METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HARVESTING
POLLUTION
FROM A BODY OF WATER
Related Application Data This application claims the benefit of Canadian Patent Application No. CA 2805925, filed on February 6th, 2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. US 61/786,452, filed March 15th, 2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. US 61/817,267, filed April 29th, 2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. US 61/838,336, filed June 23, 2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US provisional application No. US 61/845,349, filed II-July-2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US provisional application No. US 61/878,028, filed 15-Sept-2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional application No. US 61/879,646, filed 18-Sept-2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional application No. US 61/887,421, filed October 6, 2013.
This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional application No. US 61/914,353, filed December 10, 2013.

This application also claims the benefit of US Provisional application No. US 61/923,729, filed January 5th, 2014.
Technical Field 10001] This invention relates generally to harvesting floatable material (e.g., in the form of seaweed and algae; or in the form of a floating, chemical/radioactive absorbent material such as wood chips, mesh polypropylene, straw, vermiculite, zeolite, composite titanate nanofibres). Particularly, in one instance, the system of the invention is used for harvesting beached seaweed and detached seaweed floating in the surf and, in another instance, for harvesting spent pollutant absorbent material floating on a body of water or on the beach after having been used to aid the cleanup of a chemical spill on that body of water or beach. In another instance, for harvesting titanate nanofibre material that has been used to absorb radiation, heavy metals, and isotopes from a nuclear disaster. Furthermore, an efficient disposal method of incinerating the chemical spill within the apparatus is disclosed, or, in the instance of seaweed, the organic matter is processed within the apparatus for preservation.
Background Art [00021 Eutrophication is the unnatural nutrient enrichment of our oceans, rivers, and lakes, causing a linear increase in algae and seaweed growth. This measurable scientific phenomenon is occurring globally through sewer, aquaculture, and farm run-off pollution, and as a result there is a large accumulation of seaweed on beaches, in particular after storm activity that tears the seaweed from the ocean floor. The amounts are sometimes staggering, leading to mass rotting and often the generation of

2 hydrogen sulphide gas, which has been known to kill both humans and animals, as well as the direct release of methane into the atmosphere through anaerobic decomposition, where methane is commonly known to have 72 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) over 20 years than carbon dioxide. Furthermore, although some of the seaweed provides beneficial decomposing matter as food for insects and worms that feed other species, the amounts of seaweed often far outweighs the benefit of the ecosystem, as it amounts to incredible masses of rotting vegetation similar to a massive landfill. There appears to be a direct correlation between the global jellyfish epidemic and eutrophication. Eutrophication is also for certain leading to the starvation and destruction of coral reef systems that are overwhelmed and suffocated by algae. In fresh water environments, eutrophication is starving fish of oxygen and ultimately destroying their natural habitat by overwhelming the habitat with biomass.
100031 While overgrown or invasive, aquatic plants can be a nuisance as well as a hazard to the environment, those plants at the same time can present commercial opportunity. For example Irish Moss, also known as Chondrus crispus, Mastocarpus stellatus, or Mazaella japonica, is a type of storm-cast seaweed often found on beaches in certain areas. Alginates from Laminaria and Macrocystis also present commercial opportunity. The large amounts of seaweed can be a nuisance when it washes up on shore and begins to decay, causing a stench, releasing methane and hydrogen sulfide gases, and leaving the beach looking filthy. However, some seaweeds are high in carrageenan and alginates, which have significant commercial value in the food and cosmetic industry. It would therefore be beneficial to harvest this seaweed for its commercial value, while at the same time providing

3 an effective removal service for the washed up seaweed on the beach.

(0004] Conventional methods of harvesting beached seaweed and other aquatic plants cast on or near shores of bodies of water include use of equipment such as all terrain vehicles and trailers on the shore. However, conventional methods do not address the difficulty of harvesting seaweed from shores where land access is unavailable. Furthermore, in sensitive beach environments, they can disturb the ground, causing the sea grass to die and the beach to erode, as well as promoting the destruction of clams and fish eggs by the use of tracked vehicles to access such beach areas.
(00051 Other methods of harvesting beached seaweed include accessing a shore with a large barge or landing craft. However, the waters near many shores have shallow areas where access would not be possible during low tide, as the barge would contact the ground and possibly damage clam beds and other sea life or ecology.
100061 Another situation in which floatable material may need to be removed from the surface of a body of water or the beach is when floatable fibrous material are introduced to the surface of the water or beach, to aid in the clean up of a chemical such as petroleum. Many different apparatus that suction oil are known in the prior art. All of them have a limitation of rate and speed of pick up. Petroleum spills cause more damage to the environment the longer the oil spill is present. A situation in which non-organics may be used near a body of water is to aid in the clean up after a nuclear disaster near/within water, such as the use of titanate nanofibres or zeolite material to absorb radiation and radioactive isotopes.
[00071 Therefore, there remains a need for an efficient and environmentally sound system for harvesting seaweed from the shore and intertidal zone of a body of water and a need for a system for collecting floating fibrous material used in absorbing chemicals or radioactive isotopes spilled on a given body of water.
Summary of the Embodiments [00081 In brief, a floatable material (e.g., seaweed;
fibrous material used in oil-spill clean up or a nuclear disaster) harvester is disclosed, including a vacuum source, a transport hose, and a floatable-material receiver. In one embodiment, the transport hose has at least one air inductor/intake along its length, which allows air to enter the transport hose to accelerate its contents, by negative pressure air induction. The air inductor may have a valve controlled by an air meter. In another embodiment, a plurality of air inductors is shown. In some embodiments, a plurality of valves is shown. In another embodiment, a transport hose has at least one floatable-material thruster along its length, comprised of at least one nozzle, which provides pressurized fluid (e.g., air or water) in the direction of the flow of the harvested floatable material by positive pressure induction. In some embodiments, a plurality of floatable-material thrusters is shown. In some embodiments, the directed flow of fluid may also produce a strong Venturi effect, which draws product in through the floatable-material input of the thruster. A
method is disclosed whereby the floatable-material harvester is used to harvest a chemically absorbent material (e.g., wood chips, straw, perlite, vermiculite, polypropylene mesh, zeolite) that has absorbed chemicals (e.g., oil or solvent) spilled in water. In another example, the apparatus is used to remove chemicals from a beach by use of sorbent material that is picked up by a vehicle configured to pick up floatable material. In some embodiments, the absorbent material may be floatable titanate nanofibres material and radioactive heavy metals/chemicals may be absorbed by this material. Zeolite and in particular some synthetic zeolites, are also suitable for absorbing radioactive material or isotopes. For the purpose of describing this invention, chemicals and radioactive material/isotopes may be referred to simply as pollutants.
[00091 Zeolite is any of a large group of minerals consisting of hydrated aluminosilicates of sodium, potassium, calcium, and barium. They can be readily dehydrated and rehydrated, and are used as cation exchangers and molecular sieves.
100101 Disclosed is a floatable-material harvester, including a vacuum source having an input, a transport hose having an input at one end and an output connected to the vacuum source input, and having at least one air inductor/intake, and a floatable-material receiver, connected to the input of the transport hose. Also disclosed is a process, for when the floatable material is specifically seaweed, for treating and preserving the seaweed by washing, sterilizing, refrigerating, and oxygenating the seaweed.
[00111 In a related embodiment and improvement to the vacuum system, the at least one air inductor is replaced with at least one floatable-material thruster, which is a device designed to provide pressurized fluid in the direction of the flow of seaweed or other floatable material (whether natural or synthetic) to be collected, through at least one nozzle pointed in the relative direction of flow of the floatable material. The fluid, namely air or water, in some embodiments is provided by a pump connected to a high pressure hose that runs at least partially parallel to the transport hose and connects to the at least one floatable-material thruster. In some embodiments, at least one pump is connected to the at least one floatable-material thruster.
[0012] In a related embodiment, the floatable-material harvester further includes a trommel washer connected to the collection area. The trommel washer has a refrigeration unit to lower the temperature of the wash water to lower the temperature of the seaweed for preservation.
In another embodiment, refrigeration is provided by circulating refrigerated air through the seaweed as it enters the storage container. In another embodiment, refrigeration is provided inside the storage container. The trommel washer also has an ozonator or other sterilizer such as bromine or chlorine, where ozone both sterilizes and oxygenates the seaweed. In another embodiment, the seaweed is passed by a UV-C (i.e., an Ultraviolet-C) light to sterilize the seaweed. In another embodiment, radiation is used to sterilize the seaweed. In another embodiment, the transport hose has at least =
one flotation device to promote the buoyancy thereof.
[00131 In an additional embodiment, at least one air inductor has at least one air control valve regulating the flow of air through the at least one air inductor. An air inductor is an air intake that allows a controlled amount of air to enter the transport hose by negative pressure. In some embodiments, a plurality of air inductors is shown. In still another embodiment, the floatable-material harvester includes a microprocessor coupled to the at least one air control valve and configured to control the at least one air control valve. The at least one air inductor may further include an airflow meter, in another embodiment. A plurality of air inductors may assist material in traveling a greater distance than a single air inductor.
[00141 In yet another embodiment, the least one air inductor includes a snorkel to help ensure that air and not water is intaken by placing the level of the air intake a distance above the normal water level, while being high enough of a distance to minimize take on water from waves. Another embodiment of the floatable-material harvester includes an airtight hose section filled with air, through which the transport hose passes, with the airtight hose section interior being connected to the interior of the transport hose by the at least one air inductor.
[001511 In another embodiment, the at least one air inductor is replaced with or possibly supplemented by at least one floatable-material thruster connected to a pump. A floatable-material thruster is a device designed to inject high pressure fluid into the transport hose from a fluid input and through at least one nozzle. In some embodiments, the floatable-material thruster operates in the same manner as a conventional air conveyor, comprised of a fluid input that connects to an outer plenum that is pressurized with fluid, connected to a ring of nozzles that injects the fluid into the direction of the flow of the floatable material through the inner passage. Air conveyors also may have a slightly smaller passage diameter than the connecting hose, causing a Venturi effect to occur on the inlet and thrust on the outlet of the floatable-material thruster. In some embodiments, the floatable-material thruster is provided fluid through at least one flow control valve. In other embodiments, the flow control valve is controlled by a microprocessor. In some embodiments, at least one flow meter is connected in series with the at least one flow control valve and controls the at least one flow valve. In some embodiments, at least one pressure sensor provides pressure information from inside the transport hose to a microprocessor, which for the purposes of the present disclosure could, by way of example only, be part of a personal computer or a computer network or may be a stand-alone programmable logic circuit (PLC). In some embodiments, the microprocessor also receives information from the at least one flow meter. In another embodiment, the pressure sensor controls at least one of the flow valve, pressure regulator, and the speed or thrust of the pumps by an analog electrical connection. In another embodiment, the at least one pressure sensor is located on the high pressure hose and/or the high pressure tank. In another embodiment, an air inductor may operate in the opposite flow direction to function as a gas escape mechanism, where it is positioned in such a manner as to relieve gas pressure produced in the transport hose by the floatable-material thruster. A filter screen may be placed over the air output, as to prevent the solid contents of the transport hose from plugging the gas escape mechanism.
[0016] In yet other embodiments, the microprocessor uses the information from the at least one pressure sensor and the at least one flow meter to control the at least one flow valve and the speed of the high pressure pump. In another embodiment, the microprocessor also controls the speed of the vacuum source or of a centrifugal or other type of water pump. The water pump and vacuum source each may have its speed and/or power controlled, for example, by the rpm (i.e., revolutions per minute) of an engine, by pulsation, or by otherwise providing continuous flow or bursts of energy by combustion, electrical, or waste steam from an incinerator connected to the apparatus.
100171 According to another embodiment, the floatable-material receiver further includes a hopper having an outlet coupled to the input of the transport hose. In an additional embodiment, the hopper also includes an agitator, which vibrates to assist in the flow of floatable material. In another embodiment of a feeder mechanism, the floatable-material receiver includes a paddle wheel placed within the floatable-material receiver so as to stir its contents into the transport hose. In still another embodiment, the floatable-material receiver includes a nozzle placed within the floatable-material receiver, so as to propel the floatable-material receiver's contents with a water jet into the transport hose. The nozzle is connected to a water pump that receives water from a water source and drives the water into the nozzle to produce the water jet.
The water jet may propel the floatable material into a funneling element and into the transport hose, or the water jet may propel the floatable material directly into the transport hose. In some embodiments, a water jet or nozzle is submerged into the floatable material within the beach or surf, propels the material onto a mechanic device that picks up floatable material, such as a conveyor belt. In another embodiment, the nozzle simply propels material in the surf or on the beach into the floatable-material receiver. In another embodiment, the nozzle is fluidly connected to an air compressor and instead provides an air jet.
100181 Another embodiment of the floatable-material harvester includes a flotation device supporting the floatable-material receiver in order to keep the floatable-material receiver approximately near the level of the water in which it is operating. In a related embodiment, the flotation device further includes buoyancy control to allow the floatable-material receiver to be lowered into the water. In another embodiment, the flotation device additionally includes a propulsion system. In yet another embodiment, the flotation device has a rudder. The flotation device further includes an anchoring system, in another embodiment. In a related embodiment, the anchoring system is automated.
(00191 A method is also included for harvesting beached and/or near-shore floatable material. The method involves dispersing sorbent material designed or suitable for absorbing petroleum or other chemicals and radiation/radioactive material while repelling water. The method may involve dispersing said material with an apparatus comprised of a storage area, feeder mechanism, floatable material receiver, and a transport hose comprised of at least on floatable material thruster. The method involves providing a floatable-material harvester as described above, activating the vacuum source or high pressure pump, supplying floatable material to the floatable-material receiver, and emptying harvested floatable material from the collection area. In the case of petroleum, the method further includes incinerating at least some of the collected floatable-material within the harvesting apparatus. The method then includes using the waste heat from the incinerator to provide power for the harvest apparatus. That power may be provided by way of steam to turbine and/or impeller. The same method includes using an air inductor along the length of the transport tube and a vacuum source, that both may replace or supplement the floatable-material thruster and high pressure pump.
100201 In some embodiments, collected seaweed is metered into and through a mesh belt dryer, which is a well known apparatus for drying seaweed. This dryer provides air flow through a layer of seaweed that is several inches deep on a conveyor belt.
The seaweed is often stirrated or flipped over as it moves down the conveyor belt to cause even distribution of air and drying. In some embodiments, instead of drying, the mesh belt dryer has an air intake that is fitted with a refrigeration unit, so that cold air is circulated through the seaweed, lowering its temperature to around 2 degrees Celsius as it moves down the conveyor belt. In some embodiments, an apparatus that cools the seaweed by cold air is used instead of the refrigeration unit in the seaweed washer. In some embodiments, a rotary dryer is used in place of a mesh belt dryer or any device suited for circulating cold air around solid material. The exhaust and intake of the mesh belt dryer may be directly connected by a circulation fan, so that the evaporator coils or other cooling mechanism of the refrigeration unit are in the path of the airflow. Cooling the seaweed from ambient temperature has the effect of dramatically lowering its rate of decomposition.

[0021] In other embodiments, the collected seaweed is processed through a seaweed washer. In some embodiments, the seaweed washer is comprised of a refrigeration unit to lower the temperature of the wash water, which in turn lowers the temperature of the seaweed. In other embodiments, the wash water is injected with a sterilizing agent such as ozone, bromine, or chlorine. In another embodiment, the seaweed is sterilized by ultraviolet-C (e.g.
UV-C) or electromagnetic radiation suitable for killing, e.g., bacteria, nematodes, protozoans, and fungi, thereby suitably sterilizing the seaweed. Sterilizing the seaweed also aids in slowing the rate of decomposition.
[0022] Other aspects, embodiments and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The accompanying figures are for schematic purposes and are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the figures, each identical or substantially similar component that is illustrated in various figures is represented by a single numeral or notation at its initial drawing depiction. For purposes of clarity, not every component is labeled in every figure. Nor is every component of each embodiment of the invention shown where illustration is not necessary to allow those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention.
Brief Description of the Drawings [0023] The preceding summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the attached drawings.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
[0024] FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a mechanized floatable-material harvester;
100251 FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of the transport hose and a rear facing direct view of an embodiment of an amphibious vehicle;
10026] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material harvester;
10027] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
100281 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
100291 FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
100301 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
10031] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an overhead or top view of an embodiment of a floatable-matcrial receiver;
(0032] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
[0033] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
100341 FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
(00351 FIG. 11A is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of a gas escape mechanism;
(0036( FIG. IIB is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a gas escape mechanism;
100371 FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
[0038] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
[0039] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
[0040] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver;
[0041] FIG. 16 is schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster;
[0042] FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster;
[0043] FIG. 18A is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster;
[0044] FIG. 18B is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster;
[0045] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster;
[0046] FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of a floatable-material thruster connected to a water pump and floatation device;
[0047] FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a trommel washer, sterilizer, and refrigeration unit that can be used with the floatable-material harvester;
[00481 FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an overhead view of a floatable-material harvester;
[0049] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floatable-material receiver and an entrance of air for at lease one air inductor;
[00501 FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an overhead view of an air induction floatable-material harvester;
[0051] FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a floating air inductor through a snorkel;
[00521 FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of a floating air inductor;
100531 FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a side and overhead view of a plug designed to bleed air;
[00541 FIG. 28A is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of an air induction system with an air tight outer hose;
[0055] FIG. 288 is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of an air induction system with an air tight outer hose;
100561 FIG. 28C is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of an air induction system with an air tight outer hose;
[0057] FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a floating air inductor;
[0058] FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram of a direct view of an embodiment of a floating air inductor with a counterweight;
100591 FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a side view of a floatable-material receiver;
10060] FIG. 32A is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of an elongated pickup mechanism.
[0061] FIG. 32B is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of an elongated pickup mechanism;
100621 FIG. 33A is a schematic diagram of an overhead view of an embodiment of a swivel conveyor apparatus;
[00631 FIG. 33B is a schematic diagram of a side view of an embodiment of a swivel conveyor apparatus;
Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments [00641 Embodiments of the disclosed floatable-material harvester, when used particularly to harvest seaweed or chemically absorbent material, enable workers on a shore of adjacent body of water to clean up seaweed or other floatable material more efficiently, with less environmental impact. The improved transport hose has the effect of accelerating the speed of material as the air speed increases over each air inductor, allowing a significant increase in both travel/conveyance distance, even while possibly using a smaller hose diameter. The improved suction also permits the harvester to collect seaweed or other floatable material more rapidly. Even more mass may be moved and/or an even larger conveyance distance may be achieved in some embodiments which depict at least one floatable-material thruster comprised of at least one nozzle pointed in the general direction of flow of the seaweed or floatable material, where the floatable-material thruster provides pressurized fluid from at least one pump through a high pressure hose. Even more mass may be transported a longer distance with the use of a plurality of floatable-material thrusters and a plurality of flow control valves.
100651 Some embodiments disclosed herein are designed to harvest seaweed, particularly loose seaweed on the surface or shore of any body of water. "Seaweed" for the purposes used in this document includes oceanic seaweed, kelp, and other algal "plants," as well as any aquatic plant or plant-like organisms in fresh, brackish, or salt water. Embodiments of the disclosed floatable-material harvester may function on the surface or shore of any body of water, including oceans, seas, bays, fjords, lagoons, lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, estuaries, marshes, salt marshes, and swamps. The "shore" or "beach" of a body of water is the area of land immediately adjacent to that body of water.
[00661 It is noted that, for simplicity sake and ease of description, the floatable-material harvester is being described primarily in the context of harvesting seaweed but, as previously rioted, the system can be used in a similar manner to harvest/retrieve other types of floating or beached sorbents, also known as a chemically absorbent material (e.g., wood chips, vermiculite, straw, clay, mesh polypropylene, zeolite, titanate nanofibres), such as those employed to aid clean up of a chemical or pollutant spill (e.g.
absorbent material capable of floating in water) and providing that such material could be harvested either while floating or once beached on a shore. It is to be understood that, for the purposes of cleaning up non-organic beach/floating sorbents (e.g., clay, perlite, titanate nanofibres), the system described herein for use with floating organics can also be used to clean up of such non-organic beached/floating sorbents, given that the principles of operation are basically the same for such materials. Also, natural and synthetic zeolite minerals have a unique ability to absorb radiation and harmful substances from the environment. They are used even in food supplements for people employed in industries where there is a risk of exposure. Products such as zeolite which may not be easily pierced and picked up by a tine may be blended with a Styrofoam, fabric, or other material that is easily picked up by a tine or hook. In some embodiments, the absorbent material may be configured into loops. In some embodiments, zeolite or nanofibres may be embedded in natural material such as cotton. In some embodiments, zeolite or nanofibres may be embedded in a synthetic material such as but not limited to polypropylene mesh. In some embodiments, the sorbent may be comprised of magnetic material, so that it may be easier for a mechanical device to pick up.
[0067] A beach cleaner is a vehicle or pull-behind unit that operates on the beach and is designed to remove seaweed and refuse while leaving sand, either from the beach or near-shore waters. Beach cleaners may be comprised of a mechanical device that picks up floatable material, or pick up floatable material that can be pierced or grabbed by the tines.
Beach cleaners come in many different forms and have been in active use for decades. The beach cleaner's largest limitation is that it has a collection area which becomes full, which requires the beach cleaner to travel to a separate vehicle to transfer the load, or a vehicle needs to meet the beach cleaner. This is fuel inefficient and an inefficient process in general. Beach cleaners may also only use one pick up mechanism, which makes the rate of pick up too slow for a mass removal from a single apparatus. Beach cleaners also have no means of elevating themselves over large obstructions. Also, once the load is transferred to truck, it is well known and published that barging can be roughly 6.2 times more fuel efficient than trucking a material an equal weight and distance. In some embodiments, the beach cleaner may be replaced with an amphibious vehicle. In some embodiments, the vehicle may be a hovercraft. In some embodiments, a vehicle that floats may be configured to pick up floatable material from the beach or within a body of water.
100681 FIG. 1A is the embodiment of the inventive components of a completely mechanized apparatus, where beach cleaner 7 would have arrived by land or by amphibious means. The beach cleaner 7 generally includes a mechanical device that picks up floatable material 120. This device may be a rake and a rotating cylinder with numerous small tines that pick up material from the sand, leaving most of the sand behind. In one embodiment, the device may also pick up seaweed/floatable material in a manner similar to a farm combine with a rotating cylinder and flat blades. In another embodiment, sand and waste are collected via the pick-up blade of the vehicle onto a vibrating screening belt, which leaves the sand behind while retaining the floatable material. Beach cleaners generally operate and move themselves on wheels or tracks. Beach cleaners transfer the collected material to a collection area. These collection areas generally have means of transferring their load to another vehicle, either by dumping or conveying.
[0069f In some embodiments, an elongated pick up 19 is comprised of a side-by-side row of conveyor belts 120 which are further comprised of many tines, the conveyor belts 120 configured in such a manner as to pick up floatable material from the beach as depicted in FIG.
32. In some embodiments, the same mechanism may pick up floating material from a body of water. In some embodiments, the conveyor belts 120 may have cutters on the bottom, which sever algae weeds from the bottom of the body of water. The row of conveyor belt mechanical devices that pick up floatable material 120 transfers the collected material to two perpendicular conveyor belts 8, which both operate in opposite directions to one another, so that the flow of collected floatable matter flows from the outside of the elongated pickup into the center of the apparatus. The floatable material in one embodiment is then transferred to reducing and metered conveyor belt 46 shown in FIG. IA. In reference to FIG.
32 (A-B) and in another embodiment, the floatable material is transferred to a screw conveyor 52. The terms screw conveyor and screw auger are used interchangeably in this document, but both are conveyors.
100701 In one of the embodiments and in relation to FIG. 1A, the vessel 68 arrives in a position and depth that is calculated to be safe, controlled by an operator where the vessel may be self propelled or pulled by tugboat. The spool 57 depl