Apparatus for removing water from the ground

Abstract

An apparatus for the removal of water from the ground comprises at least one ground-engaging drum including a hollow cylinder mounted for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of apertures distributed around the circumference of the cylinder, and a layer of open cell resilient material covering the outer surface of the cylinder. Valves in the drum are arranged to close the apertures except under the inward pressure of water passing through the resilient layer when the latter is compressed, and a plurality of troughs are provided on the inner surface of the cylinder for carrying water which enters the apertures in the area of ground contact upwardly away from the ground by rotation of the cylinder. A non-rotating water tank (not shown) mounted within the cylinder collects the water discharged from the troughs when each reaches a certain height. In a further embodiment the layer includes funnel-shaped apertures which communicate directly with respective apertures in the cylinder and the outer surface of the layer is covered with a non-porous rubber sheet except at the entrance to the apertures in the layer. In this case the resilient layer may not be of open cell structure.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.