Patent ID: 7992717

Claim:
A hindered settling system comprising: a housing adapted to receive a flow of slurry, the housing including a central section and an upper section and a lower section; a clean water introduction assembly including a horizontal manifold in proximity to the upper section, a plurality of horizontal apertured pipes in the central section in proximity to the lower section, a plurality of vertical water lines coupled to the manifold and an associated apertured pipe; a valve assembly including an upper valve and a lower valve, the upper valve being normally open and the lower valve being normally closed to feed clean water from the manifold through the water lines and out of the apertured pipes into the housing whereby slurry and clean water entering the housing will cause a hindered settling, the valve assembly also operable in a back flow mode with the upper valve being closed and the lower valve being opened whereby water from the housing will flow from the apertured pipes for clearing clogs in the holes of the apertured pipe; and a coupling assembly between the housing and each apertured pipe; wherein each coupling assembly includes a circular aperture in the housing for each apertured pipe in the central section adjacent to the lower section, a cylindrical interior component having an annular flange welded to each aperture, each interior component having an internal passageway in a frusto-conical configuration, an annular compression plate adjacent to each annular flange, a swedge with an interior portion positionable within each interior component, each swedge having an interior bore for receiving an apertured pipe and an exterior surface in a frusto-conical configuration larger than the internal passageway of the interior component, each swedge having an exterior portion in an annular configuration between the compression plate and the annular flange, the interior component and the compression plate being fabricated of a rigid metallic material, the swedge being fabricated of a resilient elastomer selected from the class of elastomers including plastic and rubber, natural and synthetic, and blends thereof, and further including aligned apertures in the compression plate and the swedge and the flange of the interior component, the apertures of the flange of the interior component being threaded, bolts releasably coupling the compression plate and the swedge to the flange of the interior component.