|Publication number||US7717137 B2|
|Application number||US 11/140,179|
|Publication date||May 18, 2010|
|Filing date||May 31, 2005|
|Priority date||May 28, 2004|
|Also published as||US20050279417|
|Publication number||11140179, 140179, US 7717137 B2, US 7717137B2, US-B2-7717137, US7717137 B2, US7717137B2|
|Inventors||Uwe Harold Bednarzik|
|Original Assignee||Uwe Harold Bednarzik|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (26), Referenced by (6), Classifications (6), Legal Events (3)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/574,975 which was filed on May 28, 2004 and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
This invention pertains to the area of in-situ repair of inaccessible plumbing systems whether they are underground, in-between walls or otherwise unreachable for normal repair methods. The advantages of internally repairing leaking pipe systems include eliminating demolition and repair costs associated with exposing a difficult to get to pipe leak and more rapidly returning the system to operating condition. Internal pipe repair also diminishes the opportunity for secondary leakage caused by the disruptive nature of exposing pipe.
Up to the present, internal pipe repair methods have approached repairing leaks in generally three different ways. One strategy involves installing resin coated or thermo-set liners along the entire section of suspected leaking pipe. The liner is usually held in position by inversion tubes, or direct gas or fluid pressure. A second strategy relates to positioning fibrous, resin impregnated or ribbed liners over a more specific section of pipe. This method may use inflatable bladders or other methods to hold the liner in place until set and cure. A third strategy of internal pipe repair involves directly applying sealant via elastic inversion tubes, plugs, pigs, or flooding the entire pipe directly.
Referring to the first strategy as embodied by Woolstencroft, U.S. Pat. No. 6,837,273, a fibrous, resin laden liner is utilized to seal entire sections of leaking pipe or conduit. McGuire, U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,978, uses a thermo-set technique instead of resin cure to effect seal of a leaking pipe. In either case, entire sections of pipe need to be lined to seal the smaller leaking portion, and therefore, knowledge as to the exact leak position is not necessary. Though both methods deal with leaks in linear sections of pipe, they do not deal with multiple opening junctions or severe pipe offset. Also, proper pipe preparation is often critical for these applications.
A second strategy for internal pipe repair can be seen in Topf, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,566 and Harrington, U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,886. Topf, Jr. utilizes an internal interlocking rib and band system that holds a flexible sleeve in place. Harrington uses a resin impregnated sleeve that is pressed in place by a heated inverted tube. Although these methods aren't hampered by the requirement to line an entire section of pipe to repair just a small leak section, they still do not address multiple opening junctions and require proper pipe preparation. Also, knowledge of exact leak location is necessary to properly position the sleeve.
Finally, a third strategy deals with flooding entire pipe sections with sealant i.e. Nakashin U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,895 or Humphreys, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,193. Whereas, Humphreys, et al.'s method uses wax as a reusable sealant, Nakashin's technique expends self-curing grout in which the excess must be discarded and the sealant inconsistently held in place by a non-reactive fluid. Even the effectiveness of Humpheys, et al's reusable wax method is limited by operating temperature, pressure, and fluid reactivity requirements of the sealed pipe. A more refined method by Iwasaki-Higbee, U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,692 utilizes inversion tubes to force sealant into pipe cracks and voids. Knowledge as to the exact leak position is not necessary with this inclusive strategy of flooding or sealing entire sections of suspect pipe. As with the earlier sealing methods, however, multiple opening junctions are not addressed and proper pipe preparation is critical.
The invention comprises a device and method for effectively sealing a large variety of pipe leaks in a wide range of leak situations. It overcomes shortcomings in the previous art relating to proper pipe preparation, relative location of the pipe leak, multiple opening and sharp angled junctions, and exact positioning over a leak area. Designed for flexibility, this invention brings internal pipe repair to a higher level of utility and effectiveness.
Due to the isolating nature and other related features of the invention, pipe contents can remain in place during the repair when the device is inflated over a leak area. Whether sewage, potable water, or other materials or gases, a repair can be effected without evacuating the pipe's contents. In those instances where pipe flow cannot be entirely halted, the invention can be configured to allow flow-through pressure relief during repair. These features eliminate the need for time-consuming pipe preparation and help expedite the repair process.
With the proper use of the invention including the use of thicker sealants, repairs can be affected on leak areas not surrounded by solids or liquids. Examples of these types of leaks would include pipe leaks in open atmosphere such as those between walls or those surrounded by other pipes. Properly selected sealants chosen for their intended environment would include, but are not exclusive to, moisture insensitive, catalyst cured epoxies and acrylics, moisture activated and catalyst driven polyurethanes, and polyureas.
As revealed in the following figures and drawings, the shell's considerably hollow interior is absent of a flexibility decreasing second wall. Different embodiments of the invention can accommodate critical pipe angles and multiple opening junctions. Critical pipe angles would include, but are not exclusive to, 90-degree elbows, 180-degree loops, and consecutive arraignments of like couplings. Elongated versions of the invention would better address longitudinal and large offset pipe leaks. Multiple opening junctions would include, but are not exclusive to, tees, wyes, traps, crosses, and double wyes.
Finally, the invention inherently allows for properly positioning itself over the leak area and also enhancing the cure time of the selected sealant. Due to its unique elements, no other supplemental apparatus is needed to find and then position the invention over a pipe leak. Similar elements are incorporated to help circulate temperature modulated gas or liquid through the invention to enhance sealant cure.
The invention involves positioning a uniquely designed, inflatable device illustrated in
As illustrated in
The device's shape and elastomeric characteristics can be custom designed to fit a vast range of pipe sizes and configurations. Pipe diameters smaller than six millimeters to larger than three meters can be accommodated by this invention. Even leak repair of junctions of disparate pipe diameters is possible with this highly flexible design. The linear inflatable device depicted in
As illustrated in
Again referring to
Another function elastic tubes 3 and 4 can serve relates to constraining longitudinal expansion of the device upon inflation. A more lateral and radial expansion of the device lends more range in pipe diameter a specific shell diameter can operate in.
Finally, the device can be warmed or cooled by circulating heated or chilled gas or liquid through inlet port 2 a via tube 2 and outlet port 5 a via tube 5 when positioned over the leak area 11 inside the pipe 9. The heat or cold would conduct through the device's elastomeric shell and warm or cool the sealant thus controlling its cure time. When sealant is heated for example, the device could consequently be earlier removed and the repaired section of pipe sooner put back into service. Cooling may be employed to moderate the cure time of extremely fast setting sealants.
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|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US8186385 *||May 29, 2012||Iwasaki-Higbee Jeffrey L||Packer for installing sealant in defective conduits|
|US8925589 *||Jun 24, 2010||Jan 6, 2015||Wendell E. Tomimbang||Active flow high pressure pipe plug apparatus and method|
|US9249918 *||Jul 27, 2012||Feb 2, 2016||Hesan Gmbh||Devices and methods for the checking and for the checking and repairing of pipe connections|
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|US20110315258 *||Dec 29, 2011||Tomimbang Wendell E||Active flow high pressure pipe plug apparatus and method|
|US20130319540 *||Jul 27, 2012||Dec 5, 2013||Hesan Gmbh||Devices and methods for the checking and for the checking and repairing of pipe connections|
|U.S. Classification||138/93, 138/97|
|International Classification||F16L55/12, F16L55/179|
|Dec 27, 2013||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Feb 15, 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Feb 15, 2014||SULP||Surcharge for late payment|