Device for separating water from substances contained therein

Claim 1

A device for separating at least one water-insoluble substance from a flowing mixture of water and such substance, said substance having a specific gravity different from that of the water, comprising in combination: a reservoir for receiving said mixture and having an outlet from which purified water from said mixture is withdrawn; inlet means for introducing said mixture into said reservoir so that a liquid flow path is maintained within said reservoir from said inlet means to said outlet; a separation unit within said reservoir between said inlet means and said outlet whereby all of the liquid flowing in said path is constrained to pass through said separation unit, said separation unit comprising a series of vertically spaced walls defining a vertically stacked series of separate separation channels, said channels presenting at one end of said separation unit a vertically extending series of inlet mouths for said liquid flowing in said path whereby said substance tends to be unevenly distributed to such mouths, and said channels discharging such liquid from the opposite end of said separation unit, said channels being inclined with respect to the horizontal to allow separation of said water and said substance therewithin whereby, at one of the ends of said separation unit, said substance escapes in a generally vertical direction away from said flow path; means for collecting and removing the escaping substance; and flow distributor means associated with said channels for causing the liquid of said flow path to be unequally distributed within said channels whereby at least some of said channels each receive substantially the same amount of said substance.

Claim 2

A device for separating at least one water-insoluble substance from a flowing mixture of water and such substance, said substance having a specific gravity different from that of the water, comprising in combination: a reservoir for receiving said mixture and having an outlet from which purified water from said mixture is withdrawn; inlet means for introducing said mixture into said reservoir so that a liquid flow path is maintained within said reservoir from said inlet means to said outlet; a separation unit within said reservoir between said inlet means and said outlet whereby all of the liquid flowing in said path is constrained to pass through said separation unit, said separation unit comprising a series of vertically spaced walls defining a vertically stacked series of separate separation channels, said channels presenting at one end of said separation unit a vertically extending series of inlet mouths for said liquid flowing in said path whereby said substance tends to be unevenly distributed to such mouths, and said channels discharging such liquid from the opposite end of said separation unit, said channels being inclined with respect to the horizontal to allow separation of said water and said substance therewithin whereby, at one of the ends of said separation unit, said substance escapes in a generally vertical direction away from said flow path; means for collecting and removing the escaping substance; and flow distributor means associated with said channels for causing the liquid of said flow path to be unequally distributed within said channels whereby at least some of said channels each receive substantially the same amount of said substance.

Claim 17

A device for separating at least one water insoluble substance from flowing water having such substance entrained therein, such substance having a specific gravity less than the water, comprising in combination: a reservoir having a purified water outlet in an upper region thereof and means for introducing a stream of said water with the substance entrained therein into a lower region of said reservoir whereby to create a water flow path in said reservoir from said inlet means to said outlet; a separation unit between said inlet means and said outlet dividing the interior of said reservoir into a feeding chamber receiving said stream of water with entrained substance and a delivery chamber leading to said outlet, said separation unit establishing a generally horizontally extending water flow path therethrough and comprising a series of vertically spaced plates defining a multiplicity of separation channels presenting vertically spaced inlet mouths in said feeding chamber whereby the inherent upward migration of the lighter substance within said feeding chamber tends to cause an uneven distribution of said substance to said inlet mouths which increases upwardly, said channels at their opposite ends directing the flowing water to said delivery chamber, and said plates being inclined with respect to the horizontal whereby the lighter substance entering each channel tends to collect in the upper part thereof and issue from one end of its channel in a generally upwardly trajectory away from said generally horizontally extending water flow path; means in the upper part of said reservoir for collecting said substance so issuing and discharging same from the reservoir; and flow distributor means within said feeding chamber for throttling the flow of water into said inlet mouths increasingly in the upward direction whereby to offset said uneven distribution of said substance.

Claim 18

A device for separating at least one water insoluble substance from flowing water having such substance entrained therein, such substance having a specific gravity less than the water, comprising in combination: a reservoir having a purified water outlet in an upper region thereof and means for introducing a stream of said water with the substance entrained therein into a lower region of said reservoir whereby to create a water flow path in said reservoir from said inlet means to said outlet; a separation unit between said inlet means and said outlet dividing the interior of said reservoir into a feeding chamber receiving said stream of water with entrained substance and a delivery chamber leading to said outlet, said separation unit establishing a generally horizontally extending water flow path therethrough and comprising a series of vertically spaced plates defining a multiplicity of separation channels presenting vertically spaced inlet mouths in said feeding chamber whereby the inherent upward migration of the lighter substance within said feeding chamber tends to cause an uneven distribution of said substance to said inlet mouths which increases upwardly, said channels at their opposite ends directing the flowing water to said delivery chamber, and said plates being inclined with respect to the horizontal whereby the lighter substance entering each channel tends to collect in the upper part thereof and issue from one end of its channel in a generally upwardly trajectory away from said generally horizontally extending water flow path; means in the upper part of said reservoir for collecting said substance so issuing and discharging same from the reservoir; and flow distributor means within said feeding chamber for throttling the flow of water into said inlet mouths increasingly in the upward direction whereby to offset said uneven distribution of said substance.