Liquid treating equipment including a storage vessel and a discharge vessel

• US 7,189,365 B1
• Filed: 03/03/2000
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuence Co., Ltd., Riken
• Original Assignee: Fuence Co., Ltd., Riken
• Inventors: Inoue, Kozo, Yamagata, Yutaka, Morozov, Victor, Ozaki, Tsunehiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon; Brian R.
• Application Number:
  US09/674,304
• Time in Patent Office: 2,566 Days
• Field of Search: 137/266, 137/44, 137/101.25, 137/87.02, 137/386, 137/158, 137/391, 137/393, 137/1.31, 137/403, 137/396, 137/395, 422 99-104, 422/106, 734/47, 417/125, 141/198, 141/39, 141/40, 141/44
• US Class Current: 422/522
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 9/12 characterised by the use of electric means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7287 Liquid level responsive or maintaining systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7303 Control of both inflow and outflow of tank
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/731 With control fluid connection at desired liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7313 Control of outflow from tank

Abstract

In a liquid treating equipment to maintain a small amount of liquid to a desired liquid level with constantly supplying an additional liquid into a small capacity vessel, a storage vessel 13 to store the small amount of liquid, an injection tube 16 to inject the small amount of liquid into the storage vessel 16, liquid supplying apparatus 23–25 to supply the small amount of liquid into the storage vessel through the injection tube, a flow path 15 of which one end is joined with the storage vessel, a discharge vessel 14, joined with the storage vessel 13 via the flow path, having a larger surface area than that of the storage vessel, a discharge tube 17 of which the discharging inlet is positioned at the same level position as a desired liquid level of the small amount of liquid in the storage vessel and liquid discharging apparatus 27–29 to discharge the liquid from the discharge vessel through the discharge tube are provided. Even though the liquid level in the discharge vessel is largely fluctuated, the liquid level in the storage vessel is almost never done.

Claims

1. Equipment comprising:

a storage vessel storing a liquid and having a desired liquid level;

an injection tube to inject the liquid into the storage vessel;

a liquid supplying means connected to the injection tube to supply the liquid into the storage vessel through the injection tube;

a discharging vessel having a desired liquid level and connected to the storage vessel via a flow path, wherein the desired liquid levels of the storage vessel and the discharging vessel are equal and the flow path is at a lower depth than the desired liquid level, and wherein the discharge vessel and storage vessel are horizontally disposed to each other;

a discharge tube including a discharge inlet mounted above the discharging vessel so that the discharge inlet opens therein in a configuration where a cross section of the inlet is planar with a desired liquid level in the discharging vessel; and

a means for maintaining the liquid at the desired liquid level in the discharging vessel and the storage vessel, wherein the means for maintaining the desired liquid level comprises the liquid supplying means and a liquid discharging means connected to the discharge tube to discharge the liquid from the discharging vessel through the discharge tube.

2. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the discharge vessel has a larger surface area than that of the storage vessel.

3. The equipment as defined in claim 2, wherein the discharge vessel has a surface area twice or over as large as that of the storage vessel.

4. The equipment as defined in claim 3, wherein the discharge vessel has a surface area denary or over as large as that of the storage vessel.

5. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the discharge vessel has a depth smaller than that of the storage vessel.

6. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein an injecting inlet of the injection tube is positioned at a lower level position than the desired liquid level in the storage vessel.

7. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the flow path has an opened canaliculate shape of which at least part of a bottom surface of the flow path is situated at a lower level position than the desired liquid level in the storage vessel.

8. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the flow path has a tubular shape of which at least a part of a bottom surface of the flow path is situated at a lower level position than the desired liquid level in the storage vessel.

9. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the liquid discharging means has a sufficient flow rate larger than that of the liquid supplying means.

10. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the storage vessel, the flow path and the discharging vessel are integrally formed in a single base material.

11. The equipment as defined in claim 10, wherein the base material is composed of an acrylic board.

12. The equipment as defined in claim 10, wherein at least the surfaces of the storage vessel, the flow path and the discharge vessel are hydrophilic-treated.

13. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the liquid supplying means and the liquid discharging means are composed of air pump mechanisms, respectively.

14. The equipment as defined in claim 13, wherein each of the air pump mechanisms comprises a rotary air pump and a liquid tank communicated with the rotary air pump.

15. The equipment as defined in claim 1, wherein the liquid supplying means and the liquid discharging means are composed of positive displacement pumps having their plunger moving back and forth in their cylinders, respectively.

16. The equipment as defined in claim 15, wherein each of the plungers of the positive displacement pumps is driven by a pulse motor.

17. Equipment comprising:

a storage vessel storing a liquid and having a desired liquid level;

an injection tube to inject the liquid into the storage vessel;

a liquid supplying means connected to the injection tube to supply the liquid into the storage vessel through the injection tube;

a discharging vessel having a desired liquid level and joined with the storage vessel via a flow path, wherein the desired liquid levels of the storage vessel and the discharging vessel are equal and the flow path is at a lower depth than the desired liquid level;

a discharge tube including a discharging inlet mounted above the discharging vessel so that the discharging inlet opens therein in a configuration where a cross section of the inlet is planar with a desired liquid level in the discharging vessel; and

a means for maintaining the liquid at the desired liquid level in the discharging vessel and the storage vessel, wherein the means for maintaining the desired liquid level comprises the liquid supplying means and a liquid discharging means connected to the discharge tube to discharge the liquid from the discharging vessel through the discharge tube, wherein the discharging inlet of the discharge tube is positioned in a central region from all sides of the discharge vessel.

18. The equipment as defined in claim 17, wherein the discharging inlet of the discharge tube is positioned at a center axis of the discharge vessel, wherein the center axis is in a vertical direction.