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US 2017/0245479 A1Published application
Apparatus for shellfish aquaculture
OwnerAngelo DePaola, Gary Sunderlandinventors
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OwnerAngelo DePaola, Gary Sunderlandinventors
Estimating the term…
A pneumatically controlled shellfish aquaculture apparatus is provided. A frame has containers for holding shellfish secured to the top side of the frame and tanks secured to the bottom side of the frame. Each tank has an air supply line connected to the tank and an opening on the bottom side of the tank. Each air supply line is connected to a manifold for controlling airflow to the tanks. Air is used to displace water in the tanks by pushing the water out of the openings in the bottom of the tanks in order to float the frame. To submerge the frame, the tanks are depressurized to allow water to displace the air in the tanks. When floating, the tanks lift the frame and the containers out of the water to allow air desiccation in order to prevent bio-fouling of the equipment and shellfish.
) A shellfish aquaculture apparatus, comprising:
) The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a compressed air source configured for supplying air to the tank via a fluid supply line connected to the connection on the tank.
) The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a valve configured to control the supply of air to the tank.
) The apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a manifold configured to supply air to the tank.
) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the container has a bottom and a continuous sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall have a plurality of holes therethrough.
) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening located on the bottom side of the tank is offset from the center of the tank.
) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the connection on the tank is located on a top side of the tank.
) A shellfish aquaculture apparatus, comprising:
) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame has a generally rectangular shape, wherein the apparatus comprises four tanks, and wherein each tank is positioned at one corner of the frame.
) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the manifold comprises a plurality of valves configured to control the supply of air to each of the plurality of tanks.
) The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a compressed air source connected to the manifold.
) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one container has a bottom and a continuous sidewall, wherein the bottom and the sidewall have a plurality of holes therethrough.
) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the opening located on the bottom side of each tank is offset from the center of the tank.
) The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the air supply line connected to each tank is connected to a top side of each tank.
) A method of controlling flotation of a shellfish aquaculture apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:
) The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:
) The method of claim 15, wherein the frame has a generally rectangular shape, wherein the apparatus comprises four tanks, and wherein each tank is positioned at one corner of the frame such that two tanks are positioned at the first end of the frame and two tanks are positioned at the second end of the frame.
) The method of claim 15, wherein the apparatus further comprises a manifold configured to supply air to each of the plurality of tanks.
) The method of claim 15, wherein the opening located on the bottom side of each tank is offset from the center of the tank.
) The method of claim 15, wherein the air supply line connected to each tank is connected to a top side of each tank.