Liquid purification or separation – Structural installation – Flume stream type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-01
2001-10-30
Upton, Christopher (Department: 1724)
Liquid purification or separation
Structural installation
Flume stream type
C210S162000, C210S413000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309540
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating solids from a liquid, more particularly to one that includes a plurality of barrier members for trapping solid matter in wastewater, and a plurality of moving plates extending among adjacent pairs of the barrier members for removing the solid matter from the barrier members.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a wastewater channel of a factory, such as a food factory, is generally installed with an apparatus for separating solid substances from the wastewater before the wastewater is drained to a river.
FIGS. 1 and 2
illustrate a conventional separating apparatus for separating solids from a liquid. The apparatus includes a housing
1
having inclined left and right side walls
101
. A plurality of barrier members
5
are disposed side-by-side between the side walls
101
in a parallel relationship with one another for trapping solid matter in the wastewater when the wastewater is introduced into the housing
1
. The barrier members
5
are spaced-apart from one another so as to define a plurality of parallel pathways
501
among adjacent pairs of the barrier members
5
. A pair of upper driving sprockets
102
and a pair of lower driving sprockets
103
are mounted on the side walls
101
. Endless left and right chains
2
are trained on the upper and lower sprockets
102
,
103
. A plurality of moving plates
4
have base portions
401
mounted securely on the chains
2
and distal portions
402
extending respectively into the pathways
501
. The moving plates
4
are aligned with one another in a direction transverse to the side walls
101
, and move with the chains
2
when the driving sprockets
102
,
103
are activated by a motor
3
for removing the solid matter trapped by the barrier members
5
. A collector
6
is disposed below an upper end of the housing
1
for receiving the solid matter removed from the barrier members
5
. As shown, the barrier members
5
are generally L-shaped. The pathways
501
thus have open upper ends formed at upper end portions of adjacent pairs of the barrier members
5
, and open lower ends formed at lower end portions of adjacent pairs of the barrier members
5
. The moving plates
4
are moved out of the pathways
501
via the open upper ends when circulating with the chains
2
to the upper section of the housing
1
, and are then inserted into the pathways
501
via the open lower ends when circulating with the chains
2
to the lower section of the housing
1
.
In use, the moving plates
4
might collide with the barrier members
5
while being inserted into the pathways
501
via the open lower ends. The collision as such can result in serious damage to the apparatus and even breakdown of the apparatus. This problem is aggravated when the routes of the moving plates
4
deviate from the pathways
501
, such as when a huge solid mass is trapped by the barrier members
5
and causes the barrier members
5
to deform. As such, a sufficient space must be maintained between adjacent pairs of the barrier members
5
, preferably in the range of 5~20 mm, to prevent collision among the moving plates
4
and the barrier members
5
in order to ensure smooth operation of the apparatus. In addition, to prevent deformation of the barrier members
5
, the barrier members
5
must have a sufficient rigidity and a sufficient thickness. Moreover, the barrier members
5
have wedge-shaped cross-sections to facilitate insertion of the moving plates
4
into the pathways
501
. Formation of the barrier members
5
with the wedge-shaped cross-sections complicates the manufacturing process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a separating apparatus of the aforementioned type capable of overcoming the above-described problems.
Accordingly, the apparatus of the present invention includes a housing, a plurality of looped barrier members, a circulating unit mounted on the housing, a driving source unit for activating the circulating unit, and a plurality of moving plates. The housing has two side walls which are spaced-apart from each other. The looped barrier members are disposed side-by-side in a parallel relationship with one another between the side walls, and are spaced-apart from one another so as to define a plurality of looped pathways among adjacent pairs of the barrier members. The barrier members are adapted to trap solid matter in wastewater thereamong when the wastewater is introduced into the housing. The moving plates are mounted on the circulating unit and are moved by the circulating unit along a looped path. Each of the moving plates extends into and is moved along a respective one of the looped pathways when the driving source unit is activated so as to be adapted to remove the solid matter from the barrier members.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1143496 (1915-06-01), Briles
patent: 1180798 (1916-04-01), Spoon
patent: 1801111 (1931-04-01), Schofield et al.
patent: 3615012 (1971-10-01), Verbandt
patent: 4155841 (1979-05-01), Chupka et al.
patent: 4220540 (1980-09-01), Hagihara
patent: 4969992 (1990-11-01), N{umlaut over (aa)}ppä
patent: 5152891 (1992-10-01), Netkowicz et al.
patent: 5676829 (1997-10-01), Cotterill
Trop Pruner & Hu P.C.
Upton Christopher
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