Liquid purification or separation – Processes – Including geographic feature
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-26
2001-04-24
Smith, Duane (Department: 1724)
Liquid purification or separation
Processes
Including geographic feature
C210S923000, C210S242300, C405S066000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06221256
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to an apparatus for preventing the spreading and coming ashore of oil spilled out onto the sea from a vessel or the like.
BACKGROUND ART
When oil spills out in a harbor, the spilled oil has heretofore been prevented from spreading by the operation of encircling an oil-spilled sea surface with oil fences which is performed in the oil-spilled sea area by the crew members of an operating ship for towing and setting up the oil fences.
However, when oil accidentally spills out of a vessel in the open sea or in the ocean where tidal currents are more violent and waves are rougher than in a harbor, not only the operation performed by the operating ship is dangerous but also the operating ship itself may be capsized by accident especially in stormy weather. Under such circumstances, the operation of setting up oil fences and encircling oil spills with the oil fences is extremely difficult, and thus there exists a problem that effective measures to prevent the spreading of spilled oil cannot be taken.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Therefore, this invention has overcome the aforementioned problem by assembling an oil fence housing robot ship and a pair of oil fence setting-up robot ships having ends of housed oil fences tied thereto into an easily transportable block body in such a manner that the oil fence housing robot ship and the oil fence setting-up robot ships can be separated from one another, and by mounting rotatable steering and propelling machines onto bottoms of the oil fence housing robot ship and the oil fence setting-up robot ships, operations of the steering and propelling machines being radio-controlled independently of one another.
The block body consisting of the oil fence housing robot ship and the oil fence setting-up robot ships, which is to be mounted on a tanker, a vessel or an aircraft as a single block and which is to be transported to a sea area where spilled oil is spread as the block body, is thrown onto the sea near a sea area where spilled oil is spread while mounted on a tanker, a vessel or an aircraft, and the thus thrown pair of oil fence setting-up robot ships are separated from the oil fence housing robot ship by independent operations of their steering and propelling machines that are remotely operated by radio waves, thereby towing the ends of housed oil fences, paying off the oil fences from the oil fence housing robot ship, and encircling the sea area where spilled oil is spread in cooperation with each other to further tow the oil fences to set them up. As a result, the spreading of the spilled oil can be prevented. In addition, the encircling net set up by the oil fences is narrowed, thereby reducing the sea area where spilled oil is spread. Then, when a spilled oil recovery mother ship has arrived, a spilled oil sucking hose mounted on the oil fence housing robot ship is thrown into the spilled oil on and in the sea area encircled with the oil fences, and the crew members of the mother ship connect a recovery hose connected to the sucking hose to a recovery apparatus of the mother ship, thereby recovering the spilled oil.
Further, until the spilled oil recovery mother ship arrives, the steering and propelling machines of the oil fence housing robot ship and the pair of oil fence setting-up robot ships are radio-controlled independently of one another, so that the spilled oil is moved offshore lest the spilled oil encircled by the oil fences should wash up on the shore.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3847816 (1974-11-01), DiPerna
patent: 4139470 (1979-02-01), Stagemeyer et al.
patent: 5102262 (1992-04-01), Brown
patent: 5197821 (1993-03-01), Cain et al.
patent: 5409607 (1995-04-01), Karlberg
patent: 5584604 (1996-12-01), Osterlund
patent: 2008040 (1978-12-01), None
patent: 53-37662 (1978-10-01), None
patent: 54-136733 (1979-10-01), None
patent: 8-13457 (1996-01-01), None
Dann Dorfman Herrell and Skillman
Lawrence Frank M.
Skillman Henry H.
Smith Duane
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