Patent ID: 7552551

Claim:
A dredge head comprising: a) a blade having an arcuate cross-sectional profile with a forward facing surface, a rearward facing surface, and a thickness therebetween, said blade having a blade opening and a channel opening both of which extend through said thickness, and said channel opening being positioned adjacent to said blade opening; b) a header tube having a forward facing end, a rearward facing end, and an aperture which extends axially therethrough said forward facing end interfacing with said rearward facing surface of said blade, and said aperture being coaxially aligned with said blade opening and being positioned adjacent to said channel opening; c) a grate extending completely across and beyond said blade opening, said grate having an upper grate prong spaced apart from a lower grate prong and defining an elongate slot therebetween, said grate being movable between a first position and a second position, and when said grate is in said first position, said upper grate prong, said lower grate prong and said elongated slot extends across and beyond said blade opening and said upper and lower grate prongs contact said forward facing surface and partially limits flow through said blade opening, and when said grate is in said second position, said upper grate prong, said lower grate prong and said elongated slot are aligned at an angle to said blade opening and said upper and lower grate prongs are less restrictive in limiting flow through said blade opening; and d) an articulatable member pivotably secured to said header tube and being operably connected to said grate, said articulatable member being movable between a first position which corresponds to said first position of said grate and a second position which corresponds to said second position of said grate, and said articulatable member having a handle integrally formed with said grate and being offset at an angle therefrom by a first arcuate transition portion.