Sludge collection device and sludge collection method

Abstract

To propose a sludge collection device which, in sludge collection work, can shorten a work time taken to discharge water in a sludge water collection pit and collect sludge without jetting high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy the sludge.SOLUTION: A sludge collection device collects sludge deposited on an inner portion of a sludge water collection pit. The sludge collection device includes: a vibrating part for applying vibration to the sludge to thereby transform the sludge into liquefied sludge; and a sludge collection part for collecting the liquefied sludge.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sludge recovery apparatus and a sludge recovery method. [Background technology]

[0002] Wastewater discharged from factories is temporarily stored in sludge collection pits such as ponds, pits, and lagoons. Generally, sludge collection pits are not equipped with any special facilities other than a submersible pump to control the water level of the wastewater stored inside the pit. Therefore, the suspended solids contained in the wastewater are retained inside the sludge collection pit for a long period of time, and accumulate as sludge at the bottom of the pit. Furthermore, toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide are generated from the sludge accumulated at the bottom of the sludge collection pit. Furthermore, the oils and fats contained in the wastewater inside the sludge collection pit float to the surface of the water and solidify.

[0003] Sludge is a muddy solid formed by the aggregation of organic end products that are produced in processes such as industrial wastewater treatment and sewage treatment plants. The properties of sludge vary depending on the liquid and particle properties that make up the sludge, and the concentration of those particles in the liquid.

[0004] From this perspective, sludge recovery devices have been proposed that can recover sludge accumulated at the bottom of sludge water recovery pits, such as ponds, pits, and lagoons, in locations that are difficult for workers to access, without the need for drainage and water damming. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional sludge recovery process. As shown in Figure 5, a sludge recovery worker 4 uses a conventional sludge recovery pump 5 to recover and dispose of sludge 2 accumulated at the bottom of sedimentary water 3 in a sludge water recovery pit 1, such as a pond, pit, or lagoon, by following the steps (i) to (iii), for example: (i) Drain the water from the sludge recovery pump 5; (ii) A high-pressure water jet worker 7 uses a high-pressure water jet 8 to spray high-pressure water 9 onto the sludge 2, etc., to liquefy the recovered material; and (iii) A pump equipped on a sludge recovery vehicle 6, such as a per-product vehicle, is used to suck up the liquefied recovered material.

[0005] As a sludge recovery method for recovering sludge accumulated on the bottom of a sedimentation tank, a method has been proposed in which a water current is generated along the bottom of the sedimentation tank toward a sludge recovery section, and sludge crushed on the bottom of the tank is carried along the water current and gradually transported to the sludge recovery section (for example, Patent Document 1). The sludge recovery method described in Patent Document 1 moves the sludge to the sludge recovery section by spraying water in a fixed direction from a fountain nozzle installed on the bottom of the tank.

[0006] Furthermore, a sludge recovery device has been proposed that can recover sludge accumulated in water without much labor by a small number of people, eliminating the need for draining and blocking water flow in places where workers cannot easily enter (for example, Patent Document 2). The sludge recovery device described in Patent Document 2 has a sludge cutting and powdering machine attached to the suction port of a sludge recovery hose, and recovers sludge while wiping away sludge material that has accumulated at the suction port of the sludge recovery hose. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-152689 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-186843 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology still has the following problems to be solved. Specifically, the sludge recovery method using a conventional sludge recovery device requires a long time for the sludge recovery device to drain wastewater from the sludge water recovery pit. Furthermore, in the sludge recovery operation in which sludge is recovered after wastewater is recovered from the sludge water recovery pit, if the accumulated sludge has a high viscosity, the sludge has poor fluidity, making it difficult to recover the sludge using a sludge recovery pump. Therefore, the above-mentioned sludge recovery method requires high-pressure jet water to spray the sludge to liquefy it and then suck it into the sludge recovery pump. Specifically, the above-mentioned sludge recovery method requires not only an operator to operate the high-pressure jet water spraying device that sprays the high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it, but also an operator to guide the sludge recovery pump toward the liquefied sludge.

[0009] Furthermore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 sprays water in a fixed direction onto the sludge from a fountain nozzle installed at the bottom of the pond, so the sludge can be fluidized and liquefied while flowing to the collection section. Therefore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 does not require a worker to spray high-pressure jet water.

[0010] However, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 involves installing a sludge collection groove in a sludge water collection pit, causing sludge to flow through the sludge collection groove, and then collecting the sludge from a collection port at the bottom of the sludge collection groove. For this reason, it is expected that the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 will not be able to collect sludge in a sludge water collection pit that does not have a sludge collection groove and a collection port at the bottom of the sludge collection groove. The sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 requires the installation of a fountain nozzle and water for spraying, which increases the cost of sludge collection.

[0011] Furthermore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 allows sludge to be collected in places where workers cannot easily enter without draining the water, by using an expandable collection hose provided in the sludge collection device. Also, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 has a sludge cutting and crushing machine attached to the suction port of the sludge collection hose, and can collect sludge while wiping away sludge that accumulates at the suction port.

[0012] However, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 has limitations on the area (size) of the sludge water collection pit where workers can collect sludge due to the limited length of the collection hose provided in the sludge collection device. When collecting highly viscous sludge, if the sludge collection hose's suction capacity is insufficient, the sludge cannot be sucked in, and only liquids such as water surrounding the sludge are sucked in and collected. Furthermore, considering the shape of the sludge pulverizer used in the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2, the sludge is pulverized in the working space of the cutting means, such as blades, provided in the sludge cutting pulverizer attached to the sludge suction port, improving the fluidity of the sludge. However, the working space of the cutting means, such as blades, provided in the sludge cutting pulverizer is extremely narrow and does not affect the area outside the sludge suction port. Therefore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 has the problem of requiring a long sludge collection time when handling highly viscous sludge.

[0013] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to propose a sludge recovery device and a sludge recovery method that can shorten the work time required to drain water from a sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work, and that can recover sludge without spraying high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, the inventor conducted various experiments and discovered a solution that can significantly reduce the time required to drain the water present inside the sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work by vibrating and agitating the sludge accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit, and then recovering the liquefied sludge.

[0015] As a first solution, the inventors discovered that by attaching a vibration unit that can apply vibrations externally to a sludge recovery pump, it is possible to liquefy the sludge through vibration and recover the liquefied sludge. Furthermore, the inventors discovered that, as a second solution, by attaching a vibration unit capable of externally applying vibrations to a sludge water collection pit where sludge has accumulated, it is possible to liquefy the sludge through vibration and collect the liquefied sludge. The vibration unit is suspended from the sludge water collection pit by a wire, rope, or rail mechanism, and can be driven vertically and horizontally to agitate all of the sludge present inside the sludge water collection pit, thereby liquefying the sludge. The present invention was made based on the above findings, and its gist is as follows.

[0016] In other words, the sludge recovery device of the present invention, which advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems, is a sludge recovery device that recovers sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery pit, and is characterized by comprising a vibration unit for applying vibrations to the sludge to turn the sludge into liquefied sludge, and a sludge recovery unit for recovering the liquefied sludge.

[0017] The sludge recovery device according to the present invention is (a) the sludge collection unit is installed inside an annular frame surrounding the sludge collection unit, and the vibration unit is attached to the annular frame; (b) a first hanging part connected to the upper end of the vibration part for hanging the vibration part from above the sludge water collection pit, a first adjustment part that engages with the upper end of the first hanging part and adjusts the hanging position of the vibration part, a second hanging part connected to the upper end of the sludge collection part for hanging the sludge collection part from above the sludge water collection pit, a second adjustment part that engages with the upper end of the second hanging part and adjusts the hanging position of the sludge collection part, and a support part that is installed opposite the sludge water surface present inside the sludge water collection pit and supports the first adjustment part and the second adjustment part, and the first adjustment part and the second adjustment part are capable of moving the support part; (c) It is believed that a more preferable solution would be to provide a detection unit for acquiring the position information of the sludge and the layer thickness of the sludge, and a control unit for controlling the positions of the first adjustment unit and the second adjustment unit based on the position information of the sludge and the layer thickness of the sludge acquired by the detection unit.

[0018] The sludge recovery method of the present invention, which advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems, is a sludge recovery method for recovering sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery pit, and is characterized by including a vibration process for applying vibrations to the sludge to turn the sludge into liquefied sludge, and a sludge recovery process section for recovering the liquefied sludge. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, even if a certain amount of water has accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit, the sludge can be liquefied by agitating the sludge using vibration, thereby significantly shortening the time required to drain the water present inside the sludge water collection pit during sludge collection work. Furthermore, according to the present invention, sludge can be liquefied during sludge collection work without providing a high-pressure water jet spraying device and a sludge collection device. Furthermore, according to the present invention, workers to operate the high-pressure water jet spraying device and the sludge collection device are not required, thereby significantly reducing the costs required for sludge collection work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment in which sludge is collected using a sludge collection apparatus according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 2(a) and 2(b) are enlarged views of an annular frame to which a vibration unit according to the present invention is attached, in which FIG. 2(a) shows an enlarged oblique view of an annular frame to which a vibration unit is attached, and FIG. 2(b) shows a top view of an annular frame to which a vibration unit is attached. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of collecting sludge using the sludge collection device of the present invention, in which the vibration unit is suspended above the sludge water collection pit. [Figure 4] This is an embodiment of sludge recovery using the sludge recovery device of the present invention, and is a top view showing the positional relationship between the position of the vibration unit suspended above the sludge water recovery pit and the sludge suction unit of the sludge recovery unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a conventional sludge collection operation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] [First embodiment] A sludge collection apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described. The sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment is a sludge collection apparatus that collects sludge accumulated inside a sludge water collection pit, and is characterized by comprising a vibration unit that applies vibrations to the sludge to turn the sludge into liquefied sludge, and a sludge collection unit that collects the liquefied sludge. Each component of the sludge collection apparatus will be described below.

[0022] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of collecting sludge using the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the sludge collection apparatus 10 includes a vibration unit 11 for liquefying sludge 2 to form liquefied sludge 2A, and a sludge collection unit 12 for collecting the liquefied sludge 2A.

[0023] The vibration unit 11 provided in the sludge collection apparatus 10 applies vibrations to the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1, thereby agitating the sludge 2. If the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1 has solidified, the vibration unit 11 crushes the sludge 2 and then agitates it. The sludge 2 agitated by the vibration unit 11 mixes with the deposited water 3 present together with the sludge 2 inside the sludge water collection pit 1, thereby becoming liquefied sludge 2A. In this way, the vibration unit 11 is a member for agitating the sludge 2 to form liquefied sludge 2A. The vibration unit 11 provided in the sludge collection apparatus 10 can use a rod-shaped vibrating member.

[0024] The vibration unit 11 may be composed of one vibration unit 11 or may be composed of multiple vibration units 11. When the vibration unit 11 is composed of multiple vibration units 11, the multiple vibration units 11 may be installed independently inside the sludge water recovery pit 1, or these vibration units 11 may be attached to an annular frame 13 and installed as an assembly of vibration units 11. The frame shape of the annular frame 13 is not particularly limited as long as it can accommodate the vibration units 11, and may be circular or rectangular.

[0025] The vibrating unit 11 is not particularly limited as long as it can agitate the sludge 2, but from the viewpoint of efficiently agitating the sludge 2, it is preferably a high-frequency vibrating member having a vibration frequency of 200 to 250 Hz. From the viewpoint of easily agitating the sludge 2, the shape of the vibrating unit 11 is preferably rod-shaped. The vibrating unit 11 has a structure similar to that of a slab inner or a vibrator, and may be equipped with a vibrating member and an external hose. The vibrating unit may be a round head, a rubber head, or a multi-vibrator, and its tip may be a round head tip or a rubber head tip. The longitudinal length of the vibrating unit 11 is preferably 200 to 500 mm.

[0026] The sludge collection device 10 includes a sludge collection section 12. The sludge collection section 12 is a member for collecting liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration section 11 stirring the sludge 2. The sludge collection section 12 is not particularly limited as long as it is capable of sucking the liquefied sludge 2A and transporting the liquefied sludge 2A to the tank of the sludge collection vehicle 6. The sludge collection section 12 may be provided independently of the vibration section 11, or may be provided integrally with the vibration section 11 as described below.

[0027] The vibration unit 11 applies vibrations to the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1, thereby agitating the sludge 2. The sludge 2 agitated by the vibration unit 11 mixes with the deposited water 3 that is present together with the sludge 2 inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 to become liquefied sludge 2A. The liquefied sludge 2A is collected by the sludge collection unit 12. In this way, the sludge collection device 10 according to the first embodiment can liquefy the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 by the vibration unit 11, and collect the liquefied sludge 2A by the sludge collection unit 12.

[0028] As described above, according to the invention of the first embodiment, the time required to drain water from the sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work can be shortened, and sludge can be recovered without spraying high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it.

[0029] [Second embodiment] A sludge collection apparatus according to a second embodiment will now be described. The sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment is characterized in that, in the sludge collection apparatus according to the above embodiment, the sludge collection unit is installed inside a ring-shaped frame, and the vibration unit is attached to the ring-shaped frame. Each component constituting the sludge collection apparatus will now be described.

[0030] In the sludge collection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, the sludge collection section 12 is installed inside an annular frame 13 that surrounds the sludge collection section 12, and thus the vibration unit 11 and the sludge collection section 12 are provided as an integrated unit. That is, the sludge collection apparatus 10 is configured such that the vibration unit 11 is attached to the annular frame 13 and the sludge collection section 12 is disposed inside the annular frame 13. In this way, by integrating the vibration unit 11 attached to the annular frame 13 with the sludge collection section 12, the vibration unit 11 can agitate the sludge 2 to form liquefied sludge 2A, and at the same time, the liquefied sludge 2A can be collected by the sludge collection section 12.

[0031] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of an annular frame to which vibration units are attached, which is provided in a sludge collection apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 2(a) is an enlarged perspective view of the annular frame to which vibration units are attached. As shown in Figure 2(a), multiple vibration units 11a are attached to annular frame 13a, and multiple vibration units 11b located above annular frame 13a are attached to annular frame 13b. In other words, multiple annular frames 13 may be arranged vertically relative to sludge water collection pit 1, and multiple annular frames 13 may be connected to form a multi-stage annular frame assembly 13X.

[0032] In this way, by arranging a plurality of annular frames 13 vertically relative to the sludge water collection pit 1 to form a multi-stage annular frame assembly 13X, the sludge 2 can be agitated in accordance with the thickness of the sludge 2 layer deposited inside the sludge water collection pit 1. The number of the plurality of annular frames 13 can be determined appropriately depending on the vertical depth of the sludge 2 deposited inside the sludge water collection pit 1. A ring 14 is formed on the annular frame 13d that forms the top surface of the multi-stage annular frame assembly 13X, for passing through a pipe such as a hose connected to the sludge collection unit 12. Note that a plurality of vibration units 11 may also be attached to the annular frames 13c, 13d as necessary.

[0033] 2(b) is a top view of the annular frame to which the vibration units are attached. As shown in FIG. 2(b), by forming the annular frame 13a into a ring shape, it is possible to attach multiple vibration units 11a at equal intervals radially from the center of the annular frame 13a. By attaching multiple vibration units 11a to the annular frame 13a in this way, the vibration units 11a positioned radially in each direction agitate the sludge 2, thereby efficiently agitating the sludge 2 to form liquefied sludge 2A.

[0034] As described above, according to the invention of the second embodiment, the sludge accumulated on the entire surface of the sludge water collection pit can be efficiently collected by simultaneously liquefying the sludge using a vibration unit attached to a frame body surrounding the sludge collection section and collecting the liquefied sludge.

[0035] [Third embodiment] A sludge collection apparatus according to a third embodiment will be described. The sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment is the sludge collection apparatus according to the above embodiments, further comprising: a first suspending part connected to an upper end of the vibration unit for suspending the vibration unit from above the sludge water collection pit; a first adjusting part engaging with the upper end of the first suspending part for adjusting the suspension position of the vibration unit; a second suspending part connected to the upper end of the sludge collection unit for suspending the sludge collection unit from above the sludge water collection pit; a second adjusting part engaging with the upper end of the second suspending part for adjusting the suspension position of the sludge collection unit; and a support part installed opposite the sludge water surface inside the sludge water collection pit for supporting the first adjusting part and the second adjusting part, wherein the first adjusting part and the second adjusting part are movable on the support part. Hereinafter, each of the components constituting the sludge recovery apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

[0036] 3 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment, in which sludge is collected with the vibration unit suspended above the sludge water collection pit. As shown in FIG. 3, the multiple vibration units 11 included in the sludge collection apparatus 10 are suspended from a first adjustment unit 23 provided on a support unit 20 provided above the sludge water collection pit 1. The support unit 20 is installed facing the sludge water surface inside the sludge water recovery pit 1, and supports the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24. The support unit 20 may be any member that can support the vibration unit 11 and the sludge water recovery unit 12 from above the sludge water recovery pit. For ease of explanation, the support unit 20 is assumed to be a single wire provided on a straight line connecting end Xa to end Xb located in the horizontal axis (X-axis) direction of the sludge water recovery pit 1.

[0037] First, first adjustment unit 23 is capable of moving support unit 20 along support unit 20. Because first adjustment unit 23 can move support unit 20, vibration unit 11 can move freely inside sludge water recovery pit 1 in response to the movement of first adjustment unit 23. Here, first adjustment unit 23 may have, for example, a through-hole therein to allow the wire that is support unit 20 to pass through, so that support unit 20 can be moved.

[0038] The first adjustment unit 23 provided on the support unit 20 is connected to the first hanging unit 16 located below it. Here, a case where a plurality of vibration units 11 are attached to the annular frame 13a will be described. The first suspending part 16 is connected to a suspension fulcrum 15. Furthermore, the suspension fulcrum 15 is connected to a plurality of annular frame suspending parts 17 which are connected to the outer edge of the annular frame 13a. That is, the plurality of annular frame suspending parts 17 are gathered at the suspension fulcrum 15. A plurality of vibration parts 11 are attached to the outer edge of the annular frame 13a. In this way, the vibration unit 11 of the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment is suspended from the first adjustment unit 23 provided on the support unit 20 located above the sludge water collection pit 1 toward the sludge water collection pit 1 located below. Note that the vibration unit 11 may also be attached to the lower end of the first suspension unit 16.

[0039] First adjustment unit 23 provided on support unit 20 can adjust the length of first hanging unit 16. First adjustment unit 23 can set height H1 of vibration unit 11 by adjusting the length of first hanging unit 16 so that vibration unit 11 can sufficiently contact and vibrate sludge 2 according to the thickness of the layer of sludge 2 deposited inside sludge water recovery pit 1.

[0040] Secondly, the second adjustment unit 24 is capable of moving the support unit 20 along the support unit 20. Because the second adjustment unit 24 can move the support unit 20, the sludge collection unit 12 can move freely inside the sludge water collection pit 1 in response to the movement of the second adjustment unit 24 on the support unit 20. The second adjustment unit 24 may have, for example, a through-hole therein to allow the wire that is the support unit 20 to pass through, so that the support unit 20 can be moved.

[0041] The second adjustment unit 24 provided on the support unit 20 is connected to the second hanging unit 18. The second hanging unit 18 is connected to the upper end of the sludge collection unit 12. The second hanging unit 18 has the role of suspending the sludge collection unit 12 inside the sludge water collection pit 1 and the role of sucking up the liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration unit 11 stirring the sludge 2 and sending it to the sludge collection truck 6. In this way, the sludge collection unit 12 of the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment is suspended by the second hanging unit 18 from the second adjustment unit 24 provided on the support unit 20 located above the sludge water collection pit 1 toward the sludge water collection pit 1 located below.

[0042] The second adjustment section 24 provided on the support section 20 can adjust the length of the second hanging section 18. The height H2 of the sludge collection unit can be set by adjusting the length of the second hanging part 18 in accordance with the position of the liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration part 11 stirring the sludge 2 so that the sludge collection unit 12 can sufficiently suck in the liquefied sludge 2A and send it to the sludge collection vehicle 6. As such, the sludge recovery device 10 of this embodiment is provided with a support part 20 that is installed opposite the sludge 2 present inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 and supports the first adjustment part 23 and the second adjustment part 24, and the first adjustment part 23 and the second adjustment part 24 can move along the support part 20.

[0043] As described above, according to the invention of the third embodiment, the vibration unit of the sludge recovery device and the suction unit of the sludge recovery pump are suspended from the top of the sludge water recovery pit, and the positions of the vibration unit and the suction unit are made movable, so that the accumulated sludge present over the entire surface of the sludge water recovery pit can be agitated, liquefied, and recovered.

[0044] [Fourth embodiment] A sludge collection apparatus according to a fourth embodiment will now be described. The sludge collection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is characterized in that, in the sludge collection apparatus according to the above embodiments, it includes a detection unit for acquiring position information of the sludge and the sludge layer thickness, and a control unit for controlling the positions of the first adjustment unit and the second adjustment unit based on the position information of the sludge and the sludge layer thickness acquired by the detection unit. Each component constituting the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment will now be described.

[0045] Figure 4 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the vibration unit suspended above the sludge water collection pit and the sludge suction unit of the sludge collection unit in the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the vibration unit 11 and the sludge collection unit 12 that constitute the sludge collection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment are installed so that the support unit 20 can move up, down, left, and right. That is, the support unit 20 used in the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment may be composed of mesh wires 21 that allow the vibration unit 11 and the sludge collection unit 12 to move in the X-axis direction (left and right direction) and mesh wires 22 that allow the vibration unit 11 and the sludge collection unit 12 to move in the Y-axis direction.

[0046] Mesh wire 21, which allows vibration unit 11 and sludge collection unit 12 to move in the X-axis direction, is installed above sludge water collection pit 1 so as to cover the entire surface of sludge water collection pit 1. Mesh wire 21 is made up of, for example, five wires 21a to 21e arranged parallel to the horizontal axis (X-axis). Mesh wire 22 is made up of five wires 22a to 22e arranged parallel to the vertical axis (Y-axis). That is, the support unit 20, which is made up of mesh wires 21 and 22, employs a mesh structure consisting of five horizontal wires and five vertical wires (5 x 5). The positions of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 within the sludge water collection pit 1 can be independently determined and set from 25 points (X1, Y1) to (X5, Y5) using the horizontal (X-axis) position and the vertical (Y-axis) position. Figure 4 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the vibration unit 11 suspended above the sludge water collection pit 1 and the sludge suction unit of the sludge collection unit 12 in this embodiment. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the position ● of the first adjustment unit 23 can be set to (X2, Y2), and the position ◯ of the second adjustment unit 24 can be set to (X3, Y4). The number of mesh wires 21, which are horizontal axis wires that make up the mesh-shaped support portion 20, and the number of mesh wires 22, which are vertical axis wires, may be the same or different, and are not particularly limited as long as they can cover the entire surface or part of the sludge water recovery pit 1.

[0047] In this way, the sludge recovery device 10 of the above embodiment can efficiently recover liquefied sludge 2A by setting the positions of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 depending on various conditions such as the position of the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1, the layer thickness of the sludge 2, the position of the accumulated water 3, and the position of the liquefied sludge 2A formed by stirring by the vibration unit 11. Here, the positions of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 are determined by a detection unit and a control unit provided in the sludge recovery apparatus 10 according to this embodiment, as will be described below.

[0048] The detection unit provided in the sludge recovery apparatus 10 according to this embodiment acquires position information of the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 and the layer thickness of the sludge 2. When the sludge water recovery pit 1 is observed as a plane from above and a horizontal axis (X) and a vertical axis (Y) are set, the position information of the sludge 2 is specified including the horizontal axis (Xn) and the vertical axis (Yn) (n represents the number of wires). Furthermore, when the bottom surface of the sludge water collection pit 1 is used as a reference point and a height axis (Zn) of the sludge 2 in the height (thickness) direction of the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1 from the reference point is set as the layer thickness of the sludge 2, the layer thickness of the sludge 2 is determined to include the height axis (Zn). In this way, the detection unit provided in the sludge collection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment acquires at least the position information (Xn, Yn) of the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1 and the layer thickness (Zn) of the sludge 2, and identifies the sludge 2 present inside the sludge water collection pit 1 based on this three-dimensional information (Xn, Yn, Zn). The position information of the sludge 2 acquired by the detection unit is transmitted to a control unit described later.

[0049] The detection unit provided in the sludge recovery device 10 only needs to be able to acquire position information of the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 and the layer thickness of the sludge 2. The detection unit may be a position sensor such as a linear transducer, a linear potentiometer, a laser sensor, or a wire encoder. The detection unit may also be a component such as a measuring device that can capture an image of the position of the sludge 2 and convert the captured image into an electrical signal for extraction. The detection unit may also be a device capable of obtaining position information of the sludge 2, such as a CCD camera, a CMOS camera, a two-color thermometer, or a radiation thermometer.

[0050] The control unit provided in the sludge recovery apparatus 10 according to this embodiment controls the positions of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 based on the position information of the sludge 2 acquired by the detection unit and the layer thickness of the sludge 2. The first adjustment unit 23 is a member connected to the upper end of the vibration unit 11, and engages with the upper end of the first hanging unit 16 for suspending the vibration unit 11 from above the sludge water recovery pit 1, thereby adjusting the hanging position of the vibration unit 11. Therefore, by controlling the position of the first adjustment unit 23, the position of the vibration unit 11 arranged in the sludge water recovery pit 1 can be adjusted to match the position information of the sludge 2. Furthermore, the second adjustment unit 24 is a member that engages with the upper end of the second hanging unit 18, which is connected to the upper end of the sludge collection unit 5 and which hangs the sludge collection unit 12 from above the sludge water collection pit 1, to adjust the hanging position of the sludge collection unit 5. Therefore, by controlling the placement position of the second adjustment unit 24, the position of the sludge collection unit 12 placed in the sludge water collection pit 1 can be adjusted to match the position information of the sludge 2.

[0051] The sludge collection apparatus 10 according to this embodiment is equipped with a detection unit and a control unit, and is therefore able to adjust the positions of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 based on the position information of the sludge 2 acquired by the detection unit so that the sludge collection unit 12 can efficiently collect the liquefied sludge 2A. The control unit may control only one of the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24, or may control them simultaneously, or may control them taking into consideration the relationship between the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24. Furthermore, the control unit may control not only the positions at which the first adjustment unit 23 and the second adjustment unit 24 are placed inside the sludge water collection pit 1, but also the duration for which they are stopped at those positions.

[0052] As described above, according to the invention of the fourth embodiment, the vibration unit of the sludge recovery device and the suction unit of the sludge recovery pump are suspended from the top of the sludge water recovery pit, and by controlling the position of the vibration unit and the position of the suction unit, the accumulated sludge present on the entire surface of the sludge water recovery pit can be agitated, liquefied, and recovered.

[0053] [Fifth embodiment] A sludge collection method according to a fifth embodiment will now be described. The sludge collection method according to this embodiment is a sludge collection method for collecting sludge accumulated inside a sludge water collection pit, and is characterized by including a vibration application step for applying vibrations to the sludge to turn the sludge into liquefied sludge, and a sludge collection step for collecting the liquefied sludge. Each step included in the sludge collection method according to this embodiment will be described below.

[0054] (Process A: Vibration process to turn sludge into liquefied sludge) The sludge collection method according to this embodiment includes a vibration step for converting sludge into liquefied sludge as step A. That is, step A is a step in which the sludge 2 is agitated by applying vibrations to the sludge 2 by the vibration unit 11, thereby liquefying the sludge 2.

[0055] If the sludge 2 deposited inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 has solidified, the vibration unit 11 pulverizes and then agitates the sludge 2. The sludge 2 agitated by the vibration unit 11 is mixed with the deposited water 3 present together with the sludge 2 inside the sludge water recovery pit 1, thereby becoming liquefied sludge 2A.

[0056] (Process B: Sludge recovery process for recovering liquefied sludge) The sludge recovery method according to this embodiment includes, as step B, a sludge recovery process section for recovering liquefied sludge. That is, step B is a step of recovering the liquefied sludge 2A formed in step A. In step B, the liquefied sludge 2A is recovered by a sludge recovery section 12 provided in the sludge recovery device 10. In step B, the sludge recovery section 12 sucks the liquefied sludge 2A formed in step A and transports the liquefied sludge 2A to the tank of the sludge recovery truck 6. By recovering the liquefied sludge 2A in the tank of the sludge recovery truck 6, the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water recovery pit 1 can be recovered. The conditions for sucking the liquefied sludge 2A are determined taking into consideration the suction capacity and discharge capacity of the sludge recovery section 12.

[0057] As described above, according to the invention of the fifth embodiment, the time required to drain water from the sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work can be significantly reduced, and a sludge recovery method can be provided that omits the step of spraying high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy the sludge.

[0058] [Other embodiments] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention that are understandable to those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, systems or devices that combine the separate features included in each embodiment in any manner are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. [Industrial Applicability]

[0059] The sludge recovery device of the present invention can shorten the work time required to drain water from a sludge water recovery pit, and can recover sludge without having to spray high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it, making it extremely useful industrially and contributing to related industries such as the steel industry and wastewater treatment industry. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1. Sludge water collection pit 2. Sludge 2A Liquefied sludge 3 Sedimentary water 4. Sludge collection workers 5. Sludge recovery pump 6 Sludge collection vehicle 7 High-pressure water jet workers 8. High-pressure water jet sprayer 9. High-pressure water jet 10 Sludge collection device 11. Vibration unit 12 Sludge collection section 13 Annular frame 13X Ring-shaped frame assembly 14 Ring 15 Suspension support point 16 First hanging section 17 Hanging part for ring frame 18 Second hanging section 20 Support part (mesh wire) 21 Mesh wire (X axis) 22 Mesh wire (Y axis) 23 First adjustment unit (position and height adjustment for vibration unit) 24 Second adjustment unit (sludge collection unit position / height adjustment) H1 Height for vibration section H2 Sludge recovery pump height

Claims

1. A sludge recovery device that recovers sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery pit, a vibration unit for applying vibrations to the sludge to convert the sludge into liquefied sludge; a sludge recovery unit for recovering the liquefied sludge, A sludge recovery device, characterized in that the sludge recovery section is installed inside an annular frame that surrounds the sludge recovery section, and the vibration section is attached to the annular frame.

2. a first suspending part connected to an upper end of the vibration part for suspending the vibration part from above the sludge water recovery pit; a first adjustment unit that engages with an upper end of the first hanging unit and adjusts the hanging position of the vibration unit; a second suspending portion connected to an upper end of the sludge collection portion for suspending the sludge collection portion from above the sludge water collection pit; a second adjustment part that engages with an upper end of the second hanging part and adjusts the hanging position of the sludge collection part; a support part that is installed opposite to the sludge water surface present inside the sludge water recovery pit and that supports the first adjustment part and the second adjustment part, The sludge recovery apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first adjustment unit and the second adjustment unit are capable of moving the support unit.

3. a detection unit for acquiring position information of the sludge and a layer thickness of the sludge; The sludge recovery device according to claim 2, further comprising a control unit that controls the placement positions of the first adjustment unit and the second adjustment unit based on the position information of the sludge and the layer thickness of the sludge acquired by the detection unit.

4. A sludge recovery method for recovering sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery pit using the sludge recovery device described in claim 1, comprising: a vibration step for vibrating the sludge to convert the sludge into liquefied sludge; a sludge recovery step for recovering the liquefied sludge.

Images