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US 8,096,010 B2Granted
Bridge span and bridge span transportation vehicle
AssigneeConstructions Industrielles de la Mediterranee - CNIM
InventorsElisabeth Richeux, Henri Aubert
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for transporting a span on a road vehicle capable of being transformed into an amphibious vehicle, enabling crossing of a dry or water-filled gap by any road vehicle. The vehicle for transporting the span is amphibious to allow any vehicle to cross a gap filled with water by transferring and transporting the vehicle on the span supported on the amphibious vehicle operating as a floating ferry. The invention is particularly applicable in the field of civil or military engineering.
Claims20
A bridge span and bridge span transportation vehicle comprising:
- an amphibious vehicle which may traverse dry land and water;
- a span comprising two parallel boxes, each box having a parallelepiped shape, respective ends, pins, a track, and two ramps, the ramps, when in operative positions, providing access to the ends of the respective track, the ramps being respectively articulated to the ends of the box by respective pins, for pivoting of each ramp from an inactive position, folded over the respective box, to the operative position, extending from the respective box;
- a transporting and positioning apparatus mounted on the amphibious vehicle for supporting and positioning the span, the span extending longitudinally with respect to the amphibious vehicle when the span is supported by the transporting and positioning apparatus,
- the transporting and positioning apparatus transporting the span so that the span is resting on the transporting and positioning apparatus on the amphibious vehicle when the amphibious vehicle is floating in water in a depression containing water, the depression being confined by opposing banks, with at least some of the ramps contacting at least one of the banks and varying in angular position relative to the respective box by rotating about the respective pin, so that a dry road vehicle may cross the depression containing water by entering, being supported by, and exiting the span, while the span is resting on the amphibious vehicle and the amphibious vehicle is floating in the water, and
- the transporting and positioning apparatus positioning the span at a location separated from the amphibious vehicle so that the ramps are positioned on banks on opposite sides of and defining a depression that may be dry or may contain water, with the banks supporting the ramps and the span, the ramps being in fixed angular positions relative to the respective boxes so that the dry road vehicle may cross the depression by traversing the ramps and the span.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.