Filter Locking Nut Tool for Confined Pressure Vessel Maintenance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The installation and removal of industrial filter elements in confined spaces are cumbersome and costly due to the need for personnel to enter these spaces, violating OSHA regulations and increasing safety hazards and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A filter locking nut system and method that allows for the secure installation and removal of filter elements without breaching the plane of the pressure vessel, using an elongated tool to attach and detach the locking nut from a threaded rod, enabling the filter element to be managed externally.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If filter elements are installed/removed by breaching the confined space plane, then installation/removal can be performed, but OSHA regulations require multiple safety measures increasing cost and decreasing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
An elongated tool acts as an intermediary device, allowing the operator to engage with the filter element and locking mechanism from outside the confined space. The tool transmits mechanical force through the vessel wall opening without requiring hand or body entry, thus maintaining safety while enabling operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution moves the interaction point from inside the confined space to outside by extending the tool length. The operator interacts with the filter element through a dimensional extension (the tool) that bridges the space boundary, allowing maintenance without breaching the confined space plane.
2Ease of operation
If filter elements are installed/removed by breaching the confined space plane, then installation/removal can be performed, but multiple safety measures are required increasing maintenance costs
Solution Approach 1:
The elongated tool serves as a mediator that eliminates the need for costly safety equipment (breathing apparatuses, multiple employees) by enabling operation from outside the confined space while still providing mechanical engagement with the filter element.
3Reliability
If filter elements are secured with conventional nuts, then filtering function is achieved, but installation and removal require breaching the confined space plane
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism transitions from static conventional nuts to a dynamic system where the elongated tool provides temporary engagement during installation/removal, then disconnects to allow the filter element to be secured or released without requiring the tool to remain in place.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into two functional parts: the elongated tool for installation/removal operations, and the filter element with its locking mechanism for secure mounting. This segmentation allows the tool to be removed after installation, leaving only the filter element secured in place.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of securing a filter element within a pressure vessel without a user breaching a plane of the pressure vessel is provided. The method includes attaching a filter locking nut to a removal/installation tool, wherein the removal/installation tool comprises an elongated body, inserting the filter locking nut into the pressure vessel, securing the filter locking nut to a threaded rod to secure a filter element in place, detaching the removal/installation tool from the filter locking nut, and removing the removal/installation tool from the pressure vessel. At least a portion of the elongated body of the removal/installation tool extends outside of the pressure vessel for the duration of the attaching, inserting, securing, detaching, and removing steps.