WO1995032393A1

WO1995032393A1 - Chimney sweeping apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO1995032393A1
Application number: PCT/FR1995/000676
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean-François Fontanaud
Original assignee: Fontanaud Jean Francois
Priority date: 1994-05-25
Filing date: 1995-05-24
Publication date: 1995-11-30
Also published as: ATE170612T1; DE69504500D1; FR2720480B1; EP0760923A1; EP0760923B1; DE69504500T2; FR2720480A1

Abstract

Chimney sweeping apparatus for cleaning a wall (2) of a chimney flue (1), and comprising a support (11) adapted to be mounted at the tip of an actuating rod (9), and a chimney sweeping tool (12); resilient means (13) carried by said support (11) are provided and positioned for resiliently applying said chimney sweeping tool (12) on the wall (2) to be cleaned, by bearing on the wall opposite the wall (2) to be cleaned.

Description

SWEEPING APPARATUS.

The present invention relates to a sweeping apparatus. As is known, a sweeping apparatus comprises a sweeping tool disposed at the end of an operating rod, generally consisting of several elements which fit into one another as a function of the height of the chimney flue to be swept , a sweeping tool that the sweeper applies to the wall to remove the soot.

Given the adhesion of the soot to the walls of the chimney, it is necessary, for the sweeping operation to be properly carried out, to apply with some effort the sweeping tool to said walls; we understand that it is very difficult for the chimney sweep to sufficiently apply the sweeping tool on the walls because of the length of the operating rod. The subject of the present invention is a sweeping apparatus, which allows the sweeper to carry out a sweeping operation with a sweeping tool which is applied with a sufficient bearing force to the wall to be swept, regardless of the height of this wall and therefore the chimney flue. As is also known, chimney flues, when they are of quadrangular cross section, have a section which is not constant over their entire height; it decreases from the bottom of the chimney to the top of it; the section of the duct is generally rectangular in shape and does not decrease continuously: in fact, the duct, being constructed from masonry elements, consists of sections each having a constant rectangular section over its entire height, the section two consecutive sections decreasing from the bottom of the chimney to the top of the chimney; these different rectangular sections have the same width, which corresponds to the thickness of the conduit, but a length, which corresponds to the width of the conduit, decreasing. Consequently, when the sweeping operation is carried out from the bottom of the chimney, the steps made at the section changes constitute an obstacle to the upward progression of the sweeping tool pushed by the sweeper; the object of the present invention is to propose a sweeping tool making it possible to resolve this difficulty, the sweeping tool according to the invention being provided with means making it possible to easily cross said steep slopes. It is specified, on this occasion, that a sweeping can be carried out either by pushing the sweeping tool towards the top of the duct from the bottom of the chimney, or by pulling upwards, from the top of the duct, the sweeping tool which has been previously lowered into the flue to the bottom of the chimney.

The masonry elements, with which the chimney flues are made, are most often juxtaposed and assembled elements, such as bricks for example for conduits of rectangular section; the jointing operation allowing this assembly results in the presence of grooves in the wall of the chimney, close to each other, and horizontal; when the sweeping tool comprises a scraper blade, generally extending in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the operating rod of the sweeping apparatus, it is understood that said grooves do not facilitate the sweeping operation either ; the object of the present invention is to propose a sweeping tool which also makes it possible to resolve this difficulty, the sweeping tool according to the invention being provided with means making it possible to pass said grooves without difficulty. We have already proposed, in US-A-4 625 358, a sweeping device intended for sweeping a wall of a chimney flue, comprising a support arranged to allow the mounting of said support at the end of a cane maneuver and a sweeping tool, elastic means carried by the support being provided for applying elastic the sweeping tool to the wall to be swept, said elastic means being positioned in such a way that they apply the sweeping tool to the wall to be swept by bearing on a wall zone of the chimney flue opposite the wall zone to be swept, said support being produced by means of at least one roller mounted for rotation at the end of said elastic means.

The invention relates to a sweeping apparatus of the type defined above in which the elastic means are mounted in an adjustable manner to adapt the sweeping apparatus to the thickness of the chimney flue, for flues of quadrangular cross section, or to the diameter of the chimney flue, for circular cross-section flues.

Preferably, the elastic means are produced in the form of a U-shaped wire spring, the core of which is linked to the support and the end of the wings of which is distant from the core and is intended to bear against the wall. opposite.

Advantageously, the part of the spring close to the core is fixed on a plate mounted for rotation on the support; the rotational mounting of the wafer on the support comprises a sheath, obtained by rolling a transverse edge of the wafer, in which can rotate an axis supported by a folded square integral with the support; the two wings of the folded bracket have facing holes, arranged at a distance from the axis, and in which is positioned an adjustment rod against which the plate is brought to bear for the elastic application of the tool swept by the spring.

Preferably, a safety roller is carried by the support, opposite the folded bracket, in the vicinity of the end of the support by which the support is mounted on the operating rod.

The chimney sweeping device can be, if necessary, equipped with anti-sloping means allowing the sweeping tool to cross the sloping steps made when the sections of the chimney flue change; the anti-sloping means are carried by the sweeping tool; the

^' anti-sloping means consist of a metal wire in the form of an arc, the ends of which are fixed to the sweeping tool and the top of which is applied to the support.

Preferably, the sweeping tool comprises a bevel blade with a triangular section; one can provide an asymmetrical bevel having only an inclined wall placed upstream with respect to the direction in which the operating rod is moved for the sweeping operation; but it is also possible to provide a symmetrical bevel with respect to the mean plane of the blade, of which it constitutes the border.

Anti-groove means can be provided, if necessary, to allow the sweeping tool to easily cross the grouting grooves of the sweeping duct; the anti-groove means are carried by the sweeping tool. According to an interesting embodiment, the bevelled blade is provided at the end of the core of a T-shaped profile and the anti-groove means are constituted by flanges in a quarter of a circle arranged on either side of the web of the T.

Alternatively, the sweeping tool is a sweeping brush. Advantageously, the sweeping tool is mounted on the support in a removable manner.

To better understand the object of the invention, we will now describe, purely by way of illustration and not limitation, two embodiments shown with their variants in the accompanying drawing.

On this drawing :

- Figure 1 shows schematically, in elevation, a chimney sweeping apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention, as it is in a chimney duct of rectangular cross section, seen partially in section;

- Figure 2 is a plan view of the sweeping apparatus of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a side view along III - III of Figure 2; - Figure 4 is a perspective view of a variant of sweeping tool for the device of Figure 1;

- Figure 5 is a partial schematic sectional view of the chimney flue of Figure 1, along V - V of Figure 1;

- Figure 6 is a partial perspective view, on a larger scale, of a part of the apparatus of Figures 1 to 3;

- Figure 7 is a side view partially showing a variant of the sweeping apparatus according to Figures 1 to 3;

- Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 1 of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention, intended for sweeping a duct of circular section;

- Figure 9 is a view along IX - IX of Figure 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a variant of a sweeping tool intended for the apparatus of FIG. 8.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a chimney sweeping apparatus 10 according to the invention as it is in a flue 1 of rectangular cross section; the chimney flue 1 is shown in section along its thickness 6 which, as can be seen, is constant throughout the duct 1. The duct 1 is shown in section in FIG. 5 along its width. As can be seen in this figure, the duct does not have a constant width over its entire height; two sections, each having a constant width, over their entire height, are shown in this figure, a section having a width 7 and a section having a width 8, the width 8 being smaller than the width 7; the width of the different sections decreases as one rises in the conduit; these different widths realize, in line with said changes, steps 4; these steps 4 constitute an obstacle to the upward progression of the sweeping tool pushed by the chimney sweep during the sweeping of the wall 2 located, relative to Figure 5, in a plane parallel to that of the figure.

The sweeping apparatus 10, better visible in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises a support 11 essentially consisting of a metallic tubular element, for example of square section, one end 16 of which has a nozzle 17 intended for mounting the support 11 on an operating rod 9; the operating rod 9, generally consisting of several elements which fit into one another, can be made of polyvinyl chloride; the operating rod 9 is of circular section and the end piece 17 is a cylindrical end piece, secured to the support 11 for example by welding, and fitted into the operating rod 9 at the end thereof.

On its end opposite its end 16, the support 11 carries a sweeping tool 12; the sweeping tool 12 is mounted on the support 11 in a removable manner; for this purpose, it comprises a tubular part 39, into which the support 11 is threaded and which is held relative to said support 11 by a crosspiece 40 stopped by a key 41; the tubular part 39 receives a T-shaped profile 36, secured to the tubular part 39 by welding, transversely with respect to the axis of said tubular part 39.

The T-shaped profile 36 consists of a flat 42 by which the profile 36 is secured to the tubular part 39 and of a core 35 having a bevel end with an inclined wall 33 and constituting the scraper blade of the tool chimney sweep 12. The inclined wall 33 is placed upstream relative to the direction in which the rod is moved maneuver 9 for the sweeping operation. As the sweeping operation can be carried out either by pushing the tool 12 upwards or by pulling it downwards, so that the inclined wall 33 is in each case suitably positioned, the sweeping tool 12 can be turned over , relative to the position it occupies in Figures 1 to 3; holes 43 passing through the tubular part 39 are also provided at the other end of this tubular part 39 to cooperate, when the tool 12 is turned over, with the corresponding holes of the support 11, the fixing being done as before by the setting in place of the crosspiece 40 and the key 41.

In the vicinity of its end 16, the support 11 carries a folded square 22, better visible in FIG. 6, having wings 23, 24; the wings 23, 24 support an axis 21 extending transversely with respect to the support 11, parallel to the inclined wall 33 of the bevelled blade 32; a plate 19, one edge of which has been rolled to produce a sheath 20, is mounted for rotation relative to the support 11 by engagement of the pin 21 in the sheath 20 and in the corresponding holes 44, 45 of the wings 23, 24.

Elastic means constituted by a U-shaped wire spring are fixed to the plate 19 by rivets or bolts 46, 47 by the part of the spring close to the core 14 of the U-shaped spring. The ends of the opposite wings to the core 14, of the wire spring 13, carry an axis 58 at the ends of which two wheels 18 are rotatably mounted 18. The wings 23, 24 of the folded bracket 22 are provided with holes 25 facing each other, arranged at a distance from the axis 21, in which is positioned an adjustment rod 26 against which the plate 19 is brought to bear.

When the tool 12 is in the working position in the duct 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the bevelled blade 32 is applied to the wall 2 to be swept, applied with a force due to the compression of the spring 13 , this compression being obtained by cooperation of the rollers 18 with the wall 48 of the conduit 1 opposite the wall 2 during sweeping; the position of the adjusting rod 26 being adjustable, by choosing the pair of holes 25 into which said adjusting rod 26 is inserted, it is possible to adapt the sweeping apparatus 10 to the thickness 6 of the chimney duct 1 . To facilitate the movement of the sweeping apparatus 10 in the chimney duct 1, a safety roller 27 is provided at the end 16 of the support 11, on the same side, relative to the support 11, as the bevelled blade 32, that is to say on the side opposite to that on which the folded bracket 22 is placed.

To prevent the redents 4 of the chimney duct 1 from interfering with the sweeping operation, the sweeping apparatus 10 is provided with anti-redent means 28: these anti-redent means 28 consist of a metal wire 29 in the form arc, relatively rigid, the ends 30 of which are fixed to the sweeping tool 12, for example by nuts 49, 50, in the vicinity of the inclined wall 33 of the bevelled blade 32; according to the example shown, the top 31 of the wire 29 in the form of an arc is close to the support 11, see in contact with the latter, thanks to the bending of the wire 29; but, of course, said anti-redent means 28 made up of wire 29 could be planar, and extend in a plane parallel to support 11; the anti-sloping means 28 are placed, relative to the beveled blade 32, like the inclined wall 33, downstream relative to the direction of movement of the sweeping apparatus 10, during the sweeping operation; thanks to this arrangement, when there is, during this operation, a redent 4, the contact of the sweeping tool 11 with the redent 4 is effected first by the wire 29 which, given its arcuate shape , laterally moves the sweeping tool 12 away from the redent 4; this is true whatever the sweeping direction chosen, since the anti-sloping means 28, carried by the sweeping tool 12, are turned over at the same time as the bevelled blade 32.

To prevent the horizontal grooves 5 of the chimney pipe 1 from interfering with the sweeping operation, the sweeping apparatus

10 is provided with anti-groove means 34: these anti-groove means 34 are constituted by flanges 37 in a quarter of a circle arranged parallel to the direction of sweeping, on either side of the support

11; these flanges 37 extend between the plate 42 and the beveled blade 32; in line with the beveled blade 32, the flanges 37 extend to the vicinity of the inclined wall 33; the flanges 37, in the form of a circular sector of approximately 90 °, limit the introduction of the bevelled blade 32 into the grooves 5 and facilitate its passage. The sweeping tool 12 described so far comprises a bevelled blade 32; alternatively, the sweeping tool 12 may include a sweeping brush 38, such as that shown in FIG. 4; such a brush consists of bristles 59 carried by a plate 52 which itself carries a tubular part 53 for mounting on the support 11; the plate 52 is provided with passages 54 for mounting the anti-redentant means 28; of course, such a sweeping tool crosses, without any difficulty, the grooves such as the grooves 5 and, therefore, it is not necessary to provide it with anti-groove means. According to the variant of FIG. 7, the folded bracket 22 is mounted in an adjustable manner in position along the support 11; for this purpose, the folded bracket 22 is provided with a notch 61 allowing it to overlap the support 11 and to define extensions 60 to the wings 23 and 24, said extensions 60 being pierced with holes 55 which, when the folded bracket 22 is placed astride the support 11, are facing holes 56 which is provided with the support 11; the folded bracket 22 is secured to the support 11 by placing fixing means such as screws and nuts in the opposite holes 55 and 56; the holes 56 of the support 11 are arranged along the support 11 in an amount sufficient to allow various positions of the folded bracket 22.

Good results for chimney conduits 1 whose width is between approximately 15 and 50 cm have been obtained with chimney sweeping devices having the following geometric characteristics. The caster 27 was 300 to 400 mm apart from the blade 32; the caster 27 had a diameter of 30 mm, the blade 35 a height of approximately 35 mm and its inclined wall 33 a height of the order of 5 mm; the width of the branch 42 of the T-shaped profile 36 was approximately 35 to 40 mm; the metal wire 29 constituting the anti-redent means had a diameter of 6 mm; the rollers 18 had a diameter between 60 and 80 mm; the projection, on the support 11, of the distance from the axis 58 of the rollers 18 to the axis 21 around which the plate 19 is rotatably mounted was of the order of 300 mm; the distance 57 (FIG. 3) relative to the support 1 1 from the point of a roller 18 furthest from said support 11 was approximately 120 to 300 mm for the external adjustment positions of the wafer 19, the apparatus being at rest . Referring now to Figures 8 to 10, we see that we have designated by 100, as a whole, a sweeping apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention, this apparatus being intended for a chimney flue 101 of section circular right. Such chimney flues generally do not have a discontinuity in cross section of the type of those which have been illustrated in FIG. 5 by showing redents 4. As a result, it is no longer necessary to match the sweeping the device according to the invention of anti-redent means 28 as was the case for the device corresponding to FIGS. 1 to 7.

The sweeping apparatus 100 comprises a support 111 identical to the support 11 of the apparatus of FIG. 1; this support 111 is fixed to the end of an operating rod 109 by a nozzle 117 formed on one of its ends 116. At its end opposite to that which connects to the rod 109, the support 111 carries a tool chimney sweep 112, which is fixed on the support 111 in a removable manner; for this purpose, said tool 112 comprises a tubular part 112a of square section, which is fitted into the end of the support 111 and which is held relative to said support by a cylindrical cross member 140 stopped by a key. The tubular part 112a carries, on one of its faces, a circular sector 1 12b, whose mean plane is perpendicular to the axis of the support 111 and whose edge is formed in bevel 112c; the edge of this sector 112b follows the wall of the conduit 111 over an angular opening of approximately 160 ° and constitutes the scraper blade of the sweeping tool 112; the bevel is produced symmetrically with respect to the mean plane of the circular sector 112b with an angle of 45 ° with respect to this plane.

The support 111 is provided, as in the first embodiment described, with a safety roller 127 carried by the end 116 of the support 111. Furthermore, also as in the first embodiment according to the invention, the support 1 1 1 comprises a spring 113 identical to the spring 13 of the first embodiment, this spring 113 carrying at its end two rollers 118, the mounting of which on the spring 113 is the same as that of the rollers 18 on the spring 13 of the first embodiment. The spring 113 is connected to the support 111 by means of an adjustment system identical to the system 23, 24, 25, 26 described in detail for the first embodiment, this adjustment system being, as a whole, designated here by the reference 125.

The mode of use of the apparatus of FIG. 8 is exactly the same as that of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 7 and, therefore, will not be repeated in detail.

In place of the sweeping tool 112 which has just been described, it is possible to use a sweeping tool consisting of a brush, such as that which is represented in FIG. 10 and which is designated in its together, by the reference 212. The tool 212 comprises a nozzle 212a intended to be inserted inside the appropriate end of the support 111; a circular sector 212b is secured to this nozzle 212a, perpendicular to the axis of said nozzle, and carries at its periphery rigid bristles of brush 212c, which are intended to scrape the wall of the chimney flue 101. In a variant, one can provide that the sweeping tool

112 is capable of a certain angle of movement around the cross member 140 which ensures its attachment to the support 111. In this case, the end of the support 111 is hollowed out on those of its faces, which are on the side of the rollers 118 and 127, to allow the displacement of the tubular part 112a relative to the support 111, said support being in the region of the cross member 140 reduced to two parallel wings which support the ends of said cross member. We ensure that the angular movement of the tool 1 12a around the axis, which constitutes the cross member 140, is limited on either side of the average position, which is that shown in Figure 8; the tubular part 112a is subjected to the action of a spring (not shown in the drawing) which tends to bring the tubular part 112a in the axis of the support 111. In this way, if the tool is pushed sweeping 112 outside the cylindrical chimney flue, it is always possible, thanks to the flexibility of the articulation 140, to reintroduce the sweeping tool into the flue by pulling, in the opposite direction, on the cane 109.

Claims

1. Chimney sweeping device for sweeping the wall of a chimney flue (1, 101), comprising a support (11, 111) arranged to allow the mounting of said support at the end of a cane (9, 109) of operation and a sweeping tool (12, 112), elastic means (13, 113) carried by the support being provided for resiliently applying the sweeping tool (12, 112) to the wall to be swept, said elastic means (13 , 113) being positioned in such a way that they apply the sweeping tool (12, 112) to the wall to be swept, bearing on a wall zone of the chimney flue (1, 101) opposite the wall zone to be swept, said support being produced by means of at least one roller (18, 118) rotatably mounted at the end of said elastic means (13, 113), characterized in that said elastic means are mounted so adjustable to adapt the sweeping device (10, 110) to the thickness or diameter of the chimney.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the elastic means (13, 113) are made in the form of a U-shaped wire spring, the adjacent part of the core (14) is linked to the support and whose end of the wings (15) remote from the core (14) is intended to bear on the opposite wall.

3. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the part of the spring (13, 113) adjacent to the core (14) is fixed on a plate (19) rotatably mounted on the support ( 11, 111).

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the plate (19) is rotatably mounted on the support (11, 111) around an axis (21) supported by a folded bracket (22) integral with the support ( 1 1, 11 1), the two wings (23, 24) of the folded bracket (22) having holes (25) facing each other, arranged at a distance from the axis (21), and in which a rod is positioned (26) of adjustment against which the plate (19) is brought to bear for the elastic application of the sweeping tool (12, 112) by the spring (13, 113).

5. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sweeping apparatus (10) is provided with anti-sloping means (28) allowing the sweeping tool (12) to cross the steps (4) made at changes of sections of the chimney flue (1).

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the anti-sloping means (28) consist of a metal wire (29) in the form of an arc, the ends (30) of which are fixed to the sweeping tool. (12) and the top (31) of which is applied to the support (11).

7. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the sweeping tool (12) comprises a bevelled blade (32) of triangular section, whose inclined wall (33) is placed upstream by relative to the direction in which the operating rod (9) is moved for the sweeping operation.

8. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that anti-groove means (34) are provided to allow the sweeping tool (12) to easily cross the grooves (5) of jointing of the chimney sweep (1).