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US 4,992,000 AGranted
Underwater trenching system
AssigneeCentral States Underwater Contracting, Inc.
InventorDonald L. Doleshal
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An underwater trenching system comprises a closed trenching system that vacuums up sediment removed during the trenching operation and deposits that same sediment into the trench, thereby burying a pipeline that has settled into the trench. The invention provides a trenching sled having high pressure water jets for digging and a vacuum head and lines for sucking the resulting sediment into a surge tank on a barge, from which it is re-deposited by a bury sled.
Claims16
An underwater trenching system comprising:
- an underwater trenching sled including means for trenching along the bottom of a waterway;
- vacuum means for sucking up sediment, said vacuum means having an intake end at said trenching sled and a discharge end;
- an underwater bury sled;
- and
- means for coupling said bury sled to said vacuum means, including discharge hose means extending from said discharge end of the vacuum means to said bury sled.
2 more elements
An underwater trenching system comprising:
- (a) a floating vessel;
- (b) an underwater trenching sled comprising a shell attached to a frame, which is attached to a pair of parallel, generally horizontally disposed runners, means for trenching the bottom of a waterway, and means for sucking up the sediment disturbed by said trenching means;
- (c) an underwater bury sled comprising a shell attached to a frame, which is attached to a pair of parallel, generally horizontally disposed runners, and means for discharging the sediment sucked up by said trenching sled;
- (d) means for conveying the sediment from said trenching sled to said bury sled;
- and
- (e) a surge bin disposed on said vessel interposed in said conveying means.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.