Claims
- 1. A method of simultaneously digging a trench in the bottom of a body of water and laying a pipe from a barge therein which comprises the steps of:
- forming a trench in said bottom by towing a trenching machine by said barge using a tow wire;
- feeding and extending said pipe from said barge into said trench such that said pipe forms an unsupported catenary curve, a locus of which extends through, but not touching, a hiatus defined by a top, bottom, and two sides relative to said trenching machine;
- sensing the locus of said pipe within said hiatus by transmitting a signal to said barge in the event said pipe contacts said top or bottom of said hiatus; and
- maintaining said locus substantially constant from said barge by adjusting the length of said tow wire.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said sensing of said locus occurs by underwater videoing of said hiatus.
- 3. A combination trenching and pipe laying apparatus for laying pipe in the floor of a body of water using a barge comprising:
- a frame supported upon parallel skid means for traversing along said floor;
- tow wire means connected between said barge and said frame, and means on said barge to adjust the length of said tow wire;
- a plow means connected to and below said frame for forming a substantially vertical sidewall trench in said bottom, said plow means having a leading forward end and a trailing end and formed of a pair of spaced substantially vertical and parallel planar side plates and an arcuate bottom plate curving upwardly and rearwardly to a means to facilitate the removal of cuttings upwardly and outwardly to both sides of said trench, said leading forward end of said vertical planar side plates and said arcuate bottom plate defining a cutting edge means;
- an upstanding framework connected to and above said frame forming a hiatus defined by a top, bottom, and two sides;
- means on said barge to feed and extend said pipe downwardly into a bottom of said trench formed by said plow such that a preferred locus of said pipe forms an unsupported catenary curve that extends through said hiatus without contact with said top, bottom, and two sides;
- means relative to said framework to sense contact of said pipe with said top or bottom within said hiatus; and
- means to transmit a signal indicative of said position to an operator on said barge whereby said operator can maintain said locus substantially constant by adjusting the length of said tow wire.
- 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means to sense said position comprises a roller forming the bottom of said hiatus, said roller including means to sense downward contact applied thereagainst by said pipe.
- 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said means to sense said position also includes a roller forming the top of said hiatus, said roller including means to sense an upward contact applied thereagainst by said pipe.
- 6. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means to sense said position comprises a roller forming the top of said hiatus, said roller including means to sense upward contact applied thereagainst by said pipe.
- 7. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means to facilitate the removal of cuttings comprises a horizontal plate at the top of said arcuate bottom plate and outwardly and rearwardly cutting diverter boards to force said cuttings to both sides of said trench.
- 8. The combination of claim 3 wherein at least one additional horizontal cutting element exists at said leading edge above said leading edge of said arcuate bottom plate.
- 9. The combination of claim 3 wherein said plow means is pivoted to said frame and power means actuated by said barge operator to pivot said plow means relative to said frame whereby said plow means may be raised above said bottom of said body of water.
- 10. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means to sense comprises an underwater video.
- 11. The combination of claim 3 including a plurality of vertically and rearwardly stepped plow means.
- 12. In a combination trenching and pipe laying apparatus for laying pipe in the floor of a body of water using a barge;
- a frame supported upon parallel skid means for traversing along said floor;
- tow wire means connected between said barge and said frame, and means on said barge to adjust the length of said tow wire;
- means on said barge to feed and extend said pipe downwardly into bottom of said trench formed by said plow such that said pipe forms an unsupported catenary curve immediately above said frame;
- means relative to said framework to sense downward pressure of said pipe against said frame and means to transmit a signal indicative of said pressure to an operator on said barge whereby said operator can maintain said the locus of said pipe above said frame substantially constant by adjusting the length of said tow wire, the improvement characterized by:
- a plow means connected to and below said frame for forming a substantially vertical sidewall trench in said bottom, said plow means having a leading forward end and a trailing end and formed of a pair of spaced substantially vertical planar side plates and an arcuate bottom plate curving upwardly and rearwardly to facilitate the removal of cuttings upwardly and outwardly to at least one side of said trench, said leading forward end of said vertical planar side plates and said arcuate bottom plate defining a cutting edge means.
- 13. The combination of claim 12, the further improvement wherein said means to facilitate the removal of cuttings comprises a horizontal plate at the top of said arcuate bottom plate and outwardly and rearwardly cutting diverter boards to force said cuttings to both sides of said trench.
- 14. The combination of claim 12, the further improvement wherein at least one additional horizontal cutting element exists at said leading edge above said leading edge of said arcuate bottom plate.
- 15. The combination of claim 12, the further improvement including a plurality of vertically and rearwardly stepped plow means.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 07/008,277, filed 1-28-87 for Marine Pipeline Trenching Plow For Simultaneous Pipe Laying And Entrenchment, now abandoned which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 608,076, filed 5/7/84 now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (10)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
608076 |
May 1984 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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8277 |
Jan 1987 |
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