Fundamental armor module in breakwater net linked system

Claim 1

A network for use in a breakwater, said network as seen in plan having a central zone bounded by an outer zone and said network comprising a plurality of adjacent bodies in a support layer and a plurality of adjacent bodies in a supported layer, all of the bodies of said support layer being at a lower level and all of the bodies of said supported level being at an upper level, said levels being generally parallel and closely adjacent to one another and means keying said upper and lower levels together forming a breakwater network, each body of said support layer and each body of said supported layer being of a common size as seen in plan, and each of said bodies of each of said layers having an upper face and a lower face, said faces of each body being bounded at their respective peripheral edges by a side surface, and each body having a cylindrical through recess perpendicular to the faces and of a first predetermined cross sectional area and configuration, said recesses extending centrally between the faces, said faces of each body of said layers being symmetrical as seen in plan with respect to a vertical center plane perpendicular to the faces, the upper face of each of the bodies of said support layer in the central zone confronting the lower faces of the bodies of the supported layer in the central zone, a plurality of three equispaced legs integral with each of the bodies of said supported layer, each leg extending a common distance from the respective lower faces of their respective associated bodies and being adjacent the peripheral edge, each of the legs of said supported layer having a proximal end and a distal end and being of a cross sectional area less than one-third the cross sectional area of said through recess and of a length between said ends extending from said lower face of the bodies of said supported layer a distance equal to the distance between the faces of said bodies through said recess, and each leg of the bodies of the supported layer extending between adjacent bodies of the support layer, a plurality of three equispaced arms integral with each of the bodies of the support layer, each arm extending a common distance from the respective upper face of their associated respective body and being adjacent the peripheral edge, each of said arms of said support layer having a proximal end and a distal end and being of a cross sectional area less than one-third the area of said through recess of the bodies of the supported layer and of a length between said ends extending from said upper face of the body of said support layer a distance equal to the distance between the faces of said body through said recess, and each arm of the bodies of the support layer extending into a recess of one of the bodies of the supported layer in the central zone, and the cross sectional area of said arms of the bodies of the support layer and the bodies about the recesses of the supported layer and, also, the legs of the supported layer about the faces of the bodies of the support layer comprising said keying means to loosely interconnect the bodies and layers and in combination defining a breakwater network, and support means extending from the lower face of the supported layer to engage a support surface.