Abstract:
An aeration ship including a ship body, a ship bottom, and an aerator. The aerator includes an air cylinder having an upper section and a lower section. The upper section of the air cylinder is fixed on the ship body, and the lower section of the air cylinder penetrates the ship bottom and extends downwards.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 and the Paris Convention Treaty, this application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201110162713.4 filed Jun. 17, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The invention relates to an aeration ship used in sewage purification and biological treatment for rapidly and effectively increasing oxygen in a deep-water area by aeration for improving the content and saturation of dissolved oxygen in sewage. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Methods of treating the organic matters in wastewater by microorganisms have the advantages of less investment, high efficiency, stable operation, low operating cost, good effluent quality, and good sludge settleability. In biological treatment methods, because there is almost no odor, the activated sludge process plays an extremely important role due to its characteristics of shorter processing time and high treatment efficiency. In the activated sludge process, aeration is necessary for supplying sufficient oxygen to sewage, and activated sludge is fully mixed with sewage, and further kept in suspension, so that the oxygen in air is effectively dissolved in sewage. 
         [0006]    Conventional aeration equipment mostly adopts a single machine body, and freely moves on water when in use. An aeration ship as shown in  FIG. 1  includes an air compressor  206 , an air cylinder  204 , submersible hollow shaft motors  602 , and a propeller  604 . A base  6  having a hollow structure is arranged between the air cylinder  204  and the submersible hollow shaft motors  602 , and a plurality of openings are formed on the side surface of the base  6  and simultaneously connected with the submersible hollow shaft motors  602 . By adopting the structure, aeration can be carried out in a plurality of directions at the same time, and the aeration efficiency is improved, however, the aerator freely navigates on water with uncontrollable aeration direction, thus it&#39;s not suitable for uniform aeration on water on a large scale. 
         [0007]    Conventional aerators generally have a fixed aerator and a movable aerator, and in both the fixed aerator and movable aerator, air is conveyed to sewage through an air guide tube, and the introduced air is mixed with sewage through a sewage mixing device. The length of the air guide pipe is fixed, thus the aerator is only suitable for working near a pool with a smooth water bottom, and for the waters in a natural environment such as lakes and rivers required to be treated, due to the different depths of the water bottom, when the aerator with the air guide tube with fixed length works, the sewage in the deep-water area fails to be mixed, and the aerator fails to move in the shallow-water area, therefore, the aeration efficiency and quality are greatly limited. 
         [0008]    Conventional aerators can be used for sewage aeration, however, for those seriously polluted waters, for example, the water in an earthquake-stricken area, besides the normal aeration, disinfection is also needed or chemical substances are required. However, the disinfection fails to be carried out in the polluted waters through the aerator in the prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    In view of the above-described problems, it is one objective of the invention to provide an aeration ship provided with controllable direction and free navigation and capable of stably and evenly performing large-area aeration. In the aeration ship, the underwater penetration of the aerator can be adjusted according to different water depths, the aeration depth is adjusted, and the disinfection is carried out during the aeration, or chemical substances are added to sewage. 
         [0010]    To achieve the above objective, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an aeration ship comprising a ship body, a ship bottom, and an aerator, wherein the aerator comprises an air cylinder having an upper section and a lower section, the upper section of the air cylinder is fixed on the ship body, and the lower section of the air cylinder penetrates the ship bottom and extends downwards. 
         [0011]    The moving direction of the ship body of the aeration ship is controllable and thus stable large-area aeration in large-scale water can be performed. Thus, the aeration efficiency is improved. 
         [0012]    In a class of this embodiment, the aerator is a submerged aerator. 
         [0013]    In a class of this embodiment, the aerator comprises an air compressor, and an output port of the air compressor is connected with the upper part of the air cylinder. 
         [0014]    In a class of this embodiment, the aerator comprises a compressed air pipe, and the output port of the air compressor is connected with the upper part of the air cylinder via the compressed air pipe. 
         [0015]    The air compressor is connected with the air cylinder via the compressed air pipe, and the compressed air pipe is controllable in length and shape, thus the air compressor is more flexibly placed. 
         [0016]    In a class of this embodiment, the aerator comprises a submersible hollow shaft motor, a propeller, and a base; the air cylinder is connected with the submersible hollow shaft motor through the base, and the propeller is coaxially connected with the submersible hollow shaft motor. 
         [0017]    In a class of this embodiment, the base is a multidirectional base, an opening at an upper part of the base is connected with the air cylinder, and an opening on a side surface of the base is connected with the submersible hollow shaft motor. 
         [0018]    In a class of this embodiment, three uniformly distributed openings are formed on the side surface of the base. 
         [0019]    The multidirectional base is used as a channel for uniformly distributing a compressed air source, and air is simultaneously sprayed and diffused around the aerator through shaft holes of a hollow transmission shaft of the submersible hollow shaft motor, so that the aeration is more uniform and more stable, and the aeration efficiency is improved. 
         [0020]    In a class of this embodiment, the aeration ship further comprises an aeration system lifting device for controlling the ascending or descending of the air cylinder. 
         [0021]    In a class of this embodiment, the aeration system lifting device comprises an electric generator, a hydraulic station, a hydraulic pipe, a lifting oil cylinder, and a piston; the lifting oil cylinder is fixed on the ship body, the electric generator drives the hydraulic station to work, the hydraulic station is connected with the lifting oil cylinder via the hydraulic pipe, the air cylinder penetrates the inside of the lifting oil cylinder, the piston is arranged between an outer wall of the air cylinder and an inner wall of the lifting oil cylinder, and oil is filled between the outer wall of the air cylinder and the inner wall of the lifting oil cylinder. 
         [0022]    In a class of this embodiment, the aeration system lifting device comprises a lead screw, a lifter, a lifting handle, a protective sleeve of the lead screw, a lifting guide pipe, and a connecting plate; the lifting guide pipe and the protective sleeve of the lead screw are fixed on the ship body, the air cylinder penetrates the inside of the lifting guide pipe, the connecting plate is used for connecting the upper end of the air cylinder and the upper end of the lead screw, the lead screw penetrates the inside of the protective sleeve of the lead screw via the lifter, and the lifting handle drives the lead screw to ascend or descend through a worm and gear system in the lifter. 
         [0023]    Because the lifting mechanism is used for controlling the ascending or descending of the air cylinder, the underwater penetration of the aerator is adjusted according to different water depths, and the aeration depth is adjusted. 
         [0024]    In a class of this embodiment, the aeration ship further comprises a disinfectant generator arranged in the ship body, and an output port of the disinfectant generator is communicated with the upper part of the air cylinder. 
         [0025]    In a class of this embodiment, the aeration ship further comprises a three-way pipe and a disinfectant delivery pipe, an output port of the three-way pipe is communicated with the upper part of the air cylinder, a first input port of the three-way pipe is communicated with the air compressor through the compressed air pipe, and a second input port of the three-way pipe is communicated with the disinfectant generator through the disinfectant delivery pipe. 
         [0026]    The disinfectant generator is additionally arranged, thus the disinfection is carried out during the aeration, or chemical substances are added to sewage. 
         [0027]    The term “is connected with” as used herein respective any embodiment of the invention encompasses the terms “is directly connected to” and “is directly connected with.” 
         [0028]    Advantages of the invention are summarized below. The aerator is combined with the ship, thus when the aeration ship works, the aeration is stable, the direction is controllable, the large-area aeration can be performed, and the aeration efficiency is improved. Meanwhile, through controlling the ascending or descending of the air cylinder, the underwater penetration of the aerator is adjusted according to different water depths, and the aeration depth is adjusted, so that the aeration can be carried out in a broader and more complicated water. In addition, the sterilizing device is also arranged in the aeration ship, so that disinfectant or chemical substances can be put in water during the aeration, and sewage is disinfected. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a multifunctional submerged aerator in the prior art; 
           [0030]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an aeration ship in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 3  is a left view of an aeration ship in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 4  is a right view of an aeration ship in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; 
           [0033]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of an aeration system lifting device of a first example of the invention; 
           [0034]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of an aeration system lifting device of a second example of the invention; and 
           [0035]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of a steering device of an aeration ship in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0036]    An aeration ship as shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  4  comprises a ship body, a ship bottom, a pilot instrument cabin  1 , an integrated cabin  2 , a power distribution cabin  3 , a power cabin  4 , a left ship body  502 , and a right ship body  503 . A steering wheel  101 , a manual hydraulic pump  102 , a steering gear oil pipe  103 , a frequency-conversion control cabinet  104 , and a cockpit door  105  are arranged in the pilot instrument cabin  1 ; an air compressor  206 , a hydraulic station  207 , a disinfectant generator  209 , an air cylinder  204 , and a lifting oil cylinder  210  are arranged in the integrated cabin  2 ; a power distribution control cabinet  302 , a power distribution cabin door  303 , and a window  304  are arranged in the power distribution cabin  3 ; an electric generator  405  and a power cabin door  404  are arranged in the power cabin  4 . An air inlet of the air compressor  206  arranged in the ship body is introduced outside the cabin via an air inlet pipe  205 , and an air outlet is connected with one end of a three-way pipe  203  positioned at the upper part of the air cylinder  204  through an compressed air pipe  201 . An output port of the disinfectant generator  209  is connected with another end of the three-way pipe  203  positioned at the upper part of the air cylinder  204  through a disinfectant delivery pipe  202 . 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the ship in the example is a double-bottom ship, the aerator is installed between the two ship bottoms at the bottom of the ship, and the aerator sinks in water for aeration. For any ship (e.g., a single-bottom ship) with the similar structure, as long as one part of the aerator is fixed on the ship, and the other part sinks in water for work, all should fall within the protection range of the invention. 
         [0038]    In combination with  FIG. 1 , the base  6  is a multifunctional base and connected with the bottom of the air cylinder  204 , an opening at the upper part of the base  6  is connected with the air cylinder  204 , and openings on the side surface of the base  6  are connected with submersible hollow shaft motors  602  respectively. A propeller  604  is coaxially connected with each of the submersible hollow shaft motors  602 . A hollow structure is adopted inside the base  6 , the openings on the side surface of the base  6  are used as the channel for uniformly distributing a compressed air source, and the number of the openings can be 2-4 or more. The air pressurized through the air compressor  206  flows through the air cylinder  204  via the three-way pipe  203 , and then is simultaneously sprayed and diffused around through shaft holes of hollow transmission shafts of the submersible hollow shaft motors  602  connected with the openings on the side surface of the base  6  respectively, so that the uniform aeration is carried out in sewage, the aeration is more uniform and more stable, and the serration efficiency is improved. 
         [0039]    The aeration ship further comprises an aeration system lifting device, a disinfectant generator, a ship body propulsion apparatus, and a ship body steering device. 
         [0040]    In a first embodiment of the aeration system lifting device, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the aeration system lifting device comprises the hydraulic station  207 , hydraulic pipes  208 , the lifting oil cylinder  210 , a piston  211 , an upper connecting plate  212 , and a lower connecting plate  213 . The electric generator  405  drives the hydraulic station  207  to work. The hydraulic station  207  is connected with the lifting oil cylinder  210  through two hydraulic pipes  208 . The upper part of the air cylinder  204  is connected with the three-way pipe  203 , and the lower part of the air cylinder  204  is connected with the base  6 . The air cylinder  204  penetrates the inside of the lifting oil cylinder  210 , and oil is filled between the outer wall of the air cylinder  204  and the inner wall of the lifting oil cylinder  210 . The piston  211  is arranged between the outer wall of the air cylinder  204  and the inner wall of the lifting oil cylinder  210 . The upper connecting plate  212  is arranged at the upper end of the outer wall of the lifting oil cylinder  210 , and the lower connecting plate  213  is arranged at the lower end of the outer wall of the lifting oil cylinder  210 , so that the lifting oil cylinder  210  is fixed on the ship body. The hydraulic station  207  drives the hydraulic oil in the hydraulic pipes  208  to enter the lifting oil cylinder  210 , and the piston  211  is further pushed to drive the air cylinder  204  to ascend or descend, so as to achieve the purpose of regulating and controlling the aeration depth. 
         [0041]    In a second embodiment of the aeration system lifting device, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the aeration system lifting device comprises a lead screw  227 , a lifter  239 , a lifting handle  220 , a protective sleeve  221  of the lead screw, a lifting guide pipe  226 , an upper connecting plate  222 , a lower connecting plate  223 , and a connecting plate  228 . The air cylinder  204  penetrates the inside of the lifting guide pipe  226 . The upper connecting plate  222  is arranged at the upper end of the outer wall of the lifting guide pipe  226 . The lower connecting plate  223  is arranged at the lower end of the outer wall of the lifting guide pipe  226 . The connecting plate  228  is used for connecting the upper end of the air cylinder  204  and the upper end of the lead screw  227 , and the protective sleeve  221  of the lead screw is fixed through the upper connecting plate  222 , so that both the lifting guide pipe  226  and the protective sleeve  221  of the lead screw are fixed on the ship body. The lead screw  227  penetrates the inside of the protective sleeve  221  of the lead screw, the lifting handle  220  drives the lead screw  227  to ascend or descend through a worm and gear system (not shown in the figure) in the lifter  239 , and the lead screw  227  drives the air cylinder  204  to ascend or descend, so as to achieve the purpose of regulating and controlling the aeration depth. 
         [0042]    Certainly, other similar devices in the prior art can be installed on the aeration ship for controlling the ascending or descending of the aerator, so all these should fall within the protection range of the invention. 
         [0043]    As for the disinfectant generator, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the air inlet of the air compressor  206  is introduced outside the cabin via the air inlet pipe  205 , and the air outlet is connected with one end of the three-way pipe  203  positioned at the upper part of the air cylinder  204  through the compressed air pipe  201 . The output port of the disinfectant generator  209  is connected with another end of the three-way pipe  203  positioned at the upper part of the air cylinder  204  through the disinfectant delivery pipe  202 . The disinfectant generator is additionally arranged, thus the disinfection is carried out during the aeration, or chemical substances are added to sewage. 
         [0044]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the ship body propulsion apparatus comprises the electric generator  405 , a submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  and a propulsion propeller  703 . The electric generator  405  is installed in the power cabin  4 . The submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  is hung between the left ship body  502  and the right ship body  503 , and a cable  701  of the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  is connected with the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  in the pilot instrument cabin  1 . The power distribution control cabinet  302  in the power distribution cabin  3  is connected with the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  through an output cable  301 , and the power distribution control cabinet  302  is connected with the electric generator  405  in the power cabin  4  through a generator output cable  402 ; a water inlet hole  702  is formed at the front part of the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7 , and the propulsion propeller  703  is arranged at the rear part of the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  and coaxially connected with the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7 . 
         [0045]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the ship body steering device comprises a steering wheel  101 , a manual hydraulic pump  102 , steering gear oil pipes  103 , a steering gear oil cylinder  803 , an oil cylinder support  805 , a rudder stock  801 , a rudder stock bearing bracket  804 , a tiller  802 , and a rudder blade  8 . The steering wheel  101  is connected with the manual hydraulic pump  102 . The steering gear oil cylinder  803  is connected with the manual hydraulic pump  102  through the two steering gear oil pipes  103 . The steering gear oil cylinder  803  is positioned on the oil cylinder support  805 . The upper part of the steering gear oil cylinder  803  is connected with one end of the tiller  802  through a piston rod  806 , and the other end of the tiller  802  is connected with the upper end of the rudder stock  801 . The rudder stock  801  penetrates the rudder stock bearing bracket  804  to connect with the rudder blade  8 . 
         [0046]    The steering gear adopts a reciprocating steering mechanism, and mainly comprises the steering gear oil cylinder  803  (fixed on the oil cylinder support  805 ) and the piston rod  806  (capable of making reciprocating motion in the steering gear oil cylinder  803 ). The steering wheel  101  manually rotates left or right to drive the manual hydraulic pump  102 . Oil is forced into the steering gear oil cylinder  803  by the manual hydraulic pump  102  via the steering gear oil pipe  103 . The piston rod  806  moves left or right under the action of oil pressure and is connected with one end of the tiller  802  through a movable connector at the top end of the piston rod  806 . The other end of the tiller  802  is fixed at the upper end of the rudder stock  801  through a key. The deflecting direction of the rudder blade  8  can be changed through the reciprocating motion of the piston rod  806 , so that the direction of travel of the ship is changed. 
         [0047]    In the aeration ship, as shown in  FIG. 2 , an electric slip ring  9  is arranged at the tail part of the ship body, a rain shield  904  is arranged at the upper part of the electric slip ring  9 , and the electric slip ring  9  is connected with an external input cable  902  and an external output cable  906  respectively. The external input cable  902  penetrates via a cable duct tube  901  and is connected with the electric slip ring  9 . A plurality of floating balls  903  are tied at the position where the external input cable  902  is positioned on water. The external output cable  906  is also connected with the power distribution control cabinet  302 . 
         [0048]    The hydraulic station  207  is connected with the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  through a hydraulic station cable  214 . One end of the power distribution control cabinet  302  is connected with the electric generator  405  through a generator output cable  402 , and the other end of the power distribution control cabinet  302  is connected with the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  through an output cable  301 , and further connected with the air compressor  206  and the disinfectant generator  209  respectively. Two frequency converters are arranged in the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  and connected with the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  and the submergible hollow shaft motors  602  through cables. 
         [0049]    When the aeration ship works, the air compressor  206  is driven by the power distribution control cabinet  302  to output compressed air under the action of electric power of the electric generator  405 , the disinfectant generator  209  is also driven to spray disinfectant, and meanwhile, the electric power is input to the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  through an electrical cabinet and drives the submergible hollow shaft propulsion motor  7  connected with the frequency-conversion control cabinet  104  to work. Thus, the motor transmission shaft rotates to drive the propulsion propeller  703  to rotate, so as to push the ship body to move forwards. The electric power of the electric generator  405  drives the hydraulic station  207  to work or drives the aerator lifting device to work through the lifting handle  220 . 
         [0050]    In conclusion, the application of the ship avoids the inconvenience caused by installing plurality of aerators in the large-area water, and the movable aeration can be carried out according to the specific anoxic zone and demand of water body. Meanwhile, the seriously polluted water can be disinfected during the aeration or chemicals are put in the seriously polluted water. 
         [0051]    While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.