US3222704A - Reel mechanism for feeding sewer cleaning tool drive rod with free-wheeling anchorage of drive rod to reel - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 14, 1965 P. CIACCIO 3,222,704

REEL. MECHANISM FOR FEEDING sEwER CLEANING TOOL DRIVE ROD WITH FREE-WHEELING ANCHORAGE OF DRIVE ROD T0 REEL Flled July 15, 1963 a E/P L. /9600,

Jvravme r6? Q 51w United States Patent 3,222,704 REEL MECHANISM FDR FEEDING SEWER CLEAN. ING TOUL DREVE R01) WITH FREE-WHEELING ANCHQRAGE GF DRIVE ROI) TU) REEL Peter L. Ciaceio, Culver City, Calif, assignor to Flexible Manufacturing Corporation, Culver City, Caiif, a corporation of California Fiied .iuly 15, 1963, Ser. No. 295,124

2 Claims. (Cl. 15104.3)

This invention relates to drive rod reel feed mechanism of the type disclosed in my pending application S.N. 174,547, now Patent No. 3,120,017.

The general object of the invention is to provide a rod storage and feed reel of enlarged capacity, adapted for satisfactory handling of drive rod having a total length in the range from 500 feet to 1,000 feet or more.

Reel-feed mechanism of this type, having a capacity in the range from 200 to 500 feet of drive rod, has come into fairly extensive use, and there is now an increasing demand for such apparatus having a capacity of more than 500 feet. The operation of such machines where the total length of drive rod being handled was less than 400 feet, has been found quite satisfactory. However, in machines of larger capacity, handling greater length of drive rod in the range between 400 and 600 feet, difficulty has been encountered in maintaining the position of the coiled drive rod within the reel. This diificulty is characterized by the forward displacement of the coils of rod stored within the reel, resulting in tangling of the coils in a manner such as to block the feeding of the rod, especially when the rod is being fed forwardly out of the reel.

In months of study of this problem by field operators, no reason was found why the coils of rod would become loosened and drop forwardly into tangled condition whereas in the older machines, handling the drive rod of shorter total length, the stored coils would remain snugly in position against the confining peripheral portion of the reel.

After several months of unsuccessful attempts to have the problems solved in a machine in the field, I arranged to have the machine returned to the factory and after studying its operation for some time, it occurred to me that the difficulty might be the result of rotary momentum in the coils causing them to contract and release their grip upon the peripheral internal surfaces of the reel so as to be left without support when the reel came to a standstill, and, thus unsupported, would topple forwardly sufliciently to establish the tangled condition. Pursuing this concept, I discoveerd that by providing a freely rotatable anchorage of the tethered end of the drive rod to the back of the reel, the difficulty was eliminated and the coils remained in fixed positions within the reel, thus solving the problem.

Pursuant to the foregoing, the invention embraces the following objects:

(1) To provide an improved rod-feeding reel in combination with a coiled drive rod having a tethered end anchored to the reel by means of a connection freely rotatable about the axis of the reel.

(2) To provide such a reel and rod combination, in which the anchored end of the drive rod is disposed nearer to the periphery than to the axis of the reel and is orbitally movable about said axis.

(3) To provide such a reel, wherein said freely rotatable anchorage is disposed adjacent the back of the reel and does not obstruct any portion of the storage space within the reel.

(4) To provide an improved rod-feeding reel embodying a drive rod anchorage element providing a tethering connection between the reel and an end of a drive rod, said anchorage element providing for free orbital movement of said tethering connection in a circular orbit around the reel axis adjacent the periphery and the back of the reel.

(5 To provide such a reel wherein said anchorage element is relatively simple and inexpensive yet completely reliable and durable under extended service conditions.

(6) To provide a drive rod feed reel having considerably increased capacity for handling greater lengths of drive rod with freedom from the difiiculty of having the coils of rod become loose in the reel, dropping forwardly and consequently becoming tangled.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the ensuring specification and appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the principal portions of a rod-feeding machine embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary axial sectional view of the rear end of the reel of such machine, showing my improved orbital rod anchorage;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the same taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of .a peripheral section of the reel including the floating rod anchorage.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, I have shown therein, as an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, a sewer tool rodding machine embodying, in general, a length of drive rod A which is normally stored, in the form of a plurality of coils, in a reel B of conical cage form, in a storage chamber provided within the rear portion of the reel where it is at maximum diameter. 'As the guide rod A is projected from the reel and retracted into the reel, it passes through a guide nozzle C which guides it from the storage chamber of the reel to the rotational axis of the reel, and vice versa. The reel B is mounted for rotation upon a support at the rear end of a wheel-mounted trailer truck D on which the machine is transported to and from a job. The machine further includes suitable rod-feeding apparatus E which may be any one of several types which have been found suitable for feeding drive rod in this type of machine. The machine further includes an engine or motor (not shown) for power; drive transmission mechanism F for transmitting the power to the reel B for rotating the reel; other suitable drive transmission means (not shown) for transmitting power to the feed apparatus E; and suitable control means G for controlling the transmission of rotation to reel B and the braking of the reel.

Drive Rod A.-As disclosed, is of a type comprising a plurality of sections 10 joined end-to-end by a series of threaded couplings 11. This type is shown for the reason that a machine equipped with the particular type of feed apparatus E shown herein, is especially adapted for the handling of jointed drive rod. It is to be understood however that the invention is equally applicable to the handling of continuous drive rod, in which event the machine would be equipped with a different type of rod feeding unit, especially adapted for gripping the smooth continuous rod.

Reel B. Comprises a hub 13 which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 14 (FIG. 2) the rear end of which is rigidly supported by the top of an A-frame bracket 15 mounted on the rear end of chassis D. The cage structure of reel B includes a back spider 16 consisting of an array of spokes radiating from the hub 13, a frusto-conical array of forwardly converging peripheral bars 17 which can be formed integrally with and bent forwardly at 16 from the outer ends of spokes 16, a conical array of forwardly converging body bars 18 constituting the intermediate body of the reel, a corresponding cylindrical array of bars 19 bent forwardly from the forward ends of body bars 18 and collectively constituting a forward neck portion of the reel cage; and a plurality of spacer hoops including those indicated at 20, 21 and 22, suitably connected to the bars 17, 18 and 19 (as by welding) and securing them in circumferentially-spaced relation. At its forward end, neck 19 has a suitable hub having a brake drum 23 as its periphery and having in its center a tubular guide throat 24 through which the guide rod A passes to the feed unit E, the forward end of this guide throat being journalled in a pillow block bearing 25 carried by the chassis D.

In the rear end of the reel, the invention provides a floating rod-anchor ring 26 having a tethering connection 27 to the rear end of the drive rod A. The anchor ring 26 is rotatably nested within the circular array of bends 16 integrally joining the peripheral cage rods 17 to the spokes 16.

The bends 16' collectively constitute a bearing in which the periphery of the anchor ring 26 is journalled for rotation about the reel axis. Since the peripheral bars 17 of the reel cage converge forwardly, they function to retain the anchor ring 26 against forward displacement, while the spokes 16 collectively constitute a flat bearing which retains the ring 26 against rearward displacement. Thus the ring is confined loosely for rotation in a plane just forwardly of the plane of the spokes 16, and no bearing or retainer means other than the array of bends 16' is required for this purpose. Sufficient clearance between the ring 26 and the bends 16 is provided, so that the ring is loosely retained and therefore freely rotatable in the reel.

The tethering connection 27 (FIG. 4) comprises a short block secured, as by welding at 28 to the inner side of anchor ring 26, projecting generally radially inwardly therefrom but with a diagonally forward inclination such as to position the anchored end of drive rod in forwardly spaced relation to the plane of spokes 16. A bore 29, parallel to the adjacent portion of anchor rod 26, is provided in the inner end of the block 27. Such inner end, in effect, constitutes a sleeve. The end of drive rod 10 is inserted into the bore 29 and is anchored to sleeve 27 by a swiveling connection, being freely rotatable in the bore 29, and is retained against axial shifting movement in the bore 29 by abutment collars 31 fixed (as by pins 30) to the drive rod in positions abutting the respective ends of the sleeve 27.

A reel storage chamber 35 is defined in the peripheral area of the large end of reel B. The periphery of chamber 35 is defined by the forwardly converging peripheral rods 17. The back of the chamber is defined by the outer end portions of spokes 16. The bottom or inward extremity of the storage chamber is defined by a number of parallel bars 36 having rear ends secured at 37 to the spokes 16 and having forward ends secured to a mouth ring 38 by means of radial spokes 39 formed as inwardly bent continuations of their forward ends, the inner ends of spokes 39 being suitably secured to the hub 13. The forward side of storage chamber 35 is defined by an array of substantially radial arms 40 of a plurality of abutment elbows 41 secured to and bridging between the body bars 18 and the peripheral bars 17 of the reel cage, the elbows 41 being spaced radially outwardly from the mouth ring 38 so as to collectively define an annular open mouth 42 for the forward side of storage chamber 35, immediately surrounding the mouth ring 38. The mouth 42 provides for the passage of the drive rod out of and into the storage chamber 35. So long as the coils of drive rod within the chamber are sufficiently expanded to maintain the outer coils snugly in engagement with the peripheral rods 17 and the inner coils snugly coiled against the outer coils as indicated in FIG. 2, they will be adequately retained in the chamber 25 by the abutment arms 40 of elbows 41, and an orderly array of coils, from which an inner coil can be smoothly drawn through the mouth 42 into the guide nozzle C, will be maintained.

Guide Nozzle C.Comprises a tube 50 of broadly curved elbow form supported by a radial arm 51 the inner end of which has a hub 52 by means of which it is mounted for free rotation on the forward end of shaft 4 14 or reel hub 13. Tube 50 and arm 51 are counterweighted by a radially projecting weight 53 secured to the opposite side of hub 52. The inner end of guide tube 50 approaches tangency with the reel axis so as to guide the rod A into the guide throat 24.

Trailer Truck D.Comprises a platform 55 having the A-frame bracket 15 secured to its rear end and having supported on its intermediate portion a bench-like frame 56 which supports the pillow block bearing 25 and the feed mechanism E.

Drive Mechanism E.The specific features of which form no part of the present invention, may include an endless chain or chains 60 traveling on sprockets 61 journalled in suitable frame-supported brackets 62 and having drive yokes 63 for engaging the drive rod couplings 11 along the reel axis and moving the rod linearly either in forward feed or retracting direction depending upon the direction in which the chain 60 is driven. It will be understood that the drive to the chain, not shown herein, will be a reversible drive to provide for the two directions of feed. A more complete disclosure of this feed apparatus may be found in my above identified co-pending application S.N. 174,547, now Patent No. 3,120,017.

Drive Transmission Mechanism F .May include a suitable drive, such as a belt drive 65, to a reduction gear unit 66 from which a belt drive 67 may transmit the drive to the forward hub of the reel B. Suitable reversing mechanism (not shown) may provide for transmitting the drive in both forward and reverse directions. Rotation of the reel may be arrested by a brake band 68 operating on the brake drum 23.

Control Mechanism G.May include a suitable belt tightener 69 on the end of a tubular rock shaft 70 journalled in suitable bearings 71 on the bench frame 56 and actuated by a lever 72 to swing the arm of tightener 61 toward or away from the belt 67. Brake band 68 may be actuated by a tightening device 75 on the end of a rock shaft 76 extending through and journalled in the tubular shaft 70 and having at its rear end a control lever 77. Thus, there is provided in the machine a mean-s for establishing and releasing drive from a suitable motor to the reel and at the same time provision is made for braking the reel.

In general, the operation of this type of rod-feeding machine utilizes the rotation of the reel B to effect rotation of the drive rod A so that a tool carried by its forward end may be rotated within a sewer pipe for cleaning accumulated debris therefrom; Whereas the feed unit E is utilized to advance the drive rod A linearly into the sewer pipe and to retract it from the pipe, as operating conditions may dictate.

In the operation of the machine, when a cleaning tool is being rotated within a sewer pipe, it is necessary for the reel B to rotate at the speed of rotation which has been selected for the operation of the tool. Where four or five hundred feet of drive rod are stored within the relatively large diameter rear end of the reel B the mass of stored coils, when rotating with the reel, will constitute, in effect, a relatively large diameter fly wheel of very considerable weight, a corresponding fly wheel effect (rotary momentum) of correspondingly large value. In this type of machine, up to the present time, the rear end of the drive rod has always been anchored to the reel B with a fixed connection requiring that this end of the rod always rotate with the reel and stop with the reel, in full synchronism with the reel and its rotary movement. When the drive rod is being fed forwardly into a sewer, it is drawn forwardly through the guide nozzle C by the feeding apparatus E, and the nozzle C, which is freely rotatable about the reel axis, is permitted to rotate so as to follow the orbiting path of movement of that portion of the drive rod which is entering the nozzle, as successive coils of rod are drawn out of the storage chamber of the reel. Conversely, when thedrive rod is being retracted into the reel, it will be pushed rearwardly through the nozzle C by the reversely operating feed apparatus E, and the nozzle C will rotate in the reverse direction to follow the portion of the guide rod which is issuing from the rear end of the nozzle and being pushed into the storage chamber 35 of the reel and laid in successive coils against the inner peripheral surfaces of the storage chamber.

The outward and rearward divergence of peripheral rods 17 causes the coils to pack toward the rear end of the storage chamber 35, the succeeding coils tending to build forwardly against more rearward coils and inwardly against the outer coils. So long as these coils are snugly expanded against the peripheral rods 17 and against one another, they will be securely held against forward displacement, since the rearward coils are of larger diameter than the forward coils and would have to be contracted in diameter in order to move forwardly.

It now appears that the difficulty referred to above wherein coils would loosen and become tangled, was the result of rotary momentum causing some of the coils to shift circumferentially during a period of braking the reel to a stop. Since the rear end of the drive rod was anchored in fixed relation to the reel, such circumferential shifting of coils would cause them to wind like a clock spring, resulting in the contraction of the shifting coils to smaller diameter. Thus they became loosened from the adjacent coils disposed outwardly and rearwardly or" their positions, and, losing the support of these coils, would topple forwardly into the mouth 42 and become tangled with the foremost coil which, in the portion thereof entering the nozzle tube 50, would be held by the tube in a substantially fixed position.

The invention has solved this problem by providing a floating anchorage for the rear end of the drive rod, such that, whenever the fly-wheel effect of the coiled body of rod causes it to shift circumferentially in the reel when the latter is being braked, the coiled body of rod will be permitted to rotate as a unit without winding up the inner coils, and the coiled body will therefore remain securely contained in the periphery of the chamber 35.

In the operation of the apparatus, the feed mechanism E is. driven for feeding the drive rod A, and the tool secured to its forward end, into a sewer to a point where cleaning is to commence. At this point, the reel B is rotated for transmitting rotation through the drive rod to the cleaning tool in the proper direction for effecting the intended operation of the tool. Ordinarily, while the tool is being retracted from the sewer, such rotation is continued in the same rotational direction as when the tool is being fed into the sewer. It is to be understood that the cleaning tool and the driving reel can be designed for either counterclockwise or clockwise rotation (e.g. as viewed by the operator standing behind the machine and facing toward the machine and the manhole through which the cleaning operation is being effected) the direction of rotation being a matter of choice of the manufacture of the apparatus. In the embodiment shown herein, the parts are designed and arranged for clockwise rotation as viewed from behind the machine, this direction being indicated by the arrows 1'75 in FIGS. 1 and 3 (in which the reel is seen from its forward side rather than from behind, so that the arrows seem to be indicating counterclockwise rotation).

The direction of coiling of the guide rod within the reel is related to the direction of driving rotation in a manner such that the rotation of the reel tends to push the drive rod into the guide nozzle C rather than to withdraw it from the nozzle, so that in the event that the forward advance of the tool in the sewer is blocked by an obstruction, the rotational driving force of the reel tends to force the drive rod forwardly and thereby to push the tool through the obstruction. Consequently, one of the major aspects of the problem dealt with by the invention, is the tendency of the coils of drive rod forwardly of the anchoring connection to continue rotating under the driving force of their rotary momentum in a direction which is so related to the direction of winding of the coils in the reel that these forward coils. tend to wind up like a clock spring and to consequently contract in diameter, when the mass of coils tends to rotate ahead of the reel (as when the reel tends for any reason to slow down its speed of rotation).

I claim:

1. In combination: a drive rod reel cage comprising a plurality of circumferentially-spaced peripheral rods and a plurality of spokes defining the peniphery and back of a storage chamber respectively, an annular series of arcuate bends integrally joining the rear ends of said peripheral rods to the outer ends of respective spokes and collectively defining an annular internal peripheral back corner in said reel, and means cooperating with said spokes and peripheral rods to define an annular peripheral storage chamber in which a tool-driving rod may be stored in the form of a plurality of coils laid internally against said peripheral rods, said storage chamber having, in its radially inward forward area, an annular mouth through which the drive rod may be projetced from the chamber and retracted into the chamber; a circular anchor ring of round cross-section freely rotatable in said annular corner within said chamber and having slidable bearing engagement with said arcuate bends; and an anchoring connection between the rear end of said drive rod and said anchor ring, said connection being freely movable in orbital path in said chamber as the result of free rotatability of said anchor ring; and fixed connection comprising a block secured to said ring and projecting diagonally forwardly and toward said axis, said block having a bore parallel to the adjacent portion of said ring, said drive rod having a swivelling mounting in said bore; and abutment means secured to said drive rod and abutting respective ends of said block so as to anchor said drive rod to said sleeve.

2. In combination, a drive rod for rotatably driving a sewer cleaning tool; a reel for storing and rotating said drive rod; means mounting said reel for rotation on a horizontal axis; said reel including means defining an annular storage chamber at its periphery and at its rear end, and means for guiding the drive rod through its front end; an anchor ring disposed within the back peripheral area of said chamber, concentric with said horizontal axis; said reel including means retaining said anchor ring against forward displacement from said back peripheral area; said anchor ring providing a tethering connection between said reel and the rear end of said drive rod, and being freely movable circumferentially within said chamber; said reel being of cage structure comprising a back member and a plurality of circumferentially-spaced peripheral elements projecting forwardly therefrom, said back member and peripheral elements cooperatively defining a back peripheral corner of said reel chamber in which said anchor ring is disposed, and said peripheral elements having portions forwardly overhanging said anchor ring and constituting said retaining means; and a connector block secured to said anchor ring and projecting diagonally forwardly and inwardly, said block having a bore extending parallel to the adjacent portion of said ring, said drive rod being rotatably mounted in said bore to provide a swivelling connection between the drive rod and said ring and having at its end a head abutting said block to anchor the drive rod to said ring.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,102,917 12/1937 Rolland 14-104.03 2,282,600 5/1942 Blanc 15-10403 2,557,119 6/1951 Kjerulff 15-104.03 X 3,039,715 6/1962 Caperton 15-1043 X 3,071,794 1/1963 Prange 15--104.3 3,130,432 4/1964 Prange 15-104.3

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A COMBINATION: A DRIVE ROD REEL CAGE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY-SPACED PERIPHERAL RODS AND A PLURALITY OF SPOKES DEFINING THE PERIPHERY AND BACK OF A STORAGE CHAMBER RESPECTIVELY, AN ANNULAR SERIES OF ARCUATE BENDS INTEGRALLY JOINING THE REAR ENDS OF SAID PERIPHERAL RODS TO THE OUTER ENDS OF RESPECTIVE SPOKES AND COLLECTIVELY DEFINING AN ANNULAR INTERNAL PERIPHERAL BACK CORNER IN SAID REEL, AND MEANS COOPERATING WITH SAID SPOKES AND PERIPHERAL RODS TO DEFINE AN ANNULAR PERIPHERAL STORAGE CHAMBER IN WHICH A TOOL-DRIVING ROD MAY BE STORED IN THE FORM OF A PLURALITY OF COILS LAID INTERNALLY AGAINST SAID PERIPHERAL RODS, SAID STORAGE CHAMBER HAVING, IN ITS RADIALLY INWARD FORWARD AREA, AN ANNULAR MOUTH THROUGH WHICH THE DRIVE ROD MAY BE PROJECTED FROM THE CHAMBER AND RETRACTED INTO THE CHAMBER; A CIRCULAR ANCHOR RING OF ROUND CROSS-SECTION FREELY ROTATABLE IN SAID ANNULAR COR-

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