Buoyant barrier and method for installing the same

Claim 2

In a buoyant barrier for confining material, such as spilled oil, floating on the surface of a body of water, the combination of a sheet of flexible material having two elongated at least generally parallel edge portions; and a plurality of resiliently collapsible air chambers arranged in two series with each series extending along and attached to a different one of said edge portions, each of said air chambers being of bellows-like configuration with the axes of the bellows extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet when said sheet in in flat condition, each of said chambers being equipped with air passage means arranged to allow air to flow into the chambers, during inflation thereof, and out of said chambers, during collapsing thereof; the combination of said sheet and said chambers being of such overall flexibility as to be capable of being wound on a reel for storage and transport, with said air chambers collapsed, and also capable of being unwound and deployed on the surface of the body of water, with said air chambers expanding resiliently to inflated condition, when the barrier is in use, said sheet having a width such that, when said chambers are inflated and the barrier deployed, said sheet depends from said chambers in trough-like fashion to define a water chamber, with the inflated air chambers supporting the barrier and with said edge portions projecting above the surface of the body of water.

Claim 3

The combination defined in claim 1, wherein said air chambers of each of said series are arranged in pairs with the air chambers of each pair aligned generally end-to-end with the respective edge portion of said sheet disposed therebetween so that, when the barrier is deployed, one of said air chambers of each pair projects laterally outwardly and the other air chamber of each pair projects inwardly so as to be supported by the water retained by the trough-like deployed configuration of said sheet.

Claim 4

The combination defined in claim 2, wherein the air spaces defined by each pair of said air chambers are mutually independent.

Claim 5

The combination defined in claim 1, wherein each of said air chambers comprises wall means formed of a flexible sheet material, and a helical compression spring contained within said wall means.

Claim 6

In a buoyant barrier for confining material, such as spilled oil, floating on the surface of a body of water, the combination of a sheet of flexible material having two elongated at least generally parallel edge portions; and a plurality of resiliently collapsible air chambers arranged in two series with each series extending along and attached to a different one of said edge portions, each of said chambers being equipped with air passage means arranged to allow air to flow into the chambers, during inflation thereof, and out of said chambers, during collapsing thereof, each of said chambers comprising automatic valve means operative to close the respective one of said air passage means when the air chamber has been inflated and to open the same as the air chamber is collapsed; the combination of said sheet and said chambers being of such overall flexibility as to be capable of being wound on a reel for storage and transport, with said air chambers collapsed, and also capable of being unwound and deployed on the surface of the body of water, with said air chambers expanding resiliently to inflated condition, when the barrier is in use, said sheet having a width such that, when said chambers are inflated and the barrier deployed, sad sheet depends from said chambers in trough-like fashion to define a water chamber, with the inflated air chambers supporting the barrier and with said edge portions projecting above the surface of the body of water.

Claim 7

In a buoyant barrier for confining material, such as spilled oil, floating on the surface of a body of water, the combination of a sheet of flexible material having two elongated at least generally parallel edge portions; and a plurality of resiliently collapsible air chambers arranged in two series with each series extending along and attached to a different one of said edge portions, each of said chambers being equipped with air passage means arranged to allow air to flow into the chambers, during inflation thereof, and out of said chambers, during collapsing thereof, each of said chambers comprising automatic valve means operative to close the respective one of said air passage means when the air chamber has been inflated and to open the same as the air chamber is collapsed; the combination of said sheet and said chambers being of such overall flexibility as to be capable of being wound on a reel for storage and transport, with said air chambers collapsed, and also capable of being unwound and deployed on the surface of the body of water, with said air chambers expanding resiliently to inflated condition, when the barrier is in use, said sheet having a width such that, when said chambers are inflated and the barrier deployed, sad sheet depends from said chambers in trough-like fashion to define a water chamber, with the inflated air chambers supporting the barrier and with said edge portions projecting above the surface of the body of water.