Harvesters – Marine – With conveyer
Patent
1986-09-18
1988-10-25
Weiss, John
Harvesters
Marine
With conveyer
37 59, A01D 4400
Patent
active
047794046
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a suction harvester for aquatic plants and animals and has been devised particularly though not solely for the control of nuisance aquatic plant or animal species.
BACKGROUND ART
In the past various types of aquatic harvesters or weed cutters have been provided, operating on a principle whereby aquatic plants are mechanically cut at the end of a moving conveyor belt which then carries the plants on board the harvester. Such harvesters have the disadvantage that the harvesting is not selective in that all material above the height of the cutting blades is removed. Such machinery is also of considerable weight, requiring a comparatively deep draught vessel in order to accommodate the machinery in a vessel of manoeuvrable proportions. This is a disadvantage with an aquatic harvester which is frequently required to operate in shallow water as aquatic plants are most prevelant in shallow water due to light penetration.
Some known aquatic harvesters are supported by wheels or tracks which run on the sea bed (or lake bed, etc.) to support the harvester, rather than being supported by a float vessel. Such land based machinery has the disadvantage that it can often cause ecological damage to the sea bed due to the disturbance caused by the wheels or tracks.
It is a further feature of known types of floating harvesters that they are normally powered by devices such as paddle wheels which are inefficient in their use of energy, and more importantly, provide no reference to the bottom of the water body. Drift due to wind and currents makes precise harvesting of an area difficult, if not impossible. Wheeled or tracked harvesting machinery provides good ground reference but causes considerable disturbance to the substrate and damage to the ecology of the aquatic environment.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a suction harvester for aquatic plants and harvesters which will obviate or minimise the foregoing disadvantages in a simple yet effective manner, or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
Accordingly, in one aspect the invention consists in a method of harvesting aquatic plants and animals comprising the steps of: therefrom connected to a pump arranged to suck water through the nozzle; position adjacent aquatic plants or animals desired to be harvested; animals through the nozzle; and pump to a desired discharge location.
Preferably the pump comprises a variable rate pump and the method includes selecting the flow rate of water through the pump to control the degree of suction applied to the nozzle.
Preferably the nozzle is manoeuvred through a controlled sweep pattern relative to the vessel during operation of the pump.
Preferably the vessel is manoeuvred in shallow water by controlled rotation of a plurality of wheels with radially extending spikes, the wheels having substantially horizontal axes and being mounted to the vessel such that the wheels may be raised or lowered to engage the ends of the lowermost spikes with the bed of the body of water in which the vessel is floating.
In a further aspect the invention consists in a harvester for aquatic plants and animals comprising a suport vessel, a manoeuvrable nozzle protruding from the vessel, and a pump arranged to suck water and entrained aquatic plants or animals through the nozzle and discharge them to a desired discharge location.
Preferably the nozzle forms the outer end of a nozzle arm extending radially outwardly from a substantially vertical pivot mounted on the vessel, and wherein actuation means are provided arranged to rotationally oscillate the nozzle arm about the pivot causing the nozzle to sweep back and forth through a predetermined arc.
Preferably the height of the nozzle arm is adjustable relative to the vessel.
Preferably the pump has a variable flow rate controlled by an operator of the harvester.
Preferably the pump is provided with an auxiliary priming pump arranged to supply water under pressure into the suction chamb
REFERENCES:
patent: 968356 (1910-08-01), Howe
patent: 1795003 (1931-03-01), Allen
patent: 2204584 (1940-06-01), Flower
patent: 3546858 (1970-12-01), Chaplin
patent: 3653192 (1972-05-01), Bryant
patent: 3691737 (1972-09-01), Hodgson
patent: 3866396 (1975-02-01), Meyer
patent: 3878669 (1975-05-01), Chaplin
patent: 3884018 (1975-05-01), Chaplin
patent: 4058914 (1977-11-01), Kiss
patent: 4261160 (1981-05-01), Niewiera
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