Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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My invention relates to apparatus particularly -~
intended for use in removing oil accidentally spilled in a
harbour or elsewhere.
The various pieces of equipment which are pre-
sently being used to clear up an oil spill have proven to be
unsatisfactory for a number of reasons and one of the most .
serious of these is that the equipment can only operate
under almost ideal conditions. If it is windy and the sea ~.
is even slightly choppy, the boats or barges which carry the
equipment will roll and the intakes or pick-up devices
relied upon to gather up the oil will be floaded with water ~ .:
to the extent that the whole clean-up operation may be . : .
rendered ineffective.
I overcome these as well as other disadvantages by :;
providing apparatus designed to operate effectively even in ~
adverse conditions such as when the surface of the sea might ~ .
be roughened so that the apparatus cannot be kept on an even
keel.
More specifically, oil clean-up apparatus according
to the present invention may be defined as comprising a
vessel having a storage tank, a boom projecting from a side
of the vessel partially submerged in the water, a plurality
of augers rotatably mounted on the boom in vertically spaced
and parallel relation, drive means for rotating the augers ~:
in unison and in the same direction to propell oil into a ~;
collection pocket near the inner end of the boom, a sump box
within the collection pocket to receive the propelled oil,
and pumping means for transferring oil from the sump box to
the storage tank.
In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodi-
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ment of the invention,
Figure 1 is schematic plan view of the present
apparatus,
Figure 2 is a front elevation showing sweeping
booms of the apparatus with parts being broken away,
Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical section of the
boom taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2,
Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section of
the boom taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, and
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a sump box
of the apparatus.
Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 indi-
cates generally oil clean-up apparatus constructed in
accordance with the present invention. Apparatus 10 com-
prises a suitable vessel 12 which is powered by an engine 13
adapted to drive a propeller 14. A large holding or tem-
porary storage tank 16 is stored below decks of the ship
which is otherwise conventionally equipped to operate in -
harbours and coastal waters where oil spills are likely to
present a clean-up problem.
Apparatus 10 includes a pair of sweeping booms 20
mounted one on each side of the ship 10. Each boom 20 is
secured to an adjacent side 21 of the ship by mounting means
generally indicated at 24. As shown best in Figures 1 and
2 the means 24 is a hollow sturdily built structure 26 which
projects a short distance laterally of the ship's side. - -
Brackets 27 are provided on upper and lower faces of the
structure 26 and these brackets carry vertically aligned
pivot shafts 28 which are suitably journalled within an
inner end 29 of the boom. Thus each boom is mounted for
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swinging movement about a substantially vertical axis with
the boom normally being immersed to about mid-height in
water. This is the sweeping position assumed by the booms
when the vessel 12 is being moved forward through an oil
slick floating on the surface of the water.
The apparatus 10 includes positioning means
- generally indicated at 30 for adjusting the angle of each
boom 20 with respect to the side of the vessel. Figure 1
shows the means 30 as comprising power-driven capstans 32
and 33 which are mounted on deck 34 of the vessel near the
stern and bow thereof. The opposite ends of a length of
cable 35 are wound upon these capstans and an intermediate
part of this cable is secured as at 36 to outer end 37 of
the boom. In Figure 1, the solid line position of the booms
lS 20 are their normal operating or oil-sweeping positions at `
which time they are braced by the positioning means 30
inclined forwardly at an acute angle to the side 21 of the
ship. Each boom 20 then defines with the structure 26 and
the ship's side 21, a space which will hereinafter be -
referred to as a collection pocket and which is designated
by the numeral 38 as the area with the dotted lines ap-
pearing in Figure 1. Oil and, of course, some surface water
is moved into the pocket 38 as a clean-up sweep is made by
the ship. When the vessel 12 is required to proceed without
sweeping, the capstans 32 and 33 are operated to wind the
cables 35 whereby to swing the booms 20 rearwardly and
substantially parallel to the sides 21 of the ship as
indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1.
As shown best in Figures 3 and 4, each boom 20 is
a hollow structure which is made buoyant so as to support a
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large part of its own weight in water. The boom 20 has a
plain rear wall 40 and a front wall 41 which is shaped to -~-
define three vertically spaced and substantially semi-
circular channels 42. Rotatably mounted in each channel 42
is a feed auger 45 which is journalled in bearings 46, see
particularly Figure 4, these bearings being suitably secured
to the front wall 41 of the boom. ~`
The three augers of each boom 20 are adapted to be
driven in unison and in the same direction by drive means
generally indicated at 50. In Figure 4, the means 50 of one
auger is shown to comprise a hydraulic motor 52 which is
mounted within the hollow boom 20 preferably on the rear
wall 40. An enclosed drive train 53 of the motor sealingly
extends through an opening 54 in the front wall 41 to
operatively connect with shaft 55 of the feed auger. A
hydraulic circuit including flexible hose lines 56 connect
the motor 52 to a source of hydraulic pressure (not shown)
aboard the vessel 12. The centre auger 45 normally rotates
in the water-borne oil to propell that oil into the adjacent
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collection pocket, the lowermost auger drives sub-surface
water in the same direction to augment the propelling action
of the centre auger, while the rotating uppermost auger only
comes into play if the water is rough or the ship is rolling
slightly.
The wall portion 44 of each boom is provided with
vertically disposed guides 70 which support a sump box 72.
This box 72, see particularly Figure 5, is supported in the
quides for vertical sliding movement and, since the box is
also a buoyant structure, it is capable of moving relative
to the boom whenever both are partly submerged in water. ;~
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Normally, the boom is immersed to about the depth of the
middle auger and the sump box floats so that the water level
is around the line indicated at 75 in the drawing.
Oil which enters a sump box 72 is removed by
pumping means generally indicated at 80. Figures 1 and 2
show means 80 as comprising a deck-mounted pump 82 fitted
with a flexible intake hose 83. This intake hose 83 extends
downwardly to connect with an intake nozzle 84 (Figure 5
only) mounted in the sump box 72. Pump 82 has a discharge ~
pipe 86, see Figure 2, which extends into the storage tank -
16.
In operation, the vessel 12 is moved slowly forward
through an oil slick with the booms 20 inclined slightly
forward as shown in Figure 1. The augers 45 are rotated at
a speed commensurate with the forward speed of the vessel
whereupon the gathered-in oil is delivered into the sump
boxes 72 along with some surface water. These buoyant sump
boxes will move up and down if the sea is slightly rough but
generally will be in a position to receive the oil and
surface water both of which are transferred to the holding
tank 16 by the pumping means 80. Should the ship be rolling
slightly, the centre auger will not always be at sea level
as normally is the case. However, the top and bottom augers
take over more of the oil-propelling action whenever the
booms are raised or lowered as a result of the vessel
rolling so that the sweeping and propelling of the contaminating
material is a substantially continuous operation. The oil
and water mixture deposited in the storage tank is separated
using other equipment (not shown) and the water is returned
to the sea.
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From the foregoing, it will be apparent I have
provided oil clean-up apparatus which can be used in con- :
ditions of sea and weather which would render ineffective
the operation of conventional clean-up equipment.
