Patent Grant
7334358
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to dredging equipment and more specifically, to a portable dredging apparatus comprising a cutter housing in communication with a hydraulic power supply and a discharge pump through lengths of tubing whereby said cutter housing is submersible. The cutter housing is comprised of a platform having walls depending therefrom with the cutter blade positioned therewithin and height adjustable wheels exteriorly located on opposing sides. Also extending between the walls proximate to the cutter blade is an angularly positioned wiper element designed to dislodge debris caught between the teeth of the cutter blade. Angularly depending screen situated between the wiper blade and discharge port located in the rear wall prevent objects larger than the screen mesh from discharge port passage.
Releasably fastened to the exterior side of the discharge port is an appropriate length of flexible conduit terminating at a remote discharge pump with additional conduit extending from the discharge pump to a desired debris discharge location.
Located on the topside of the cutter housing is a handle providing means for navigating the cutter housing through a cutter task and having control means mounted thereon to raise and lower the wheels and engage and disengage a deck mounted hydraulic motor powering the cutter blade.
An additional element is provided in the form of a trailer providing means for transporting the hydraulic power plant, cutter housing, discharge pump and lengths of conduit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other devices designed for dredging. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 1,415,113 issued to Phillips, Jr. on May 9, 1922.
Another patent was issued to Jacobsen on Jul. 29, 1952 as U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,090. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,779 was issued to Randall on May 7, 1974 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 5, 1982 to Sloan as U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,251.
Another patent was issued to Campbell on Feb. 15, 1983 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,867. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,746 was issued to Beck on Oct. 18, 1983. Another was issued to Wilson, et al. on Apr. 18, 1989 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,106 and still yet another was issued on Dec. 26, 1989 to Cornelius as U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,391.
Another patent was issued to Wirth on Jul. 15, 1997 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,691. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,003 was issued to Araoka on Jan. 18, 2005. Another was issued to Kubosawa on Nov. 14, 1981 as Japanese Patent No. JP56146524 and still yet another was issued on Jan. 23, 1996 to Inaba as Japanese Patent No. JP8020965. Another was issued to Fujimura on Mar. 5, 1996 as Japanese Patent No. JP8060695 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 4, 1997 to Goto as Japanese Patent No. JP9060035.
A clam or mussel dredging apparatus comprising a pipe adapted to extend obliquely downwardly into the water and having a mouth at an angle to said pipe to rest substantially flatly on the bottom, a second pipe adjacent the first pipe- and arranged to discharge air or other gas so as to rise through the first pipe causing eruption of the bottom under said mouth and a rising current of air, water, and bottom, and means for forcing air through said second pipe.
In underwater placer mining apparatus a nozzle unit comprising a generally axially extending suction conduit having a lower end portion disposed generally upright in the nozzle unit's operative position, a plurality of suction branch conduits of substantially smaller size branching outward from said lower end portion and turned downward and generally inward at an incline to the vertical, said branch conduits terminating in lower end portions forming suction inlets for drawing of loose bottom materials into said branch conduits, pressure conduit means including a plurality of downwardly extending pressure branch conduits terminating in lower end portions forming similarly directed force jets directed generally downwardly and appreciably inwardly and tangentially about the nozzle unit's axis to create, a vortex swirl of loose bottom materials in the vicinity of said suction inlets to be drawn into said suction inlets.
Diver from boat working along ocean bottom cuts Irish Moss, agar weed, or similar marine vegetation growing at depth of up to about 100′, using a manually maneuvered sickle bar cutting unit which carries and is powered by a light weight air motor. Cutting unit further includes a collecting hood to which a flexible suction hose is attached for hydraulic delivery of the cut plants via an airlift, by which the suction is induced, to the surface and into a collecting strainer in or alongside the boat. Airlift is positioned just below the water surface and is spaced by the flexible suction hose a considerable distance away from the diver. Cutting unit air motor receives driving air, and diver receives breathing air from air compressor aboard the boat. Airlift receives driving air preferably from said air compressor, and cutting unit air motor preferably exhausts to atmospheric pressure, but said motor exhaust air could be utilized to drive airlift. Cutting unit oriented for side-to-side sweeping movement in cutting of plant stalks, and several hood configurations are described. Cutting blade has relatively short length, and air motor is relatively small. Airlift delivery tube receives driving air via a relatively large number of small diameter air apertures therethrough, the apertures being angled 2′0° upwardly, and the sum of their areas being 50 percent larger than the interior diameter of the delivery tube.
A portable and lightweight suction dredge head which is held by a diver and is hand operated so as to be easily moved about in the working position. These heads are, for example of sizes from three inches to eight inches in intake diameter. The dredge head is used for excavating under water and is of the suction type wherein the material is conveyed away from a suction pipe from the dredge head. A jet digger may also be used with the dredge head. A manually operated valve on the dredge head permits the operator to regulate the amount of suction at the inlet of the dredge head and is capable of reducing the amount of suction so as to permit the operator to (1) adjust the density of the material being conveyed, that is regulate the amount of sludge or trash relative to the amount of water that is being conveyed, (2) control the digging aggressiveness of the dredge head, or (3) easily remove foreign material such as rocks, cans or other matter from the inlet of the dredge head or free his hand or foot if it accidently is grabbed by the dredge head. The head is rotatably mounted on the suction pipe which leads to a remote location whereby the head can be easily rotated at the most desirable digging position, and means are provided for insuring that the swivel coupling remains clear of sand or the like and freely operative. The above dredge head together with a hydraulically driven submersible pump assembly act to eliminate pump priming difficulties and pump sealing problems due to abrasive material, and provides good net positive head, horsepower, speed control, safety and mobility.
A pumping system is described for pumping fluids, such as water with entrained mud and small rocks, out of underground cavities such as drilled wells, which can effectively remove fluids down to a level very close to the bottom of the cavity and which can operate solely by compressed air pumped down through the cavity. The system utilizes a subassembly having a pair of parallel conduit sections (44, 46) adapted to be connected onto the bottom of a drill string utilized for drilling the cavity, the drill string also having a pair of coaxially extending conduits. The subassembly includes an upper portion which has means for connection onto the drill string and terminates the first conduit of the drill string in a plenum (55). A compressed air-driven pump (62) is suspended from the upper portion. The pump sucks fluids from the bottom of the cavity and discharges them into the second conduit. Compressed air pumped down through the first conduit (46) to the plenum powers the compressed air-driven pump and aerates the fluid in the second conduit to lift it to the earth's surface.
A dredging apparatus has a chamber with a substantially circular cross section. A first inlet and outlet is formed through the chamber with an axis of the inlet and outlet normal to a diameter of the chamber. A suction inlet is formed through the axis of the chamber along the axis of the vortex formed as the fluids leave the inlet and pass to a second outlet formed substantially coaxially with the vortex. Apparatus is provided for supporting the dredging apparatus in a position so that the suction inlet can remove material desired to be dredged.
A golf ball dredge which comprises a shallow draft, buoyant support vessel in the form of a pontoon boat that provides a floating platform from which the dredging apparatus is supported. The pontoon boat has a small outboard motor mounted at its bow for providing a means for propulsion and steering of the boat. A relatively high pressure, gasoline powered, centrifugal water pump is mounted on the pontoon boat with its suction intake located below the water level. The pump provides a high pressure water outlet discharge that is supplied through eductor tubes into the inlet end of a bottom suction intake piping system. The bottom suction intake piping system also is supported on the pontoon boat with its inlet end submerged below the surface of the water to a suitable depth for lightly contacting the bottom of the waterhole. The high pressure water discharge from the pump is supplied through the eductor tubes to the inlet end of the suction intake piping system for creating a suction action that draws water and any entrained solids such as golf balls into the suction intake piping system. The suction intake piping system discharges under relatively high pressure water and any entrained solids into the inlet end of an automatically operable golf ball separator means supported on the pontoon boat for automatically separating out golf balls from liquid and other entrained solids contained in the suction intake piping system discharge without requiring the need for human intervention in the separating procedure.
A hand-held suction dredge and metal detector is supported on a vertically held hollow pipe. A metal detector having a central aperture is slidably supported on the pipe with the lower pipe end extending therethrough for receiving and transmitting at least partially fluid material. A spring urges the metal detector toward an initial position at the lower end of said pipe. A fluid jet is positioned in the pipe directed upward therein. A pump supported on the pipe and connected to the fluid jet circulate fluid to create a suction in the pipe to draw at least partially fluid material through the pipe to discharge the same from the upper end thereof. A perforate basket on the upper end of the pipe has openings sized to permit discharge of fluid material and retain larger metal solids therein. The pipe, in use, supports the metal detector adjacent to a region being investigated for dredging material by operation of the pump. A motor supported on the pipe operates the pump. The dredge and detector are constructed to locate metal objects in sand or loose soil, or underwater, and the pump is a high capacity air blower or water pump, and the jet is of a size and shape to induce suction through the pipe on circulation of air or water therethrough. Circularly extending trays in the basket are positioned to catch and retain solid metal objects drawn through said pipe while allowing fluid or particulate material to flow out through the openings in the basket.
A method and apparatus for ecologically safely removing silt, muck, and sand from a waterbottom and for collecting the silt, muck, and sand without destroying the benthos therein into porous containers where the then contained mud and silt can be ecologically positioned where desired to enhance subaquatic environments. The apparatus includes a silt and mud collecting and transfer device that has no moving parts, thereby not endangering the benthos in the transfer process.
The gravel-or-the-like removing device includes an impeller casing which accommodates an impeller driven by a motor in the inside thereof and has a suction opening at the center of the lower surface, a peripheral wall for preventing collapse and inflow of gravel or the like which is constituted of a cylindrical body which has an upper end thereof connected to a lower portion of the impeller casing and a lower end thereof opened downwardly and forms a water-retention space in the inside thereof, and a water suction pipe which has an upper-end opening thereof opened in water above a gravel-or-the-like piled level and a lower opening thereof communicably connected with the water retention space.
PURPOSE: To dredge sand and mud in a pit or the like at a high efficiency by providing a sand pump with a mud suction tube and a mud feed tube and a sink and float device to a body with a warped bottom section in a basket type sand/mud dredging apparatus.
CONSTITUTION: When an air suction/discharge valve 25 is opened, air is fed into a float 16 while water inside is discharged from a water suction/discharge port 16A. The float 16 comes up to float the body maintaining it at a specified position. When the air suction/discharge valve 25 is closed to halt the air supply, the air in the float 16 is discharged to reduce the pressure. As water enters the float 16, the body 11 submerges down, collects accumulated earth 9 and sucks it into a mud suction tube 13.
PURPOSE: To dredge hard mud with high efficiency by a method wherein agitating devices are disposed in front of and both sides of a vertical type screw conveyor and a mud collecting plate is arranged to the outside of the mud intake port of a conveyor.
CONSTITUTION: A hydraulic motor 217a is driven and agitating blades 218A and 218B of an agitating 216 are rotated to excavate mud. Excavated mud is guided to a mud suction port 214 by a mud collecting plate arranged at the back of the mud suction port 214 of a casing 211. The mud is inputted on a vertical screw conveyor 210 through a mud suction port 214 and transferred upward. Further, mud is pressurized by a pressure pump 220 and conveyed through a discharge pipe 250 by compressed air injected in the discharge pipe 250 through an ejector 260.
PURPOSE: To dredge efficiently by mounting a plurality of edges to the bottom of a dredging cylinder, mounting a plurality of water jet nozzles to the outer periphery of the dredging cylinder, and housing turnably an impeller inside the dredging cylinder.
CONSTITUTION: Water is supplied to a water jet nozzle 9 by way of a pipe 7 mounted to a dredging cylinder 2 where the jet water is sprayed to accumulated mud, while edges 5 are pulled, thereby loosening the accumulated mud. An impeller 12 having a plurality of blades 11 installed to a rotary inner cylinder 10 is driven with a submergible motor 14, thereby agitating the loosen mud so as to turn the mud into fine particles. Furthermore, the fine particle mud is sucked up with a slurry pump installed to the top of a dredging mechanism 1.
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and stably dredge suspended mud as well as soft mud.
SOLUTION: A casing 1, in the bottom face of which a opening 2 is provided, is divided into an excavation chamber 8 and a pump chamber 9 by a partition panel 7, and an excavation device 11, which excavates bottom mud 20 through the opening 2 and sends it to the pump chamber 9, and a mud pumping-up pump 12 are arranged in the excavation chamber 8 and pump chamber 9 respectively. Air pipes 28 and 29, which are used to selectively send compressed air to the excavation chamber 8 and pump chamber 9 from an air supply and exhaust device 31, are connected to the top face of the easing 1. In order to dredge soft mud, air pressure in the excavation chamber 8 is made to increase, and the pump chamber 9 is opened in the atmospheric air for performing high density dredging and the air leaked from the excavation chamber 8 to the pump chamber 9 is relieved in the atmosphere through the air pipe 29. In order to dredge suspended mud, the excavation chamber 8 is opened in the atmosphere, and air pressure in the pump chamber 9 is made to increase, and suspended mud is dredged by a suction method while preventing the production of a water passage between the opening 2 of the casing 1 and the mud pumping-up pump 12.
While these dredging devices may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a portable dredging apparatus capable of cutting through calcified material such as coral.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable dredging apparatus comprising a hydraulic power plant, cutting member, discharge pump and appropriate lengths of conduit.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable dredging apparatus wherein said cutting member is submersible and connected by length of conduit to said hydraulic power plant and discharge pump.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable dredging apparatus wherein said cutting member is comprised of a platform having walls depending therefrom having exteriorly mounted wheels for mobility.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable dredging apparatus wherein said cutter platform has a hydraulic motor mounted thereon driving the cutter blade.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a portable dredging apparatus comprising a cutter housing in communication with a hydraulic power supply and a discharge pump through lengths of tubing whereby said cutter housing is submersible. The cutter housing is comprised of a platform having walls depending therefrom with the cutter blade positioned therewithin and height adjustable wheels exteriorly located on opposing sides. Also extending between the walls proximate to the cutter blade is an angularly positioned wiper element designed to dislodge debris caught between the teeth of the cutter blade. Angularly depending screen situated between the wiper blade and discharge port located in the rear wall prevent objects larger than the screen mesh from discharge port passage. Releasably fastened to the exterior side of the discharge port is an appropriate length of flexible conduit terminating at a remote discharge pump with additional conduit extending from the discharge pump to a desired debris discharge location.
Located on the topside of the cutter housing is a handle providing means for navigating the cutter housing through a cutter task and having control means mounted thereon to raise and lower the wheels and engage and disengage a deck mounted hydraulic motor powering the cutter blade.
An additional element is provided in the form of a trailer providing means for transporting the hydraulic power plant, cutter housing, discharge pump and lengths of conduit.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, the figures illustrate the Portable Dredging Apparatus of the present invention. With regard to the reference numerals used, the following numbering is used throughout the various drawing figures.
The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention (and several variations of that embodiment). This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments, practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. For definition of the complete scope of the invention, the reader is directed to appended claims.
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claims, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 281905 | Meinesz | Jul 1883 | A |
| 509286 | Bentinck et al. | Nov 1893 | A |
| 1062924 | Mercer | May 1913 | A |
| 3504943 | Sheary et al. | Apr 1970 | A |
| 4222217 | Brown | Sep 1980 | A |
| 4854058 | Sloan et al. | Aug 1989 | A |
| 4889391 | Cornelius | Dec 1989 | A |
| 4957622 | Mims | Sep 1990 | A |
| 5146997 | Korin | Sep 1992 | A |
| 5152126 | Cousineau | Oct 1992 | A |
| 6209965 | Borns et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
| 7083734 | Happonen | Aug 2006 | B2 |
| 7181871 | Sower | Feb 2007 | B2 |
