FLOATING WALKWAY

Abstract: A marina assembly including a plurality of interconnected modules (11) which may be T-shaped. Each module comprises a buoyant finger portion (18) and an interconnecting walkway (17). The interconnected walkways when connected together form a continuous walkway extending between the respective finger portions.

Description: - /- FLOATING WALKWAY THIS INVENTION relates to improvements to floating walkways for bridging s ructures such as marinas and the like and to components therefor. Conventional marinas generally comprise a plurality of pens spaced apart by walkways formed of interconnected floating pontoons. Commonly each pontoon comprises suitable flotation means including steel flotation tanks, composite concrete/foam flotation tanks and other types of flotation tanks including tanks or pontoons formed of plastics material. Such pontoons are generally of box-like form whereby the top surface thereof constitutes the walkway. A disadvantage of such arrangement is that the pens so formed a enclosed on three sides so that the flow " of surface water through the pens is very restricted. This results in a total marina complex comprising many such enclosed pens which effectively encloses a body of water which is substantially stagnant. Additionally on-site assembly of the pontoons or modules is difficult since they are somewhat unstable. They are thus difficult to manouvre into place and connect to the adjacent modules. A further disadvantage associated with many present day marinas is that the pontoons have to be specially formed to the required shape and this frequently necessitated using material which require regular maintainance in order to ensure longevity. To date compressed asbestos-cement has not been widely utilized as a material for constructing floating walkways since it has not been considered as a material suited for the fabrication of flotation tanks. Furthermore, marinas generally incorporate conventional pin-type hinge joints between the respective pontoon sections and to date such hinge mechanisms have not operated totally satisfactorily in use as frequent maintainance is required to maintain the hinge joint in a working condition. Another disadvantage of conventional -3h marinas is that the walkway shapes form solid angular projections or the like which can damage a small craft which comes into contact therewith. The present invention has been devised to . 5 alleviate the above mentioned disadvantages. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will hereinafter become apparent. With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a buoyant 10 assembly for forming a floating bridging structure, said buoyant assembly including two walkway portions extending angularly to one another and there being provided buoyancy means supporting at leastone said walkway portion. Preferably the flotation means is formed as a 15 pipe or cylinder which may be made of asbestos-cement or other material as desired such as concrete or plastics material. Generally pipe formed of materials such as asbestos-cement is manufactured in relatively short lengths and in a further aspect this invention provides means 2 ( 1 for connecting pipes, such as those formed of asbestos-cement in end to end abutting relationship, the method including arranging an insert into said pipes so as to overlap the junction therebetween, said insert having external dimensions less than the corresponding internal dimensions of the pipes 25 to be joined, and inserting a grout or a bonding material into the space formed between said insert and said pipes. Suitably, the grouting material may be reinforced concrete or a synthetic resin and the concrete or grout is adapted to be passed into said space through 30. an access opening at the top of the pipes. The grout may be reinforced with reinforcing material such as reinforcing bars extending axially and reinforcing bars or a continuous bar extending substantially circumferentially around the former. It is also preferred that the grout incorporate 35 material which expands during the curing process to securely maintain the insitu cast sleeve in said space within the respective abutting ends of the pipes. In a further aspect the present invention resides in the provision of a hinge assembly which may be utilized between floating walkway sections, said hinge assembly including an elongate resilient member of substantially constant cross-sectional configuration throughout its length and including spaced bulbous portions adapted to be located in accomodating brackets fixed to respective sections to be joined. Suitably the resilient member is a rubber moulding having bulbous end portions adapted to be retained within brackets which substantially surround the respective end portions and an intermediate portion extending between said " end portions. Suitably the bulbous portions are adapted to be advanced endwise into the respective retaining brackets for retention therein. In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a method of constructing a floating bridging structure, said method including the steps of forming a plurality of buoyant assemblies as described above; launching respective buoyant assemblies, and interconnecting the buoyant assemblies to form the bridging structure. In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form of floating walkway made in accordance with the present invention and wherein; PIG 1 is a perspective view of a typical marina made in accordance with the present invention; PIG 2 is a perspective view of one module of the present marina made in accordance with Fig 1; PIG 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Pig l; FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of of Pig 1 ; FIG 5 is a perspective view of a resilient hinge member for joining together adjacent modules; FIG 6 is a plan view of one end portion of a walkway finger showing the means of location about a fixed post; FIG 7 illustrates the gangway- to walkway connection; FIG 8 is a cross-sectional view taken through a pipe •section illustrating a preferred form of joining end to end abutting pipes; and FIG 3 is an end view illustrating one method of increasing Buoyancy of the pontoons. As shown in Fig 2, a typical marina may include a main walkway assembly 10 including a plurality of floating modules 11 each interconnected by a flexible joint 12 disposed adjac- ent the flotation means 13 which supports one end of each module 11. The flotation means 13 is preferably formed from compressed asbestos-cement pipe which is utililized in this configuration as a flotation tank or pontoon 15 and which is connected to the respective T-shaped walkway section 14 by means of a plurality of upstanding brackets 16 which are through bolted to the pipe 15. For this purpose suitable plugs 20 are inserted into apertures in the asbestos-cement pontoon to receive bolts 21 to connect the brackets 16 thereto The brackets 16 are suitably formed of aluminium cast to the desired configuration. It will be seen that the pontoon 15 extends laterally from either side of the main or central walkway 17 and that finger walkways 18 are suppor¬ ted on respective opposite end portions of the pontoon. The finger walkways 18 divide the walkway assembly 10 into a - series of pens 19 at either side of the main walkway 17 whereby the craft may be moored in the individual pens 19. Furthermore it will be seen that compressible mouldings 22 extend along the outer side portions 23 of the walkway so as to extend along the outer side portions 23 of the walkway so as to prevent direct contact between a f O vessel moored in a pen and rigid portions of the walkway. The mouldings 22 is suitable riveted to the side beam 24 of the walkways and for this purpose the outer curved portion 25 thereof is apertured as spaced locations to permit access to be gained to the base flange 26 thereof to enable the latter to be drilled and secured by rivets or the like to the beam 24 as desired. It is preferred that the resilient mouldings 22 extend along the finger walkways as well as the main walkway and about the locating hoop 28 which extends about a locating pile 27. The connection between each locating pile 27 in the preferred form .has -a hexagonal cross-sectional configuration, and a locating hoop 28 as shown in Fig 6. It will be seen that there are provided three adjustable roller assemblies 29 which engage with the alternate faces of the piles 27. Each roller assembly 29 include guide rollers 30. These rollers 30 are supported on adjustable brackets 31 which project inwardly from the U-shaped locating hoop 28 and outwardly- from the end of a finger walkway 18. With this arrangement each, or alternate floating modules may be restrained for vertical movement along the piles 27. The flexible joint 12 between the adjacent central walkway sections 11 comprises a resilient moulding 31 formed of rubber or resilient plastics material and providing spaced upper and lower rectangular portions 32 and 33 which are adapted to be engaged within respective abutting walkway sections 11 in vertically spaced and opposed relationship so as to engage about the respective portions 32 and 33. The outer faces of the brackets 34 are slotted whereby the respective upper and lower rectangular portions 32 and 33 may be slid endwise into engagement therewith. The upper bracket 33 is welded to its respective walkway section 11 so that the open face faces downwards while the co-operating bracket 33 is welded to the adjacent walkway -έ- section 11 with its ppen face uppermost. The adjacent open faces of the brackets 33 are maintained in spaced apart relationship in use by the central portion 35 of the moulding 31. This portion 35 extends outwardly at each side to lie 5 between the adjacent slotted faces of the elongate brackets 34 and this central portion 35 is able to flex to a desired extend to provide the resilient connection between the adjac¬ ent walkway sections 11. The upper and lower rectangular portions 32 and 33 are each provided with a cylindrical 1 Q cutout extending therealong so as to reduce the bulk of material in the moulding and to provide a further degree of flexibility in the connection formed by the moulding 21. Of course the method of joining the walkway sections utilizing a captive resilient member as described herein is 15 not limited to such use and may be used in any application where it is desirable to provide a flexible joint between adjacent components. Additionally the method of joining the asbestos-cement pipes disclosed herein may be used in any other application as desired and of course it may also 20 be utilized for joining together pipes formed of material other than asbestos-cement, such as metal pipes or plastics or concrete pipes. The pipe lengths may be joined together using an epoxy or polyester grout or other quick setting grout suitably reinforced if desired. 25 Fig 8 illustrates a preferred form of pipe joint whereby a number of short lengths of pipe may be joined together to form a compartmented pontoon. It will be seen that the joint is formed between abutting pipes 15 and 15a by inserting a cylindrical sleeve 39 formed of material similar to the pipes 30 being joined and provided with oppositely arranged recesses 40 which,extend around eachouter face * AV-seal 41 is located in each recess 40 so that in use the V-seal engages sealably with the interior 42 • of the pipe lengths 15 and 15a. Thus an enclosed annular space 43 is formed in which a grout of epoxy material or other suitable material may b -35-inserted to make the joint. Preferably the sleeve is filled with a f OMP foam material such as polystyrene foam so as to form a water proof division between the respective interiors of the joined pipes 15 and 15a. In an alternate method of joining abutting pipes to- 5 gether a cylindrical cardboard former is supported concentrically within the adjacent abutting ends of the pipes by spacer blocks. Reinforcing wire in spiral form and in rod form is placed between the cardboard former and the inside surface of the pipes. The cardboard former 10 suitably extends between disc-like members which are glued to the interior of the pipes to form watertight bulkheads beyond which grout introduced into the space surrounding the cylindrical former cannot pass. Additionally the bulkheads divide the pontoon into a series of watertight 15 compartments so that the pontoons will not fill completely and sink if one compartment is damaged. Suitably, in the connection process each cylindrical pontoon portion is supported on a respective carriage each of which are supported on common rails. The carriages are bought 20. together in abutting relationship subsequent to the bulkheads being inserted together with the former and the necessary reinforcing wire. A filler hole is cut into the top of the pipes adjacent the junction of the pipes and the space about the former is filled with grout material. 25 The carriages are vibrated to ensure complete filling of the space by the grout. The grout suitably includes a material such as aluminium or other as desired which will cause the grout to expand on curing and force the insitu formed sleeve into tight engagement with the interior 0 surface of both pipes to effectively join the latter together. It will be seen that the main walkway 17 extends in free span form between the finger walkways 18 which are supported on the pontoon 13 whereby water may circulate 5 freely through the floating structure. Thus debris and other matter does not become trapped in the pens since it can move freely with the tide or natural flow beneath the main walkways. Furthermore, both the main walkways and the finger walkways above the floats or pontoons are spaced from their supporting structure whereby air may circulate 'freely therearound. Thus the decking is fully exposed to circulating air which provides a continuous cooling effect which alleviates the difficulty of hot decking associated with conventional marinas. A further advantage associated with the preferred embodiment of this invention is that the side decking is supported in spaced relationship with their respective pontoon floats 13 which in the preferred form have a round upper surface. As a result wave action does not crash against the pontoons and splash, up onto the deck.. The waves are dissapated as they pass over the round upper surface of the floats 13 without any splashing or impact loading on the marina structure. Of course the decking could be supported at any desired height above the floats which may be sections other than round, such as square or rectangular depending upon the location and predicted sea conditions. It will be seen from Fig 7 that access to the main decking may be gained in usual manner from a gangway 45, the upper end of which is secured pivotally to a suitable supporting structure. The lower end of the gangway 45 is suitably supported on rollers 46 engageable in spaced parallel tracks 47 extending across an intermediate float 48 which is just sufficiently long to support the weight imposed by the end of the gangway 45. The intermediate float 48 is fixed to the side rails 49 of the main walkway 17 by the use of connector brackets 50 of the same form as utilized to connect the rails 49 to the pontoons 13. A typical connection is shown in Fig 4 and it will be seen that the brackets 50 are preferably welded to the rails 49 whereafter they may be bolted to the pipe - - - as aforesaid. A piyotable coyer plate 51 is fitted to the end of the gangway to fill the gap between the gangway and the main walkway. The present invention also provides means for incorpor- 5 ating additional buoyancy to suit particular applications. This additional buoyancy may be added in the form of solid PVC pipes 44 connected to the underside of the pontoon 15 by a metal clamping strap as illustrated. In use the T-shaped modules 11 may be fully assembled 10 on land. The assembled module 11 may be then launched as a unit with temporary buoyancy means in the form of a dinghy or float supporting the end of the main walkway 17 remote from the pontoon 13. This assembly may be simply manouvered into place by attendant small boats or the like . 15 so that the main walkways are aligned at a common level to permit the hinge joint connector 12 therebetween to be placed. Further modules are added to suit. The retaining posts 27 may be pre-positioned and are placed after the modules have been accurately located. 20. The preferred form of the module as illustrated is T-shaped but of course other shapes may be used such as L-shaped or I-shaped, and of course the main walkway can extend at any desired angle to the finger walkways. Additionally reference herein to walkway is also to be 5 taken as driveways or the like. It will be understood however that all such and other modifications and variations to the described embodiments as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the present invention as is 0 defined in the appended claims.

Claims: -fe- CLAIMS: 1. A buoyant assembly for forming a floating bridging structure, said buoyant assembly including two walkway portions extending angularly to one another and there being provided buoyancy means supporting at least one said walkway portion. 2. A buoyant assembly according to Claim 1, wherein one said walkway portion constitutes a main walkway and the other said walkway portion is supported on said buoyancy means and there being provided connector means associated with the opposite ends of said main walkway whereby a plurality of said buoyant assemblies may be interconnected to form a bridging structure having a substantially continuous main walkway. 3«. A buoyant assembly according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said main walkway is integral with said other walkway portion and extends from one end adjacent said buoyancy means to its other end remote from said buoyancy means. 4. A buoyant assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said other walkway portion extends at right angles to said main walkway. 5. A buoyant assembly according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein said other walkway portion is supp¬ orted in spaced relationship above said buoyancy means. 6. A buoyant assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said other walkway portion is provided with locating means co-operable with a fixed pile to locate said buoyant assembly. 7. A buoyant assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the normally exposed portion of said buoyancy means is substantially part-cylindrical. 8. A buoyant assembly according to Claim 6, wherein said buoyancy means is a pipe-like structure formed from asbestos cement. 9. A bridging structure including a plurality of operatively interconnected buoyant assemblies as defined in any one of the preceding claims. 10. A bridging " structure according to Claim 9, wherein each said buoyant assembly is as defined in any one of « Claims 4-6, and wherein a said other walkway portion is retained for movement in a substantially vertical direction. 11. A bridging structure according to Claim 10, wherein at least one end of selected other walkway portions are provided with guide means adapted for operative location about substantially vertically extending piles or the like. 12. A bridging structure according to any one of Claims 9 to 11, wherein said buoyant assemblies are interconnected- by respective resilient coupling members. 13. A bridging structure according to Claim 12 , wherein each said coupling member is a resilient elongate member of substantially constant cross-sectional configuration throughout its length and including spaced bulbous portions adapted to be located in respective bracket means affixed to said buoyant assemblies. 14. A method of constructing a floating bridging structure including the steps of forming a plurality of buoyant assemblies as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 8; launching respective buoyant assemblies, and interconnecting the buoyant assemblies to form the bridging structure. 15. A method according to Claim 14, wherein the buoyant assemblies are as defined in Claim 3, the method further including steps of te porarilly supporting the said remote end of said main walkway on removable buoyancy means; floating the respective buoyant assemblies into position; operatively positioning the remote end of said main walkway such that it is substantially co-planar with a positioned walkway, and interconnecting said buoyant assemblies by a resilient coupling member. 16. A method of interconnecting pipes in end to end abutting relationship, the method including arranging an insert into said pipes so as to overlap the junction therebetween, said insert having external dimensions less than the co * rresponding internal dimensions of the pipes to be joined, and inserting a grout or a bonding material into the space formed between said insert and said pipes. 17. A method according to Claim 16, wherein said insert is provided with resilient sealing means at its opposite ends adapted to engage in sealing relationship with the respective internal surfaces of said pipes to enclose the space formed between said insert and said pipes. 18. A method according to Claim 16 or Claim 17, wherein said grout is an epoxy resin. 19. A pontoon assembly including a plurality of pipes joined in end to end abutting relationship by the method as defined in any one of Claims 16-18, whererein said insert is so formed as to sealably divide the interior of adjacent pipe sections from one another. 20. A marina structure including a main walkway spanning space buoyancy means, the latter being of elongate form and extending laterally of said main walkway. 21. A marina according to Claim 20, wherein said buoyancy means is formed from asbestos-cement pipes and there is provided a secondary walkway supported in spaced relationship above said pipe. 22. A marina substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: BAILLIE DAVID HENRY, FRANKHAM ROBERT PAUL, BAILLIE, DAVID, HENRY, FRANKHAM, ROBERT, PAUL
Applicants: BOCAR HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BOCAR HOLDINGS PTY. LTD.
Application year: 1982
Main classification: E01D15
IPC codes: E01D15, E01D101, E02B3