Patent ID: 7520287

Claim:
A tube cleaning apparatus for cleaning a tube having an inner surface and an outer surface, comprising: a cleaning receptacle to contain a fluid and having a first height; a vertical receptacle adjacent to the cleaning receptacle to contain a fluid, wherein the vertical receptacle has a second height greater than the first height of the cleaning receptacle; an inlet port to provide fluid communication between the vertical receptacle and the cleaning receptacle; and a gate slidably attached to the inlet port to allow for at least partial blocking of the inlet port and to clamp at least one tube in place through the inlet port, wherein the gate includes a plurality of rectangular segments configured to generally conform to a cross-sectional contour of the outer surface of the tube in order to clamp the tube in place through the inlet port and substantially block a remainder of the inlet port, wherein a plurality of surface openings are generated at a plurality of respective interfaces between the rectangular segments, the surface openings being disposed about the cross-sectional contour of the outer surface of the tube; wherein pressure due to gravity forces the fluid in the vertical receptacle to flow through the tube through the inlet port into the cleaning receptacle and wherein the pressure forces the fluid in the vertical receptacle to flow through the surface openings and flow over the outer surface of the tube, thereby cleaning the inner and outer surfaces of the tube.