Pipe Coating Device with Flexible Spaddle Protrusions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pipe coating methods are inefficient due to slow progress, as multiple thin layers are required with previous technologies, and high viscosity coatings tend to adhere to brushes, limiting achievable thickness and evenness.
Innovation Solution
A coating device with flexible, spaddle-like protrusions attached to a rotating spindle allows for thicker, more even coatings by bending and supporting the protrusions during rotation, enabling thicker layers with fewer applications and easy movement within pipes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a brush is used to spread coating substance, then the coating can be applied to the pipe inner surface, but the coating layer thickness is limited to no more than 1 mm and multiple applications are required
Solution Approach 1:
The brush is segmented into multiple independent spaddle-like protrusions that can flex and move independently. Each protrusion acts as a separate coating element, allowing the coating substance to be distributed more effectively across the pipe surface, achieving thicker and more uniform layers in a single application.
Solution Approach 2:
The spaddle-like protrusions are designed to be flexible rather than rigid, allowing them to bend and adapt to the pipe surface geometry. This dynamic flexibility enables the protrusions to maintain contact with the surface while accommodating variations in pipe shape, resulting in more even coating distribution and thicker achievable layers.
2Reliability
If coating substance with high viscosity is used, then the coating has better adhesion properties, but it tends to adhere to and gather on the bristles of the brush
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using traditional brush bristles that tend to hold and gather viscous coating material, the invention inverts the approach by using spaddle-like protrusions that push and spread the coating substance. This inverted geometry prevents the high viscosity coating from adhering to and gathering on the application elements, ensuring more even distribution while maintaining the adhesion benefits of high viscosity material.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple thin coating layers are applied to achieve adequate thickness, then complete coverage is achieved, but the work progress becomes slow due to drying time between layers
Solution Approach 1:
The spaddle-like protrusions are designed to distribute the coating substance in a single thick, even application that achieves adequate coverage in one pass. By preliminarily configuring the protrusions to optimize coating distribution, the need for multiple sequential applications is eliminated, thereby eliminating the drying time delays between layers while still achieving complete coverage.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid structure is used for the coating device, then the device is stable during rotation, but it cannot adapt to pipe surface variations and leaves marks on previously applied coating
Solution Approach 1:
The coating device uses flexible spaddle-like protrusions that can bend and adapt to variations in the pipe surface geometry. This dynamic flexibility allows the protrusions to maintain consistent contact with the surface while accommodating irregularities, resulting in more even coating layers without leaving marks on previously applied coating, while the overall device structure remains stable during rotation.
Data Source
AI summary
The coating device has a rotatable spindle which has fastening mechanisms for fastening a rotation axle to the spindle. Protrusions are radially protruding from the spindle for spreading the coating substance on the inner surface of a pipe. The protrusions have limiters that limit the coating substance to be spread to the desired layer thickness. The method comprises the steps of bringing, to the pipe to be treated, the coating device fastened to a rotation axle with the pipe, a feeding hose of the coating substance and a camera. The coating substance is fed along the feeding hose to a vicinity of the coating device. The coating substance is spread to an inner surface of the pipe by rotating the coating device and by moving the coating device in a longitudinal direction of the pipe.