Self-contained staging system for cleaning and painting bulk cargo holds
AssigneeMetro Machine Corporation
InventorsRichard A. Goldbach, James A. McMichael, Charles A. Garland
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Each of a plurality of cargo holds of a bulk carrier vessel has a self-contained staging system lowered into it, from the platform track of which workers operate semi-automatic blasting machines that are mounted onto the platform. The set-up for each vessel also includes, for each hold, a ventilation unit provided on a hatch plug, and a transporter for the staging system. Groups of staging systems are served by on-deck air compressors. Staging systems actually engaging in blasting are served by recycling shot blast units which recycle and supply steel shot. Following blast cleaning, the cleaned surfaces are painted from the platforms.
Claims14
A method for applying work to internal wall surfaces of a bulk cargo vessel hold, by one or more operators working from a platform, comprising the steps of:
- (a) lowering into the hold so as to become supported on the deck of the hold, an apparatus, comprising:
- framework providing a vertical tower having a base;
- a shiftable support structure arranged for supporting the tower base and arranged for shifting the tower about in each of two mutually orthogonal horizontal direction on a substantially horizontal deck of the hold, for stationing the tower in proximity with each of four corners where respective pairs of sidewalls of the hold meet one another;
- a vertical trolley mounted to the vertical tower and vertically movable thereon to assume and maintain each of a plurality of selected vertical elevations;
- a horizontal trolley mounted to the vertical trolley and bidirectionally horizontally movable thereon to assume and maintain each of a plurality of selected horizontal positions relative to the vertical tower, including a first extreme of extension in one direction to one side of the vertical tower and a second extreme of extension to an opposite side of the vertical tower;
- an operator walkway provided on said horizontal trolley;
- and
- a complement of supply systems for use in performing work on said surface, at least some of said systems being supported on said deck of said hold;
- (b) from the walkway, with said tower located in a first location on said deck of said hold, applying work to internal surfaces of two sidewalls of said hold which meet at a first corner, using supplies supplied from said systems;
- (c) shifting said tower to a second location on said deck of said hold, by operating said shiftable support structure while said shiftable support structure is disposed in supporting relation to said tower;
- (d) from the walkway, with said tower located in said second location on said deck of said hold, applying work to internal surfaces of two sidewalls of said hold which meet at a second corner, using supplies supplied from said systems;
- and
- (e) lifting said tower, said supply systems supported on said deck of said hold, and said shiftable support structure out of said hold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.