Suction dredger for collecting suction material

Abstract

The invention relates to a suction dredger (1) for collecting material, wherein the suction dredger (1) has a collection container (5) for the collected material. A suction nozzle (11) for collecting the material is arranged on the suction dredger (1). A filter chamber (7) is arranged adjacent to the collection container (5). The filter chamber (7) is equipped with a filter unit (8) through which the suction airflow (10) is passed for fine filtration. An air supply chamber (12) is arranged above the collection container (5). This air supply chamber (12) has a diffuser (13) which is connected via a U-shaped air duct section (14) to a cyclone (16) that directs the suction air coming from the diffuser (13) via a transition piece (17) into the filter chamber (7). The u-shaped air duct section (14) is open towards the collection container (5) below, so that the suctioned material can fall by gravity onto a bottom (18) of the collection container (5).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a suction dredger for picking up material according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Vacuum excavators are used to collect material. A suction turbine creates a vacuum, generating a suction airflow that transports the material through a suction nozzle into the excavator. This material is then collected in a container, and the suction air is subsequently cleaned in a filter chamber before being released back into the environment.

[0003] Such a suction dredger is described, for example, in DE 10 2016 105 849 A1. DE 10 2016 105 849 A1 relates to a vehicle with a tiltable material collection container suspended from a tilting axis running parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal axis and a telescopic extension. The tilting axis lies in the plane of symmetry of the material collection container. The base ends of the telescopic arms are pivotally mounted in the vehicle's central plane. At least one rotary drive is arranged at the container-side end of at least one telescopic arm to enable rotation of the material collection container about the tilting axis. At least one pivoting drive allows the telescopic arm to pivot out of the vehicle's central plane in both angular directions.

[0004] DE 229 23 449 U1 describes a suction dredger for the targeted collection of suction material with a suction nozzle for collecting the suction material, at least one first collection container for the collected suction material into which the suction nozzle opens and in which suction material is separated from the suction air stream, and a suction blower connected to the first collection container, wherein a second collection container is provided which is suitable for collecting liquids, wherein a switching device is provided for alternately connecting the suction nozzle to the first collection container or the second collection container.

[0005] A device for producing head pits, trenches and pits in traffic areas such as roads and parking lots is known from DE 295 13 107 U1, wherein the soil excavation is carried out with a suction excavator which has two different suction units with hydraulic drive, namely a blower with a relatively low vacuum on the suction side, but a high delivery volume and a vacuum pump with a relatively high vacuum on the suction side, but a low delivery volume.

[0006] Furthermore, DE 29 30 149 A1 describes a self-collecting street sweeper with a suction line that transports the sweepings from a sweeping area into a waste collection container and a deflector plate that deflects the sweepings to the bottom of the waste collection container after they exit the suction line. The suction line is designed as a diffuser at the inlet to the collection container.

[0007] Furthermore, a suction dredger for the targeted collection of suction material is known from DE 10 2020 001 928 B3, wherein the suction dredger has a pneumatic suction nozzle for collecting the suction material, a suction blower for generating a suction airflow and a first flow channel leading from the suction nozzle to the suction blower for guiding the suction airflow, and wherein the first flow channel has a first collection container in which the suction material is separated from the suction airflow and a first filter device is arranged in the first flow channel.

[0008] Furthermore, a suction dredger for collecting material is known from WO 00 / 28159 A1. This suction dredger comprises a pneumatic suction turbine connected to a collection container into which a suction nozzle opens, separating a large portion of the collected material. This suction dredger also includes a filter chamber with multiple filters through which the suction airflow is directed for fine filtration. The collection container and filter chamber are separated by a partition wall with an opening for the suction airflow. The suction airflow is directed towards the upper region of the wall of the collection container opposite the partition wall, and the opening in the partition wall is located in its upper region, so that a cyclone-like suction airflow around a horizontal axis is formed within the collection container.The suction airflow passes over the filters essentially horizontally, with the entry of the suction airflow into the collection container and the exit of the suction airflow from the filters being offset from each other by 180 degrees to 270 degrees.

[0009] Finally, US 4111670 A discloses a multi-stage separator, mounted on a vehicle in a tiltable manner, for separating particulate material conveyed by an airflow, consisting of a support frame pivotably attached to the vehicle at one end, a first and a second collection chamber mounted one behind the other on the support frame, wherein the first collection chamber has in its upper region an inlet opening for the particulate material, a separation device and an outlet opening which is in flow communication with the second collection chamber and is designed with a first discharge opening, pointing towards the pivotably mounted end of the support frame and equipped with a closing flap, and a blower device whose intake side is in flow communication with the second chamber via a filter device.This generates an airflow entering the first collection chamber at its inlet opening to convey the particulate material. Heavier particles are separated from this material by the first separation device for collection in the first collection chamber, while the particles transported by the airflow to the second collection chamber are separated from the airflow there by the filter device. A discharge chamber is arranged below the first collection chamber, connected to the second collection chamber and extending to a second discharge opening located downstream of the first discharge opening. Both the first and second discharge openings can be closed by a common closing flap.

[0010] However, in conventional suction dredgers, the suction airflow is deflected uncontrollably at the walls of the collection container. This results in a significant pressure loss. Furthermore, the suction air exiting the suction hose constantly falls back into the collection container, stirring up the material already collected, which also leads to a decrease in suction power. Since the filter chamber is also subject to uneven airflow, the local flow velocity through the filters is highly variable. This increases local flow velocity losses and causes the filters to become clogged at different rates. This varying degree of filter contamination necessitates frequent replacement of the filters in the filter chamber to maintain optimal filtration performance.

[0011] An improved airflow pattern is achieved by an air supply chamber, which prevents pressure drops in the collection container. This chamber also prevents the collected material from being stirred up. Furthermore, it ensures that the airflow is distributed evenly through the filter chamber, resulting in a more uniform level of filter contamination. This reduces the frequency of filter replacements, saving both time and money.

[0012] The invention relates to a suction dredger for collecting material, which has a collection container for the collected material. An outwardly projecting suction nozzle is attached to the dredger for collecting the material, through which the material is transported into the dredger by a suction airflow. Adjacent to the collection container is a filter chamber with a filter unit through which the suction airflow is directed for fine filtration. An air supply chamber is arranged above the collection container. This air supply chamber has a diffuser connected to the suction nozzle, through which the material carried by the suction air enters the dredger via the diffuser. The diffuser is connected via a U-shaped air duct section to a cyclone, which directs the suction air from the diffuser into the filter chamber via a transition piece. The filter unit of the filter chamber comprises several filters arranged vertically within the filter chamber.The U-shaped air duct section is open towards the lower part of the collection container, allowing the collected material to fall by gravity onto the bottom of the container. Because the suction air is directed exclusively within the air supply chamber and thus above the collection container, there is no turbulence of the collected material inside the container. Furthermore, the air supply chamber ensures that the suction air pressure remains essentially constant, preventing any decrease in suction power.

[0013] An elongated air duct section can be arranged between the U-shaped air duct section and the cyclone, connecting the U-shaped air duct section to the cyclone. Preferably, the elongated air duct section is arranged essentially parallel to the diffuser, because this results in a compact air supply chamber.

[0014] The elongated air duct section preferably has a cross-section that is smaller than the cross-section of the U-shaped air duct section. This ensures that there is no pressure drop in the air supply chamber because the suction air is compressed in the elongated air duct section due to its smaller cross-section. The cyclone is at least partially enclosed by outer walls, which are spaced apart from the cyclone and open towards the collection container in a lower section, thus forming part of the opening of the air supply chamber. Smaller and lighter particles of the suction material can fall into the collection container via this lower section by gravity.

[0015] The cyclone is divided into a lower section and an upper section positioned above it. The lower section has a stator surrounded by a wall, with the lower section including a region that is at least partially open at the top. Since the wall is spaced away from a central section of the stator, this at least partially open region forms an inlet opening. Because smaller and lighter particles have already been separated, only dust-contaminated suction air passes through the inlet opening.

[0016] It is advantageous if the upper section of the cyclone is designed as a cone, because the cone's design helps to ensure that smaller and lighter particles of the suction material are almost completely separated from the dust.

[0017] The cone is designed to reduce the flow velocity of the suction air as it passes through. The gap widens, meaning the same mass of suction air flows through an increasingly larger gap. This reduces the suction air's velocity, allowing for better dust separation. Furthermore, the suction air can be redirected with less loss, resulting in a more efficient flow to the filters of the filter unit.

[0018] It is also advantageous if the transition piece leading to the filter chamber includes a deflection vane element arrangement, which has at least one deflection vane element. This deflection vane element arrangement allows the suction airflow to be directed more effectively to the filter chamber because it prevents the suction air coming from the upper part of the cyclone from being forced uncontrollably against a wall of the transition piece, thus preventing an undesirable pressure drop.

[0019] The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. The drawings show: Fig. 1. A schematic diagram of a suction dredger in a side view; Fig. 2 a perspective view of a section of the suction dredger, comprising a collection container with a filter chamber arranged on it and an air supply chamber arranged above the collection container; Fig. 3 a second view of the in Fig. 2 arrangement shown, comprising the collection container with the filter chamber arranged thereon, and the air supply chamber arranged above the collection container; Fig. 4 a cut through a section of the in Fig. 1 suction dredger shown and Fig. 5 a lower section of a cyclone with a transition piece attached to it.

[0020] In Fig. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a suction dredger 1 shown in a partially cut-away side view.

[0021] The suction dredger 1 comprises a vehicle chassis 2 with several vehicle wheels 3 attached to it.

[0022] This suction dredger 1 has a pneumatic suction turbine 4, which is located adjacent to a collection container 5. A large portion of the dredged material 6 is separated in the collection container 5. A filter chamber 7 with a filter unit 8 is connected to the collection container 5, through which a suction airflow 10 is directed for fine filtration. The filter unit 8 consists of several filters 9, 9', 9''. In the filter unit 8, the filters 9, 9', 9'' can be arranged vertically in the filter chamber 7, as shown in Fig. Figure 1 shows that a suction dredger 1 has an outwardly projecting suction nozzle 11 for collecting the material 6. The suction nozzle 11 is connected to an air supply chamber 12, which is located above the collection container 5. The suction airflow 10 leaves the filter chamber 7 via a return channel 22 and thus reaches the suction turbine 4, through which the suction air is finally removed from the suction dredger 1. The suction airflow 10 is indicated by arrows, with the path of the suction airflow 10 in the air supply chamber 12 shown in Fig. 2 will be explained in more detail.

[0023] The air supply chamber 12 is preferably arranged in a cover 23 of the suction dredger 1, the cover 23 being located above the collection container 5 and sealing the collection container 5. The dredged material can be removed from the collection container 5 by opening the cover 23. The cover is a known structural feature, described, for example, in DE 10 2016 105 849 A1.

[0024] The air supply chamber 12 is thus formed by the diffuser 13, the adjoining u-shaped air duct section 14 and the elongated air duct section 15 adjoining the u-shaped air duct section 14.

[0025] Fig. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a section of the suction dredger 1, comprising the collection container 5 with the attached filter chamber 7 and the air supply chamber 12 located above the collection container 5, which is situated in the cover 23 of the suction dredger 1. The filter unit located in the filter chamber 7 is not shown for clarity. The air supply chamber 12 has a diffuser 13 to which the suction nozzle 11 is attached externally. The suction air (not shown) coming from the suction nozzle 11, carrying the material being dredged, enters the suction dredger 1 via the diffuser 13. The diffuser 13 is connected to a cyclone 16 via a U-shaped air duct section 14 and an elongated air duct section 15, with the cyclone 16 being at least partially located in the cover 23. The elongated air duct section 15 runs essentially parallel to the diffuser 13, which contributes to a compact design of the air supply chamber 12.The elongated air duct section 15 has a smaller cross-section Q15 than the U-shaped air duct section 14 (see cross-section Q14). Because the cross-section Q15 of the elongated air duct section 15 is smaller than the cross-section Q14 of the U-shaped air duct section 14, it is additionally ensured that there is no pressure drop in the air supply chamber 12, as the suction air in the elongated air duct section 15 is compressed due to its smaller cross-section Q15.

[0026] The suction air coming from the diffuser 13 is guided into the filter chamber 7 via a transition piece 17. The U-shaped air duct section 14 and the elongated air duct section 15 are open towards the collection container 7 below, allowing the collected material to fall by gravity onto a base 18 of the collection container 5, as indicated by the arrow 19.

[0027] The transition piece 17 projects at least partially into the filter chamber 7 and is guided through an opening 20 located in a partition wall 21 that separates the filter chamber 7 from the collection container 5. A further wall 42 separates the collection container 5 from the suction turbine 4 (see Fig. 1) The suction air introduced into filter chamber 7 (see suction airflow 10) leaves filter chamber 7 via a return channel 22. The suction air, cleaned in filter chamber 7, enters suction turbine 4 via the return channel 22 (see Fig. 1).

[0028] The geometry of the air supply chamber 12 reduces the pressure loss of the suction air to up to one-third compared to conventional air supply systems. This is primarily because the suction air transported to the filter chamber 7 is routed exclusively through the air supply chamber 12. The suction air thus no longer enters the collection container 5, preventing the collected material from being stirred up again. Since the air supply chamber 12 is open at the bottom, the collected material falls directly into the collection container 5 by gravity. This means that only smaller and lighter particles of the collected material, as well as dust, are transported to the cyclone 16. In the cyclone 16, the smaller and lighter particles of the collected material are separated from the dust, so that only dust enters the filter chamber 7. The smaller and lighter particles of the collected material, on the other hand, fall into the collection container 5.

[0029] This ensures that the contamination of filters 9, 9', 9'' of filter unit 8 is uniform. Due to this uniform contamination of filters 9, 9', 9'' of filter unit 8, the flow velocity of the suction air in filter chamber 7 remains essentially constant, which in turn keeps the flow velocity of the filtered suction air, which is guided to the suction turbine 4 via the return channel 22, essentially constant.

[0030] The diffuser 13 reduces the flow velocity of the suction air as it enters the suction dredger 1. Because the suction air can hold less material with decreasing flow velocity, the material falls downwards into the collection container 5. The remaining suction air is directed through the cover 23 and the two air duct sections 14 and 15 into the cyclone 16. The flow velocity is increased again by the decreasing cross-section Q15.

[0031] In Fig. 3 is a second view of the in Fig. The arrangement shown in Figure 2 is depicted, with a view of the underside of the air supply chamber 12. It is therefore clearly visible that the air supply chamber 12 is open towards the collection container 5, allowing material being extracted (not shown) to fall from the air supply chamber 12 into the collection container 5 (see arrow 19). To separate even smaller and lighter particles of the extracted material, the cyclone 16 is also open in a lower section 28 towards the bottom 18 of the collection container 5. The centrifugal force causes these smaller and lighter particles to be flung against the outer walls 25, which at least partially surround the cyclone 16, so that these particles ultimately fall into the collection container 5, and only dust-laden suction air passes through the transition piece 17 into the filter chamber 7. The areas of the air supply chamber 12 that are open towards the collection chamber 5 can also be generally referred to as the opening 26 of the air supply chamber 12.

[0032] In the Fig. 4 is a section through a part of the in Fig. The suction dredger 1 shown in Figure 2 is depicted. This section shows only a portion of the air supply chamber 12, namely the diffuser 13, part of the U-shaped air duct section 14, the interior of the cyclone 16, and the transition piece 17. This air supply chamber 12 is located above the collection chamber 5 and is connected to the filter chamber 7 via the transition piece 17. The material sucked up by the suction nozzle (not visible) passes through the diffuser 13 to the U-shaped air duct section 14 and to the [unclear - possibly referring to a specific component or component]. Fig. 4. The elongated air duct section 15 is not visible. Since these two air duct sections 14 and 15 have no bottom, i.e., are open towards the collection container 5, the bulk material falls into the collection container 5. The material collected in the collection container 5 is in Fig. 4 is again labelled with the reference number 6. Smaller and lighter particles of the suction material (not shown) are transported further to cyclone 16.

[0033] The cyclone 16 is surrounded in its upper section 27 and at least partially in its lower section 30 by outer walls 25, such that the outer walls 25 are spaced away from the cyclone 16 and are not connected to it. This leaves a lower section 28 open towards the collection container 5, forming part of the opening 26 of the air supply chamber 12. The upper section 27 of the cyclone 16 can be, as shown in Fig. As shown in Figure 4, the lower section 30 is designed as a cone 29, with the upper section 27 sitting on the lower section 30. The lower section 30 has a stator 31 designed as a guide vane ring. This stator 31 is surrounded by a wall 32, the lower section 30 being at least partially open at the top, thus forming an inlet opening 33, because the wall 32 is spaced apart from a central section 24 of the stator 31. The dust-contaminated suction air can enter through this inlet opening 33. The dust is transported by the suction airflow 10 via the transition piece 17 into the filter chamber 7. The suction air is then freed from dust by the filter unit 8 arranged in the filter chamber 7.

[0034] Smaller and lighter suction particles, on the other hand, are flung against the outer walls 25 of the air supply chamber 12 by centrifugal force and are thus separated before the suction air enters the lower section 30 of the cyclone 16.

[0035] In the transition piece 17, deflecting vane elements can be arranged through which the suction airflow is directed to avoid pressure losses. Such deflecting vane elements are shown in the Fig. The transition piece 17 shown in section 4 is not visible.

[0036] Fig. Figure 5 shows the lower section 30 of the cyclone 16 with the transition piece 17 attached to it. Fig. Figure 4, looking towards A, shows an opening 34 in the transition piece 17, through which the dust-contaminated suction air is transported into the filter chamber 7. The filter chamber 7 and the partition 21, which separates the filter chamber 7 from the collection container 5, are not shown in this figure (but compare, for example, Figure 4). Fig. 4).

[0037] The transition piece 17 incorporates several deflection vane elements 35 to 39, arranged one above the other and in a row to form a deflection vane element assembly 40. This deflection vane element assembly 40 allows the suction airflow to be directed more effectively into the filter chamber 7 by preventing the suction air coming from the upper region 30 of the cyclone 16 from being forced uncontrollably against a wall 41 of the transition piece 17, thus preventing an undesirable pressure drop. Although such a deflection vane element assembly 40 can also consist of only one deflection vane element, it is advantageous if several such deflection vane elements form the deflection vane element assembly 40, because this allows the suction airflow 10 to be directed even more precisely into the filter chamber 7. Reference symbol list 1 suction dredger 2 Vehicle chassis 3 vehicle wheels 4 suction turbine 5 collection containers 6 Absorbent material 7 filter chamber 8 filter units 9, 9', 9'' Filter 10 Suction airflow 11 Suction proboscis 12 Air supply room 13 Diffuser 14 Air duct section 15 Air duct section 16 cyclone 17 Transition piece 18 Floor 19 Arrow 20 Opening 21 Partition wall 22 Return channel 23 Cover 24 Central Section 25 exterior walls 26 Opening 27 Upper section 28 Lower area 29 cone 30 Lower Section 31 Stator 32 Wall 33 Entrance opening 34 Opening 35 to 39 deflection blade elements 40 Deflection blade arrangement 41 wall 42 Wall

Claims

[1] Suction dredger (1) for picking up material (6), wherein the suction dredger (1) has a collection container (5) for the suctioned material (6), wherein an outwardly projecting suction nozzle (11) for picking up the material (6) is arranged on the suction dredger (1), wherein a filter chamber (7) is arranged adjacent to the collection container (5), wherein the filter chamber (7) has a filter unit (8) through which the suction air is passed for fine filtration, wherein an air supply chamber (12) is arranged above the collection container (5), characterized by, that the air supply chamber (12) has a diffuser (13) to which the suction nozzle (11) is attached, wherein the diffuser (13) is connected via a u-shaped air duct section (14) to a cyclone (16) which directs the suction air coming from the diffuser (13) via a transition piece (17) into the filter chamber (7), wherein the u-shaped air duct section (14) is open to the collection container (5) below, so that the suctioned material (6) can fall by gravity onto a bottom (18) of the collection container (5). [2] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by , that an elongated air duct section (15) is arranged between the u-shaped air duct section (14) and the cyclone (16), connecting the u-shaped air duct section (14) to the cyclone (16), wherein the elongated air duct section (15) is arranged substantially parallel to the diffuser (13). [3] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 2, characterized by , that the elongated air duct section (15) has a cross-section (Q15) that is smaller than a cross-section (Q14) of the u-shaped air duct section (14). [4] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by , that the filter unit (8) comprises several filters (9, 9', 9'') arranged vertically in the filter chamber (7). [5] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by , that the cyclone (16) is at least partially surrounded by outer walls (25), wherein the outer walls (25) are spaced apart from the cyclone (16) and are open in a lower area (28) towards the collection container (5), wherein the lower area (28) forms part of an opening (26) of the air supply chamber (12). [6] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by, that the cyclone (16) comprises a lower section (30) and an upper section (27) arranged above it, wherein the lower section (30) has a stator (31), the stator (31) being surrounded by a wall (32), the lower section (30) comprising an at least partially open area (33) upwards, the wall (32) being spaced apart from a central section (24) of the stator (31), the upwardly at least partially open area (33) forming an inlet opening through which dust-contaminated suction air can pass. [7] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 6, characterized by , that the upper section (27) of the cyclone (16) is formed as a cone (29). [8] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by , that in the transition piece (17) a deflecting blade element arrangement (40) is arranged which has at least one deflecting blade element (35 to 39). [9] Suction dredger for picking up suction material according to claim 1, characterized by , that the air supply chamber (12) is arranged in a cover (23) of the suction dredger (1).

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