Transportable bed for industrial equipment

A transportable bed for supporting industrial equipment and machinery and adapted for use in the construction of industrial installations wherein a part or the entirety of the equipment is erected on the transportable bed at a factory to form a unit structure having a weight ranging from 500 to 5,000 tons including said transportable bed, transporting said unit structure to the installation site by means of a heavy duty transportation vehicle or by a heavy duty transportation vehicle and a vessel in combination, installing said unit structure on foundations prepared at the installation site and connecting said equipment with other parts of the industrial installation thus completing the construction, said transportable bed comprising:

• a substantially rectangular, horizontal floor having a width of from about 15 to about 50 meters and a length of from about 15 to about 60 meters, said floor being made of structural floor material adapted to support industrial equipment, machinery, piping and electric wiring of the industrial installation;
• a central strengthening column extending downwardly from said floor, said central strengthening column comprising two upright, elongated, parallel, horizontally spaced-apart trusses whose upper ends are secured to said floor, said trusses extending lengthwise of said floor from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end of said floor, said trusses being spaced laterally inwardly from the respective side edges of said floor substantially equal distances to provide unobstructed zones located on opposite sides of said central strengthening column which zones each have a size sufficient to receive the load-carrying portion of a heavy duty transportation vehicle, said zones extending lengthwise of said floor, said central strengthening column having coplanar, horizontal, transverse beams attached to and extending between the lower ends of said trusses and defining a horizontal base for said transportable bed, said central strengthening column also having transversely extending pillars and inclined structural members extending between and secured to said trusses at longitudinally spaced positions along the lengths of said trusses, said central strengthening column supporting said floor a distance of from about 0.5 to about 3.0 meters above said horizontal base at the lower end of said central strengthening column;
• a pair of upright, elongated, parallel, lateral support trusses extending downwardly from said floor adjacent said side edges of said floor, said lateral support trusses being parallel with the trusses of said central strengthening column and defining the outer sides of said zones, the lower ends of said lateral support trusses being substantially coplanar with said horizontal base at the lower end of said central strengthening column;
• a horizontal floor-reinforcing structure made of reinforcing beams lying directly underneath said floor and extending between the upper end of said central reinforcing column and the upper ends of said lateral support trusses and defining a horizontal bearing surface at the upper ends of said zones for engagement with said load-carrying portion of the heavy duty transportation vehicle.