Apparatus for cleaning pipes having pumping and vacuuming capability

Abstract

An apparatus for cleaning waste collection systems of solid materials. The apparatus is capable of cleaning waste systems in two known ways. First, a pumping method uses normal and injected water flow to suspend the solids in a slurry. A submersible pump moves the slurry from a collection point up to a pressurized container where the water content of the slurry is decanted and reused as injection water while the particulate material settles to the bottom of the pressurized container. Second, a vacuum system may be used to move the slurry from the waste system to the waste container. The vacuum system creates a negative pressure differential, causing material to be pulled through a vacuum tube and into the waste container. When the container becomes substantially full of solid particles, it may be emptied at a dumpsite.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates generally to cleaning waste collection systems such as but not limited to sewers, sumps, wet wells, collection tanks, digesters, clarifiers, classifiers, etc. and in particular to cleaning and removal of solid and liquid materials therefrom. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Waste collection systems such as sewers, sumps, wet wells, digesters, clarifiers, classifiers, collection tanks, etc. must be cleaned periodically in order to maintain proper fluid flow and capacity. Cleaning removes sand and other deleterious materials that have infiltrated into, for example, a sewer as well as solid materials that have settled out from the normally slow moving waste slurry that varies in volume and flow rate depending on the collective amount of effluents emptied into the waste collection system over time. In order to properly clean large capacity waste collection systems such as collection tanks or the vast lengths of sewer lines in a typi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] In contrast to the prior waste cleaning apparatus and methods, the apparatus of the present invention is designed to eliminate the need to examine field conditions prior to dispatching a cleaning apparatus to the jobsite. The apparatus of the present invention has improved the overall cost and efficiency of cleaning waste water systems by using a new, novel and non-obvious combination of apparatus and techniques known in the art.

Problems solved by technology

If, for example, there is a large volume of liquid relative to solids in the slurry, vacuuming becomes very inefficient and possibly infeasible.

If very little liquid is present in the waste water system, a pump will be inefficient or may not work at all, and a vacuum is required.

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