Autonomous vertically-adjustable dredge
OwnerJeremy Leonardinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of dredging a bottom of a body of water is provided. Winching stations are positioned around the perimeter of an area to be dredged and a cable from each winching station is connected to a float. The cables pass through a variable resistance pulley assembly attached to a submersible assembly having a cutter and a submersible pump and are tensioned to suspend the submersible assembly. The cutter and submersible pump are activated and the winches are controlled to move the submersible assembly in a dredging pattern. When an obstacle is encountered the resistance of the pulley assembly is decreased and sufficient tension is applied to the cables to lift the submersible assembly toward the float.
Claims18
A method of dredging a bottom of a body of water, comprising:
- positioning at least three winching stations spaced at intervals around a perimeter of an area to be dredged, wherein each winching station comprises a winch and a cable;
- connecting a remote end of each cable from each winching station to a float, the cable passing through a pulley assembly attached to a submersible assembly, the pulley assembly applying a variable resistance to cable movement, and the submersible assembly comprising a cutter and a submersible pump;
- tensioning the cables sufficiently to suspend the submersible assembly in contact with the bottom of the body of water;
- activating the cutter and submersible pump;
- operating the winches in a coordinated manner to move the submersible assembly in a dredging pattern over the area to be dredged;
- when an obstacle is encountered, decreasing the resistance of the pulley assembly and applying sufficient tension on the cable to lift the submersible assembly toward the float.
A method of dredging a bottom of a body of water, comprising:
- positioning at least three winching stations spaced at intervals around a perimeter of an area to be dredged, wherein each winching station comprises a winch and a length of cable;
- connecting a remote end of each cable from each winching station to a float, the cable passing through a pulley assembly attached to a submersible assembly, the pulley assembly applying a variable resistance to cable movement, and the submersible assembly comprising a cutter and a submersible pump;
- tensioning the cables sufficiently to suspend the submersible assembly in contact with the bottom of the body of water;
- activating the cutter and submersible pump;
- operating the winches in a coordinated manner to move the submersible assembly in a dredging pattern over the area to be dredged;
- and
- controlling the resistance of the pulley assembly and the tension of the cables to control a vertical position of the submersible assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.