Patent ID: 7712428

Claim:
A modular adjustable buoyancy floating construction to be used on water surfaces in general, for launching and testing cables and pipes and for supporting barring dams, for preventing polluting liquids from diffusing into water, said modular floating construction comprising a plurality of removably intercoupled floating bodies, each said floating body being a plastic material hollow floating body adapted to be filled by water and/or a gas, and having bottom bearing projections and top recesses for engaging therein a supporting framework, said supporting framework comprising, a plurality of top cross members engaged in said top recesses and including vertical restraining elements laterally engaging with and adjoining said floating bodies, said framework further comprising removable coupling means for removably coupling pipes or cables, said removable coupling means including a plurality of recessed portions made of a metal sheet material coupled to a cross member thereby defining a coupling seat for a respective pipe, said modular floating construction further comprising removable locking means for locking a respective pipe, said removable locking means being adapted to be operated from outside and being arranged in said removable coupling means, said removable locking means comprising a hydraulic cylinder driving a looking pin element engaging in a seat defined on a gusset element directly welded on said respective pipe, said modular floating construction also comprising an outer central unit actuating said hydraulic cylinder to drive said pin to launch said pipe onto said water surface, wherein each said floating body comprises a plurality of longitudinal compartments and cross compartments of elliptical cross-sections and cooperating stiffening and reinforcement inner elements, wherein said floating body further comprises a plurality of longitudinal recesses for housing therein corresponding longitudinal bars, including coupling brackets cooperating to form a top metal platform of said modular floating construction, and wherein said modular floating construction further comprises a plurality of longitudinal section elements cooperating with said longitudinal bars to form said top metal platform of said modular floating construction.