US1323122A - Oyster-dredge - Google Patents

Description

H. C. TAYLOR.

OYSTER DREDGE.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE 6. 1919.

1,823, 122. Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

HABRELL C. TAYLOR.,A 0F SEALEVEL, NORTH CAROLINA.

'oYs'rER-Dnnnen* Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenteauwza 1919.

Appli'dati'on med June c, 1919. serial Ne; 302,272.`

To allwtom 1f/may concern:

Be it lrnown that I, HARRELL C. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sealevel, in the county of Carteret and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new' and useful Improvements in Oyster- Dredges, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention is an oyster dredge and has for its principal object the production of a devicewhich may be placed on the bed of a stream and propelledby any suitable power, and under such conditions will. dig oysters from an oyster bed and will etliciently cull the small oysters from the large oysters allowingl the smaller oysters toy be dropped back into the bed, while the larger oysters willv be conveyed back into a receiving receptacle. V s

Another object of this invention is the production of an oyster dredge wherein a plurality `of lrotating agitators are provided which willeficiently cull the oysters passing thereover, these agitators beingof such construction as to move the-larger oysters rearwardly, the oysters also passing over gratings through which the smaller oystersfmay fall, the oysters then being finally deposited within a receptacle where they may be removed from, when desired.

One practical form of construction and assembly of the'present invention will `be hereinafter described andv is illustrated in the drawing, in which y Figure 1 is a side elevation of the oyster dredge constructed in accordance with4 the present invention, a portion of the receiving receptacle being krbroken away.j Y l n Fig. 2 isV an enlarged sectional View .taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section Vthrough the forward portion of the dredge.

In the preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, about to be` specifically described, the scoop and asserting portion of the dredge comprises a pair'of-parallel vside walls 5 having sleeves 6 vat their upper and lower edges in which strands 7 are carried, Y

the forward endsfof the strands. being provided with eyes whereby'links 9 connected to a draw bar or cablelO. are secured, vthus allowing the dredge to be' connectedy to a I' boat or other towing means, thus, permitting l the dredge to hev dragged. along. the. bottom ofthe stream or body of water for` operating in its correct manner.

The bottom of the receptacleV is of solid material 11V although the lower strands 7 are carried. thereby,` thus connecting the receptacle to the scoop and assortinglportion of the dredge. The upper strands 7 may also extend rearwardly, thus permitting the side walls 12 of mesh, to be connected to the bottom and also to the upper strand to form an inclosed receptacle. The rear end of` the receptacle may be closed by a suitable form of gate 13, whereby after the same has been filled it may be easily emptied as desired. It should be noted that the forward end of the bottom 11 is curved upwardly as shown at 11 thus allowing the bottom 11 to'ride evenly over small oysters which may be culled and dischargedv from the 'larger oysters and also allow the bottom llto ride an. oyster bed and cause the oysters to slide upwardly therealong asl the dredge moves forwardly. An inclined grating comprises a pair of end strips 16 fiXedupon the, inner y slanting downwardly. ThereforeV the claws will dig intok surfaces of the side walls 5 and connectedy itogeth'er byv transversely extending rods 17 reinforced intermediate their endsby similar strips 16. As. the rods 17 are spaced apart in any'desired distance, it is obvious the passingl of oysters thereonto the forward ends of the claws 15 will cause the oysters continuedmovement of oysters up overthey claws 15'will continue Vto forceY the larger grating.

4oysters rearwardly l,beyond the forward A pair of drive shafts`18 are carried by the side walls 5. and have enlarged drive lwheels 19 on-their outer ends, these vspurred drive wheels engaging the bottom of theY stream toI cause rotary motion to be. im-l roo partedto theshafts 18 as. the dredge moves.

forwarlly. Other shafts 20 are journaled in the side walls 5 parallel to the driving shafts 18 and these last mentioned shaft-s 2O have radiating fingers 21 extending therefrom as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Each pair of shafts 2O have gears 22 keyed thereon and meshing with similar gears 23 keyed upon the drive shafts 18. j rIherefore, although the drive shafts 155` will rotate forwardly the finger shafts 2O will-be rotated rearwardly. Two such series as described are herein illustrated, although it is obvious that any number desired can be employed without departingffrom the spirit of the present invention. The grating at the forward end of the scoop and assorting device direct the larger oysters onto the forward shaft and fingers thereof above the shaft as shown in Fig. 2. As these shafts will be rotated rearwardly, the fingers will throw the oysters rearwardly, it being noted that the fingers are spaced apart at a suhicient distance to allow the smaller oysters to fall therebetween. The movement of the larger oysters rearwardly however, will progress owing to the fact that the oysters will be fed along toward the rear portion of the scoop from one lingered shaft to the next until they are finally deposited upon the Vdownwardly slanting grating at the rear end of the scoop and contiguous to the forward end of the receptacle. This grating comprises end strips 24 connected by transversely extending rods 25 reinforced by strips 2li intermediate their ends. The

oysters which will slide across and downwardly along the rear grating willV be deposited within the interior of the receptacle.

Itwill be noted that when the device is in use, it is placed upon the bottom of a stream and may then be pulled or propelled forwardly in any desired manner. The claws 15 will sink down into the oyster bed, causing the large and small oysters alike to be elevated and pushed rearwardly therealong and over the forward upwardly inclined grating. It is true that some of the small oysters may fall through this grating 16, although a greater portion of the oysters will be passed from this grating onto the rearwardly rotating fingers 21. The movement of these fingers will further cause the oysters to be further agitated and as the lingers are moving beneath the water itis obvious mud will be washed from the selected'oysters, while the smaller oysters will slip between the fingers and fall back into the bed of the stream. The larger oysters will be thrown rearwardly and finally will pass over the rods 25 of the rear Vldownwardly slanting` grating and will finally be deposited within the receptacle where they are retained until finally removed. Thus oysters in original condition may be lifted 'from the bed of the stream but before being deposited within the receptacle will be assorted, the smaller oysters being dropped back into the stream while the mud will be washedv from the larger oysters. As the forward end of the bottom 11 of the receptacle is curved upwardly, the receptacle will easily ride over the smaller oysters which are dropped back into the bed of the stream as specified.

As above stated the number of fingers on the shaft is an immaterial matter, for' it may be spaced apart suiiiciently to allow comparatively large oysters to fall therebetween or may be sufficiently close together to allow the smaller ones to be so assorted and discharged. 'Ihe same is true also of the forward and rear grating. As above stated however, it will be seen that a very simple and eiiicient oyster dredge has been provided which may be positioned in the bed of a stream and may be easily propelled under such conditions to efficiently lift oysters and move the same rearwardly toward the receptacle during such operation efficiently washing the oysters and discharging the smaller ones so that only the larger oysters in a clean condition will be deposited within the receptacle.

rIhe foregoing description and the drawings have reference to what may be considered the preferred, or approved form of my invention. It is to be understood that I' may make such changes in construction and arrangement and combination of parts, materials, dimensions, et cetra, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I-Iaving thus fully described my invention, what vI claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is l. In a device of the character described, the combination of a scoop, a digging means in said scoop, a conveying and assorting means within said scoop which will also agitate oysters to wash the same as the same are moving within the scoop and a receptacle at the rear end of said scoop.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a scoop having a digging means at its forward end, gratings carried at the forward end of the scoop adjacent the` digging means, and also adjacent the rear end thereof, a receptacle connected to Asaid scoop adjacent the rear end of the rear grating, and an agitating and assorting means carried by said scoop between said gratings.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a scoop including a pair of parallel side walls, a receptacle connected to the rear ends'of said walls and including an upturned bottom, digging claws extending from the forward end of said walls, an upwardly inclined grating extending from the rear end of said claws and including spaced rods, an inclined grating adjacent the rear ends of said walls, parallel shafts carried by said walls, means for driving a plurality of said shafts, gears on all of said` shafts for connecting the shafts together, whereby all the shafts may be simultaneously rotated,

Y and radiating ngers extending from a plurality of the shafts, whereby oysters dug by said claws will be Vcarried over the/forward grating and deposited upon said fingers where they will be agitated to allow the small ones to fall between the fingers and the large ones will be moved rearwardly and be washed, the large oysters being finally deposited on the rear grating to slide downwardly to the receptacle.

4:. In a device of the character described, the combination of a scoop having a digging means at its forward end, an upwardly inclined grating at the forward end of the scoop in the rear of said digging means, a downwardly inclined grating at the rear end of said scoop, a receptacle connected to said scoop adjacent the rear grating, and an agitating and assorting means carried by said scoop between said gratings.

5. In a device ofthe class described, the combination of a scoop including a pair of parallel side walls, a receptacle connected to the rear ends of said walls, digging claws extending from the forward ends of said walls, an upwardly inclined grating extending from the rear end of said walls and including spaced rods, an inclined grating adjacent the rear ends of said walls, parallel shafts carried by said walls, means for driving a plurality of shafts, gears on all of said shafts for connecting the shafts together,

whereby all the shafts may be simultaneously rotated, and radiating fingers extending from a plurality of shafts, as and for the purposes set forth. j l

6. In a device of the class described, the combination of a scoop including a pair of parallel side walls, a receptacle connected to the rear ends of said walls, digging means at the forward ends of said walls, an upwardlyinclined grating extending from the rear of said digging means and including spaced rods, an inclined grating adjacent the rear ends of said walls, parallel shaftscarried by said walls, means for driving a plurality of said shafts, gearson all of said shafts for connecting the shafts together, whereby all shafts may be simultaneously rotated, radiating fingers extending from said shafts, as and for the purposes set forth.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination of a scoop including a pair of parallel side walls, a receptacle connected to the rear ends of said walls, digging means at the forward ends of said Walls, an upwardly inclined grating extending from the rear end of said digging means and including spaced rods, an inclined grating adjacentthe rear ends of said walls, parallel shafts carried by said walls, radiating fingers extending fromy said shafts, and means for simultaneously rotating said shafts, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRELL C. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

R. G. STYRON, J. W. STYRoN.

Images