STONEAGE, INC.

A rotary nozzle having a rotating shaft operating within a cylindrical housing is balanced by allowing passage of a small amount of pressurized fluid to be bled to an area between the outside of the opposite end of the shaft and the inside of the housing where the fluid force acts axially in an opposing direction upon the shaft to balance the axial inlet force exerted by the pressurized fluid. The balance of axial forces is self-regulating by controlling escape of the fluid through a tapered or frusto-conical region between the shaft and housing. A plurality of centrifugal weight segments around the inlet end of the shaft are thrust outwardly against the cylindrical housing to retard rotational speed while pressurized fluid around the centrifugal weight segments provides a fluid bearing between the weights and the housing.

A rotary nozzle having a rotating shaft operating within a cylindrical housing is balanced by allowing passage of a small amount of pressurized fluid to be bled to an area between the outside of the opposite end of the shaft and the inside of the housing where the fluid force acts axially in an opposing direction upon the shaft to balance the axial inlet force exerted by the pressurized fluid. The balance of axial forces is self-regulating by controlling escape of the fluid through a tapered or frusto-conical region between the shaft and housing. A plurality of centrifugal weight segments around the inlet end of the shaft are thrust outwardly against the cylindrical housing to retard rotational speed while pressurized fluid around the centrifugal weight segments provides a fluid bearing between the weights and the housing.

An apparatus for driving a flexible lance hose into and out of tubes in a heat exchanger tube sheet includes a housing and an upper endless belt drive assembly and a lower endless belt drive assembly spaced apart by a gap for receiving a flexible lance hose therein. One of the drive assemblies is fixed to the housing. The other drive assembly is movable within the housing toward and away from the one endless belt drive assembly. The apparatus further includes a drive motor fastened to the housing configured to engage at least one of the upper and lower endless belts and drive a flexible lance hose disposed in the gap.

A compact flexible lance propelling drive device is disclosed that is mountable on a pipe end or may be configured on its own integral tubular frame. The device includes a motor driven gearworks contained in a main gearbox and two sets of roller assemblies configured in a side-by-side arrangement and connected to and selectively driven by the gearworks. Each roller assembly set comprises an upper and a lower roller assembly configured in a fixed vertical arrangement, wherein each roller assembly comprises an adjustable split-sheave configuration that includes a first roller half having a first contact face and a second roller half having an opposing second contact face and a means for independently closing a gap between the first and second roller halves so that the opposing contact faces of said first and second roller halves engage the surface of said flexible lance, clamping the flexible lance between the upper and lower roller assembly.

A frame apparatus for holding a flexible lance positioning drive device adjacent to and spaced from a heat exchanger tube sheet includes an upper guide rail carrying a movable carriage supporting a drive positioner rail having a drive support carriage and an air motor drive assembly fastened to each of the carriages, each air motor drive assembly comprising an air motor having a shaft driving a spur gear through a worm gear reducer, wherein the spur gear is carried within a spur gear housing fastened to the worm gear reducer, and the air motor assembly is fastened to the carriage via the spur gear housing. The spur gear housing is selectively rotatable on the carriage between a locked position with the spur gear engaging the rail to which the carriage is mounted and an unlocked position with the spur gear disengaged with the rail to which the carriage is mounted.

A system and an apparatus for positioning a plurality of flexible cleaning lances through tubes penetrating a tube sheet of a heat exchanger tube sheet, includes a smart lance tractor drive, a controller, and a tumble box connected to the controller operable to generate and/or distribute electrical power to the AC induction sensor from an air pressure source, supply electrical power to the controller and distribute pneumatic power to pneumatic motors for positioning the tractor drive on the positioner frame. The smart tractor drive includes sensors for detection of mismatch between expected and actual lance positions, sense lance insertion distance and lance removal and provide automated drive reversal operation to remove blockages within tubes being cleaned.

A nozzle apparatus assembly including a housing body and a nozzle head connected to a nozzle shaft rotatably mounted within the housing body. The nozzle shaft and the nozzle head define a primary fluid flow path extending from an inlet end of the shaft to a set of directional nozzles disposed at a discharge end of the nozzle head, and the nozzle shaft and the nozzle head are configured to rotate together in response to a pressurized liquid conveyed through the primary fluid flow path and discharged from the set of directional nozzles. The nozzle apparatus assembly also includes a secondary fluid flow path in fluid communication with the primary fluid flow path. The secondary fluid flow path passes between a rotational interface dimensioned to contain a thin fluid film with a pressure gradient that decreases radially outwardly.

A nozzle assembly with a data logger. The nozzle apparatus assembly comprises a housing body and a tubular nozzle shaft coupled to a nozzle head. The tubular nozzle shaft and the nozzle head define a portion of a fluid pathway extending from an inlet end of the housing body to a set of directional nozzles. The tubular nozzle shaft and the nozzle head are configured to rotate together in response to a discharge of a pressurized liquid from the set of directional nozzles. A data logger housed within the housing body includes a rotation sensor configured to detect rotation of the tubular nozzle shaft or the nozzle head, a data storage device configured to store rotation data captured by the rotation sensor or rotational speed data calculated from the rotation data and time data, and a communications interface configured to transmit the stored data to a remote computing device.

The disclosed principles provide embodiments of a novel part cleaning system, and related methods of use and manufacturing, capable of cleaning parts having any nontraditional shapes. An exemplary parts cleaning system provides at least five axes of movement, and comprises a drive rail comprised of a plurality of connectable modular sections, a base configured to support the drive rail, and a cleaning arm and nozzle. The system includes base drive assemblies translating the drive rail across the base, a powered carriage driving on the drive rail, and a feed assembly moving the cleaning arm towards and away from the turntable. The system includes a rotational assembly on the carriage and carrying the feed assembly to rotate the feed assembly and the cleaning arm. A turntable is mounted on the base and sized to carry a part to be cleaned, where the turntable bidirectionally rotates the part along a fifth axis of movement.

The disclosed principles provide embodiments of a novel part cleaning system, and related methods of use and manufacturing, capable of cleaning parts having any nontraditional shapes. An exemplary parts cleaning system provides at least five axes of movement, and comprises a drive rail comprised of a plurality of connectable modular sections, a base configured to support the drive rail, and a cleaning arm and nozzle. The system includes base drive assemblies translating the drive rail across the base, a powered carriage driving on the drive rail, and a feed assembly moving the cleaning arm towards and away from the turntable. The system includes a rotational assembly on the carriage and carrying the feed assembly to rotate the feed assembly and the cleaning arm. A turntable is mounted on the base and sized to carry a part to be cleaned, where the turntable bidirectionally rotates the part along a fifth axis of movement.