AU745895B2

AU745895B2 - A Floatable Structure

Info

Publication number: AU745895B2
Application number: AU64369/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Harry Rowe
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-12-07
Filing date: 1999-12-07
Publication date: 2002-04-11
Anticipated expiration: 2019-12-07
Also published as: AU6436999A

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): HARRY ROWE Invention Title: A FLOATABLE STRUCTURE The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: -2- A FLOATABLE STRUCTURE Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a floatable structure made primarily of tyres. In one form the invention relates to a support structure for use in or on a body of water and will primarily be described with reference to this context. It should be remembered, however, that the invention can also have broader use in situations where the floatable structure is located at least partially at the shore edge of a body of water.

Background Art Floatable structures made primarily of tyres are 15 known in the art. Such structures can be used in or on bodies of water particularly in tidal areas or where the nature of the bottom of the water body is not suitable for anchoring a permanent structure thereto. For example, .o shore-connected structures can include floating booms and 20 jetties. Other floating structures such as rafts or ooooo "floating platforms can be made of a tyre structure.

Depending upon the application, such structures may need to be built to withstand forces of wind, ocean waves and tidal forces, as well as the application of external forces such as load on the upper surface of the structure or towing of the entire structure.

In US Patent No. 3357192, a tyre structure is shown where rows of tyres are tightly woven together by a linking means such as a cable, rope or chain. The tyres are arranged in rows, and adjacent rows are in a staggered relationship. The type of tyre used in this structure is a typical car tyre which has a central axial opening equal to or less than half the peripheral diameter of the tyre.

3 One of the problems of the tightly woven structure shown is that it is somewhat inflexible, and friction between the tyres and the linking means can cause the tyres to become worn when the tyre structure is placed under load from ocean forces etc.

Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the present invention provides a floatable structure including: a plurality of rows of tyres located alongside one another, each of the tyres being generally vertically oriented and in tread to tread contact in each of the rows, the tyres having a central axial opening of diameter D1 and a periphery of diameter D2 where D1 is greater than half of D2, the central axial openings in one of the rows of tyres being arranged in a staggered relationship with the central axial openings in an adjacent of the rows of tyres; and joining means operatively coupled to the tyres to effect assembly of the floating structure.

Such an arrangement. of this type of tyre permits some structural flexibility, as the tyres are not rigidly attached to one another. The structure can thus accommodate at least some of the movement of the body of water upon which the structure floats, typically in a river, lake or ocean. This enables the structure to have improved wear characteristics as well as providing greater stability for articles supported on the structure.

In some of the known floatable support structures, such as that shown in US Patent No. 3357192, the tyres are tightly woven or bound together, and the structure has little flexibility. In other structures where the tyres 4 are loosely and flexibly bound together, the spaces between adjacent tyres in a row can open and close which makes the structure unsuitable for use as a support for some types of equipment etc. One of the advantages of the present arrangement is that the tyres are in tread-totread contact to provide a 'platform' support without variable width spaces therebetween.

Preferably the joining means includes an elongate rigid member which extends through a passageway defined by aligned portions of the axial openings.

Preferably the joining means also includes a pair of coupling elements mounted at or adjacent opposing ends, respectively, of the elongate member.

Preferably the elongate member is one of a plurality of S 15 elongate members arranged in pairs with one of the pairs of coupling elements joining adjacent ends of one of the pairs of elongate members.

a second aspect the present invention provides a method of forming a floatable structure including the steps of: arranging a plurality of rows of tyres to be located alongside one another, each of the tyres being generally vertically oriented and in tread to tread contact in each of the rows, the tyres 25 having a central axial opening of diameter D1 and a periphery of diameter D2 where D1 is greater than half of D2; and coupling a joining means to the tyres to effect assembly of the floating structure, wherein the central axial openings in one of the rows of tyres are arranged in a staggered relationship with the central axial openings in an adjacent of the rows of tyres prior to coupling of the joining means.

Such an arrangement of that type of tyre in a structure permits the ready insertion of joining means to link 5 adjacent rows of tyres together, rather than the complex weaving or linkage arrangements known in the art, which can be time consuming and difficult to accomplish.

Preferably the coupling of the joining means includes the step of inserting an elongate rigid member through a passageway defined by aligned portions of central axial openings of the tyres.

Preferably the method includes the step of fastening a coupling element at or adjacent opposing ends of the rigid member to effect assembly of a portion of the floating structure.

Brief Description of the Drawings Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within 15 the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 00 O Figure 1 shows a plan view of a floatable structure including a plurality of rows of tyres and a joining means operatively coupled thereto in accordance with the o. invention.

@o Figure 2 shows a side view of the embodiment of @000 Figure 1.

oooeo Modes for Carrying out the Invention Referring to the drawings, a floatable structure 10 is shown including five rows 12 of tyres 14 located alongside one another. Each of the tyres 14 is generally vertically oriented and in tread-to-tread contact with another tyre 14 in each of the rows 12. Each tyre 14 has a central axial opening 16 of diameter D1 and a periphery of 6 diameter D2 where D1 is greater than half of D2. This is a characteristic feature of truck or other large vehicle tyres, and not generally a feature of regular car tyres.

In the structure 10, the central axial openings 16 of the tyres 14 in adjacent rows 12 are arranged in a staggered relationship so that, when the structure is viewed from the side, as shown in Figure 2, a passageway 18 is defined by aligned portions of the axial openings 16 of tyres 14 in adjacent rows 12. This passageway 18 is only visible when truck or other large vehicle tyres 0 having the characteristic D1 D2/2 dimension are used to form the support structure 00 In order to effect assembly of the floatable :o.oo. 15 structure, joining means in the form of several pairs of rods 20 are operatively coupled to the tyres when they are 0005 arranged in adjacent rows 12 in a staggered relationship.

00 Each rod 20 is passed through a respective passageway 18 0000 so that the rod 20 is located adjacent to the circumference of the central axial openings 16 of each tyre 14. Typically the rods are rigid metal bars although other materials can be suitable including bolts, cables *000 etc, as will be further detailed hereinafter.

o ooo S• Each rod pair is linked by a pair of coupling elements mounted at or adjacent opposing ends of each rod 20 and at either side of the floatable structure Typically each coupling element is in the form of a plate 22 which is screwed, bolted or otherwise fastened to the rod 20 ends 24, to prevent the rod 20 pair from spreading apart and to prevent the tyres 14 from coming off the rods In the preferred embodiment, the plate 22 has two holes 26 to accommodate the rods 20, the distance between the holes 26 being half the outside diameter D2 of the 7 tyre 14. The ends 24 of the rods 20 are threaded and fitted with nuts to retain the plate 22.

Other suitable methods for retaining the bars at the plates are within the scope of the invention to allow the effective length of the rods to be reduced (to apply a tensile force to the rods) so that a compressive force can be applied on the sides of the outermost tyres of the structure 10. For example, in other embodiments the joining means can take the form of bolts or cables or any other material capable of applying a compressive force on the outermost tyres of the structure while resisting the movement of the tyres away from being in tread-to-tread contact, for example, if the structure 10 was pulled or towed by the ends A or B.

In a further embodiment, the rods 20 passing through the *passageways 18 need not be linked to the plate 22 and to another rod 20 to form a rod pair, but can be fitted to any transverse element which prevents the tyres from coming off the rods, for example a side rail fitted over 20 either side of the structure 10 and to which all of the S"rods 20 are linked.

In some preferred forms of the invention the tyres may be fully or partly filled with a flotation material in order to increase the buoyancy of the structure. Typical flotation materials can include polyurethane foam, polystyrene, or sealed plastic containers filled with a gas.

The method of forming the floatable structure will now be outlined. Firstly a plurality of rows of tyres are located alongside one another, each of the tyres being generally vertically oriented and in tread to tread contact in each of the rows. The tyres each have the size characteristic of D1 D2/2. Adjacent rows of the tyres -8are then moved into a staggered relationship prior to coupling of tyres to form the structure. To facilitate this coupling, a lightweight plastic pipe or tube is then inserted into the passageway 18 and the rod 20 passed through the lightweight pipes. The pipes or tubes can either then be removed from the passageway 18 or left in place in the finished structure 10. Plates 22 are then screwed or bolted to the rod 20 ends 24 to apply a tensile force to the rods and a compressive force to the sides of the outermost tyres of the structure Such an arrangement of tyres in a structure avoids the complex weaving or linkage arrangements known in the art, which can be time consuming and difficult to accomplish.

O Such a floating structure has some flexibility, as the ego.

15 tyres are not rigidly attached to one another. The structure can accommodate at least some of the movement of the body of water upon which the structure floats, 00 typically in a river, lake or ocean. This enables the structure to have improved wear characteristics as well as providing greater stability for articles supported on the S" structure. The preferred rod fastening arrangement prevents spaces from opening and closing between adjacent oo• tyres in a row, which makes the structure suitable for use e S* as a support platform.

Any number of rows of tyres to form the structure is within the scope of the invention. Different types of tyres other than truck tyres can be used which have the characteristic tyre dimension D1 D2/2. In some embodiments a flat deck or platform can be fitted to the uppermost surface of the tyre structure, depending on the application.

The materials of construction of the linkage rods and plates, bolts etc can be any suitable materials which wear 9 appropriately and that can be shaped, formed and fitted in the manners so described, such as the appropriate metal, metal alloys, ceramics or plastics etc, which are resistant to corrosion in a marine environment.

It is to be understood that, if any prior art information is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the information forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

Whilst the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments it should be appreciated that the invention can be embodied in many S: other forms.

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Claims

3. A floatable structure as claimed in claim 2 wherein the joining means also includes a pair of coupling elements "mounted at or adjacent opposing ends, respectively, of the elongate member.
4. A floatable structure as claimed in claim 3 wherein the elongate member is one of a plurality of elongate members arranged in pairs with one of the pairs of coupling elements joining adjacent ends of one of the pairs of elongate members. 11 A method of forming a floatable structure including the steps of: arranging a plurality of rows of tyres to be located alongside one another, each of the tyres being generally vertically oriented and in tread to tread contact in each of the rows, the tyres having a central axial opening of diameter D1 and a periphery of diameter D2 where D1 is greater than half of D2; and coupling a joining means to the tyres to effect assembly of the floating structure, wherein the central axial openings in one of the rows of tyres are arranged in a staggered relationship with the e *central axial openings in an adjacent of the rows of tyres prior to coupling of the joining means.
6. A method of forming a floatable structure as claimed in claim 5 wherein coupling of the joining means includes i* :the step of inserting an elongate rigid member through a passageway defined by aligned portions of central axial openings of the tyres.
7. A method of forming a floatable structure as claimed in claim 6 including the step of fastening a coupling element at or adjacent opposing ends of the rigid member to effect assembly of a portion of the floating structure.
8. A floatable structure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 12
9. A method of forming a floatable structure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 22nd day of January 2002 HARRY ROWE By his Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK