Excavator for digging a hole beneath the water

Claim 2

Apparatus for digging a hole beneath a body of water, said apparatus comprising a machine body, a cover mounted at the bottom of the body, a motor in said body connected to drive a shaft passing through the center of said cover, a circular frame having substantially the same diameter as said cover and attached to said drive shaft, said frame carrying cross bars and a screen positioned beneath said cover, metal claws mounted on said cross bars and the lower end of said drive shaft, and a suction pipe, having one end which is connected to a hole in said cover eccentrically of said drive shaft.

Claim 3

Apparatus For digging a hole beneath a body of water, said apparatus comprising: a stationary disc provided with a suction passage therein, a water-tight motor mounted on one side of said disc, a drive shaft driven by said motor and passing through said disc, a plurality of cup-shaped scoops projecting radially from said shaft beside said disc on the opposite side of said disc from said motor, said scoops being attached to said shaft along spiral lines at their bases and having free edges beginning at said bases and extending radially outward from said shaft, a ring lying parallel and adjacent to said disc, and connecting the free edges of said scoops, teeth on the free edges of said scoops, and sand suction means connected to said suction passage on the same side of said disc as said motor.

Claim 4

Apparatus For digging a hole beneath a body of water, said apparatus comprising: a stationary disc provided with a suction passage therein, a water-tight motor mounted on one side of said disc, a drive shaft driven by said motor and passing through said disc, a plurality of cup-shaped scoops projecting radially from said shaft beside said disc on the opposite side of said disc from said motor, said scoops being attached to said shaft along spiral lines at their bases and having free edges beginning at said bases and extending radially outward from said shaft, a ring lying parallel and adjacent to said disc, and connecting the free edges of said scoops, teeth on the free edges of said scoops, and sand suction means connected to said suction passage on the same side of said disc as said motor.

Claim 5

Apparatus for digging a hole beneath a body of water, said apparatus comprising: a stationary disc provided with a suction passage therein, a water-tight motor mounted on one side of said disc, a drive shaft driven by said motor and passing through said disc, a plurality of cup-shaped scoops projecting radially from said shaft beside said disc on the opposite side of said disc from said motor, said scoops being attached to and extending radially outward from said shaft, a rotating disc lying parallel and adjacent to said stationary disc, and connecting said scoops, teeth on the free edges of said scoops, and sand suction means connected to said suction passage on the same side of said disc as said motor, said suction passage being defined by an opening in the side of the stationary disc carrying said motor and located eccentrically of said stationary disc, a second opening near the central part of the opposite side of the stationary disc, and a transverse duct within the stationary disc connecting said openings, said rotating disc being carried by said shaft parallel to said stationary disc and on said opposite side thereof, and being provided with a plurality of holes between said scoops positioned to register successively with the opening in said opposite side of said stationary disc, and in which the width of said last mentioned opening is greater than the distance between the centers of adjacent holes in said rotating disc.

Claim 6

Apparatus for digging a hole beneath a body of water, said apparatus comprising: a stationary disc provided with a suction passage therein, a water-tight motor mounted on one side of said disc, a drive shaft driven by said motor and passing through said disc, a plurality of cup-shaped scoops projecting radially from said shaft beside said disc on the opposite side of said disc from said motor, said scoops being attached to and extending radially outward from said shaft, a rotating disc lying parallel and adjacent to said stationary disc, and connecting said scoops, teeth on the free edges of said scoops, and sand suction means connected to said suction passage on the same side of said disc as said motor, said suction passage being defined by an opening in the side of the stationary disc carrying said motor and located eccentrically of said stationary disc, a second opening near the central part of the opposite side of the stationary disc, and a transverse duct within the stationary disc connecting said openings, said rotating disc being carried by said shaft parallel to said stationary disc and on said opposite side thereof, and being provided with a plurality of holes between said scoops positioned to register successively with the opening in said opposite side of said stationary disc, and in which the width of said last mentioned opening is greater than the distance between the centers of adjacent holes in said rotating disc.