IMPROVEMENTS IN EXCAVATING APPARATUS
Year: 1884

page_text: 17
I JOHN HUNTER MONEE, of the City and County of San Francisco, in the State
of California, one of the United States of America, Gentleman do hereby declare
the nature of my Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN EXCAVATING APPARATUS
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This "Invention relates to a machine for dredging or excavating mud, sand, and
other substances, and raising the material, and discharging it at any convenient
point of deposit.
It relates to certain improvements in what is termed a suction-dredge, and
consists mainly in a series of ploughs supported so as to be driven in a circle by
means of a vertical shaft operating at the front of the dredge boat, the material
turned up by the ploughs being thrown inward toward the centre, from which
point it is taken out by means of a suction-pipe connected with a rotary pump, and
is discharged by the latter into an inclined pipe by which it is conveyed to the point
of deposit.
The Invention also relates to certain details of construction, all of which will be
more fully explained by reference to the accompanying Drawings; in which :--
Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, showing a part of the end of the
boat or scow upon which it is supported.
Figure 2 is a front end elevation.
Figure 3 is a plan view of the carriage which travels from side to side upon an
arc shaped track, and supports the ploughs and operating parts, showing also the
manner of bracing the shaft which drives the ploughs.
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the driving gear, and part of the vertical shaft.
In the present case, only the front end of the dredge-boat is shewn, with the
mechanism for supporting the shaft and moving it up and down, and the means for
lengthening and shortening the tube, through which the material is drawn by a
rolary pump which is not here shown, but which is supported upon the boat, and
driven by an engine.
A represents a series of ploughs made in the ordinary manner, except that the
landside b, is curved in a line drawn from the axis of motion of the rotating
ring-support.
These ploughs A, are secured in position, by vertical plates B, and screw bolts a,
to circular frame or ring D, formed with radial wrought-iron arms C and hub Ḥ,

page_text: the latter being secured by a feather, or in any other suitable manner, to a vertical
shaft, E, provided near its upper end with a bevel gear meshing with a similar gear
on the end of a horizontal driving-shaft, which may be driven by an engine on the
scow or float.
The vertical shaft E is secured by any suitable means to bearings on the side of
a vertical frame, which in the instance illustrated in the Drawings consists of a
hollow tube, J, the lower end of which is provided with a foot-valve, and within
this tubular frame may be arranged a suction dredging tube, I the frame J, and
tube I, being so arranged with reference to the ring frame D of the ploughs the
material loosend by the ploughs will be dredged from the centre.
It will be observed that the landside 6 of the ploughs, being curved, causes the
sand mud, &c., loosened by the ploughs to be swept to the centre, where it can be
readily acted upon by the dredge.
L is a hood arranged over the ploughs and their supporting ring frame D to
protect the same, and the ploughs are set at an angle so as to cut slightly outside
said hond.
The tube J, as stated, supports the ploughs and their driving shaft, and is itself
suspended from a frame-work M upon the dredge-boat by chains N.
These chains pass over pulleys at the top of the frame M, and thence to a drum
or windlass O, by which they are operated so as to raise or lower the tube and
ploughs to the depth necessary for the work to be done.
The upper part of the outer tube J, has a packing ring or stuffing-box around
the interior tube so as to keep a tight joint when the parts are raised or lowered.
The bevel-gear wheel P, which drives the vertical shaft E of the ploughs, has a
sleeve or hub turning in a box Q, which is partly supported by a plate from the
elbow of the suction-pipe. Its outer end is suspended from the frame M by a stout
rod R, which sustains the weight, and is provided with a turn-buckle by which its
length may be adjusted if required.
Side braces S extend from the box Q to the carriage T, having turn-buckles by
which tension may be maintained.
The shaft E may be solid or hollow. If made round, a slot is cut in the hub of
the gear-wheel, and a feather fitted to the shaft E, so that it may be moved up or
down through the hub.
The shaft E is however preferably made square, and the interior of the hub of
the same shape, which gives more power in driving, at the same time allowing of a
vertical movement of the plough.
If the shaft E is made hollow, it is connected with a hose, which is employed to
conduct a stream of water under pressure, should the ploughs A be caved in on;
this stream of water, as will be readily understood, serving to break up and scatter
the sand or mud where it acts as an impediment to the action of the ploughs.
The channel cut by the ploughs will be in the direction of the movement of the
float or scow, on the same principle as a metallic "routing machine."
The ring frame D is shown armed with four ploughs A; but a greater or less
number of ploughs may be employed, the Invention resting in the idea of the rotary
ploughs formed with a curved land side and connected with a rotary frame, so that
they may be rotated from a central driving-shaft, and in combining with such
arrangement a means for flushing and disintegrating the material cut up by the
ploughs by means of a stream of water under high pressure.
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 :-
First. In a dredging apparatus, a vertically placed suction-pipe, the length of
which may be varied, and through which material may be drawn by a rotary pump,
in combination with a series of ploughs supported upon a ring or frame, and driven
by a vertical shaft and gearing, so as to excavate and throw the material to the
centre or beneath the suction-pipe, as herein described.

page_text: Second. In a dredging apparatus, a vertically adjustable suction-pipe, a series of
ploughs driven by a vertical shaft extending up by the side of the suction pipe, a
bevel gear wheel through which the shaft passes, and by which it is driven, a box
within which the hub of the gear-wheel turns, and adjustable suspending and
bracing rods, as herein described.