Patent ID: 9745715
Date: 2017-08-29
CPC Classifications: E02F

Claim:
1. A cutterhead for dredging a water-bed of a body of water, the cutterhead comprising: a shroud including a top wall, a bottom wall, and two sidewalls each extending between the top and bottom walls; a rotatable cutterbar at least partially received within an interior space presented by the shroud; a first water-jet bar extending along a portion of the top wall of the shroud; a second water-jet bar extending along at least a portion of one of the two sidewall; and a third water-jet bar extending along at least a portion of another of the two sidewalls, wherein each of the first water-jet bar, the second water-jet bar, and the third water-jet bar comprises a plurality of water-jet nozzles for emitting high-pressure jets of water, wherein the cutterbar and the water-jet bars are configured to generate a slurry of fluidized material from the water-bed, wherein each of the first water-jet bar, the second water-jet bar, and the third water-jet bar includes a shield positioned forward of its respective water-jet bar for protecting the water-jet nozzles, wherein said shields are each formed with a plurality of apertures, with such apertures being aligned with the water-jet nozzles of the water-jet bars so as to permit high-pressure jets of water to pass from the water-jet bars through the shields to generate the slurry of fluidized material from the water-bed.