JP7718367B2 - Sludge collection device and sludge collection method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sludge collection device and a sludge collection method.

Wastewater discharged from factories is temporarily stored in sludge collection pits, such as ponds, pits, or lagoons. Sludge collection pits generally do not have any special equipment other than a submersible pump for managing the water level of the wastewater stored inside the pit. As a result, the suspended solids contained in the wastewater inside the sludge collection pit are trapped inside the pit for long periods 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, oils and fats contained in the wastewater inside the sludge collection pit float to the surface of the water and solidify.

Sludge includes sludge, a muddy solid formed by the aggregation of organic end products that is produced in processes such as factory 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.

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 or damming of the flowing water. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram outlining 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 performing steps (i) to (iii) below. (i) Water is drained 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. (iii) The liquefied recovered material is sucked up using a pump equipped on a sludge recovery vehicle 6, such as a per-product vehicle.

One proposed sludge recovery method for recovering sludge that has accumulated at the bottom of a sedimentation tank is to generate a water current along the bottom of the sedimentation tank toward a sludge recovery section, and then guide the crushed sludge at the bottom of the tank to the sludge recovery section by carrying it along the water current and gradually transporting it (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The sludge recovery method described in Patent Document 1 moves the sludge to the sludge recovery section by spraying it in a certain direction from a fountain nozzle installed at the bottom of the tank.

Sludge collection devices have also been proposed that can collect sludge accumulated in water without much effort, by a small number of people, in places that are difficult for workers to access, eliminating the need for draining and blocking water flow (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The sludge collection device described in Patent Document 2 has a sludge cutting and powdering machine attached to the suction port of the sludge collection hose, and collects sludge while wiping away sludge material that has accumulated at the suction port of the sludge collection hose.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-152689 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-186843

However, the above-mentioned conventional technology still has the following problems to be solved. Specifically, in the sludge recovery method using a conventional sludge recovery device, it takes time for the sludge recovery device to drain the wastewater from inside the sludge water recovery pit. Furthermore, in the sludge recovery operation in which sludge is recovered after the wastewater from the sludge water recovery pit is recovered, 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. For this reason, the above-mentioned sludge recovery method requires the use of high-pressure jet water to spray the sludge to liquefy it and then suck it into the sludge recovery pump. In other words, the above-mentioned sludge recovery method has the problem that it requires not only a worker to operate the high-pressure jet water spraying device that sprays the high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it, but also a worker to guide the sludge recovery pump toward the liquefied sludge.

In addition, 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, allowing the sludge to flow and liquefy while being transported to the collection section. Therefore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 does not require workers to spray high-pressure jets of water.

However, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 involves installing a sludge collection groove within 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 anticipated that the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 1 will not be able to collect sludge in sludge water collection pits that do 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 the use of water for spraying, which increases the cost of sludge collection.

Furthermore, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 allows sludge to be collected in places that are difficult for workers to access without the need for drainage work, by using an expandable collection hose provided on the sludge collection device. Also, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 attaches a sludge cutting and crushing machine to the suction port of the sludge collection hose, allowing sludge to be collected while wiping away sludge that has accumulated at the suction port.

However, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 has limitations on the area (size) of the sludge water collection pit in which workers can collect sludge, due to the limited length of the recovery hose provided in the sludge collection device. When collecting highly viscous sludge, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 may encounter a situation where, if the suction capacity of the sludge collection hose is insufficient, the sludge is not 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. For this reason, the sludge collection method described in Patent Document 2 has the problem of requiring a long sludge collection time when handling highly viscous sludge.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to propose a sludge recovery device and sludge recovery method that can shorten the time required to drain water from a sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work, and that can recover sludge without spraying high-pressure jets of water onto the sludge to liquefy it.

The inventors conducted various experiments to solve the above problem, and discovered a solution that can significantly reduce the time required to drain water from inside a sludge water collection pit during sludge collection work by liquefying the sludge accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit by vibrating and agitating the sludge, and then collecting the liquefied sludge.

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, rail mechanism, or the like, 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.

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 that applies vibrations to the sludge to turn the sludge into liquefied sludge, and a sludge recovery unit that recovers the liquefied sludge.

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 suspending the vibration part from above the sludge water collection pit; a first adjustment part engaging with the upper end of the first hanging part for adjusting the suspension position of the vibration part; a second hanging part connected to the upper end of the sludge collection part for suspending the sludge collection part from above the sludge water collection pit; a second adjustment part engaging with the upper end of the second hanging part for adjusting the suspension position of the sludge collection part; and a support part installed opposite the sludge water surface present inside the sludge water collection pit for supporting the first adjustment part and the second adjustment part, wherein the first adjustment part and the second adjustment part are movable about the support part;
(c) It is considered 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.

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 application 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.

According to the present invention, even when a certain amount of water has accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit, the sludge can be liquefied by agitating the sludge through vibration, significantly reducing the time required to drain the water present inside the sludge water collection pit during sludge collection operations. Furthermore, according to the present invention, sludge can be liquefied during sludge collection operations without the need for a high-pressure water jet spraying device or sludge collection device. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the need for workers to operate the high-pressure water jet spraying device and sludge collection device can be eliminated, significantly reducing the costs required for sludge collection operations.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment in which sludge is collected using a sludge collection apparatus according to the present invention. 2A and 2B are enlarged views of an annular frame body to which a vibration unit according to the present invention is attached, in which FIG. 2A shows an enlarged oblique view of an annular frame body to which a vibration unit is attached, and FIG. 2B shows a top view of an annular frame body to which a vibration unit is attached. 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. 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. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a conventional sludge collection operation.

[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 including 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.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of sludge collection using the sludge collection device according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the sludge collection device 10 includes a vibration unit 11 for liquefying sludge 2 into liquefied sludge 2A, and a sludge collection unit 12 for collecting the liquefied sludge 2A.

The vibration unit 11 provided in the sludge collection device 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 breaks up the sludge 2 and then agitates it. The sludge 2 agitated by the vibration unit 11 mixes with the accumulated 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 component for agitating the sludge 2 to form liquefied sludge 2A. The vibration unit 11 provided in the sludge collection device 10 can use a rod-shaped vibrating member.

The vibration unit 11 may be composed of a single vibration unit 11, or multiple vibration units 11. If the vibration unit 11 is composed of multiple vibration units 11, the multiple vibration units 11 may be installed independently inside the sludge water collection pit 1, or these vibration units 11 may be attached to an annular frame 13 and installed as a collection 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.

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 with 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 vibrator, and may be equipped with a vibrating member and an external hose. The vibrating unit may be a round head, rubber head, or 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.

The sludge collection device 10 includes a sludge collection unit 12. The sludge collection unit 12 is a component for collecting liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration unit 11 agitating the sludge 2. The sludge collection unit 12 is not particularly limited as long as it is capable of sucking in the liquefied sludge 2A and transporting the liquefied sludge 2A to the tank of the sludge collection truck 6. The sludge collection unit 12 may be provided independently of the vibration unit 11, or may be provided integrally with the vibration unit 11 as described below.

The vibration unit 11 vibrates the sludge 2 accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1, stirring the sludge 2. The sludge 2 stirred by the vibration unit 11 mixes with the accumulated water 3 present together with the sludge 2 inside the sludge water collection 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 collection pit 1 into liquefied sludge 2A using the vibration unit 11, and collect the liquefied sludge 2A using the sludge collection unit 12.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the invention, the time required to drain water from the sludge water collection pit during sludge collection work can be shortened, and sludge can be collected without spraying high-pressure jets of water onto the sludge to liquefy it.

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 an annular frame, and the vibration unit is attached to the annular frame. Each component constituting the sludge collection apparatus will now be described.

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, thereby integrating the vibration unit 11 and the sludge collection section 12. 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 simultaneously the liquefied sludge 2A can be collected by the sludge collection section 12.

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of an annular frame to which a vibration unit is attached, which is provided in the sludge collection device of the present invention. Figure 2(a) is an enlarged perspective view of an annular frame to which a vibration unit is 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 the sludge water collection pit 1, and multiple annular frames 13 may be connected to form a multi-stage annular frame assembly 13X.

In this way, by arranging multiple annular frames 13 vertically relative to the sludge water collection pit 1 to form a multi-stage annular frame assembly 13X, it is possible to agitate the sludge 2 in accordance with the thickness of the sludge 2 layer accumulated inside the sludge water collection pit 1. The number of multiple annular frames 13 can be determined appropriately depending on the vertical depth of the sludge 2 accumulated 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 that connects to the sludge collection section 12. Note that multiple vibration units 11 may also be attached to the annular frames 13c and 13d as needed.

Figure 2(b) is a top view of the annular frame to which the vibration units are attached. As shown in Figure 2(b), by making the annular frame 13a ring-shaped, multiple vibration units 11a can be attached 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, efficiently agitating the sludge 2 to turn it into liquefied sludge 2A.

As explained above, according to the second embodiment of the invention, the vibration unit attached to the frame surrounding the sludge collection section simultaneously liquefies the sludge and collects the liquefied sludge, thereby efficiently collecting the accumulated sludge that exists over the entire surface of the sludge water collection pit.

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

3 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the sludge recovery apparatus according to the present invention, in which the vibration unit is suspended above the sludge water recovery pit to recover sludge. As shown in Fig. 3, the vibration unit 11 included in the sludge recovery apparatus 10 is suspended from a first adjustment unit 23 provided on a support unit 20 provided above the sludge water recovery 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.

First, the first adjustment unit 23 can move the support unit 20 along the support unit 20. Because the first adjustment unit 23 can move the support unit 20, the vibration unit 11 can move freely inside the sludge water collection pit 1 in response to the movement of the first adjustment unit 23. Here, the first adjustment unit 23 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.

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 multiple 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 that 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 recovery apparatus according to this embodiment is suspended from the first adjustment unit 23 provided on the support unit 20 located above the sludge water recovery pit 1 toward the sludge water recovery pit 1 located below. Note that the vibration unit 11 may also be attached to the lower end of the first suspension unit 16.

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

Second, 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 a through-hole therein to allow the wire that is the support unit 20 to pass through, for example, so that the support unit 20 can be moved.

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 serves to suspend the sludge collection unit 12 inside the sludge water collection pit 1 and to suck up the liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration unit 11 stirring the sludge 2 and send it to the sludge collection truck 6. In this way, the sludge collection unit 12 of the sludge collection device 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.

The second adjustment unit 24 provided on the support unit 20 can set the height H2 of the sludge collection unit by adjusting the length of the second hanging unit 18. The second adjustment unit 24 adjusts the length of the second hanging unit 18 depending on the position of the liquefied sludge 2A formed by the vibration unit 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 truck 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.

As explained above, according to the third embodiment of the invention, 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 movable, making it possible to agitate and liquefy the sludge that has accumulated across the entire surface of the sludge water recovery pit and recover it.

[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 further includes a detection unit for acquiring sludge position information and sludge layer thickness, and a control unit for controlling the positions of the first adjustment unit and the second adjustment unit based on the sludge position information and sludge layer thickness acquired by the detection unit. Each component constituting the sludge collection apparatus according to this embodiment will now be described.

Figure 4 is a top view showing the relative positions of the vibration unit suspended above the sludge water collection pit and the sludge suction unit of the sludge collection unit in the sludge collection device of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the vibration unit 11 and sludge collection unit 12 that make up the sludge collection device 10 of 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 device of this embodiment may be composed of mesh wires 21 that allow the vibration unit 11 and 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 sludge collection unit 12 to move in the Y-axis direction.

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, consisting 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) and vertical (Y-axis) positions. Figure 4 is a top view showing the relative positions of 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.

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.

The detection unit provided in the sludge recovery device 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 this 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.

The detection unit provided in the sludge recovery device 10 is only required to be able to acquire position information about 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, linear potentiometer, laser sensor, or 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 about the sludge 2, such as a CCD camera, CMOS camera, two-color thermometer, or radiation thermometer.

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 connected to the upper end of the vibration unit 11 and is a member that 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 to adjust 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 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 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.

The sludge collection device 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 positional 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 account 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.

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

Fifth Embodiment
A sludge recovery method according to a fifth embodiment will now be described. The sludge recovery method according to this embodiment is a sludge recovery method for recovering sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery 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 recovery step for recovering the liquefied sludge. Each step included in the sludge recovery method according to this embodiment will be described below.

(Step A: Vibration step for converting sludge into liquefied sludge)
The sludge recovery 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.

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 is mixed with the accumulated water 3 present together with the sludge 2 inside the sludge water collection pit 1, thereby becoming liquefied sludge 2A.

(Step B: Sludge recovery step for recovering liquefied sludge)
The sludge recovery method according to this embodiment includes, as step B, a sludge recovery step 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 the 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.

As described above, the invention relating to the fifth embodiment can significantly reduce the time required to drain water from the sludge water recovery pit during sludge recovery work, and can provide a sludge recovery method that omits the step of spraying high-pressure jet water onto the sludge to liquefy it.

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.

The sludge recovery device of the present invention can shorten the time required to drain water from a sludge water recovery pit, and can recover sludge without having to spray high-pressure jets of 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.

1 Sludge water recovery pit 2 Sludge 2A Liquefied sludge 3 Sedimented water 4 Sludge recovery worker 5 Sludge recovery pump 6 Sludge recovery vehicle 7 High-pressure jet water spraying worker 8 High-pressure jet water spraying device 9 High-pressure jet water 10 Sludge recovery device 11 Vibration unit 12 Sludge recovery unit 13 Annular frame 13X Annular frame assembly 14 Ring 15 Hanging fulcrum 16 First hanging unit 17 Annular frame hanging unit 18 Second hanging unit 20 Support unit (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 unit H2 Height of sludge recovery pump

Claims (4)

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 . 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. 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 . A sludge recovery method for recovering sludge accumulated inside a sludge water recovery pit using the sludge recovery apparatus according to claim 1 ,
a vibration step for vibrating the sludge to convert the sludge into liquefied sludge;
a sludge recovery step for recovering the liquefied sludge.