OIL SPILL RESPONSE SUBMARINE AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
First Claim
1. A manned, fully autonomous, self-sufficient, self-propelled apparatus, more particularly a submarine for the recovery of oil and other polluting chemicals disposed within the body of water, on and/or beneath the surface including in the presence of ice, comprising:
- a body comprising a deck, a sail rising above the deck, a bottom;
a body comprising at least a pressure hull and a outer hull;
a body comprising a radar and a sonar system to navigate and to locate objects and oil spills under the surface of the ice-infested waters;
a body having a propulsion system operative to position the body within the body of water, below or partially bellow the surface, adjacent to or reasonably distant from, below, above or amid the oil and/or other polluting chemicals;
a system operative to control the position of the apparatus within the body of water;
a plurality of suction means mounted within the body of the apparatus operative to remove the water or/and ice containing oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent to and/or reasonably distant from the apparatus, above or/and below the apparatus;
a plurality of intake means operatively mounted within the body of the apparatus to remove the stationary located or moving oil and/or water or/and ice containing oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent to and/or reasonably distant from the apparatus, above or/and below the apparatus;
a plurality of store or/and processing tanks operative to contain or/and process the water to remove chemical pollutants;
a boiler operative to produce high pressure heat and/or hot water and supply it to the intake means;
a plurality of conduits operative to transfer water containing oil and/or polluting chemicals from intake means to store and/or processing tanks;
at least one bottom suction compartment comprising intake means operative to remove the polluting chemicals adjacent to or within a reasonable distant from the bottom of the apparatus;
at least one deck suction compartment operative to contain a telescopic suction device mounted within the body of the apparatus;
at least one sail suction compartment comprising intake means mounted within the body of the apparatus and operative to remove and/or process ice or/and water containing polluting chemicals within a reasonable distance above the apparatus;
a deck serving as the common elongated base platform for a plurality of the deck intake means operatively mounted within the deck to remove chemical pollutants from the body of water;
a plurality of ballast tanks operative to serve as supplementary storage tanks for polluting chemical or/and polluting chemicals and water mix;
a system operative to control and adjust buoyancy and stability of the body during operation;
a system operative to provide control of simultaneous and/or a separate operation of all suction and intake means within one control room;
a system operative to offload chemical pollutants processed and/or stored on board;
a plurality of underwater lights and camera assemblies mounted within the body and operative to provide real time visual control in various directions over the body of apparatus and over the environment at a reasonable range;
a plurality of underwater lights and camera assemblies mounted within the intake means and operative to provide real time visual control in various directions over the working area at a reasonable range;
a system operative to control the plurality of lights and camera assemblies.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The submarine has a plurality of oil spill detection and removal means, oil/water separating device and oil store tanks. Lights and camera sets are installed in a manner allowing a visual control over the movement of the submarine and over the process of oil removal. A telescopic boom, a sail suction platform and deck suction means are provided to collect the oil spill from the surface of water and from beneath the ice. A bottom suction compartment is provided to collect the oil spill rising from the sea floor to the surface.
30 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A manned, fully autonomous, self-sufficient, self-propelled apparatus, more particularly a submarine for the recovery of oil and other polluting chemicals disposed within the body of water, on and/or beneath the surface including in the presence of ice, comprising:
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a body comprising a deck, a sail rising above the deck, a bottom; a body comprising at least a pressure hull and a outer hull; a body comprising a radar and a sonar system to navigate and to locate objects and oil spills under the surface of the ice-infested waters; a body having a propulsion system operative to position the body within the body of water, below or partially bellow the surface, adjacent to or reasonably distant from, below, above or amid the oil and/or other polluting chemicals; a system operative to control the position of the apparatus within the body of water; a plurality of suction means mounted within the body of the apparatus operative to remove the water or/and ice containing oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent to and/or reasonably distant from the apparatus, above or/and below the apparatus; a plurality of intake means operatively mounted within the body of the apparatus to remove the stationary located or moving oil and/or water or/and ice containing oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water adjacent to and/or reasonably distant from the apparatus, above or/and below the apparatus; a plurality of store or/and processing tanks operative to contain or/and process the water to remove chemical pollutants; a boiler operative to produce high pressure heat and/or hot water and supply it to the intake means; a plurality of conduits operative to transfer water containing oil and/or polluting chemicals from intake means to store and/or processing tanks; at least one bottom suction compartment comprising intake means operative to remove the polluting chemicals adjacent to or within a reasonable distant from the bottom of the apparatus; at least one deck suction compartment operative to contain a telescopic suction device mounted within the body of the apparatus; at least one sail suction compartment comprising intake means mounted within the body of the apparatus and operative to remove and/or process ice or/and water containing polluting chemicals within a reasonable distance above the apparatus; a deck serving as the common elongated base platform for a plurality of the deck intake means operatively mounted within the deck to remove chemical pollutants from the body of water; a plurality of ballast tanks operative to serve as supplementary storage tanks for polluting chemical or/and polluting chemicals and water mix; a system operative to control and adjust buoyancy and stability of the body during operation; a system operative to provide control of simultaneous and/or a separate operation of all suction and intake means within one control room; a system operative to offload chemical pollutants processed and/or stored on board; a plurality of underwater lights and camera assemblies mounted within the body and operative to provide real time visual control in various directions over the body of apparatus and over the environment at a reasonable range; a plurality of underwater lights and camera assemblies mounted within the intake means and operative to provide real time visual control in various directions over the working area at a reasonable range; a system operative to control the plurality of lights and camera assemblies. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for the recovery of oil and/or other polluting chemicals stationary concentrated or moving within and/or on top of the surface of the body of water comprising:
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moving the oil spill response submarine to the area of suspected or confirmed oil spill; conducting sonar scanning and visual search using cameras/lights to find affected area; moving the submarine around the spill to identify the area affected by it; identifying water temperature, currents and characteristics of the spill; marking the boundaries of the spill with GPS buoys; positioning a oil spill response submarine depending on the type and character of the spill within, below or partially above the surface of the body of water and above, below or amid the polluting chemicals at a reasonable distance, permitting an effective use of the intake means, using the propulsion system for movement and using lights and cameras as a visual means of navigation; positioning the intake means mounted within the apparatus adjacent to the polluting chemicals using lights and cameras as a visual means for target spot search and acquisition; deploying and activating proper intake means depending on the oil and/or other chemical pollutants condition and location; scraping, crushing and/or melting the ice polluted by the oil or other polluting chemicals using the intake means; drawing the polluting chemicals and/or slush ice with oil into and through the intake means by means of suction generated by a plurality of pumps; pumping the collected oil and/or other polluting chemicals through a pipe to the oil separator; storing the collected oil and/or other polluting chemicals in the apparatus; transferring the collected oil and/or other polluting chemicals to an outside storage or container on or below the surface of the body of water; performing a visual control over cleaned area and performing other analysis whenever required to confirm in a cooperation with the on-surface oil spill response team whenever applicable, a removal of oil and/or other polluting chemicals from the body of water; removing GPS buoys from their position; moving the submarine to another location as required.
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Specification