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US 12,590,447 B2Granted
Drain cleaner with cable counting
AssigneeEmerson Professional Tools, LLC
InventorsAlex Michael Cole, Jeffrey Szucs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A drain cleaner includes a housing and inner and outer drums disposed in the housing. The inner drum is rotatable relative to the housing. The inner drum and the outer drum form an annular drum channel for receiving a drain cleaning cable. The inner drum defines an inner drum chamber. A drain cleaning cable is disposed within the annular drum channel. The drain cleaner includes a ferrous pick-up plate. The pick-up plate rotates with the inner drum. A sensor detects rotation of the ferrous pick-up plate.
Claims13
A drain cleaner comprising:
- a housing;
- an outer drum disposed in the housing;
- an inner drum disposed in the housing, the inner drum being rotatable relative to the housing, the inner drum and the outer drum forming an annular drum channel for receiving a drain cleaning cable, the inner drum defining an inner drum chamber;
- a drain cleaning cable disposed within the annular drum channel;
- a plurality of datum features that rotate with the inner drum, the plurality of datum features being disposed within the housing;
- a sensor for detecting the passage of the datum features relative to the sensor;
- and
- a controller for determining a length of the drain cleaning cable payed out from the drain cleaner during cable cleaning operations based at least in part on a number of datum features that have passed by the sensor.
5 more elements
A method for cleaning a drain comprising:
- providing a drain cleaner comprising:
- a housing;
- a drum disposed in the housing, the drum rotating relative to the housing;
- a drum channel for receiving a drain cleaning cable;
- and
- a pick-up plate comprising openings circumferentially spaced about the pick-up plate and spans between openings in the pick-up plate, the pick-up plate rotating with the drum, the pick-up plate being disposed within the housing;
- expelling a drain cleaning cable from the drum channel;
- positioning the expelled drain cleaning cable in a drain;
- and
- determining a length of drain cleaning cable payed out from the drum by sensing the number of openings or spans that pass by a sensor.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.