EP0032351A2 - Cleaning barge - Google Patents

Abstract

This barge is intended for collecting waste or materials floating on the surface of the water. It comprises a semi-submerged hull (1) with a water inflow port (2) to which a movable suction pipe or channel (4) is connected, this port (2) and the suction mouth (5) being arranged at water level (3). In the bottom of the hull (1) is formed a water outflow port (6) associated with a propeller (7) allowing the forced discharge of the water. A grating (9) arranged inside the hull between the inflow port and outflow port retains the waste (10) sucked in. This barge is used for combatting various types of water pollution and makes it possible to reach zones of difficult access, especially in harbours. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning barge, for the collection of waste or matter floating on the surface of the water, this barge being applied to the fight against various pollutions of water, for example in river or sea ports. .

For the collection of bodies floating on the surface of the water, a first type of device is known, consisting of a basket carried at the front of a boat, the basket being able to tilt to discharge the waste into this boat. This device can only work by "skimming", by advancing the boat; and it does not attract waste and reach areas of difficult access to clean.

Another known type of device comprises a hull open at the front, and thrusters located in the rear wall of the hull. The latter is thus crossed by a stream of water, circulating from the front to the rear, and the waste entrained by the stream is separated by means of an endless belt disposed across this stream of water. This kind of device can hardly function without advancing, for example facing a dike between two rocks: it then creates turbulence whose effect is often contrary to the desired goal, the floating waste being removed from the device instead of to be attracted. In addition, hard-to-reach areas cannot be properly reached with this device.

The present invention aims to eliminate the drawbacks of current systems, recalled above, by providing a cleaning barge capable of possibly functioning while advancing, but above all in a fixed position, this without creating a backlash, and also capable of easily reaching areas deemed to be difficult to access, for example between other boats or in reentrant angles.

To this end, the cleaning barge object of the invention comprises, in combination: a hull _s emi-immersed; at least one water and waste inlet opening located at one end of the shell and to which a mobile suction pipe or channel is connected, the aforementioned inlet opening as well as the suction mouth of the pipe or channel being ', in condition of use, located at the water level; at least one water outlet opening, formed in the bottom of the hull and associated with means for the forced evacuation of water; finally means for stopping the sucked-up waste, disposed inside the hull, between the water inlet opening and the water outlet opening.

The barge which is the subject of the invention thus operates according to a suction principle, the waste sucked in at the same time as the water being stopped by means, such as a grid in the simplest case, placed upstream of the means which create forced circulation through the semi-submerged hull. The principle of this barge is similar to the phenomenon observed when a bottle initially filled with air is immersed, the neck of this bottle being kept flush with the water. We can thus compare what is happening to a waterfall created inside the barge, the suction resulting from the force of gravity. We can also assimilate what is happening to a system of communicating vessels, with a balance which is permanently destroyed and restored following the evacuation of water from one of the vessels (here: the interior of the shell). The fact that the water is evacuated under the hull prevents eddies which would risk moving the floating waste away instead of attracting it; this original solution also makes it possible to make the barge work without advancing, in particular by providing that the means of forced evacuation of the water, through the outlet opening made in the bottom of the hull, comprise a propeller with a vertical axis, driven in rotation by a motor, which avoids the creation of any component of horizontal force tending to move the barge.

The presence of a mobile suction pipe or channel, of suitable length, allows easy access to difficult access areas with current cleaning devices. The shape and section of this pipe or channel can be variable; it can be a kind of tube or a kind of chute, the important thing being that this member is kept at a suitable height to channel water and waste towards the interior of the hull. The suction pipe or channel is preferably flexible, so that it can be oriented and thus allow the suction of the waste in the most difficult to access areas. Advantageously, this flexible suction pipe or channel is further provided capable of being raised, by means of an orientable bracket, which provides various advantageous possibilities: easier guidance for the orientation of the suction pipe or conduit, at the surface water, by directing it from the deck of the barge, adjusting the height of the suction mouth, in order to maintain it exactly at the water level, lifting out of the water of the pipe or channel considered, when the suction system is not used.

In connection with this latter possibility, it can also be provided that the suction pipe or channel is connected to a lifting hatch, movable inside the hull, and that the barge, equipped with a propulsion group, comprises at its end opposite the suction pipe or channel at least one other water outlet opening, which can be closed by a flap. After opening this opening and raising the hatch, you can move the barge over the water, still with its semi-submerged hull, the water entering from the front and leaving from the rear, and the waste being stopped by the means provided for this purpose. This other mode of operation, not involving the suction system by forced evacuation of water through the bottom of the hull, makes it possible to clean large surfaces of well-released water, in successive sweeps. Furthermore, the presence of a liftable hatch, to which the hose or suction channel is connected, allows adjustment in height of the water inlet opening, for operation with suction, in order to maintain this opening at the exact level of the water, despite variations in the position of the hull depending on the load of the barge.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the means for stopping the waste consists of a tilting basket articulated relative to the hull about a transverse axis, the barge further comprising a removable waste recovery bin, located in rear of the tilting basket. When the basket is saturated with waste, it is tipped over, to dump the waste into the bucket which allows a stockaga.

• Figure 1 est un schéma de principe de la barge de nettoyage objet de l'invention;
• Figure 2 est une vue en coupe longitudinale représentant, de façon plus détaillée, la barge selon l'invention, en position d'aspiration des déchets flottants;
• Figure 3 est une vue en plan par dessus correspondant à figure 2;
• Figure 4 est une vue en coupe similaire à figure 2, mais représentant la barge en position de non-utilisation du système d'aspiration.

In any case, the invention will be clearly understood with the aid of the description which follows, with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing representing, by way of nonlimiting example, an embodiment of this cleaning barge:

• Figure 1 is a block diagram of the cleaning barge object of the invention;
• Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing, in more detail, the barge according to the invention, in the suction position of floating waste;
• Figure 3 is a plan view from above corresponding to Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 2, but showing the barge in the non-use position of the suction system.

As shown in Figure 1, the cleaning barge object of the present invention comprises, in principle, a semi-submerged shell 1. At the front, this shell 1 has an opening 2, located partially below the water level 3, and to which is connected a floating suction pipe 4, ending with a suction mouth ₅ , it also partially located below the water level 3. In the bottom of the shell 1, and towards the rear, an outlet opening is provided of water 6, with a propeller 7 of vertical axis, driven in rotation by a motor 8. Inside the hull 1, between the water and waste inlet opening 2 and the opening outlet 6, is arranged transversely a grid 9, capable of stopping the waste 10 sucked with water through the pipe 4, when the propeller 7 is driven.

• La coque 1 comprend deux flotteurs latéraux 11 (voir figure 3), permettant de la maintenir à hauteur convenable, par rapport au niveau de l'eau 3. Des patins de protection 12 et 13 sont prévus, respectivement, à l'avant et à l'arrière de cette coque 1. Les superstructures portées par la coque 1 comprennent, notamment, un poste de pilotage 14, et une coursive 15 s'étendant autour de la barge et permettant le déplacement sur tous ses bords sans danger. A l'arrière de la coque 1, un groupe de propulsion 16 est prévu pour déplacer la barge de façon autonome, par une hélice 17 d'axe horizontal.

FIGS. 2 to 4 show, in more detail, a particular embodiment of a barge designed according to the principle of FIG. 1:

• The hull 1 comprises two lateral floats 11 (see FIG. 3), making it possible to maintain it at a suitable height, relative to the water level 3. Protective pads 12 and 13 are provided, respectively, at the front and at the rear of this hull 1. The superstructures carried by the hull 1 include, in particular, a cockpit 14, and a gangway 15 extending around the barge and allowing movement on all of its edges without danger. At the rear of the hull 1, a propulsion unit 16 is provided for moving the barge independently, by a propeller 17 with a horizontal axis.

The suction pipe 4 is flexible, which makes it swiveling and lifting. An adjustable bracket 18, placed at the front of the barge, supports the front of the pipe 4 by means of a cable 19. The rear end of the suction pipe 4 is connected to a hatch 20, mounted mobile on lateral guides 21 which make it possible to raise or lower it. The inlet opening 2 can thus be moved vertically.

The grid 9 is here constituted by a tilting basket for collecting waste, the front part of which is situated in the region of the hatch 20, and the rear part of which is articulated, relative to the shell 1, around a transverse axis 22. Behind the basket 9, between the latter and the motor 8, there is also provided a removable waste collection bucket 23, the bottom of which is situated above the water level 3. This bucket 23 allows the flow water and only retains solid or sufficiently viscous material.

Finally, at the rear end of the shell 1, flaps 24, vertically movable, make it possible to close or release other water outlet openings.

• Pour le ramassage de déchets, sur des surfaces restreintes et notamment dans des zones difficilement accessibles, la trappe mobile 20 est abaissée, de sorte que l'ouverture 2 se trouve partiellement au-dessous du niveau de l'eau 3. Les volets arrière 24. sont abaissés et placés ainsi en position de fermeture, de sorte que la sortie de l'eau peut seulement avoir lieu par l'ouverture 6 située dans le fond de la coque 1. Le tuyau d'aspiration 4 est abaissé. La barge est maintenue à l'arrêt, son groupe de propulsion 16 n'intervenant pas, et le moteur 8 est mis en marche de manière à créer, au moyen de l'hélice 7, une circulation d'eau à travers:le tuyau 4, l'ouverture d'entrée 2, le panier 9 et l'intérieur de la coque 1, enfin l'ouverture de sortie 6 (voir figure 2). Le tuyau d'aspiration 4 "avale" alors, par sa bouche d'entrée 5, les déchets flottants, et ces déchets sont entraînés par le courant d'eau, en fonction de la vitesse de rotation de l'hélice 7 qui assure l'évacuation de l'eau, le renouvellement de l'eau à l'intérieur de la coque 1 se faisant de manière permanente pour maintenir un niveau constant suivant le principe des vases communicants. Les déchets aspirés sont arrêtés par le panier 9. Le tuyau 4 est orienté suivant la flèche 25 (voir figure 3), en fonction de la zone où se trouvent les déchets à aspirer. Lorsque le panier 9 est saturé de déchets, un mouvement de basculement autour de l'axe 22, suivant la flèche 26 de figure 2, permet de déverser les déchets dans la benne 23.

The cleaning barge, equipped as described above, operates as follows:

• For the collection of waste, on restricted surfaces and in particular in areas that are difficult to access, the mobile hatch 20 is lowered, so that the opening 2 is partially below the water level 3. The rear flaps 24 are lowered and thus placed in the closed position, so that the outlet of the water can only take place through the opening 6 located in the bottom of the shell 1. The suction pipe 4 is lowered. The barge is kept stationary, its propulsion unit 16 not intervening, and the engine 8 is started so as to create, by means of the propeller 7, a circulation of water through: the pipe 4, the inlet opening 2, the basket 9 and the interior of the shell 1, finally the outlet opening 6 (see FIG. 2). The suction pipe 4 "swallows" then, through its inlet mouth 5, the floating waste, and this waste is entrained by the stream of water, as a function of the speed of rotation of the propeller 7 which ensures l 'evacuation of water, the renewal of water inside the shell 1 being done permanently to maintain a constant level according to the principle of communicating vessels. The aspirated waste is stopped by the basket 9. The pipe 4 is oriented in the direction of arrow 25 (see FIG. 3), depending on the area where the waste to be aspirated is located. When the basket 9 is saturated with waste, a tilting movement around the axis 22, along arrow 26 in FIG. 2, makes it possible to discharge the waste into the bucket 23.

For collecting waste from large areas, the suction system is neutralized: the pipe 4 is brought to the high position using the bracket 18, the movable hatch 20 is raised, so that the opening 2 is above the water level 1, and the rear flaps 24 are also raised, which allows the free circulation of water through the hull 1, between the two lateral floats 11 (see Figure 4). The propeller drive motor 8 is kept stationary, and the barge moves thanks to its propulsion unit ₁ 6. The floating waste which penetrates inside the hull 1 is stopped by the basket 9. As before, when this basket 9 is saturated with waste, a tilting movement (arrow 26) makes it possible to discharge the latter into the bucket 24.

• - en réalisant une barge de dimensions importantes, équipée de plusieurs tuyaux d'aspiration et/ou de plusieurs ouvertures et hélices d'évacuation de l'eau;
• - en adaptant les moyens d'arrêt, grille ou panier, de manière à pouvoir récupérer non seulement des déchets solides flottants, mais aussi des matières flottantes, notamment des hydrocarbures, ou encore des algues marines, etc;
• - en choisissant un tuyau d'aspiration, ou canal équivalent, de plus ou moins grande longueur et souplesse, selon le genre de travail de nettoyage à effectuer, ou en fonction des difficultés d'accès aux zones à nettoyer.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the only embodiment of this cleaning barge which has been described above, by way of example; on the contrary, it embraces all the variants designed according to the same principle, whatever the construction details and the applications. It is thus, in particular, that one would not depart from the scope of the invention:

• - by making a large barge, equipped with several suction pipes and / or several openings and propellers for water evacuation;
• - by adapting the stop means, grid or basket, so as to be able to recover not only floating solid waste, but also floating materials, in particular hydrocarbons, or even marine algae, etc;
• - by choosing a suction pipe, or equivalent channel, of greater or lesser length and flexibility, depending on the kind of cleaning work to be performed, or depending on the difficulties of access to the areas to be cleaned.

Claims (6)

1.- Cleaning barge, for collecting waste or floating material on the surface of the water, characterized in that it comprises, in combination: a semi-submerged hull (1); at least one water and waste inlet opening (2) located at one end of the shell (1) and to which a mobile suction pipe or channel (4) is connected, the aforementioned inlet opening (2) as well as the suction mouth (5) of the pipe or channel being, in use, located at the water level (3); at least one water outlet opening (6), formed in the bottom of the shell (1) and associated with means (7, 8) for forced evacuation of the water; finally means (9) for stopping the aspirated waste (10), disposed inside the shell (1), between the water inlet opening (2) and the water outlet opening (6). 2.- cleaning barge according to claim 1, characterized in that the means of forced evacuation of water, through the outlet opening (6) formed in the bottom of the hull (1), comprise a propeller ( 7) with a vertical axis, driven in rotation by a motor (8). 3.- cleaning barge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the suction pipe or channel (4) is flexible, so that it can be oriented. 4.- cleaning barge according to claim 3, characterized in that the flexible suction pipe or channel (4) is also liftable, using an orientable bracket (18). 5.- cleaning barge according to claim 4, characterized in that the suction pipe or channel is connected to a lifting hatch (20), movable inside the hull, and in that said barge, equipped with 'A propulsion unit (16), comprises at its end opposite the pipe or suction channel (4) at least one other water outlet opening, closable by a flap (24). 6.- Cleaning barge according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the means for stopping the waste consists of a tilting basket (9), articulated relative to the hull (1) around a transverse axis (22), the barge further comprising a removable grab (23) for recovering waste, located behind the tilting basket (9).

Images