Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
VERTICAL PIPE CLEANING SYSTEM AND METHOD
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a pipe cleaning system and
method for use in vertical
or substantially vertical pipes, such as gauge poles, stilling wells or any
other vertical piping.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] An external floating roof tank is a storage tank commonly used to
store large
quantities of petroleum products such as crude oil or condensate. The tank has
an open- topped
cylindrical steel shell and a roof that floats on the surface of the stored
liquid. The roof rises
and falls with the liquid level in the tank. As opposed to a fixed roof tank
there is no vapor
space in the floating roof tank, except where liquid level falls to a very low
level. There is a
rim seal system between the tank shell and roof to reduce rim evaporation.
[0003] The tank includes instrumentation piping which conventionally
runs vertically
through the tank. This piping may build up internal residue over time, which
may affect the
accuracy of the monitoring instrumentation. Thus, it is desirable or required
to periodically
remove or reduce internal residue or obstructions in these vertical pipes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In summary, embodiments of the present invention provides systems and
methods
for cleaning vertical or substantially vertical pipes.
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[0005] In one aspect, the invention comprises a cleaning device,
comprising at least one
cylindrical section, a bottom plate and an upper plate having a cable
attachment means, an
internal weight, and at least one wiper disk, the device defining a fluid flow
path through or
around the device.
[0006] In some embodiments, the device comprises one or more of the
following features:
(a) a plurality of stacked cylindrical sections, joined by attachment flanges;
(b) a plurality of wiper disks, disposed between attachment flanges of
adjacent stacked
cylindrical sections, at least one of which is flexibly resilient;
(c) the internal weight comprises at least one cylindrical weight, positioned
concentrically within the at least one cylindrical section, and preferably two
or more cylindrical
weights, concentrically disposed within the cylindrical section or sections,
and each other.
[0007] In another aspect, the invention may comprise a kit for cleaning
a substantially
vertical pipe, comprising:
(a) a cleaning device having a first circular wiper disk and/or a first
internal weight;
(b) at least one additional weight for adding to the cleaning device; and/or
(c) at least one additional circular wiper disk having a different diameter
than the first
circular wiper disk.
[0008] In some embodiments, the first internal weight and each
additional weight is
cylindrical, sized to concentrically nest within the cleaning device and each
other.
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[0009] In another aspect, the invention may comprise a method of
cleaning a substantially
vertical pipe using the devices claimed or described herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In the drawings, like elements may be assigned like reference
numerals. The
drawings are not necessarily to scale, with the emphasis instead placed upon
the principles of
the present invention. Additionally, each of the embodiments depicted are but
one of a number
of possible arrangements utilizing the fundamental concepts of the present
invention.
[0011] Figure 1 shows the use of a cleaning device in a vertical pipe.
[0012] Figure 2A shows a partial cutaway and partial cross-section of a
cleaning device.
Figure 2B shows an exploded side elevational view of the same device. Figure
2C shows an
exploded perspective view of the same device, with a partial cutaway.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0013] The invention relates to an cleaning device and method for
cleaning a vertical pipe,
such as an instrumentation pipe in an oil storage tank.
[0014] Fig. 1 shows a cleaning device 10 in position within the top portion
of a vertical
pipe, positioned within a roof manway of an oil storage tank. It is suspended
from a tripod
stand, a boom arm or the like, to be lowered into the vertical pipe. The pipe
to be cleaned need
not be precisely vertical. The device is gravity-fed into the pipe, therefore,
the pipe needs only
be sufficiently vertical to allow for gravity to lower the device into the
pipe.
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[0015] In a basic form, one embodiment of a cleaning device comprises at
least one
cylindrical section 12, a bottom plate 14 and an upper plate 16 having a cable
attachment means
18, an internal weight 20, and at least one wiper disk 30, which preferably is
a flexibly resilient
disk. In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a plurality of stacked
cylindrical
sections 12, joined by attachment flanges 13 and bolts. A plurality of wiper
disks 30 are
disposed between attachment flanges 13 of adjacent stacked cylindrical
sections 12.
[0016] In some embodiments, the cleaning device defines at least one
fluid flow path
through its length, to allow gases and liquids to pass through, thereby
allowing the device to
pass through fluids within the pipe to be cleaned. Thus, both the bottom and
top plates 14, 16
may be perforated and the cylindrical sections 12 and internal weights 20 have
an internal bore.
Alternatively or additionally, external flow paths may be provided by forming
grooves or
openings in exterior surfaces of the device 10 and/or disks 30.
[0017] The wiper disk 30 may comprise a rubber or elastomer ring, such
as polyurethane,
and is configured to clean the inside of the pipe by a wiping action. The
wiper disk 30 may be
relatively hard to promote a scraping action, or may be relatively soft to
deform within the pipe
and promote a wiping action. In some embodiments, a scraping edge may be
included (not
shown), that may be formed from a metal attachment or embedded member.
Alternatively, the
wiper disk 20 may include cleaning bristles or a textured surface.
[0018] The wiper disks 30 are sized to clean the interior surface of the
pipe as the cleaning
device is lowered into the vertical pipe. If the wiper disk is formed from a
softer, flexible
material, the disk may be sized such that the outer edge of the disk 30 folds
over to form a lip,
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as shown in Fig. 2B. In some embodiments, the wiper disks may be differently
sized. For
example, the lowermost disk may be smaller than the inside diameter of the
pipe, and each
upper disk may be slightly larger. In some embodiments, a first pass of the
cleaning device
may be made, followed by subsequent passes where the disks have been replaced
with larger
disks.
[0019] In some embodiments, the internal weight 20 comprises one or more
cylindrical
weights, concentrically nested within the at least one cylindrical section and
each other.
[0020] The cleaning device is passed downwards by gravity through the
pipe to be cleaned.
If additional force is required, additional internal weights may be added by
unbolting a section
of the device (between sections or by removing either the top or bottom plate)
and inserting as
many cylindrical (hollow or solid) weights as required. The device may be made
heavier by
adding cylindrical sections to make the device longer.
[0021] A cleaning method may commence with a visual inspection of the pipe,
such as a
standard gauge pole, using an intrinsically safe camera. If the visual
inspection produces
evidence of scale or rust, or other material which can be cleaned, the
cleaning device may be
setup to be lowered into the gauge pole using a tripod or other stand. A first
pass may be made
with a smaller size of wiping disks, followed by a successive pass with at
least one larger disk.
If the cleaning device is obstructed by materials to be cleaned out, the
device may be cycled
up and down in an effort to break up the obstructing materials, or
alternatively, a smaller wiping
disk may be used. Multiple cleaning cycles may be made until the pipe is
considered to be
satisfactorily cleaned.
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[0022] Interpretation.
[0023] References in the specification to "one embodiment", "an
embodiment", etc.,
indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular aspect,
feature, structure, or
characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes that aspect,
feature, structure, or
characteristic. Moreover, such phrases may, but do not necessarily, refer to
the same
embodiment referred to in other portions of the specification. Further, when a
particular aspect,
feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an
embodiment, it is within
the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect or connect such module,
aspect, feature,
structure, or characteristic with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly
described. In
other words, any module, element or feature may be combined with any other
element or
feature in different embodiments, unless there is an obvious or inherent
incompatibility, or it
is specifically excluded.
[0024] It is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any
optional element.
As such, this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for the use
of exclusive
terminology, such as "solely," "only," and the like, in connection with the
recitation of claim
elements or use of a "negative" limitation. The terms "preferably,"
"preferred," "prefer,"
"optionally," "may," and similar terms are used to indicate that an item,
condition or step being
referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention.
[0025] The singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include the plural
reference unless the
context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and/or" means any one of the
items, any
combination of the items, or all of the items with which this term is
associated. The phrase
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"one or more" is readily understood by one of skill in the art, particularly
when read in context
of its usage.
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