US3709369A

US3709369A - Power driven transfer roll for flexible oil collector tube

Info

Publication number: US3709369A
Application number: US00141227A
Authority: US
Inventors: E Brill; B Brill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-05-07
Filing date: 1971-05-07
Publication date: 1973-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-09
Also published as: FR2137625A1; CA973808A; BE783079A; GB1384642A; IT960094B; FR2137625B1; DE2222198C2; DE2222198A1

Abstract

A flexible, hose-like elongated collector adapted for collecting hydrophobic materials floating in a layer on the liquid in a reservoir of water or the like is formed into an endless loop which passes into or upon the liquid in the reservoir, then upwardly and out through or away from the layer of hydrophobic material which collects on the surface of the collector, after which a doctor blade means scrapes the coated material therefrom. The present improvement provides a transfer roll over which the collector passes during its travel away from the reservoir and toward the drive wheel which pulls it over the transfer roll or wheel and drives the collector again downwardly toward the reservoir. This transfer roll furnishes a large radius fair lead for the tube so that sharp bends in the tube are avoided. It also prevents twisting and tangling of the up-coming loaded tube with the downwardly traveling scraped or clean tube. The apparatus also confines the collector tube so that various scrapers can be utilized to give a cleaner tube and to give a longer scraper life.

Description

United States Patent [191 Brill et al.

[ 51 Jan. 9, 1973 [S4] POWER DRIVEN TRANSFER ROLL FOR FLEXIBLE OIL COLLECTOR TUBE [22] Filed: May 7,1971

[21] App]. No.: 141,227

[52] US. Cl ..2l0/400, 210/523, 210/DIG. 21 [51] Int. Cl. ..E02b 15/04 [58] Field of Search ..210/396, 400, 523, DIG. 21

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1970 Brill ..2lO/396 1/1970 Yahnke ..210/400 Primary ExaminerJohn Adee Att0rneyBaldwin, Egan, Walling & Fetzer 571 ABSTRACT A flexible, hose-like elongated collector adapted for collecting hydrophobic materials floating in a layer on the liquid in a reservoir of water or the like is formed into an endless loop which passes into or upon the liquid in the reservoir, then upwardly and out through or away from the layer of hydrophobic material which collects on the surface of the collector, after which a doctor blade means scrapes the coated material therefrom. The present improvement provides a transfer roll over which the collector passes during its travel away from the reservoir and toward the drive wheel which pulls it over the transfer roll or wheel and drives the collector again downwardly toward the reservoir. This transfer roll furnishes a large radius fair lead for the tube so that sharp bends in the tube are avoided. It also prevents twisting and tangling of the up-coming loaded tube with the downwardly traveling scraped or clean tube. The apparatus also confines the collector tube so that various scrapers can be utilized to give a cleaner tube and to give a longer scraper life.

16 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 9 197a SHEET 1 OF 2 I II: I.

INVENTORS EUGENE L. BRILL BEATRICE M. BRILL BY ATTORNE S zww 3 VENTOR5 EUGENE L. RlLL FIGS BY BEATRICE M. BRILL ATTORNI s SHEET 2 BF 2 PATENTEDJAN 9 I973 8 W F ///W POWER DRIVEN TRANSFER ROLL FOR FLEXIBLE OIL COLLECTOR TUBE This apparatus may generally be regarded as an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,663, granted Apr. 28, 1970 to Eugene L. Brill.

This invention relates to improvements in a flexible, elongated, generally cylindrical collector for hydrophobic materials and, more particularly, to an endless loop collector which passes into or upon liquid in a reservoir having a floating layer of the hydrophobic material, then upwardly and out through or away from the layer whereby the layer material is coated on the surface of the collector loop, after which doctor blade means scrapes the coated collector to remove the material therefrom.

One of the uses of this invention would be the removal of an oil layer on a water reservoir to avoid water pollution.

This invention overcomes some difficulties encountered in the use of the apparatus disclosed and claimed in the prior U.S. patent No. 3,508,663. It was found that on long lifts between the collector drive and the reservoir, the collector tube would occasionally twist, like the ropes on a child's swing. The drive wheel would drag one run of the loop into the scraper which, of course, dragged the whole tangle into the scraper and destroyed the tube. The collector tube in the former device passed directly through the scraper on its travel from the reservoir. On high lifts the weight of the loaded tube pulled a sharp bend in the collector tube where it passed over the scraper. In one change of the apparatus, a guide and roller were provided ahead of the scraper to save the tube, but this lost a lot of oil as the collector tube was wiped by the guide and roller.

Another change which was tried was the provision of an idler in the position of the transfer wheel of the present invention but this gave rise to other problems. A first disadvantage was that much of the oil is rolled off of the collector tube by contact with such an idler wheel. Secondly, there was a tendency for grease and other sticky material to build up on the idler wheel until the collector tube was forced off the wheel. For these reasons, the present invention utilizes a power driven transfer wheel which has a surface speed preferably slightly greater than the speed of the tube provided by the drive wheel. This carries the oily material into the machine instead of letting it accumulate and run back from the pinch point between the collector tube and the transfer wheel. The scraper or doctor blade of the present invention keeps a steady pressure on the transfer wheel and prevents build up of the material collected by the tube.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from the description and the drawings which follow and the essential features thereof will be set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. I is an elevational view of one embodiment of this invention where the drive wheel and transfer wheel are on spaced parallel shafts;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the machine of FIG. 1 taken from the right-hand end thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the same;

FIG. 4 is a fragmental sectional view, enlarged, taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmental sectional view, enlarged, taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of this invention wherein the drive wheel and the transfer wheel are side-by-side and driven by the same shaft;

FIG. 7 is an end elevational view of the second embodiment; while FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are sectional views, enlarged, taken respectively along the lines 8-8, 9-9 and I0--- 10 of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 3, a reservoir 10 is illustrated as containing a liquid such as water 11 on which floats a layer 12 of oil or the like, this being intended to represent any of the layer materials which are collectable on the surface of the collector tube. Mounted above the reservoir on a suitable structure 13 is a frame 14 on which the mechanism of the present invention is mounted. A generally cylindrical flexible collector loop 16 travels over a drive wheel 17 which passes the collector tube downwardly as seen at the left-hand side of FIG. 1 into the reservoir 10 and through or upon the layer 12 of pollution material in the water 11, then upwardly out of the reservoir through or away from the layer 12 and upwardly in the direction of the arrow at the right-hand side of FIG. 1. Doctor blade means 18 is provided where the coated collector comes out of the reservoir as it leaves the transfer wheel 15 of the present invention. This blade means scrapingly engages the collector 16 so as to remove the material coating the collector and this drops away as indicated at 19 and is carried away in any suitable manner as indicated at 194 so as to prevent the return of the polluting material back into the reservoir 10. The drive pulley 17 is like that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,663 except for a safety protecting rim which will be described hereinafter. This drive wheel has teeth 21a and 21b extending radially outwardly from the periphery thereof at spaced points circumferentially thereof, these flanged teeth being arranged alternately on opposite sides of the collector 16, as clearly seen in FIG. 1 with the teeth 210 all on the side of the collector toward the viewer in FIG. I and teeth 21b all on the opposite side of the collector. The collector loop then passes around the driving wheel 17 in a wavy line and is firmly wedged between the teeth 21a and 21b.

The transfer wheel 15 is rotatably mounted on the base 14 by means of shaft 15a which is parallel to the drive shaft 17a of the drive wheel 17 which is also rotatably mounted in the base 14. Both wheels are driven by an electrical motor M mounted on the base 14 and having a driven shaft 22 whichhas one take-off at 22a to drive shaft 15a and another drive connection at 22b to drive shaft 170. The

wheels

15 and 17 are here shown as approximately the same diameter but the drive 22a is arranged to provide a slightly greater peripheral speed of the collector tube 16 as it passes around the wheel 15 as compared to the peripheral speed passing around the drive wheel 17. In any case, the speed of the tube around the: wheel 15 must be equal to that around the wheel 17..

Doctor blade means is provided at 18 for removing material collected on the outer surface of the collector tube 16. As shown herein, and more in detail in FIGS. 1 and 5, this comprises a block of generally squared surfaces 18a which is firmly secured to the base 14 by screws or bolts such as indicated at 23. The forward end of this block is formed at 24 to provide a curved scraper blade engaging approximately the lower half of the sectional surface of the collector tube 16. A flexible strap of leather or the like 25 is firmly held between a recess 26 and the base 14 by means of the securing screws 23. This strap passes over the top of the collector tube and hangs down on the opposite side, held in that position by a lead weight 27. The strap 25 has one edge 25a cut on an arc of greater diameter than the opposite edge 25b so that in the position shown in FIG. 1, the surface at 25c is somewhat conical causing the edge 25b to engage firmly against the collector tube.

To clear the pollution material from the periphery of the transfer wheel 15, a scraper 28 is provided having a shoe 28a which is pressed at all times against the periphery of wheel 15 by means of lever 29 which is pivoted at 29a on the base 14 and is urged in a scraping direction by the weighted end 29b.

The drive wheel 17 has a safety feature which is not found in US. Pat. No. 3,508,663. This is a rim which is integral with the outer ends of all of the teeth 21a and which prevents an operator from getting fingers caught between the drive teeth. The rim 20 is a complete circle except for a break at 20a which is provided for the purpose of threading the tube 16 into the drive wheel when setting up the apparatus. This is necessary because of the close clearance between the wheel 17 and the base 14. In operation, the tube is held toward the viewer in FIG. 1 in the notch 200 while the collector tube is threaded around the teeth 21a, 21b by rotation of wheel 17. The collector tube is held firmly in position in the drive wheel by means of idler rollers 30 which are rotatably mounted on brackets 31 secured to base 14.

In like manner, a notch 15b is provided in the rim of the transfer wheel 15 to provide means for threading the collector tube around the periphery of wheel 15 while the wheel is being turned in the direction of the arrow shown. It should be understood that the wheel 15 has a pair of generally parallel flanges on opposite sides of the collector 16 in the manner of a pulley. This is a smooth non-driving surface and the doctor .blade means 18 provides sufficient friction on the collector 16 so that the collector tube slides slightly relative to the rotating surface of the periphery of wheel 15.

In the operation of this embodiment, with the apparatus set up as shown in FIG. 1, the motor M is started to drive the

wheels

15 and 17 in a manner previously described. The drive wheel 17 passes the collector tube 16 downwardly as seen at the left of FIG. 1 into or upon the layer 12 on the water 11 and preferably the portion engaging the water is greater than the distance between shafts 15a and 170 plus the radius of wheel 15 plus the radius of wheel 17 so that an excess of collector tube is provided upon the water in the reservoir which preferably forms loops so as to disturb the layer 12 and more efficiently collect the hydrophobic material from it. The dirty collector tube passes upwardly as at the right in FIG. 1, over the driven wheel 15 and through the doctor blade means 18 so that material is scraped from the collector tube and dropped as at 19 into the discharge means 190. Other material collected on wheel 15 is scraped away at 28a and is also carried away at 19a.

The second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 6 through 10 operates on the same principle as the first embodiment. Here the drive wheel 17 is like that shown at 17 in the first embodiment except that as shown clearly in FIGS. 7 through 10 the teeth 21a are connected by a circular cylindrical rim 32 which is rigid and extends with its cylinder axis identical with the axis of drive shaft 170' and the horizontal extent of the rim 32 is sufficient to carry the collector tube 16'. The rim 32 provides the transfer wheel in this embodiment and its periphery engaging the collector tube is of slightly greater diameter than the periphery of drive wheel 17 engaging the collector tube so that when shaft 17a is driven by motor M the peripheral speed on the transfer rim 32 is slightly greater than the peripheral speed around the drive wheel 17. The rim 32 has a notch like that shown at 20a in the first embodiment for permitting threading of the collector tube around the combined wheels.

Shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 is doctor blade means for removing the hydrophobic material from the collector tube 16 and at the same time these are formed as cam shoes to cause movement of the portion of the collector tube traveling on rim 32 to the position of the portion 161 of the collector tube when it is moved between the teeth 21a and 21b. The doctor blade 33 shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 has a curved scraper portion 33a which embraces a portion of the lower side of collector tube 16' and a portion of that side of the collector tube farthest removed from the base member 14 and on that side of the collector tube 16 which is between the rim 32 and the drive wheel 17' as clearly shown in FIG. 8. This is firmly fixed to the base by screws 33b. As the

wheels

17 and 32 travel in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 6, the collector tube next engages combined scraper and cam shoe 34 as clearly shown in FIGS. 6 and 9. This embraces that portion of collector tube 16' on the bottom and on the side nearest the base 14' which was not scraped by the shoe 33. The curved surface 33a provides this scraping action and at the same time cams the collector tube 16' toward the drive wheel 17 as is clearly seen by comparing FIGS. 8 and 9. The shoe 34 is secured to the base 14' by screws 34b. Upon farther travel around wheel 17, the collector encounters a combined scraper and cam shoe 35 as best seen in FIGS. 6 and 10. This shoe 35 has a curved surface 350 which scrapes that portion of the surface of the collector 16 not previously scraped by the

members

33 and 34. At the same time, the scraper or shoe 35 carries the collector 16 from the position of FIG. 9 to that of FIG. 10 where it is directly under the drive wheel 17 and at the same time carries it upwardly between the teeth 21a and 21b. The shoe 35 is secured by screws 35b to the base 14.

As seen in the upper portion of FIG. 6, a pair of idler rollers 36 are rotatably mounted on shafts 36a which are journaled in base 14 and these serve to press the collector tube 16' firmly between the teeth 21a and 21b. A clearly illustrated in FIG. 7, both of the wheels 36 serve to hold the collector portion 160 in proper position on the rim 32 so as not to slide over against the collector portion 161.

The operation of the second embodiment should now be easily understood. The base member 14 is suitably supported above the reservoir to be treated. The endless collector loop 16 is arranged with its lower portion extending down to the reservoir and the portion 160 is wrapped around the rim 32 as shown in FIG. 6 as extending a little more than three-quarters ofthe way around the circle. The tube is passed beneath the

shoes

34, 34 and 35 on the drive wheel side thereof and then around the drive wheel from the lower righthand side thereof in FIG. 6 almost three-quarters of the way to the position of the vertical tangent to the drive wheel at the left side thereof in FIG. 6 where the portion 161 of the collector passes downwardly again to the reservoir. Here again, preferably sufficient collector length is provided on the surface of the reservoir to travel around at random over the layer 12 in the reservoir so as to collect the hydrophobic material efficiently. The motor M is then set in operation and the collected material scraped off at 33, 34 and 35 is allowed to drain into a discharge trough in a manner similar to the first embodiment so as to prevent return of the hydrophobic material to the reservoir being treated.

Because the periphery of wheel rim 32 is greater than the periphery of drive wheel 17' engaged by collector 16', the collector tube must slip on rim 32 which is smooth to permit this. The scraper shoes 33, 34 and 35 provide sufficient friction to cause this slipping action.

The

collector

16 or 16 could be a solid tube or rubber or rubber-like plastic synthetic material. A preferred form is shown in the drawings as a hollow tubular rubber-like member. Polyurethane has been very successfully used for this purpose. When the hose-like loop is welded to make a closed loop, the air trapped inside will cause the loop to have a gravity allowing it to float on water. Polyurethane tubing is preferred because of its high abrasion resistance and because it may be welded together very efficiently to form the endless loops required by this invention. For use where high temperatures are involved, neoprene is preferred and this also can be easily vulcanized into an endless loop. The generally cylindrical cross-section of the flexible collector loop renders it capable of moving about in any direction so that the loop can float over a wide area where the oil or grease is to be collected.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for collecting hydrophobic material from a layer floating on a liquid reservoir comprising a single endless loop of an elongated flexible generally cylindrical collector of substantially uniform diameter having attraction for the hydrophobic material, drive means for passing said collector into said reservoir beneath said layer and then upwardly and out through said layer whereby said hydrophobic material is coated on the surface of said collector, said drive means including a first wheel having a collector-gripping periphery and a second wheel having a nongripping periphery several times the diameter of said collector with said first wheel pulling saidcollector out of said reservoir over said second wheel, means supporting each of said wheels for rotation about a horizontal axis above said reservoir, means for driving said wheels with the peripheral speed of said second wheel at least equal to the peripheral speed of said first wheel, and means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said wheels have parallel driving shafts, said wheels are substantially coplanar, and said collector passes upwardly out of said reservoir to said second wheel, then across the tops of both wheels and then downwardly from said first wheel into said reservoir.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector comprises doctor blade means engagingsaid collector when it passes from said second wheel to said first wheel.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said means for driving said wheels is constructed and arranged to drive said second wheel with a peripheral speed slightly greater than the peripheral speed of said first wheel, whereby to substantially prevent regression of said hydrophobic material in a direction opposite to the rotation of said second wheel, and said doctor blade means places a drag on said collector causing it to slip on the periphery of said second wheel.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said collector is of such a specific gravity that it substantially floats on the fluid in said reservoir, and the length of said collector floating on said liquid is greater than the distance between said driving shafts plus the radius of each of said wheels, whereby said collector travels across the surface of the liquid in said reservoir in a non-linear manner.

'6. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector comprises doctor blade means engaging said collector where it passes from said second wheel to said first wheel, and also a scraper engaging the periphery. of said second wheel where it is not engaged with said collector.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, including a generally planar base extending vertically back to said wheels, said shafts having bearings mounted on said base, and a motor mounted on said base and having driving connections with each of said shafts.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said wheels are mounted on a common drive shaft with their peripheries adjacent, said collector travels a predetermined distance around the periphery of said second wheel and at that point means is provided to move said collector into drivable engagement with the periphery of said first wheel.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein means is provided at the zone of travel of said collector for said predetermined distance to hold said collector on the periphery of said second wheel.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said means for holding said collector on the peripheryof said second wheel is a rotatable roller whose periphery holds said collector in drivable engagement with said first wheel.

11. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said means for moving said collector into drivable engagement with said first wheel is a fixed shoe means frictionally engaged by said collector, said shoe having a surface camming said collector from the periphery of said second wheel to the periphery of said first wheel.

12. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said first wheel has a rim rigidly connected therewith and extending parallel to the axis of said common drive shaft and thus providing said second wheel.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said rim has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the collector-engaging periphery of said first wheel,

whereby said collector has a slightly greater speed oftravel about said rim than about the periphery of said first wheel.

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein said first wheel has a plurality of flanged teeth operatively connected with said wheel and extending radially outwardly from the periphery thereof at spaced points circumferentially thereof, said flanged teeth diverging generally radially outwardly on opposite sides of said collector and spaced alternately on opposite sides of the collector and so arranged as to firmly wedge said collector between them, said rim connecting those flanged teeth on one side of the collector and extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said first wheel.

15. Apparatus as defined in claim 14, including fixed cam shoes positioned and arranged to engage said collector on said rim and to cause said collector to engage said flanged teeth in a driving relationship.

16. Apparatus as defined in claim 15, and wherein said cam shoes are formed as doctor blades to engage said collector in a manner to remove the hydrophobic material collected thereon.

Claims

1. Apparatus for collecting hydrophobic material from a layer floating on a liquid reservoir comprising a single endless loop of an elongated flexible generally cylindrical collector of substantially uniform diameter having attraction for the hydrophobic material, drive means for passing said collector into said reservoir beneath said layer and then upwardly and out through said layer whereby said hydrophobic material is coated on the surface of said collector, said drive means including a first wheel having a collector-gripping periphery and a second wheel having a nongripping periphery several times the diameter of said collector with said first wheel pulling said collector out of said reservoir over said second wheel, means supporting each of said wheels for rotation about a horizontal axis above said reservoir, means for driving said wheels with the peripheral speed of said second wheel at least equal to the peripheral speed of said first wheel, and means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector comprises doctor blade means engaging said collector when it passes from said second wheel to said first wheel.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for removing said hydrophobic material from said coated collector comprises doctor blade means engaging said collector where it passes from said second wheel to said first wheel, and also a scraper engaging the periphery of said second wheel where it is not engaged with said collector.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein said means for holding said collector on the periphery of said second wheel is a rotatable roller whose periphery holds said collector in drivable engagement with said first wheel.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said rim has a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the collector-engaging periphery of said first wheel, whereby said collector has a slightly greater speed of travel about said rim than about the periphery of said first wheel.