzlecomprising' the header pipe 2 so that the steam is discharged radially in a plurality of jets against the exterior surface of the strainer. During continued discharge of steam from the header 2 the wheel 18 at the outer end of the shaft '19 -is manipulated torotate the strainer and its support 10 so that the entire peripheral surface of the strainer is carried past the longitudinal row of inwardly and radially directed steam jets at a rate that is regulated by As a consequence of this operation the grease and sediment on the strainer is effectively dislodged radially inwardly 'of the strainer and falls through its open lower end through the open spider 14) to the bottom of the casing on the plate 7 from which it passes continually through the drain aperture leading to the drainage nipple 9. The drain aperture through the plate 7 also provides for a continuous relief of the steam pressure so that no pressure is allowed to build up at any time within the apparatus during its operation.

At the conclusion of the cleaning operation the closure 22 is released and swung open whereupon the cleaned strainer is removed through the upper open end of the casing and the apparatus is ready for another operation.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention but is not restrictive. The-invention is susceptible to expression in other forms and it is intended thatany desired changes may be made in the structural details and arrangement of parts that fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A cleaner for an industrial fuel oil strainer that has a foraminous body and an open end and closedend, comprising a casing having a fixed bottom closure and a removable top closure adapted to receive the strainer in reverse position through the top thereof, a header pipe extending longitudinally in the casing between its wall and the wall of the strainer annd presenting a series of spray openings opposite the latter wall when the strainer is mounted in said casing, a source of highpressure steam connected therewith to deliver jets of high pressure steam through the body I of said strainer, a freely rotatable spider in the bottom of said casing adapted to receive and center the open end of the strainer, a shaft operative in and through the removable closure for the casing, means on the inner end of said shaft for clampingly engaging the adjacent closed end of the strainer and to permit rotation of the strainer body relative to the header pipe, and a drain through said bottom closure of the casing of sufficient size to act as a pressure relief for the high pressure cleansing steam entrapped therein.

2. A cleaner for an industrial fuel oil strainer that has a foraminous body and an open end and closed end comprising a casing having a fixed bottom closure and a removable top closure adapted to receive the strainer in reverse position through the top thereof, a header pipe extending longitudinally in the casing between its wall and the wall of the strainer and presenting a series of spray openings opposite the latter wall when the strainer is mounted in said casing, a source of high pressure steam connected therewith to deliver jets of high pres- ,sure steam through the body of said strainer, a freely rotatable spider in the bottom of said casing adapted to receive and .center the open end of the strainer, a shaft passing through the removable closure of the easing and rotatably and slidably mounted therein, a yoke on the outer face of said closure through which the shaft is slidably and rotatably mounted, strainer end engaging means on the inner end of said shaft, handle means on the outer end of said shaft for sliding said means into engagement with the strainer-end and rotating the same, means axially mounted on the shaft and engageable with the yoke to lock the strainer engaging means on the shaft in positive driving engagement with the strainer, and a drain through the bottom closure of said casing of suflicient size to act as a pressure release for the high pressure cleansing steam entrapped therein.

3. A cleaner for an industrial fuel 'oil strainer that has a foraminous body and an open end and closed end, comprising a casing having a fixed bottom closure and a removable top closure adapted to receive the strainer in reverse position through the top thereof, a header pipe extending longitudinally in the casing between its wall and the wall of the strainer and presenting a series of spray openings opposite the latter wall when the strainer is mounted in said casing, a source of high pressure steam connected therewith to deliver jets of high pressure steam through the body of said strainer, a freely rotatable spider in the bottom of said casing adapted to receive and center the open end of the strainer, a shaft operative -in and through the removable closure for the'casing,

means on the inner end of said shaft for clampingly engaging the adjacent closed end of the strainer and to permit rotation of the strainer body relative to the header pipe, a drain through said bottom closure of the casing of sufiicient size to act as a pressure relief for the high pressure cleansing steam entrapped therein, an elbow connected with the source of high pressure steam mounted in and through an upper side wall portion of the casing in supporting connection with the upper end of the header pipe, the lower end of said header 'pipe beingclosed bya detachablecap and extending loosely through and beyond the bottom closure of the casing, a housing on the bottom closure enclosing the lower header pipe end, and a detachable cap on the housing in axial alignment with the header pipe whereby access is provided to the header pipe for cleaning purposes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 987,544 Brander M81. 21, 1911 6 Sanborn et a1. Oct. 1 1912 Davis Jan. 31, 1922 Wolfer Dec. 8, 1925 Hobi June 13, 1933 Birch May 20, 1941 Douglass July 18, 1950