Apparatus for performing external surface work on underside of ship hull
AssigneeMMC Compliance Engineering, Inc.
InventorsRichard A. Goldbach, John R. Salzer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
For abrasively blast-cleaning the bottom of a ship hull while the ship is supported on blocks on the floor of a drydock, an upwardly facing closed cycle abrasive wheel having a durable but compliant seal projecting forwards around its frontal perimeter, is mounted for transversal movement along the moderately articulatable rails of a mobile carrier. A control panel is provided for effecting traversal, for controlling spraying of abrasive, for controlling X-Y movement of the carrier along the drydock floor, and for extending and retracting rail end support jacks of the carrier frame for locally conforming the vertical positioning of rail ends to the bottom of the ship.
Claims24
Apparatus for applying work to the downwardly facing underside surface of a structure which is located in vertically spaced confronting relation to an upwardly facing support surface, comprising:
- a frame having a lower portion and an upper portion;
- supports provided on the lower portion of the frame and equipping the frame to be moved in at least two orthogonally related horizontal directions along said support surface, and to be stationed as a result of such movement in directly underlying relation to each of a plurality of orthogonally related swaths of said underside surface;
- a set of elongated rails vertically adjustably mounted to said upper portion of said frame for being lowered away from adjacency with said underside surface and raised into generally equally spaced sub-adjacency with said underside surface throughout respective lengths of respective rails of said set;
- an upwardly facing work applicator for applying work to said underside surface;
- a support structure supporting said work applicator on said set of rails for advancement along said set of rails for applying work to a succession of sites all along any selected said swath of said underside surface which has become a directly overlying swath as a result of said movement of said frame.
A method for applying work to the downwardly facing underside surface of a structure which is located in vertically spaced confronting relation to an upwardly facing support surface, comprising:
- (a) vertically and horizontally adjustably supporting an upwardly facing work applicator on an upper portion of a mobile carrier which has a lower portion that is supported on the support surface and equipped to be moved in at least two orthogonally related horizontal directions along said support surface and stationed in directly underlying relation to each of a plurality of orthogonally related swaths of said underside surface;
- (b) positioning the mobile carrier directly under a selected said swath of said underside surface and vertically adjusting said upper portion to define a support and travel path for said work applicator that is generally evenly directly subadjacent said swath throughout the length of said swath;
- (c) while moving said work applicator along said path, applying work upwardly therefrom to said underside surface to said swath;
- (d) moving the mobile carrier along said support surface into underlying relation to another said swath;
- (e) repeating steps (a)-(c) in relation to said other swath;
- and
- (f) repeating steps (d) and (e), at least one of said swaths to which work is applied being located in longitudinal contiguousness with at least another of said swaths to which work is applied and in transverse contiguousness with at least a further one of said swaths to which work is applied.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.