Patent Publication Number: US-2021187567-A1

Title: Pipe Cleaning Device

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/949,587 filed on Dec. 18, 2019. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to metal pipe cleaning. More particularly, the present invention provides a hand-held device that will clean metal piping. 
     There are many different jobs that will require individuals to have to clean metal piping. Metal piping traditionally needs cleaned before it is fastened together. In particular copper piping needs cleaned before it is soldered together. 
     Copper piping is currently cleaned by hand. This involved taking a wire brush or sandpaper and brushing the entire exterior of the pipe. This requires that the pipe be constantly rotated in order to ensure every surface is cleaned. This process can be extremely time consuming. Further, after cleaning piping for an extended period of time one may experience hand cramps of other physical pain such as carpal tunnel may result. 
     Consequently, there is a need for an improvement in the art of cleaning metal piping. The present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art while at the same time solves a problem many people face when having to clean a large number of linear feet of metal piping. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a pipe cleaning device wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when having to clean the exterior of metal piping. The pipe cleaning device comprises a handle member having an interior volume. The handle member is attached to a head member. The head member has an aperture located through a middle thereof, wherein the aperture is lined with a movable wire brush. The head member further contains a brush motor, wherein the brush motor circulates the brush around the interior of the aperture. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a power source located within the handle member. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a switch located on the handle member, wherein the switch operably couple to the brush motor. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a handle member with an ergonomic grip. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide multiple rows of wire brushes located within the aperture of the head member. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a head member containing a movable lever, wherein the movable lever contracts and expands the wire brush. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a brush that expands to have a two-inch diameter. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a brush that contracts to have a diameter of one-half inch. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a removably attached removable head member instead of a fixed member. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide electrical contacts located on a base of the removable head member. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide electrical contacts located on a top side of the handle member. 
     Another object of the pipe cleaning device is to provide a collar located about the top of the handle member, wherein the collar secures to the removable head member. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. 
         FIG. 3  shows an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. 
         FIG. 4A  shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the wiring for the pipe cleaning device 
         FIG. 4B  shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the wiring for the pipe cleaning device. 
     
    
    
     LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the drawings.
           101  Handle member     102  Head member     103  Aperture     104  Brush element     105  Interior gap     105 X Interior gap distance     105 Y Interior gap distance     105 Z Interior gap distance     106  Adjustment lever     201  handle grip     201   a  Finger ridges     301  Removable head member     302  Lower protrusion member     303  Collar member     304  Electrical contacts     305  Electrical contacts     401  Power source     402  Power switch     403  Brush motor       

     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the pipe cleaning device. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, a preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for the pipe cleaning device. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of an embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. The pipe cleaning device is comprised of a handle member  101 . The handle member  101  includes a base and at least one sidewall. The base and the at least one sidewall create an interior volume within the handle member  101 . In one embodiment the handle member  101  is created from plastic. In another embodiment the handle member  101  is created from a suitable metal. 
     The pipe cleaning device is further comprised of a head member  102 . The head member  102  is proportioned to fit around piping. In one embodiment the head member  102  is rounded. The head member  102  has an aperture  103  located through a middle thereof. The aperture  103  has at least one brush element  104  located around the interior perimeter of the aperture  103 . In one embodiment there are four rows of brush elements  104 . The at least one brush element  104  has an interior gap  105  that is configured to have a pipe placed therein. The brush element  104  is connected to a brush motor as described in the description of  FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B . In one embodiment the at least one brush element  104  is made from aluminum. In another embodiment the at least one brush element  104  is made from steel. 
     In the shown embodiment the at least one brush element  104  is expandable and contractable. This means that the brush element  104  will have an interior gap  105  of changeable sizes. In one embodiment the at least one brush element  104  will expand to have a maximum two-inch diameter interior gap  105 . In another embodiment the at least one brush element  104  will contract to a minimum one-half inch diameter interior gap  105 . In alternate embodiments other maximum and minimum diameters are used. 
     In the shown embodiment the head member  102  has an adjustment lever  106  located on the exterior of the head member  102 . The adjustment lever  106  will rotate the at least one brush element  104  expanding or contracting the interior gap  105 . 
     In the shown embodiment the head member  102  is permanently affixed to the handle member  101 . In other embodiments the interior gap  105  has a fixed diameter. In other embodiments as described below the head member  102  is removable. In one embodiment there will be different devices having different diameter interior gaps  105 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. The shown embodiment has a head member  102  that is fixed to the handle member  101 . The at least one brush element has a fixed interior gap  105  diameter. In this embodiment to dean different sized pipes one will need to acquire different tools with different diameter interior gaps  105 . 
     Further, in different embodiments the handle member  101  includes a handle grip  201 . In one embodiment the handle grip  201  is made from a rubber material. In another embodiment the handle grip  201  is made from a plastic material. In one embodiment the handle grip  201  has an ergonomic grip feature. This will allow the handle grip to be comfortable for the user. In the shown embodiment the ergonomic grip feature includes finger ridges  201   a.    
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown an exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the pipe cleaning device. In the shown embodiment the pipe cleaning device has a removable head member  301 . The movable head member  301  is constructed identically to the fixed head members as described above. There removable head member  301  has at least one brush element  104  and an interior gap  105 . In this embodiment the interior gap  105  has a fixed diameter. In other embodiments the interior gaps  105  may be changeable. 
     The removable head member  301  has a lower protrusion  302 . The lower protrusion  302  is proportioned to fit within a collar member  303  of the handle member  101 . The collar member  303  is attached to a top end of the handle member  101 . The collar member  303  and the lower protrusion  302  will create a connection between the removable head member  301  and the handle member  101 . 
     The lower protrusion member  302  further has electrical contacts  304  positioned thereon. The electrical contacts  304  will contact electrical contacts  305  located on the top end of the handle member  101 . In one embodiment the electrical contacts  304  located on the lower protrusion member  302  are male contacts. The electrical contacts  305  on the top end of the handle member  101  are female contacts. 
     In the shown embodiment there are three different removable heads  301  shown. In one of the shown heads the interior gap  105   z  has a diameter of one-half inch. In one of the shown heads the interior gap  105   y  has a diameter of one inch. In one of the shown heads the interior gap  105   x  has a diameter of two inches. In the shown embodiment, the removable head members  301  will be able to be switched to meet the necessary pipe diameter requirements. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4A , there is shown a flow chart of an embodiment of the wiring for the pipe cleaning device. In this embodiment the head member is a fixed head. The pipe cleaning tool has a power source  401 . In one embodiment the power source  401  is a battery. The power source  401  is located within the interior volume of the handle member. The power source  401  is connected to a power switch  402 . The power switch  402  is located on the handle member and can be seen on the shown embodiments of  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 , and  FIG. 3 . 
     In this embodiment the power switch  402  is connected to a brush motor  403 . The brush motor  403  will rotate the at least one brush member located within the head member. In one embodiment the brush motor  403  is a rotary motor. In one embodiment the power switch  402  and the brush motor  403  are configured to control the rotation speed of the at least one brush element. In one embodiment the power switch  402  is a variable depression speed control. In another embodiment the power switch  402  is a turn knob that can be set to different speed settings. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4B , there is shown flow chart of an embodiment of the wiring for the pipe cleaning device. This embodiment is for a pipe cleaning brush with a removable head member. In this embodiment there is a power source  401 . The power source  401  is located within the handle member. The power source  401  is connected to a power switch  402 . In several embodiments the power source  401  and power switch  402  operate as described above. 
     In this embodiment the power switch  402  is connected to electrical contacts  305  located within the handle member. When the removable head member is connected to the handle member, the electrical contacts  304  located on the removable head member will engage the electrical contacts  305  on the handle member creating a closed circuit. The electrical contacts  304  located on the removable head member are connected to the brush motor  403 . This will rotate the at least one brush element when the power switch  402  is in an on position. 
     It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.