Patent Publication Number: US-2010122423-A1

Title: Device for Simultaneously Cleaning and Deburring Pipe

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/116,539 filed 20 Nov. 2008 by James K. Lozar, the entire contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Cutting a section of many types of pipe may leave excess material at the ends of the pipe. The edges may be rough and some methods of pipe cutting may leave the end of the pipe with a decreased diameter from the original diameter of the pipe. The internal burr or deformation may be removed prior to joining the pipe in some applications, such as for water pipe where the burr may cause cavitation and premature failure of a fitting or other component. 
     Brazing or sweating pipe, such as copper plumbing pipe, is usually performed after cleaning the surfaces to be joined. Abrasion is one mechanism by which an oxidized surface may be removed to expose a base metal to be joined. 
     SUMMARY 
     A tool simultaneously deburrs and cleans an end of a pipe. The tool may have a casing that combines a mechanically abrasive cleaning mechanism and a cutting mechanism. The casing may have the cleaning mechanism and cutting mechanism aligned on an axis with the pipe, so that the outer surface of the pipe may be cleaned while the internal diameter may be cut or deburred. Some embodiments may be hand held devices that may be gripped in the palm of a hand, while other embodiments may be mounted on a drill or other powered mechanism. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings, 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment showing a pipe cleaning and cutting mechanism. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view an embodiment showing a pipe cleaning and cutting mechanism. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a pipe cleaning and cutting mechanism. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A combination cleaning and cutting device may clean an exterior surface and deburr an interior edge simultaneously by turning the device over an end of a pipe. Such preparation may be used on copper plumbing pipe, for example, prior to brazing or sweating a joint. 
     One embodiment may be a hand held device that may be grasped in a palm and rotated over an end of a pipe. Another embodiment may be mounted on a drill. 
     The device may have a casing that is a cylinder inside which a mechanically abrasive mechanism may be mounted. A cutting mechanism may be mounted to an end wall of the cylinder and positioned so that the cutting and cleaning operations may be performed simultaneously. 
     Throughout this specification, like reference numbers signify the same elements throughout the description of the figures. 
     When elements are referred to as being “connected” or “coupled,” the elements can be directly connected or coupled together or one or more intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when elements are referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled,” there are no intervening elements present. 
       FIG. 1  is a diagram illustration of an embodiment  100  showing a device that may simultaneously clean the external surface of a pipe while cutting an internal surface. Embodiment  100  is an example of a hand held cleaning and cutting device that may be used for preparing copper plumbing pipe, for example. 
     Embodiment  100  shows a device  102  that has a cleaning function and a cutting function. The cleaning function may abrade the outer surface of a pipe using wire brushes or other abrasion mechanism. The cutting function may cut or debur the inner edge of the pipe. The device  102  may clean the outer surface of a pipe at the same time the deburring or cutting function is being performed, allowing a plumber or other tradesman to quickly prepare a pipe end for use, such as joining to another fitting, pipe section, or machinery. 
     The combination cleaning and cutting device may be used on a variety of pipe. In plumbing applications, copper pipe is often used for conveying liquid and gas. Domestic water systems may use copper pipe for distributing pressurized water to sinks, tubs, showers, toilets, and other devices. Industrial applications may include using copper pipe for distributing pressurized air or other gasses. Thin walled copper pipe are generally joined using sweated or brazed joints. In sweated or brazed joints, the outer surface of a pipe may be joined to a fitting or pipe section that has a larger inner diameter and may slide over the outer surface of the pipe. 
     The cleaning process prior to sweating a pipe joint is used to remove dirt, oxides, and other contamination that may adversely affect the sweating or brazing operation. In many sweating or brazing operations, contamination may cause the sweating or brazing operation to be incomplete, have voids, or fail. 
     The deburring process with copper pipes may remove burrs on the internal diameter edge of a cut pipe. Copper pipe may be cut using pipe cutters that may have a cutting wheel that is rolled around the outer diameter of the pipe while applying a squeezing or clamping force. Such pipe cutters may deform the pipe until failure, producing a cut without producing chips or shavings. In many cases, the inner diameter of the pipe from such a cut may be less than the normal inner diameter of the pipe, and the inner edge may be sharp. 
     Copper pipe may also be cut using a hacksaw or other type of saw that may cut through the wall of the pipe with a series of cutting teeth. The result of such a cutting operation may be a burrs, chips, shavings, and other bits of copper pipe attached to the joint, along with sharp edges. 
     The deburring process may prepare a pipe end for joining by removing the burrs, chips, shavings, or other debris that may be attached to the end of the pipe and may further create a chamfer or smoothed edge. The chamfer or smoothed edge may allow fluids or gasses to pass through the pipe smoothly and may remove any deformed edges that may restrict flow. 
     For water and fluid applications, deburring the inner edge of a pipe may reduce cavitation when a liquid flows through the pipe. In many jurisdictions, a local plumbing code may dictate that all water or fluid joints will have the inner surface of a joint deburred and chamfered. 
     Other plumbing applications may include applications where pipes are joined using threaded joints. The device  102  may clean the threaded external portion of a pipe after the threads are cut, or may be used to clean a pipe end prior to cutting threads on the pipe. Threaded pipe may be in the form of ductile iron, steel, galvanized steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, or other metals. 
     In electrical applications, galvanized pipe may be used for conduit. The device  102  may be useful in cleaning the outer surface of conduit prior to joining to fittings. In some electrical applications, the outer surface may be cleaned to create a contact area for an electrical connection, such as a ground connection. The internal cutting mechanism may deburr the edges of the conduit so that wires and cables pulled through the conduit are not abraded by the edge of the conduit. 
     The device  102  may be used to prepare plastic pipe for joining. The device  102  may abrade the outer surface of a pipe so that an adhesive may act on the plastic pipe without contaminants, while the cutting operation may remove any burrs debris from the internal edge where a fluid or gas may flow. 
     The device  102  may be designed to operate on a single size of pipe. When different sizes of pipe are to be cleaned, different sizes of the device  102  may be used. Some embodiments may include a set of devices  102  that may include two, three, or more sizes of devices  102  for certain standard sizes of pipe that a tradesman may be using. 
     Copper pipe, for example, comes in several standard sizes that are commonly used for domestic and industrial applications. For example, copper pipe has standard sizes in ¼ inch, 3/16 inch, ⅜ inch, 5/16 inch, ½ inch, ⅝ inch, ¾ inch, ⅞ inch, 1 inch, and larger sizes. For each standard size, a different sized device  102  may be used. 
     The device  102  may be comprised of a casing  104 , an abrading mechanism  106 , and a cutting tool  108 . The casing  104  may have a front closure  110  that may capture the abrading mechanism  106  and may be joined by an ultrasonic weld that may produce a joint  112 . 
     In many embodiments, the casing  104  may be a thermoplastic material that may be injection molded. The casing  104  may have an outer surface  114  that has ribs  116  or other gripping features so that a user may grasp and turn the device  102  by hand. Other embodiments may have different hand grip features. 
     The casing  104  may have an inner surface to which the abrading mechanism  106  may be attached. In some embodiments, the abrading mechanism  106  may be secured to the inner surface by epoxy or other adhesive. Some embodiments may use mechanical features on the inner surface to engage or hold the abrading mechanism  106 . Some such features may include a rib or other feature that may prevent the abrading mechanism  106  from slipping or moving while cleaning an outer surface of a pipe. Some embodiments may use both an adhesive and a mechanical engagement feature while other embodiments may use just adhesive or just mechanical engagement features to hold the abrading mechanism  106 . 
     The casing  104  may have a front closure  110  that may secure the abrading mechanism  106  into the casing. The front closure  110  may be a molded thermoplastic part that may be joined to the casing by ultrasonic welding, adhesive bonding, snap fit, or other mechanism. In some embodiments, the front closure  110  may removably attached to the casing  104  by threads or other mechanical feature. 
     The inner surface may be a cylindrical or other surface that is continuous. In many embodiments, the continuous revolved surface of the casing  104  may give the casing  104  structural integrity and also allow the abrading mechanism  106  to be forced against the outer surface of the pipe  120 . The abrading mechanism  106  may have an inner diameter  130  that may be smaller than the outer diameter  132  of the pipe  120 . The difference between the inner diameter  130  and outer diameter  132  may force the abrading mechanism  106  to comply and produce resistance on the outer surface of the pipe  120 . 
     The engagement of the pipe  120  into the device  102  may cause some expansion forces to be applied to the abrading mechanism  106 . The expansion forces are easily resisted when the casing  104  is continuous, as the expansive forces may be resisted by tension in the hoop stresses of the casing  104 . 
     The inner surface of the casing  104  may be conical or other shaped revolved surface. In some embodiments, the revolved shape may be smaller at the far end of the casing  104  so that more abrasive force may be applied to the pipe  102  near the end of the pipe, for example. 
     The abrading mechanism  106  may be any type of abrading mechanism, and the abrading mechanism may vary depending on the intended use of the device  102 . 
     The abrading mechanism  106  may be a set of wire bristles like a wire brush. Such an embodiment may have a set of wire bristles attached to a flexible backing. The wire bristle assembly may be rolled into a hoop an inserted into the casing  104  and secured using adhesive, mechanical engagement, or other mechanism. The front closure  110  may be also be used to secure the wire bristle assembly as well. 
     Other embodiments may use stacked sheets of sandpaper, steel wool, scrubbing pads, abrasive pads, or other abrading mechanisms. In many embodiments, the abrading mechanism may be separately manufactured and assembled into the casing  104 . Some embodiments may be manufactured by molding the casing  104  onto the abrading mechanism  106 . 
     The cutting tool  108  may cut the inner edge of the pipe  120  when the device  102  is rotated over an end of the pipe  120 . 
     The cutting tool  108  is illustrated as having four cutting teeth  118 . Other embodiments may have different numbers of cutting teeth, including embodiments that may have two, three, four, six, eight, or other numbers of cutting teeth. 
     In some embodiments, the cutting tool  108  may not have teeth. Such embodiments may have an abrasive cutting tool  108  that may be a stone or other abrasive component. 
     The cutting tool  108  is illustrated as being capable of cutting an approximate 45 degree chamfer to the inner edge of the pipe  120 . Other embodiments may be configured to at different angles, including 15 degree, 30 degree, 60 degree, 75 degree, or other angled chamfers. 
     In some embodiments, the cutting tool  108  may have curved or other shaped teeth. The shaped teeth may be used to apply a radius or other shape to the inner edge of a pipe  120 . 
     The cutting tool  108  may be manufactured from a suitable material that may cut the material of the pipe  120 . For copper pipe, the cutting tool  108  may be manufactured from steel that may or may not be hardened. For steel and other types of pipe, the cutting tool  108  may be manufactured form carbide or other material. 
     In some embodiments, the cutting tool  108  may be separately manufactured and assembled to the casing  104 . A treaded fastener or other mechanism may be used to secure the cutting tool  108  to the casing  104 . In some embodiments, a mechanical engagement feature such as a step, post, counterbore, or other feature may be used to mechanically engage and align the cutting tool  108  to the casing  104 . 
     Some embodiments may have the cutting tool  108  molded or formed into the casing  104 . For example, a set of cutting blades may be inserted into a mold around which the casing  104  may be formed. 
     The pipe  120  is illustrated to show how the device  102  may be used. The pipe  120  may be inserted into the device  102  and the device  102  may be rotated. The rotational action of the device  102  with respect to the pipe  120  may cause the cutting tool  108  to cut the inner edge of the pipe  120  while the abrading mechanism  106  cleans the outer surface. 
     After processing each end of the pipe  120 , the pipe  120  may have a cleaned area  124  at the far end and a cleaned area  126  at the near end. The inner edge  128  may be the edge of the pipe  120  that is cut or deburred by the cutting tool  108 . 
     In many embodiments, the length of the cleaned area  124  may be approximately the diameter  132  of the pipe  120 . Other embodiments may have a ratio of the diameter to the cleaned length of pipe as 0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 or other ratio. 
       FIG. 2  is a diagram illustration of an embodiment  200  showing an exploded view of a device for simultaneously cutting an inside edge of a pipe while cleaning an exterior surface. 
     Embodiment  200  is an illustration of an embodiment that may be used manually or with a drill to prepare an end of a pipe. Embodiment  200  may also be an example of an embodiment that is separately manufactured and assembled. 
     The device  202  of embodiment  200  may comprise a casing  204 , and abrading mechanism  206 , a cutting tool  208 , and a driveshaft  210 . 
     The casing  204  and abrading mechanism  206  may be similar to the casing  104  and abrading mechanism  106  of embodiment  100 . 
     The cutting tool  208  is illustrated exploded from the casing  204 . The cutting tool  208  may be assembled to the casing  204  by inserting the cutting tool  208  into the casing  204  so that the cutting tool  208  rests against the rear wall  218 . The drive shaft  210  may have external threads  212  that may fit through the hole  216  in the rear wall  218  and engage internal thread in the back of the cutting tool  208 . 
     The driveshaft  210  may have a flange  220  that may rest against the back surface of the rear wall  218  and clamp the cutting tool  208  in place. In some embodiments, the treads  212  may be left hand threads so that the cutting tool  208  may not be loosened during the operation of the device  202  over the pipe  222 . 
     The driveshaft  210  may have a shaft  214  that may extend distal from the open end  224  of the casing  204 . The shaft  214  may be mounted in a chuck of a power drill to drive the device  202  and cause the device  202  to rotate around the pipe  222 . 
       FIG. 3  is a diagram illustration of an embodiment  300  showing a partial cross-sectional view of a device for simultaneously cleaning an outer surface of a pipe and cutting an inner edge of the pipe. 
     The device  302  may comprise a casing  304 , an abrading mechanism  306 , and a cutting tool  308 . The abrading mechanism  306  may be captured into the casing  304  by a front closure  310 , which may be attached to the casing  304 . 
     Each of the components of the device  302  may define an axis that may be aligned with a centerline  314 . For example, the casing  304  may be a cylinder having an open end  324  and a closed end with a rear wall  320 . The cylinder may be form a center axis around which the cylinder revolves. Similarly, the abrading mechanism  306  may form a cylinder that has a center axis, and the cutting tool  308  may also have a center axis. These components may be assembled such that the axis of each device is approximately collinear with the centerline  314 , which may be the centerline of the pipe  312 . 
     In some embodiments, the alignment of each axis may be approximately collinear with the centerline  314 . Embodiments that may be used in high speed applications, such as when mounted to a drill motor, may have tighter tolerances in the alignment of the centerline axis. Embodiments that may be used by hand may have looser tolerances for the axis alignment. 
     The pipe  312  is illustrated in cross section with the outer surface  326  and the inner edge  328  highlighted. The abrading mechanism  306  may engage and clean the outer surface  326  while the inner edge  328  is cut by the cutting tool  308 . 
     The cutting tool  308  is illustrated with a shaft  316  that may have threads  318 . The shaft  316  may be integral to the cutting tool  308 . A nut  322  may secure the cutting tool  308  to the rear wall  320 . 
     The foregoing description of the subject matter has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the subject matter to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments except insofar as limited by the prior art.