Patent Publication Number: US-2012024322-A1

Title: Sand wand assembly

Description:
This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/152,100, filed Feb. 12, 2009, the disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     The present disclosure relates to particulate collection devices of the type shown and described in copending, commonly owned, related application Ser. No. 10/515,978, filed 28 Feb. 2005. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and method for collecting sand, sludge and sediment from a waterway. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     It is often desirable to remove sediment and other particulate matter from a waterway such as a stream, river, channel bed, tidal pool, or estuary pool. Sediments are often soils eroded from farmland, forests, and runoff from city streets, carried by surface water, and accumulated in channel bottoms. The sediments are typically sand and silts that have been carried by the waterway or along a lake shoreline by littoral currents and deposited in the channel. A dredged material may be a clean soil or may include contaminants from a number of possible sources including runoff, sand and grit applied to roadways during the winter, sewer overflows, mining, etc. 
     Whatever the source, sediment removal from a channel bed is often done for a variety of reasons, including removing sediments to improve a spawning area, improving navigation by removing sand bars, removing contaminated sediment from industrial runoff in streams, and removing sediment from aqueduct and generating station intakes. 
     A common way to remove sediment from streams is by dredging. In conventional mechanical dredging techniques, a crane has a bucket that scoops sediment from a bottom surface of the waterway and deposits the sediment in a barge or vehicle for transport to a remote location. While effective, such dredging techniques require expensive equipment and are costly to operate. In addition, conventional “grab type” dredging techniques such as “clamshell bucket” or “drag line bucket” are designed to operate without concern for excess sediment spilling out of the buckets during operation, i.e., sediment is stirred up in the waterway and fouls downstream locations. These dredging techniques commonly produce a flume of waterborne sediments that are widely dispersed by the prevailing currents. Thus, the conventional grab type dredges are not well suited for the retrieval of contaminated marine sediments. On the other hand, hydraulic dredging produce a large volume of associated water, which is usually directed to a settling pond and returned to the waterway after the sediment has settled. When the soil contains contaminated sediments, the associated water must be treated using a remediation process before it is returned to the waterway. This requirement increases the degree of difficulty and cost of a project. 
     Another alternative to dredging is to use the applicant&#39;s collector assembly as shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,042,733 and 6,346,199. One or more collectors is/are mounted in the waterway and sediment that collects in the assembly is periodically pumped on shore. This collector assembly has proven to be especially effective at removing sediment from waterways. Typically, a pump is disposed outside of the waterway and, oftentimes, associated with an ejector to provide suction to a sediment removal passage. The sediment is separated from the water by passing through a filter and clean, filtered water returned to the waterway. 
     These systems do not adequately address the need for a mobile or portable sediment removal, or the need to adjust the type/size of sediment removed with a portable apparatus. There is also a need to provide turbidity function that can be easily changed to a suction arrangement in order to stir up the sediment in the waterway yet remove the sediment before mixing into the remainder of the waterway. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an apparatus or sand wand assembly for collecting sediment from a waterway, the apparatus including a movable pressure opening that is selectively actuated between first and second operative positions. In the first position, pressurized fluid is directed out of a base of the sand wand assembly and preferably toward a bottom surface of the waterway. In the second position, the pressurized fluid is directed toward an outlet line to urge the stirred up sediment into the outlet line. The second position of the pressure opening also directs or provides water toward the suction hose to assist in priming the suction pump on startup. 
     A lever is selectively actuated by an associated operator to move the pressure opening between the first and second operative positions. 
     First and second supports extend outwardly from the base of the sand wand assembly to support the assembly on an associated bottom surface of the waterway. 
     The first and second supports are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the sand wand assembly. 
     Front and rear portions of the base of the sand wand assembly are open. 
     The first and second supports preferably include curvilinear regions to facilitate rocking action of the sand wand assembly on the associated bottom surface of the waterway. 
     The first and second supports preferably taper outwardly from a lift chamber of the sand wand assembly. 
     The lift chamber of the sand wand assembly preferably has a tapered conformation that increases in cross-sectional dimension as it proceeds toward the supports. The increasing area of the lift chamber reduces the suction water velocity proportionally to a ratio of the suction hose surface area divided into the lift chamber intake surface area, This provides a means to reduce the suction velocity at the intake to provide only enough velocity to remove only the fine particles of sand or silt leaving gravel and cobble in the river. 
     In another aspect, a method for removing sediment from a waterway includes the steps of dispensing high pressure fluid from a pressure line mounted in a hand-held housing for providing a high pressure against an associated sediment containing surface in the waterway to stir up sediment, and repositioning the pressure line to assist in directing water and sediment stirred up by the high pressure fluid into an outlet line. 
     The method further includes separating water from the sediment, and returning the separated water to the waterway. 
     One advantage of the disclosure resides in the mobility provided in removing sediment from a waterway. 
     Another advantage is found in the ability to easily and effectively change the position of the pressure line in the sand wand assembly. 
     Yet another advantage relates to the durable nature of the assembly that may be selectively varied in operation to accommodate different conditions. 
     Still other features and benefits of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure will be described in detail with several preferred embodiments and illustrated, merely by way of example and not with intent to limit the scope thereof, in the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a prior art sand wand assembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a cutaway side view of the valve assembly of the sand wand in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a plan view of the openings in one embodiment of the sand wand assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram showing the sediment removal process in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  is an elevational view, in partial cross-section of a fourth preferred embodiment in a first operative position. 
         FIG. 8  is an elevational view similar to  FIG. 7  in a second operative position. 
         FIG. 9  is a side view of the right-hand side of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is a side view of the right-hand side of  FIG. 8  after removal of the sediment. 
         FIGS. 11 and 12  are schematic representations of elevational and side views showing the suction or lifting region of the assembly. 
         FIG. 13  is a bottom view of the sand wand assembly of  FIG. 10 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a handheld sand wand assembly  12  for removing sediment and other material from a waterway is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. As used herein, the term “sediment” is not meant to be limiting and is intended to encompass any material that is desired to be removed from a waterway including, but not limited to, silt, sand, sewage, soil, organic and inorganic waste, runoff, etc. Similarly, a “waterway” is not intended to be limiting in any way and is meant to encompass any flowing or standing waterway such as streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, canals, estuary and tidal pools, and channels, both natural and man-made. 
     The sand wand assembly  12  comprises an elongated, hollow housing  14  through which water and sediment pass. More particularly, and as additionally shown in  FIG. 2 , the housing  14  contains a water pressure line  20  and a suction or outlet line  22 . In a first embodiment, the pressure line  20  and the suction line  22  are positioned in a coaxial arrangement, with the pressure line  20  preferably nested inside the suction line  22 . In this arrangement, an outer surface  24  of the suction line forms the housing, with the pressure line  20  positioned inside the suction line  22 . Of course, other arrangements are contemplated by the present disclosure, such as the pressure line  20  and the suction line  22  positioned in side-by-side relation or disposed inside a separate housing. Alternatively, the coaxial relationship could be reversed. Both the suction line  22  and the pressure line  20  can be of varying sizes. Although not meant to be limiting, the suction line has an inside diameter of from about one inch to about four inches, the pressure line in turn, has an interior diameter of from about one-eighth inch to about one-half inch. As will be appreciated, the dimensions may vary to meet the particular needs for the sand wand assembly. For instance, the pressure line provides for pressurized fluid (preferably water) to pass through the sand wand assembly and exit at one thereof so that the pressurized water is directed to stir up sediment in the waterway. The suction line, on the other hand, is exposed to a vacuum force or sectional force and removes the water with stirred up (suspended) sediment from the waterway where the water with suspended sediment is treated as will be described in greater detail below. 
     A valve assembly  30 , such as a ball valve, is provided in the assembly to control the flow of water through the pressure line  20 . Preferably, the position of the valve may be varied, thereby allowing a user to make selective incremental adjustments in the amount of water flowing through the pressure line  20 . Seals in the valve are preferably made from a non-corroding, chemical, oxidative and weather resistant material such as Viton, a registered trademark of E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company. Of course, alternative seal materials may be used without departing from the scope and intent of the present invention. 
     The pressure line  20 , valve assembly  30 , and suction line  22  are preferably made from a rigid, non-corroding material that is resistant to bending and fracturing and the abrasive effects of the pressurized water and water/sediment mix. For example, a preferred arrangement of the pressure line  20  and suction line  22  uses stainless steel and/or aluminum, although other materials such as rigid thermoplastic, or other non-corroding metals may be used. 
     As more particularly shown in  FIG. 2 , the valve assembly  30  is disposed in the pressure line  30  downstream of a conventional connector or fitting that sealingly connects to a high pressure source (not shown). The pressure line  20  is preferably centrally positioned in suction line  22 , which also includes a conventional connector (e.g., threads, quick connect, etc.) for receiving water and sediment from line  22  and conveying the water with suspended sediment to a vacuum source such as an ejector or an inlet to a pump. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , an end or nose  40  is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. An end of the pressure line  20  preferably protrudes through a center of the nose  40 . Disposed on the nose and generally surrounding the pressure line  20  is a plurality of suction orifices  42  through which water with sediment in suspension is removed from the waterway. Although shown as being circular in  FIG. 3 , the orifices  42  may adopt a wide number of shapes. The orifices  42  are preferably sized such that they will only admit sediment having a particle size that will easily pass through the suction line  22 . That is, the orifices are preferably sized such that they will prevent sediment having a particulate size that is so large that the sediment is likely to become lodged in the suction line  22  from entering the tube. Thus, although not intended to be limiting, a 2-inch diameter suction line  22  would typically have a nose with an orifice diameter size of from about 0.2 to about 0.6 inches. It has been determined, however, that in many instances the multiple orifice arrangement of  FIG. 3  is not desirable, so that one skilled in the art will recognize that still other conformations of the intake end of the suction line such as described below could be used without departing from the scope and intent of the present disclosure. 
     In operation, the sand wand assembly  12  is preferably hand held by an individual operator. An optional handle  50  assists the operator in holding the apparatus and a shoulder strap (not shown) may be attached to the apparatus. A counterweight  54  may be located on the housing  4  and positioned at various points along its length to effectively balance the sand wand assembly  12  in the operator&#39;s hands. Since the sand wand assembly  2  is hand operated, it finds particular usefulness in the remediation of shallow streams and rivers in which the operator may stand in the water bed with his or her head above water and the nose cone  40  of the suction line  22  directed under the water. The apparatus can be used in deeper applications, however, if the operator is equipped with an underwater breathing apparatus, such as a scuba. In addition, by being hand operated, the sand wand assembly  12  allows unprecedented control over which specific locations within a waterway area to be treated. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , a single speed or variable speed pump  60  pumps water through a first supply hose or tube  62  to the inlet valve stem on the valve assembly and through a second supply hose  64  or tube to an ejector  66  or pump. The water may come from a downstream area of the waterway that is to be cleaned or from an already filtered waterway. The water to the pump  60  is preferably drawn from a clean waterway without a large sediment content. This will ensure that the pump  60  operates smoothly and that the pump life is not unnaturally shortened due to large amounts of sediments contaminating the interior components of the pump  60 . Any pressure-generating pump with sufficient gallon per minute (gpm) flow can be used. Thus, the pump  60  can be gasoline, diesel, solar or electric powered. 
     The water supplied to the inlet valve stem is sent through the pressure line  20  and is ejected as a high-pressure jet of water at the line&#39;s tip at the center of the nose cone  40 . This high-pressure jet of water can be directed at the floor or other surface of the water bed that contains settled sediment, effectively stirring up settled sediment and suspending it temporarily in the waterway. The sediment and water suspension may then be collected. 
     The stirred-up sediment is suctioned through the orifices  42  and into the suction line  22  along with water. The suctioning force is provided by the ejector  66 . The ejector is a device that is capable of generating a reduced pressure in the suction line, thus allowing water and sediment to be vacuumed up through the suction line  22  and deposited for treatment or disposal. In one embodiment, illustrated in the accompanying Figures, the ejector  66  is a housed venturi jet with pressurized water supplied by the pump through the second supply hose  64 . 
     In this embodiment, the passing of this pressurized water through the venturi creates a vacuum, which generates a suction on an input nozzle  68  of the ejector. This input nozzle  68  is connected to the outlet connector on the valve assembly of the sand wand assembly  12  by a connection hose  70 . This creates a suctioning effect, which draws sediment from the waterway, through the nose cone  40  into the suction line  22 , from the suction line  22  through the connection hose  70 , and into the ejector  66 . In the ejector  66 , the sediment is mixed with the high pressure water from the second supply hose  64  and the resulting effluent is carried to a pile or hopper  72  to be disposed of or separated. Alternately, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the effluent may be directed to a filter  74 , which separates the water from the sediment and returns clean water to the waterway. 
     All parts of the above-described system must be matched to provide optimum results. Pump  60  and ejector  66  size are important considerations. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, a typical pump  60  will preferably produce at least one hundred psi water pressure at the ejector  66  to generate sufficient suction for the sand wand assembly  12 . Therefore, a pump  60  that can produce at least this pressure, taking into consideration all factors such as ejector  66  size, suction line  22  diameter and elevation to which the water is to be pumped, is needed. For example, in a typical installation with the ejector  66  sitting ten feet above the waterway and pumping the effluent fifty feet on the level, a 2-inch ejector  66  would generate a suction of about thirty to about forty gpm through the suction line  22  with a pump  60  supplying water to the ejector at one hundred psi. 
     The pressure of the water exiting the pressure line  20  can be regulated using the valve  30 . Thus, the water pressure directed through the sand wand assembly  12  may be manually controlled in response to the operator&#39;s wishes and the conditions of the waterway. For example, in especially turbid water, the use of a water jet may be unnecessary to suspend sediment and the valve  30  can be turned off. Likewise, suction can be controlled by regulating the pump speed in a variable speed pump  60  in response to operator&#39;s desires or varying water conditions. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, shown in  FIG. 6 , the pressure line  20  is eliminated from the sand wand assembly  12 . In this embodiment, the sand wand assembly  12  merely acts as a suctioning device, without the use of a high-pressure water jet to stir up sediment in the waterway. In this embodiment, of course, the inlet valve, pressure line and first supply hose described in the previous embodiments are not present or not used. Other aspects of the process remain the same however, with the ejector  66  creating a vacuum, which suctions sediment from the water, passes it through the suction line  22 , connector hose  70  and ejector  66  and deposits it in a hopper or filter for collection or treatment. 
     Turning to  FIGS. 7-13 , yet another embodiment of the disclosure will be described in greater detail. Particularly, sand wand assembly  112  includes a housing  114  at one end  116  of an elongated shaft  120 . A handle or cross bar  122  is provided at a second end  124  of the shaft, for example a t-bar, so that an operator can move the sand wand assembly into a desired position or location in the waterway. In addition, a pressure line  130  terminates within the housing and the suction or outlet line  132  also communicates with the interior of the housing. The housing forms a lift chamber intake that is open at a first or lower end to receive the sand/silt/water slurry and the slurry communicates with the outlet line shown here as being disposed at a second or upper end of the housing or lift chamber. The orientation of the terminal end of the pressure line  130  may be selectively changed by the sand wand assembly operator so that in a first position the pressurized fluid is directed outwardly from the terminal end toward the surface of the waterway requiring treatment. Thus, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the terminal end of the pressure line is directed outwardly through the open bottom of the housing and toward the bottom surface of the waterway. The sediment that is located in the waterway surface is contacted by the pressurized fluid which causes the sand, cobble, and gravel to tumble thus polishing the gravel with sand slurry and at the same time sand and silt to be extracted through the outlet line. This process will remove all the sand and silt from the desired area leaving gravel, cobble, and larger substrate material behind ( FIGS. 9 and 10 ). 
     The orientation of the pressure line end is selectively altered by the operator. Particularly, a lever  140  is provided at the second end  124  of the shaft. By moving the lever, the operator can actuate the pressure line end toward the suction line. This second position supplies a water pressure jet into the suction line of the housing. The design of the housing and the assistance provided by the water pressure jet in this second position provides a venturi action that assists in directing the water with suspended sand and slurry into the outlet line. Further, the second position of the pressure line end is useful in priming the outlet line. 
     First and second supports  150 ,  152  extend outwardly from the housing  114  to support the housing on an associated bottom surface of the waterway. The first and second supports are preferably disposed on opposite sides of the sand wand assembly, and preferably have curvilinear or arcuate regions  154 ,  156  along a portion thereof to allow the housing to rock on the bottom surface of the waterway and help direct the pressurized fluid against the bottom surface of the waterway. In this manner, a lifting area  158  beneath the housing is effectively scoured by the pressurized fluid, and the silt and sand are effectively removed. The supports  150 ,  152  also preferably taper outwardly from the base of the housing ( FIGS. 9-10 ), although the area from which sand and silt is lifted is more directly located beneath the perimeter of housing ( FIGS. 11-12 ). The supports hold the sand wand assembly above the waterway surface to eliminate the lifting area from locking down on the waterway surface which could otherwise cause the water to be extracted from the sand and lock the housing to the sandy bottom with the suction or vacuum of the outlet line. 
       FIG. 13  shows an optional open mesh screen  160  that overlies the outlet line, i.e., is disposed between the intake end of the lift chamber and the entrance to the outlet line. The openings, the distance of the housing above the bottom surface of the waterway, and the suction force applied at the outlet line all serve to provide control over the size of the material that is removed from the waterway. 
     Although the hand-held sand wand assembly described in the previous embodiments finds particular application in shallow waterways or in regions where it is difficult to bring in larger equipment, some of these features of the housing are fully applicable to a scaled up version. For example, the housing can be enlarged and mounted on the end of a backhoe or crane in order to advantageously use many of the features of the present disclosure in regions of a waterway where heavy equipment can be positioned in place. In other instances, the screen can be removed from the housing. The lifting velocity created by the suction from the outlet line determines the size of the material removed since it will be understood that higher velocities are required to lift larger sized particles into the lift chamber of the housing. 
     The invention has been described with reference to illustrated embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such alterations and modifications insofar as they come within the scope of the above description.