Controlled failure point for a rope or mooring loop and method of use thereof
OwnerThomas W. Fieldsinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mooring loop is operative to secure a movable device such as a ship in connection with a bollard or other fixed structure. The exemplary mooring loop includes a continuous rope segment that includes at least one coil or a plurality of coils. The rope segment defining the mooring loop includes an inner core is surrounded by an outer jacket. A plurality of controlled failure points are included in the rope segment. The failure points enable the rope segment to permanently elongate in response to an applied tension force at a level above a working range, which elongation is visibly observable. The controlled failure point is defined between segmented ends of a severed inner core such that only the outer jacket is located at the controlled failure point.
Claims20
A mooring loop comprising:
- an outer jacket and an inner core defining a rope;
- and
- a first controlled failure point in the rope defined by segmented ends that sever the inner core within the outer jacket, wherein there is only the outer jacket and there is no inner core in the rope at the first controlled failure point.
A method comprising:
- attaching a mooring loop having at least one coil to a fixed structure, wherein the mooring loop comprises an inner core and an outer jacket;
- attaching a mooring line to the mooring loop;
- effecting tension to be applied to the mooring loop by way of the mooring line;
- and
- stretching a controlled failure point in the mooring loop, wherein the controlled failure point is comprised of only the outer jacket and at the controlled failure point the inner core is severed between segmented ends such that there is no inner core at the controlled failure point, wherein stretching the controlled failure point is adapted to provide a visual indication of a potential failure of the mooring loop.
A mooring system comprising:
- a bollard fixedly connected to a dock;
- a mooring line connected to a ship floating adjacent the dock;
- a mooring loop defining at least one coil that couples the mooring line to the bollard, wherein the mooring loop is formed from rope comprising an inner core and an outer jacket;
- wherein the mooring loop includes at least one controlled failure point defined at a portion of the rope where there is no inner core and only the outer jacket, and the at least one controlled failure point is positioned along the at least one coil a distance away from the bollard such that the at least one controlled failure point does not contact the bollard.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.