Oil skimming apparatus

Claim 1

Apparatus for skimming oil from the surface of a body of water comprising a ship having a bow, a stern and a water line, a flap displaceably mounted on the bow of said ship for forming an opening into the interior thereof with the opening extending from above to below the water line, said opening arranged to receive a mixture of oil and water from the surface of the body of water on which said ship travels, a ramp located within said ship and extending from the lower end of the opening in the bow toward the stern with said ramp being inclined upwardly in the direction toward the stern, a collecting tank located within said ship at the end of said ramp closer to the stern, said collecting tank arranged to provide a separation of the mixture of oil and water so that the oil can be stored in the ship and the water can be directed back into the body of the water, wherein the improvement comprises that the end of said ramp closer to the stern comprises an overflow flap extending in the bow-stern direction and having a first end closer to the bow pivotally attached to said ramp about a pivot axis extending transversely of the bow-stern direction and a second end closer to the stern located in the region above said collecting tank, said second end of said ramp forming an overflow edge for the mixture passing over said overflow flap into said collecting tank, an adjusting device mounted in said ship and connected to said overflow flap for pivotally displacing said overflow flap relative to the remainder of said ramp and for vertically positioning said second end relative to said collecting tank, and means connected to said adjusting device for controlling the position of said overflow flap, said controlling means comprising a plurality of sensing elements each arranged to check a factor affecting flow of the mixture over said ramp into said collecting tank, and said plurality of sensing elements comprising a first said sensing element arranged to check the level of flow over said second end of said overflow flap relative to the remainder of said ramp through the medium of said adjusting device.