ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,534,870, issued on Jan. 27, was assigned to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC (Houston).
"Cutter thrust bearing assembly" was invented by Mike Chartre (Watertown, Wis.) and Edwin Hahlbeck (Pewaukee, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A cutter suction dredger includes a vessel, a ladder extending away from the vessel, a cutter head positioned at a distal end of the ladder and configured to contact a bed of the body of water to cut into the bed, and a bearing assembly. The bearing assembly includes a first spherical thrust bearing configured to resist thrust forces generated by the cutter head contacting the bed, a second spherical thrust...