Patent ID: 8262320

Claim:
A pipeline weight made from a flexible material and having a generally arch-like configuration, said pipeline weight comprising: (a) a pair of leg sections, each leg section having a floor panel, a pair of opposing endwalls, an inner sidewall extending between said endwalls, and an outer sidewall extending between said endwalls opposite the inner sidewall; (b) a central section extending between the inner sidewalls of the leg sections, said central section having opposing endwalls plus a floor panel extending between the endwalls of the central section at a level higher than the floor panels of the leg sections; (c) an open-topped top section extending above the leg sections and the central section, said top section having a pair of opposing sidewalls contiguous with the sidewalls of the corresponding leg sections, and a pair of opposing endwalls contiguous with the corresponding endwalls of the leg sections and the central section; (d) first tie means extending between the inner and outer sidewalls of each leg section; and (e) on each side of the pipeline weight, a plurality of loading loops attached to the inner face of either the corresponding top section sidewall or the corresponding leg section outer sidewall, at or near the juncture between said top section sidewall and leg section outer sidewall; wherein: (f) the top section is in fluid communication with the leg sections and the central section, such that a flowable ballast material introduced into the top section through its open top will readily flow into the leg sections and the central section; and (g) the first tie means is effective to maintain said inner and outer sidewalls of each leg section generally parallel to each other when the leg sections are filled with a flowable ballast material.