Patent ID: 8512565

Claim:
A solid-liquid separator comprising: a pump portion having a self-priming liquid pump with a suction system at an upstream site of said pump; a separation portion connected one of directly and indirectly to said suction system, said separation portion including a first cyclone mechanism having a first cyclone cylinder disposed at an outer side of said separation portion and a second cyclone mechanism in fluid communication with said first cyclone mechanism and having a second cyclone cylinder with a diameter smaller than a diameter of said first cyclone cylinder, said second cyclone cylinders being coaxial to a swirling axis of said first cyclone mechanism and being at an inner side of said first cyclone cylinder; an inlet introducing a liquid from an exterior of said separation portion into said first cyclone cylinder for a first cyclone separation by swirling along an inner peripheral wall of said first cyclone cylinder, said second cyclone cylinder being connected to said first cyclone cylinder to receive liquid separated in said first cyclone cylinder and to swirl that liquid along an inner peripheral wall of said second cyclone cylinder; a first storage tank disposed below said first cyclone mechanism to store solids separated by said first cyclone mechanism; a second storage tank disposed below said second cyclone mechanism to store solids separated by said second cyclone mechanism, said second storage tank being disposed above said first storage tank and having a bottom portion; and a float valve movable between open and closed positions in said bottom portion of said second storage tank by at least one of a pump suction force of said pump and a buoyant force of the float valve; in the open position sludge inside said second storage tank being dropped into said first storage tank, said float valve being moved to the open position by one of by a weight of sludge stored above said float valve becoming greater than a sum of the buoyant force and the pump suction force during stoppage of the pump as the pump suction force decreases and of by a liquid level of a liquid-solid mixture decreasing below a position of said bottom portion during at least one of stoppage of said pump and stoppage of air intake; whereby, a liquid is introduced into said first and second cyclone cylinders by the pump suction force and swirling flow in said first and second cyclone cylinders separates solids contained in the liquid.