Rapid settler apparatus

Claim 2

SOLIDS SETTLER APPARATUS FOR LIQUID-SOLID MIXTURES COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF ABUTTED FLAT SEPARATOR MODULES EACH INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED SEPARATOR CHAMBERS EACH HAVING A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY AND INWARDLY INCLINED STACKS OF SETTLER MEANS THEREIN, A CENTER SOLIDS COLLECTING ZONE, A BOTTOM SOLIDS DISCHARGE OUTLET, AND CONDUIT MEANS LEADING FROM AN UPPER PORTION OF HE LOWERMOST CHAMBER TO THE NEXT VERTICALLY ADJACENT CHAMBER AND FROM SUCH ADJACENT CHAMBER TO THE CHAMBER VERTICALLY THERE ADJACENT AND REPEATING TO THE TOP ONE OF SAID CHAMBERS, SAID SETTLER MEANS COMPRISING TRAYS, AND EACH OF SAID MODULES INCLUDE A FACE CARRIER PLATE, A BOTTOM PLATE, AND A PAIR OF SIDE PLATES, SAID CONDUIT MEANS COMPRISING PLATES EXTENDING FROM SAID CARRIER PLATE, ALL OF SAID PLATES BEING SECURED AT ONE EDGE THEREOF TO SAID CARRIER PLATE AND EXTENDING THEREFROM A UNIFORM DISTANCE, AND A OPPOSED SLOSURE PLATE AT THE OPPSITE FACE OF THE MODULE AND SEALED AGAINST THE OTHER EDGES OF SAID PLATES, SAID CONDUIT MEANS COMPRISING CONDUIT FORMING PLATES CONNECTING TO A INPUT FOR EAH CHAMBER AT THE LATERALY OUTER ENDS THEREOF AND WITH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID CONDUIT FORMING PLATES BEING AT A CENTER UPPER PORTION OF EACH CHAMBER TO AIR IN FORMING AN OUTLET THEREOF TO CONNECT TO THE INLET FOR THE NEXT VERTICALLY AOVE ADJACET CHAMBER, ALL OF SAID CONDUIT FORMING PLATES SECURED AT ONE EDGE TO SAID CARRIER PLATE, THE TRAYS OF EACH STACK BEING CLOSELY ADJA-

Claim 3

Solids settler apparatus as in claim 1 where in each module of each of said chambers except for a bottom chamber has bottom plates therein forming a V extending across the chamber to separate it from an adjacent chamber, said V shaped bottom plates having a number of small solids transmission holes formed therein.

Claim 4

A settler apparatus for processing liquid-solid mixtures and the like supplied thereto under pressure for flow therethrough and comprising: an elongated enclosure adapted to be positioned in a vertical plane, means forming a plurality of vertically spaced V-shaped settling chambers each having a bottom wall in said enclosure and including a lowermost chamber, intermediate chambers, and a top chamber, each said chamber including two sets of trays each set of which is inclined in an opposite direction inwardly and downwardly of said enclosure, each of said sets comprising a plurality of trays having edge flanges thereon and said trays being stacked upon each other in vertically spaced relation, upper rear ends of said trays being spaced from lateral margins of said enclosure and the lower inner ends of said trays being spaced from the center of said enclosure to leave a vertically directed opening between said sets of trays, inlet means for a liquid solid mixture connecting to the outer ends of said trays in said lowermost chamber to form a common inlet therefor, further conduit means connecting to said vertically directed opening at the upper portion of the center of said lowermost chamber and extending upwardly therefrom to connect to and form a common inlet for said trays in the vertically adjacent intermediate chamber at the laterally outer margins thereof, other conduit means similar to said further conduit means for series flow of the mixture being processed to the adjacent vertically higher chamber and ultimately to said top chamber, and an outlet means operatively connecting to said center opening at the upper end of said enclosure.

Claim 5

A settler apparatus for processing liquid-solid mixtures and the like supplied thereto under pressure for flow therethrough and comprising: an elongated enclosure adapted to be positioned in a vertical plane, means forming a plurality of vertically spaced V-shaped settling chambers each having a bottom wall in said enclosure and including a lowermost chamber, intermediate chambers, and a top chamber, each said chamber including two sets of trays each set of which is inclined in an opposite direction inwardly and downwardly of said enclosure, each of said sets comprising a plurality of trays having edge flanges thereon and said trays being stacked upon each other in vertically spaced relation, upper rear ends of said trays being spaced from lateral margins of said enclosure and the lower inner ends of said trays being spaced from the center of said enclosure to leave a vertically directed opening between said sets of trays, inlet means for a liquid solid mixture connecting to the outer ends of said trays in said lowermost chamber to form a common inlet therefor, further conduit means connecting to said vertically directed opening at the upper portion of the center of said lowermost chamber and extending upwardly therefrom to connect to and form a common inlet for said trays in the vertically adjacent intermediate chamber at the laterally outer margins thereof, other conduit means similar to said further conduit means for series flow of the mixture being processed to the adjacent vertically higher chamber and ultimately to said top chamber, and an outlet means operatively connecting to said center opening at the upper end of said enclosure.

Claim 6

Settler apparatus as in claim 3 and including the bottom walls of all of said chambers forming the vertically spaced V''s and having a plurality of spaced small apertures at or adjacent the apex of the V for solids depositing out of said mixture and sliding to such apex, and a solids deposit opening being formed at the center of the lowermost chamber.

Claim 7

Solids settLer apparatus for liquid-solid mixtures comprising: a plurality of abutted flat separator modules each including a plurality of vertically spaced separator chambers each having a pair of opposed laterally extending and downwardly and inwardly inclined stacks of settler means therein, a center solids collecting zone; said pairs of stacks of settler means having lower discharge ends spaced laterally from each other at said center solids collecting zone and having upper, laterally outer input ends, a bottom solids discharge outlet; conduit means leading from an upper center portion of the solids collecting zone of the lowermost chamber to the input ends of the next vertically adjacent chamber and from such adjacent chamber to the chamber vertically there adjacent and repeating to the top one of said chambers, and input means connecting to the input ends of the lowermost chamber.

Claim 8

Solids settLer apparatus for liquid-solid mixtures comprising: a plurality of abutted flat separator modules each including a plurality of vertically spaced separator chambers each having a pair of opposed laterally extending and downwardly and inwardly inclined stacks of settler means therein, a center solids collecting zone; said pairs of stacks of settler means having lower discharge ends spaced laterally from each other at said center solids collecting zone and having upper, laterally outer input ends, a bottom solids discharge outlet; conduit means leading from an upper center portion of the solids collecting zone of the lowermost chamber to the input ends of the next vertically adjacent chamber and from such adjacent chamber to the chamber vertically there adjacent and repeating to the top one of said chambers, and input means connecting to the input ends of the lowermost chamber.

Claim 9

Solids separation apparatus as in claim 5 where said settler means comprise trays having edge flanges thereon, and a plurality of such trays are stacked on top of each other and supported in spaced relation by said edge flanges, each of said stack of trays having common input and discharge areas for the trays forming such stack.

Claim 10

Solids settler apparatus as in claim 5 where in each module each of said chambers except for a bottom chamber has bottom plates therein forming a V extending across the chamber to separate it from adjacent chamber, the apex of such V being in said center solids collecting zone, said V-shaped bottom plates having a number of small solids transmission holes formed therein at the apex of such plates to enable solids to pass downwardly of the apparatus.

Claim 11

Solids separator apparatus as in claim 5 where said pair of stacks of said settler means are of progressively decreasing lateral width in the progressively higher chambers.

Claim 14

A method as in claim 9 including g. repeating steps (c) and (d) for any vertically higher chambers, and h. enabling separated solids to move by gravity from an upper chamber to the chamber therebelow at the center area of such upper chamber.