Powered Hose Puller with Hinged Frame for Manhole Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Standard hydro cleaning trucks often cannot reach remote manholes, requiring additional equipment and personnel, leading to labor-intensive and hazardous manual hose pulling, which can result in injuries and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A powered sewer hose puller with a hinge-connected upper and lower frame, gripping elements, and a motor-driven mechanism for easily assembling, transporting, and deploying to securely engage and pull hoses into manholes, reducing manual labor and preventing injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a standard hydro cleaning truck is used, then the cleaning function is provided, but the truck cannot reach remote manholes
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two independent components: a hydro cleaning truck and a separate portable hose puller. The hose puller can be transported to remote locations and deployed independently to pull hoses into hard-to-reach manholes, while the truck provides water supply from a more accessible location.
Solution Approach 2:
The portable hose puller acts as an intermediary device between the hydro cleaning truck and the remote manhole. It bridges the gap by mechanically pulling the hose through the terrain that the truck cannot access directly.
2Device complexity
If manual hose pulling is used, then no additional equipment is needed, but workers face injury risks and high physical strain
Solution Approach 1:
The hose puller is designed to be self-contained with its own power source (gas-powered reel), requiring no external power supply or additional crew members to operate. A single worker can deploy it independently to pull hoses safely without manual straining.
3Adaptability or versatility
If bulky equipment like large tractors is used to reach remote areas, then reach capability is improved, but transport time and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system separates the heavy hydro cleaning truck from the lightweight portable hose puller. The puller can be easily transported to remote locations and quickly deployed, avoiding the time-consuming transport and setup of bulky equipment while maintaining access capability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If additional equipment and personnel are deployed to reach remote manholes, then access capability is improved, but operational cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hose puller operates autonomously with its own power source and requires only a single operator. It handles hose deployment independently without needing additional personnel to manually pull or guide the hose, reducing both labor requirements and operational complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates efficient and safe sewer line cleaning by minimizing manual labor, conserving water, and reducing the need for bulky equipment, allowing quick and effective hose deployment in remote areas.
Implementation Method 1
A motor or drive mechanism is connected with at least one of the gripping elements to rotate the gripping elements for pulling the hose
Implementation Method 2
an upper frame and a lower frame connected with one another by a hinge to allow the upper frame to pivot relative to the lower frame
Implementation Method 3
a latch is connected with the upper and lower frames for latching the upper and lower frames in a closed position
Implementation Method 4
a first gripping element and a second gripping element are mounted to the lower and upper frames... to rotate the gripping elements for pulling the hose
Data Source
AI summary
A powered, portable device for pulling a hose such as a sewer hose into an access hole such as a sewer manhole. The device is sufficiently long to extend over the access hole and has a lateral support structure extending from the bottom of the device into the access hole to engage a side surface of the access hole to prevent the device from being pulled across the ground during operation. Upper and lower frame portions are connected by a hinge at one end of the device to allow the device to be opened up to install the hose into the device. With the hose installed the upper frame can be clamped down to the lower frame to engage the hose. The upper and lower frames have gripping elements, at least one of which is powered by a motor to rotate and pull the hose into the access hole.