Patent ID: 8366943

Claim:
An apparatus for collecting material from or close to a surface of a water system, the apparatus comprising: a vessel which is buoyant in the water system and includes, relative to a travel direction of the vessel along the water system, a fore section near a bow of the vessel and an aft section near a stern of the vessel; a cargo space having a bottom defined between the fore and aft sections of the vessel; a forward collect opening positioned forwardly of the fore section near the bow of the vessel, the collect opening being in communication with the cargo space for conducting water and material therein to be collected into the cargo space; a fore exhaust opening positioned in the bottom of the cargo space at the fore section of the vessel adjacent to the forward collect opening near the bow of the vessel, and an aft exhaust positioned in the bottom of the cargo space at the aft section of the vessel near the stern of the vessel, wherein the fore and aft exhaust openings allow discharge of water from the cargo space back to the water system; and controllable closure devices operatively associated with and allowing size adjustment of the collect opening and the fore and aft exhaust openings to cause the water and the material therein to be collected to stream into the cargo space in response to the apparatus moving in the travelling direction thereof which in turn causes the water in the cargo space to drain back into the water system through the fore and aft exhaust openings.