AU2015202888A1 - Platform Edge Structure - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract An edge structure for a jetty or dock or floating marina platform. The structure has a 5 horizontally aligned thin-walled plank-shaped beam having a constant cross-section comprising: - two wide external vertical walls, - two narrower external horizontal walls forming respectively a top wall and a bottom wall, 10 - a rear said vertical wall fastened by threaded main fasteners to an edge of a main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform, and - a front said vertical wall facing away from said main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform. The beam comprises a thin-walled profile having two internal reinforcing webs which 15 extend from the front wall to the rear wall. A first said web extends substantially horizontally from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially rectangular upper channel within the upper portion of the beam. A second web extends from the front wall to the rear wall to form a lower channel within the lower portion of the beam and a central channel between the first and second webs. The threaded main 20 fasteners pass horizontally from the central channel through the rear wall.

Description

PLATFORM EDGE STRUCTURE

Technical Field

This invention concerns jetties, docks and marina platforms and, in particular, structures which form their edges.

Background

This invention concerns the structure of the edge of a jetty or dock or floating marina platform as used predominantly for recreational watercraft. A common construction for a floating dock for a marina comprises floating reinforced concrete modules (floats) linked together by structural beams mounted along the sides of the floats and with the top edges of the beams flush with the deck of the float modules. The beams are attached to the floats by long rods, threaded at their ends which span the width of the float. The structure is described in US patent no 2,857,872. The structural beams are commonly called walers and, in addition to their primary role of strongly joining the floats together with some flexibility therebetween to provide for movement under wave action, they protect the concrete float from impact from watercraft while also providing a less damaging impact upon the watercraft. Protective rubber fenders are usually provided on the walers to assist with impact absorption.

Walers have traditionally been a timber beam, usually of select hardwood for the necessary strength and longevity, with dimensions around 200 mm deep, 100 mm thick and over 3 metres long. But such timber is becoming increasingly expensive and, with exposure to the sea elements, decay and splinter over time leading to a safety issue for people boarding and alighting from boats. The beams’ location over water, and their substantial weight, makes their installation and replacement an awkward and potentially dangerous activity.

An aim of the present invention is to provide an alternative edge structure which overcomes these difficulties.

The edge structure can be used for jetties and docks which are fixed rather than floating.

Summary of Invention

Accordingly, in one aspect the invention provides an edge structure for a jetty or dock or floating marina platform, said edge structure comprising: - a horizontally aligned thin-walled plank-shaped beam having a constant cross-section comprising: - two wide external vertical walls, - two narrower external horizontal walls forming respectively a top wall and a bottom wall, - a rear said vertical wall fastened by threaded main fasteners to an edge of a main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform, and - a front said vertical wall facing away from said main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform, and - a fender comprising a strip of cushioning affixed lengthwise along said front wall, and wherein: - said beam comprises a thin-walled profile having two internal reinforcing webs which extend from the front wall to the rear wall, - a first said web extends substantially horizontally from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially rectangular upper channel within the upper portion of the beam, - a second said web extends from the front wall to the rear wall to form a lower channel within the lower portion of the beam and a central channel between the first and second webs, and - said threaded main fasteners pass horizontally from the central channel through the rear wall.

Said second web may extend from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially triangular said lower channel and a substantially triangular said central channel. Alternatively said second web may extend substantially horizontally from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially rectangular said lower channel and a substantially rectangular said central channel.

Preferably said front wall carries an aperture corresponding to each of said main fasteners whereby a tool may be inserted through the aperture to tighten said respective main fastener against said rear wall.

Preferably two of said beams having the same cross section are joined end to end using a rigid elongate member which slides as a neat fit into corresponding said channels in connecting ends of said two beams.

Two of said beams having the same cross section may be joined end to end using two rigid elongate members of the same cross section which slide as a neat fit into corresponding said upper and lower channels in connecting ends of said two beams. Said upper and lower channels preferably have a rectangular cross section whose height is less than the distance from the front wall to the rear wall.

Preferably a mooring line attachment means upstanding from said top wall is fastened to said beam or beams by threaded fasteners which pass vertically through the beam or beams. Preferably said threaded fasteners attaching said mooring attachment means to the beam pass vertically through the top and bottom walls and the two webs, and through any said elongate members therein. Said mooring line attachment means may be a cleat adapted for fastening a watercraft to said jetty, dock or platform.

In another aspect the invention provides a thin-walled plank-shaped beam adapted for use as an edge for a jetty, dock or floating marina platform, said beam comprising a fibre-reinforced plastics pultrusion of constant cross section, said cross section comprising: - two wide external walls and two narrow external walls together forming a generally rectangular perimeter, - a hollow centre except for two internal reinforcing webs, - a first said web extending from a first of said wide walls to the second of said wide walls to form a substantially rectangular first channel within a first end of the cross section, - the second said web extending from the first of said wide walls to the second of said wide walls to form a substantially rectangular second channel within the second end of the cross section, and - a substantially rectangular third channel between said first and second webs.

Preferably said beam has a cross section wherein said rectangular first and second channels are elongated in the direction perpendicular to said wide walls.

Preferably said beam has a cross section wherein said rectangular third channel is elongated in the direction perpendicular to said narrow walls.

Preferably said beam has a cross section wherein one of said wide walls is thickened between said webs. Preferably said thickened wall is thickened outwards between said webs.

In a further aspect the present invention provides a floating marina platform comprising a series of floating modules joined together along their sides by edge structures as defined above.

Tn a further aspect the present invention provides a floating marina platform comprising a series of floating modules joined together along their sides by beams as defined above.

Brief Description of Drawings

In order that the invention may be more folly understood there will now be described, by way of example only, preferred embodiments and other elements of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings where:

Figure 1 is a plan view of portion of the edge of a floating marina platform incorporating an edge structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the portion shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the portion shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a partially exploded view of an assembled portion of the platform shown in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross section view of portion of the edge of the platform shown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a cross section view of a beam shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a plan view of portion of the edge of a floating marina platform incorporating an edge structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a front view of the platform portion shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a cross section view of portion of the edge of a platform incorporating the edge structure shown in Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a cross section view of a beam used on the edge of the platform shown in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a cross section view of an insert used for connecting two beams of the type shown in Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a perspective view of portion of the edge of a floating marina platform incorporating an edge structure according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 13 is an exploded view of the edge portion shown in Figure 12;

Figure 14 is a cross section view of a beam used for the platform edge shown in Figure 12;

Figure 15 is a cross section view of portion of the platform edge shown in Figure 13; and

Figure 16 is an exploded cross section view of the components shown in Figure 15.

The reference numerals assigned to the features of the embodiments shown in Figures 7 to 11 are exactly 100 greater than the equivalent features of the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 6. The reference numerals assigned to the features of the embodiments shown in Figures 12 to 16 are exactly 200 greater than the equivalent features of the embodiments shown in Figures 1 to 6.

Description of Embodiments of the Invention

The edge structure 10 illustrated by Figures 1 to 6 forms part of a floating marina platform 12 comprising a series of floating reinforced concrete modules 16 joined together by horizontally aligned plank-shaped beams 14 mounted along the sides of the float modules 15 and affixed to the body 16 of each floating module by means of main fasteners 18.

The main fasteners 18 comprise stainless steel threaded bolts 39 which extend across the width of the platform and which are tensioned by nuts 40 and washers 41.

Each beam 14 is plank-like being generally rectangular in cross section and has a wide, flat vertical rear wall 20 forming a rear face 21 bearing onto the module body 16, a wide vertical front wall 22 forming a front face 23 facing away from the module body, and a narrower top wall 24 and bottom wall 26 forming a top face 25 and bottom face 27 respectively. A fender 28 comprising an elongate moulded rubber section is attached by self-tapping threaded fasteners 30 to the top of the front face 23 of the beam. This provides a cushion to protect watercraft from damage upon any bumping or rubbing on the platform. Access holes 31 in the curved front wall of the fender 28 allow penetration of a tool to tighten or release the fasteners 30. A cleat 32 adapted for attaching a watercraft’s mooring line to the platform is fastened to the top face 25 of the beam by a pair of threaded fasteners 34 comprising stainless steel bolts 35, nuts 36 and washers 37.

Each beam 14 has the same generally rectangular overall cross-section. The beams are formed as a pultruded composite of fiberglass reinforced plastic material and therefore have a constant cross section over their length except for where holes are formed for the fasteners 18 and 30. A particularly suitable material for manufacture of the beams would be a glass fibre reinforced iso-polyester or vinyl-ester resin.

Internally the beams 14 are hollow except for two internal reinforcing webs 44 and 46 which extend from the front wall 22 to the rear wall 20. All the walls and webs have about the same wall thickness.

The beam is 170 mm high and 60 mm wide, has external wall thicknesses of 8mm and web thicknesses of 8 mm. The main fasteners 18 comprise M20 threaded stainless steel rod 39 with nuts 40 and washers 41 on each end. The fasteners 18 are spaced at 300 mm centres as are the fender fasteners 30. The bolts 34 for the cleats have M12 threads.

In the beam 14, a first, upper, web 44 extends substantially horizontally between the front and rear walls so forming a generally square upper channel 48 within the beam. A second, lower, web 46 extends diagonally downwards from the front wall 22 adjacent the upper web 44 to the rear wall 20 adjacent the bottom wall 26 so forming a generally triangular lower channel 50 within the lower portion of the beam and a generally triangular central channel 52 within the central portion of the beam.

In order to attach a beam 14 to the module body 16, rear holes 56 of a clearance size for the threaded rod 39 are cut at the appropriate locations in the rear wall 20 and front holes 58 of a larger diameter are cut in the front wall 22 axially in line with the rear holes 56. The front holes 58 are sufficiently large to allow the washers 41, nuts 40 and a socket spanner socket to fit through in order to facilitate tightening of the nuts 40 so as to clamp the rear wall 20 between the washer 41 and the module body 16. The front holes 58 continue through the lower web 46 also.

To facilitate joining of two beams 14 end to end, a rigid elongate member is used as an insert 60. The insert 60 is a generally square hollow section about 45 mm square and with walls about 6mm thick. It is dimensioned to be a neat sliding fit within the square upper channel 48. The preferred material for the insert 60 is a suitable plastic extrusion without fibre reinforcement, but a fibre reinforced plastic could be used. As an alternative, a solid square section could be used instead of a hollow square section. The insert 60 is preferably adhered into position with a suitable adhesive, but this may not be necessary in some installations.

Not only does the insert 60 provide a connection and alignment means between beams, it also provides a substantial reinforcing function, especially at the places where the cleats 32 are attached. The insert 60 may be positioned only where the beams 14 join and where the cleats 32 are attached, but a significant advantage may be provided by having the insert continuous for at least substantially the full length of the edge structure 10. Preferably the lengths of insert section used are substantially the same lengths as the beams so that the ends of the inserts can be easily positioned midway between the ends of the beams.

The stainless steel fasteners 34 retaining the cleats 32 comprise bolts 35 extending from their heads downward through the beam 14 with their washers 37 and nuts 36 at the bottom. A clearance hole 62 is provided for this purpose penetrating vertically down through the beam and the insert. Care must be taken to ensure the cleat fasteners 34 are spaced away from the main fasteners 18 and the fender fasteners 30 as the fasteners would otherwise foul each other.

The edge structure embodiment 110 illustrated by Figures 7 to 11 is preferred to that illustrated by Figures 1 to 6. It is generally similar but the differences allow it to perform in a superior manner. The lower web 146 lies horizontal instead of diagonal. This means that the lower web 146 is not penetrated by the hole 158 required for tool access to the nuts 140. It also means that the upper channel 148 and the lower channel 150 can be an identical shape, so allowing two identical reinforcing inserts 160 and 161 to be used within the beam 114, with one length of insert 160 in the upper channel 148 and one length of insert 161 in the lower channel 150.

The rear wall 120 has a thickened central portion 164 in order to strengthen the beam where it is clamped by the main fasteners 118. The thickening is achieved by extending the wall thickness outwards, so this preferably requires the module body 116 to have a correspondingly dished region 166 along the body 116 whereby the outwardly thickened portion 164 of the rear wall 120 can nest fully supported into the dished region 166.

The inserts 160 and 161 in the upper channel 148 and lower channel 150 respectively are square hollow section tube as described above for insert 60 and may be fastened by the cleat fasteners 134 (not shown) while the insert 160 in the upper channel may also be fastened by the fender fasteners 130 (not shown) which penetrate into the upper insert. However the inserts 160 ad 161 are preferably also glued in place by an appropriate adhesive applied along their full length prior to insertion of the inserts into the channels 148 and 150.

The edge structure embodiment 210 illustrated by Figures 12 to 15 is preferred to both of the structures 10 and 110 described above. It shares most features with the structure 110 but the differences add substantially to its performance. It is therefore particularly preferred for heavier duty applications. The structure 210 includes a beam 214, rods 239, nuts 240, rubber fender 228 and a dished region 266 in the body 216 to accommodate the rearwardly thickened portion 264 of the rear wall 220. The beam 214 is the same as the beam 114 except for its depth. The beam 214 is deeper front 223 to rear 221 and the upper channel 248 and lower channel 250 are accordingly rectangular with the rectangle’s long side extending front to rear of the beam.

The inserts 260 and 261 are identical and are formed of a length of fibre-reinforced polymer which is pultruded into a hollow rectangular section sized to be a neat sliding fit within the channels. In the edge structure 210 the rectangular inserts 260 and 261 are positioned only across the joins between two lengths of the beam 214 and are carefully glued into place. There is no need to have the inserts along the full length of the beam.

Whilst the above description includes the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that many variations, alterations, modifications and/or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the essential features or the spirit or ambit of the invention.

Although the embodiments described concern the edges of a floating marina platform, the invention may be utilized on fixed jetties, docks and the like.

It will be understood that within this specification a square is considered as a particular type of rectangle and, unless otherwise clear from its context, the terms rectangle and rectangular are intended to include square.

It will be also understood that where the word “comprise”, and variations such as “comprises” and “comprising”, are used in this specification, unless the context requires otherwise such use is intended to imply the inclusion of a stated feature or features but is not to be taken as excluding the presence of other feature or features.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

Claims (17)

1. The claims defining the invention are as follows:

   1. An edge structure for a jetty or dock or floating marina platform, said edge structure comprising: - a horizontally aligned thin-walled plank-shaped beam having a constant cross-section comprising: - two wide external vertical walls, - two narrower external horizontal walls forming respectively a top wall and a bottom wall, - a rear said vertical wall fastened by threaded main fasteners to an edge of a main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform, and - a front said vertical wall facing away from said main body portion of said jetty, dock or platform, and - a fender comprising a strip of cushioning affixed lengthwise along said front wall, and wherein: - said beam comprises a thin-walled profile having two internal reinforcing webs which extend from the front wall to the rear wall, - a first said web extends substantially horizontally from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially rectangular upper channel within the upper portion of the beam, - a second said web extends from the front wall to the rear wall to form a lower channel within the lower portion of the beam and a central channel between the first and second webs, and - said threaded main fasteners pass horizontally from the central channel through the rear wall.
2. 2. An edge structure according to claim 1 wherein said second web extends from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially triangular said lower channel and a substantially triangular said central channel.
3. 3. An edge structure according to claim 1 wherein said second web extends substantially horizontally from the front wall to the rear wall to form a substantially rectangular said lower channel and a substantially rectangular said central channel.
4. 4. An edge structure according to any one of the previous claims wherein said front wall carries an aperture corresponding to each of said main fasteners whereby a tool may be inserted through the aperture to tighten said respective main fastener against said rear wall.
5. 5. An edge structure according to any one of the previous claims wherein two of said beams having the same cross section are joined end to end using a rigid elongate member which slides as a neat fit into corresponding said channels in connecting ends of said two beams.
6. 6. An edge structure according to claim 3 wherein two of said beams having the same cross section are joined end to end using two rigid elongate members of the same cross section which slide as a neat fit into corresponding said upper and lower channels in connecting ends of said two beams.
7. 7. An edge structure according to claim 6 wherein said upper and lower channels have a rectangular cross section whose height is less than the distance from the front wall to the rear wall.
8. 8. An edge structure according to any one of claims 4 to 7 wherein a mooring line attachment means upstanding from said top wall is fastened to said beam or beams by threaded fasteners which pass vertically through the beam or beams.
9. 9. An edge structure according to claim 8 wherein said threaded fasteners attaching said mooring attachment means to the beam pass vertically through the top and bottom walls and the two webs, and through any said elongate members therein.
10. 10. An edge structure according to claim 8 or 9 wherein said mooring line attachment means is a cleat adapted for fastening a watercraft to said jetty, dock or platform.
11. 11. A thin-walled plank-shaped beam adapted for use as an edge for a jetty, dock or floating marina platform, said beam comprising a fibre-reinforced plastics pultrusion of constant cross section, said cross section comprising: - two wide external walls and two narrow external walls together forming a generally rectangular perimeter, - a hollow centre except for two internal reinforcing webs, - a first said web extending from a first of said wide walls to the second of said wide walls to form a substantially rectangular first channel within a first end of the cross section, - the second said web extending from the first of said wide walls to the second of said wide walls to form a substantially rectangular second channel within the second end of the cross section, and - a substantially rectangular third channel between said first and second webs.
12. 12. A beam according to claim 11 having a cross section wherein said rectangular first and second channels are elongated in the direction perpendicular to said wide walls.
13. 13. A beam according to claim 11 or 12 having a cross section wherein said rectangular third channel is elongated in the direction perpendicular to said narrow walls.
14. 14. A beam according to any one of claims 11 to 13 wherein one of said wide walls is thickened between said webs.
15. 15. A beam according to claim 14 wherein said thickened wall is thickened outwards between said webs.
16. 16. A floating marina platform comprising a series of floating modules joined together along their sides by edge structures according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
17. 17. A floating marina platform comprising a series of floating modules joined together along their sides by beams according to any one of claims 11 to 15.