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Airlift pump

Airlift pump description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/956,134 filed on Aug. 16, 2007; Ser. No. 60/979,403 filed on Oct. 12, 2007; Ser. No. 60/979,404 filed on Oct. 12, 2007; and Ser. No. 61/021,616 filed on Jan. 16, 2008.

The airlift pump device described herein relates generally to the recovery of subsurface liquid or semi-liquid material. An airlift pump generally comprises a hollow, cylindrical main body connected to a drainage conduit. The main body is submerged into a subsurface liquid or semi-liquid material, causing the interior of the main body to fill with such material. A gas such as air is then introduced into the main body, thereby reducing the specific gravity of the material in the upper part of the main body, which causes that material to become buoyant. As the buoyant material moves upward toward the ground surface, additional liquid material is drawn into the bottom end of the main body, causing a continuous pumping action.

The present device comprises an improved airlift pump for use in the groundwater monitoring industry. This industry uses standard monitoring wells having a relatively small diameter, and prior airlift pumps were difficult, if not impossible, to operate in such tight confines. In addition, operation of prior airlift pumps required expensive customized equipment because these pumps could not accommodate the hoses, fittings, and other pumping equipment standard in the industry.

The device disclosed herein seeks to overcome these problems by providing an improved airlift pump comprising features that optimize performance in the confines of narrow wells. The simplified features and operation of the device permit a significant cost savings over the current pumping methods.

The airlift pump device generally comprises a hollow, cylindrical main body having an open top end and an open bottom end, and an air tube. The main body has a connection means near the top end. The connection means forms a substantially watertight connection between the main body and discharge tube. An injection hole is located near the bottom end at a distance that can range approximately from one to two and one half inches from the edge of the bottom end. The outside of the main body further comprises a routed channel or elongated recess for seating and retaining the air tube, and the channel runs continuously along the outside of the main body to the top end.

The air tube is a metal tube having a receiving end and an injection end, with the injection end further comprising an elbow forming an injection angle such that the air is injected into the main body in a downward direction toward the bottom end rather than in an upward direction toward the top end. The injection end of the air tube is inserted into the injection hole, and the air tube is seated inside and along the channel in a manner such that the receiving end of the air tube extends past the top end of the main body. The air tube is then secured to the main body by a bonding means, which is any means for securing the air tube to the main body using non-contaminating materials that provide a streamlined shape, such as an adhesive, an epoxy, or a weld.

In use, standard air supply tubing is attached to the receiving end of the air tube, and standard discharge tube is attached to the connection means of the main body. When air is introduced into the air tube via the air supply tubing, the air travels down the air tube, past the elbow, and into the interior portion of the main body at a downward angle. The injected air reduces the specific gravity of the material inside the main body above the injection hole, thus causing this column of material to become buoyant and move upward toward the discharge tube. As this column of material moves, additional material is drawn into the main body via the bottom end, and this continuous action drives the pump.

In another embodiment of the pump, the main body is comprised of a thin-walled metal tube that does not comprise a channel. Instead, the air tube is bonded directly to the outside surface of the main body, with the other features remaining the same. In another embodiment, the connection means comprises a thread insert to accommodate a standard fitting. In another embodiment, the receiving end of the air tube comprises a slight bend forming a deviation angle to accommodate the standard fittings.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the air tube and main body, showing the air tube as separated from the main body.

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the improved airlift pump having air supply tubing attached to the receiving end of the air tube and discharge tube attached by a fitting.

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the connection means, showing a standard fitting attached by a threaded insert.

FIG. 4 is a side view of an embodiment where the air tube is attached to the outside surface of the main body by a continuous weld.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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