US Patent 8646521 Method and apparatus for cleaning a drill string

An apparatus for use in cleaning a drill string comprises a body portion (10) having a tubular side wall and a resiliently compressible cleaning member (11) mounted inside the hollow interior thereof under compression, the body portion (10) comprising an open lower end adapted to engage the drill string. A separate actuator (13) is provided for fitting to the body portion (10) for displacing the cleaning member (11) out of the tubular side wall of the body portion (10) into the drill string. In use, the cleaning member (11) can be loaded into the body portion (10) at a remote location prior to the cleaning operation thereby reducing the time taken to insert the cleaning member (11) into the drill string and alleviating the risk of injury.