Pile guide
AssigneeFast Frames (UK) Limited
InventorClive Jones
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pile guide, for supporting a pile as it is driven into a substrate, has a base frame and a pile guide member mounted on the base frame. The base frame comprises one or more substrate-engaging supports, moveable between an inoperative position and an operative position, with movement of the or each substrate-engaging support into the operative position resulting in an increase in the area of the base frame which, in use, rests on the substrate.
Claims23
A pile guide for supporting a pile as it is driven into a substrate, comprising a base frame and a pile guide member mounted on the base frame, wherein the base frame comprises at least one substrate-engaging support, moveable between an inoperative position and an operative position, with movement of the at least one substrate-engaging support into the operative position resulting in an increase in area of at least 25% of an active surface of the base frame which, in use, rests on the substrate.
A method of deploying a pile guide at sea, comprising the steps of:
- providing a pile guide comprising a base frame and a pile guide member mounted on the base frame, the base frame r comprising at least one substrate-engaging support moveable between an inoperative position and an operative position;
- lowering the pile guide into the sea through its splash zone with the at least one substrate-engaging support in the inoperative position so that the substrate-engaging area of the base frame is at a minimum;
- and
- moving the at least one substrate-engaging support to the operative position to increase the substrate engaging area of the base frame by at least 25% when the pile guide has been lowered through the sea splash zone.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.