Floating Structure Attachment Device

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the design and application of an improved floating structure attachment device and more specifically to the design and ability of the device to secure, contain, and conveniently attach any floating marine structure to a fixed structure while providing the floating structure free lateral, pivotal, and vertical movement.

BACKGROUND

A multitude of apparatus are known to keep floating marine structures in their relative place. Typically, floating marine docks and structures use a section of pipe or tube bent, or fabricated, into a “u” shape and fixed to the floating dock or structure with screws of bolts. Another embodiment utilizes holes or openings in the dock surface wherein the dock piling is encapsulated by the dock itself. Predominantly, the floating docks or structures are located adjacent to vertical poles or piles around which the “u” shaped pipe or tube are located and are guided vertically by the upright poles. The inherent problem with the “u” shape brackets and the poles are that the narrow, inner, contact face of the bracket must leave ample space for the floating dock to travel or the bracket, or dock structure, will bind or hang up if it travels laterally or tilts axis thus impeding the travel of the floating dock or structure. The ample space needed to prevent binding allows the dock or structure, especially with docks of smaller square area to easily shift or move side to side, creating a movement hazard or making it difficult to walk or maneuver on the floating dock top surface. Another issue with the “u” shaped bracket is that it is at one point or another, contacting with the pole, causing wear of the pole and/or bracket, which in most cases, is made of aluminum or other weight saving material, to reduce weight or drag on the floating structure.

There are 4 basic types of floating docks or structures, polymer, wood, metal, and concrete. Each type has separate advantages from weight, corrosion resistance, easily workable, or strength. Each basic type shares the same characteristic of requiring to be secured so they do not float away. Floating marine docks or structures have been fixed to the earth or fixed structure in lakes, rivers and oceans by the same means as boats for eon, with ropes, chains and cable. These means provide physical attachment boat must be left with slack or looseness, in order to avoid these means from becoming entangled or bind up or if too loose travel too far away for use. The inherent problems of each method are numerous.

Carmichael U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,899 show an attempt to mitigate movement and resist rolling motion from waves and wake while allowing vertical movement of water levels. Carmichael's method uses springs to resist roll which causes increased stress on the fasteners and as with any spring, creates an opposite reaction and may actually cause the floating dock to move more as is seen with mooring whips and other types of spring action mooring devices. Also, by using compressive springs, wear of the vertical upright or piling is increased.

Saebi U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,159 shows an example of how pilings or vertical uprights are encapsulated into the structure itself with pockets or holes where extra space must be incorporated into the design to prevent the structure from binding on the vertical upright impeding movement.

Zeilinger et al. U.S. Pat. No. 7,153,064 B2 shows us an example of a pipe sleeve such as

Barnes Et al. U.S. Design Patent D826,702 S with a solid circular pipe sleeve, but in a two or more piece device for simply an easier removal or replacement sleeve or dock movement.

Kirby U.S. Pat. No. 11,008,720 B2 shows us another version of the pipe sleeve which inherently must be bigger that the vertical upright or piling, but attempts to provide a device that suggests assistance with short uprights in extreme water levels.

0009 Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 11,535,995 B2 shows a horizontally adjustable piling guide or ring which would suggest assistance with spatial imperfection in piling placement, but still must be a large guide than the vertical upright to prevent binding. Barnes U.S. Pat. No. 11,447216 B2 presents a reversal of the piling hoop or pile guide mounted to a fixed dock mating a floating dock which incorporates the larger ring or guide in reverse with horizontal adjustment.

Baluha U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,625 B1 presents the method of boat mooring utilizing a vertically movable cleat encapsulating a shaft using complementary components and of a size where binding becomes impossible, whereby the vertical movement does not require a much larger guide on a smaller vertical.

Yablon U.S. Pat. No. 10,724,197 B1 shows another mooring method on an I beam track with a carrier that slides on the fins of the I beam. This method provides vertical movement but does not provide rotational or lateral movement if too much pressure is applied sideways.

The present disclosure generally pertains to the improved design and application of an improved floating structure attachment device is proposed which incorporates a central dimensional joining structure mating a vertical structure and the laterally adjustable horizontal attachment structure wherein the vertical structure can be mounted to any surface and is typically embodied by a round shaft. The vertical shaft passes through an opening through the dimensional joining structure, on one side of the length and centered on the width of the dimensional joining structure typically embodied by a high strength UV stable polymer block of a precise determined shape and size, the opening to be larger, in an embodiment approximately 3 mm, than the vertical shaft and designed so the dimensional joining structure can travel the length of the vertical shaft freely. A horizontal member or shaft, of a variable length, passes through a larger opening in the central dimensional joining structure, but of a size that provides a determined angle of lateral tilt for said horizontal shaft. The horizontal hole in the dimensional joining structure is perpendicular to the vertical hole and through the opposing side and width of the dimensional joining structure thus creating a 4 dimensionally variable device that provides vertical movement along the vertical shaft, horizontal movement along the horizontal shaft, rotational movement around the horizontal and vertical shafts and pitch angular movement of horizontal shaft which is attached to the floating structure by means of brackets and/or plates fixed to metal standoffs that are welded or bolted to the ends of the horizontal shaft. In an embodiment, the horizontal shaft incorporates a pair of standoff arms and right-angle brackets or standoffs ended in parallel collars, typically square, through which pass an additional horizontal square shaft, of slightly smaller dimension than the collars, of a length desired dependent on floating structure being secured. Angle brackets and/or individual mounting collars are secured to the floating structure by means of conventional fastening with bolts or screws. The horizontal square shaft or gang bar slides through the individual mounting collars while also passing through the collars fixed to the standoff brackets which are secured to the opposing horizontal round shaft that passes through the dimensional joining block or structure and is fixed in position using clamping bolts or set screws. The embodied device provides adjustable horizontal movement, limits floating structure momentum while providing completely free vertical movement of the floating structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An improved floating structure attachment device comprising a vertically oriented guide member configured to be fixed to a stationary structure. The attachment device further comprises a joining block slidably mounted to the vertical member. A horizontally oriented attachment member is also provided which extends through the joining block. The attachment device further comprises at least one attachment bracket configured to secure the horizontal attachment member to a floating structure, wherein the joining block permits vertical, lateral, rotational, and angular movement, that self-levels with no spring-biased resistance. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides an improved floating structure attachment device comprising a vertical shaft which may be also referred to herein as a vertically oriented guide member. The vertically oriented guide member is configured to be secured to a fixed structure. A dimensional joining block is slidably coupled to the vertical guide member, and a horizontal shaft which may also be referred to herein as a horizontally oriented guide member extending through the joining block secured to a fixed structure.

The joining block defines the intersecting vertical and horizontal passages, which may be perpendicular, and which are dimensioned to permit controlled clearance sufficient to prevent binding while substantially limiting excess movement. The device provides four-dimensional freedom of movement including vertical translation, rotation about multiple axes, and limited angular pitch, while remaining structurally rigid and free of spring-biased elements.

In preferred embodiments, the horizontal attachment member distributes loads across one or more attachment points on the floating structure via interchangeable attachment brackets, collars, or plates. The device is configurable for use with wood, metal, polymer, composite or concrete floating structures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of view of an embodiment of the attachment device.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view illustrating a horizontal attachment member secured to a floating structure.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the joining block, guide member and attachment components.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view illustrating example of interchangeable brackets comprising collars that can incorporate a gang bar to provide one or more adjustable attachment points along sides of a floating structure.

Further advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

• • (4) piling, or representative of a, bulkhead or structure
  • (6) fasteners, which are preferably corrosion resistant
  • (8) standoff brackets for vertical guide member
  • (10) horizontal standoff arm fastener
  • (11) vertical passage
  • (12) horizontal passage
  • (14) interchangeable bracket, right-angle iteration
  • (16) interchangeable bracket fastener, e.g. lag bolt
  • (18) stringers of floating structure
  • (20) floating structure
  • (22) vertically oriented guide member
  • (24) horizontal standoff arm
  • (26) horizontal guide member locking collar, which is preferably corrosion resistant
  • (28) joining block
  • (29) overlapping rings
  • (34) horizontally oriented guide member
  • (40) interchangeable bracket, collar iteration w/locking bolt
  • (42) gang bar
  • (46) gang bar structure bracket
  • (50) floating cube dock structure
  • (52) gang bar bracket fastener, which is preferably corrosion resistant

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, the improved floating structure attachment device, generally indicated at 1, which includes a vertical guide member (22) fixed to a stationary structure (4) such as a piling, seawall, bulkhead, and engineered support. The cross section of the vertical guide member (22) may be round, square, polygonal, or otherwise profiled and is mounted to the stationary structure (4) using upper and lower standoff brackets (8) that maintain spacing from the fixed structure.

A dimensional joining block (28) of a length, width, depth, and material, to adequately support the calculated loads which will be applied in multiple dimensions upon the components of the device, is slidably mounted on the vertically oriented guide member (22) via a vertically oriented passage (11) which is sized to permit free vertical movement while maintaining minimal clearance to prevent binding and excessive lateral play. In an embodiment, the vertical oriented passage may be 3 mm larger than the outer surface of the vertical guide member (22). The joining block (28) may be formed from high-strength polymer, metal, composite, or corrosion-resistant material suitable for marine environments.

A horizontally oriented guide member (34) extends through a passage in the joining block (28). In an embodiment, the vertical passage (11) and the horizontal passage (12) are perpendicular to one another. The horizontally oriented guide member (34) may be round, square, or otherwise profiled and is configured to receive one of more standoff arms (24) terminating in interchangeable attachment brackets (14). These brackets may include plates, collars, right-angle brackets, or clamp assemblies adapted to interface with attachment points on the floating structure (20). In an embodiment, the floating structure (20) comprises a dock.

The cooperative interaction of the vertically oriented guide member (22), joining block (28), and horizontally oriented attachment member (34,24,14) provides freedom of movement in multiple dimensions, allowing the floating structure (20) to self-level relative to the changing water conditions while limiting excess vertical, horizontal, lateral, and angular movement of the device, to a predetermined range measured in millimeters rather than inches.

Unlike spring-biased or roller-biased systems, the disclosed floating structure device (1) does not store or release energy and therefore avoids oscillation, rebound forces, and accelerated wear. Loads induced by wind, waves, current, ice, and vessel impact are distributed through the horizontally oriented guide member (3) across multiple attachment points (14), reducing stress concentration and extending service life.

In an embodiment, a horizontally oriented guide member (34) has horizontal standoff arms (24) ended with interchangeable brackets (14, 46) that are adapted to mount to the specific requirements of the floating structure (20). For a floating structure (20) comprising a wood structure or frame, the interchangeable brackets (14, 46) might be an interchange bracket comprising a right angle (14) wherein the top horizontal leg of the angle might have a number clearance holes to provide for fasteners, i.e. two lag bolts (16) for securement of the horizontal plane of the floating structure (20) and the side vertical leg of the angle might have a number of clearance holes to provide for fasteners, i.e. hex bolts and nuts, preferably corrosion resistant, for securement of the vertical plane of the floating structure. In another embodiment, the interchangeable brackets (14, 46) could be a plate that attaches to either the horizontal or vertical sides of the floating structure (20). In an additional embodiment, the interchangeable brackets (14,46) for a floating structure (20) comprising multiple assembled polymer cubes, floating cube dock structure (50) with specific attachment points such as overlapping rings (29) or molded pockets (not shown) wherein the standoff arms (24) are fitted with interchangeable brackets, collar iteration with locking bolt (40) that allows a horizontally oriented gang bar (42) to utilize one of more gang bar structure brackets (46) securement of the floating structure (20) with the gang bar fastener, preferably corrosion resistant (52) inserted through the overlapping cube dock rings (29). The horizontal gar bar (52) provides the device integration of a number of gang bar structure brackets (46) thus increasing the strength and control of the floating structure (20).