GB2166089A

GB2166089A - Improvements in or relating to the clearing of waterways

Info

Publication number: GB2166089A
Application number: GB08426950A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Edward Caddick
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-10-25
Filing date: 1984-10-25
Publication date: 1986-04-30
Also published as: GB8426950D0

Abstract

A platform or barge supporting equipment (28) for clearing obstructions in a waterway (27) comprises a fore section (10) and an aft section (11) connected by means of removable hinges (12) and bolted angle bar connections (13). The platform has legs (18, 19) at either end which may be manually or hydraulically extended into engagement with the bed of the waterway and retracted into a storage or transport position, and also has a plurality of watertight compartments which may be filled to allow the platform to pass under low obstacles. Access to the platform is via gaps in the walls (15) at both ends of the platforms. When the platform is being transported overland, the hinges (12) on one side of the platform and the bolts of the angle bar connections (13) are removed. The stern part (11) is swung through 180 DEG to make its dimensions more suitable for transport. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to the clearing of waterways This invention relates to the clearing of ob structions, such as weeds, from waterways, such as canals.

According to the present invention, there is provided a platform for supporting equipment for clearing obstructions in waterways, the platform being capable of floating on the waterways. The platform is hereinafter referred to as a barge. The equipment for clearing obstructions is preferably carried on a wheeled vehicle and the barge is provided with at least one access point for a vehicle, whereby the vehicle may be driven on and off the barge.

The base of the barge may be shaped to facilitate beaching of the barge to allow the vehicle to be driven on or off.

The barge may have a floor flanked by walls, there being at least one gap in the walls to provide the vehicle with access to the floor of the barge which supports the vehicle. Thus, the floor of the barge may be flanked by side walls but is open fore and aft to provide vehicle access to and from the floor.

To facilitate transport of the barge overland to a waterway, the barge may be articulated whereby it may be conveniently stowed in sections on road transport and rigidly assembled for use on a waterway. To control the degree of immersion of the barge in the water, for example to enable it to pass under low obstructions, the barge may be provided with watertight compartments which may be filled to a desired degree to lower the barge in the water.

To provide additional stability to the barge when the vehicle with its equipment is on board and in use, the barge may be provided with legs which may be extended beneath the barge to contact the bed of the waterway.

The legs may be pivotally or slidably mounted to enable them to be extended into the desired position and may be hydraulically or manually operated. The legs may be mounted fore and/or aft on the barge.

The vehicle and its equipment may be a conventional land operational tractor digger.

The barge nay be provided with suitable means for propelling it through the water, for example an outboard motor.

The invention will now be further described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which, in summary: Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a barge in accordance with the invention, Fig.2 is a schematic side view of the unloaded barge floating freely on a waterway, Fig.3 is a schematic end view of the barge floating on the waterway while supporting a tractor digger, and Fig.4 is a corresponding schematic side view of the barge floating on the waterway while supporting the tractor digger.

Referring in more detail to Fig.1, the barge comprises a forward hull part 10 and an after hull part 11, connected by port and starboard hinges and by bolted angle bar connections 13. Each hull part is watertight. The barge is thus in two parts which allows it to be shipped or transported by road in a standard container or trailer. The two parts are joined together by a pair of hinges 12 on each side amidships and secured also by an arrangement of interlocking devices and bolting arrangements 13 which reduce the stresses on the hinge pins when the hull is put together for use.The hinge pins are removable and when it is desired to move the barge by trailer, the hinge pins on one side of the barge are removed (together with the bolts of connections 13) and the stern part 11 is swung through an angle of 1800 by means of accessory equipment. The effect of this is to rearrange the parts of the barge to make its dimensions more suitable for road transport.

Typical dimensions are given later.

The assembled barge has a floor 14 flanked by side walls 15 and the floor is open at both ends to provide access points for the tractor digger. The sides of the floor on which the tracks of the tractor digger will rest are protected for example, by planks of timber 16.

The bottom part of the forward end of the barge carries a steel box frame 17 to which port and starboard legs 18 are hinged, the frame being bolted on. The hinged legs are shown in Fig.1 in a down position in which they rest on the bed of the waterway, but may be raised to an up or storage position when not in use, as described below in connection with Figs. 2 to 4. The movement of the legs between the up and down positions may be effected hydraulically be means of two hydraulic rams mounted in the box frame 17. The stern of the barge may also be provided with port and starboard legs 19, slidably mounted in the hull for manual positioning and provided with suitable means for locking them in the required positions.

More particularly, the hinged legs 18 may be arranged to swing through a vertical arc of about 140 between the up and down positions and when dropped down in a waterway with a depth of ten feet or less, impinge on the bottom and give additional stability to the barge, thus allowing the tractor digger when supported on the barge (as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 described below) to dig over the forward end and discharge over either side, or to dig over one side and discharge over the other side. The hydraulic rams may be operated from an independent portable power pack which may be fitted at the stern of the barge on the centre line. The power pack is described later.

Referring in more detail to the slidably mounted legs 19, a hollow square tube is fitted at each corner of the aft end or shallow end of the barge with its central axis at an angle to the transverse and vertical frames of the barge. This allows a manually operated leg 19 in the form of a hollow square tube to be inserted in the tube in the hull, dropped to the bottom of the waterway and locked to the hull. This will give additional stability to the barge when required.

The barge may have eight separate watertight compartments or ballast tanks, three in the forward part 10 and five in the after part 11. These are so arranged that if the barge has to pass under an obstacle, say Ift 6 inches above the water line, three of these tanks can be almost filled with water, so that most of the barge will be immersed in the water and will be able to pass under the obstacle. Referring to Fig.1, these three tanks are a forward centre tank 20 and two aftermost wing tanks 21 (port and starboard).

The independent portable power pack which may be fitted at the stern of the barge is illustrated schematically in Fig. 1. It consists of a diesel engine 22 arranged to drive an oil pump 23 and a water pump 24, the latter being fitted with deep water suction means 25. The engine and pumps are fitted on a single (steelwork) frame for mounting on the stern of the barge after the tractor digger is on board as explained more fully below. The oil pump will operate the rams which raise and lower the hinged legs 18, the oil pump being connected to the rams by hydraulic pipes. The water pump is connected to the ballast tanks, such as the tanks 20 and 21, by filllng and suction pipes through which it will fill or empty the tanks.

Although the dimensions of the barge are not critical, suitable dimensions are a length of 14 feet 6 inches and a breadth of 12 feet, the floor of the barge being 6 feet wide. The breadth of 12 feet is rather large for transporting by road. On moving the stern part 11 through 180 as mentioned above, so that the parts 10, 11 are side by side, the barge then occupies a space 24 feet long and 7 feet 3 inches wide and can readily be accommodated in a standard 8 feet wide container or trailer.

It will be seen from Fig.1 that the keel of the barge slopes upwards in the direction of the stern as indicated at 26. Fig.2 shows the relationship of the keel slope 26 to the water level 27 when the barge is floating freely on the waterway, i.e. without the tractor digger on board and with the hinged legs 18 in the up position. As shown in Fig.2, the barge is ready for grounding on shore to receive the tractor digger. It will be seen that the floor 14 of the barge is close to the water level at the stern of the barge and hence is close to the ground when the barge is beached stern first on a slightly sloping shoreline, thus facilitating driving the tractor digger on board the barge.

The tractor digger is drawn on until the barge floats freely with the deck parallel to the water line. The tractor digger could be employed to make a suitable shore line. The barge will be quite stable in this condition with the hinged legs up and the digger boom down and ready for any movement along the waterway.

Figs.3 and 4 show a tractor digger supported on the barge. The tractor digger consists of a digger unit 28 rotatably mounted on a tractor unit 29. The digger unit is arranged to operate a digger or scoop 30 to which it is connected via a boom 31 and dipper arm 32.

Arc 33 indicates the range of the digger tip.

The tractor unit 29 is provided with caterpillar tracks 34 which rest on the floor 14 of the barge to support the tractor digger. Figs. 3 and 4 show both the up and down positions of the hinged legs 18, and the manually operated legs 19 are also indicated in Fig.4. Fig.3 shows the tractor digger working athwartships while Fig.4 shows the extent of the forward range of the digger. It should be noted that with the tractor digger on board, the floor 14 of the barge assumes a horizontal position as may be seen from the water level 27.

The tractor digger and barge can be transported by road to awkward places where there are no cranes or other facilities, and the digger can clear an area for the assembly of the barge. The digger boom may have additional eyeplates to lift, or lift partially, the various parts of the barge so that, on completion of the assembly, the barge can be launched or rolled into the water.

The barge with the tractor digger on board may be propelled, when travelling a fair distance, by a temporary outboard motor which may be attached centrally to the box frame 17 which carries the hinged legs and hydraulic rams. In this state, the forward part 10 of the barge becomes the aft part. The sloping bottom 26 of the barge will compress the weeds in the path of the barge and heip prevent the weeds being entangled in the propeller. In addition, a suitable cage may be fitted around the propeller to keep the propeller free of weeds.

When the barge is launched and the tractor digger is on board, the digger can lift the frame of the power pack (22, 23, 24) and fit it to the stern of the barge (part 11) where it may be secured and connected to the rams and ballast tanks.

Claims

1. A platform for supporting equipment for clearing obstructions in waterways, the platform being capable of floating on the waterways.

2. A platform as claimed in claim 1, wherein the platform has a floor flanked by wails, there being at least one gap in the walls to provide the equipment with access to the floor.

3. A platform as claimed in claim 2, wherein the platform is open fore and aft to provide the equipment with access to the floor.

4. A platform as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the base of the platform is shaped to facilitate beaching of the platform to allow access to the floor.

5. A platform as claimed in claim 4, wherein the base of the platform slopes upwardly.

6. A platform as claimed in claim 5, wherein the base of the platform slopes upwardly towards the access point.

7. A platform as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the platform is articulated.

8. A platform as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the platform is separable into a plurality of portions.

9. A platform as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising at least one watertight compartment.

10. A platform as claimed in claim 9, wherein the watertight compartment may be filled to a desired degree.

11. A platform as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of legs extensible beneath the platform to contact the bed of the waterway.

12. A platform as claimed in claim 11, wherein at least one leg is pivotally mounted.

13. A platform as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein at least one leg is slidably mounted.

14. A platform as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the legs are hydraulically and/or manually operated.

15. A platform as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the legs are mounted fore and/or aft on the platform.

16. A platform as claimed in any of claims 1 to 15, comprising means for propelling it through the water.

17. A platform for supporting equipment for clearing obstructions in waterways, substantially as herein described, with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.