Abstract:
An apparatus for everting and inserting a pipe-lining material to rehabilitate an underground pipeline comprises an everting nozzle that is disposed so that an opening thereof faces an opening of the pipeline. The pipe-lining material is brought un-everted up to the everting nozzle and attached to the nozzle opening thereof and fluid pressure is applied inside the pipe-lining material to evert and insert it in the pipe-extending direction of the pipeline to be rehabilitated. Eversion of the pipe-lining material is started at the location of the pipeline opening and the pipe-lining material remains flat without being everted in a curved portion where the travel direction of the pipe-lining material changes toward the pipeline opening. This allows no considerable friction to be generated at the curved portion and the pipe-lining material to be smoothly and reliably everted and inserted into the affected pipeline.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates to an apparatus for everting a lining material, and particularly relates to an apparatus for everting and inserting a tubular pipe-lining material into a deteriorated underground pipeline to line and rehabilitate the interior surface thereof.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     There are pipe lining methods for lining the interior of sewage pipes, gas pipes, communication cable pipes, power cable pipes, and other deteriorated underground pipes and repairing the pipes without unearthing the pipes from the ground.  
         [0005]     A known example of such above-described pipe lining methods is to use a pipe-lining material composed of a tubular resin-adsorbing material that is covered at its external surface with an airtight plastic film and is impregnated with an uncured liquid curable resin. In this method, the pipe-lining material is everted and inserted into a pipeline by fluid pressure using a lining material everting apparatus, and the curable resin impregnated in the pipe-lining material is thereafter cured in a state in which the pipe-lining material is inflated by fluid pressure and pressed to the inner surface of the pipeline.  
         [0006]     Ordinarily, the pipe-lining material is stored in a storage container with an airtight structure in which the material is flattened and folded. One end of the pipe-lining material stored in the storage container is curved outward, connected to the storage container, and mounted on the external periphery of the opening end of an everting nozzle. Fluid pressure acts inside the storage container and the material is inserted into the pipeline while being everted (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application 2003-165158).  
         [0007]     With a conventional lining material everting apparatus, the pipe-lining material is folded and stored in a storage container prior to being everted. Therefore, the resistance of being drawn out of the container during eversion is considerable, and there is a problem in that a considerable everting force is required.  
         [0008]     Also, since the pipe-lining material is folded and stored, there is problem in that the upper portion of the folded pipe-lining material shifts up and down in accordance with the amount drawn out during the operation, and the drawing out process cannot be smoothly carried out.  
         [0009]     When working with a conventional lining that is to be disposed in an existing pipeline, the everting nozzle is mounted in the vertical direction, and the pipeline to be repaired extends horizontally. Therefore, the pipe-lining material everted by the everting nozzle is curved at the location in which the direction of the material changes from the vertical to horizontal direction. This causes considerable friction to be generated, resulting in eversion resistance. In particular, the lining material may stop everting partway in the process when the lining material has considerable thickness and a large amount of everting pressure is required, or when the lining material is heavy because of a large diameter.  
         [0010]     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that enables a lining material to be smoothly and reliably everted and inserted into an affected pipeline without stopping the lining process partway.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The present invention provides an apparatus for everting and inserting a pipe lining material impregnated with a curable resin for use in rehabilitating an underground pipeline that extends in a direction inclined relative to the vertical direction. The apparatus comprises a storage container for storing an un-everted pipe-lining material, and an everting nozzle disposed so that the nozzle opening faces the opening of the pipeline to be rehabilitated. The pipe-lining material drawn from the storage container is brought un-everted up to the everting nozzle and attached to the nozzle opening thereof and fluid pressure is applied inside the pipe-lining material for eversion and insertion in the pipe-extending direction of the pipeline to be rehabilitated.  
         [0012]     In accordance with the present invention, the pipe-lining material begins to evert at the pipeline opening because the everting nozzle is disposed so that the nozzle opening on which the pipe-lining material is mounted faces the pipeline opening, and the pipe-lining material is not everted, remains flat until it reaches the pipeline opening. This allows no considerable friction to be generated at the curved portion where the travel direction of the pipe-lining material changes toward the pipeline opening, thus enabling the pipe-lining material to be smoothly and reliably everted and inserted into the affected pipeline. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a pipe-lining material everting apparatus mounted on a truck;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing the pipe-lining material being everted and inserted from a manhole into a. pipeline;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3   a  is a top view of the everting nozzle;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3   b  is a front view of the everting nozzle;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3   c  is a side view of the everting nozzle;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing the process for everting and inserting the pipe-lining material into a pipeline to be rehablitated;  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a schematic view showing the process in which the pipe-lining material is cured after being everted and inserted;  
         [0020]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the mounting pipe and pressure lid; and  
         [0021]      FIG. 7  is a vertical sectional view of the mounting pipe and pressure lid. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]     The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.  
         [0023]      FIG. 1  shows the external appearance of an apparatus for everting a pipe-lining material for rehabilitating pipes such as sewage pipes, gas pipes, communication cable pipes, power cable pipes, and other deteriorated underground pipes. The component indicated by the reference numeral  20  is a storage container having an airtight structure in which the pipe-lining material is stored, and is ordinarily mounted on a load-carrying platform of a truck by way of two support plates  12  (one of which is not visible) so as to be moved to a work site. Vertical adjustment mechanisms  13  and  14  (the remaining two are not visible and are not shown) are disposed at the four corners of the storage container  20 , and the storage container  20  can thereby be kept horizontal.  
         [0024]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a guide unit  22  having a plurality of guide rollers  21 , and an induction nozzle  30  installed by way of a mounting pipe  60 , are detachably mounted on the storage container  20 . The induction nozzle  30  comprising a columnar portion  30   a  and a conical portion  30   b  extends in the vertical direction. A guide pipe  31  is detachably mounted in an airtight manner on the lower end of the induction nozzle  30  and a curved everting nozzle  33  is detachably mounted in an airtight manner by way of an adjustment pipe  34  and an guide pipe  32 .  
         [0025]     The guide pipes  31  and  32  are airtightly coupled together so that the adjustment pipe  34  and the mounting position can be adjusted. The vertical position of the everting nozzle  33  can be adjusted in accordance with the depth of the pipeline  3  embedded in the earth by adjusting the position of the guide pipes  31  and  32  relative to the adjustment pipe  34 .  
         [0026]     The mounting pipe  60 , as described hereinbelow, has a structure that allows an air supply hose, an air exhaust hose, a heat medium supply hose, a heat medium drain hose, and the like to be guided from the side portion into the interior of the pipes after the pipe-lining material  1  has been everted and inserted into the pipeline. It is to be noted that hose mounting ports are airtightly sealed before the hoses are mounted and the structure overall is made airtight.  
         [0027]     As shown in  FIGS. 3   a  to  3   c , the everting nozzle  33  comprises a nozzle opening  33   a  at the columnar distal end on which the pipe-lining material is mounted, a columnar portion  33   c  in which the orientation of the opening is substantially orthogonal to the nozzle opening  33   a , and a curved portion  33   b  for linking the nozzle opening  33   a  and the columnar portion  33   c . The everting nozzle is disposed so that the nozzle opening  33   a  faces the opening  3   a  of the pipeline  3  to be rehabilitated, and the axial center  33   d  of the nozzle  33  substantially matches the direction (horizontal direction) in which the pipeline  3  extends. The columnar portion  33   c  is airtightly coupled to the guide pipe  32  by way of a flange  33   e . Therefore, except for the open-ended nozzle opening  33   a , the entire structure is airtightly sealed when the everting nozzle  33 , guide pipes  32  and  31 , adjustment pipe  34 , induction nozzle  30 , mounting pipe  60 , guide unit  22 , and storage container  20  are coupled together.  
         [0028]     Bearing units  25  for rotatably supporting a reel  24  are mounted on the two ends of the storage container  20 . The reel  24  is used for winding the pipe-lining material  1  into a roll and is driven by an electrically-driven motor (not shown) so as to rotate in the clockwise direction as viewed in  FIG. 2 . The pipe-lining material  1  is thereby wound into a roll on the reel  24 . Wheels  24   b  provided with a plurality of spokes  24   a  are mounted on the two ends of the reel  24 , and the pipe-lining material  1  is thereby reliably wound.  
         [0029]     When the pipe-lining material  1  wound onto the reel  24  is drawn out from the storage container  20 , the reel  24  rotates in the reverse direction due to the torque that acts on the reel  24 . This causes the electrically-driven motor to be rotated to operate as a power generator and a brake, which is used to control the drawing out of the pipe-lining material.  
         [0030]     A duct  26  is mounted on the storage container  20  in order to provide the storage container  20  with fluid pressure (compressed air) for everting the pipe-lining material  1 .  
         [0031]     The pipe-lining material  1  wound on the reel  24  is a known pipe-lining material, and comprises a tubular resin-absorbing material which is impregnated with an uncured liquid curable resin and in which the external surface is airtightly covered with a plastic film. Polyethylene, vinyl chloride, vinylon, polyurethane, nylon, polypropylene, polyethylene-nylon copolymer, or another filmed is used as the plastic film; and polyester, nylon, acrylic, vinylon, or another nonwoven is used as the tubular resin-absorbing material. Unsaturated polyester resin, epoxy resin, or another heat curable resin can be used as the uncured liquid curable resin to impregnate the tubular resin adsorbing material. The pipe-lining material has a flat shape prior to being everted. The inner surface of the pipe-lining material  1  may also be airtightly covered with a plastic film in the same manner as the external surface.  
         [0032]     Described below are processes for lining a pipeline using an everting apparatus such as the one described above.  
         [0033]     The everting apparatus is loaded onto an ordinary truck. The pipe-lining material  1  is fixed at one end to the reel  24 , wound on the reel  24  in the form of a roll by using an electrically-driven motor, and stored in the storage container  20 . The main body of the everting apparatus is moved so that the induction nozzle  30  is positioned above a manhole  2 , and the guide pipes  31  and  32  are mounted on the lower end of the induction nozzle  30  by way of the adjustment pipe  34 . The everting nozzle  33  is disposed so that the axial center  33   d  of the nozzle  33  is oriented in the extended direction of a pipeline  3  to be rehabilitated, and its nozzle opening  33   a  is aligned with the opening  3   a  of the pipeline  3 . This work is carried out by adjusting the mounting position of the guide pipes  31  and  32  on the adjustment pipe  34 . Guide pipes  32  having a variety of lengths may be prepared in such a case rather than using the adjustment pipe  34 . A guide pipe is selected having a length that substantially brings the nozzle opening  33   a  and pipeline opening  3   a  into alignment when the guide pipe  32  and the everting nozzle  33  are mounted, and the selected guide pipe is then coupled to the guide pipe  31 . Depending on the depth of the pipeline  3 , the induction nozzle  30  and everting nozzle  33  may be coupled using only a single guide pipe.  
         [0034]     When the everting nozzle  33  is positioned in place, as mentioned above, foot supports  4  are assembled and the induction nozzle  30  is also supported as needed. The other end la of the pipe-lining material  1  is thereafter brought to the nozzle opening  33   a  of the everting nozzle  33 , outwardly folded back, and airtightly mounted using a band  35  or the like on the external periphery of the nozzle opening  33   a , as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0035]     Compressed air is subsequently fed into the storage container  20  by way of the duct  26 , and the pipe-lining material  1  is unwound from the reel  24  and drawn from the storage container  20  when the fluid pressure (compressed air) acts on the folded back portion of the pipe-lining material  1  on the opening  33   a  of the nozzle  33 . The pipe-lining material is inserted in the downward vertical direction inside the manhole  2  without being everted, as indicated by the dotted line. At this point, the electrically-driven motor operates as a power generator and rotates the reel  24  in the reverse direction. That is, the motor serves as a brake to the drawing out of the pipe-lining material  1 .  
         [0036]     The pipe-lining material  1  inserted without being everted in the manhole  2  curves from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction, arrives at the nozzle opening  33   a , and is everted at this location by the action of the fluid pressure for insertion inside the pipeline  3 . In this manner, the pipe-lining material  1  first begins to evert at the location of the pipeline opening  3   a , and therefore remains flat and un-everted at the location of the curved portion  33   b  of the everting nozzle  33  that changes direction. Therefore, the pipe-lining material is smoothly and reliably inserted while being everted inside the affected pipeline  3  without generating considerable friction in the curved portion  33   b.    
         [0037]     Such a bottom eversion as described above, which everts the pipe-lining material at the opening of the pipeline to be rehabilitated, is suitable for everting and inserting a pipe-lining material that has a diameter of less than 350 mm, for example.  
         [0038]     When the pipe-lining material  1  is everted and inserted across a prescribed length inside the pipeline  3 , the mounting pipe  60  is disconnected from the storage container  20  (the guide unit  22  is also considered to be a part of the storage container  20 ).  
         [0039]     The mounting pipe  60  is a circular pipe member provided with upper and lower flanges  60   a  and  60   b , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The flange  80   a  of an airtight pressure lid  80  is airtightly mounted on the flange  60   a  by way of a plurality of clamps  73 . The flange  60   b  of the mounting pipe  60  is airtightly mounted on the flange  30   c  of the conical portion  30   b  of the nozzle by way of fixing means  72 , which is composed of a plurality of bolts and nuts.  
         [0040]     Ducts  61  and  62  that allow the heat medium supply hose  70  and heat medium drain hose  71  to be brought into the interior of the pipe are mounted in the side of the mounting pipe  60 . A mounting hole  63  for mounting an air supply hose (not shown) that supplies compressed air, and a mounting hole  64  for mounting an air exhaust hose (not shown) are also formed in the side of the mounting pipe. The ducts  61  and  62  and the mounting holes  63  and  64  are airtightly sealed using caps or the like before hoses are mounted.  
         [0041]     After the mounting pipe  60  had been disconnected from the storage container  20 , the pressure lid  80  is mounted on the top of the mounting pipe  60  and compressed air is supplied to the interior of the mounting pipe. The pressure lid  80 , mounting pipe  60 , induction nozzle  30 , guide pipes  31  and  32 , adjustment pipe  34 , and everting nozzle  33  form an airtight structure overall. Therefore, the pipe-lining material  1  mounted on the everting nozzle  33  is expanded and pressed against the inner wall surface of the pipeline  3  to be rehabilitated.  
         [0042]     In this state, the heat medium supply hose  70  and heat medium drain hose  71  are introduced, as shown in  FIG. 7 , from a side portion of the mounting pipe  60  to the manhole  2  and the interior of the pipeline  3  by way of the ducts  61  and  62  with the other end of the heat medium supply hose  70  connected to the heat medium supply source (not shown). Since a window  81  having a transparent acrylic plate  82  is mounted on the top of the pressure lid  80 , workers can confirm through the window whether the heat medium supply hose  70  and heat medium drain hose  71  are being smoothly introduced into the everted pipe-lining material inside the pipeline to be rehabilitated. At this point, the hoses  70  and  71  are introduced from the side portion rather than the top part of the mounting pipe  60  into the interior, allowing the state of the hose introduction to easily be observed and confirmed through the window  81 .  
         [0043]     After it has been confirmed that the hoses  70  and  71  have been inserted into the pipe, the heat medium is fed to the pipe-lining material  1  by way of the heat medium supply hose  70 . Hot water or steam may be used as the heat medium, and the hot water or steam is made into a mist and blown onto the everted pipe-lining material  1  by way of spray ports  70   a  arranged on the hose  70 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . This allows the thermosetting resin impregnated in the pipe-lining material  1  to be heated and cured to thereby line and rehabilitate the inner wall surface of the pipeline  3 . After the pipe-lining material  1  has cured, the air is exhausted to the exterior by way of the air exhaust hose.  
         [0044]     In the case of hot water, showering can be using in place of a mist. Alternatively, the pipe-lining material can be cured by discharging hot water or steam from the distal end of the hose  70  to fill the interior of the pipe-lining material with hot water or steam.  
         [0045]     The hot water used for heating is externally drained by way of the heat medium drain hose  71 , and can be returned to the heating medium supply source and recirculated. A discharge portion  33   f  can be provided in the curved portion  33   b  of the everting nozzle  33  rather than introducing a heat medium drain hose  71  from the mounting pipe  60 , and the heat medium used for curing can be drained by way of the drain  33   f , as indicated by the imaginary line shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0046]     Heat medium supply (drain) hoses having different diameters, and ducts  65  and  66  having different diameters, as indicated by the imaginary line shown in  FIG. 6 , can be mounted on the mounting pipe  60 . A plurality of holes for mounting the air supply hose and a plurality of holes for mounting the air exhaust hose can be provided to the side portion of the mounting pipe  60 .  
         [0047]     Compressed air for everting and inserting the pipe-lining material may be supplied by way of the air supply hose mounted on the mounting hole  63  formed in the mounting pipe  60  rather than being supplied from the duct  26  disposed in the storage container  20 .  
         [0048]     The pressure lid  80  may be a flat transparent acrylic plate rather than a bowl-shaped lid such as that shown in  FIG. 6 , and may cover the entire top of the mounting pipe  60 . In this case, a large transparent window can be obtained, and the introduction of hoses and other components can be better observed and monitored.