Protective skirt for an iceberg
US4289423A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 20, 1979 |
| Grant date | Sep 15, 1981 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 20, 1999 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB63B35/086
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A protective skirt for a tabular iceberg (10) comprises a string of floating posts which support an upper protective portion near the water line. This portion is constituted by flexible panels (12) which provide both thermal protection and mechanical protection against wave action. Certain posts (e.g. A, B and F) include vertically arranged furling drums for winding-in the panels (12) attached thereto in order to fit the length of the skirt around the perimeter of iceberg. The skirt also includes a lower protective portion (e.g. spans 50, 52, 54) which is suspended from below the floating posts. This portion need only provide thermal protection since it is suspended below the deepest expected wave troughs. It is too large (e.g. 200 m) in the vertical direction for it to be conveniently wound-in on furling drums like the upper protective portion. In order to accommodate changes in the perimeter of the upper portion it is therefore split vertically and adjacent spans allowed to overlap by a variable amount using an auxiliary float moored some way along the upper portion.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.