CLEANING DEVICE FOR CLEANING AN UNDERWATER GROUND-WORKING APPARATUS AND METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for ground-working at a bottom of a body of water and a cleaning device for cleaning an underwater ground-working apparatus. The cleaning device has an enclosing body which extends substantially from a bottom of a body of water to above the water surface and enclosing an inner space, along which the ground-working apparatus can be moved, and a separating device, through which in the enclosing body an upper portion of the inner space can be separated off to form a cleaning area, in which the ground-working apparatus can be received and soil and contamination cleaned from it.

Claims

1. Cleaning device for cleaning an underwater ground-working apparatus, having an enclosing body which extends substantially from a bottom of a body of water to above a water surface and encloses an inner space, along which the ground-working apparatus can be moved, and a separating device, through which in the enclosing body an upper portion of the inner space can be separated off to form a cleaning area, in which the ground-working apparatus can be received and dirt removed from it.

2. Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the enclosing body has a telescopic portion, with which a length of the enclosing body can be changed.

3. Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a flexible placing-onto area is provided for placing the enclosing body at the bottom of a body of water.

4. Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein at least one pumping device is arranged for pumping water away from the inner space.

5. Cleaning device according to claim 4, wherein at least one pumping device is arranged in the cleaning area.

6. Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the separating device has at least one pivotably mounted separating flap, which can be pivoted between a side open position and a separating position, in which the separating flap blocks off the upper cleaning area from the lower inner space of the enclosing body.

7. Cleaning device according to claim 6, wherein the at least one separating flap can be adjusted by means of at least one actuating cylinder.

8. Cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a cleaning device is provided, which is designed to clean ground material away from an outer side of the ground-working apparatus.

9. Underwater ground-working apparatus for carrying out works at a bottom of a body of water, having a floating work platform and an underwater ground-working apparatus which can be lowered from the floating work platform to the bottom of a body of water for ground works, wherein a cleaning device according to claim 1 is arranged on the floating work platform.

10. Underwater ground-working apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an installation for receiving and/or treating contaminated water is arranged on the work platform, the water being fed from the inner space of the cleaning device.

11. Underwater ground-working apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the ground-working apparatus is a trench cutter or a drilling unit.

12. Method for ground-working at a bottom of a body of water, wherein an underwater ground-working apparatus is lowered from a floating work platform, the ground at the bottom of the body of water is worked with the ground-working apparatus, and the ground-working apparatus is subsequently brought back onto the work platform, wherein a cleaning device according to claim 1 is arranged, and upon being brought back, the ground-working apparatus is cleaned with the cleaning device with the removal of soil and contamination.

13. Method according to claim 12, wherein at least one foundation element is produced at the bottom of a body of water.

14. Method according to claim 13, wherein to form the at least one foundation element a hole is produced by the removal of ground material, wherein the foundation element is formed in the hole by mixing a binder with at least a part of the ground material removed.

Description

[0026] The invention will be described in more detail below by reference to preferred exemplary embodiments, which are shown schematically in the drawings, in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of an underwater ground-working apparatus according to the invention;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a schematic partial side view of an underwater ground-working apparatus according to the invention;

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a side view of a cleaning device according to the invention;

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a partially cut side view of the cleaning device of FIG. 3;

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a top view of the cleaning device of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4;

[0032] FIG. 6 shows a schematic side view of a separating device;

[0033] FIG. 7 shows a further schematic side view of a separating device; and

[0034] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the separating device of FIG. 6.

[0035] An underwater ground-working apparatus 10 according to the invention according to FIG. 1 has a rectangular, pontoon-like, floatable work platform 12, on which a ground-working apparatus 20 is movably arranged. A box-like cleaning device 30 is attached so that it can be moved along a work area of the ground-working apparatus 20, the box-like cleaning device 30 extending from the work platform 12 to a bottom of a body of water.

[0036] Soiled or contaminated water can be conveyed from the cleaning device 30, as schematically shown by arrows, to an installation 16 with a gathering tank 17. In the gathering tank 17, particle-form solids can settle at the bottom of this gathering tank 17. For further treatment and cleaning of the water, this water can be pumped from the gathering tank 17 to a treatment device 18. The treatment device 18 can be a filter system or another cleaning system for separating off solid particles and harmful substances from the water. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the cleaned water can be conveyed back into the body of water, on which the platform 12 floats.

[0037] According to FIG. 2 a further underwater ground-working apparatus 10 according to the invention is shown, having a work platform 12 floating on a body of water 3. A cleaning device 30 with a box-like enclosing body 40 is mounted on the side of the pontoon-like work platform 12 so that it can be vertically displaced along a guide 13 via sliding blocks 14. The box-like enclosing body 40 of the cleaning device 30 extends from an area above the water surface 7 to a bottom of the body of water 5. The enclosing body 40 encloses an inner space 34 and separates this in a substantially sealed manner from the surrounding body of water 3. In an upper area of the inner space 34 a cleaning area 42 is provided, which is separated from the lower area of the inner space 34 by means of a separating device 32 with a separating flap 36, which can be actuated by an actuating cylinder 38. The lower area of the enclosing body 40 widens conically as far as a placing-onto area 46, which is designed to be flexible, for example with a bellows, so that it can adapt to the surface of the bottom of the body of water 5.

[0038] An underwater ground-working apparatus 20 is arranged at the surface of the work platform 12, which is composed of a substantially conventional carrier unit 22 with crawler chassis and rotatable upper structure. By means of a support cable, a cutter 24 with two cutting wheel pairs 26 is arranged vertically movably as an actual ground removal tool.

[0039] To carry out works at the bottom of the body of water 5 within the enclosing body 40, the cutter 24 is lowered to the bottom of the body of water 5 and can cut into it. To form a foundation element, the cut away ground material can be mixed in situ with an added binder. The binder-ground mixture thus produced can set to form a foundation element.

[0040] In the working position of the cutter 24 in the bottom of the body of water 5 the separating flap 36 is moved via the actuating cylinder 38 into an open position, so that the cutter 24 can be adjusted axially freely. After the cutter 26 has been brought back into the upper cleaning area 42 of the enclosing body 40, the separating flap 36 is moved by means of the actuating cylinder 38 into a substantially horizontal, slightly inclined closed position. In this closed position, the upper cleaning area 42 is separated in a substantially sealed way from the lower inner space 34 of the enclosing body 40. By means of cleaning nozzles, only shown schematically with an arrow, the outer side of the cutter 26 can be cleaned in the cleaning area 42 with the removal of dirt and contamination, in particular with the removal of binder and ground material sticking to it. The cleaning device can be in particular high pressure jets, which are preferably actuated automatically or manually. Soil and contamination that have been removed settle in the lower area of the cleaning area 42. At the deepest point a pumping device 50 is arranged, with which the deposited soil and contamination are conveyed away to the installation 16 on the work platform 12 for further treatment.

[0041] By means of the adjustable guide 13, the box-like cleaning device 30 can be moved along the outer side of the work platform 12, so that it can assume different work positions, as schematically indicated by the arrangement of a second cleaning device 30 in FIG. 2.

[0042] An exemplary embodiment of a cleaning device 30 according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The cleaning device 30 comprises a box-like, rectangular enclosing body 40, which encloses a corresponding inner space 34. Besides a solid, upper area, which forms the cleaning area 42, the enclosing body 40 has a lower telescopic portion 44. The telescopic portion 44 is formed from a plurality of ring segments 45 which can be axially adjusted relative to each other in order to bring about a length adaptation to different depths. A lower side of the enclosing body 40 is formed by a flexible placing-onto area 46 made of rubber or plastic elements, which can adapt to a topography of the bottom of a body of water.

[0043] The upper cleaning area 42 can be separated from the lower inner space 34 by a separating device 32 with an arc-shaped separating flap 36. In the separated position, cleaning of the ground-working apparatus 20 can take place in the cleaning area 42, wherein detached dirt particles remain in the upper cleaning area 42 and can be removed from there.

[0044] FIGS. 6 to 8 show a possible embodiment of a separating device 32 for separating the cleaning area 42 in the inner space 34. The separating device 32 has a blade-like separating flap 36, which is pivotably attached via a lever arm 37 to the enclosing body 40. The lever arm 37 is connected via a pivot joint 39 to an upper end of the separating flap 36.

[0045] FIG. 6 shows an open position of the separating flap 36, wherein a pivot cylinder 38 has been moved in. By moving out the pivot cylinder 38, the separating flap 36 is pivoted about the pivot joint 39 on the lever arm 37 into a closed position, which is shown in FIG. 8. A cleaning area 42 is thus separated off from the rest of the inner space 34 in the enclosing body 40.