Solids separator

Claim 2

Apparatus for removing nonsoluble material from a liquid comprising a conduit defining a flow path of upwardly increasing cross-sectional area for the upward flow of said liquid, said conduit enclosing a plurality of inverted frustoconical spacedapart settling plates which extend outwardly from the center in a stepdown fashion and providing a relatively constant increasing vertical distance from the upper edge of each settling plate, said spaced-apart plates defining flow paths therebetween of upwardly increasing cross-sectional area and for providing impingement surfaces for the accumulation and downward flow of said nonsoluble material and wherein the cross section area of said flow paths are substantially equal at their inlet ends, input means adjacent the lower end of said conduit for directing liquid to said conduit, and output means adjacent the upper end of said conduit for directing clarified liquid away from said conduit.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the settling plates are substantially parallel to each other and thereby provide a substantially uniform increase in the cross-sectional areas of said subflow paths from the lower end of said conduit to the upper end thereof.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein the spaced-apart, substantially parallel settling plates are inverted frustoconical plates of increasing diameter arranged one within another.

Claim 5

ApparAtus for removing settleable material from a liquid comprising a chassis having a primary liquid inlet and a liquid outlet and defining a flow path for liquid therebetween, said flow path including a cylindrical flocculation chamber communicating at its upper end with said inlet, an annular settling chamber external to said flocculation chamber and communicating at its lower end with the lower end of said flocculation chamber whereby said flow path emanates in a downwardly direction from said flocculation chamber, turns outwardly and upwardly through an angle of substantially 180* into said annular settling chamber, and a final settling zone including a plurality of inverted frustoconical settling plates arranged one within another in outward radially stepdown arrangement and in parallel relationship to each other to define therebetween substantially concentric liquid flow paths having substantially equal cross-sectional areas at their inlet ends and upwardly increasing cross-sectional area, said stepdown arrangement providing a relatively constant increasing vertical distance from the upper edge of each settling plate and said settling plates at their lower ends communicating with the upper end of said annular settling chamber and at their upper ends with said outlet.

Claim 6

ApparAtus for removing settleable material from a liquid comprising a chassis having a primary liquid inlet and a liquid outlet and defining a flow path for liquid therebetween, said flow path including a cylindrical flocculation chamber communicating at its upper end with said inlet, an annular settling chamber external to said flocculation chamber and communicating at its lower end with the lower end of said flocculation chamber whereby said flow path emanates in a downwardly direction from said flocculation chamber, turns outwardly and upwardly through an angle of substantially 180* into said annular settling chamber, and a final settling zone including a plurality of inverted frustoconical settling plates arranged one within another in outward radially stepdown arrangement and in parallel relationship to each other to define therebetween substantially concentric liquid flow paths having substantially equal cross-sectional areas at their inlet ends and upwardly increasing cross-sectional area, said stepdown arrangement providing a relatively constant increasing vertical distance from the upper edge of each settling plate and said settling plates at their lower ends communicating with the upper end of said annular settling chamber and at their upper ends with said outlet.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein said annular settling chamber includes a section of upwardly increasing cross-sectional area immediately preceding said final settling area.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 further including means located below said settling chamber and said flocculation chamber for receiving accumulations of said settleable material and for removing said accumulations at a controlled rate.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 wherein said flow path further includes a rapid mixing chamber communicating at its input end with said primary liquid inlet and at its output end with said flocculation chamber, said rapid mixing chamber including a secondary liquid inlet for the addition of chemicals to said liquid.