Jet agitation dredging system
OwnerDaryl Wilmothinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A dredging system for removing material from a submerged ground surface includes a dredge head housing having an enclosed, pressurized agitation chamber into which the material to be removed is received from an intake opening. Connected to the housing is a feed line that supplies pressurized fluid, such as water, air or both, to a fluid manifold connected to the housing and within the agitation chamber. The fluid manifold contains cutting outlets for discharging the pressurized fluid onto the material to liquefy the material and lifting outlets for discharging the pressurized fluid so as to urge the liquefied material towards a riser chute. The riser chute is connected to a top cover of the housing and extends above the housing and upwardly discharges the liquefied material into the water column of the body of water.
Claims17
A system for dredging material from a ground surface below a body of water, comprising:
- a dredge head housing having a pair of spaced side walls, a tail piece extending between rear ends of the side walls and a top cover extending between top edges of the side walls, thereby forming an enclosed agitation chamber having an open bottom opposite the top cover and an intake opening opposite the tail piece for receiving material from the ground surface into the agitation chamber, thereby forming a dredge line in the ground surface;
- a feed line connected to and extending away from said housing for supplying a pressurized fluid;
- a fluid manifold within and connected to said housing and fluidly connected to said feed line for receiving the pressurized fluid, said manifold comprising a plurality of cutting outlets for injecting the pressurized fluid onto material in front of and entering the intake opening, thereby liquefying the material into an agitated mixture;
- said top cover defining a discharge opening for exhaust of the agitated mixture, said manifold including at least one upwardly-directed lift outlet for discharging pressurized fluid to urge the agitated mixture towards and into said discharge opening;
- and
- a riser chute connected to and extending upward from said discharge opening to a free end of said riser chute, said free end having a chute opening, whereby said riser chute directs the liquefied material upward and into the body of water for transfer away from the dredge line.
A dredging system for removing material from a bottom of a body of water, comprising:
- a dredge head housing having two spaced and substantially parallel side walls joined by a top cover spanning between top edges of said side walls;
- spacing between said side walls being open and defining an agitation chamber for material received into said chamber from an intake opening of said housing;
- a moveable tail piece biased downwardly to close a rear opening between said side walls;
- a feed line for supplying pressurized fluid to said housing;
- a fluid manifold connected to said housing for receiving the pressurized fluid from said feed line and having a plurality of equally evenly spaced outlets along a front edge of said top cover adjacent said intake opening and oriented to spray jets of the pressurized fluid downward onto a cake of material introduced into said housing, said manifold also having a plurality of evenly spaced side outlets along front edges of the side walls, some of said side outlets being oriented to spray the jets of fluid in front of said housing into the incoming cake of material, others of said side outlets being oriented to spray laterally into said intake opening;
- a riser chute fluidly connected to said top cover and extending upward from said top cover, said riser chute receiving liquefied material from said agitation chamber and directing the liquefied material upward and into the body of water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.