Patent Application
20250207469
This relates to lance sleeves for use in the hydro vacuum excavation industry.
Hydro vacuum excavation is a common approach to perform underground digging and maintenance operations. Hydro vacuum excavation equipment operate by spraying high pressure water through a high-pressure hose. This equipment may be used, for example, to dig up soil for underground installations or maintenance without damaging objects or systems. Using a high-pressure water jet and high-volume vacuum to remove soils in layers allows underground infrastructure to be located, dug around and installed without damage. Hydro vacuum excavation is often provided by trucks colloquially known as hydrovac trucks.
In contrast, if mechanical digging operations are used for digging, it can be dangerous. A backhoe is an example of a mechanical digging operation. The digging shovel of the backhoe may strike and damage objects in the ground. Repair of this damage is generally susceptible to repeated failures. Hydrovacs generally do not have this risk.
In a hydrovac system, a high-pressure hose is connected at an end of a pipe or other similar object. This pipe or other similar object is generally termed a dig wand or dig lance. Herein, and without limiting the foregoing, the dig wand or dig lance shall be referred to as a lance. Lances are generally used in all hydrovac operations. Lances are generally connected between the high-pressure hose and a dig nozzle. A first end of the lance attaches to the hose, and a second end of the lance attaches to a dig nozzle. The connections between these components are generally through various methods known in the industry, including, for example, threaded connections.
In operation, the operator holds onto the lance. The operator moves the lance around in all directions, washing the soil into mud or chunks of soil that a vacuum hose sucks up into the mud chamber of the hydrovac.
The operators generally hold the lance for a long period. As a result, weight is a consideration for the lance. Lightweight materials are generally preferred. Therefore, attempting to design a very strong lance that is made from heavy materials may be problematic because of weight considerations.
In frozen soils or in hard packed conditions, the operator may cut slots in the soil with the lance and use it as a pry bar to break the hard sections of soil. The sections fall into the hole and get sucked into the vacuum. When the operators use the lance as a pry bar, a large bending load is applied to it. This application of a bending load can cause the connection points, for example, a male connector at a first end of the lance, to be susceptible to breaking, bending, or damage. The connection points are generally the weakest point on the lance. For example, threads at these points reduce the cross-sectional area of the lance and create a stress concentration. This reduces the load that can be sustained by the lance at the ends. A lance having damaged threads may no longer be useful because the nozzle or hose cannot be connected to the lance.
In an embodiment, there is disclosed a lance sleeve. The sleeve comprising a first sleeve end having a male connector; and a second sleeve end comprising a female connector and a collar extending beyond the female connector in a direction opposite from the first sleeve end and forming a lance-receiving inner surface. The lance-receiving inner surface having an inner-surface internal diameter. The female connector having a maximum female-connector internal diameter, and in which the inner-surface internal diameter matches the maximum female-connector internal diameter.
In various embodiments, there may be included any one or more of the following features: the lance-receiving inner surface extends from and is in coaxial alignment with the female connector; the lance-receiving inner surface has an axial length that is greater than 1″; the axial length of the lance-receiving inner surface is greater than 2″; the female connector is a female NPT (“National Pipe Thread”) connection; the male connector is a male NPT connection; the female NPT connection is between ¼″ and 1″ NPT; the male NPT connection is between ¼″ and 1″ NPT; the sleeve is made of a material with a higher yield strength than aluminum; and the sleeve is made of stainless steel.
In an embodiment, there is disclosed a lance sleeve in combination with a lance. The sleeve comprises a first sleeve end having a male connector. The sleeve further comprises a second sleeve end comprising a female connector and a collar extending beyond the female connector in a direction opposite from the first sleeve end and forming a lance-receiving inner surface having an inner-surface internal diameter. The lance comprises a first lance end having a male connector and the lance having an external surface having an outer diameter. The female connector of the second sleeve end is connected to the male connector of the first lance end. The outer diameter of the external surface matching the inner-surface internal diameter of the lance inner receiving surface.
In various embodiments, there may be included any one or more of the following features: the female connector of the second sleeve end has a maximum female connector internal diameter, and in which the inner surface internal diameter matches the maximum female connector internal diameter; the lance-receiving inner surface has an axial length that is greater than 1″; the axial length of the lance-receiving inner surface is greater than 2″; the sleeve is made from a material having a higher yield strength than the lance; the lance is made of aluminum; the sleeve is made of stainless steel; the female connector of the second sleeve end is tapered and the male connector of the first lance end has a matching taper; the lance further comprises a second lance end having a further male connector and in which the further male connector of the lance is connected to a female connector of a second sleeve, the second sleeve having the features of the sleeve embodiments disclosed herein.
These and other aspects of the device and method are set out in the claims.
Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example, and in which:
Immaterial modifications may be made to the embodiments described here without departing from what is covered by the claims.
A lance sleeve is disclosed in an embodiment herein which is used in combination with a lance in order to protect the threads of the lance during operation. For example, the sleeve may be used to protect and reinforce a male connector of the lance when operators apply bending loads to the lance. The terms ‘lance sleeve’ and ‘sleeve’ are used interchangeably herein.
As shown in
The sleeve 10 may comprise a first sleeve end 12 having a male connector 16. Any type of connector may be used that provides a removable connection. For example, the male connector 16 may be a male NPT (“National Pipe Thread”) connection. The male NPT connection on the sleeve may be between ¼″ and 1″ and, for example, ½″ or ¾″ NPT. NPT is a type of thread defined within ANSI/ASME (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) standard B1. 20.1, ver. 2013(R2018).
The sleeve 10 may comprise a through bore 50. The sleeve through bore 50 may have a smaller inner diameter than an inner diameter of the through passage of the lance. The diameter of the through bore 50 may also be smaller than the diameter of the inner-surface internal diameter 24 or the outer diameter 40 of the lance 30. The difference in size between a diameter of the male connecter 16 and the diameter of the through bore 50 provides a sleeve wall thickness. The sleeve wall thickness is larger than a lance wall thickness on the male connector 34 of the lance 30, which provides additional strength. The larger sleeve wall thickness may allow the sleeve 10 to hold more bending load than the lance wall thickness. The wall thickness of the sleeve may also be increased by providing threads on the sleeve with a larger outer diameter than the outer diameter of the threads on the lance.
The sleeve 10 comprises a second sleeve end 14 comprising a female connector 18. Any type of connector may be used that provides a removable connection. For example, the female connector 18 may be a female NPT connection. The female NPT connection may be between ¼″ and 1″ NPT and, for example, ½″ or ¾″ NPT.
A collar 20 extends beyond the female connector 18 in a direction opposite from the first sleeve end 12 and forming a lance-receiving inner surface 22. The lance-receiving inner surface 22 has an inner-surface internal diameter 24. The lance-receiving inner surface 22 may extend from and be in coaxial alignment with the female connector 18. The lance receiving inner surface 22 may be in any shape, size, or position that reduces side or bending loading on the male connector 34 of the lance 30 when the collar is connected to the lance. The lance-receiving inner surface 22 may be any axial length that reduces the application of a side or bending load on the male connector 34 the lance 30. For example, the lance-receiving inner surface 22 may have an axial length that is greater than 1″ or greater than 2″.
The female connector 18 of the second sleeve end 14 may further have a maximum female-connector internal diameter 26. The inner-surface internal diameter 24 may match the maximum female-connector internal diameter 26 or be within ¼″ of the maximum female-connector internal diameter 26.
As shown in
The lance 30 further has an external surface 36 having an outer diameter 40. The lance 30 may be any size of pipe or object that is configured to carry fluid therethrough. For example, the pipe may be size ½″ Schedule 80. The lance 30 may be made of aluminum or other lightweight material. The lance 30 may be made of a material that is Unified Numbering System (“UNS”) A96061 aluminum, also known as 6061 aluminum.
As shown in
The outer diameter 40 of the external surface 36 of the lance 30 may match the inner-surface internal diameter 24 of the lance inner receiving surface 22. The difference between the inner-surface internal diameter 24 of the sleeve 10 and the outer diameter 40 of the external surface 36 of the lance 30 may be within any value that allows for contact between these diameters when a bending or side loading is applied to the lance 30. For example, the difference could be within a value of 3/16″. By ensuring this contact occurs under loading, the inner-surface internal diameter 24 supports the inserted lance 30 in a full-strength location and removes the side or bending load from the male connector 34 of the lance 30, which is generally a weaker point on the lance 30. Further, the inner-surface internal diameter 24 provides greater leverage against the bending load than the male connector 34 of the lance 30 alone could provide.
The lance 30 may comprise a second lance end 38 having a further male connector 34 and in which the further male connector 34 of the lance 30 is connected to a female connector 18 of a second sleeve 10.
Embodiments of the sleeve 10 disclosed herein may provide certain advantages, including:
In the claims, the word “comprising” is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite articles “a” and “an” before a claim feature do not exclude more than one of the feature being present. Each one of the individual features described here may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by virtue only of being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodiments as defined by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3223847 | Dec 2023 | CA | national |
