Remote control floatation boom
OwnerBruce C. Sandersinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floatable boom for concentrating brine shrimp eggs which are floating at or near the surface of a body of water. The floatable boom comprises a rigid, floatable tube, a skirt affixed to the lower portion of the tube and extending downward into the body of water, and a remotely controlled drive device for propelling the floatable boom through the body of water. The invention discloses two of the novel, floatable booms extending outwardly from a harvesting boat in a divergent manner, such that a wedge-shaped concentrating angle is formed between the booms. The invention further comprises a means of support for maintaining the wedge-shaped concentrating angle formed by the booms.
Claims34
A floatable boom for use in concentrating a thin layer of brine shrimp eggs at the surface of a body of water for the purpose of harvesting said brine shrimp eggs comprising:
- a rigid, floatable tube having an upper portion designed to float above the body of water surface and a lower portion designed to submerge below the body of water surface, said tube having first and second ends, wherein said floatable tube is substantially rigid in a linear direction between said first and second ends;
- a rigid skirt affixed to the lower portion of the tube and extending into the body of water, said skirt being angled such that said skirt does not extend substantially vertically downward, and having first and second ends;
- means for attaching the first end of the tube and skirt to a brine shrimp harvesting boat such that the tube and skirt extend outwardly from the boat;
- and
- means for attaching the second end of the tube and skirt to a drive device for propelling the floatable boom through the body of water.
A floatable boom for use in concentrating a thin layer of brine shrimp eggs at the surface of a body of water for the purpose of harvesting said brine shrimp eggs comprising:
- a rigid floatable tube having an upper portion designed to float above the body of water surface and a lower portion designed to submerge below the body of water surface, said tube having first and second ends, wherein said floatable tube is substantially rigid in a linear direction between said first and second ends;
- a skirt affixed to the lower portion of the tube and extending into the body of water, said skirt having first and second ends;
- means for attaching the first end of the tube and skirt to a brine shrimp harvesting boat such that the tube and skirt extend outwardly from the boat;
- and
- means for attaching the second end of the tube and skirt to an unmanned drive device for propelling the floatable boom through the body of water, said drive device being remotely controlled.
An apparatus for use in concentrating a thin layer of brine shrimp eggs at the surface of a body of water for the purpose of harvesting said brine shrimp eggs comprising:
- at least two floatable booms forming a wedge-shaped, concentrating angle defining a wide forward end of said concentrating angle and a narrow rearward end, said floatable booms having a length of about 40 feet to about 150 feet, wherein each floatable boom comprises:
- a plurality of rigid, floatable tube sections having a lower portion designed to submerge below the body of water surface, wherein adjacent tube sections are slidably connected to form each floatable boom, and wherein the tube sections have a diameter in the range from about 4 inches to about 12 inches;
- and
- a rigid skirt affixed to the lower portion of each tube section and extending into the body of water;
- means for attaching the floatable booms to a brine shrimp harvesting boat such that the floatable booms extend outwardly from the boat;
- and
- means for attaching the floatable booms to a remotely controlled drive device for propelling the floatable booms through the body of water, wherein the remotely controlled drive device comprises a frame having at least one float attached to the frame and an outboard motor attached to the frame, and means for operating the motor remotely.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.