Abstract:
An apparatus, system, and method of loading of a compartmented dry-bulk-cargo barge in an efficient, safe, load-balanced, and environmentally responsible way, minimizing exposure to the elements, spillage, and spread of dust particles from the dry-bulk materials, through existing small hatch openings in barge compartment covers, without removing barge compartment covers, using an articulated arrangement of connected conveyers with rotating and telescoping capabilities, providing rapid change of position and precise positioning with minimal movement of the compartmented dry-hulk-cargo barge.

Description:
[0001]    This invention provides an apparatus for loading dry bulk material into a barge via a set of conveyor belts operatively connected to a rotating boom and telescoping spout, which has the ability to quickly and efficiently deposit dry bulk material into relatively small hatch openings on a barge. The articulated barge loader further provides for loading material into floating barges in a level manner, while minimizing the dry bulk material&#39;s exposure to the elements, and also reducing the spread of dust particles generating by the loading of such dry bulk material. This invention relates to the balance between loading a barge with minimal movement of said barge, while at the same time reducing the exposure of the dry bulk material to the elements. 
         [0002]    This invention is a solution to a problem encountered in the field of transportation of dry bulk material. Transportation of this dry bulk material, such as grain, coal, or sugars, is commonly facilitated by the use of a transportation vessel known as a barge. Such barges typically contain openings known as hatches, whereby the dry bulk cargo may be loaded into the barge for transport. Due to the weather-sensitivity of certain types of dry bulk cargo, these hatches may require fabricated covers to protect the dry bulk cargo from the elements during loading and transport. It may be appreciated by those in the art that the uncovering and recovering such covers on the openings of the main hatches of a barge is a time-consuming process that significantly adds to the time required to load the barge with the dry bulk material. 
         [0003]    The present invention is designed to facilitate loading of the dry bulk material onto the barge via the small hatch openings on the barge, thereby eliminating the need to uncover the main hatches on the barge. In the present invention, the dry bulk material is able to be deposited into these small hatch openings, rather than taking the time to open and maneuver between the main hatches on the barge, via a set of conveyors and a telescoping spout that can be strategically placed into the small hatch openings on the barge. 
         [0004]    In contrast to the present invention, the conventional method of loading dry bulk material into a barge requires lifting the covers on the main hatches of the barge, rather than utilizing the small hatch openings. A sample depiction of the conventional loading of such a barge may be seen in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , which depict use of an imprecise instrument, such as a clamshell, picking up dry bulk material from one source and unloading the dry bulk material into large hatch openings. It may be appreciated by those in the art that such a method requires lifting of covers on the main hatches, which is a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and arduous process. Further, loading by use of the main hatches may require movement of the barge itself to place it in line with a stationary loader. Such movement of the barge vessel requires a great deal of time in the loading process. Use of these conventional loading methods thus increases the overall loading time of the barge significantly. It is therefore an object of the present invention to increase the efficiency of the barge loading process by reducing the time required to load the dry bulk material into the barge. 
         [0005]    A second problem encountered in the field of barge loading is maintaining the stability of the barge as it is being loaded. For example, if a significant amount of dry bulk material is loaded via one main hatch at one end of the barge, it may capsize or otherwise get damaged. It is therefore a further object of the present invention to load the dry bulk material into the barge in an even fashion, such that the stability of the barge is maintained throughout the loading process. 
         [0006]    A further problem encountered in the pertinent art is preserving the relative purity of both the dry bulk material and the surrounding environment, for health purposes, as large amounts of dry bulk material are loaded into the product loading barge. In regards to the dry bulk material, many types of dry bulk material must be protected from the elements as it is loaded into the barge for subsequent transport. Regarding the surrounding environment, the loading of such dry bulk material often creates large amounts of dust plumes as the dry bulk material is deposited in the product loading barge. It may be appreciated that in controlling the amount of dry bulk material being loaded into the barge, such dust plumes may in turn be minimized for environmental concerns. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a manner of depositing the dry bulk material in a way that minimizes the dust plume created by such deposit, thereby providing a more environmentally-friendly method of loading a product barge. 
         [0007]    None of the several existing systems or methods of loading a hopper barge address the specific need to decrease loading time of the barge via utilizing the small hatch openings on the barge, or the need for maintaining the stability of the barge vessel while also efficiently loading the barge with the dry bulk material. 
         [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,107, issued to Feldsted in 1985 on a “Barge having a pneumatic loading an unloading system,” discloses the conventional pneumatic barge, and covers a barge, including a system for pneumatic unloading of cement or other dry, bulk, powdered material from the barge into a receptacle. The barge includes a barge hull; a plurality of side-by-side hoppers disposed in the hull to receive and store the material; a collector system for each hopper to unload the material from the hopper and convey the material to a vacuum-pressure pneumatic conveyor; and a discharge conduit connected to the discharge outlet of the pneumatic conveyor for conveying the material from the conveyor to the receptacle during the discharge cycle. The collector system has an air-assisted gravity conveyor disposed within each hopper to gather the material in each hopper to a plurality of predetermined longitudinally spaced points within each hopper; a suction nozzle communicating with each hopper at each point to unload the material from the hopper by vacuum suction; and a transporter assembly connected to each nozzle outside the hopper to transport the material within the hull from the nozzle to the pneumatic conveyor. The pneumatic conveyor has a storage vessel and a discharge outlet. The pneumatic conveyor is disposed centrally in the hull between hoppers, is connected with the transporter assembly, and alternatively fills its storage vessel with the material during a loading cycle and discharges the material from the storage vessel through the discharge outlet during a discharge cycle. The barge of the &#39;107 Patent further includes a source of compressed air and a vacuum source in the hull. 
         [0009]    Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,420,388, issued to Briggs in 1969, discloses a “Barge handling and unloading system and method of handling and unloading barges,” wherein a shuttle barge is utilized to move cargo barges in a fore-and-aft direction past an unloading station. In the Briggs handling system, a mechanical barge unloader is located at the unloading station and cargo is removed from the cargo barges by the barge unloader during the course of the fore-and-aft movements and transferred to shore. 
         [0010]    Recently, Publication No. WO 2012/032,134 A1 to Cartwright et al, published Mar. 15, 2012, disclosed a pneumatic bulk material conveying device for loading and/or unloading a ship. The pneumatic bulk material conveying device of the Cartwright publication has at least one conveying pipe with two rigid pipe end portions and a pipe central portion connecting the latter. The two pipe end portions can be moved in a transitional manner relative to one another. Each of the pipe end portions is connected by the pipe central portion about pipe joint connections, which allow a pivoting of the respective pipe end portion relative to the pipe central portion about at least two joint axes. A ship-side connection mechanism is used to couple the ship-side ball-and-socket joint to the ship. The result is a conveying device with which an operationally reliable and low-wear and gentle conveying of the bulk material is possible. 
         [0011]    It may be appreciated from the foregoing that there remains a need in the art for fast, efficient loading of dry bulk material into a barge, and more specifically for a barge loading apparatus that has the ability to reduce the time taken to load the barge by effectively utilizing the small hatches on the barge, and loading the dry bulk material through said hatches while maintaining the overall balance of the barge. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention provides an apparatus, system, and method of loading of a compartmented dry-bulk-cargo barge in an efficient, safe, load-balanced, and environmentally responsible way, minimizing exposure to the elements, spillage, and spread of dust particles from the dry-bulk materials, through existing small hatch openings in barge compartment covers, without removing barge compartment covers, using an articulated arrangement of connected conveyers with rotating and telescoping capabilities, providing rapid change of position and precise positioning with minimal movement of the compartmented dry-bulk-cargo barge. 
         [0013]    The present invention solves existing problems encountered in the barge loading industry, including the problem of more quickly and efficiently loading a barge with dry bulk cargo while maintaining the overall stability of the barge vessel. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  is a top overview of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a conventional, prior art system of loading a barge; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a depiction of a conventional, prior art system of loading a barge; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is a depiction of a convention, prior art system of loading a barge; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is the side view of  FIG. 7 , in a separate step of the process of an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is an alternate side view of the barge, crane, hopper, transfer tower, and conveyor legs in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is an alternate side view of the barge, boom tower, transfer tower, conveyor legs, and spout in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  is a detail of the transfer tower in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  is a detail of a top view of the transfer tower in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 11  is a detail of the boom tower in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  is a detail of the spout arrangement in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 13  is a detail of the telescoping spout in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 14  is a detail of the clam shell bucket in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0029]      FIG. 15  is a detail of the hopper in connection with the first leg conveyor belt in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0030]      FIG. 16  is a detail of the first leg conveyor belt in connection with the loadbox and transfer tower in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0031]      FIG. 17  is a detail of the second leg conveyor in connection with the boom tower in an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0032]      FIG. 18  is a detail of the control of an embodiment of the present invention; and 
           [0033]      FIG. 19  is a detail of the spout depository in an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0034]    Turning now in reference to the drawings,  FIGS. 2, 3, and 4  depict a conventional barge loading system, whereby a loading instrument  40 , depicted in  FIGS. 2-3  as a clamshell, may obtain a large amount of dry bulk material from ship  20  and in turn deposit it into product loading barge  110 . It may be appreciated that in the conventional barge loading system of  FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 , small hatch openings  150  on loading product barge  110  may not be utilized, as the loading instrument  40  is not precise enough to deposit the dry bulk material into small hatch openings  150 . Unloading of dry bulk material by loading instrument  40 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , must thus be facilitated only by uncovering of large hatch openings of loading product barge  110 . 
         [0035]    In contrast,  FIG. 1  depicts an overview of the barge loading system  10  of the present invention. Loading barge  110  includes small hatch openings  150  for reception of dry bulk material. As shown in  FIG. 1 , barge loading system  10  includes a hopper  50  for initial reception of the dry bulk material from unloading ship  20 ; a first leg conveyor belt  60  for transfer of the dry bulk material to transfer tower  70 ; a second leg conveyor belt  80  for transfer of the dry bulk material to from transfer tower  70  to boom tower  100 ; and a telescoping spout  120  for transfer of the dry bulk material from boom tower  100  into small hatch openings  150  of loading product barge  10 . As depicted in  FIG. 1 , multiple small hatch openings  150  may be utilized for reception of the dry bulk material due to the rotatable range of telescoping spout  120 . In this manner, dry bulk material may be loaded efficiently into loading product barge  110  without requiring movement of the loading product barge  110  and without overbalancing loading product barge  110 . Alternate side views of the overall barge loading system of the present invention are presented in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
         [0036]    Turning now to  FIG. 6 , the dry bulk material to be deposited into the product loading barge [ ] is first poured into hopper  50 . A conventional hopper may be forty feet wide and forty feet long, as shown in  FIG. 1 , holding a great amount of dry bulk material. The hopper  50  thus acts as a depository, as shown in  FIG. 14 , for a large amount of the material that will be loaded into the product loading barge  110  via small hatch openings  150 . A depiction of the deposit of the dry bulk material into hopper may be seen in  FIG. 6 . As seen in  FIG. 6 , an instrument such as a clamshell  40  may acquire a large amount of dry bulk material from loading source  20  and be poured in bulk into hopper  50 . 
         [0037]    Turning now in reference to  FIG. 7 , the dry bulk material is then transferred from hopper  50  to transfer tower  70 . As shown in  FIG. 16 , the dry bulk material flows through the hopper via a hopper discharge  51  into loadbox  53  for loading onto first leg conveyor belt  60  for subsequent transfer to transfer tower  70 . Flow of the dry bulk material through the hopper discharge may be operated by remote control, as shown in  FIG. 15 . The dry bulk material is then transferred along first leg conveyor belt  60  to transfer tower  70  as facilitated by means known in the art. 
         [0038]    A detailed depiction of transfer tower  70  may be seen in  FIG. 9 . As pictured, dry bulk material is transported along first leg conveyor belt  60  and discharged in discharge section  61  of transfer tower  70 . A detail of this discharge in transfer tower  70  may be seen in  FIG. 16 . The dry bulk material is then in turn placed onto second leg conveyor belt  80  for transport to boom tower  100 , as depicted in  FIGS. 8 and 17 . Operation of the transfer tower  70  may be facilitated by remote control  140 , as controlled by an employee  130  of the barge loading process. Dry bulk material may then be transferred from transfer tower  70  along second leg conveyor belt  80  to boom tower  100 , which is facilitated by means known in the art. 
         [0039]    Turning now to  FIG. 11 , the dry bulk material is then deposited from second leg conveyor belt  80  into loadbox  105  of boom tower  100 . As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , loadbox  105  may be rotatable. The dry bulk material is then passed onto boom conveyor  101 , which is operatively connected to the rotatable loadbox  105  on boom tower  100 . The dry bulk material is then transferred along the boom conveyor  101  by means known in the art through the boom conveyor discharge  102 . This flow of dry bulk material through boom conveyor discharge  102  into telescoping spout  120  may be seen in further detail in  FIGS. 12, 17, and 18 . As shown in the above figures, facilitation of the transfer of dry bulk material through the boom tower  100  into telescoping spout  120  may be effected by remote control  140 , as operated by an employee  130  of the barge loading process. 
         [0040]    Telescoping spout  120  is also attached to rotatable bearing  104 , which provides further maneuverability of the loading apparatus. Telescoping spout can therefore reach a number of small hatch openings  150  on the barge  110  when depositing the dry bulk material into the small hatch openings  150  on the barge  110 . Such an operation of the telescoping spout  120  may be seen in  FIGS. 5-6, 8, 11-13, and 19-20 . As depicted in, for example,  FIG. 19 , the dry bulk material may be poured into small hatch openings  150  of barge  110 . The relative precision and size of telescoping spout  120  may thus facilitate more efficient loading of barge  110  by utilizing small hatch openings  150 . 
         [0041]    As depicted in the foregoing illustrations, operation of the barge loading apparatus may be facilitated by a remote control, which may be wielded by relatively unskilled employees, thereby providing an additional advantage to the present invention. As depicted in  FIGS. 7-9, 11-12, 15-16, and 18-19 , the employee may remotely control the rotation and operation of hopper discharge  51 , transfer tower  70 , second leg conveyor belt discharge  81 , loadbox  105 , boom conveyor discharge  102 , and rotation motion  103 , among other operations. 
         [0042]    It may be appreciated from the foregoing that the use of such a rotating bearing  104  connected to telescoping spout  120  facilitates the quick, efficient loading of product loading barge  110  by utilizing the small hatch openings  150  on product loading barge  110 , thereby eliminating the time-consuming processes of uncovering the openings to the main hatches. Due to the range of operation of the telescoping spout, the product loading barge  110  may also be loaded evenly, facilitating stable loading of the product loading barge, without the need for moving product loading barge  110  after deposit of a certain amount of dry bulk material into product loading barge  110 . 
         [0043]    Many changes and modifications can be made in the present invention without departing form the spirit thereof. I therefor pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.