Dredging machinery with swinging double ended scoop

Claim 1

Dredging apparatus for removing material from the bottom of a body of water comprising, a vertically disposed discharge line having a dredging scoop housing at the lower end thereof, said housing having a pair of oppositely disposed intake openings for material to be removed, a double ended scraping blade secured to said housing for movement between a first position to obstruct one of said openings and to clear the other of said openings and a second position to clear said one opening and to obstruct said other opening, feeding means to supply fluid under pressure to the interior of said housing to convey removed material upwardly through said discharge line, and means to reciprocatingly move said dredging scoop housing and discharge line along a path generally facing said openings in the housing and to alternatively move said scraping blade between said first and second positions, said means to reciprocatingly move the dredging scoop housing including a pair of cable means connected at their one ends with said scoop housing, the other ends of said cable means being divergently spaced away from each other, and means to alternatively apply pulling force to the respective one ends of the cable means, said scraping blade being secured to the scoop housing for pivotal movement about an axis midway between the ends thereof, said one ends of the cable means being connected with said scraping blade to move the blade between said first and second positions in response to said alternative applications of force, said dredging scoop housing also including a horizontal transversely disposed hollow conduit in communication with said feeding means, said scraping blade being substantially flat and including a medially disposed hollow member surrounding said hollow conduit in pivotal relation thereto, said hollow conduit and member being provided with openings generally in alignment with each other to permit unobstructed flow of pressurized fluid to said discharge line.