Cushioned dock fender structure and shear type cushion member

Claim 1

A cushioned dock fender structure and the like comprising: a stationary member; a movable member comprising piling driven into mud adjacent to and spaced from said stationary member, said movable being positioned to be struck by a craft adjacent to the structure; and energy-absorbing means connected between said members for dissipating energy imparted to said movable member upon being struck by said craft; said energy-absorbing means comprising a pair of spaced cantilevered beams carried by one of said members and projecting towards the other of said members, a single cantilevered beam carried by the other of said members and projecting reciprocably between said pair of beams, a first block of elastomeric material mounted to deflect in shear between said single beam and one of said pair of beams, and a second block of elastomeric material mounted to deflect in shear between said single beam and the other of said pair of beams, means for mounting each of said elastomeric blocks to its respective beams including a metal plate adjacent to each end of each block, each metal plate having a recessed central portion embedded in and bonded to the block, and having marginal portions free of elastomeric material projecting from opposite sides of the block, said central portion having holes through which portions of the block extend from one face of the plate to the other face, and means for securing said marginal portions to the respective beams.