Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – Product or preform repair or restoring means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-17
2001-06-12
Nguyen, Nam (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
Product or preform repair or restoring means
C118S254000, C156S287000, C264S516000, C405S146000, C405S150100, C425S059000, C425S387100, C425S503000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06244846
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to everting flexible liners, and, more particularly, to everting liners from an unpressurized reel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flexible borehole liners may be installed in vertical or horizontal boreholes, pipes, ducts, and the like, for a variety of applications. One application installs liners with instruments in vertical or horizontal holes for the purpose of making measurements. Another application uses liners to line and support boreholes during horizontal drilling operations. A third application installs liners in sewers and other piping to renew and/or seal internal surfaces.
In drilling boreholes for emplacement of measurement or sampling devices, the common practice is to install the desired device in the borehole and then to seal the hole with a grouted liner to fill the entire hole with a sealing material. U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,207, issued Jan. 5, 1993, to Keller, teaches the use of a flexible tubular member to both seal and support a borehole and to carry instruments into a borehole as the flexible member is everted into the borehole. Instrumentation and sampling devices can then be placed directly in contact with the surrounding structure.
The flexible liners are normally installed from the interior of a pressure canister into the hole. The pressure canister contains the liner and the fluid pressure used to evert the liner into the hole. For very deep holes, the necessary liner volume becomes very large and requires the construction of a prohibitively large and expensive pressure canister from which to deploy the liner.
This problem is addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,936; 5,167,901; and 5,597,353, which provide a sphincter-like feed-through to deploy a liner. The sphincter feed-through is not well suited to install essentially flat and relatively fragile liners with attached instruments, or to seal about very small objects passing through a large sphincter. In some applications, the liner is deployed directly from a tension control device, which operates on a flattened liner. An attached cord for control of the everting liner often follows the liner. It is difficult for the sphincter device to seal about such cords.
Various objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the apparatus of this invention is a pressure containment device for everting a liner. A pressure housing provides an inlet for receiving the liner and an outlet for installing the liner. First and second movable belts have first and second sealing surfaces, respectively, for receiving the liner at the inlet of the pressure housing, and first and second interior surfaces for urging the first and second sealing surfaces against the liner when the pressure housing is pressurized. First rollers support the first and second movable belts within the pressure housing.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4350548 (1982-09-01), Zenbayashi et al.
patent: 4368091 (1983-01-01), Ontsuga et al.
patent: 4427480 (1984-01-01), Kamura et al.
patent: 4948452 (1990-08-01), Morinaga et al.
patent: 5154936 (1992-10-01), Driver et al.
patent: 5167901 (1992-12-01), Driver et al.
patent: 5176207 (1993-01-01), Keller
patent: 5203996 (1993-04-01), Scheucher et al.
patent: 5486332 (1996-01-01), Kamiyama et al.
patent: 5597353 (1997-01-01), Alexander, Jr.
patent: 5803666 (1998-09-01), Keller
patent: 5816345 (1998-10-01), Keller
patent: 5975878 (1999-11-01), Wood et al.
Luk Emmanuel
Nguyen Nam
Wilson Ray G.
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