Patent US1914355A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3668876A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Offshore tower apparatus and method
Assignee: Brown and Root Inc
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Filing: 1970-04-20
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Granted: 1972-06-13
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Expires: 1990-04-20
Abstract
Abstract A tower suitable for use in offshore well operations and the like including a plurality of sloping jacket legs extending from the bed of the body of water to a position above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform thereupon. The jacket legs are reinforced by a surrounding shell of diamond patterned cross braces and a plurality of girder rings lying in a plurality of planes normally with the central axis of the tower. The girder rings are supported against deformity by a bicycle spoke reinforcing system at each girder ring level. The method aspects of the invention include constructing the tower in a generally horizontal posture upon a plurality of generally upright columns. The construction steps include forming a plurality of girder rings and erecting the girder rings upon the columns. Jacket legs are connected between adjacent girder rings along the length of the offshore tower and the tower legs are enclosed within an outer shell of cross bracings. The offshore tower, following construction, is launched into a body of water for transportation to a selected marine site by constructing the tower longitudinally upon a rail having one end thereof lying adjacent a sheet pile wall which permits the lower end of the rail to be positioned below the adjacent water level. A floatation system connected to the tower and the wall is removed to permit the base of the tower to be buoyantly lifted from the construction support. The upper portion of the tower rests upon a rail bearing guide bracket which is initially positioned above the water level. The rail bearing guide bracket may be lifted off the rail by an incompressible fluid and the tower slides into the body of water. Alternatively, the tower may be jacked into the water by conventional jacking devices. Upon being erected at an offshore location, conductors may serve in a dual capacity as conductors and piles, or piles may be inserted into skirt pile casings surrounding the base of the tower and driven into the bed of the body of water by a stinger guided by a rotating truss.
Inventors
- 👤 Albert M Koehler
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 09:43
CPC Classifications
E; E02; E02B; E02B17/00; E02B17/02; E02B17/027; E02B17/0004; F; F16; F16B; F16B2200/00; F16B2200/10; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T403/00; Y10T403/34; Y10T403/341; Y10T403/345; Y10T403/346
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
156 words
An offshore tower adapted to rest upon the bed of a body of water with an upper portion thereof extending above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform thereupon, said tower comprising: a plurality of tower legs extending between the bed of the body of water and the platform, said legs being symmetrically disposed about a central axis of said tower; a plurality of girder rings connected to said legs and at least a portion of each of said girder rings encompassing the outer perimeter formed by said legs and being located at a plurality of spaced elevations along the length thereof aNd lying in mutually parallel planes substantially perpendicular to said central tower axis; and a plurality of diagonal cross braces connected to said girder rings and said legs to form a spiral pattern in two directions said cross braces being disposed from axially intersecting, but contiguous with, said tower legs.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
156 words
An offshore tower adapted to rest upon the bed of a body of water with an upper portion thereof extending above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform thereupon, said tower comprising: a plurality of tower legs extending between the bed of the body of water and the platform, said legs being symmetrically disposed about a central axis of said tower; a plurality of girder rings connected to said legs and at least a portion of each of said girder rings encompassing the outer perimeter formed by said legs and being located at a plurality of spaced elevations along the length thereof aNd lying in mutually parallel planes substantially perpendicular to said central tower axis; and a plurality of diagonal cross braces connected to said girder rings and said legs to form a spiral pattern in two directions said cross braces being disposed from axially intersecting, but contiguous with, said tower legs.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 wherein: said plurality of diagonal cross braces extend about the outer periphery of said tower formed by said tower legs.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 wherein: said plurality of diagonal cross braces extend about the inner periphery of said tower formed by said tower legs.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 wherein: said plurality of diagonal cross braces intersect each other in a plurality of locations and at each intersection a unitary cross is provided to uniformly transmit loads through the intersection.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 4 wherein said unitary cross comprises: an integral structure having four arms lying substantially in a plane and forming an angle between each of the adjacent arms, the opposite angles between the arms being equal and said cross being uniform throughout said offshore tower structure.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 4 wherein: said diagonal cross braces are connected to said tower legs solely at said unitary cross locations by normally extending bridge braces.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 5 wherein: said plane containing said four arms of said unitary cross is slightly angled whereby two of said four arms lie in a plane slightly angled with respect to the plane of the other two arms.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 and further comprising: a hub coaxially disposed about said central vertical axis; and a plurality of flexible braces radiating from said hub extending and connecting to said plurality of girder rings.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
93 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 8 and further comprising: a plurality of flange plate disks fixedly connected to said hub along the length thereof and a pair of said disks being equally spaced on opposite sides of each of said planes of said girder rings, said flexible braces being connected to said flange plate disks and extending to said girder rings and at each connection location of said flexible braces with a girder ring at least one flexible brace extends from a disk on opposite sides of the girder ring plane.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
20 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 8 wherein said flexible braces each comprises: at least two sets of wires.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
102 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 wherein said tower legs comprise: tubular jackets adapted to receive drilling conductors within the interior thereof and said tubular jacket legs, in each plane perpendicular to said central axis, being equi-radially positioned with respect to said central vertical axis, said tubular jacket legs being slanted with respect to said central vertical axis having the upper portion thereof radially closer to said vertical axis than the lower portion thereof and being disposed about said central vertical axis whereby the outer periphery of said tubular jacket legs forms the general geometrical configuration of a truncated cone.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
52 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 11 wherein: said spiral pattern of diagonal cross braces being constructed in a uniform diamond pattern and cross at locations wherein a radius from said central vertical axis would intersect both a tubular jacket leg and the center of the point where the braces cross.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
63 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 12 and further comprising: a second plurality of diagonal cross braces connected around the lower portion of said offshore tower and dividing said uniform diamond pattern of cross braces into a second uniform diamond pattern of cross braces having in a given plane extending perpendicularly to said central tower axis four times as many crossing locations.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
104 words
An offsHore tower as defined in claim 13 and further comprising: a second plurality of tubular jacket legs connected to said girder rings and disposed about the base of said offshore tower, one being positioned alternately between said plurality of tower legs and lying, at a given plane perpendicular to said central tower axis, equi-radially with said plurality of tower legs from said central tower axis and said second plurality of tubular jacket legs extending from the bed of the body of water along said offshore tower to a position approximately coincident with the upward extent of said second plurality of diagonal cross braces.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
49 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 1 and further comprising: a plurality of skirt pile guides and piles fixedly connected around the base of said offshore tower wherein the cross-sectional dimensions of said pile guides and piles are substantially greater than the cross-sectional dimensions of said tower legs.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
30 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 15 wherein: the cross sectional dimensions of said pile guides and piles are greater than twice the cross-sectional dimensions of said tower legs.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
175 words
An offshore tower adapted to rest upon the bed of a body of water with an upper portion thereof extending above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform thereupon, said tower comprising: a plurality of tubular jacket legs slopingly disposed about a central tower axis and extending between the bed of the body of water to a position above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform above the surface of the body of water; a plurality of girder rings connected to the jacket legs at select locations along the lengths thereof and lying in mutually parallel planes which normally intersect the central tower axis, at least a portion of each of said girder rings circumferentially encompassing the outer periphery of the tower for supporting said jacket legs; and a diamond pattern shell of cross braces connected to said girder rings and to said jacket legs to form a spiral wrap in opposite directions said cross braces being disposed from axially intersecting, but contiguous with, said tower legs.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
175 words
An offshore tower adapted to rest upon the bed of a body of water with an upper portion thereof extending above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform thereupon, said tower comprising: a plurality of tubular jacket legs slopingly disposed about a central tower axis and extending between the bed of the body of water to a position above the surface of the body of water for supporting a platform above the surface of the body of water; a plurality of girder rings connected to the jacket legs at select locations along the lengths thereof and lying in mutually parallel planes which normally intersect the central tower axis, at least a portion of each of said girder rings circumferentially encompassing the outer periphery of the tower for supporting said jacket legs; and a diamond pattern shell of cross braces connected to said girder rings and to said jacket legs to form a spiral wrap in opposite directions said cross braces being disposed from axially intersecting, but contiguous with, said tower legs.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
36 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 17 and further comprising: a plurality of uniformly dimensioned integral crosses one forming each intersection of said diamond patterned shell of cross braces to transmit loads through the intersection.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
59 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 17 wherein said plurality of girder rings each comprises: an inner circular beam lying substantially within a plane; an outer circular beam coaxially disposed with respect to said inner circular beam and lying in substantially the same plane therewith; and brace members interconnecting said inner circular beam and said outer circular beam.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
40 words
An offshore tower as defined in claim 19 wherein: said jacket legs and said diamond patterned shell of cross braces connected to legs extend between said inner circular beam and said outer circular beam of each of said girder rings.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-06-13 | 1975-12-13 | 1976-06-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-06-13 | 1979-12-13 | 1980-06-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-06-13 | 1983-12-13 | 1984-06-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |