Oil spill recovery means

Claim 1

Apparatus for confining an oil slick and for skimming and funneling oil and water into a recovery means for the oil comprising: (a) two elongated flotatable booms, each boom comprising a plurality of individual cylindrical-shaped flotatable sections interconnected together in series yet being capable of independent movement of one another; (b) cylindrical-shaped compressible means of a diameter at least as large as the boom sections being located between each two next adjacent interconnected flotatable boom sections whereby to provide a flexible coupling of boom sections and a boom of relative unitary construction thereby permitting the boom sections each to move independently of one another with wave action and preventing the leaking of the oil/water slick between boom sections, the said compressible means being of sufficient thickness and having sufficient resistance to compression as to prevent the ends of adjacent boom sections from impacting one another; (c) a flotatable catcher funnel connected to each of said flotatable booms at one end of each said boom which catcher funnel comprises a planar bottom of trapezoidal shape and pontoons attached to and flotatably supporting said bottom below the water's surface at a depth sufficient to recover any oil floating on the water's surface, said pontoons being located with respect to one another to provide a catcher funnel wider at its front end than at its rear end and confining the oil/water slick to an ever-narrowing inverted triangular-shaped area; (d) flotatable recovery means detachably connected to the rear end of said flotatable catcher funnel for receipt of the oil/water discharged from the said funnel and for separating the oil from the water; and (e) means connected to each said boom at its other end for maintaining the said booms forward of said catcher funnel in the desired pattern.