Mooring structure with habitat features for marine animals
OwnerStewart Hardisoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A structure for underwater placement on a sea, lake or river bottom. The structure has tunnels to allow water and water currents, as well as marine organisms, to pass freely therethrough and infiltrate and colonize the openings. One or more hitch points are provided on the structure for attaching mooring lines to ships, boats, floating wind turbines or other floating objects, thereby allowing the structure to serve as a mooring to anchor such objects. The hitch points can be recessed within a depression in the surface of the structure and the hitch bar ends can also be recessed, providing an exterior surface free of protuberances.
Claims20
A habitat mooring structure for securing at least one mooring line to floating structures while simultaneously providing habitat for underwater organisms, comprising:
- a mass having a top portion and a specific gravity greater than the specific gravity of water, said mass having a vertical axis and at least one tunnel therein, with at least one of said at least one tunnel extending through said mass;
- at least one depression formed on said top portion of said mass;
- at least one of said at least one tunnel extending substantially horizontally through said mass and thence through said at least one depression;
- at least one rod having oppositely disposed end portions and extending through a respective one of said at least one tunnel and thence through said at least one depression, the length thereof exceeding the length of said at least one tunnel;
- stop means attached to said end portions of said at least one rod, said stop means having a length wider than the width, the height, and diameter of said at least one tunnel;
- and at least one hitch point attached to said mass for connecting mooring lines thereto.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.