Abstract:
A pipeline-cleaning method and device thereof is built and applied by firstly forming a sealing circuit including a pipeline pending cleaning, a pressure control device, and two units of pipeline-cleaning device A, A′. A storage tank filled with rigid granules in each pipeline-cleaning device A, A′ is provided with a filter net unit at its lower portion and a filter unit at its upper portion. When cleaning, a pressurized liquid is supplied by the pressure control device to drive the granules circulating the circuit and thereby remove dirt and sediment deposited on the pipe wall by collision and rubbing of the granules to the pipeline inner wall.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a pipeline-cleaning method and device thereof for removing foreign dirt or sediment efficiently in pipelines. 
     For dissolving and removing tenacious dirt in pipelines, various dissolvent lotions have been used often in the conventional cleaning methods to draw only limited efficacy with an accompanied side effect of pipeline corrosion to frequently result in aftereffects of pollution. 
     In view of abovesaid imperfection, after years of constant effort in research, the inventor had invented a means (U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,082) which points to clean the dirt or sediment within the pipelines of an air conditioner. Still, particles, formed by the dirt and sediment which is washed out from the pipelines, remain moving around in said means, being unable to capture the particles in a filter unit of said means, causing a lower efficiency indeed. 
     However, in order to overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior invention, the inventor has consequently developed and proposed this improved method and device pertaining as to easily clean the dirt and sediment within pipelines. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is proposed to eliminate abovesaid imperfection and provide a pipeline-cleaning method and device thereof which is built and applied by firstly forming a sealing circuit including a pipeline pending cleaning, a pressure control device, and two units of pipeline-cleaning device. A storage tank filled with rigid granules in each pipeline-cleaning device is provided with a filter net unit at its lower portion and a filter unit at its upper portion. When cleaning, a pressurized liquid is supplied by the pressure control device to drive the granules circulating the circuit and thereby remove dirt and sediment deposited on the pipe wall by collision and rubbing of the granules to the pipeline inner wall. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding to the present invention, together with further advantages or features thereof, at least one preferred embodiment will be elucidated below with reference to the annexed drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pipeline-cleaning device of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the pipeline-cleaning device of this invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a cutaway sectional view of the assembled pipeline-cleaning device of this invention; 
     FIG. 4 is an assembled enlarged view of a filter unit of this invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view of cleaning operation of the pipeline-cleaning device of this invention; and 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing one more time cleaning operation of the pipeline-cleaning device of this invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     As shown in FIG. 1,  2 , a sealed circuit is built by disposing two units of pipeline-cleaning device between a pipe coupling (not shown) and a coupling of pressure-control device (not shown). The pipeline-cleaning device A comprises a storage tank  6  and a filter net unit located at a lower part and a filter unit at an upper part thereof. 
     The filter net unit further comprises a lower minor cap  1 , a pipe coupling  2 , a filter rod  3 , a lower major cap  4 , and a T-shape lower seat  5 . 
     The lower minor cap  1  having a center through hole  111  is provided with a flange  112  at one end of the through hole  111 , and an internal thread  113  at the other for screw-coupling with an external thread  51  of the T-shape lower seat  5 . 
     The pipe coupling  2  in T-shape having a center through hole  21 , wherein an circular groove  22  (not shown) is disposed at its right end for loading a leakage-proof washer  23 ; the right end is a plane body with a wider upper rim  24  for pressing against the flange  112  when the pipe coupling  2  is inserted to joint with the lower minor cap  1 ; a middle segment  25  of the pipe coupling  2  is offered with two center plane faces and two lateral spherical faces; and an external thread  26  formed at a lower end of the pipe coupling  2  is for screw-jointing with a pipeline  138  pending cleaning. 
     The filter rod  3  is composed of a screw-joint body  33 , a rod body  36 , and a nut  34 , wherein the screw-joint body  33  comprises an external thread  31  at left side of its circumference screw-jointed with an internal thread  52  at right end of the T-shape lower seat  5 , a circular smooth face  330  with a shorter diameter than that of the left external thread  31  at its right side, a center through bole  32  formed inside, an internal thread  320  at its right end for screw-jointing with an external thread  38  at left side of the rod body  36 , which comprises a plurality of through holes  360  distributed around its circumference adjacent to the external thread  38  at its left end, a plurality of channel  37  formed in center portion along axial direction, the external thread  38  at its left end and an external thread  39  at its right end for screw-jointing with the internal thread  320  of the screw-joint body  33  and an internal thread  340  of the nut  34  respectively; the rod body  36  is clothed in a filter net  35 ; the conic nut  34  having the internal thread  340  formed at its bottom end is screw-jointed with the external thread  39  on the rod body  36 . 
     The lower major cap  4  having a center through hole  41 , a flange  42  at its one end, and an internal thread  43  at the other is screw-jointed with a left end of the storage tank  6 . 
     The T-shape lower seat  5  having an external thread  51  at its right end for screw-jointing with the lower minor cap  1 , wherein a center through hole is tapered toward its right end where an internal thread  52  is formed for coupling with the external thread  31  of the screw-joint body  33  of the filter rod  3 . 
     The storage tank  6  in shape of a hollow cylinder  66  is female-jointed to a cylindrical body  63  in shape of a hollowed cylinder  631  for the filter rod  3  to penetrate and reside therein, and in both respective openings of the cylindrical body  63 , a leakage-proof washer  64 ,  65  with a flange  641 ,  651  is inserted for preventing leakage of inside liquid. Further, an external thread  61 ,  62  is formed at two outer ends of the storage tank  6  respectively for screw-jointing with the lower major cap  4  and an upper major cap  8 . 
     The filter unit comprises a T-shape upper seat  7 , the upper major cap  8 , an anti-reverse piece  9 , a filter socket  10 , an anti-reverse ring  11 , a filter  12 , a pipe coupling  13 , and an upper minor cap  14 . 
     The T-shape upper seat  7  is composed of a center through hole  71  extended rightward to form a receptacle space  72  for placing an elastic element  74 , an circular groove  75  formed at an inner portion of its right end for female-jointing with a leakage-proof  76 , and an external thread  73  formed at an outer face of its right end for screw-jointing an internal thread  143  of the upper minor cap  14 . 
     The upper major cap  8  contains a center through hole  81  having a flange  82  at one end and an internal thread  83  at the other for screw-jointing with the right end of the storage tank  6 . 
     The anti-reverse piece  9 , a polygonal body, is provided with a circularly threaded groove  91  for holding the elastic element  74  placed thereon and a recessed plane  92  at its right end. 
     The filter socket  10  is formed with a circular groove  101  for collaring a leakage-proof washer  102 , a plurality of small through holes  103  disposed staggeringly and circularly in middle portion at its right end for filtering out bigger granules of varia, and a protruded center through hole  104  for female-jointing with a center through hole  121  of the filter  12 . 
     The anti-reverse ring  11  in conic shape is formed with a circularly threaded groove  110  in its outer right side for retaining an elastic element  1101 , and a conic ring body  1102  at its left end for choking a plurality of relatively bigger through holes  124  to prevent the filtered out varia and sediment from leaking through the same. 
     The filter  12  is formed with an internal center through hole  121 , which is extended rightward to form a protrusive body  123  with a plurality of small through holes  1231  disposed in cylindrical face thereof, the plurality of circularly arranged bigger through holes  124  in an inner rim of the filter  12 , and a circular groove  125  recessively disposed at its left side for female-mounting a leakage-proof washer  126 . 
     The pipe coupling  13  in T-shape is formed with a center through hole  131 , which is extended rightward to form four protruded pillars  132  with a respective valley  1321  for pressing against an anti-reverse ball  136 . The pipe coupling  13  is tapered rightward (downward) to form a coupling body with a wider upper part and a narrower lower part, and when it is coupled with the upper minor cap  14 , a wider upper rim  133  of the pipe coupling  13  can just press against a flange  141  of the upper minor cap  14 . Moreover, an external thread  137  is formed at an upper (left) end on the pipe coupling  13  for screw-jointing with a pipeline  138  pending cleaning. 
     The upper minor cap  14  is formed with a center through hole  142 , a flange  141  at right end of the through hole  142 , and an internal thread  143  at its left end for screw-jointing with the external thread  73  on the T-shape upper seat  7 . 
     When assembling, referring to FIG. 3,  4 , the procedure is to: 
     plug the cylindrical body  63  in the storage tank  6 , insert the flange  641 ,  651  of the leakage-proof washer  64 ,  65  in respective end of the cylindrical body  63 ; plug the lower seat  5  in the lower major cap  4  and screw the internal thread  43  of the lower major cap  4  on the external thread  61  to lock the lower seat  5  at the left end of the cylindrical tank  6 ; plug the T-shape upper seat  7  in the upper major cap  8  and screw the internal thread  83  of the upper major cap  8  on the external thread  62  of the cylindrical tank  6  to lock the T-shape upper seat  7  at the right end of the cylindrical tank  6 ; collar the leakage-proof washer  76  in the circular groove  75  of the T-shape upper seat  7  to have the assembly of the cylindrical tank  6  completed; then, 
     load the leakage-proof washer  23  onto the circular groove  22  of the pipe coupling  2 , then, place the pipe coupling  2  in the through hole  111  of the lower minor cap  1 ; plug the rod body  36  of the filter rod  3  in the filter net  35  and lock it tightly with the nut  34 ; place the filter rod  3  in the lower major cap  4 , then, screw the external thread  31  of the screw-joint body  33  to joint with the internal thread  52  of the T-shape lower seat  5 ; screw the external thread  51  of the T-shape lower seat  5  to joint with the internal thread  113  of the lower minor cap  1  to have the assembly of the filter net unit completed; then, 
     load the elastic element  74  in the circularly threaded groove  91  of the anti-reverse piece  9  and plug it in the receptacle space  72  of the T-shape upper seat  7 ; load another elastic element  1101  in the circularly threaded groove  110  of the anti-reverse ring  11  and place it in the filter socket  10 ; load the leakage-proof washer  102  in the circular groove  101  and place the filter  12  on the filter socket  10 , then, dispose the leakage-proof washer  126  in the circular groove  125  of the filter  12 ; moreover, lay the anti-reverse ball  136  on the through hole  121  of the filter  12 , collar the upper minor cap  14  onto the pipe coupling  13 , and couple the internal thread  143  of the upper minor cap  14  with the external thread  73  of the T-shape upper seat  7  to have the assembly of the filter unit completed, and so have the pipeline-cleaning device A done. 
     When cleaning operation of pipeline is desired, the external threads  26 ,  26 ′,  37 ,  137 ′ by end of the pipe couplings  2 ,  2 ′  13 ,  13 ′ of the pipeline-cleaning devices A, A′ are firstly screw-jointed with a pressure-control device  600  and a pipeline  138  pending cleaning. The cleaning procedure (referring to FIG. 1,  5 ) is described as the following: 
     1. A pressurized liquid from the pressure-control device  600  enters the through hole  21  of the pipe coupling  2  of the filter net unit and flows through the through hole  32  of the screw-joint body  33  of the filter rod  3 , then, flows out of the through hole  360  by the left end of the rod body  36  to enter the storage tank  6 . When the liquid leaves the storage tank  6  to flow into the filter unit, because the anti-reverse piece  9  blocks the through hole  103  of the filter socket  10 , the granules  630  in the cylindrical body  63  of the pipeline-cleaning device A is forced to flow through the center through hole  104  in the filter socket  10 , then the through hole  121  in the filter  12  to lift and push the anti-reverse ball  136  against the top ends of those four protruded pillars  132  so that the granules  630  is allowed to enter the pipeline  138  to remove the dirt and sediment deposited on the pipe wall by collision and rubbing. 
     2. The granules  630  is now driven to enter another pipeline-cleaning device A′. After entering a through hole  131 ′ of a pipe coupling  13 ′ and passing through a channel surrounded by four protruded pillars  132 ′, the granules  630  is forced to take a way through a plurality of bigger through holes  124 ′ arranged in an rim of a filter  12 ′ to enter the filter  12 ′ because of blocking of a center through hole  121 ′ of the filter  12 ′ by an anti-reverse ball  136 ′. The granules  630  will then pass through a plurality of small through holes  1231 ′ and small through holes  103 ′ in a filter socket  10 ′, then push an anti-reverse piece  9 ′ open to enter another storage tank  6 ′ of the other pipeline-cleaning device A′ to be detained in a cylindrical body  63 ′ of the other storage tank  6 ′ by a filter net  35 ′ enclosing a filter rod  3 ′. The removed dirt and sediment with a grain size bigger than the small through hole  1231 ′ of the filter  12 ′ and the small through hole  103 ′ of the filter socket  10 ′ will be detained in the filter unit while the rest with a grain size smaller than mesh size of the filter net  35 ′ will accompany the liquid to return back to the pressure-control device  600 . 
     3. At this time, the pressure-control device  600  supplies pressurized liquid to the pipeline-cleaning device A′ in a reverse direction for cleaning the pipeline  138  and vice versa repeatedly until it is thoroughly cleaned.