It would be advantageous to provide a rotary brush cleaning system to clean and remove rust or iron oxide from larger objects such as metal bins or containers, ships, railcars, buildings, etc., with a brush system including bristles that contact or are capable of contacting the exterior surface of the item to be cleaned. The system could be mounted to an excavator or a tractor or other device so that an effective and quick cleaning of the item can take place by a single worker without the need for ancillary equipment such as generators, air compressors, a supply of cleaning material and the like and without needing multiple personnel during the cleaning process. Such a motorized cleaning system would also eliminate the need for multiple workers to be employed in the cleaning process, as a mechanized system would be significantly faster in cleaning the item than would be a manual process for doing so. In other words, it would be advantageous to provide a one-man cleaning system in order to reduce the costs with sanding and de-scaling large objects.
Currently, the methods of large-scale sanding or grinding away rust or iron oxide from large items such as, but not limited to, ships, railcars, metal buildings, overseas containers, etc., include:
Describing and understanding the current methods of large-scale removal of iron oxide will make it become easily evident why the de-scaling device of the present disclosure is the superior process for obtaining a “paint ready” surface for large metal areas that have become rusted and unpleasant in appearance over time.
For example, sandblasting is labor intensive, messy, environmentally unfriendly, and causes many hand-eye injuries, and back strains. Sandblasting also requires a great amount of expensive equipment and necessary undesirable clean up.
Chemicals are also environmentally unfriendly and can be dangerous to the user. Cost and clean up are other factors that need to be considered with chemicals. Equipment required for this process is unfavorable, expensive, and user unfriendly.
A problem with handheld wire whips is they quickly cause operator fatigue and are very low on the production rate scale. Many hand-eye injuries are caused by handheld wire wheels.
Pneumatic or electrical needlers fall into the same category as the handheld wire whips and handheld wire wheels. That is, very similar safety hazards, cost, user fatigue and production loss.
Pressure washers are ineffective, messy, and quickly cause operator fatigue, resulting in a more unsafe work environment, waste of precious water resources, and instill an unfriendly disposition on the operator. Extreme high-pressure washers that are effective on the removal of iron oxide are also very costly, i.e., in excess of $100,000.00.
Cleaning applications can include, but are not limited to, shipping vessels, rail cars, shipping containers, factory bins, dumpsters, etc.
Thus, there is a need for a large volume substantive descaling attachment that removes rust, paint, debris, and erosive marine layers (i.e., barnacles, etc.) for the preparation of resurfacing, painting, and coatings of large objects which overcomes the above-mentioned deficiencies and others, while providing better overall results.
The present disclosure relates to de-scaling large objects, such as metal bins or containers, ships, railcars, buildings, etc. More particularly, it relates to a de-scaling device which has bristles which rotate and remove rust and iron oxide from the large objects.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a cleaning apparatus, i.e., a large volume mechanical de-scaling device, for cleaning an associated large object preferably has a motor, an output drive shaft powered by the motor and a cleaning attachment coupled for rotational movement with the output drive shaft and having an axis of rotation. The cleaning attachment comprises a housing including an outer surface and a plurality of elongated cleaning members mounted to the outer surface of the housing.
In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, provided is a cleaning apparatus for the on-site cleaning, sanding or de-scaling of a large stationary object. The cleaning apparatus includes a housing, including an exterior surface. A plurality of elongated cleaning members is mounted to the housing exterior surface. A motor is provided for rotating the housing along a generally vertical axis in relation to the associated stationary object.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present disclosure, provided is a method for cleaning a stationary object. The method includes providing a housing equipped with elongated cleaning members located on an exterior surface thereof. The housing is positioned adjacent the stationary object. Thereafter, the housing is rotated and an exposed surface of the stationary object is contacted with the elongated cleaning members to sand or de-scale the object.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a cleaning apparatus for the on-site cleaning of an associated stationary object includes a housing including a top wall, a bottom wall, and a side wall; a plate being detachably mounted to the housing side wall exterior surface so that the plate outer face is outwardly oriented in relation to the housing; at least one elongated cleaning member including a first end mounted to the plate and a second end extending away from the plate; a fastener adapted to connect the plate to the exterior surface of the housing. The at least one elongated cleaning member extends radially outwardly from the housing and is adapted to contact a surface of the associated stationary object and remove rust and iron oxide.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a detachable cleaning element is used in an associated cleaning apparatus for the on-site cleaning of an associated stationary object, the cleaning element includes: a plate; a plurality of elongated cleaning members each including a first end mounted to the plate and a second end extending away from the plate; and the plate is selectively secured to an exterior side wall of a housing of the associated cleaning apparatus such that the elongated cleaning members protrude away from the housing of the associated cleaning apparatus.
Another aspect of the disclosure is it provides a “one trip, one touch” process.
Another aspect of the disclosure is it provides a “safety zone” for hands off operations which eliminates hand, eye, and back injuries.
Still another aspect of the disclosure is it provides effective SSPC results for a prepared surface for new paint application and coatings. For example, a six-foot square area can be “paint ready” in under ten seconds.
Another aspect of the disclosure is that the de-scaling device is one of the world's biggest large volume mechanical de-scaling units.
Still another aspect of the disclosure is thousands of individual de-scaling needles make up the outside skin of the de-scaling device that result in a most aggressive, expedient, safe and very cost-efficient procedure for large de-scaling jobs, such as ships, railcars, overseas containers, and any other mass structures of steel that have iron oxide buildup and corrosion over an extended period of time.
Another aspect of the disclosure is the de-scaling device is a safer method than existing methods because the single operator is located a considerable distance away from the point of contact of the de-scaling process, plus the operator is seated in an enclosed protective area. In addition, with using the de-scaling device, there is no manual labor involved such as lifting sandbags for sandblasting, mixing dangerous chemicals, fatigue ridden handheld grinders and pneumatic needlers, back-breaking pressure washing with massive amounts of prep and clean up.
Still other aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed description.
With reference now to
Referring now to
The de-scaling device 10 includes a large volume iron oxide de-scaling attachment housing 12 which is preferably manufactured using a 24-inch diameter steel casing with a ⅜-inch wall. Housing 12 may also be formed by two clam-shell members 8, 9 secured together, such as shown in
Referring to
In one embodiment, the de-scaling device preferably connects to a standard hydraulic auger drive motor 13 attached to a skid steer, backhoe, or excavator EX for a turn-key operational platform.
Referring now to
Plates or panels 14 may have rods 20 which also extend radially outward and can be offset and parallel to each other. The rods 20 may have ¾-inch cable 18 crimped or wrapped around them. Alternatively, the cables 18 can be crimped or otherwise secured directly to plates 14 (
Three of the panels 14 have 16.5 inches long by 1-inch-thick steel cables, while three other panels have cables that are 16.5 inches long by ¾ inches in thickness. Each of the panels are easily replaceable for quick and easy maintenance.
Referring to
Each of these panels supports a plurality of elongated cleaning members 27. In one embodiment, the elongated cleaning members comprise bristles 28, 30 made of a suitable material such as metal wire or the like. In another embodiment, the elongated cleaning members may comprise descaling needles. Such needles are known in the art and generally range in diameter from 2 mm to 4 or 5 mm and in some embodiments will have a length of 180 mm or more. Some descaling needles have a flat tip, while others are chisel tipped. The use of such needles for removing foreign substances from metal, wood, stone or the like is known. The needles are typically formed of drill rod or similar tough hard elastic steel. Descaling needles are known for removing scale from welds and for removing foreign substances from generally rigid surfaces. Normally, descaling needles are used in a reciprocating manner being propelled either pneumatically or with a reciprocating hammer.
The present disclosure pertains to the use of such elongated cleaning members, whether they be termed descaling needles or metal brush elements or the like in one or more plates or panels 14, or otherwise rigidly attached to an exterior surface of the housing 12 so as to selectively contact the exposed surfaces of a stationary object which is to be cleaned by the apparatus disclosed herein. In one embodiment, brush elements, made of a spring steel wire, are provided in a single length but with two different diameters. More particularly, the cleaning members 27 can be 11 inches (27.94 cm) in length and can come in a larger diameter of 0.177 inches (0.45 cm) and a smaller diameter of 0.090 inches (0.23 cm).
Referring to
With reference now to
With continued reference to
In the embodiment shown in
The ends of the cable form elongated cleaning members 27 such as needles or bristles 28, 30 for cleaning or de-scaling the object. The bristles can be formed of metal wire or the like. As can be seen in
The de-scaling device produces results that are compliant with Substrate Cleaning Standards SSPC-SP2, SSPC-SP3, SSPC-SP11, and SSPC-SP15.
The de-scaling device 10 can preferably be made as a steel canister with dimensions such as 24 inches in diameter, 26 inches high and ⅜ inches thick with six external panels.
The de-scaling device 10 is preferably strategically balanced for smooth operation in demanding environments.
The disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this specification. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the description and the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/396,815, filed on Aug. 10, 2022, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63396815 | Aug 2022 | US |