US975999A - Pontoon-pipe for marine dredging. - Google Patents

Description

D. B. 111911111119115y c. F. 1.011,1.v

PONTOON PIPE FOR MARI-NE DRBDGING.-

APPLIOATIQN FILED 11112.19, 19.10.

Patented Nov.15,191o.

@Hom ma STARS DANIEL B. RICHARDS AND CHESTER F. LOGA, OF BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA.

PONTOON-PIPE FOR MARINE DREDGING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

Application filed March 19, 1910. Serial No. 550,500.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Beit known that we, DANIEL B. RICHARDS and CHESTER F. LoGA, citizens of the United States, residing at Beaufort, in the county of Carteret and State of North Carolina, haye invented new and useful Improvements in Pontoon- Pipes for Marine Dredging, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to dredging machines and relates more particularlyT to the material conveying pipe or conduit.

The invention has for one of its objects to improve the construction of .conduits of this character so that the same will be materially cheapened in manufacture and maintenance, thoroughly reliable and etlicient in use, and so designed that sections of the conduit can be easily and rapidly connected together without danger of leaky joints.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conduit composed of sections supported on pontoons, the adjacent sections being connected by inflexible joints which can be readily connected and disconnected in lengthening or shortening the conduit, and each section is composed of two parts united by a ball joint located between the two pontoons supporting each section, whereby the ball joints provide sutlicient flexibility to enable the pipe to yield with the undulation of the surface water in which thc pontoons iioat, it being understood that the ball joints are never disconnected so that a great deal of time, expense, and labor is saved.

With these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description. proceeds,

the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one embodiment of the invention; Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion'of a dredging machine conduit supported on pontoons. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the sections of the conduit.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawing, A designates several sections of the conduit of a dredging machine and these sections are detachably connected together by joints 2 that are rigid and so designed as to be iiuid tight, and each section A is flexible at an intermediate point, as, for instance, center 3, so that the conduit can freely move with the undulation in the surface of the water.

Each section A of the conduit consists of two tubes or pipes 4 and 5 disposed in alinement and connected at 3 by a ball and socket joint of any approved construction, which joint is water tight and is permanently closed. The sections 4 and 5 are each supported on its own pontoon `8 and is secured thereto by iron straps 9 or equivalent devices, the pontoons being so positioned that the joint will be disposed between them. The pontoons are held together in the usual manner by the wire-rope tail lines 10, fastened to cleats 11 on the pontoons.

The pipe 4 of one section A is detachably connected with the pipe 5 of the adjacent section A, the pipe 4 being enlarged and provided with an internal conical seat 12, while the pipe 5 is reduced and tapered at 13 to fit into the seat 12, and the joint is closed by drawing the ipes 4 and 5 together longitudinally and this drawing action is produced by bolts 14 hinged at 15 on the pipe 4 and arranged to engage slotted lugs or ears 16 on the adjacent pipe 5, the nuts 17 of the bolt bearing behind the lugs 16 so that as the nuts are tightened, a drawing action is produced. rIhis telescoping joint between the ends of the adjacent sections A is of such design that the sections can be readily connected or disconnected with a minimum of trouble and time and by the fitting of one part into the other, a water tight joint can be produced. It will thus be seen that the adjacent sections are rigidly connected together, but each section has a flexible joint at its middle so that the requisite flexibility of the conduit is obtained.

A conduit constructed in this manner is comparatively inexpensive, durable and reliable, and dispenses with the usual rubber connections or sleeves'between ladjacent conduits and it may be here remarked that since these sleeves as ordinarily used, cost about fifty dollars apiece and last only about a week when the material passing through the conduit is gritty and contains shells, the saving in manufacture and maintenance will be apparent by the use of the construction hereindescribed. conduit of the character described dispenses with the use of heavy timber, or strongbacks as they are commonly called, for con- Furthermore, a pontoonV necting the pontoons together sincethe pipe sections serve the purpose of the strongbacks, it being remembered that the joints 2 between the sections are rigid as are also the joints 3 in each section as regards longitudinal movement of the conduit sections.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which thel invention relates, and while we have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device which we non7 consider to be the best embodiment thereof, we desire to have it understood that ing the adjacent ends of the pipes together, the outer end of one pipe being tapered and the outer end of the other pipe being ared,

hinged bolts on the outer end of one of the arranged to telescope longitudinally into the outer end of the adjacent section to form a rigid water-tight joint, and means for detachably uniting the sections at the telescoping joint and capable of drawing the sections longitudinally together.

In testimony whereof we ahx our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL B. RICHARDS. CHESTER F. LOGA. wWitnesses:

J. B. JONES, J. B. JONES, Jr.

Images