Apparatus for Automatic Deepening of a River.
Year: 1897

page_text: Apparatus for Automatic Deepening of a River.
I, RICHARD CLERE PARSONS, of No. 18, Abingdon Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion to be as follows:-
My invention relates to apparatus so arranged that a river, having a soft bottom,
is automatically deepened by the action of its own current to which increased
velocity is locally imparted.
For this purpose, I provide a floating vessel of barge like form and of length
equivalent to the width of the channel that is to be deepened. This vessel carries
a strong curtain which may be constructed as a rolling shutter and which can be
lowered down from the vessel so that its lower edge is a little above the bottom of
the river. The curtain may be raised by coiling it on a drum, or by passing it
over a guide roller and extending it horizontally over or under the deck of the
vessel. When the curtain is lowered, it is supported either by vertical guides
firmly attached to the vessel, or by connecting its lower edge to suitable ties.
The vessel being moored across the current, the obstruction to the current caused
by it and its curtain causes a certain rise of the water bearing against the vessel,
and the effect of this is to produce under the edge of the curtain a current of
increased velocity, which scours away soft or loose material at the bottom, forming
a local pit or deepening. By allowing the vessel to move very slowly with the
current, the deepening action is continued, so as to form a continuous channel of
increased depth.
The channel may be widened by deepening in the same way a channel parallel
to the former.
In order to control the movement of the vessel with the current, I moor it by
special anchors, each of which consists of a plate with two laterally projecting arms
at its upper part and, at its lower edge a flange constituting a fluke projecting at
each side at right angles to the plate, either of these flukes being of such area
that when it stands flatwise to the direction of the pull it gives sufficient resistance
to prevent the vessel from drifting. Each of the laterally projecting arms is con-
nected to the vessel by a cable. By hauling on one of the cables the fluke can
be turned to a position more or less inclined to the line of pull, so that it will
yield, allowing the vessel to move slowly dragging the anchor onwards. The
vessel may be made in sections connected together so that the length can be made
greater or less according to the width of channel to be deepened. The curtain
may also be made in separate widths. In some cases it may be of advantage to
break up and loosen the material at the bottom by means of harrows dragged by a
suitable vessel moved by the current in front of the deepening apparatus.
Dated this 26th day of March 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: Apparatus for Automatic Deepening of a River.
I, RICHARD CLERE PARSONS, of No. 18, Abingdon Street, Westminster, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:―
My invention relates to apparatus so arranged that a river, estuary, harbour, or
other piece of water having a soft bottom, is automatically deepened by the action
of its own current to which increased velocity is locally imparted.
For this purpose I provide a floating vessel of barge like form as shewn in plan
Figure 1 and in end view Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, and in section
to an increased scale Figure 3 or as modified Figure 4.
I make the vessel of length corresponding to the width that is to be deepened.
This vessel carries a strong curtain A, which may be constructed as a rolling
shutter, and which can be lowered down from the vessel so that its lower edge
is at any required height above the bottom of the water, as indicated by the
position shewn, by the dotted lines B in Figures 3 and 4. The curtain may be
raised by coiling it on a drum, or by passing it over a guide roller and extending
it horizontally over or under the deck of the vessel, as shewn at C and D in
Figures 3 and 4, the curtain being thus so arranged that the area of it exposed
to the action of the wind shall be as small as possible.
Where desirable I maintain a minimum distance between the lower edge of the
curtain and the bottom of the water by projections from the edge, preferably
rollers E so that the motion of the vessel may not be impeded by their coming in
contact with the bottom.
The vessel may be made in sections connected together so that its length can
be made greater or less according to the width of the channel to be deepened.
The curtain, may also be made in separate widths as indicated in Figure 1.
When the dimensions of the curtain are such that it can be made in one width
it may as shewn in Figure 4 be held in position by struts or ties F, connected to
its lower edge and pivotted to points Z at the ends of the vessel above the water
line, the curtain being held at any desired depth by a chain J. This arrangement
may be adopted when the required deepening is of no great width or depth.
When the curtain is required to be of such dimensions that it cannot be made in
one width I prefer to control it by means of vertical guides G, Figures 1, 2 and 3,
attached to the lower edge of the curtain and capable of moving up or down with
it and kept in position by rollers H firmly attached to the vessel's side. In this
latter case I effect the adjustment of the curtain to the required depth by chains J
Figure 3, the two ends of which are attached respectively to the ends of the curtains
and to the upper ends of the guides, and to which motion can be imparted by
means of a drum K, actuated by any suitable motor.
When either of the arrangements shewn in Figures 3 and 4 is adopted it is not
necessary to attach any portion of the apparatus to the bottom of the vessel out-
side, and the curtain and guides can be added after the vessel is launched so that
the apparatus can be easily put together in places where no facilities exist for
shipbuilding.
The apparatus operates as follows:-The vessel being moored across the current,
and the curtain being lowered to a suitable depth, the obstruction to the current
caused by the vessel and its curtain produces a certain rise of the water against
the side of the vessel and the effect of this is to produce under the edge of the
curtain a current of a velocity greater than that in which the vessel is moored,

page_text: 0
which scours away soft or loose material at the bottom, forming a local pit or
deepening. By allowing the vessel to move with a velocity less than that of the
current the said pit is extended so as to form a continuous channel of increased
depth.
This channel may be widened by repeating the operation in a direction parallel
to the former one and at the necessary distance on either side of the channel
already deepened.
In order to control the movement of the vessel with the current I moor it from
each end by anchors preferably of one of the kinds shewn in Figures 5 to 10.
The form shewn in plan Figure 5 and in side view Figure 6, consists of a plate
with two laterally projecting arms L and curved projecting flanges M constituting
flukes, each fluke being of such area that when it stands at right angles to the
direction of the pull it gives a sufficient resistance to prevent the vessel from
drifting. Each of the arms L is connected to the vessel by a cable N. By hauling
in or slackening out either of these cables the fluke of the anchor is turned to a
position more or less inclined to the line of the pull, so that it yields allowing the
vessel to move slowly dragging the anchor onwards.
A modified form of anchor is shewn in plan Figure 7 and section Figure 8. In
this case there is a single fluke O, fixed on a spindle which passes through a socket
in a plate P, preferably triangular. On the upper end of the spindle is fixed a
cross bar Q, parallel to the fluke, to the ends of which are attached the cables N N
which pass through eyes R in the corners of the plate farthest from the socket. By
hauling on either cable the fluke is caused to turn partly round and so inclined to
the line of pull as shewn in dotted lines.
When the bottom of the river is too compact to permit of the movement of either
of the anchors above described, I may employ an anchor of the form shewn in
elevation Figure 9 and plan Figure 10. Y is an ordinary anchor which is attached
to the stock by two vertical quadrants S one on each side of the centre line of the
anchor, so that when one of the radial edges of either quadrant is resting on
The thickness of
the bottom of the channel the other is vertical, or nearly so.
each quadrant is such that its edge has a sufficient area to prevent it from sinking
into the ground, or the two quadrants may be connected together by cross pieces so
as to utilise their united area. These quadrants are attached to the anchor by
passing a bar U, forming the stock of the anchor, through holes in the quadrants
at or near the centre of the circle of which they form part, so that they can
revolve about the stock U as an axis. The quadrants are also connected at a
sufficient distance apart by bars V near their outer corners, each bar V having a
cable W, X, attached to its middle and therefore in the plane of the anchor stem.
By hauling on the cable W attached to the lower bar V, the fluke of the anchor is
drawn into the ground, and by hauling on the cable X attached to the upper bar V,
the stock U is raised and the fluke dragged more or less out of the ground, allowing
the vessel to drift to a new position in which it can be anchored by again hauling
on the cable W.
To render the action of this anchor more certain the shank Y may be prolonged
5 beyond the stock as far beyond the centre U as the bars V V, which thus form
stops limiting the motion of the quadrants relatively to the anchor.
50
55
The movement of the vessel may also be determined by employing an anchor of
any ordinary kind and paying out cable. This method is preferable when the
obstruction to be removed is of small extent.
In some cases it may be of advantage to break up the material at the bottom
by means of harrows dragged by a suitable vessel moved by the current in front
of the deepening apparatus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. For deepening a water channel in which there is a current, apparatus con-

page_text: sisting of a vessel with an adjustable curtain, arranged and operating substantially
as described,
2. The arrangement of the curtain, so that its upper part can be folded over
horizontally substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. Mooring the vessel by an anchor controlled by chains so arranged that the
hold of the anchor can be varied, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 24th day of December 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.