Wave damping apparatus

Claim 1

A DEVICE FOR ATTENUATING THE AMPLITUDE OF INCIDENT WAVES IN A LIQUID PASSING THERETHROUGH COMPRISING TWO END BAFFLES AND AT LEAST ONE INTERMEDIATE BAFFLE THEREBETWEEN, SAID BAFFLES BEING DISPOSED PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION OF SAID INCIDENT WAVES AND BEING MAINTAINED IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL PLANES AND SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION BY INEXTENSIBLE AND FLEXIBLE SPACING MEANS CONNECTING THE TOP OF EACH OF SAID BAFFLES TO THE NEXT ADJACENT BAFFLE AND BY INEXTENSIBLE AND FLEXIBLE MOORING MEANS ATTACHED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID END BAFFLES AND FIXED ANCHORING DEVICES, SAID MOORING MEANS HAVING NORMAL CATENARY SAG TO ALLOW SAID BAFFLES TO OSCILLATE HORIZONTALLY, SAID ANCHORING DEVICES BEING AT THE END OF EACH OF SAID MOORING MEANS, FLOAT MEANS AT THE TOP OF EACH OF SAID BAFFLES FROM WHICH SAID BAFFLES ARE SUPPORTED AND DEPEND VERTICALLY INTO SAID LIQUID, EACH OF SAID BAFFLES HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE WITH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED CLOSURE MEANS OVER EACH OF SAID OPENINGS, EACH OF SAID CLOSURE MEANS BEING LARGER THAN EACH OF SAID OPENINGS AND SWINGABLE IN THE SAME DIRECTION FROM HORIZONTAL PIVOT MEANS TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS THEREBY PERMITTING FLOW OF LIQUID IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY, SAID END BAFFLES HAVING SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTING CLOSURE MEANS SWINGABLY MOUNTED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS THEREOF, SAID END BAFFLE NEAREST TO THE ONCOMING WAVE AND THE NEXT ADJACENT BAFFLE HAVING SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTED CLOSURE MEANS SWINGABLY MOUNTED IN A DIRECTION TOWARDS THE OTHER OF THE END BAFFLES TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS AND THEREBY TO PERMIT LIQUID TO FLOW THERETHROUGH IN THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION.

Claim 2

A DEVICE FOR ATTENUATING THE AMPLITUDE OF INCIDENT WAVES IN A LIQUID PASSING THERETHROUGH COMPRISING TWO END BAFFLES AND AT LEAST ONE INTERMEDIATE BAFFLE THEREBETWEEN, SAID BAFFLES BEING DISPOSED PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION OF SAID INCIDENT WAVES AND BEING MAINTAINED IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL PLANES AND SPACED APART FROM EACH OTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION BY INEXTENSIBLE AND FLEXIBLE SPACING MEANS CONNECTING THE TOP OF EACH OF SAID BAFFLES TO THE NEXT ADJACENT BAFFLE AND BY INEXTENSIBLE AND FLEXIBLE MOORING MEANS ATTACHED BETWEEN EACH OF SAID END BAFFLES AND FIXED ANCHORING DEVICES, SAID MOORING MEANS HAVING NORMAL CATENARY SAG TO ALLOW SAID BAFFLES TO OSCILLATE HORIZONTALLY, SAID ANCHORING DEVICES BEING AT THE END OF EACH OF SAID MOORING MEANS, FLOAT MEANS AT THE TOP OF EACH OF SAID BAFFLES FROM WHICH SAID BAFFLES ARE SUPPORTED AND DEPEND VERTICALLY INTO SAID LIQUID, EACH OF SAID BAFFLES HAVING A PLURALITY OF OPENINGS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME PLANE WITH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED CLOSURE MEANS OVER EACH OF SAID OPENINGS, EACH OF SAID CLOSURE MEANS BEING LARGER THAN EACH OF SAID OPENINGS AND SWINGABLE IN THE SAME DIRECTION FROM HORIZONTAL PIVOT MEANS TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS THEREBY PERMITTING FLOW OF LIQUID IN ONE DIRECTION ONLY, SAID END BAFFLES HAVING SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTING CLOSURE MEANS SWINGABLY MOUNTED IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS THEREOF, SAID END BAFFLE NEAREST TO THE ONCOMING WAVE AND THE NEXT ADJACENT BAFFLE HAVING SAID PIVOTALLY MOUNTED CLOSURE MEANS SWINGABLY MOUNTED IN A DIRECTION TOWARDS THE OTHER OF THE END BAFFLES TO UNCOVER THE OPENINGS AND THEREBY TO PERMIT LIQUID TO FLOW THERETHROUGH IN THE DIRECTION OF WAVE PROPAGATION.