Combination sludge collector, aerator, and return pump

Claim 1

An apparatus for collecting, aerating and pumping settled sludge from the bottom of an activated sludge clarifier comprising a hopper bottomed clarifier having an upper and bottom portion, said hopper having at least inwardly and downwardly sloping opposing sidewalls and either sloping or vertically closed opposing end walls, said walls meeting and thus defining a relatively small plan view floor area of either rectangular or square shape, said apparatus further comprising a collector hood located in the bottom portion of said clarifier and having opposing sidewalls which extend outwardly and downwardly from a common edge to their respective terminal edge generally in the form of an isosceles triangular cross section, said collector hood opposing walls defining an open bottom plane between its lower terminal edges, each of said collector hood opposing walls is located adjacent to, and extends the length of one of said hopper sloping sidewalls, each of said terminal edges being located in said hopper of the hopper bottomed clarifier such that a vertical line through each terminal edge will intersect its associated hopper sloping sidewall below said terminal edge and a horizontal line through each terminal edge will intersect its associated sidewall outside of said terminal edge, each of said terminal edges being spaced from said associated hopper sloped wall to define an access slot between each terminal edge and the associated hopper sloped wall, said hopper sloped walls commence above and outside said access slot and terminate below and inside said slot insuring that all sedimentation passing through said access slot will move inwardly and beneath the collector hood, said apparatus further including diffused aeration means located inside said hopper bottom and below said collector hood and positioned to provide consistent and uniform diffused aeration along the entire length of said collector hood, said apparatus further comprising at least one pipe means connected generally to the apex of said collector hood at said common edge and extending upwardly therefrom and out of the clarifier, said pipe means functioning as a sludge return airlift to move sludge from said hopper bottom out of said clarifier, whereby sludge that descends through one of said slots will move inwardly and downwardly to below the collector hood and then be caused to circulate upwardly due to the diffused aeration means and come into contact with the underside of the collector hood, some of said upwardly circulating sludge passing out through said pipe means and some being deflected downwardly and outwardly toward one of said slots, thereby creating a rolling current below said collector hood, said apparatus further comprising support means connecting said clarifier to said collector hood for supporting said collector hood in said clarifier, said support means comprises means for adjusting the collection hood relative to the clarifier to thereby adjust the size of said slot.

Claim 2

An apparatus for collecting, aerating and pumping settled sludge from the bottom of an activated sludge clarifier comprising a hopper bottomed clarifier having an upper and bottom portion, said hopper having at least inwardly and downwardly sloping opposing sidewalls and either sloping or vertically closed opposing end walls, said walls meeting and thus defining a relatively small plan view floor area of either rectangular or square shape, said apparatus further comprising a collector hood located in the bottom portion of said clarifier and having opposing sidewalls which extend outwardly and downwardly from a common edge to their respective terminal edge generally in the form of an isosceles triangular cross section, said collector hood opposing walls defining an open bottom plane between its lower terminal edges, each of said collector hood opposing walls is located adjacent to, and extends the length of one of said hopper sloping sidewalls, each of said terminal edges being located in said hopper of the hopper bottomed clarifier such that a vertical line through each terminal edge will intersect its associated hopper sloping sidewall below said terminal edge and a horizontal line through each terminal edge will intersect its associated sidewall outside of said terminal edge, each of said terminal edges being spaced from said associated hopper sloped wall to define an access slot between each terminal edge and the associated hopper sloped wall, said hopper sloped walls commence above and outside said access slot and terminate below and inside said slot insuring that all sedimentation passing through said access slot will move inwardly and beneath the collector hood, said apparatus further including diffused aeration means located inside said hopper bottom and below said collector hood and positioned to provide consistent and uniform diffused aeration along the entire length of said collector hood, said apparatus further comprising at least one pipe means connected generally to the apex of said collector hood at said common edge and extending upwardly therefrom and out of the clarifier, said pipe means functioning as a sludge return airlift to move sludge from said hopper bottom out of said clarifier, whereby sludge that descends through one of said slots will move inwardly and downwardly to below the collector hood and then be caused to circulate upwardly due to the diffused aeration means and come into contact with the underside of the collector hood, some of said upwardly circulating sludge passing out through said pipe means and some being deflected downwardly and outwardly toward one of said slots, thereby creating a rolling current below said collector hood, said apparatus further comprising support means connecting said clarifier to said collector hood for supporting said collector hood in said clarifier, said support means comprises means for adjusting the collection hood relative to the clarifier to thereby adjust the size of said slot.