Docking system
AssigneeLeisure Docks Inc.
InventorsBarbara A. Chester, Ronald F. McConnell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A docking system is disclosed in which modules that are of integral, unitary structure may be joined to form a floating dock. Each module is made up of a deck and side walls to form a hollow chamber within which is disposed a flotation unit of a large-scale honeycomb made by joining plastic containers to each other and to the deck and side walls. A substantially isotropic tension member or system of tension members is joined to the bottom of the walls and cells to complete a module in which applied forces are shared by all elements. Apparatus for aligning and joining modules to form dock structures are described as are apparatus to ballast the structure and determine freeboard.
Claims24
A docking system comprising at least one integral, unitary module disposable for floating upon the surface of a body of water comprising:
- a hollow chamber comprising a substantially planar deck, said deck when said module is floating being generally parallel to said water surface, and having upper and lower sides relative to said water surface, said deck bounded by a periphery and abuttedly joined along the lower side of the periphery to the upper edge of a downwardly-depending wall, and an open bottom;
- a flotation means disposed in the hollow chamber abutting the deck on the underside thereof and bonded thereto and comprising a honeycomb structure of joined cells orthogonal to the deck;
- means for supporting substantially isotropic tension in the plane substantially bounded by the lower edge of the wall, the means joinedly connecting opposite lower edges of the wall and the cells.
Flotation means for marine service comprising a planar honeycomb multi-cell structure disposable for flotation upon the surface of a body of water wherein the cells are plastic containers, each having a closed first end and a second end, and the cells are in closely packed array adhesively joined at the points of contact to form an integral unitary structure and the cells are orthogonal to the plane of the structure with the second ends extending downwardly from the surface of the body of water when the structure is disposed floatingly on the body of water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.