Ship to platform transformer
US6341573B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 9, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jan 29, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 9, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB63H25/46
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A ship convertible to a floating aircraft runway supported above water level by slender vertical buoyant legs, and capable of remaining stable during inclement weather conditions. The slender buoyant legs lifts the upper hull above the water level by pivoting downwardly from a retracted horizontal configuration to a vertical configuration by shifting ballast. Waterjet propulsion units maintain or change the position of the ship when the legs are in the horizontal or the vertical configuration. The runway has an area sized to launch and land large fixed-wing aircraft in a substantially horizontal direction without a need for a catapult or a landing assist method.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.