Abstract:
A cleaning system for a UV disinfection module having a pair of headers with a multiplicity of lamps extending therebetween including a cleaning plate having a multiplicity of openings therein, the openings having lamp wipers and arranged to substantially coincide with positions of the lamps to permit movement of the plate between the headers, a rotatable screw extending between the headers and through the plate, a motor operatively connected to rotate the screw, a screw adapter fixed to the cleaning plate at a rotatable screw opening in the plate and including a substantially cylindrical tube having opposed openings, one of the openings being aligned with the rotatable screw opening and a thread nut connected to each of the opposed openings, each opposed opening having a threaded central bore sized to threadingly engage threads on the rotatable screw, whereby rotation of the screw moves the cleaning plate between the headers.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to cleaning systems for UV disinfection modules/reactors, particularly to a moveable wiper system adapted for UV disinfection modules/reactors containing multiple UV disinfection lamps. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Utilization of UV for disinfection of potable and wastewater continues to increase on an ongoing basis. A number of UV disinfection systems are commercially available and utilized for a wide variety of wastewater and potable disinfection processes. 
     It has been an ongoing problem in the field of UV disinfection that, over the course of time, quartz jackets surrounding the individual UV lamps tend to foul due to the slow build-up or accumulation of deposited material on the quartz jackets. Such materials include particulates, fats, oils, greases and the like that are typical of foreign matter contained within the water being disinfected. A number of systems and processes have been developed to remove such accumulations/deposits. Such systems include various reciprocating wiper systems which tend to have one problem or another in effectively and economically achieving the task of cleaning quartz jackets for extended periods of time. Systems/processes known to the Applicant include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,562,520; 3,837,800; 3,904,363; 4,017,734; 4,968,489; 5,133,945; 5,440,131; and 5,528,044. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a cleaning system for a UV disinfection module having a pair of headers with a multiplicity of lamps extending therebetween including a cleaning plate having a multiplicity of openings therein, the openings having lamp wipers and arranged to substantially coincide with positions of the lamps to permit movement of the plate between the headers, a rotatable screw extending between the headers and through the plate, a motor operatively connected to rotate the screw, a screw adapter fixed to the cleaning plate at a rotatable screw opening in the plate and including a substantially cylindrical tube having opposed openings, one of the openings being aligned with the rotatable screw opening and a thread nut connected to each of the opposed openings, each opposed opening having a threaded central bore sized to threadingly engage threads on the rotatable screw, whereby rotation of the screw moves the cleaning plate between the headers. 
     The invention also relates to a cleaning plate having a multiplicity of openings therein, the openings arranged to substantially coincide with positions of the lamps to permit sliding of the plate between the headers, a ring-shaped wiper connected to the plate at each opening sized such that each wiper has a diameter less than the exterior diameter of a corresponding lamp, each wiper connected to the plate which permits lateral movement of the wiper with respect to the plate, and a motor operatively connected to move the plate between the headers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a vertical UV disinfection module, having a portion broken away to facilitate ease of viewing of a cleaning system in accordance with aspects of the invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of the module shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of the module shown in FIG. 2, partially broken away and taken in section for ease of understanding. 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a cleaning plate in accordance with aspects of the invention as shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the plate shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a portion of the cleaning plate taken from phantom line VII of FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded cross-sectional view of a screw adapter taken from phantom line VIII of FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that the following description is intended to refer to specific embodiments of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings and is not intended to define or limit the invention, other than in the appended claims. 
     Turning now to the drawings in general and FIGS. 1 and 2 in particular, the number  12  designates an immersible and portable disinfection module  12  which is typically located in an open channel (not shown) to irradiate wastewater with ultraviolet and thereby disinfect the water as it flows through the channel. Modules of this basic type are well known in the art such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,388, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein. Each module  12  includes a multiplicity of UV lamps  14  surrounded by transparent quartz jackets  24  located between an upper header  18  and a lower header  20  which in the embodiment shown are substantially vertically oriented in prearranged patterns to evenly and completely irradiate with a prescribed dose of ultraviolet and disinfect water as it passes through the channel. The modules typically rest on the floor of the channel and are positioned adjacent to substantially vertical walls. 
     The channel is typically sized so that wastewater passes lamps  14  in transparent jackets  24  and is maintained at a predetermined depth which preferably remains below upper header  18 . The quantity, flow rate, type and composition of the water is effected by other systems and apparatus known in the art and not discussed herein. 
     The integral structure of module  12  includes an upper header  18  and lower header  20 . Legs  22  connect upper and lower headers  18  and  20  and are preferably spaced apart at the respective corners of module  12 . A multiplicity of transparent jackets  24  are connected between upper and lower headers  18  and  20  in a manner known well in the art. Each jacket  24  contains at least one lamp  14 . 
     Upper header  18  includes sidewalls  26  and a removable cover  28 . Cover  28  may be hinged or otherwise connectable to upper header  18  and is most preferably sealable to protect against water leakage. Handle  27  connects to cover  28  and ensures that cover  28  remains in a closed position during module operation. Raising and lowering eyes  30  are connected to sidewalls  26  for ease of location and are used to move module  12  in and out of the channel. Module  12  is equipped with an electrical connector  32  on one of sidewalls  26  which permits multiconductive cable  34  to connect between lamps and various power and control devices known in the art. Sidewall  24  also includes an air supply connector  36  to introduce air, which is the especially preferred fluid, for certain aspects of jacket cleaning, into module  12 . Air supply connector  36  in sidewall  26  leads to an air supply pipe which is preferably located interiorly of the upper header  18 . In an especially preferred embodiment, the air supply pipe connects to one of legs  22  which is hollow and channels air to lower header  20 . Air may then be channeled outwardly of the channel through a multiplicity of holes (not shown) in lower header  20 . 
     Upper header  18  contains wiring associated with lamps  14 , electronic lamp controllers and/or ballasts, lamp monitors, data collectors and a number of devices not shown herein that contribute to the operation of the system and the module. Such devices include, among other things, connecting wires, coolant devices such as fans, blowers and the like as well as alarms, read-outs, microprocessors and the like. The need or desirability of these items is influenced by the particular characteristics of each treatment facility. Module  12  also contains a cleaning plate  35  which connects to a rotating screw  37 , preferably an Acme screw, by way of a screw adapter  39  welded to cleaning plate  35 . 
     FIG. 3 shows module  12  at a stage of intermediate assembly to facilitate ease of understanding of the cleaning system which comprises cleaner plate  35 , rotating screw  37 , screw adapter  39 , motor  41 , motor mount  43 , upper screw mount  45  and lower screw mount  47 . Motor  41  is connected to wires and control mechanisms to facilitate operation of the cleaning system. Actuation of motor  41  causes screw  37  to rotate between upper and lower screw mounts  45  and  47  to facilitate vertical movement of cleaning plate  35 . Cleaning plate  35  has substantially a free range of movement between upper header  18  and lower header  20 , such range being defined by a switch rod  91  that extends between headers  18  and  20 . 
     Switch rod  91  has a stop device  93  adjacent header  18  and a stop device  95  adjacent header  20 . Switch rod  91  connects to a switch mechanism  97  located in header  18  and adjacent motor  41 . Switch  97  also electrically connects to motor  41 . 
     Movement of cleaning plate  35  in the direction towards stop device  95  results in contact between stop device  95  and plate  35  inasmuch as switch rod  91  extends through an opening in plate  35  and stop device  95  is sized larger than the opening. Upon contact between plate  35  and stop device  95 , movement of plate  35  towards header  20  causes switch rod  91  to move downwardly and, at a preselected point, trip switch  97 . Trip switch  97  sends a signal to motor  41 , thereby causing it to reverse direction. This causes plate  35  to move upwardly towards header  18 . Cleaning plate  35  subsequently contacts stop device  93  adjacent header  18 , thereby causing switch rod  91  to move upwardly toward header  18  and, at a preselected point, triggers switch  97 . Switch  97  sends a signal to motor  41 , thereby causing motor  41  to stop rotational movement. Initial movement of plate  35  and reverse movement of plate  35  constitutes a full cleaning cycle. 
     FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the structure to which rotating screw  37  is mounted. As previously noted, an upper portion of rotating screw  37  is fixed to upper screw mount  45  and the lower end of rotating screw  37  is fixed to lower screw mount  47 . The particular structure of mounts  45  and  47  is not especially important so long as they hold rotating screw  37  in a substantially preselected vertical position and permit both clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of rotating screw  37 . Also, in the case of lower screw mount  47 , it should be constructed such that it can reliably operate over extended periods of time under water. Similarly, the construction of upper screw mount  45  must be such that rotating screw  37  may be connected to motor  41  either directly or through a coupling  15 . 
     FIGS. 5,  6  and  7  show further details of cleaning plate  35 . Cleaning plate  35  contains a multiplicity of openings  17  which substantially correspond in location to the placement of lamps  14  and jackets  24  within module  12 . It is important to note, however, that there are oftentimes significant variations in tolerances between the location of jackets  24  and the location of the openings  17 . Each opening  17  is matched to a ring  19  that is preferably made from hard plastic and has a lip seal  49 , preferably made from elastic-type material such as rubber. A pair of clamp plates  51  holds each ring  19  in a designated location. The plates  51  are held in place by a multiplicity of nut/bolt combinations  53 . 
     Each plate  51  has a “Z” shaped portion  55  which, together with the edge portions of plate  35  at openings  17 , sandwich rings  19  in place. The “Z” portions permit a small amount of lateral movement of rings  19  to accommodate for the tolerance variations with respect to the positioning of jackets  24 . There is no substantial vertical movement of rings  19  permitted by the “Z” shaped portions. Lip seals  49  are sized and shaped to contact jackets  24  so that, during sliding action of plate  35  with respect to jackets  24 , cleaning action of jackets  24 , by virtue of such physical contact, occurs. 
     FIG. 8 shows screw adapter  39  which is comprised of a substantially cylindrical tube  71  welded to cleaning plate  35  at an opening  73  in plate  35 . Tube  71  has openings on each end thereof, each opening containing a thread nut  75 . Each thread nut  75  has a central bore extending therethrough, the central bore having a threaded surface  77  which engages threads  79  of screw  37 . The thread nuts  75  are attached to an interior surface  81  of tube  71  by threads  83  by way of threads  85  on thread nuts  75 . A set screw  87  fixes each thread nut  75  into a desired position relative to cylinder  71 . 
     Rotation of screw  37  in a particular direction causes cleaning plate  35  to move between headers  18  and  20  in a selected direction. Reversal of the direction of rotation of screw  37  causes reversal of the direction of movement of cleaning plate  35  between headers  18  and  20 . 
     In accordance with the structure described above, the operator can clean lamp jackets  24  at intervals particular to the characteristics of the system in which the cleaning apparatus is installed. The cleaning system can be used on an automated system if desired or operated manually and such automation can be adjusted in accordance with water quality, water flow and any number of other variables. 
     The benefits brought about by the structure described above include: head losses are limited since plate  35  remains submerged during the operation of the module; during normal operation, the cleaning system is located above the electrodes of lamps  14 , whereby their total arc length remains effective; lip seals  49  are not continuously exposed to UV radiation inasmuch as the cleaning system is stored above the lamp electrodes during normal operation; no algae and/or fibers are trapped by plate  35  inasmuch as the cleaning system is stored above the water level during normal operation; fibers and algae that might be trapped on screw  37  are removed each time cleaning plate  35  is cycled; and reduced maintenance of screw adapter  39  occurs due to the double thread nut design. Accordingly, the cleaning system can be used for not only wastewater disinfection, but for drinking water disinfection as well. 
     Although this invention has been described in connection with specific forms thereof, it will be appreciated that a wide variety of equivalents may be substituted for the specific elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention described in the appended claims. For example, the upper and lower headers  18  and  20  need not be totally vertically aligned so that the lamps are perpendicular to the headers. The upper and lower headers can be arranged so that the lamps are aligned out of vertical. For example, the lamps may extend between the headers at various angles to vertical such as horizontal. 
     Modules  12  may be connected to various types of power and control devices. The power supply is typically found at the site and is preferably a standard commercial building type, although modules  12  may be connected to alternate supplies such as generators and the like. Modules  12  are preferably connected to function control devices that coordinate operation of the entire disinfection system, including the cleaning function. One particular control function allows modules  12  to automatically, either continuously or periodically, initiate or terminate cleaning by operating a time device, water flow rates, quantities and the like, and an alarm system, for example. 
     Modules  12  are most preferably constructed from stainless steel and welded together, although other materials and assembly methods may be substituted or added. Also, the modules can not only be installed in vertical and horizontal format, but in open channel and closed configurations.