E - Fixed Constructions – 02 – F
Patent
E - Fixed Constructions
02
F
E02F 5/18 (2006.01) E02F 5/10 (2006.01) H02G 1/10 (2006.01)
Patent
CA 2282181
An improved plowshare is provided. Although it may be used in any submarine or terrestrial application requiring plowing or trenching, the improved plowshare is designed to be towed behind a cable-laying ship and to be used in underwater cable-burying operations to plow trenches in the ocean floor. The improved plowshare includes a downwardly- extending shank, a plurality of nozzles coupled to the shank, and a downwardly-swept protrusion for breaking up difficult soil and for controlling the depth of the shank in the soil as the trench is being plowed. The shank is rigid and capable of functioning as a passive plowshare, while the water jetting nozzles, which jet large volumes of water at a slightly forward angle relative to the perpendicular of the soil line, function as active trenching tools. The plowshare's use of both passive and active plowing technology allows it to be towed through the soil at a much lower drawbar force than traditional passive tools. Specifically, water from the nozzles fluidizes the soil in advance of the plowshare and creates a "swept volume flow" of fluidized soil that flows in a downward direction under and/or around the plowshare. Fluidizing the soil in advance of the plowshare substantially reduces the drawbar force on the plowshare as it moves through the soil. To facilitate this flow of fluidized soil, the shank is aft-raked relative to the soil surface. Finally, the improved plowshare may be rotatable relative to the plow apparatus, thereby allowing it to function as a "rudder" for the plow apparatus.
Borden Ladner Gervais Llp
Tyco Submarine Systems Ltd.
Tyco Telecommunications (us) Inc.
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