Hydraulic and earth engineering – Marine structure or fabrication thereof – Structure protection
Patent
1986-10-07
1988-03-29
Corbin, David H.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Marine structure or fabrication thereof
Structure protection
267140, E02B 322
Patent
active
047339926
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a fender adapted to be mounted on a quay to absorb the shocks of a vessel making fast at quayside. Such fenders frequently are elongate and have an arched cross section, i.e. the fenders have an essentially U-shaped cross section in the mounted state, the legs of said U-shaped cross section having attachments for anchoring to a base. Together with the web of said U-shaped cross section, the legs constitute the shock-absorbing part of the fender, a part which usually is made of elastomer material. In the past, fender design has been highly diversified. In many cases, the fenders have been manufactured with a shock-absorbing part in the form of a closed profile, as will be seen from U.S. patent specification Nos. 2,935,855, 3,418,815, 3,443,351, 3,507,123, 3,563,525, 3,680,851 and 3,690,280. However, production difficulties are encountered in making the shock-absorbing part in the form of a closed or hose-shaped profile, and it has therefore also been suggested that the fenders be manufactured in the form of loose parts that are put together. Examples of such constructions are disclosed by U.S. patent specification Nos. 3,533,242 and 3,788,082. Although the production of such fenders is simplified, assembly is more difficult in that a number of loose parts must be put together.
U.S. patent specification No. 3,508,744 discloses another type of the arched fender in which the U-shaped cross section is made in one piece. The legs of this fender are of different thickness in that they have a relatively thick portion adjacent the web and a relatively thin portion adjacent the mounting end, and on the inside of the U-shaped cross section a buckling indication is provided at the boundary between the thick and the thin portion. A fender of this design functions satisfactorily but suffers from the considerable disadvantage that it must be manufactured in special moulds which are expensive.
The basic concept of the present invention is different in that it proposes a fender to be manufactured in planar configuration and to be folded to U-shaped cross section on mounting. Like prior art fenders, the fender according to the present invention comprises a shock-absorbing part made of elastomer material and having an essentially U-shaped cross section in the mounted state. However, the fender according to the invention is manufactured in planar configuration and folded into U-shaped cross section on mounting. To make folding possible and to provide both an equalisation of tensile stresses and an increase of the transfer of forces between the webs and the legs of the U-shaped cross section, longitudinal slots are formed on the inside of said U-shaped cross section at the transition between the web and the legs. To provide for said transfer of forces, the mouth edges of the slot have been formed with supporting surfaces which are brought into contact with one another when the fender is mounted. To this end, the mouth edges of the slot may be bevelled to form said supporting surfaces. The slot preferably has such a depth that a longitudinal open channel is left at the bottom of the slot after the supporting surfaces have been brought into contact with one another. Such a longitudinal slot provides for better equalisation of the tensile stresses occurring in the fender material on folding.
The use of fold lines to enable mounting of shock-absorbing elements along curved surfaces is previously known from U.S. patent specification No. 3,684,272. In this prior art fender or shock-absorber, the fold lines extend transversely of an elongate parallelepipedal body which is bent across a curved surface and attached thereto by means of protruding fastening means. This U.S. patent specification therefore does not disclose the same technical concept as the present invention.
The characteristic features of the fender according to the present invention are stated in the main claim, the subclaims defining especially preferred embodiments of the fender according to the invention.
An embodiment of the fender ac
REFERENCES:
patent: 3820495 (1974-06-01), Ueda
patent: 4285616 (1981-08-01), Evetts
Corbin David H.
Trelleborg AB
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