Tripod Lance Safety Shutoff for High-Pressure Drain Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
High pressure cleaning lances can inadvertently back out of drains or openings, posing a safety risk to personnel, especially when a back-out preventer is difficult to install or not feasible, and existing solutions do not adequately prevent uncontrolled motion or protect operators from fluid spray.
Innovation Solution
A flexible cleaning lance safety apparatus with a tripod support structure and micro pressure valves that sense a predetermined force, automatically diverting high pressure fluid away from the lance when the tripod becomes unbalanced, ensuring operator safety by quickly bleeding off air pressure and shutting down fluid flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a back-out preventer is installed on the support structure, then the high pressure cleaning lance is prevented from backing out of the drain, but the device complexity and difficulty of installation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical back-out preventers with a pneumatic control system. Micro pressure valves sense the weight on each tripod leg and automatically trigger a dump valve to release high pressure fluid when imbalance is detected, eliminating the need for complex mechanical locking mechanisms while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses pneumatic pressure sensing through micro pressure valves mounted on tripod legs. When the tripod becomes unbalanced (indicating lance back-out), the pressure change triggers a pilot valve that releases control air pressure, which in turn actuates a dump valve to quickly release high pressure fluid from the lance, providing automatic prevention without complex mechanical structures
2Manufacturing precision
If the operator stands close to the drain for precise lance control, then the cleaning precision improves, but the safety risk from uncontrolled lance motion and fluid spray increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary safety preparation by continuously monitoring tripod leg pressure through micro pressure valves. Before uncontrolled motion can harm the operator, the system is ready to automatically trigger the dump valve upon detecting any imbalance, pre-establishing a safety mechanism that allows operators to work from safer distances while maintaining cleaning precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback safety system where micro pressure valves continuously sense the weight distribution on tripod legs. When the lance begins to back out or the tripod becomes unbalanced, this feedback triggers the pilot valve to release control air pressure, which automatically actuates the dump valve to release high pressure fluid, creating a closed-loop safety mechanism that protects operators without requiring them to be close to the drain
3Measurement precision
If a complex safety system with multiple sensors is implemented, then the detection precision of tripod imbalance improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single complex sensor system, the patent places simple micro pressure valves at each tripod leg location. Each valve independently monitors the weight on its specific leg, providing localized quality control. This distributed simple-sensor approach achieves high detection precision for tripod imbalance while keeping individual components simple and the overall system manageable
Solution Approach 2:
The safety detection system is segmented into independent micro pressure valves, one for each tripod leg. Each valve independently monitors its local weight condition and can independently trigger the safety mechanism. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high detection precision through multiple independent measurement points while keeping each individual sensor simple and the overall system complexity manageable
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
The apparatus effectively prevents uncontrolled motion and fluid spray, enhancing operator safety by immediately diverting high pressure fluid when the tripod loses balance, allowing operators to stand clear of the cleaning area without risking injury from back-out or uncontrolled lance movement.
Implementation Method 1
one or more micro pressure valves on the support structure operative to sense a predetermined force applied between the support structure and the structure support surface
Implementation Method 2
Each micro pressure valve is connected in series with a pilot valve operable to quickly bleed off air pressure applied to an air pressure actuated high pressure fluid dump valve when the predetermined force is sensed
Implementation Method 3
The pilot valve is operable to bleed off air pressure applied to an air actuated high pressure fluid dump valve when the predetermined force is sensed by the micro pressure valves. The dump valve diverts high pressure fluid from the flexible lance to atmosphere
Data Source
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AI summary
A flexible cleaning lance safety apparatus is described as including a tripod support structure located close to an opening into an object to be cleaned. A flexible lance drive is fastened to the support structure for driving a high pressure fluid through a lance to the object to be cleaned. A snout tube is connected between the lance drive and an opening into the object to be cleaned. One or more micro pressure valves on each leg of the tripod support structure is operative to sense a predetermined force applied between the support structure and a support surface supporting the tripod support structure. When the predetermined force is sensed this causes the high pressure fluid to be diverted from the lance and the object to be cleaned to atmosphere.