Method and apparatus of launching floats to lighten underwater conduits
US4067199A · kind A · utility
Assignees
- Compagnie Francaise Des Petroles
- Etudes Petrolieres Marines, Societe a Responsabilite Limitee
- Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne-ACB
- Compagnie Maritime D'Expertises
- Compagnie General pour les Developpements Operationnels des Richesses Sous-Marines CG Doris
- Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activites Petrolieres (E.R.A.P.) Etablissement public
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 24, 1975 |
| Grant date | Jan 10, 1978 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 24, 1995 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16L1/163
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
To enable the release and consequent recovery of a support float which supports a load, e.g. a pipe, as it is lowered to the sea bed, a marker buoy is lowered with the float to be released when the load reaches the sea bed, the marker buoy having an inflated flexible envelope which is trapped in a housing fast with the float and having an opening through which the float can escape only when it has been compressed to a predetermined extent under the effects of a predetermined hydrostatic pressure. The marker buoy is connected to the float by a cable and the float is released from the load either by operations on that cable, or on a release cable connected to the float, on appearance of the marker buoy at the water surface.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.