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AssigneeSloan Pump Company, Inc.
InventorsOwen K. Sloan, Albert H. Sloan
Estimating the term…
Dredging apparatus including a diver-operator controlled and hand-held dredge head which permits the diver to move about freely in the water bed being dredged, and provides for continuously dredging the mixture of water and solids from a first body of water and pumping the mixture to a second solids collecting body of water. Submersible, hydraulic dredge pumps are used in the bodies of water. The conveying water is continuously reused in a quasi-closed system by being returned to the immediate vicinity of the nozzle or alternatively being returned through a sleeve concentrically mounted around the nozzle. The returned water discharges downwardly to counterbalance the weight of the operator-held dredge. The second, solids collecting area may take the form of a truck body into which the solid material is dumped and the dredge water passes through into a filter tank from which it is pumped and returned to the dredge area for reuse in transporting additional solids. An improved diver-operated, hand-held dredge which includes a water return means that discharges downwardly in the area of the dredge nozzle so as to counterbalance the weight of the diver-operated hand-held dredge head.
Dredging apparatus forming a dredging quasi-closed loop circuit comprising:
A hand operated dredge head for being held by a diver operator for underwater excavating, comprising, a tubular suction nozzle having a lower inlet end and an open upper end for the entry of water therein, a tubular discharge branch extending from said nozzle and at a point intermediate the length of said tubular nozzle, said tubular branch having a discharge end for connection to a suction pipe for conveying excavated material away from said head, a hand operated valve pivotally mounted in said nozzle adjacent its upper end for permitting the diver operator to move said valve to any adjusted position between a closed position and an open position and for thereby varying the amount of water introduced through said valve and into said nozzle to thereby vary the suction at said lower inlet end of said nozzle, and return water receiving means mounted on said tubular nozzle for receiving returned water from a remote location and discharging it under pressure adjacent said lower inlet and in a downward direction to thereby counterbalance the weight of the diver held nozzle dredge head.
A portable, lightweight, hand operated dredge head and for being held by the arms of a diver operator for underwater excavating, comprising, a tubular suction nozzle having a lower inlet end and an open upper end for the entry of water therein, a tubular discharge branch extending from said nozzle and at a point intermediate the length of said tubular nozzle, said tubular branch having a discharge end for connection to a suction pipe for conveying excavated material away from said head, swivel coupling means between s id discharge end of said branch and said suction pipe whereby said head can be rotationally swivelled relative to said suction pipe and quickly detachably connected thereto, a hand operated valve pivotally mounted in said nozzle adjacent its upper end, an operator's handle secured to said valve and extending from said nozzle for permitting the diver operator to move said valve to any adjusted position between a closed position and an open position and for thereby varying the amount of water introduced through said valve and into said nozzle to thereby vary the suction at said lower inlet end of said nozzle, and a sleeve concentrically mounted on said tubular nozzle and having means for receiving returned water from a remote location, said sleeve having an open lower end for discharging said returned water under pressure adjacent said lower inlet and in a downward direction to thereby counterbalance the weight of the diver held nozzle dredge head.
Apparatus for pumping and receiving a mixture of solids and water from a body of water, said apparatus including:
Apparatus for use in a dredging system to pump, receive, process and dispose of material dredged from beneath a body of water, said material comprising a mixture of water and solids, said apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.