US4537147A — Plastic sheet barge hatch cover

Claim 1

Independent Claim 332 words

A hatch cover that withstands the wind, rain and other in transit and storage conditions encounted by in-water barges which hatch cover can be installed and stored on deck in limited space by two deck hands on open hatch barges having a rimmed coaming extending above the deck about a hatchway to form a substantially rectangular hatch occupying a large portion of the total deck area, comprising in combination, a substantially rectangular thin film plastic sheet for covering the hatch by extending over the rim of the coaming about the hatchway, four watertight plastic pipe sections formed by hems along substantially the entire edge of said sheet located with the sheet hems for overhanging substantially the entire coaming to hang over the coaming in a position between the coaming rim and the deck and being watertight of such dimensions for filling with water of enough weight and storing it to hold down the edges of the sheet over the coaming edge to seal the hatch and hold the plastic sheet in place with uniform tension while the barge is in transit encountering said in transit conditions, and including for each of the four pipe sections formed by the hems valving structure located for filling and venting the respective pipe sections disposed near opposite ends of the respective pipe sections respectively for rapidly filling one end of the pipe sections with water adjacent the barge by pumps and venting the opposite end and thereafter retaining the water therein for holding the plastic sheet in place covering the hatch, said valving structure on said pipe sections comprising a tapered section extending from each piping section at the rectangle corners, and retaining the water comprising a drawstring for substantially closing the tapered ends of the piping together with means for holding the substantially closed drawstring end of the tapered section at a level above the pipe sections formed by said hem when the pipe sections are filled with water and in place overhanging the coaming.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 332 words

A hatch cover that withstands the wind, rain and other in transit and storage conditions encounted by in-water barges which hatch cover can be installed and stored on deck in limited space by two deck hands on open hatch barges having a rimmed coaming extending above the deck about a hatchway to form a substantially rectangular hatch occupying a large portion of the total deck area, comprising in combination, a substantially rectangular thin film plastic sheet for covering the hatch by extending over the rim of the coaming about the hatchway, four watertight plastic pipe sections formed by hems along substantially the entire edge of said sheet located with the sheet hems for overhanging substantially the entire coaming to hang over the coaming in a position between the coaming rim and the deck and being watertight of such dimensions for filling with water of enough weight and storing it to hold down the edges of the sheet over the coaming edge to seal the hatch and hold the plastic sheet in place with uniform tension while the barge is in transit encountering said in transit conditions, and including for each of the four pipe sections formed by the hems valving structure located for filling and venting the respective pipe sections disposed near opposite ends of the respective pipe sections respectively for rapidly filling one end of the pipe sections with water adjacent the barge by pumps and venting the opposite end and thereafter retaining the water therein for holding the plastic sheet in place covering the hatch, said valving structure on said pipe sections comprising a tapered section extending from each piping section at the rectangle corners, and retaining the water comprising a drawstring for substantially closing the tapered ends of the piping together with means for holding the substantially closed drawstring end of the tapered section at a level above the pipe sections formed by said hem when the pipe sections are filled with water and in place overhanging the coaming.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 56 words

A hatch cover sheet as defined in claim 1 with said rectangular shape of a length over 50 meters and a width in the order of 10 meters, and with the plastic piping comprising a folded over plastic member with a hem line to the edge of the sheet in the order of 45 cm width.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 34 words

A hatch cover sheet as defined in claim 2 wherein the hem portion of the piping overlaps the coaming rim to provide a three ply long wearing plastic bearing surface on the coaming rim.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 89 words

A hatch cover anchored by the water filled piping as defined in claim 1 including two air sock openings through the plastic sheet near opposite ends of the sheet respectively adapted for connection of an air blower therein to one said opening as an air input conduit and for controlled discharge of air from an outlet vent at a rate so that the center of the sheet may be tented to run off rainwater over the edge of the coaming by air from a blower into the input conduit.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1988-08-26	1989-02-25	1989-08-27	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1992-08-26	1993-02-25	1993-08-27	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1996-08-26	1997-02-25	1997-08-27	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Plastic sheet barge hatch cover

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