Patent ID: 8535452

Claim:
A pipe clearing apparatus comprising: a housing having an enclosed top face, enclosed side faces, and an open bottom face; a discharge conduit fluidly coupled to the housing, the discharge conduit having a first end positioned inside the housing proximate to the open bottom face and a second end outside the housing, the second end configured to fluidly couple to a condensation drain conduit; a door disposed at the open bottom face of the housing forming a door-housing assembly, the door having a first, open position wherein condensation drains due to gravity and exits the housing through the open bottom face thereof, and a second, closed position wherein the drain conduit is sealingly enclosed within the housing by closing the door to substantially fluidly seal the open bottom face; a vacuum pump having an inlet within the housing and an outlet outside the housing; an electrical power source in electrical communication with the vacuum pump; and a switch module in electrical communication with the electrical power source and vacuum pump, the switch module actuating the door-housing assembly into the closed position and turning on the vacuum pump, thereby creating a vacuum within the condensation drain conduit to extract buildup from the condensation drain conduit before the vacuum is turned off and then door-housing assembly returns to the open position, wherein the apparatus is configured for permanent in-situ operation.