Hydraulic and earth engineering – Fluid control – treatment – or containment – Flow control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-26
2001-04-10
Lillis, Eileen D. (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Fluid control, treatment, or containment
Flow control
C405S087000, C405S092000, C405S104000, C210S103000, C210S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213684
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a telescoping weir having vertically adjustable concentrically nested cylinders capable of being raised or lowered to selectively drain layers of environmentally acceptable water from a body of contaminated water.
Regulating the release of clean water from dredged material containment areas or confined disposal facilities (CDF) through the use of a weir is necessary to ensure that acceptable water, absent unwanted sediment and silt, is returned to the environment. During dredging, contaminated water is constantly flowing into the CDF, making it necessary to continuously decant the relatively clean surface water while the sediment settles into lower portions of the CDF. The telescoping weir is useful to improve the environmental quality of water released from such a contaminated body of water.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Currently there are several techniques and devices used to regulate the release of water from dredged material containment areas.
Vertical weirs for controlling the level and drainage of bodies of water are not new in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 337,819 issued to Dill discloses a combined wasteway and drain for ponds including an upwardly projecting portion which has the same height as a bank of the body of water. This portion has an open top portion for draining away any water that exceeds its height to a location remote from the body of water, and therefore prevents the bank from being overflowed.
Many static weirs are adapted to receive boards or stop logs along an upper portion or weir crest to adjust the level of the weir crest to meet the current levels of water and sediment within the confined disposal facility (CDF). The disadvantage of using boards is that they are very difficult to install or remove at the right time to maintain the correct weir crest level during decanting. Thus, they are very labor intensive. This results in too much or too little water being released. These weirs almost always leak between the boards thus allowing material to escape and often creating an undesirable environmental condition. Also, the existing board weirs make a good habitat for snakes, spiders, and wasps while presenting the safety hazard of someone falling into the weir while changing the boards.
The present invention was developed in order to overcome these and other drawbacks by providing a telescoping weir in which the weir crest may be adjusted to the appropriate height relative to the surface of the water to decant clean water from a CDF.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a telescoping weir having a foundation that is anchored to the bottom of a body of water and connected with a discharge pipe, a cylindrical telescoping portion that extends upwardly from the foundation and terminates adjacent to the surface of the body of water which is also connected with the discharge pipe, and a set of mechanical jacks for selectively extending and retracting the upper end of the telescoping portion above or below the water surface in order to drain a top layer of clean water therefrom.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telescoping weir having a frame that is interconnected between the foundation and the mechanical jacks for stabilizing the cylindrical telescoping portion from external forces.
Another object of the invention is to provide a telescoping weir having a sensor located thereon for measuring the environmental qualities of the surrounding water, such as effluent turbidity, temperature, pH, and biological oxygen demand. Based on the sensed conditions, the elevation of the weir crest is adjusted to permit more or less water to be released.
It is another object of the invention to provide an improved weir design and operation which improves the environmental quality while providing ease of use and operational safety.
It is another object of the invention to provide a telescoping weir that can be equipped with a remote readout and control capability that enables several weirs to be monitored and adjusted from a remote location.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a telescoping weir that is easily adaptable for use in other de-watering applications and water control including reservoirs, ponds, water treatment, waste water, mining waste, paper mill lagoons, chemical waste lagoons, and irrigation control.
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Fowler Jack
Vann Ronald G.
Woodward, Jr. Thomas D.
Lee Jong-Suk
Lillis Eileen D.
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