IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND TREATING DREDGED MATERIAL
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Francis Augustus Bishop, of the City and County of
San Francisco, in the State of California, one of the United States, Engineer,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND
TREATING DREDGED MATERIAL."
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Francis Augustus Bishop at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 1st March 1881.
"
FRANCIS AUGUSTUS BISHOP, of the City and County of San Francisco, in the
State of California, one of the United States, Engineer. IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR HANDLING AND TREATING DREDGED MATERIAL."
My Invention relates to apparatus for handling, conveying, and discharging into
any desired place of deposit the material raised by dredging and excavating
machines. As hereinafter more fully and particularly described, the improvements
consist, first, in constructing within a boat or scow a watertight chamber or
compartment to receive dredged material from the scoops, buckets, or other
dredging apparatus.
The top of the chamber is formed by the deck, the bottom by the bottom of the
scow, and the heads or ends by bulkheads or partitions extending from top to
bottom to form a water-tight compartment in and as part of the scow. Through
one or more openings provided in the deck of the scow, the material is admitted
into the chamber; and through outlets in one or both ends or heads of the chamber,
connected with conducting pipes or hose, the material is discharged at the proper
time from the scow. The second part of my improvements consists in applying to
and arranging within the chamber for receiving dredged material a number or
system of hydraulic nozzles, connected by suitable pipes with a pump engine or
other means of supplying and forcing water under pressure through them and into
the space within the chamber. By means of this part of my Invention I am enabled
to break up and reduce the material when it is confined in the chamber, and bring
it to a condition to pass, readily through the discharge openings, and then by the
accumulating pressure produced within the chamber, I cause the reduced matter to
be rapidly forced out and discharged through the outlets and conductors to the
desired place of deposit, without further handling or treatment.

page_text: The object of my Invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and efficient means or
apparatus for receiving from a dredging or excavating machine the material raised
by either, and permitting it to be easily and rapidly handled, transported, and
discharged into any required place, for the construction of levees, the filling in of
land behind embankments, the reclamation of swamp lands, and other operations of
the kind requiring rapidity and economy of performance.
In the Drawings herewith furnished and accompanying this description of my
Invention,―
Figure 1 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the centre of a scow,
having my improvements applied thereto or combined therein.
Figure 2 is a vertical section similar to Figure 1, but with the section taken at
one side of the chamber in the scow.
Figure 3 is a general plan-view of the scow, the chamber and system of hydraulic
pipes being shown in dotted lines.
Figure 4 is a cross section taken at the line x, x, Figure 3, showing the end or
head of the chamber.
Figure 5 is a similar section, but with the bydraulic pipes left out.
Figure 6 is an enlarged detail view of one of the nozzle pipes and its shield or
guard.
In the several views A represents the receiving chamber. This is constructed in
a boat or scow of the required size in the space between the deck and bottom by
extending across at each end a transverse upright bulkhead B, and connecting these
two bulkheads by running from one to the other a longitudinal upright bulkhead C
at each side of the scow, so that the end and side bulkheads aforesaid and the deck
and bottom of the scow enclose and form a water-tight chamber. The position
of these bulkheads brings this chamber in the center part of the scow so as to
distribute the load equally. Through the deck of the scow is made one or more
openings D into the chamber, and over the top of each one is placed a hopper E,
either fixed or removable for directing the material into the inlet D. These
openings have covers, gates, or slides f for closing and tightly shutting them when
the dredged material is to be acted upon by the disintegrating apparatus within
the chamber.
An outlet G in one or both ends of the chamber (A) is provided for the discharge
of the material. This outlet has a discharge pipe or conductor H leading from the
head (B) upward and out through the deck, at which place its end has a coupling i
for making connection with a conducting hose or pipe to lead the material away
from the scow, and also a gate or. slide k by which to close and tightly shut the
outlet. One of these discharge openings (G) is placed at each end of the chamber
so that the scow can be handled and operated to discharge from either end without
requiring to be turned about. The ends of the chamber around these outlets are
made preferably of a truncated form sloping or inclining to the outlet. This form
is produced by filling in the corners at the intersection of the ends bulkhead (B),
with the side bulkheads (C), and also of the top and bottom of the chamber with
the end bulkhead (B). This construction gives a funnel-shaped head, and facilitates
the discharge of the material through the outlet. At this point of discharge a
grating can be placed in front of the outlet to prevent the entrance of large
lumps or particles of matter, or such substances that, raised with the dredged
material, could clog and obstruct the outlets.
Along the side of the chamber A within the scow a space or passage J is
provided for receiving the system of conducting and distributing pipes, by which
the hydraulic jets or nozzles are supplied with water. The passages are formed
between the side bulkheads (C) and the sides of the scow, and will extend usually
from one end to the other of the scow.
Into this chamber A thus constructed the material is. deposited, and upon the
openings therein being closed, a pressure is produced through the medium or agency
of the bydraulic disintegrating and reducing apparatus, consisting of the jets or
nozzles and a pump engine, or other means by which water under pressure will be

page_text: supplied to the nozzle pipes, and a number of streams forced into the chamber and
through and into the matter confined in it. In the construction shown in the
Drawings, these nozzles are short tubes or nipples that are fixed in a pipe M at
intervals, and either in a single line, or else disposed radially and alternately along
the length of the pipe M to point in different directions. The number of such
nozzle pipes to be employed will be governed by the size of the chamber; they are
placed transversely across the chamber (A), both at the upper part beneath the
deck, and along the bottom of the chamber with their nozzles directed towards the
interior space, and the end of each pipe at one side of the chamber is carried
through the side bulkhead C into the outer space J, where connection is made with
supply pipes P provided for each nozzle pipe (M). Where these pipes M pass
through the bulkhead C, a water tight gland or joint o is fixed and applied for each
pipe to work in, and a gland or stuffing box r on the supply pipe (P) is arranged
to receive the end of the nozzle pipe, so that while being supplied with water
from the pipe P, this nozzle pipe can be rotated to change the direction of its
nozzles within the chamber. The other ends of the nozzle pipes have bearings &
that are fixed in or against the side of the opposite bulkhead C within the chamber.
Each nozzle pipe has a handle or lever T, by means of which it can be turned in its
bearings, and these handles are applied outside of the chamber, so that the pipes
can be manipulated from the passage J.
The pipes P distribute to the nozzle pipes M, and are branch pipes of a large
supply pipe U placed in the passage J along side of the chamber. The end of this
pipe is carried outside of the space or compartment beyond the bulkheads B at
either or both ends, and then upwards through the deck to a convenient place for
making connection of the pipe U with the water forcing apparatus. The end of
this pipe for purpose of such connection has a coupling w, and this connection can
be made within the scow by locating the coupling within the space afforded outside
of the bulkheads, or by carrying up the pipe to the deck, as before described, the
connection can be made on deck.
To each one of the branch distributing pipes P I provide a stop valve or cock V
for controlling the admission of water to the nozzles. By employing this valve on
all of the pipes P the nozzle pipes can be operated to throw water into the chamber
through any required number of nozzles, or into any particular portion of the
chamber where it may be necessary to concentrate the streams by which the
disentegrating of the solid matter is effected, as any number of the pipes can be
shut off from the main supply pipe U.
Within the chamber A and around the nozzle pipes is a shield or guard Y to
protect and keep them free of the mud or other matter deposited in the chamber.
These shields are made of a concave or " U" shape, and are fastened in place over
the pipes so as to cover them, but to leave the nozzles (l) exposed for work, for
which purpose a slit or suitable aperture p is provided in the shield for each nozzle
so as not to interfere with the rotation of the nozzle pipe.
The operation of my improved apparatus will be substantially as follows:-It is
intended that the chamber A shall always be filled with water at the beginning of
the work of filling it, and as fast as the material is deposited by the dredger into
the chamber that the water displaced by the matter shall flow out of the chamber,
so that the scow shall be properly ballasted, and be kept at the required height or
position in the water to receive into its hoppers the matter from the dredging
scoops or buckets without requiring any change of height or adjustment of the
dredging machine or apparatus when beginning to load the scow.
The displaced water is discharged from the chamber through small overflow
pipes Z located in the top and discharging over the deck. These outlets are left
open when filling the chamber, but are closed by means of gates, slides, or screw
caps or other means for shutting their outlets when the jets or streams of water are
turned into the mass of matter.
This manner of filling the chamber with water is of great advantage in the
operations of handling the dredger and the receiving scow.

page_text: After the scow has received its load it is moved by tug boats to the place of
deposit, and connection is made between a suitably located pumping or water
forcing apparatus and the end of the main supply pipe U. The hose or conducting
pipe to lead the discharged matter from the chamber is also attached to the discharge
pipe at one end of the scow, and all the other outlets or openings of the chamber
are tightly closed. Water is then forced into the supply pipe U, and through the
distributing and nozzle pipes, by which a number of jets or streams under high
pressure are brought to bear against the matter confined in the chamber, and the
contents are rapidly and effectually broken up, disintegrated, and reduced to a state
or condition that will allow them to pass out freely through the discharge pipes.
During this reducing process the nozzle pipes are turned and directed from time to
time at different angles to throw the jets into and through different portions of the
mass, or to bring a number of jets to bear upon a particular part; at the same time
also the full force of the water can be thrown or diverted into such jets by shutting
off the water from the remaining nozzles by means of the valves or cocks V in their
supply pipes P.
This action of the jets may be required or may be desirable more particularly at
and near the discharge outlets, where lumps and large particles may collect and
obstruct the outflow.
As the pressure in the chamber increases by the accumulation of water, the
outflow of the matter will take place and continue until it is all discharged, and
nothing but water remains. The pressure of water is then discontinued, the nozzle
and distributing pipes are shut off, the pipes and conductors attached to the water
supply pipe and to the discharge H are disconnected, and the scow is returned to
its formed position to reload.
I claim as my Invention,-
First. A scow or vessel for receiving and handling dredged material, having
a water-tight receiving chamber, the top and bottom of which are formed by the
top or deck and the bottom of the scow, and the sides and ends of which are formed
by transverse bulkheads B and longitudinal bulkheads C, substantially as herein-
before described.
Second. A receiving chamber for handling dredged material, constructed in a
scow or vessel as a permanent part thereof, by means of upright transverse and
longitudinal bulkheads, and having inlet opening and overflow pipes or outlets in
the top, and discharge outlets in the ends or heads thereof, substantially as herein-
before described.
Third. A receiving chamber for handling dredged material, constructed in a
scow or vessel, and having its ends or heads of a truncated or funnel shaped form,
and discharge outlets leading from said heads, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
Fourth. In combination with a water-tight receiving chamber for handling and
treating dredged material, the nozzle pipes held in water tight bearings in the sides
of the chamber, and capable of being turned or rotated in their said bearings, the
said pipes being each connected to and with a stationary water supply pipe by a
water tight gland or swivel joint, substantially as hereinbefore described for the
purposes and objects specified.
Fifth. In combination with a water-tight receiving-chamber (A) for handling and
treating dredged material the stationary water supply-pipe (U), having a connection
or coupling for a pipe from a source of supply, and branch distributing pipes (P),
each provided with stop valves or cocks (V), and connected by water tight glands
or joints to nozzle pipes (M) extending into said chamber, all operating together,
substantially as hereinbefore described for directing and throwing into said chamber
a number of jets or streams of water under pressure.
Sixth. In combination with the nozzle pipes (M) within the water-tight
chamber (A) for handling dredged material, the shields or guards (Y) having the
apertures for the nozzles to work through, substantially as hereinbefore described
for the objects specified.

page_text: Seventh. In combination with a water tight receiving chamber for dredged
material having a receiving inlet and a discharge outlet at one or both ends, a
series of hydraulic nozzles supplied with water under pressure for directing and
applying into said chamber and through the dredged material a number of jets or
streams of water, substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this Thirtieth day of January, in the year One thousand eight hundred
Signed in the presence of
EDWARD ELNATHAN OSBORN.
W*. FRANCIS CLARK.
FRANCIS AUGUSTUS BISHOP. (L.S.)