US3790009A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for handling a barge for transferring large heavy cargo modules
Assignee: Brown and Root Inc
•
Filing: 1972-11-07
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Granted: 1974-02-05
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Expires: 1992-11-07
Abstract
Abstract A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules onto the barge from a dock facility or off of a barge onto a dock facility including the steps of positioning the barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of wells in the hull of the barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent the dock; extending a plurality of columns into the water against the weight of the barge, until the columns have reached a firm foundation. Following the step of extending the columns into the water bed sufficiently to support the barge, opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of the barge to permit the ambient water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge and thus render the barge independent of normal buoyancy and tidal influences. Next the barge is vertically adjusted upon the columns until the deck of the barge is in generally planar horizontal alignment with the dock facility. The cargo modules may then be transfered onto or off of the barge. Once the transfer is completed, then at least one valve positioned within the hull of the barge is closed and finally the plurality of columns are raised to enable the barge to again be buoyantly supported upon the body of water. In the event a particularly heavy construction module is going to be loaded from a dock facility onto a barge ballast may be added to the barge prior to extending the columns into the water bed. Moreover, the amount of ballast utilized may be selected to correspond to the weight of the construction module to be loaded in order to minimize the possibility of relative vertical movement of the barge deck with respect to a dock as the module is loaded onto the barge.
Inventors
- 👤 F Hauber
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 22:34
CPC Classifications
B; B63; B63B; B63B35/00; B63B35/28; B63B35/003; E; E02; E02B; E02B17/00; E02B17/02; E02B17/021
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto or off of the barge comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of well openings within the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock; extending said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of said barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water; vertically adjusting said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into generally coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock so that cargo may be transferred onto or off of said barge; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to again be buoyantly supported upon the body of water.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
202 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto or off of the barge comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of well openings within the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock; extending said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of said barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water; vertically adjusting said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into generally coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock so that cargo may be transferred onto or off of said barge; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to again be buoyantly supported upon the body of water.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto or off of the barge as defined in claim 1 and further comprising the step of: adding ballast to said barge prior to extending said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of said barge.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
93 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto or off of said barge as defined in claim 1 wherein said step of opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge comprises: opening a plurality of valves positioned within a corresponding plurality of passages through the hull of said barge for providing fluid communication between the body of water exterior of the hull and a plurality of compartments uniformly spaced throughout the interior of the hull of said barge.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
93 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto and off of said barge as defined in claim 1 wherein: said step of positioning a barge includes; adjusting said bArge until skid rails on the deck of said barge are brought into vertical alignment with skid rails on the dock, and said step of vertically adjusting includes; raising or lowering the barge with respect to the dock until the skid rails on the deck of said barge are brought into horizontal coplanar alignment with the skid rails on the dock.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring heavy cargo modules onto and off of said barge as defined in claim 4 wherein cargo is transferred onto or off of said barge by: skidding the cargo upon the vertically and horizontally aligned skid rails onto or off of the barge.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock onto said barge for transportation over a body of water to a preselected site comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of wells in the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock; jacking said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of the barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water and thus render said barge independent of normal buoyancy and tidal influences; jacking said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into generally coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock facility; transferring at least one construction module from said dock facility onto said barge; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to be towed to a preselected site.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock onto said barge for transportation over a body of water to a preselected site comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of wells in the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock; jacking said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of the barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water and thus render said barge independent of normal buoyancy and tidal influences; jacking said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into generally coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock facility; transferring at least one construction module from said dock facility onto said barge; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to be towed to a preselected site.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto said barge as defined in claim 6 and further comprising the step of: adding ballast to said barge prior to jacking said barge and the deck thereof with respect to said plurality of columns into coplanar alignment with said dock facility.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto said barge as defined in claim 7 wherein said step of adding ballast comprises: flooding the interior of said barge hull with at least enough water to equal the anticipated weight of the construction modules to be transported.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto a barge as defined in claim 7 wherein said step of adding ballast comprises: adding water to a plurality of compartments uniformly spaced within the hull of said barge.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
72 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto a barge as defined in claim 9 wherein said step of adding water comprises: establishing free fluid communication among the said plurality of uniformly spaced compartments within the hull of said barge, and establishing free fluid communication between at least one of said plurality of compartments and the body of water exterior of the hull.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
81 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto said barge as defined in claim 10 wherein said steps of establishing free fluid communication among said compartments and between at least one compartment and the body of water exterior of the hull comprise: opening at least one valve within passages which provide fluid communication among said compartments and between said at least one compartment and said body of water exterior of the hull.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
110 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onTo said barge as defined in claim 11 and further comprising the step of: closing said at least one valve within said passages which provide fluid communication between said at least one compartment and said body of water exterior of the hull following the addition within the hull of at least enough water to equal the anticipated weight of the construction modules to be transported and prior to the step of jacking said barge on said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into general coplanar alignment with said dock.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
95 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto said barge as defined in claim 7 wherein said step of opening at least one valve positioned within at least one corresponding passage through the hull of said barge comprises: opening a plurality of valves positioned within a corresponding plurality of passages through the hull of said barge for providing fluid communication between the body of water exterior of the hull and a plurality of ballast compartments uniformly spaced within the interior of the hull of said barge.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
91 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules onto said barge as defined in claim 6 wherein: said step of positioning a barge includes: adjusting said barge until skid rails on the deck of said barge are brought into vertical alignment with skid rails on the dock, and said step of jacking said barge includes: raising and lowering said barge with respect to the dock until the skid rails on the deck of said barge are brought into horizontal coplanar alignment with skid rails on the dock.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
71 words
A method for handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a dock facility onto said barge as defined in claim 6 and further comprising the step of: ballasting selective compartments within the hull of said barge, following the step of raising said plurality of columns, to achieve a desired trim of said barge prior to transporting the construction modules over a body of water to the preselected site.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
224 words
A method for handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from said barge onto a preselected dock facility comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water and carrying large, heavy construction modules, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of wells in the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock facility; jacking said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of said barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water and thus render the barge independent of normal buoyancy and tidal influences; jacking said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into general coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock facility; transferring said at least one construction module from said barge onto said dock facility; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to be buoyantly supported upon the body of water.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
224 words
A method for handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from said barge onto a preselected dock facility comprising the steps of: positioning a barge, buoyantly supported upon a body of water and carrying large, heavy construction modules, contiguous to a dock facility; lowering a plurality of columns vertically through a corresponding plurality of wells in the hull of said barge and into engagement with the water bed adjacent said dock facility; jacking said plurality of columns into the water bed against the weight of said barge until the columns have reached a firm foundation; opening at least one valve positioned within a corresponding at least one passage through the hull of said barge to permit water to seek its own level within the interior of the barge hull with respect to the ambient body of water and thus render the barge independent of normal buoyancy and tidal influences; jacking said barge with respect to said plurality of columns until the deck of said barge is brought into general coplanar horizontal alignment with said dock facility; transferring said at least one construction module from said barge onto said dock facility; closing said at least one valve positioned within the hull of said barge; and raising said plurality of columns to enable said barge to be buoyantly supported upon the body of water.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
61 words
A method of handling a barge for transferring large, heavy cargo modules from a barge onto a dock facility as defined in claim 16 and further following said step of raising said plurality of columns: ballasting at least a portion of the interior of the barge hull to bring the barge to proper trim for transportation upon the body of water.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-02-04 | 1977-08-06 | 1978-02-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-02-04 | 1981-08-06 | 1982-02-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-02-04 | 1985-08-06 | 1986-02-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |