JP7530632B2 - Floating matter removal device - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act On August 26th and 27th, 2020, the invention was demonstrated using the invention that is the subject of the patent application at the Toda Boat Racecourse, 8-22 Toda Park, Toda City, Saitama Prefecture, and explained to relevant parties.

The present invention relates to a floating matter removal device for removing floating matter from lakes and marshes.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a net bag is dropped into the water of a lake, the water of the lake is sucked into the bag through a suction pipe by a pump and discharged through an injection pipe, and the green algae floating in the water are collected in the net bag.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-66114

However, with this conventional technology, the recovery capacity of the target object is affected by the suction and discharge capacity of the pump. Therefore, in order to increase the recovery capacity in particular, a pump with a larger capacity must be selected. In addition, since other floating objects are generally sucked in along with the water during suction, the pump sometimes becomes clogged and is no longer able to suck in water, resulting in a problem of reduced efficiency of the recovery work.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a floating matter removal device that can minimize pump clogging and improve the efficiency of recovery work by separately suctioning the water from lakes and floating matter in the lakes.

For this reason, the present invention provides a floating matter removal device for removing floating matter from lakes and ponds, comprising:
a pump that is fixed to a base that floats on the lake by the buoyancy of a first float and that sucks in and discharges water from the lake;
a suction member having one end connected to the pump and the other end for sucking in the water of the lake, the suction member comprising a suction head having a suction opening and a suction hose having one end connected to the suction head and the other end connected to the pump, the amount of the suction member floating on the lake being adjusted by a second float so that the water of the lake can be sucked in through the suction opening ;
a suction and recovery member for sucking in the water of the lake and floating objects floating in the lake from a suction inlet at one end and discharging them from a discharge outlet at the other end to recover the floating objects in a recovery device, the suction and recovery member being held by an operator who has entered the lake and moving forward to recover the floating objects ;
a discharge hose for discharging the water of the lake or marsh sucked into the pump through the suction head of the suction member from the pump ;
a confluence member for connecting the discharge hose and the suction and recovery member at an intermediate position between the suction inlet and the discharge outlet of the suction and recovery member , and for confluenceing the water of the lake from the discharge hose and the water of the lake and the floating matter from the suction and recovery member, and for creating a water current flowing toward the discharge outlet;
A worker who has entered the lake or pond holds the suction and recovery member in his or her hand and moves forward to recover the floating matter, and by driving the pump, water from the lake or pond is sucked in through the suction member, and the water discharged from the pump is introduced into the suction and recovery member via the discharge hose and the merging member to create a water current that flows toward the discharge outlet at the rear , and the pressure of the water at this time is used to suck in the water and floating matter from the suction and recovery member, and the water is merged with the water from the lake or pond from the discharge hose by the merging member, so that the floating matter that has been sucked in by the suction and recovery member and transported from the front to the rear is discharged from the discharge outlet and recovered in the recovery device.

The present invention provides a floating matter removal device that can minimize pump clogging and improve the efficiency of recovery work by separately suctioning the water of lakes and floating matter in the lakes and ponds.

1 is a perspective view of a floating matter removal device according to the present invention as viewed from above. 1 is a perspective view of a floating matter removal device according to the present invention as viewed from below. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a main portion passing through a central axis of a suction and recovery member and a second connecting member of a confluence device, showing a first embodiment of the confluence device. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view of a main portion passing through a central axis of a second connecting member of a merging device, illustrating the first embodiment of the merging device. FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a second embodiment of the joining device, taken along a central axis of a second connecting member of the joining device. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main portion passing through a central axis line of a second connecting member of a merging device, illustrating a third embodiment of the merging device. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional plan view passing through a central axis line of a second connecting member of a joining device to show a third embodiment of the joining device. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main portion passing through a central axis of a second connecting member of a merging device, illustrating a fourth embodiment of the merging device.

The following describes an embodiment of a floating matter removal device 1 that removes floating matter floating in lakes and ponds, and a floating matter removal method that removes floating matter floating in the lakes and ponds. Here, the floating matter refers to, for example, aquatic plants such as water hyacinth, which is a floating plant that grows on the surface of the lakes and ponds, aquatic plants that have been cut from aquatic plants that grew on the bottom of the lakes and ponds and are now floating on the surface of the lakes and ponds, garbage that also floats in the lakes and ponds, algae that die and solidify and float in the lakes and ponds, and other floating matter that floats on or near the surface of the lakes and ponds.

First, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, reference numeral 2 denotes a jet pump that draws in water from the lake, pressurizes it, and discharges it. This jet pump 2, which has a high discharge pressure, is fixed to a protective frame 3 and is fixed on a base 4. Then, to each of the opposing sides of one side of the base 4, support frames 6, 6, for example made of wood, are fixed to support floats 5, which are respectively disposed near each of the opposing sides of the other side.

The buoyancy of the float 5 causes the jet pump 2 to float on the lake together with the base 4. Although two floats 5 are provided near each of the opposing sides as described above, the number is not limited to this, and one each may be sufficient.

The jet pump 2 sucks in and discharges the water from the lake, and is connected to a suction member 7 for suction. One end of this suction member 7 is connected to the jet pump 2, and the other end sucks in the water from the lake. It is composed of a suction head 9 that is hollow with an inlet and an outlet, and has a T-shape in plan view with a horizontally long rectangular suction opening 8 for sucking in the water from the lake, and a flexible (meaning "able to be bent and deformed"; the same applies below) hollow cylindrical bellows-shaped suction hose 10, one end of which fits into and connects to the hollow cylindrical vertical part 9A of the suction head 9 (which communicates with the suction opening 8) and the other end of which is connected to the jet pump 2.

Floats 11 with a preset floating amount are provided at both ends of the horizontally long length of the suction head 9, and the floats 11 allow the suction head 9 to float in the water of the lake. The short distance (length) of the suction opening 8 is approximately the same as the vertical part 9A of the suction head 9 and the inner diameter of the suction hose 10, and the floating amount of the suction head 9 is preset as described above so that the water level is located slightly above the vertical center of the suction opening 8. Also, a protective net may be placed over the suction opening 8 of the suction head 9 to minimize the inhalation of unwanted floating objects.

As described below, when the jet pump 2 is driven, it starts to take in water from the lake through the suction opening 8 of the suction head 9 of the suction member 7, introduces the water into itself through the suction hose 10, and then discharges the water from the lake through the discharge hose 12. The discharge hose 12 is a flexible hollow cylindrical bellows-like bellows, and both the discharge hose 12 and the suction hose 10 (as well as the vertical portion 9A of the suction head 9) have an inner diameter of, for example, about 50 mm.

13 is a suction and recovery member, which is hollow with a suction inlet and a discharge outlet at both ends, and is T-shaped in plan view with a suction head 15 having a horizontally long rectangular suction opening 14 as the suction inlet for sucking in the floating objects floating in the lake together with the water of the lake, a flexible hollow cylindrical bellows-shaped suction and recovery hose 16 whose one end fits into and connects to the hollow cylindrical vertical part 15A of the suction head 15 (which communicates with the suction opening 14), and a hollow cylindrical suction and recovery cylinder 17 made of a hard synthetic resin material, and the discharge hose 12 and the suction and recovery member 13 are connected via a hollow junction member 21.

That is, the discharge hose 12 and the suction and recovery member 13 are connected via the junction member 21 at a position intermediate between the suction inlet and the discharge outlet of the suction and recovery member 13, and the lake water discharged from the jet pump 2 is introduced into the suction and recovery member 13 via the discharge hose 12 and the junction member 21.

The suction and recovery cylinder 17 is supported so as to be lifted by a U-shaped holding member 19, both ends of which are fixed to a pair of support members 18 provided on the underside of the base 4. The short-side distance (length) of the suction opening 14 is approximately the same as the vertical portion 15A of the suction head 15 and the inner diameter of the recovery hose 16, and the worker performs the suction work of sucking up the floating objects and water while holding the suction and recovery member 13 so that the water level is located slightly above the vertical center of the suction opening 8.

In addition, there are cases where the floating objects can be removed without necessarily providing the suction head 9 on the suction member 7 and the suction head 15 on the suction and recovery member 13, in which case the work can be done without attaching the suction heads 9 and 15. However, it is better to provide the suction head 9 on the suction member 7 so that the suction member 7 can stably suck in the water from the lake or pond.

Next, the junction member 21 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. First, the junction member 21 is composed of a hollow first connecting member 22, one end of which is fitted and connected to the discharge hose 12, and a hollow second connecting member 24, the other end of which is fixed, for example, by adhesive 26 (or other means may be used), and which is fitted and connected to the suction and recovery hose 16, which has an inner diameter of approximately 100 mm like the suction and recovery cylinder 17, and which has an inner diameter of approximately 100 mm, and which is fixed with adhesive tape 23. Note that the adhesive 26 is omitted in Figure 4 for convenience.

Therefore, the inner diameter of the suction and recovery cylinder 17 and the suction and recovery hose 16 is larger than the inner diameter of the suction hose 10 and the discharge hose 12, and a larger amount of water and floating matter can be sucked in through the suction head 15 and the suction and recovery hose 16 compared to the amount of water sucked in through the suction head 9 and the suction hose 10.

After the upper end of the first connecting member 22 is inserted into a mounting hole (reference numeral omitted) opened at the bottom of the second connecting member 24, the first connecting member 22 and the second connecting member 24 are fixed together while filling the periphery of the mounting hole with the adhesive 26 or the like to eliminate any gaps, and the junction member 21 is fabricated. Note that the first connecting member 22 and the second connecting member 24 may be fixed together by other means, not limited to by the adhesive 26.

The first connecting member 22 is composed of a first portion 28 bent at approximately 90 degrees and connected to the discharge hose 12 with approximately the same inner diameter and fixed with adhesive tape 27, a constricted portion 29 connected to the upper portion of the first portion 28 and having an outer shape of a generally truncated cone (the diameter becomes smaller toward the top) for increasing the pressure of the flowing water, and a jetting portion 30 connected to the constricted portion 29 and bent at approximately 90 degrees from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. The above-mentioned portion 31 of the jetting portion 30, whose inner diameter is smaller than that of the second connecting portion 24, is bent horizontally toward the downstream direction (leftward in FIG. 3), and is disposed within the second connecting portion 24 parallel to the central axis of the suction and recovery cylinder 17 and the second connecting member 24 and slightly away from the wall surface at the lower part of the second connecting member 24 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The constricted portion 29 narrows its inner diameter from, for example, about 50 mm to about 13 mm as it moves upward, so that the water passing through is pressurized and can be strongly sprayed from the tip opening of the portion 31 of the jetting portion 30, which also has an inner diameter of, for example, about 13 mm, into the second connecting member 24, which has an inner diameter of, for example, just under 100 mm, creating a strong water flow within the suction and recovery member 13.

By peeling off the adhesive tapes 23 and 27, the junction member 21 can be removed from the suction and recovery member 13, making it detachable. The junction member 21 can also be removed from the discharge hose 12, making it detachable.

With the above-mentioned configuration, first, in order to remove and recover the floating matter, the floating matter removal device 1 is floated on the lake, and an operator enters the lake, drives the jet pump 2, and begins work by moving forward while holding the suction and recovery member 13. If necessary, in addition to the operator on the side in the direction of travel of the floating matter removal device 1 (to the right in Figure 1), another operator can be positioned behind the floating matter removal device 1, i.e., on the left side in Figure 1, to push the floating matter removal device 1.

The jet pump 2 fixed to the base 4, which floats on the lake by the buoyancy of the float 5 provided therein , is driven, and the operator moves forward while holding the suction and recovery member 13 to move the floating matter removal device 1. At this time, the water of the lake is sucked in from the suction opening 8 of the suction head 9 of the suction member 7 by driving the jet pump 2, pressurizing it, and the water of the lake discharged from the jet pump 2 is introduced into the suction and recovery member 13 through the discharge hose 12 and the merging member 21 to create a water flow that flows toward the discharge outlet at the rear . At this time, the water pressure is used to suck in the water of the lake and the floating matter from the suction opening 14 of the suction head 15 of the suction and recovery member 13, and merges with the water of the lake from the discharge hose 12. Then, the floating matter sucked in from one end by the suction and recovery member 13 is transported downstream and discharged from the other end to be collected in a collection net 32 as a collection device.

At this time, the momentum of the lake water and floating matter sprayed from the rear end opening of the suction and recovery cylinder 17 of the suction and recovery member 13 into the recovery net 32 causes the floating matter removal device 1 to move forward as a reaction, and a single worker can carry out the floating matter recovery work while moving forward while holding the suction and recovery member 13, but as mentioned above, another worker can also push the floating matter removal device 1 if necessary.

Next, a second embodiment of the merging member 21 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, with particular focus on differences from the previous embodiment. In other words, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the portion 31 bent horizontally toward the downstream direction is arranged parallel to the central axis of the suction and recovery cylinder 17 and the second connecting member 24, but in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 5, it is arranged offset from the central axis by an angle in the range of, for example, 15 degrees to 20 degrees. Note that in FIG. 5, the adhesive 26 that fixes the ejection portion 30 is omitted for convenience.

When configured in this way, when the lake water is sprayed diagonally upward from the portion 31, the water flow swirls within the second connecting member 24 and the suction and recovery cylinder 17, and the floating objects move faster along with the water, improving work efficiency.

Next, a third embodiment of the merging member 21 will be described with reference to Figures 6 and 7, with only differences from the previous embodiment being described. That is, in this embodiment, the spouting portion 30A connected to the throttling portion 29 of the merging member 21 is bifurcated into two parts, and the parts 31A, 31A bent toward the downstream direction are disposed slightly away from the wall surface at the bottom of the second connecting member 24 and are disposed within the second connecting member 24 at an angle of, for example, 15 degrees to 20 degrees with respect to the central axis of the second connecting member 24, and the spouting portion 30A is fixed to the second connecting member 24 by the adhesive 26. Note that, for convenience, the adhesive 26 that fixes the spouting portion 30A is omitted in Figure 7.

As mentioned above, the inner diameter of the constricted portion 29 narrows from, for example, about 50 mm to about 13 mm as it moves upward, and the portions 31A, 31A of the jetting portion 30A, which also has an inner diameter of, for example, about 13 mm and is smaller than the second connecting portion 24, are disposed within the second connecting portion 24, and strong water is jetted from the tip openings of the portions 31A, 31A into the second connecting member 24, making it possible to create a strong water current within the suction and recovery member 13.

In this way, by branching the ejection portion 30A into two parts 31A bent horizontally toward the downstream direction, the amount of water ejected to the second connecting member 24 and the suction and recovery cylinder 17 can be increased, and the amount of water and floating objects sucked in from the suction opening 14 of the suction head 15 can be improved. Furthermore, when the lake water is ejected diagonally upward from the part 31A, the water flow swirls inside the second connecting member 24 and the suction and recovery cylinder 17, and the floating objects move faster along with the water. Together, these two improve work efficiency.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the merging member 21 will be described with reference to FIG. 8, but only the differences from the previous embodiment will be described. That is, in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the first connecting member 22 of the merging member 21 is composed of a first portion 28 bent at approximately 90 degrees to be connected to the discharge hose 12, a constricted portion 29 connected to the upper portion of the first portion 28 and having an external shape of a roughly truncated cone for increasing the pressure of the flowing water, and a jet portion 30 connected to the constricted portion 29 and bent at approximately 90 degrees from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. In contrast, in the fourth embodiment, the jet portion 30B connected to the constricted portion 29 is not bent, but is shaped to extend the constricted portion 29 in a straight line. That is, the central axis of the constricted portion 29 and the jet portion 30B are the same central axis, and the inner diameter of the upper end portion (the narrowest portion) of the constricted portion 29 and the inner diameter of the jet portion 30B are the same size.

In more detail, as described above, the inner diameter of the constricted portion 29 narrows from, for example, about 50 mm to about 13 mm as it moves upward, and at least a portion of the jetting portion 30B, which also has an inner diameter of, for example, about 13 mm and is smaller than the second connecting portion 24, is disposed within the second connecting portion 24, and a strong water flow can be created within the suction and recovery member 13 by jetting water strongly from the tip opening of the jetting portion 30B into the second connecting member 24.

In this case, the ejection portion 30B of the first connecting member 22 is inserted diagonally upward downstream into a mounting hole (reference numeral omitted) opened at the bottom of the second connecting member 24, and then the first connecting member 22 and the second connecting member 24 are fixed together while filling the periphery of the mounting hole with, for example, adhesive 33 (other means may be used) to eliminate any gaps, and the fourth embodiment of the merging member 21 is produced.

In the junction member 21 of the fourth embodiment thus created, the second connecting member 24 to which the ejection portion 30B of the first connecting member 22 is fixed is fitted and connected to the suction and recovery cylinder 17 and the suction and recovery hose 16, and is fixed with the adhesive tape 23.

When configured in this manner, when the water from the lake is sprayed diagonally upward from the jetting portion 30B disposed within the second connecting member 24 into the second connecting member 24, the water flow will swirl within the second connecting member 24 and the suction and recovery cylinder 17, and the floating objects will move faster along with the water, improving work efficiency.

In the above embodiment, there are various methods and means for the connection and fixing method and structure of the connection between the vertical portion 9A of the suction head 9 and the suction hose 10, the connection between the vertical portion 15A of the suction head 15 and the suction and recovery hose 16, the connection between the discharge hose 12 and the first connecting member 22, the connection between the second connecting member 24 and the suction and recovery cylinder 17 or the suction and recovery hose 16, etc., and the method and means are not limited thereto.

According to the above embodiment, it is possible to improve the work efficiency without using a pump with high suction and discharge capacity. In addition, by separately suctioning the water of the lake and the floating matter floating in the lake, it is possible to provide a floating matter removal device and a floating matter removal method that can reduce pump clogging as much as possible and improve the efficiency of the recovery work.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various alternatives, modifications, and variations are possible for those skilled in the art based on the above description, and the present invention includes the various alternatives, modifications, and variations described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 Floating matter removal device 2 Jet pump 7 Suction member 8 Suction opening 9 Suction head 10 Suction hose 12 Discharge hose 13 Suction and recovery member 14 Suction opening 15 Suction head 21 Joint member 22 First connecting member 24 Second connecting portion 29 Throttle portion 30 Spout portion 30A Spout portion 32 Recovery net

Claims (1)

A floating matter removal device for removing floating matter from lakes and ponds,
a pump that is fixed to a base that floats on the lake by the buoyancy of a first float and that sucks in and discharges water from the lake;
a suction member having one end connected to the pump and the other end for sucking in the water of the lake, the suction member comprising a suction head having a suction opening and a suction hose having one end connected to the suction head and the other end connected to the pump, the amount of the suction member floating on the lake being adjusted by a second float so that the water of the lake can be sucked in through the suction opening ;
a suction and recovery member for sucking in the water of the lake and floating objects floating in the lake from a suction inlet at one end and discharging them from a discharge outlet at the other end to recover the floating objects in a recovery device, the suction and recovery member being held by an operator who has entered the lake and moving forward to recover the floating objects ;
a discharge hose for discharging the lake water sucked into the pump through the suction head of the suction member from the pump ;
a confluence member for connecting the discharge hose and the suction and recovery member at an intermediate position between the suction inlet and the discharge outlet of the suction and recovery member , and for confluenceing the water of the lake from the discharge hose and the water of the lake and the floating matter from the suction and recovery member, and for creating a water current flowing toward the discharge outlet;
A floating matter removal device in which a worker who has entered the lake or pond holds the suction and recovery member in his or her hand and moves forward to recover the floating matter, wherein the pump is driven to suck in water from the lake or pond through the suction member , and the water of the lake or pond discharged from the pump is introduced into the suction and recovery member via the discharge hose and the merging member to create a water current that flows toward the discharge outlet at the rear , and the pressure of the water at this time is used to suck in the water of the lake or pond and the floating matter from the suction and recovery member, and the water is merged with the water of the lake or pond from the discharge hose by the merging member, so that the floating matter that has been sucked in by the suction and recovery member and transported from the front to the rear is discharged from the discharge outlet and recovered in the recovery device.

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