Liquid recovery unit

Details Liquid recovery unit Liquid recovery unit

1985-07-22

1987-09-08

Moore, Chris K.

Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning

Machines

With air blast or suction

15353, 55417, 55432, A47L 538

Patent

active

046914072

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to apparatus for recovering liquids such as drilling mud and the like.
It is particularly but not exclusively envisaged that the apparatus is used on offshore oil rigs.
Generally, during drilling for oil, the drill pipe is frequently split, to add another section or to shorten the length of the pipe.
When the drill pipe is split, drilling mud spills onto the drill floor. This mud makes the drill floor slippery and is therefore potentially dangerous. Furthermore, the drilling mud contains additives, some of which can cause pollution. The drilling mud is usually recycled, so if some of the spilt mud can be recovered some expense is saved.
It is an object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the aforesaid problems and aid in the economy of the process.
The present invention accordingly provides apparatus for recovering liquids, comprising a vessel for containing liquid, a vacuum pump for creating a vacuum in said vessel, conduit means for sucking liquid into said vessel, a first valve means adapted to cause a loss of vacuum in said vessel when the liquid reaches a predetermined level, means adapted to discharge liquid from the vessel when vacuum is lost, switching means adapted to shut off the air supply to the pump when vacuum is lost, and control means for delaying the start-up of the vacuum pump for a preset period. Discharge from the vessel may be by gravity or by means of a discharge pump connected into the bottom vessel outlet.
Preferably, said conduit means for sucking liquid into said vessel comprises a flexible suction hose provided with a suction head.
Preferably also, said first valve means comprises a ball float valve.
Said second valve means may comprise a flap valve positioned at the base of the vessel, or a non-return valve positioned in the outlet line from the base of the vessel.
Preferably, said switching means comprises a pressure switch which is activated by loss of vacuum in the vessel.
Preferably said control means comprises a timer.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross-section and block diagram of one apparatus embodying the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates the pneumatic control system of FIG. 1 in greater detail; and
FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a second embodiment with views similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.
With reference to FIG. 1, the present invention provides apparatus for recovering liquids comprising a vessel 10 for containing liquid, a vacuum pump 12 for creating a vacuum in said vessel 10 and a flexible suction hose 14 for sucking liquid into the vessel 10. A ball float valve 16 is adapted to cause a loss of vacuum in the vessel 10 when the liquid reaches a predetermined level and a flap valve 18, adapted to discharge liquid when vacuum is lost, is positioned at the base of the vessel 10. A pneumatic logic system 20 is provided for switching off the air supply to the vacuum pump 12 when vacuum is lost and delaying the start-up of the vacuum pump 12 for a preset period.
An internal vacuum is created in the vessel 10 by means of the vacuum pump 12. This vacuum produces suction at the suction head 22 of the flexible suction hose 14 which sucks liquid from the immediate area around it. As the level of liquid being sucked into the vessel 10 rises, the ball float 16 rises with the surface of the liquid. When the ball float raises to a predetermined level, it is pulled against a flange 24 which causes a loss of vacuum in the vessel 10. Pressure inside the vessel equalises with ambient pressure and the weight of the liquid, acting under gravity, pushes open the flap valve 18 at the base of the vessel 10, thereby discharging the liquid. Loss of vacuum in the vessel 10 causes a pressure actuated valve 26 (FIG. 2) to operate. The signal from this valve is used to shut-off the air to the vacuum pump 12 by means of the pneumatic control system 20. This allows the ball float to fall as the liquid discharges itself.
The

REFERENCES:
patent: 3173164 (1965-03-01), Congdon
patent: 3286444 (1966-11-01), Boswinkle et al.
patent: 3774260 (1973-11-01), Emus
patent: 4080104 (1978-03-01), Brown
patent: 4194262 (1980-03-01), Finley et al.
patent: 4207649 (1980-06-01), Bates
patent: 4378611 (1983-04-01), Ninehouser

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