The embodiments are generally related to power washing and rinsing. More particularly, the embodiments are related to a vertical high-pressure rinse (HPR) machine adapted to cleanse and rinse inside surfaces of various shaped piping over an entire internal surface of the piping/tubing.
Some systems used in industrial processes need to be cleaned with pure liquids or solids for contamination removal. For example, nuclear particle accelerators employ cavities. Accelerator cavities are difficult to clean within the environment they operate. There is also the problem that cleaning equipment cannot be inserted into a clean room environment without the concern of contaminating the clean room environment.
What is needed in the art is an improved system for washing and/or rinsing equipment or products in controlled environments, for example to rinse surfaces or areas inside an enclosed cavity of an object, system, or tool.
The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the embodiments disclosed and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the embodiments can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
It is a feature of the embodiments to provide a high-pressure rinse machine that is adapted to clean and/or rinse equipment including the inside cavity space of an object, product, or tool.
In accordance with a feature of the disclosed embodiments, a high-pressure rinsing system includes a motor and gearbox to rotate a spray wand and filter assembly that can be mounted to a rail system, allowing for the assembly to be relocated during loading and unloading of product, without disassembling the base.
In accordance with a feature of the disclosed embodiments, a linear rail support frame can be attached to the base, including a vertical motor and associated linear rail attached thereto, and a cavity mounting plate attached to the linear rail, wherein vertical movement of the linear rail causes vertical movement of the cavity mounting plate over the base.
In accordance with a feature of the disclosed embodiments, at least one door and a plurality of side panels mounted to an enclosure support frame can be provided, wherein said enclosure support frame is mounted and secured to the linear rail support frame and base to create a water tight enclosure around the spray wand and linear rail.
In accordance with another feature of the disclosed embodiments, the cavity mounting plate is further adapted to secure a subject cavity during vertical movement of the cavity mounting plate with the linear rail, during rinsing of the subject cavity, by the spray wand.
In accordance with yet another feature of the disclosed embodiments, the at least one door further comprises at least one handle. The handle is adapted for opening and closing the at least one door. At least one latch is adapted to keep the at least one door closed to create the water tight enclosure, wherein access to the cavity mounting plate is provided through the at least one door.
The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can now be achieved as described herein. In an exemplary embodiment, a high-pressure rinsing system, comprises a base including at least one of adjustable feet and/or wheels adapted to contact a floor, said base including a liquid reservoir for process water collection, a rotation motor housing including a rotation motor attached to a rotation gearbox, and a pump motor adapted to pump water from a through hose and rotary union to a filter housing through the rotation gearbox through a spray wand adapter base to a spray wand attached, and extending vertically upward from, the rotation motor housing and base, a linear rail support frame attached the base and including a vertical motor and associated linear rail attached thereto, wherein said vertical motor is adapted to move the linear rail, a cavity mounting plate attached to the linear rail, wherein vertical movement of the linear rail causes vertical movement of the cavity mounting plate, and at least one door and a plurality of side panels mounted to an enclosure support frame, wherein said enclosure support frame is engaged to the linear rail support frame and base to create an enclosure around the spray wand and the linear rail.
In an embodiment of the high-pressure rinse system, the cavity mounting plate is further adapted to be mounted to a subject cavity. In certain embodiments, the spray wand can be moved behind the cavity mounting plate to allow a cavity and cavity-holding frame to be installed or removed without removal of the spray wand. In certain embodiments the at least one door further comprises at least one handle adapted to open and close the at least one door and at least one latch to keep the at least one door closed to create the water tight enclosure. In certain embodiment the high-pressure rinsing further comprises a horizontal track and motor system adapted to facilitate forward and backward movement of the rotation motor housing and spray wand with respect to the cavity mounting plate position.
The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the embodiments disclosed herein.
The particular values and configurations discussed in the following non-limiting examples can be varied, and are cited merely to illustrate one or more embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrative embodiments are shown. The embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms a, an, and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms ‘comprises and/or comprising, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “In another embodiment as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter include combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
It is contemplated that any embodiment discussed in this specification can be implemented with respect to any method, kit, reagent, or composition of the invention, and vice versa. Furthermore, compositions of the invention can be used to achieve methods of the invention.
It will be understood that particular embodiments described herein are shown by way of illustration and not as limitations. The principal features can be employed in various embodiments without departing from the scope disclosed herein. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed embodiments and are covered by the claims.
The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one,” but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more,” at “at least one,” and “one or more than one.” The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternatives are mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definition that refers to only alternatives and “and/or.” Throughout this application, the term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error for the device, the method being employed to determine the value, or the variation that exists among the study subjects.
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of “having,” such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of “including,” such as “includes” and “include”) or “containing” (and any form of “containing,” such as “contains” and “contain”) are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, un-recited elements or method steps.
All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps, or in the sequence of steps, of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept as defined by the appended claims.
Referring to
The HPR system 10 can thus include a housing that is created by at least one door 11 and/or door 12 and panels 24. The frame 25 can be supported by a base 19. The base 19 can be further supported by adjustable feet 22, or wheels (not shown). A fluid reservoir 21 can be included at the bottom of the base 19 to capture fluid that is sprayed inside the HPR system 10 housing.
A vertical motor 18 can be mounted to a linear rail support frame 16. The vertical motor 18 controls vertical movement of a linear rail 17. An enclosure support frame 23 can secure the panel frame 25, associated panels 24, and door 11 and/or door 12, to the linear rail support frame 16, which can provide support for the HPR system 10 assembly.
Referring to
The spray wand 30 is shown extending upward from its interface with a splash cover 32 located on top of the rotation motor housing 31A. The splash cover 32 minimizes penetration of liquid into the rotation motor housing 31A during circular rotation of the spray wand 30 and while rotating, provides a signal source for the proximity switch 43.
In general, the subject cavity 27 can be mounted to the linear rail support frame 16 with an open end of the cavity 27 arranged above the spray wand 30. The vertical motor 18 can then be used to lower the cavity 27 over the spray wand 30 so that the spray wand 30 is inside the cavity 27. The spray wand 30 can be rotated by the rotation motor 33A, and cleaning fluid can be delivered to the spray wand 30 via the pump motor 33B. It should be appreciated that in certain embodiments the pump motor can comprise an external pump motor assembly and pump motor housing that pumps cleaning fluid at high pressure to the wand 30. The spray wand 30 can spray the cleaning fluid onto the internal surfaces of the subject cavity 27 to clean the surfaces.
The spray wand 30 can be firmly attached to the spray wand adaptor base 36 with tri-clamp 29 or other style connection method. The rotation motor housing 31A can be attached to the base 19 in a manner that allows the rotation motor housing 31A with wand 30 to be moved out of the way, between the cavity mounting plate 26 and the carriage adapter mount to allow the cavity mounting plate 26 to be lowered, so that a cavity can be installed or removed without interference from the spray wand 30. This is more fully detailed in
A splashguard assembly 32 is shown located where the spray wand 30 penetrates the rotation motor housing 31A through the spray wand adapter base 36. The splashguard assembly 32 and spray wand adapter base 36 can operate to keep water out of the rotation motor housing 31A. Water can be supplied from a high-pressure hose 41 to the rotary union. In such an embodiment, the high-pressure hose 41 can be suspended by a high-pressure hose mount 42 to minimize movement of the hose during initiation of pumping, or during operation, reducing stress on the rotary union. A proximity switch 43 can be included with the rotation motor housing 31A to detect the rotation of the spray wand adapter base 36 and connected components to ensure rotation is correct.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Location of the spray wand 30 behind the cavity mounting plate 26 eases the operation of attaching the subject cavity 27 to the cavity mounting plate 26 because the spray wand 30 is out of the way during the mounting operation. Once a cavity is mounted, it can be raised upward along the linear rail 17 so that the spray wand 30 can be moved forward (and directly underneath the subject cavity 27). Forward and backward movement of the spray wand 30 can be facilitated by movement of the rotation motor housing 31A, which can be mounted to a horizontal track and motor system 54.
The disclosed system is designed so that it can be used as a class 10 clean room device. Clean room environments must remain clear of contaminants, therefore a self-contained, or water tight, system is important to achieve low or no contamination if there are no other provisions designed into the cleanroom.
Based on the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a number of embodiments, preferred and alternative, are disclosed herein. For example, in one embodiment, a rinsing system comprises a linear rail, a cavity-holding frame engaged with the linear rail, the cavity-holding frame being configured to engage with a cavity, a spray wand fluidically connected to a fluid source, a rotation motor configured to rotate the spray wand, a pump motor configured to deliver fluid to the spray wand, and an enclosure configured to prevent the fluid delivered from the spray wand from exiting the rinsing system.
In an embodiment, the rinsing system further comprises a vertical motor operably engaged to the linear rail wherein the vertical motor can raise and lower the linear rail. In an embodiment, the rinsing system further comprises a linear rail support frame associated with the linear rail.
In an embodiment, the rinsing system further comprises a cavity mounting plate for mounting the cavity to the cavity-holding frame. In an embodiment, the cavity mounting plate further comprises at least one cavity frame clamp for joining the cavity to the cavity-holding frame. In an embodiment, the cavity mounting plate further comprises a spring plunger for rotating the cavity mounting plate. In an embodiment the system further comprises a carriage adapter mount configured to connect the cavity mounting plate to the linear rail.
In an embodiment, the rinsing system further comprises at least one door, a plurality of side panels, and a base. In an embodiment, the base houses a fluid reservoir, a rotation motor housing, that houses the rotation moto, and a spray wand adaptor plate that interfaces the spray wand with a rotation gear box.
In another embodiment, a high-pressure rinsing system, comprises a base including at least one of adjustable feet and/or wheels adapted to contact a floor, the base including a liquid reservoir for process water collection, a rotation motor housing including a rotation motor attached to a rotation gearbox and a pump motor adapted to pump water from a through hose and rotary union to a filter housing through the rotation gearbox through a spray wand adapter base to a spray wand attached, and extending vertically upward from, the rotation motor housing and base, a linear rail support frame attached the base and including a vertical motor and associated linear rail attached thereto, wherein the vertical motor is adapted to move the linear rail, a cavity mounting plate attached to the linear rail, wherein vertical movement of the linear rail causes vertical movement of the cavity mounting plate, and at least one door and a plurality of side panels mounted to an enclosure support frame, wherein the enclosure support frame is engaged to the linear rail support frame and base to create an enclosure around the spray wand and the linear rail.
In an embodiment of the high-pressure rinse system, the cavity mounting plate is further adapted to be mounted to a subject cavity. In certain embodiments, the spray wand can be moved behind the cavity mounting plate to allow a cavity and cavity-holding frame to be installed or removed without removal of the spray wand. In certain embodiments the at least one door further comprises at least one handle adapted to open and close the at least one door and at least one latch to keep the at least one door closed to create the water tight enclosure. In certain embodiment the high-pressure rinsing further comprises a horizontal track and motor system adapted to facilitate forward and backward movement of the rotation motor housing and spray wand with respect to the cavity mounting plate position.
In another embodiment, a system comprises a housing comprising at least one door, a plurality of panels, and a base, a linear rail supported by a linear rail support frame within the housing, a vertical motor mounted to the linear rail support frame and configured to raise and lower the linear rail, a cavity-holding frame configured to hold a cavity, a spray wand adapted to deliver cleaning fluid, a rotation motor configured to rotate the spray wand, and an external pump motor configured to deliver fluid to the spray wand.
In an embodiment, the system further comprises a tote assembly engaged to the linear rail support frame, the tote assembly further comprising: at least one wheel and an operator handle.
In an embodiment the system further comprises a rotation motor housing for housing the rotation motor; and a pump motor wherein the spray wand can be mounted to the rotation motor housing with a spray wand base adaptor. In an embodiment, the rotation motor housing is mounted in the base. In an embodiment, a track and motor system can be mounted in the base and configured to adjust the position of the rotation motor housing in the base, such that spray wand can be moved behind the cavity mounting plate.
In an embodiment, the system further comprises a cavity mounting plate associated with the cavity-holding frame wherein the cavity mounting plate and cavity-holding frame are adapted to hold an accelerator cavity.
It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
The present application claims the priority and benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/851,096 filed May 21, 2019, entitled “VERTICAL HIGH-PRESSURE RINSE MACHINE.” U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/851,096 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The invention described in this patent application was made with Government support under the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC, Contract Number DE-ACO2-07CH11359 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62851096 | May 2019 | US |