Patent Publication Number: US-8535453-B1

Title: Automated pipe clearing apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/789,224, entitled “AUTOMATED PIPE CLEARING APPARATUS,” filed Mar. 7, 2013, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to pipe clearing devices. More specifically, it relates to an automated device for prophylactically clearing a pipe at predetermined times. 
     2. Brief Description of the Related Art 
     In almost every technological application, periodic preventive maintenance reduces the need for repairs and extends the life of equipment. This axiom holds true for the preventive maintenance of the fluid-carrying pipe systems. Specifically, a very prevalent problem associated with the central air conditioning and commercial refrigeration units is due to clogged drain pipes. The clogs are often caused by accumulation of dust, sludge, mold, algae, fungus, or a combination thereof within a drain line. A clogged pipe that is not detected in due time may overflow, causing extensive water damage to drywall and wooden beams. Overflowing drain pipes may also create health hazards by facilitating mold growth and producing foul odors inside the building. 
     Air handlers are commonly positioned in attics, where overflowing drain pipes may go unnoticed for a prolonged period of time. Often, the problem visually manifests itself only after the insulation and the ceiling are thoroughly soaked with the overflowing water, at which point, the damage may be substantial. Even upon detection of problems caused by a clogged overflowing drain pipe, the solution is not always simple or even apparent to many homeowners. A service call to a professional technician is one way of resolving the issue, but it may come at a fairly steep price. Moreover, the damage already caused by the overflowing water prior to detection of the problem may necessitate costly repairs. 
     Many expert technicians advise that periodic preventive maintenance is the most effective method for preventing the drain pipe from becoming clogged. Several techniques and devices are known in the art for prophylactically clearing out a pipe. Manually attaching an electric or mechanical vacuum pump to the outlet of the pipe and utilizing the suction to dislodge and remove clogs is perhaps the most common technique of clearing a pipe. Some currently available technologies, such as the rod-and-piston device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,458, require a fair amount of manual labor. Moreover, to be fully effective, preventive pipe clearing must be performed on a regular basis. Clearly, such preventive maintenance may be a time-consuming, dreadful, and burdensome task. Accordingly, what is needed is an automated pipe clearing apparatus that prophylactically clears the pipe without interfering with the pipe&#39;s normal drainage. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for an automated pipe clearing apparatus for prophylactically clearing a pipe without disrupting its normal operation is now met by a new, useful, and nonobvious invention. 
     In one embodiment, the automatic pipe clearing apparatus has a housing that contains an electrical power source, a control module, and a vacuum pump. The vacuum pump has an inlet port and a discharge port, both ports protrude outside the housing. The inlet port is fluidly coupled to a drain conduit, such as an air-conditioning condensation drain pipe. When the vacuum pump operates, the produced suction dislodges and extracts liquid, debris, mold, algae, and other contents from the drain conduit. 
     The electrical power source supplies electrical current to the control module. The electrical power source may be photovoltaic module, a battery, a source of an alternating electrical current, a capacitor, or a combination thereof. The control module is programmed to actuate the vacuum pump at predetermined times for a predetermined duration. 
     In an embodiment, the pipe clearing apparatus may include a thermostat to prevent the device from actuating when the ambient temperature is below a predefined threshold. 
     In an embodiment, the vacuum pump may be a centrifugal pump. The centrifugal pump includes a vacuum pump housing, in which an impeller and an electric motor reside. The electric motor is in electrical communication with the control module and is adapted to drive the impeller. Rotation of the impeller creates a suction causing a fluid to flow into the vacuum pump housing through the inlet port and exit through the discharge port. The fluid flow removes the contents of the drain pipe which is coupled to the inlet port. When the electric motor is not operating, gravity causes the drain pipe to continue its normal operation, whereby the condensate exits the drain pipe, then enters the inlet port, flows through the impeller, and exits through the discharge port. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the automated pipe clearing apparatus attached to an exterior wall of a building; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the automated pipe clearing apparatus with a photovoltaic module; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the automated pipe clearing apparatus with the cover removed exposing the components contained within the housing; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of the automated pipe clearing apparatus depicting the functional components; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the vacuum pump; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional perspective view of the vacuum pump; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the vacuum pump. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and within which specific embodiments are shown by way of illustration by which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a pipe clearing apparatus  10  is shown in an attachment to an exterior wall of a house. This embodiment of pipe clearing apparatus  10  is intended for clearing out condensation drain pipes of central air conditioning (hereinafter “AC”) units. However, pipe clearing apparatus  10  may also be adapted for clearing out other types of draining, venting, refrigeration, and exhaust systems. 
     As depicted in  FIG. 1 , pipe clearing apparatus  10  fixedly attaches to an exterior wall of a building. The attachment may be accomplished via any means commonly used in the art, including fasteners and adhesive. Pipe clearing apparatus  10  includes a pump  24  housed within housing  12 . An inlet port  14  of pump  24  protrudes from housing  12  and is fluidly coupled to a discharge end of an AC condensation drain conduit  16 . In most buildings equipped with central AC units, condensation drain conduit  16  protrudes from a lower part of an exterior wall allowing the condensate to drain outside the building. Pipe clearing apparatus  10  may be readily integrated into an existing AC condensation drain system without requiring any major modifications to the system itself. 
     Pipe clearing apparatus  10  may be powered by electricity generated by a photovoltaic module  18  and stored in a battery  22 . Since the required clearings are relatively infrequent and quick, a fairly small and light battery  22  stores adequate amount of energy to ensure normal operation of pipe clearing apparatus  10 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , photovoltaic module  18  may be raised to maximize the amount of solar radiation to which photovoltaic module  18  is exposed. In an alternative embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2 , photovoltaic module  18  may be attached directly to housing  12  of pipe clearing apparatus  10 . This alternative, more compact configuration may be advantageous for those buildings where pipe clearing apparatus  10  is positioned in a place where it receives adequate amount of sunlight, thus eliminating the need to reposition photovoltaic module  18 . 
     Photovoltaic module  18  provides a dual benefit: pipe clearing apparatus  10  is both environmentally-friendly and virtually maintenance free since there are no batteries to replace. This feature eliminates the need to monitor pipe clearing apparatus  10  because once it is installed and programmed, no subsequent maintenance is necessary. In alternative embodiments, standard batteries or an existing source of alternating electric current, such as a standard electrical outlet, may be used instead of photovoltaic module  18  and rechargeable battery  22 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , housing  12  includes a cover  20 . Cover  20  encloses components housed within housing  12 , thus protecting them from environment, moisture, children, critters, etc. Cover  20  may be removed when access to interior of housing  12  or any of the components contained therein is needed. 
       FIG. 3  depicts housing  12  with cover  20  removed, exposing pump  24 , battery  22 , a control module  26 , and a thermostat  28 . Housing  12  and cover  20  are preferably made out of a water impermeable and noncorrosive material, such as a plastic. Some examples of suitable plastics include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinylchloride, polyvinylidenechloride, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene, and polyvinylacetate. Noncorrosive metals such as aluminum, stainless steel, titanium, and alloys thereof may also be used. However, plastics are preferred due to their low cost, low weight, and ease of manufacturing. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , pump  24  has inlet port  14  and a discharge port  30 . In its normal non-actuated state, pipe clearing apparatus  10  permits condensate discharged from AC condensation drain conduit  16  to pass through inlet port  14  and exit through discharge port  30 . This feature permits the existing AC condensation drain system to maintain its normal functionality allowing the gravity to expel condensation from drain conduit  16 , therefore, ensuring normal continuous drainage of the condensate even when pump  24  is not operating. 
     In the embodiment of the invention depicted in  FIGS. 3-7 , pump  24  is a centrifugal pump. Other embodiments may use other types of velocity vacuum pumps, such as axial-flow and mixed-flow pumps. Moreover, positive displacement pumps, such as internal gear, screw, shuttle block, flexible vane, sliding vane, circumferential piston, flexible impeller, helical twisted roots, and liquid ring vacuum pumps may also be used. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , housing of pump  24  comprises three parts: an upper housing part  40 , a middle housing part  42 , and a lower housing part  44 . Intake port  14  is formed in upper housing part  40 , and discharge port  30  is formed in lower housing part  44 . Pump  24  houses an impeller  48  and an electric motor  46  adapted to drive impeller  48 . Electric motor  46  may be enclosed by motor cover  50  and motor mount  52 , which seal the motor to protect it from the moisture. Impeller  48  may be an open impeller, a semi-open impeller, or a closed impeller and may contain one or more vanes. Impeller  48  is closely fitted to middle housing part  42  to maximize the pressure differential between upper housing part  40  and lower housing part  44 , thus increasing suction at inlet port  14 . 
     When electric motor  46  is operating, it drives impeller  48  at a pre-determined angular velocity. Rotation of impeller  48  increases pressure in lower housing part  44  and reduces pressure in upper housing part  40 —the pressure differential creates a suction through inlet port  14 . Since inlet port  14  is fluidly coupled to condensation drain conduit  16 , the suction produced by spinning impeller  48  extracts condensate, debris, sludge, fungus, algae, and other contaminants from condensation drain conduit  16  to prevent formation of buildup and clogging. Extracted matter passes through inlet port  14  and enters impeller  48  along its rotating axis. Impeller  48  accelerates the extracted matter and forces it to flow radially into a volute chamber located in lower housing part  44 . The extracted matter is then discarded from pump  24  through discharge port  30 . 
     After pump  24  has operated for a predetermined duration of time sufficient to clear out condensation drain conduit  16 , control module  26  deactivates electric motor  46 . Pump  24  remains deactivated until the next scheduled operation. In-between operations, gravity causes the condensate to drain normally, whereby condensate exits condensation drain conduit  16  and then enters inlet port  14 , passes through stationary impeller  48 , and exits through discharge port  30 . Even if pipe clearing apparatus  10  becomes non-operational, the existing drainage system will not be negatively affected since the condensate will continue to drain. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , control module  26  is programmable to actuate pump  24  at predetermined times to clear out condensation drain conduit  16 . Control module  26  may be programmed to specify frequency, duration, and the start time of prophylactic clearings. These parameters depend on a number of variables including climate, type of the AC system, number of hours the AC system operates, diameter and length of condensation drain conduit  16 , etc. Control module  26  may further have an LCD display  34  and a plurality of buttons  36  to facilitate intuitive programming. 
     An embodiment of the invention depicted in  FIGS. 3 and 4  also includes thermostat  28  in electrical communication with vacuum pump  24 . It is undesirable for pipe clearing apparatus  10  to operate when the outside temperature falls below the freezing point because ice may form in condensation drain conduit  16  and may damage pump  24 . Moreover, since condensate continuously drains through pump  24 , in freezing temperatures, the condensate may freeze within pump  24 , which may cause damage if pump  24  is actuated. Accordingly, the thermostat  28  will not permit actuation of pump  24  until the temperature rises to an acceptable level. 
     In an alternative embodiment, control module  26  may be programmable to adjust the frequency of periodic clearings of condensation drain conduit  16  based on the outside temperature detected by a thermal sensor. When the outside temperature rises, the AC unit typically operates for prolonged time periods, consequentially producing more condensation and necessitating more frequent and/or longer clearings. Control module  26  may be programmed to actuate pump  24  according to the outside temperature to account for the increased activity of the AC unit. 
     The advantages set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     GLOSSARY OF TERMS 
     Automatic—working by itself with no direct human control other than initial programming of a set of instructions. 
     Control module—a module containing one or more electrical switches that may be selectively closed to allow electrical current to flow to a component in electrical communication with the control module. 
     Conduit—a tube for conveying a fluid, a pipe. 
     Discharge port—an opening through which fluid exits. 
     Drain conduit—a conduit through which fluid exists a system. 
     Electric motor—an electric machine that convers electricity to mechanical work. 
     Electrical communication—an electrical connection between at least two components where the electrons may flow between the components. 
     Electrical power source—an element capable of providing an electric current. 
     Fluid coupling—a sealed connection whereby fluid may flow but cannot escape through the connection junction. 
     Housing—a structure at least partially inclosing an amount of space adapted to contain components of a device. 
     Inlet port—an opening through which fluid enters. 
     Impeller—a rotor adapted to initiate or increase a flow of a fluid. 
     Sealingly—not permitting fluids to enter or exit. 
     Suction—a partial vacuum that causes a fluid to flow into a space where the partial vacuum is created. 
     Thermostat—a device that senses the ambient temperature. 
     Vacuum pump—a device that produces suction.