Floating lowering and lifting device
AssigneeSingle Buoy Moorings Inc.
InventorsJack Pollack, Hein Wille
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floating lowering and lifting device (1) includes a floating structure (2) and a lifting unit (3) lowerable from the floating structure (2) towards the sea bed, the lifting unit (3) having a chamber (5) with at least one gas-inlet opening (9) in its wall (27) and an equalization opening (23, 25) in its wall (27), a gas supply (13) being connected to the gas inlet opening (9) The device includes a control element (15) connected to the gas supply (13) for controlling a gas supply rate to the chamber (5), wherein the chamber (5) includes a releasable coupling member (7) for releasably attaching to a load (8).
Claims19
Floating lowering and lifting device (1) comprising a floating structure (2) and a lifting unit (3) lowerable from the floating structure (2) towards the sea bed, the lifting unit (3) having a chamber (5) with a least one gas-inlet opening (9) in its wall and a gas supply means (13,32) connected to the gas-inlet opening (9), the device (1) comprising a control element (14,15) for controlling a gas supply rate to the chamber (5), the chamber comprising a releasable coupling member (7) for attaching to a load,
- characterized in that, the lifting unit (3) is attached to the floating structure (2) in a non-rigid manner, the chamber (5) comprising at least one equalization opening (23, 25) being fluid communication with the environment outside of the chamber, the control element (14,15) being adapted to supply gas to the chamber for compensating gas volume loss at increasing depth of the lifting unit (3) below sea level and to release air from the chamber after depositing a load onto the sea bed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.