Pipe Lining Preparation Assembly for Main-to-Lateral Sewer Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The confined and inaccessible environment of sewer pipes complicates cleaning, measuring, and video inspection, especially for service lateral pipes, which are difficult to access and often require undesirable and costly installations.
Innovation Solution
A Preparation From Main (PFM) device that allows for the insertion and control of individual tools, including a clean out tool and camera, through support lines from a support vehicle, enabling inspection and preparation of lateral sewer pipes from the main sewer pipe, with hydraulic, water, and electrical conduits for tool operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a clean out is installed to provide access to the lateral sewer pipe, then access is provided, but installation requires digging in the home owner's front yard at additional cost and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the main sewer pipe as an intermediary access point to reach the lateral sewer pipe. Instead of directly accessing the lateral pipe through excavation at the property line, the system routes tools and equipment through the existing main sewer pipe infrastructure, which serves as a mediator to deliver preparation tools to the lateral pipe location without surface disruption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the access problem from the traditional approach by removing the need for physical excavation and clean out installation. The system takes out the requirement for surface-level access points and instead utilizes the existing underground main sewer pipe as the access route, eliminating the need for additional construction work
2Productivity
If cleaning, measuring and videoing the interior of a sewer pipe is performed through traditional access methods, then the pipe can be prepared, but the confined environment and limited accessibility complicate the process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by using a single access route (the main sewer pipe) to perform multiple functions: cleaning, measuring, and video inspection all occur through the same access point without requiring separate access installations for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nesting by placing multiple tools (cleaning devices, measurement devices, video cameras) within the same access conduit system. The tools are nested within each other or positioned sequentially through the same opening in the main sewer pipe, allowing multiple operations through a single access point
3Ease of operation
If service lateral pipes are accessed through the home or main sewer pipe, then access can be gained, but it is undesirable to access through the home and difficult to gain access through the main
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the main sewer pipe as an intermediary that makes access desirable rather than difficult. By establishing a proper opening and access point in the main sewer pipe with appropriate support structures, the system transforms the main pipe from a difficult access route into the preferred intermediary pathway to the lateral pipe
Data Source
AI summary
An example sewer preparation from the main (PFM) device provides for the inspection and preparation of the sewer pipe from the main sewer pipe. The PFM device provides for the insertion of one or more individual and separately controllable tools into the sewer pipe. The tools include a clean out tool and a camera.