US2747942A - Clean-out mechanism for hydraulic dredge - Google Patents

Description

May 29, 1956 c. P. KAUFMANN 2,

CLEAN-OUT MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC DREDGE Filed Sept. 9, 1955 54 57 56 INVENTOR.

CARL 7? KAUFMAN/V ATTORNEYS United States Patent CLEAN-OUT MECHANHSM FQR HYDRAULIC DREDGE Carl P. Kaufmann, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Ellicott Machine Corporation, Baltimore, Md, a corporation of Maryland Application September 9, 1953, Serial No. 379,218

4 Claims. (Cl. 302-64) This invention relates generally to a clean-out apparatus for fluid conducting conduits and more particularly to a clean-out mechanism for use on dredges, hydraulic pumps, and the like.

It is quite customary to use hydraulic pumps on dredges, however, difficulty has been encountered since the inlet to the pumps often become clogged with large stones and accumulations of dirt and similar materials. In the past, it has been quite common to provide a small access opening in the upper side of the inlet conduit adjacent to the pump. These access openings have been unsatisfactory since they do not provide a substantial opening through which the obstruction may be removed or provide sufficient access for inspection of the inside of a centrifugal dredge pump and also since they are time-consuming to use with the result that substantial losses of operating time occur. Such access openings are also unsatisfactory because they are not power operated.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a clean-out mechanism which is power operated and which will reduce the manual labor necessary to cleaning out the inlet conduit of a hydraulic pump to the very minimum.

It is another important object of this invention to provide an apparatus adapted to be energized by fluid pressure which will enable the removal of obstructions in the inlet conduit of a hydraulic pump with a minimum effort.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a simple, easily manufactured apparatus for cleaning out the inlet conduit of a hydraulic pump which will provide a long and relatively trouble-free service life and which is simple. to operate.

Further objectives and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended drawings herewith:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a clean-out mechanism according to the invention applied to the inlet conduit of a centrifugal dredge pump; and

Fig. 2 is a view partially in section showing the details of construction of the cleaning apparatus according to this invention.

A clean-out mechanism according to this invention comprises an annular fluid conducting conduit formed with an opening therein extending circumferentially around the conduit through substantially one-half of the periphery. A closure member formed with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the radius of the conduit is pivotally mounted on said conduit and adapted to close the opening. Power means are provided which are operatively connected to the closure member and adapted to rotate the closure member about the pivot on the conduit to open and close the opening therein. The closure member forms a portion of the bottom wall of the conduit when in the position to close the opening and locking means are provided to secure the closure member in the closed position.

Referring to the drawings, an apparatus according to this invention is shown in Fig. 1 applied to an inlet conduit 10 of a centrifugal dredge pump 11. The inlet conduit is formed with an opening 12, best seen in Fig. 2 which extends substantially around of the inlet conduit. This opening is arranged so that a portion of the bottom wall of the conduit is open so that any obstruction which might be in the conduit will slide out of the opening. A closure member or door 13 is pivoted on the inlet conduit 10 as at 14 and is arranged to close the opening when desired. The closure member 13 is formed with a radius of curvature substantially equal with the radius of the conduit so that when the closure member is in the position to close the conduit openings a smooth wall is provided which will not interrupt the flow of fluid through the conduit.

An actuating mechanism Which in the preferred embodiment is a hydraulic motor means or a pneumatic motor means is provided to move the closure member 13 between the opened and closed positions. In the preferred embodiment two hydraulic cylinders 16 and 17 are mounted co-axially on the inlet conduit 10. Each of these cylinders is double acting so that the force developed to open and close the closure member is the sum of the force developed in each of the cylinders. The cylinder 16 is provided with a piston 18 and piston rod 19 which is connected to one end of the rack 21. The cylinder 17 is provided with a piston 22 and piston rod 23 which is connected to the other end of the rack 21. The closure member is mounted on the shaft 24 which is in turn journaled in the closure member supports 26 thereby providing the pivotal mounting of the closure member on the inlet conduit 10. A gear 27 is mounted on the shaft 24 and is arranged to engage the rack 21 so that as the rack is moved to the left or to the right as shown in Fig. 2 the shaft 24 is rotated and the closure member is in turn either opened or closed.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, a roller 28 is positioned so as to engage the rack on the side opposite the gear 27 and thereby supporting and guiding the rack as it moves back and forth. The fluid inlet 29 on the cylinder 16 and the fluid inlet 31 on the cylinder 17 are connected together and serve to admit fluid under pressure into their respective cylinders when the closure member is to be rotated to the open position. The inlet 32 on the cylinder 16 and the inlet 33 on the cylinder 17 are connected together and serve to admit fluid under pressure to their respective cylinders when the closure member is to be moved to the closed position.

A locking means comprising an arm 34 pivoted to the inlet conduit 10 as at as is arranged to engage ears 37 on the closure member 13 to lock the closure member in the closed position thereby providing a positive lock mechanism which eliminates the possibility of leakage around the closure member. A small dump car 38 may be provided to receive the articles cleaned out of the inlet conduit. In most applications on a hydraulic dredge, this car 38 would be mounted on rails 39 so that the material cleaned out of the inlet conduit could be dumped overboard.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention the opening 12 on the closure member 13 are arranged so that the opening is inclined relative to the vertical. This arrangement is preferable because it permits the closure member to swing open easily without requiring too much vertical clearance and also so the obstructions will slide out of the conduit.

Hydraulic motor means or pneumatic motor means are utilized to actuate the closure member in the preferred embodiment since most hydraulic dredges are provided with either one or the other of these sources of fluid under pressure which is used to operate the various machinery on the dredge, however, other power means might be utilized depending upon the type of power available.

In operation the car 33 is positioned beneath the inlet conduit after which the arm 34 is moved upwardly thereby releasing the iock on the closure member 13. At this time fluid under pressure is supplied to the inlet 29 and 31 causing the pistons Iii and 22 to move the rack 21 to the right as shown in Fig. 2. This will cause the closure member to rotate about its pivot to the position shown in phantom in Figs. 1 and 2. In most cases obstructions will then fall out of the conduit into the car 38, however, it may be necessary to some cases to pry the obstructions loose, but it is apparent to those skilled in the art that suflicient access is provided to make this operation easy.

After the obstruction is removed the fluid under pressure is supplied to the inlets 32 and 33 causing the rack '21 to return to the position shown in Fig. 2 thereby bring" ing the closure member 13 to the closed position. After the closure member 13 is in the closed position, the arm 34 is returned to the position shown in Fig. 2 thereby locking the closure member in place.

It should be understood that by providing the pivot of the closure member 13 at a point spaced from the vertical plane through the axis of the conduit the weight of the material within the conduit assist in the opening of the closure member. This is because the center of gravity of the material is horizontally spaced from the pivot 14. When the closure member moves to the closed position, however, not much power is needed since the center of gravity of the closure member is relatively close to the vertical plane through the pivot 14-.

Although I have described one form of my invention in considerable detail, numerous variations may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as designed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump, a horizontally disposed fluid conduit connected to the pump, said conduit formed with an opening therein adjacent the pump extending circumferentially around the conduit for about one-half of the periphery thereof, a closure member for said opening formed with a radius of curvature at the inside of the closure member corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature at the inside of the conduit, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, said shaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above the axis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported by said shaft, hydraulic actuated power means operatively connected to said closure member to rotate said closure member about said pivot to open and close said opening.

2. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump, an opening in the pump casing, a horizontally disposed fluid conduit having a circular cross-section connected to the said pump opening, said conduit formed with an opening therein adjacent the pump opening extending circumferentially around the conduit for about one-half of the periphery thereof, a closure member for said conduit opening formed with a radius of curvature corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature of the conduit, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, said shaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above the axis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported by said shaft, fluid pressure cylinder and piston means operatively connected to said closure member to rotate said closure member about said pivot to open and close said opening.

3. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump having an inlet, an annular horizontally disposed conduit connected to the said inlet of the dredge pump, said conduit having an opening in the Wall thereof adjacent the dredge pump inlet extending circumferentially around the conduit through substantially one-half of the periphery of the conduit, a closure member for said opening having a radius of curvature corresponding substantialiy to the radius of curvature of the conduit so as to form a continuation of conduit wall leading to the pump inlet, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, said shaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above the axis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported by said shaft whereby the weight of material within the conduit adjacent the pump inlet normally urges the door to open position, hydraulic actuating means operatively connected to said closure member, said hydraulic means mounted on the conduit at one side of the closure member to move the closure member to open and closed positions, locking means carried by the closure member and the conduit at the edge of the closure member remote from the pivot axis to hold the closure member in closed position.

4. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump having an opening therein, an annular horizontally disposed conduit connected to the opening in said dredge pump, said conduit having an opening therein adjacent the dredge pump opening extending circumferentially around the conduit, a closure member for said opening having a radius of curvature at the inside thereof corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature of the conduit so as to form a continuation of conduit wall leading to the pump opening, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, said shaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above the axis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported by said shaft whereby the weight of material within the conduit adjacent the pump normally urges the door to open position, fluid pressure responsive actuator means operatively connected to said closure member at that side of conduit opening most remote from the pump opening to move the closure member to open and closed positions, and locking means carried by the closure member at the edge thereof remote from the pivot axis to hold the closure member in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,255,949 Thormodson Feb. 12, 1918 2,080,725 Lower May 18, 1937 2,551,827 Curtis May 18, 1951 2,632,196 Rappl Mar. 24, 1953 2,657,924 Greenmun Nov. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 107,536 Great Britain July 5, 1917

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