Amphibious pumping vehicle
AssigneeNuhn Industries Ltd.
InventorIan Nuhn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of moving liquid manure in a liquid manure lagoon involves: driving an amphibious vehicle into the liquid manure lagoon by remotely controlling speed and direction of the amphibious vehicle on the ground, the amphibious vehicle having a ground-engaging propulsion structure for driving the amphibious vehicle on the ground and a floatable vehicle body to float the amphibious vehicle in the liquid manure lagoon; and, moving the liquid manure in the liquid manure lagoon by remotely controlling speed and direction of the amphibious vehicle in the liquid manure lagoon.
Claims19
A method of pumping liquid manure contained in a liquid manure lagoon, the method comprising:
- driving an amphibious vehicle on the ground into the liquid manure lagoon by wireless remote control, the amphibious vehicle having a floatable vehicle body with a front, a rear, and an underside and a first liquid manure pump, the first liquid manure pump comprising a pump housing, an impeller located in the pump housing, and a substantially vertical drive shaft connected to the impeller, the pump housing having a bottom fluid inlet, the pump housing and the impeller located rearward of the front of the floatable vehicle body and forward of the rear of the floatable vehicle body and along the underside of the floatable vehicle body such that the impeller is immersed in the liquid manure of the liquid manure lagoon when the amphibious vehicle is floating in the liquid manure lagoon;
- navigating the amphibious vehicle in the liquid manure lagoon by wireless remote control;
- pumping liquid manure contained in the liquid manure lagoon;
- and,
- driving the amphibious vehicle out of the liquid manure lagoon by wireless remote control.
A system comprising:
- an amphibious vehicle configured to pump liquid manure in a liquid manure lagoon, the amphibious vehicle comprising:
- a floatable vehicle body with a front, a rear, and an underside,
- four powered ground engaging wheels,
- a first liquid manure pump configured to disrupt the liquid manure in the liquid manure lagoon when the amphibious vehicle is floating in the liquid manure lagoon, the first liquid manure pump comprising a pump housing located rearward of the front of the floatable vehicle body and forward of the rear of the floatable vehicle body and along the underside of the floatable vehicle body;
- a power source configured to provide power to move the amphibious vehicle both when the amphibious vehicle is ground engaging and when the amphibious vehicle is floating in the liquid manure lagoon, and
- a wireless remote control configured to enable an operator remote from the amphibious vehicle to:
- (1) control the power source;
- (2) control at least one of the speed and direction of the amphibious vehicle to drive the amphibious vehicle when the amphibious vehicle is ground engaging;
- and, (3) control at least one of the speed and direction of the amphibious vehicle when the amphibious vehicle is floating in the liquid manure lagoon;
- and,
- a second liquid manure pump separate from the amphibious vehicle, the second liquid manure pump configured to remove liquid manure from the liquid manure lagoon.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.