Apparatus and method for cleaning liquid storage tank
First Claim
1. A method for cleaning fluid material from a surface comprising the steps of:
- disposing a self-propelled, steerable cleaning machine on said surface;
operating said cleaning machine so as to ingest said fluid material and effect expulsion of sludge remotely from said surface;
ascertaining the position of said cleaning machine comprising the step of measuring the linear and angular distance of said cleaning machine relative to a known point fixed relative to said surface;
and effecting propulsion and steering of said cleaning machine in accordance with its ascertained position.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A self-propelled, sludge cleaning machine including a sludge auger, a sludge pump, crawler tracks and hydraulic motors for propulsion, steering and pumping is assembled at a job-site and inserted into the storage tank through a top access opening. A tether line is connected between the cleaning machine and a control assembly temporarily installed near the access opening to sense tether line length and angle. A sludge discharge hose, hydraulic lines, and an electric wire for an ultrasonic sludge-depth sensor on the machine extend outwardly through the access opening. The hose discharges sludge through a filter and into a sludge-collection tank on a first truck. The hydraulic lines are connected to a control valve assembly located on a second truck and controlled by a preprogrammed job-site computer located in the second truck. Length, angle and sludge-depth data from the sensors are fed to the job-site computer which provides a visual display showing cleaning machine position and sludge-depth. The job-site computer operates the control valve assembly to drive and steer the machine according to a previously-designed (but overridable) program contained on a computer disk (which requires a password or code to actuate). The computer is phone-linked to a central computer an together they, monitor and save clean-up operational data.
26 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for cleaning fluid material from a surface comprising the steps of:
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disposing a self-propelled, steerable cleaning machine on said surface; operating said cleaning machine so as to ingest said fluid material and effect expulsion of sludge remotely from said surface; ascertaining the position of said cleaning machine comprising the step of measuring the linear and angular distance of said cleaning machine relative to a known point fixed relative to said surface; and effecting propulsion and steering of said cleaning machine in accordance with its ascertained position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for cleaning fluid material from a surface, said method comprising the steps of:
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disposing a self-propelled, steerable cleaning machine on said surface, said cleaning machine having a suction nozzle for ingesting fluid material, a pump and a discharge hose operatively connected to said suction nozzle for discharging fluid material ingested by said suction nozzle, said discharge hose extending from said cleaning machine to a location remote from said surface; ascertaining the position of said cleaning machine on said surface comprising the steps of measuring the distance between a first point on said cleaning machine and a second known point having a fixed position relative to and located above said surface and measuring the angular position of said first point relative to said second point; and controlling the propulsion and steering of said cleaning machine in accordance with said position. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A method for cleaning sludge from the bottom of a liquid storage tank comprising the steps of:
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disposing a self-propelled, steerable cleaning machine inside and on the floor of said tank; operating said cleaning machine so as to ingest sludge and effect expulsion of sludge exteriorly of said tank; ascertaining the position of said cleaning machine within said tank comprising the step of measuring the linear and angular distance of said cleaning machine relative to a known point located above said floor of said tank; and effecting propulsion and steering of said cleaning machine in accordance with its ascertained position. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for cleaning sludge from the bottom of a liquid storage tank, said tank comprising a floor, a side wall and a top cover and having an access opening at the top of the tank, said method comprising the steps of:
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inserting a self-propelled, steerable cleaning machine inside and on the floor of said tank through said access opening, said cleaning machine having a suction nozzle for ingesting sludge, a pump and a discharge hose operatively connected to said suction for discharging sludge ingested by said suction nozzle, said discharge hose extending from said cleaning machine through said access opening to the exterior of said storage tank; ascertaining the position of said cleaning machine on said tank floor; and controlling the propulsion and steering of said cleaning machine in accordance with said position. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification