Cable feed mechanism for a drain cleaner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10519646-B2
Application number	US-201715795696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2017
Priority date	Oct 27, 2017
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

A drain cleaner includes a rotatable drum and a cable having a first portion housed within the drum and a second portion extending outwardly of the drum along a cable axis. The cable is rotatable about the cable axis. The drain cleaner also includes a cable feed mechanism for feeding the cable out of the rotatable drum in an axial direction along the cable axis. The cable feed mechanism includes a plurality of feed members selectively engagable with the cable, and a drive gear surrounding the plurality of feed members. The drive gear is engaged with the plurality of feed members. Rotation of the drive gear moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A drain cleaner, comprising:
a rotatable drum;
a cable including a first portion housed within the drum and a second portion extending outwardly from the drum along a cable axis, the cable rotatable about the cable axis; and
a cable feed mechanism for feeding the cable out of the rotatable drum in an axial direction along the cable axis, the cable feed mechanism including
a plurality of feed members selectively engagable with the cable, and
a drive gear surrounding the plurality of feed members, the drive gear being engaged with the plurality of feed members, wherein rotation of the drive gear moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable.

2. The drain cleaner of claim 1 , wherein rotation of the drive gear in a first direction moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable in a forward feed orientation.

3. The drain cleaner of claim 2 , wherein rotation of the drive gear in a second direction that is opposite the first direction moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable in a reverse feed orientation.

4. The drain cleaner of claim 1 , wherein the drive gear is biased towards a neutral feed position in which the plurality of feed members is disengaged from the cable.

5. The drain cleaner of claim 1 , wherein each feed member includes a driven gear and a roller, wherein each driven gear rotates about an axis that is parallel to the cable axis, and wherein each roller is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the axis of the corresponding driven gear.

6. The drain cleaner of claim 1 , further comprising a collar, the collar extending concentrically around the drive gear, the collar being rotatably fixed relative to the drive gear and linearly movable relative to the drive gear.

7. The drain cleaner of claim 6 , wherein the collar is axially movable between a locked position and an unlocked position.

8. The drain cleaner of claim 7 , wherein the cable feed mechanism further includes a carrier having a plurality of slots including at least one selected from the group consisting of a forward slot, a reverse slot, and a neutral slot, and wherein rotation of the collar rotates a channel on the drive gear into alignment with one of the plurality of slots on the carrier.

9. The drain cleaner of claim 8 , wherein the collar includes a protrusion configured to selectively engage one of the plurality of slots when the collar is moved linearly relative to the drive gear, and wherein engagement of the forward slot by the collar maintains the plurality of feed members in a forward feed orientation, and wherein engagement of the reverse slot by the collar maintains the plurality of feed members in a reverse feed orientation.

10. The drain cleaner of claim 6 , further comprising a housing supporting the rotatable drum and the cable feed mechanism, the housing having a protrusion that is engagable with a recess on the collar.

11. The drain cleaner of claim 8 , wherein engagement of the neutral slot by the collar locks the cable in a fixed position to prohibit movement of the cable along the cable axis.

12. The drain cleaner of claim 11 , further comprising a locking assembly selectively engagable with the cable to prohibit movement of the cable along the cable axis, the locking assembly movable in a radial direction to selectively engage the cable,
wherein the collar includes an arm extending in the axial direction, and
wherein linear movement of the collar in the axial direction causes the arm to contact the locking assembly and thereby move the locking assembly radially inward and into engagement with the cable.

13. A drain cleaner, comprising:
a rotatable drum;
a cable including a first portion housed within the drum and a second portion extending outwardly of the drum along a cable axis, the cable rotatable about the cable axis; and
a cable feed mechanism for feeding the cable in an axial direction along the cable axis in a feed direction, the cable feed mechanism including
a plurality of feed members selectively engagable with the cable, wherein engagement of the plurality of feed members with the cable feeds the cable along the cable axis,
a drive gear concentrically surrounding the plurality of feed members, and
a collar concentrically surrounding the drive gear, the collar rotatably fixed relative to the drive gear to change the feed direction by rotation of the drive gear and linearly movable relative to the drive gear to lock and unlock the drive gear from further rotation,
wherein rotation of the collar moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable.

14. The drain cleaner of claim 13 , wherein rotation of the collar in a first direction moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable in a forward feed orientation.

15. The drain cleaner of claim 14 , wherein rotation of the collar in a second direction moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable in a reverse feed orientation, the second direction being different from the first direction.

16. The drain cleaner of claim 13 , wherein the collar is biased towards a neutral feed position in which the plurality of feed members is disengaged from the cable.

17. The drain cleaner of claim 13 , wherein the cable feed mechanism further includes a carrier positioned adjacent the drive gear, the carrier including a plurality of slots, wherein the plurality of slots includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a forward slot, a reverse slot, and a neutral slot, and wherein the collar includes a protrusion configured to selectively engage one of the plurality of slots when the collar is moved linearly relative to the drive gear.

18. The drain cleaner of claim 17 , wherein engagement of the forward slot by the collar maintains the plurality of feed members in a forward feed orientation, and wherein engagement of the reverse slot by the collar maintains the plurality of feed members in a reverse feed orientation.

19. The drain cleaner of claim 17 , wherein engagement of the neutral slot by the collar locks the cable in a fixed position to prohibit movement of the cable along the cable axis.

20. A drain cleaner, comprising:
a rotatable drum;
a cable including a first portion housed within the drum and a second portion extending outwardly of the drum along a cable axis, the cable rotatable about the cable axis;
a plurality of feed members selectively engagable with the cable to feed the cable along the cable axis;
a drive gear surrounding the plurality of feed members, the drive gear engaged with the plurality of feed members, wherein rotation of the drive gear rotates the plurality of feed members and moves the plurality of feed members into engagement with the cable;
a collar extending concentrically around the drive gear, the collar rotatably fixed relative to the drive gear and linearly movable relative to the drive gear, the collar including a protrusion; and
a carrier supporting the plurality of feed members and the drive gear, the carrier including a plurality of slots, wherein linear movement of the collar relative to the carrier selectively moves the protrusion into engagement with one of the plurality of slots.

Assignees

• Tti Macao Commercial Offshore Ltd

Inventors

• Pleasants Parke

Classifications

• E03F9/005 Primary

  Apparatus for simultaneously pushing and rotating a cleaning device carried by the leading end of a cable or an assembly of rods · CPC title

• E03C1/302

  using devices moved through the pipes {(and simultaneously rotated by means of a cable or rods E03F9/005)} · CPC title

• B08B9/045

  the cleaning devices being rotated while moved {, e.g. flexible rotating shaft or "snake"}(B08B9/047 takes precedence) · CPC title