Modular heavy lift system
AssigneeKeppel Offshore & Marine USA, Inc.
InventorsYew Yuen Chow, Tak On Cheung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A single heavy lift system is made of modular units, each of which has a pair of supporting legs carrying a transverse beam therebetween. The beam is engaged to the supporting legs through jackup units that allow the transverse beams of several modular units move in unison and thus increase lifting capacity of the system. The modular units can be formed as modular, self-propelled units, transported to the site, where the lifting task is to be performed if necessary. The system can be positioned in a dry dock or offshore.
Claims22
A heavy lift system for lifting large mass structures, comprising:
- a plurality of modular units each of the modular units comprising a pair of spaced apart supporting legs, a transverse beam having opposing ends, each end being engageable to one of said supporting legs in a substantially transverse relationship to longitudinal axes of said supporting legs, a means carried by said transverse beam for engaging in suspension a large mass structure;
- and a means for moving said transverse beam up and down along said supporting legs, thereby moving said large mass structure engaged to said transverse beam, wherein the plurality of modular units are capable of moving the transverse beam of each of the modular units in unison to lift said large mass structure engaged to the transverse beam of each modular unit;
- and wherein the transverse beams of said plurality of modular units are held in a substantially parallel relationship by connecting beams that extend between and are secured to the transverse beams.
A method of assembling a floating structure having a hull and a topside, comprising the steps of:
- providing a heavy lift apparatus comprising a plurality of modular units comprised of a pair of spaced apart supporting legs, a transverse beam with opposing ends, each end being engageable to one of said supporting legs, and a means for moving said transverse beam up and down along said supporting legs, wherein the plurality of modular units are capable of moving the transverse beams of the modular units in unison;
- and wherein the transverse beams of said plurality of modular units are held in a substantially parallel relationship by connecting beams that extend between and are secured to the transverse beams;
- positioning said heavy lift apparatus adjacent said hull;
- suspending the topside from said transverse beams in unison, while aligning said topside with the floatable hull;
- moving the transverse beams in unison along the corresponding supporting legs and positioning the topside on said floatable hull for engaging said topside to said hull.
A heavy lift system for lifting large mass structure, comprising:
- A plurality of modular units each comprising a pair of spaced apart supporting legs, a transverse beam having opposing ends, each end being engageable to one of said supporting legs in a substantially transverse relationship to longitudinal axes of said supporting legs, a means carried by said transverse beam for engaging in suspension a large mass structure;
- and a means for moving said transverse beam up and down along said supporting legs, thereby moving said large mass structure engaged to said transverse beam, wherein the transverse beam of each of the modular units is built as a water-tight box structure to provide sufficient buoyancy;
- and wherein the transverse beams of said plurality of modular units are held in a substantially parallel relationship by connecting beams that extend between and are secured to the transverse beams.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.