US3774323A

US3774323A - Composite bucket-hydraulic dredge

Info

Publication number: US3774323A
Application number: US00143458A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Vaughn
Original assignee: Vaughan Co Inc
Current assignee: Vaughan Co Inc
Priority date: 1971-05-14
Filing date: 1971-05-14
Publication date: 1973-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1990-11-27
Also published as: NL7206391A

Abstract

A chopper hydraulic centrifugal pump in one wall of a boommounted dipper of either the scoop or backhoe or convertible type empties the dipper automatically. Such a dipper can be selfconvertible to function as a scoop or as a backhoe by having opposite end wall openings selectively closable by an unstable flip-flop, self-reversing gate.

Description

United States Patent 1 Vaughn Nov. 27, 1973 [5 COMPOSITE BUCKET-HYDRAULIC 2,874,253 2 1959 Sharp et al 74 181 x DREDGE 2,826,919 3/1958 Klingler 74/18.] [75] Inventor: James E. Vaughn, Elma, Wash. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 73 Assigneez Vaughan Inc. Montesano, 189,133 2/1957 Austria 37/71 Wash- 1,236,573 6/1960 France 1,048,506 11/1966 Great Britain 37/71 [22] Filed: May 14, 1971 2 Appl 143 45 Primary Examiner-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder Att0rney--Robert W. Beach [52] U.S. C1 37/58, 37/71, 74/18.] [51] Int. Cl E02f 3/92 [58] Field of Search 37/71, 58, 6467; ABSTRACT 74/184 A chopper hydraulic centrifugal pump in one wall of a boom-mounted dipper of either the scoop or backhoe [56] References or convertible type empties the dipper automatically. UNITED STATES PATENTS Such a dipper can be self-convertible to function as a 3,148,464 3/1964 Jones 415/206X s p or a a backhoe y having pp end wall 3,624,933 12/1971 Faldi 37/71 X openings selectively closable by an unstable flip-flop, 2,952,083 9/1960 Forkner 37/71 elf-reversing gate,

413,091 10/1889 Riker 37/71 X 548,242 10/1895 Wood et a]. 37/7] UX 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented Nov. 27, 1973 2 SheetsSheet 1 A rmeA// Patented Nov. 27, 1973 3,774,323

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 COMPOSITE BUCKET-HYDRAULIC DREDGE The principal object of the present invention is to provide a composite bucket-hydraulic dredge which is more effective than either a hydraulic dredge or a bucket dredge, and which can function in situations suitable either for a hydraulic dredge or for a bucket dredge, as well as in situations where neither a hydraulic dredge nor a bucket dredge would be particularly effective. More specifically, it is an object to provide a dredge which is more effective than a hydraulic dredge because the bucket or scoop device provides a controlled area in which vegetation is chopped up and the solids are churned into suspension in liquid media for most efficient handling by a hydraulic pump. The

dredge is more effective than a bucket dredge because it can handle material that a bucket dredge could not handle, and makes the bucket dipper self-emptying.

A further object is to provide a dredge which is versatile in operation in that its principle can be applied to a power shovel type of dredge or to a backhoe type of dredge, or to a dredge having a dipper which is convertible automatically so as to operate either as a shovel scoop or as a backhoe bucket.

Another object is to provide a dredge which is small, light and compact for its capacity, and which is very maneuverable and readily portable.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a power shovel or scoop type of dredge with parts broken away, and FIG. 2 is an elevation of the scoop of that dredge viewed from line 2-2 of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan of the same dredge.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of a backhoe type of dredge, parts of which are broken away.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of an automatically convertible scoop and bucket dredge with parts broken away.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective of a chopper hydraulic centrifugal pump, constituting one component of the dredges of the present invention, having parts of the adjacent structure broken away.

Customarily dredges are either of the hydraulic type or of the mechanical type. Dredges of the hydraulic type usually are not effective to dredge compacted material and are used principally to dredge silt, sand and small gravel. Dredges of the mechanical type may be of the clamshell bucket type, of the endless bucket conveyor type, or of the single backhoe or scoop bucket type. In the latter case the bucket may be self-emptying by an endless belt bucket conveyor or by a screw conveyor. Such mechanical dredges are not effective for loose, easily fluidized material, and are used principally for dredging material which is quite compact.

The composite dredge of the present invention may be designed either for scooping material or for hoeing material, or can be designed to perform alternatively either a scooping or a hoeing type of operation. The dredge illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is of the shovel or scoop type. The dredge of FIG. 4 is of the backhoe type. The dredge shown in FIG. 5 is convertible automatically to be used either as a scoop or as a hoe. Each of these dredges includes the combination of a dipper which confines material to be dredged within its walls and channels such material to a centrifugal pump which empties from the dipper the material to be dredged which is confined by it.

An excellent type of pump for use in the composite bucket hydraulic dredge of the present invention is a centrifugal impeller type of pump, such as that shown in patent 3,155,046 having chopping ability. Such pump has the capability of being able to pump effectively thin or thick sludge material and can chop objects such as weeds and sticks. In FIG. 1 such a pump 1 is shown mounted on the end of pump drive shaft housing 2, which is swingably supported by its opposite end on a trunnion shaft 3. The opposite ends of such shaft are mounted in bearings carried by brackets 4 secured on the deck of a barge 5.

The mechanism for driving the pump may be an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, or a hydraulic motor generally designated 6. If such drive mechanism is mounted on the deck of the barge, it can drive a bevel gear or angle drive 7 to turn the pump shaft 8 shown in FIG. 6 as extending through the housing 2 from the drive mechanism to the pump impeller.

The pump drive shaft housing 2 is located between and extends parallel to side rods 9 of the dipper boom. The swinging ends of these rods are connected by a crossbar 10, and the pivoted ends of such rods are connected by the crossbar 11. The central portions of the rods can be connected by a crossbar 12. The pivot ends of such dipper boom rods are carried by sleeves 13 encircling the shaft 3, which may be secured to such shaft if the shaft rotates, or may be pivotally mounted on such shaft if the shaft is fixed. In either case the boom can be swung elevationally by a fluid pressure jack l4 pivotally connected between a side rod 9 and a bracket 4 mounting one end of shaft 3.

The dipper 15 carried by the swinging end of the boom rods 9 is of the scoop or shovel type. The dipper, shown as being of the scoop type in FIG. 1, includes a back end wall 16 having in it a generally central aperture 17 in which the casing of pump 1 is received. The pump is supported independently of the dipper 15 by its drive shaft housing 2 extending through an aperture in the center of the crossbar 10. The opposite ends of the crossbar are connected to the back end wall 16 of the scoop through straps 18 secured to the crossbar by the pivots 18'. The scoop can be tilted relative to the boom rods 9 and drive shaft housing 2 about such pivots by altering the length of the scoop-tilting jack 19 connected by a pivot 20 to the inclined top flange 21 of the scoop and to the central crossbar 12 by pivot 22.

Varying the length of jack 19 to alter the angle between the boom and the scoop 15 will enable the back end wall 16 of the scoop to be maintained in a vertical position for different depths of water. The aperture 17 around the casing of pump 1 can be sealed with respect to the pump in the various angularly adjusted relationships of the scoop and boom by a flexible boot 23 encircling the pump as shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6.

The box-like scoop structure of rectangular horizontal cross section is completed by the side or lateral walls 24 extending forward from opposite edges of the back end wall 16, and side inclined top flanges 25 forming hip joints with the back inclined top flange 21. The scoop can effect a cutting action by an angle lip 26 on the lower edge of the back wall 16. Material confined within the chamber between the back end wall 16 and the lateral walls 24 of the scoop is-channeled by such lateral walls and drawn into the pump 1 by the suction which it produces, so as to empty the scoop of material ahead of its back end wall 16 and cutting lip 26 and between its lateral walls.

Chunks of material drawn toward the pump intake opening can be broken up by the stirring or clearing rotor 27 mounted on the end of the pump drive shaft 8 and located outside of the pump housing to rotate past the intake apertures of the pump. Slurry sucked into the intake apertures is expelled by centrifugal force through the flexible pump discharge line 28, which is connected to the pump housing by an elbow 29.

The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 is used for scooping a channel ahead of the scow l of any desired width. Suitable warps W can be provided for warping the boom-supporting end of the scow transversely to establish the width of the channel to be dredged, and lines can be provided to pull the dredge forward to move the scoop into material to be dredged. The cutting lip 26 will cut the material at the desired depth, as indicated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 4 the dipper 15 is of the backhoe bucket type, including a leading end back wall 30 having an apertured portion 31 receiving the pump 1 so that its intake side faces into the bucket. In this instance the bucket may be supported entirely from the pump drive shaft housing 2 because there is no need for adjusting the tilt of the bucket relative to the housing. The bucket can be braced by a thrust link 32 having one end connected to a bucket bracket by pivot 33 and its other end connected to the pump drive shaft housing by a pivot 34 carried by an anchor band 34' clamped or welded to the pump drive housing.

The top 35 of the box-like backhoe bucket 15 will be generally horizontal, and the trailing front end wall 36 of such bucket will be upright, the particular angle of such walls depending upon the angle of the boom formed by the drive shaft housing 2. The bucket side walls or lateral 37, the top 42 and the trailing wall 36 close the upper portion of the bucket so that the opening into the bucket is only through the bottom, a portion of the leading end and a portion of the sides. The height of the back leading end 30 is shown as being much less than that of the trailing front end 36. The amount of opening at the sides is determined by the location and angularity of the lower edges 39 of the side walls 37.

The lower edges 38 of the trailing end wall 36 and of the lateral walls 37 constitute cutting edges that are moved to determine the amount of material to be dredged that enters the backhoe bucket 15. A typical type of operation for which this type of backhoe dredge is well suited is for cutting back the shore of a lake or the bank of a stream. The barge 5 can be moved toward such shore or bank with the drive shaft housing boom raised sufficiently so that the cutting lip 38 clears the top of the bank. When the barge 5 is inthe proper position, the boom will be lowered so that the cutting lip rests on the top of the bank at a predetermined distance back from the edge, such as a distance generally equal to the spacing between the leading end wall 30 and the trailing end wall 36.

The weight of the backhoe bucket, pump and boom will depress the cutting edge into the top of the bank, and the stirring action and suction of the pump 1 will begin to draw the material confined within the bucket into the pump. Withdrawal of such material from the interior of the bucket by the pump will undermine the support of the bucket, and the bucket will move downward, the cutting lip scouring the bank as the bucket descends. By such operation the boom can be lowered until the bucket has reached the desired depth to which the dredging is to be accomplished, as indicated by the horizontal ground line in FIG. 4, after which the boom can be raised and either the barge can be moved toward the shore again or can be swung sidewise or the barge moved sidewise to take another bite along the shore or bank.

In FIG. 5 the dredge is shown as having a dipper 15" that is automatically convertible for operation either as a scoop or as a backhoe bucket. The dipper is tiltable by jack 19 as described in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3. This box-like dipper includes a rear end wall 40 having in it an aperture receiving the casing of pump 1 and which is closed around the pump by the flexible annular boot 23. The top 42 extends between the upper por tion of the back end wall 40 and the upper portion of the front end wall 43. Both of these end walls are much shorter than the opposite side or lateral walls 44 so as to provide one end opening below the lower edge of end wall 43 and another opening below the lower edge of end wall 46. Such openings may extend from the bottom of the bucket upward approximately one-half of its depth.

The end openings below the

margins

45 and 46 are closed alternatively by an unstable, flip-flop flap or gate 47 having its lower edge portion mounted on a pivot rod 48. Such rod may be spaced above the lower edges of side walls 44 and the gate 47 a short distance if desired, so that the lower edge margin of the flap or gate will form an overhanging lip projecting downward from it hinge to serve as a cutting lip. Such lip would be upright when the gate is in the solid-line position shown in FIG. 5 and would extend generally horizontally when the gate is in the broken-line position shown in that figure.

When the gate 47 is in the solid-line position of FIG. 5 closing the opening below end wall 43, the dredge can be used as a backhoe, as described in connection with FIG. 4, and can also be used to deepen a lake or a channel by moving the barge to pull the dredge dipper in the direction indicated by the solid-line arrow in FIG. 4. If the barge is moved in the opposite direction to push the boom ahead of it, pressure of material to be dredged against the right side of the gate, as seen in FIG. 5, will automatically flop the gate into the brokenline position shown in that figure so that the dipper will serve as a scoop in the mariner described in connection with FIG. 1.

I claim:

1. A dredge comprising a boom normally inclined downwardly, boom pivot means supporting the upper end of said boom for elevational swinging of its lower end, a dipper mounted on the lower end of said boom, and a hydraulic pump including a casing mounted on the lower end of said boom independently of but adjacent to said dipper, said dipper including a wall extending transversely of said boom and having an aperture therein receiving said hydraulic pump casing and lateral walls spaced apart, located respectively at opposite sides of said hydraulic pump casing and projecting from said first wall in the direction away from said boom for a substantial distance to provide a chamber therebetween confining material to be pumped by said hydraulic pump and channeling such material for flow toward said pump, said hydraulic pump casing having an intake opening in one wall thereof opening directly into said confining and channeling chamber, and said hydraulic pump including a rotative impeller in said hydraulic pump casing located immediately adjacent to the side of said hydraulic pump casing intake opening opposite said confining and channeling chamber.

2. The dredge defined in claim 1, in which the dipper wall having an aperture therein receiving the hydraulic pump casing constitutes a first end wall and the dipper has a second end wall spaced from the first dipper end wall and bridging between the lateral walls, and the intake opening of the hydraulic pump casing is directed downwardly and toward said second end wall.

3. The dredge defined in claim 1, in which the dipper has an open bottom and opposite open end portions adjacent to said open bottom, a gate shiftable into positions for respectively obstructing either end opening selectively to convert the dipper for use as a scoop bucket and as a backhoe bucket, respectively, and hinge means mounting the lower portion of said gate for swinging of its upper portion into such obstructing positions, said hinge means being located substantially centrally between the open end portions of the dipper and at a location adjacent to the open bottom of the dipper.

4. The dredge defined'in claim 1, in which the hydraulic pump rotated impeller and the pump casing intake opening are disposed relatively for chopping material entering the intake opening.

5. A dredge comprising a boom normally inclined downwardly, boom pivot means supporting the upper.

end of said boom for elevational swinging of its lower end, a dipper, means mounting said dipper from said boom for tilting relative to said boom, means for effecting tilting of said dipper relative to said boom, said dipper including an upright end wall adjacent to the end of said boom and having an aperture in it, a hydraulic pump mounted on the lower end of said boom independently of said dipper and including a casing received in the aperture of said dipper end wall, having an intake opening opening directly into the interior of said dipper, and a rotative impeller in said casing adjacent to said intake opening, and flexible sealing means encircling and sealed to said hydraulic pump casing and connected in sealed relationship to said aperture in said dipper wall.

5373 I I UNITED STATES PATENT O F FICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,774,323 Dated November 27., 1.973

Inventor(s) James Vaughan It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as, shown below:

Title page, change spelling of inventor's last name to Vaughan in both instances Ce lumn 4, line 55, cancel "a" and inser --an end--; line 60, cancel "first" and insert -end. I

' Column '5, line 4 after "dipper" insert --en.dline 12,

cancel "open end" and insert -openings in the endf;

Column 6, line 2 cancelfirotated" and insert ,-rotative--; lineZl, after "dipper" insert --end- Signet 1 and sealed this 10th dayof, September 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M,v GIBSON, J Y c. MARSHALL DANN Att'esting Officer 7 I Commissioner of Patents

Claims

4. The dredge defined in claim 1, in which the hydraulic pump rotated impeller and the pump casing intake opening are disposed relatively for chopping material entering the intake opening.

5. A dredge comprising a boom normally inclined downwardly, boom pivot means supporting the upper end of said boom for elevational swinging of its lower end, a dipper, means mounting said dipper from said boom for tilting relative to said boom, means for effecting tilting of said dipper relative to said boom, said dipper including an upright end wall adjacent to the end of said boom and having an aperture in it, a hydraulic pump mounted on the lower end of said boom independently of said dipper and including a casing received in the aperture of said dipper end wall, having an intake opening opening directly into the interior of said dipper, and a rotative impeller in said casing adjacent to said intake opening, and flexible sealing means encircling and sealed to said hydraulic pump casing and connected in sealed relationship to said aperture in said dipper wall.