US2091279A

US2091279A - Dredging apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2091279A
Application number: US74996A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herbert H Hopkins; Gus E Becker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1936-04-17
Filing date: 1936-04-17
Publication date: 1937-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 1954-08-31

Description

Aug. 31 1937. H. H. HOPKINS ET AL DREDGING APPARATUS Filed April 17, 1935 INVENTOR. Hurst/er 'h. HOPk/NS Gus E Be 0min ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 31, 1937 PATENT OFFICE 2,091,279 DBEDGING APPARATUS Herbert H. Hopkins, San Francisco, and Gus E. Becker, Fresno, Calif..

Application April 17, 1936,, Serial No. 74,996

7 Claims.

This invention relates to dredging apparatus, and has for its objects the provision of asimple, efficient, cheap, and small machine for digging and lifting material from the bottom of a water channel and for conveying the lifted material to a point for treatment of such material for recovery of mineral values therefrom, all in one continuous operation, and which apparatus is adapted to accommodate itself to various conditions of the stream bed. Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and drawing.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 represents a side view of our apparatus, the stream bed being shown in section and the apparatus shown at the commencement of a digging stroke.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the apparatus.

0 Briefly described, our apparatus comprises a float, or barge, pivotally mounting an elongated, rigid channel-arm at its inner end on the float, and the outer end being provided with a channel extension member rigid with the main arm, which extension has a cutting edge at its outer end. The channel arm and extension are about 20'inches wide, betweensides, although this can be varied considerably as desired for increasing the digging capacity. I

Means is provided for raising the outer end of the channel arm toa point above the pivoted end so that material cut from the bed of the streamand deposited in the channel will slide by gravity down the channel and out the opposite 3 end at a point beyond the pivotal point into a container where it can be treated for separation I of mineral values. I

Means is also provided to raising and lowering the arm bodily, including its pivots whereby the arm can be dropped, when vertical, to drive the cutting edge into the bed ofthe stream, and also said meansis used to-vary the ..depth of the cut.

Other means is provided for maneuvering the barge or float as desired and for anchoring it in any desired position.

In detail, our apparatus comprises a float formed of a relatively heavy platform I, mounted on hollow, sealed, air drums 2 secured to the under side of the platform by any suitable means,

such as by straps 3, the drums giving great buoyancy and being cheap, since regulation empty oil drums may be used.

. Mounted onthe platform is a frame comprising a pair of spaced, vertically extending posts small electric motor 21 receiving current from 4, each of which posts is provided with a vertical slot 5 with opposite sides of each slot formed to provide opposedly facing channels in which a bearing block 6 is slidably mounted for vertical movement. Said blocks are journaled for hori- 5 zontal stub shafts I that projectoutwardly from opposite sides of one end of an elongated, rigid, channel arm 8, the other end of which channel arm is fitted with a channel extension 9 securedthereto by bolts Ill. The outer end of the extension is closed with an inclined end plate to which is secured a cutting blade 12 of hard steel.

A yoke 13 is pivotally secured at the ends of its arms to the sides of the channel extension 9 and a cable It is connected to the eye l5 of the yoke and extends upwardly over 'a pulley 15 mounted on a frame it, which frame is positioned at the forward end of the barge. From pulley I5 the cable I4 extends rearwardly over a second pulley I! mounted on brackets secured to the 20 upper ends of posts 4, and from pulley II the cable It. extends to a hoist drum l8 operated through conventional gearing from an engine l9, 4 said-gearing being controlled. by a conventional control lever 20 for winding and unwinding the cable on the drum.

The barge is formed with an elongated slot or opening 2| at its forward end for passing the channel arm to elevate its outer end upon winding the cable It, the arm being vertical and projecting at its outer end below the barge as shown in Fig. 1 when at the commencement of the digging operation. When the arm is elevated to inclined position, the material cut from the stream bottom by blade l2 will pass by gravity down the arm and out the inner open end into a receptacle 22 from which it may pass into a sluice box fitted with suitable rifiles for entrapping the mineral values, and the tailings pass out of the sluice-box over the rear of the barge.

' At the upper end of frame it we provide a water tank 25 filled with water from a pipe line 26 connected to a centrifugal pump 21 operated by a a storage battery 29 or any other suitable motor may be used, the water for the tank being taken from the stream through a pipe 30.

One side of the water tank is fitted with a gate 3| adapted to be lifted by a cable 32 extending over a pulley 33 mounted on. the side of the tank, which cable is accessible to an operator adjacent the engine. When the gate is raised, water will flow from the tank to a short'chute 34 and into the outer end of the channel arm; thus assisting in flushing any sticky material in the channel arm down the arm and into the receptacle 22, thus not only cleaning the arm but supplying water for facilitating the separation of the values in the sluice box. The gate automatically closes 5 the flow of water upon releasing the pull on the cable.

The sliding blocks 6 are connected by a horiz'ontal bar 35, (Fig. 3) that extends over the inner open end of the channel arm 8, when 10 the latter is vertical, the ends of the bar con-- necting to the blocks by arms 36. A cable 31 is connected to an eye 38 that is secured to bar 35, said cable extending over a pulley 39, supported by suitable brackets to the upper ends of posts 4, and from pulley 38 said cable extends to a hoist drum 40 connected for operation by engine l9 through suitable gearing controlled by lever-4|. Thus upon operating the hoist 40 the inner end of channel arm 8, including the pivots 1 and bearing blocks, may be raised or lowered as desired, the usual releasable locking means being provided for holding the drum in any desired position.

At the four corners of the barge are capstans 42, from each of which extends acable 43 in an upstream direction and shoreward. The two cables 43 on one side of the barge are anchored at their outer ends to the shore adjacent thereto and the two cables 43 on the oppositeside of the barge are similarly anchored to the shore adjacent said opposite side. Each capstan is independently operated by a small electric motor 44 including suitable reduction gearing, said motors being supplied with power from a storage battery 45, the current to the motors being controlled by four separate switches 46. Thus the barge can be swung to any position relative to the stream and is anchored in such position, or

it can be advanced upstream, or moved from side to side of the stream. The forward end of the barge is, however, preferably kept turned generally upstream since the flow of. the stream materially assists in washing the material oi its bed into the channel arm during elevation of the outer end of the latter.

There may, of course, be any desired number of channel arms, such as a row extending across the forward end of the barge. Also, the storage batteries are charged from a generator connected to engine I9, such generator not being shown,

since the practice is common.

In operation, the barge is anchored with its forward end generally facing upstream. A short channel extension and cutting blade is initially secured to the outer end of channel arm 8, and the bearing blocks 6 areelevated in slots 5, the arm being allowed to hang vertically from the pivots, the rear closed end of slot 2| in the barge preventing the outer end of the arm from being carried in a downstream direction an undesirable distance to one side of vertical. The cable is released, and the arm drops to drive the cutting blade into the stream bed. The outer end of the arm is then drawn up by cable l4 and the material in the channel arm slides down the arm into receptacle 22. This operation is repeated, and if. a relatively deep cut is to be made, a long extension, such as 9, in the drawing, is substituted on arm 8 for the shorter one, until a hole X 7 has been dug in the bed of the stream. The barge is now progressively moved forward, and a channel is dug in the stream bed of the depth of the hole X, or according to the height of the blocks 6 mounting the inner end of the channel 75 arm.

The flexibility of our apparatus permits the working of the entire bed of the stream, and maneuvering to avoid boulders, and unprofitable material. Furthermore, the arm 8 when elevated above the float, leaves nothing depending from the float, and it can be readily moved over shallow parts of a stream, and can be readily dismantled and transported to parts of the country where large dredges can be moved only with great difliculty.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. Dredging apparatus for dredging the bed of a stream comprising a barge-like float adapted to float on the water of the stream, a generally vertically extending, rigid arm formed with sides and a bottom providing a channel extending the length of. the arm, pivot means on the float mounting said arm adjacent its upper inner end for moving the opposite outer end of the arm from below the float to an elevated position above the level of said pivot means, said outer end of the arm having a cutting edge adapted to cut material from the bed of the stream upon moving the outer end to above the level of the pivot means, and said arm being positioned to receive the cut material in the channel of the arm upon so moving the arm whereby said material will slide by gravity toward the pivoted end of the arm when the outer end is elevated above the level of the pivot means, means for elevating the outer end of the arm and means for raising and lowering the arm when the same is in generally vertically extending position, said barge-like float being formed with an opening positioned relative to the arm to permit moving the arm about its pivoted end from its vertically extending position to the position with its outer end elevated above the pivot means and with the inner end directly over said float.

2. In a construction as defined in claim 1, means for ejecting water into the channel of said arm adjacent the outer end thereof when the outer end of the arm is elevated to above the pivot means comprising a tank of water provided with a valved discharge opening adapted to discharge water in the tank into said channel.

3.-In a construction as defined in claim 1, means for moving said barge-like float forwardly, laterally and angularly relative to the direction of the bed of the stream as desired and for anchoring said float in the position to which the float is adapted to be moved, said means including cables connecting between the opposite shores of the stream and points forward and aft of the means pivotally mounting said am.

4. Dredging apparatus for dredging the bed of a stream comprising an elongated barge-like float adapted to float on the water of the stream, an elongated slot formed in the forward end of said float extending longitudinally of the float, an elongated, rigid arm formed with a channel extending the length of the arm, means pivotally mounting one end of said arm adjacent the closed end of said slot for swinging the outer opposite said arm in an arcuate path through said slot, a cutting blade extending across the outer end of the channel for-cutting material from the bed of the stream upon swinging said arm, means for swinging the arm for elevating the outer end to a point above the barge and above the level of the pivoted end of the arm.

5. Dredging apparatus for dredging the bed of a stream comprising a barge-like float, a rigid arm having an inner and an outer end and formed with sides and a bottom providing a channel extending the length of the arm, the inner end of said channel being open and a cutting blade on the arm extending across the outer end of the channel, pivot means pivotally mounting said inner end of the arm on the float arranged and adapted to permit swinging said arm from a position in which the outer end is lower than the inner end to a position in which the outer end is elevated above the inner end and flushing means mounted on the float separate from the arm and positioned at an elevated position relativeto the float at a point over the outer end of the arm when the outer end of the arm moved to said elevated position ar- 15 ranged and adapted to discharge water into the channel for flushing material therein toward said inner end, and means for swinging the arm on said pivot means.

6. Dredging apparatus for dredging the bed 20 of a stream comprisinga barge-like float, a rigid arm having an inner and an outer end and formed with sides and a bottom providing a channel extending the length of the arm, the inner end of said channel being open and a cut- 25 ting blade on the arm extending across the outer end of the channel, pivot means pivotally mounting said inner end of the arm on the float arranged relative'to the float and arm to permit swinging said arm from a substantially verti- 30 cally extending position with the outer and lowermost to a position with the outer end elevated relative to said inner end whereby material in the channel will slide over said bottom and out of the open end of the channel, means for so swinging said am, said cutting blade having a cutting edge thereon arranged and adapted to cut in a generally vertically extending direction into the bed of the stream, upon the arm being dropped when the arm is in substantially vertically extending position, and means releasably supporting said arm arranged and adapted for releasing the arm for dropping the same when the same is substantially vertical.

7. Dredging apparatus for dredging the bed of a stream comprising a barge-like float, an elongated arm of channel shape in cross-section having an outer end provided with a cutting blade extending substantially across the width of the channel and the opposite end of the channel being open, pivot means arranged and adapted forpivotally supporting the arm on the barge in a generally vertically extending position with the end thereof having the cutting blade dis- 3 -1'ig9sed beneath the float, means for swinging the am on said pivot means to a position with the last mentioned end of the arm elevated above the opposite open end of the channel and with the open end of the channel over the float whereby material within the channel will slide longitudinally thereof toward the float and out of the open end of the channel.

HERBERT H. HOPmNS. GUS E. BECKER.