Patent Publication Number: US-6901877-B1

Title: Foam block replacement barge

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a foam block replacement barge that is designed for use in replacing foam block floatation material that is employed to support floating docks, marinas, and boat houses commonly found on inland lakes and rivers. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Floating docks, marinas, and boat houses can be found in abundance on inland lakes and rivers. The floating structures are supported on the water by employing a plurality of blocks of floatation material that are secured together and onto which the floating structures are built using conventional methods. The most common type of floatation material is foam blocks. Although these foam blocks come in various sizes, the normal size is 2 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 8 feet long. 
   Over time, these foam blocks deteriorate due chiefly to the action of light, water and physical abrasion on the blocks. As the blocks deteriorate, they gradually lose their ability to support the floating structure that is built on top of them. For this reason, it is necessary to periodically replace one or more of the foam blocks that support a floating structure. 
   However, replacing the foam blocks is not an easy task. Obviously, the floating structure that is supported by the foam blocks can not be raised or removed to get to the foam blocks. And because the blocks are buoyant, they can not easily be pulled downward in the water to extract them from their position under the floating structure. To more easily remove the blocks, they can be cut into smaller pieces and then the pieces can be removed. However, if the blocks are cut, this causes debris from the old blocks to be released into the water. Also, if the old foam blocks have been successfully removed from under the floating structure, the new blocks must then be pulled downward in the water to insert them under the floating structure in the space that the old blocks had previously occupied. 
   To remove the older blocks and insert new blocks requires that a diver go under the floating structure and attach cables to the blocks to remove the old blocks and then again to guide the new blocks into place under the floating structure that is supported by the blocks. In cooler climates, the cold temperature of the water can make this an uncomfortable job for the diver and can also limit the periods during the year when this job can be done. This makes removal and replacement of the foam blocks a time consuming and expensive operation. 
   Because of the difficulty in both removing the old blocks and then inserting new replacement block, currently old blocks are rarely removed. Instead, new blocks are normally added at the sides of existing blocks. This is done by first adding additional angle iron runners or track for the new block to slide into and adding a metal frame to the new block. Then the new block is moved along the runners by using a winch to pull the block under the runners and into position so that the new block helps to support the structure. 
   One problem with this method of adding new blocks to the existing older blocks is that the floatation base becomes wider and wider until the base limits access to the floating structure via the water. 
   Another problem with the current method is that because the old blocks are not removed from the floating structure, the old blocks gradually deteriorate. The old blocks are ugly and detract from the appearance of the structure. The deteriorating blocks with eventually break into pieces that will drift out into the body of water, thereby adding to the debris that is floating on the water and that accumulates on the shore of the body of water. 
   Still another problem with the current method is that these deteriorating old blocks tend to become waterlogged and loose their buoyancy, thus becoming less and less able to support the floating structure. As the deteriorating old blocks lose their ability to support the floating structure, the floating structure actually sinks lower and lower into the water. When blocks become waterlogged, their reduced ability to support the floating structure can let the metal framework of the floating structure sink below the water line. This accelerates the process of rusting and corrosion, and if allowed to remain in this condition, can eventually damage the floating structure to the point that it is too costly to repair and must be dismantled and removed from the water. 
   A further problem is that older types of foam blocks are susceptible to chemical degradation by fuel used by boats that accidentally is spilled into the water. When the fuel contacts the unprotected float blocks, the foam melts at the water level. Newer plastic coated or encapsulated foam blocks are much more resistant to chemical attack by fuel that may have been spilled in the water. Those newer types of encapsulated foam blocks are also less likely to become waterlogged. 
   The present invention addresses these problems by providing a barge with a float sinker that is able to easily grasp and remove old blocks of foam from under a floating structure and replace them with new foam blocks. One advantage of the present invention is that the operator of the barge replaces foam blocks while remaining safely on the deck of the barge. The barge is provided with a boom that extends between the float sinker and the barge so that the float sinker can be remotely maneuvered and operated by the operator who is located on the deck of the barge. Because the operator is not required to enter the water in order to replace foam blocks, the season during which replacement work can be done is greatly extended. Using the present invention, the replacement procedure can be performed at any time that the weather is not threatening and the water is not frozen. 
   Another advantage of the present invention is that foam blocks can be quickly and easily located and positioned under a floating structure by use of the float sinker. The barge is provided with a float sinker with arms for releasably grasping the blocks. The float sinker can be flooded to pull the blocks downward in the water and the water can be pushed out of the float sinker to allow the blocks to again rise to the surface. 
   Still a further advantage of the present invention is that the barge makes the removal and replacement of old foam blocks fast and economical, thus enabling the owner of the floating structure to afford to replace old blocks instead of allowing them to remain in the water where they fall apart and add to the floating debris on the water. 
   Another advantage of the present invention is that it is designed with plates on its clamp arms that allow it to hold and to install the new encapsulated blocks with minimal side squeezing force exerted on the block, thereby reducing the chance of cracking the encapsulating plastic shell of this type of floatation block. 
   Still another advantage of the present invention is that the float sinker can be detached from the barge and loaded onto the deck of the barge for transport, allowing the barge to be transported on a trailer from one location to another. This enables a single barge to service floating structures that are located on more than one body of water. This increases the customer base for each barge, making the barge more profitable and thereby further reducing the cost for replacing foam blocks for any one floating structure. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is a barge for replacing foam blocks that support floating structures, such as floating docks, marinas, and boat houses commonly found on inland lakes and rivers. The barge is self contained, including propellers for moving the barge in the water and for guiding the motion of the barge as it moves through the water. The barge is also provided with a motor that provides the hydraulic fluid to operate the barge and its associated float sinker. 
   The barge is provided with a float sinker that removably attaches to the barge via a boom. The float sinker can be detached from the barge and loaded onto the deck of the barge for transport, or alternately, the float sinker can be attached for use to the barge via the boom. The float sinker can be moved from side to side by moving the boom from side to side. Also, the float sinker can be rotated by employing a hydraulic motor located at the bottom of the float sinker for this purpose. 
   The float sinker has clamp arms with movable flat plates for releasably grasping the blocks. The float sinker is provided with hollow chambers that can be flooded as a means for pulling the blocks downward in the water and has means for expelling the water from the chambers in order to allow the blocks to again rise to the surface of the water. 
   The barge is provided with controls so that an operator can operate the barge and can remotely operate the float sinker from the deck of the barge. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a top plan view of a foam block replacement barge constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, shown with its float sinker in its non-deployed position resting on the barge table provided on the deck of the barge. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 2  showing the barge table moving forward on the barge in anticipation of deploying the float sinker. 
       FIG. 4  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 3  showing the barge table tilted forward and showing the float sinker beginning to float on the water as it is deployed off of the barge table. 
       FIG. 5  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 4  showing the boom of the float sinker boom segment attached to the boom rotator segment provided on the front and bottom of the barge. 
       FIG. 6  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 5  showing the landing gear on the float sinker retracted against the bottom of the float sinker and the float sinker rotated horizontally 180 degrees, placing the float sinker in its deployed position. 
       FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 6  showing the two rotational capabilities of the float sinker. 
       FIG. 8  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 7  showing the removable control center attached to the front of the deck and showing the float sinker raised in order to secure a new foam block between the clamp arms of the float sinker. 
       FIG. 9  is a partially cut away side view of the foam block replacement barge of  FIG. 8  showing the float sinker and attached foam block submerged below the water level. 
       FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the float sinker. 
       FIG. 11  is an end view of the float sinker of  FIG. 10  taken along line  11 — 11 . 
       FIG. 12  is a side view of the float sinker of  FIG. 10  taken along line  12 — 12 . 
       FIG. 13  is a side view of the float sinker with the clamp arms and landing gear removed. 
       FIG. 14  is a cross sectional view of the float sinker of  FIG. 13  taken along line  14 — 14 . 
       FIG. 15  is an enlarged view of one of the clamp arms showing its flat locking plate and the hydraulic cylinder that moves the locking plate. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is illustrated a barge  10  that is constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The barge  10  is designed for replacing foam blocks  12  that support floating structures (not illustrated), such as floating docks, marinas, and boat houses commonly found on inland lakes and rivers. The barge  10  is provided internally with several bulkheads  11  to prevent the barge  10  from sinking in the event the barge  10  becomes damaged. The barge  10  is self contained, and includes propellers  14  for moving the barge  10  in the water  16  and for guiding the motion of the barge  10  as it moves through the water  16 . The propellers  14  are powered by propeller motors  15 . The barge  10  is also provided with a motor  18  that provides the hydraulic fluid to operate equipment on the barge  10  and equipment on its associated float sinker  20 , as will be described more fully hereafter. In the interest of making the illustrations more clear, the hydraulic lines have been omitted from the illustrations since connection of hydraulic lines is commonly known technology. 
   The barge  10  is provided with an associated float sinker  20  that is removably attachable to the barge  10  via a boom  22 . The float sinker  20  can be detached from the barge  10  and loaded onto a barge table  24  provided on a deck  26  of the barge  10  for transport, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  which illustrate the float sinker  20  in its non-deployed, transport position  28 . 
   Alternately, the float sinker  20  can be lowered into the water  16  and attached for use to the barge  10  via the boom  22 .  FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate the float sinker  20  being deployed from its non-deployed, transport position  28  into the water  16  from the barge table  24 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the barge table  24  is moved forward on table rollers  30  that support the barge table  24  on the deck  26  of the barge  10 . Before the barge table  24  is moved forward and tilted, a winch cable  32  is attached to a float sinker boom segment  34  of the boom  22 . The winch cable  32  is secured to a hydraulic winch  36  that attaches to the deck  26  of the barge  10  just behind the barge table  24 . The winch cable  32  is passed through a roller fairlead  37  that removably attaches to the barge table  24  to prevent the cable  32  from being pinched as it is used to deploy the float sinker  20 . The winch cable  32  serves first to hold the float sinker  20  on the barge table  24  as the barge table  24  is moved forward relative to the barge  10  and then as a front end  38  of the barge table  24  is tilted downward by a hydraulic barge table cylinder  40  located under the barge table  24 . The barge table  24  is attached to the barge  10  at a pivot point  42  and the barge table  24  pivots at this pivot point  42  in response to activation of the hydraulic barge table cylinder  40 . 
   The winch cable  32  is thereafter gradually released from the hydraulic winch  36 , thereby controlling the descent of the float sinker  20  as it enters the water  16 , as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Leg rollers  44  are provided on the lower end  46  of each of four legs  48  of the landing gear  50 . The leg rollers  44  serve to support the float sinker  20  above the barge table  24  when the float sinker  20  is resting on the barge table  24  and serve to allow the float sinker  20  to smoothly roll down the tilted barge table  24  during deployment. 
   Also, once the float sinker  20  is floating on the water  16 , the winch cable  32  remains attached to the float sinker boom segment  34  while the barge table  24  is once again returned to its non-deployed, transport position  28  on the deck  26  of the barge  10  by again activating the hydraulic barge table cylinder  40 . By remaining attached to the float sinker boom segment  34 , the winch cable  32 , thereby prevents the float sinker  20  from floating away from the barge  10 . The winch cable  32  remains attached to the float sinker boom segment  34  until the operator is ready to attach the float sinker boom segment  34  to a boom rotator segment  52  of the boom  22  that is provided on the front end  54  of the barge  10 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates the float sinker boom segment  34  on the boom  22  of the float sinker  20  being attached to the boom rotator segment  52  provided on the front end  54  of the barge  10 . When not in use, the boom rotator segment  52  is secured in a recessed area  56  at the front end  54  of the barge  10 . Although not illustrated, a detachable step can be attached to the front end  54  of the barge  10  for the operator to stand on while he connects together the boom rotator segment  52  and the float sinker boom segment  34  to thereby join together the boom  22 . The detachable step (not illustrated) provides the operator a stable platform on which to stand and provides easier access while assembling the boom  22 . To prevent shoes and clothing from becoming wet while connecting the boom  22 , the operator must wear a pair of fishing waders while standing on the detachable step, since the step is at or slightly below the level of the water  16 . At the same time the operator is attaching the boom  22  together, he will also attach the necessary hydraulic and air lines that connect between the barge  10  and the float sinker  20 . 
     FIG. 6  illustrates the float sinker  20  with its landing gear  50  raised and with the float sinker  20  in its fully deployed, in use position  58 , i.e. after the float sinker  20  has been rotated 180 degrees from the orientation illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Although not illustrated, an extension boom can be added between the boom rotator segment  52  and the float sinker boom segment  34  as a means of lengthening the boom  22  when additional boom length is needed. 
   The boom rotator segment  52  attaches to the barge  10  via an articulating joint  60  that allows the boom  22  to move freely upward and downward. This joint  60  is a safety feature that prevents the barge  10  from being capsized in the event that the float sinker  20  would suddenly sink in the water  16 , such as might occur if the float sinker were to lose air pressure to its floatation chambers  62 A and  62 B. As illustrated in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , there is also a second articulating joint  65  provided between the float sinker boom segment  34  and a boom segment  64  that allows the float sinker  20  to move upward and downward in the water  16  while allowing the boom segment  64  to remain approximately horizontal. The boom segment  64  attaches on one end to the float sinker boom segment  34  and on an opposite end to a hydraulic rotator motor  66  provided on a bottom  68  of the float sinker  20 . 
     FIGS. 10 and 11  show the landing gear  50  in more detail, including the hydraulic landing gear cylinder  70  that attaches to and serves to deploy and retract the legs  48  of the landing gear  50 . These figures also show the leg rollers  44  provided on the lower end  46  of each of the four retractable legs  48 . The purpose of the landing gear  50  is to support the float sinker  20  as it rests on the barge table  24  and to assist in loading and unloading the float sinker  20  from the barge table  24 . The legs  48  of the landing gear  50  must be retracted against the bottom  68  of the float sinker  20  so they are out of the way of the boom  22  when the barge  10  is in use so that the float sinker  20  can be rotated by the boom  22  and by the hydraulic rotator motor  66  that is also located on the bottom  68  of the float sinker  20 . 
     FIG. 7  illustrates how the float sinker  20  can be moved from side to side, as shown by the position of the float sinker  20  associated with numerals  72 L and  72 R, relative to the barge  10  by moving the boom  22  from side to side. A hydraulic boom cylinder  73  provided on the barge  10  rotates a rotary segment  74  that attaches via the joint  60  to the boom rotator segment  52  and thereby moves the boom  22  and the attached float sinker  20  from side to side. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 , and  7 , the barge  10  is preferably provided with a triangular shaped indented area  76  at the front end  54  of the barge  10 . The rotary segment and joint  60  are located in the triangular shaped indented area  76  which allows the boom  22  to rotate freely left and right relative to the barge  10  without having the boom  22  coming into contact with the hull  78  of the barge  10 . 
     FIG. 7  also illustrates how the float sinker  20  can be rotated by actuating the hydraulic rotator motor  66  that is provided at the bottom  68  of the float sinker  20  for this purpose. The hydraulic rotator motor  66  rotates the float sinker  20  relative to the boom  22 . Together by moving the boom  22  left or right via activation of the hydraulic boom cylinder  73  and by rotating the float sinker  20  relative to the boom via activation of the hydraulic rotator motor  66 , the operator can maneuver the float sinker  20  under a floating structure to properly position it so that it can remove and replace foam blocks  12  from under the floating structure. 
   Also, the propellers  14  that are provided on the barge  10  can, in addition to their normal function of steering the barge  10 , be used separately or together to simultaneously move both the barge  10  and float sinker  20  forward or backward or be used to simultaneously turn both the barge  10  and the float sinker  20  left or right in the water  16 . 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the float sinker  20  has a pair of movable clamp arms  80 , with each clamp arm  80  provided at an upper end  82  with a movable flat plate  84  for releasably grasping a foam block  12 . Each clamp arm  80  is attached to and actuated by a hydraulic clamp arm cylinder  86 . This is best illustrated in  FIG. 12 . Also, each movable flat plate  84  is attached to and actuated by a hydraulic plate cylinder  88 . This is best illustrated in  FIGS. 11 and 15 . 
     FIGS. 10 ,  13  and  14  show the float sinker  20  in more detail. The float sinker  20  is provided with two hollow chambers  62 A and  62 B that can be flooded, respectively, via water openings  90 A and  90 B provided in the bottom  68  of the float sinker  20 . Flooding the chamber  62 A and  62 B adds sufficient weight to the float sinker  20  to allow the float sinker  20  to move downward in the water  16  and thereby serves as a means for pulling an attached foam block  12  downward in the water  16 . 
   Each chamber  62 A and  62 B of the float sinker  20  is provided with an air line  92 A and  92 B that supplies air to and from the chambers  62 A and  62 B, respectively, from an air pump  94  provided on the barge  10  as a means of controlling admission of water  16  into the chambers  62 A and  62 B and as a means of expelling water  16  from the chambers  62 A and  62 B. When the water  16  is expelled from the chambers  62 A and  62 B, the float sinker  20  becomes buoyant enough to allow the float sinker  20  and an attached foam block  12  to again rise to the surface of the water  16 . In the interest of making the drawings easy to understand, air line connections between the air pump  94  and the air lines  92 A and  92 B on the float sinker  20  have been omitted from the illustrations, and also, hydraulic connections between the motor  18  on the barge  10  and the float sinker  20  have been omitted from the illustrations. The two chambers  62 A and  62 B can be selectively and independently flooded to allow the operator to control and balance the descent and ascent of the float sinker  20  and the attached foam block  12  as they move downward and upward in the water  16 . 
   The barge  10  is provided with two sets of controls  96 P and  96 R so that an operator can operate the barge  10  and can remotely operate the float sinker  20  from the deck  26  of the barge  10 .  FIG. 1  illustrates the location of the permanent set of controls  96 P that are used by the operator when the barge  10  is in its non-deployed transport position  28 , and  FIGS. 1 ,  8 , and  9  illustrate the location of the removable set of operator controls  96 R that are employed when the barge  10  is in it deployed, in use position  58 . 
   While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for the purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.