Pipe protector

Abstract: A pipe surrounded by a sleeve (17,18) spaced from the pipe by a spacer (11,12) characterised in that the perimeter of the spacer is interrupted by a longitudinal gap (14) and the sleeve is made of flexible meshed material whose longitudinal edges are bent round the sides of the gap.

Description: The present invention relates to a means for protecting hot pipes such as steam pipes. In order to prevent factory personnel from accidentally touching steam pipes on the premises, the pipes are usually insulated with glass wool. Cleaning of the pipes is carried out by means of water under high pressure, but the water penetrates and destroys the glass wool which not only causes an unpleasant smell but it is also unhygienic. US-A-2980568 describes pipe coverings for insulated pipes comprising a sleeve designed to cover the insulating material completely. We have found that if the pipe is surrounded by a sleeve of flexible meshed material spaced from the pipe, cleaning is easy to perform, hygienic and the sleeve can be kept in place without the requirement of holding means such as clips. Accordingly, the present invention provides a pipe surrounded by a sleeve spaced from the pipe by a spacer, the perimeter of which is interrupted by a longitudinal gap, the spacer extending directly from a perimeter of the pipe to a spacer perimeter surface and the sleeve being made of a flexible meshed material whose longitudinal edges are bent round the sides of the gap. The perimeter of the spacer may be interrupted by more than one gap and in such a case the sleeve advantageously consists of the same number of pieces of flexible meshed material as the number of gaps. The gap in the perimeter of the spacer may be a fissure or indent or it may extend through the body of the spacer to the pipe. Advantageously, the spacer consists of two halves joined together with a gap between the opposing faces on either side of the pipe and the sleeve consists of two pieces of flexible meshed material, the longitudinal edges of each piece of which are bent round the sides of each half of the spacer, respectively. The pipe is usually of circular cross-section. Depending on the length of the pipe there may be a plurality of spacers, spaced from one another along the length of the pipe. The spacer is conveniently made of a plastics material, especially a heat resistant plastics material, and may consist of one or more plastic wedges. The sleeve is preferably made of a material with a certain degree of resilience or rigidity to enable it to be held in position on the spacer when its longitudinal edges are bent round the sides of the gap of the spacer. The sleeve may be made of a variety of materials, for example, plastics moulding, brass, galvanised sheet but conveniently the sleeve is made of a metal such as steel, especially stainless steel. The size of the apertures in the mesh is not critical but advantageously the apertures should be small enough to prevent the entry of an average person's finger for safety. The present invention is useful for protecting pipes carrying steam or other hot fluids e.g. in factories. The present invention will now be further illustrated by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a perspective diagrammatic view (partly cut away) of a pipe protected in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 shows a cross section through the line A-A of Figure 1. Referring to the drawings, a pipe 10 carrying steam is partially surrounded by heat resistant plastics wedges 11, 12 which form two halves of a spacer, which are joined to one another by bolts 13 leaving gaps 14 having sides 15, 16 on either side of the pipe 10. Two pieces of stainless steel mesh 17, 18, 1-5 mm thick are fitted around the two halves 11, 12 respectively of the spacer and the edges 19, 20 are bent around the respective sides 15, 16 of the two halves of the spacer where they are held in position without requiring any mechanical means such as clips. The stainless mesh is easy to remove by levering off the halves of the spacer by means of a simple tool, if necessary.

Claims: A pipe (10) surrounded by a sleeve (17,18) spaced from the pipe by a spacer (11,12) the perimeter of which is interrupted by a longitudinal gas (14), the spacer extending directly from a perimeter of the pipe (10) to a spacer perimeter surface and the sleeve being made of flexible meshed material (17,18) whose longitudinal edges (19,20) are bent round the sides (15,16) of the gap (14). A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that the perimeter of the spacer (11,12) is interrupted by more than one gap (14). A pipe (10) according to claim 2 characterised in that the sleeve (17,18) consists of the same number of pieces of flexible meshed material as the number of gaps (14). A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that the spacer (11,12) consists of two halves joined together with a gap (14) between the opposing faces on either side of the pipe and the sleeve (17,18) consists of two pieces of flexible meshed material the longitudinal edges of each piece of which are bent round the sides of each half of the spacer, respectively. A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that there are a plurality of spacers, (11,12) spaced from one another along the length of the pipe. A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that the spacer (11,12) is made of one or more heat resistant plastic wedges. A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that the sleeve (17,18) is made of a material with sufficient resilience or rigidity to enable it to be held in position on the spacer (11,12) when its longitudinal edges (19,20) are bent round the sides (15,16) of the gap (14) of the spacer. A pipe (10) according to claim 1 characterised in that the sleeve (17,18) is made of stainless steel.

Inventors: ERIKSSON JUHA P, ERIKSSON, JUHA P.
Applicants: FRISCO FINDUS AG, FRISCO-FINDUS AG
Application year: 1991
Main classification: F16L59
IPC codes: F16L59