Dredge

Claim 1

A DREDGE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A BARGE HAVING A PAIR OF ELONGATED SPUDS MOUNTED THEREON FOR MOVEMENT IN GENERALLY VERTICAL DIRECTIONS BETWEEN A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS ONE OF WHICH IS EFFECTIVE TO MAINTAIN THE DREDGE AT A DESIRED LOCATION, SAID SPUDS BEING DISPOSED ON THE BARGE IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP TO EACH SIDE OF THE LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CENTERLINE IN THE FOREQUARTERS ADJACENT THE BOW, A MOBILE TYPE CRANE UNIT HAVING CRAWLER TREADS AND A TRAVEL DRIVE ASSEMBLY, SAID TRAVEL DRIVE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A PAIR OF INDEPENDENTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERABLE CLUTCH DEVICES FOR SELECTIVELY ENABLING A PAIR OF DRIVING MEMBERS TO NORMALLY ACTUATE THE CRAWLER TREADS, MOUNTING MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE CRANE UNIT ON THE BARGE ALONG THE LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING CENTERLINE IN THE FOREQUARTERS ADJACENT THE BOW AND INTERMEDIATE THE PAIR OF SPUDS WITH THE CRAWLER TREADS OF THE CRANE UNIT BEING REMOVED MECHANISM FOR MOVING SAID SPUDS BETWEEN THE POSITIONS, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODILY FLEXIBLE DRIVE ELEMENT FOR EACH OF SAID SPUDS, THE END PORTIONS OF EACH OF THE ELONGATED DRIVE ELEMENTS BEING SECURED TO THE RESPECTIVE SPUD ADJACENT THE END PORTIONS THEREOF, A PAIR OF GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ELONGATED DRIVE SHAFTS ROTATABLY JOURNALED ON SAID BARGE, SAID DRIVE SHAFTS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY AXIALLY ALIGNED AND SPACED APART AND EXTENDING GENERALLY ATHWARTSHIPS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FROM SUBJACENT THE TRAVEL DRIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE CRANE UNIT WITH EACH DRIVE SHAFT TERMINATING ADJACENT A RESPECTIVE ONE OF THE SPUDS, EACH OF SAID DRIVE SHAFTS HAVING A DRIVEN MEMBER SECURED THERETO ADJACENT EACH END PORTION THEREOF FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, ONE OF SAID DRIVEN MEMBERS BEING IN DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE ADJACENT ELONGATED DRIVE ELEMENT, AND APPARATUS FOR ENABLING THE TRAVEL DRIVE ASSEMBLY OF SAID CRANE UNIT TO DRIVE THE DRIVE SHAFTS AND ACTUATE SAID MECHANISM TO MOVE THE SPUDS BETWEEN THE POSITIONS, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING AN ENDLESS DRIVE ELEMENT FOR EACH OF SAID DRIVE SHAFTS, EACH OF SAID ENDLESS DRIVE ELEMENTS BEING IN DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE RESPECTIVE OTHER ONE OF THE DRIVEN MEMBERS ON THE RESPECTIVE DRIVE SHAFT AND IN DRIVEN ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE OF THE DRIVING MEMBERS OF THE TRAVEL DRIVE ASSEMBLY.