US2669960A - Appliance for amphibious warfare - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 23, 1954 J, N. LAYCOCK APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1'7, 1951 J. N. LAYCOCK APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Feb. 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1?, 1951 v &

' Feb. 23, 1954 LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Filed May 17, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 23, 1954 J. N. LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE Filed Mayl7, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 wm zy Feb. 23, 1954 Filed May- 17, 1951 4 J. N. LAYCOCK 2,669,960

APPLIANCE FOR AMPHIBIOUS WARFARE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 z ivewi oe' Patented Feb. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to portable folding buoyant units useful, particularly in military operations, for bridges, landing ramps, wharves, and the like.

Although capable of a Wide variety of uses, the buoyant unit of my invention affords a satisfactory solution to some of the most crucial problems encountered in amphibious warfare, where there is involved the movement of masses of men and equipment from Vessels to landing places ordinarily extremely inconveniently arranged by nature for the purpose.

For example I contemplate a combination of buoyant frame units capable of assembly in a few hours to provide a water-borne landing field larger than the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, whereby fighter protection may be provided to cover a landing in the minimum time and without exposing carriers to enemy attack.

Furthermore buoyant units constructed in accordance with my invention may quickly be arranged to provide landing ramps, Wharves, or bar e lighters with the added advantage of rapid conversion from one such use to another.

Alternatively the units may readily be trans ported by land for use as pontoon bridges or as trussed bridge spans without pontoon support.

An important feature of my invention resides in the combination of a deck supported by a tubular skeleton frame which also serves to store compressed air for use in servicing collapsible inflatable pontoons secured beneath the deck.

Another important feature of the invention consists in an arrangement of valves and conduits by means of which all the pontoons associated with a string of units may quickly be inflated, each pontoon and each unit being isolated from all the others so that a failure of one pontoon or unit will not affect the others.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of hinged connections permitting any desired number of units to be serially connected and folded into a compact upright stack for transportation in a suitable vessel, ready for quick release.

Still another feature of the invention consists in trussed panels hinged to the sides of each buoyant unit, adapted to be stored in the stack in flat condition but easily swung down and locked in substantially vertical position to provide the unit with truss support of great rigidity and stiffness, thereby imparting sufficient stability to withstand stresses imposed by massive deck loads or heavy seas.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of two complete buoyant units constructed and coupled together in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the units shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of one unit with the side panel in dropped position,

Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section similar to 4 but showing a typical pontoon in inflated condition,

Fig. 6 is a view in end elevation,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the lateral connection of two units,

Fig. 7a is a fragmentary view of a link connection,

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of a partially unfolded stack of serially connected units,

Fig. 9 is a view in perspective of the corners of a unit illustrating the operation of the locking strut,

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view in elevation showing the manner of laterally connecting several craft units, and

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic plan view of a buoyant unit illustrating the inflation piping and valve system.

By reference particularly to Figs. 1, 3 and 4 it may be seen that each unit is organized about a skeleton frame of rectangular outline and composed of hollow metal tubes of relatively large diameter fitted and welded at their ends to form four parallel longitudinal stringers 29 and three lateral frame members 22, thus providing six rectangular interstitial compartments. A steel grating 24, similar to that conventionally used in stout ropes or canvas straps 32 as shown in Fig. 5. 'At its upper end the bag is suitably secured to Fig.

the deck grating 24 in any convenient manner. A length of weak rope or rotten cord 36 is roven through pad eyes 34 mounted on the sides of the tubes 20 and 22 adjacent each pontoon and serves, by bearing on the bottom plate 30, to maintain the pontoon in collapsed storage position snug against the deck. The number and placement of the bags is a matter of choice.

W n th pontoon 28 is inflated, the line 36 breaks, and the bag distends to the condition shown in Figs. and 6. It is contemplated that the tubes and 22 will be made of aluminum or light gauge steel and so dimensioned that the unit will be fairly buoyant prior to the dmlation of the pontoons 23, but upon their inflation the buoyancy greatly increases and the craft rides high in the water.

The two outer tubes 20 are each provided with three pairs of relatively massive hinge plates 38 extending horizontally outward to provide pivot connections for zthree-stout rods 40 each of which isrwelded at .itsoutenend to along tu e 42 equal in length to that of the tubes 20 and bra ed y a pair .ofdiagonal :rods A l running rfromgthe tube 42 to the rods .40. There is thus provided .a trussed panel :hinged to the .side of the nnit, norma'llystored in :fiatposition but easily :Swung downwardly to approximately vertical position .or .at right: anglesttolthe zframeasa whole.

In order to lock the side panel in depending positionnI provide .apairnf struts 46 each .held in inactive position by a spring clip 18 red toithertubes rz. :Eachstrut is ivotallyconnected at its base to one of the end rods 4&3 by .a hinge 50 'Theother endofreachrstrutltfi hasa clevis to matchea. ring fiksecured .to'athe bottom of1the end tube 22. A line 56 is secured adjacentthe free end of each :strutilfi .and .connected to the deck 521%, .;there being a {hole in the ;deck by means of which a crew member may reach .dOWn "Pull the :lineiifi :to .free-ithe strut from :the spring clip 48 and then draw the strut vertically (about I shall now proceed to describe -,the;system by means of which the pontoonstare sim ltaneousl inflated'fromia singlecontrolvalve.

In Fig. 11 there appears a longitudinal pipe-or I conduit :56. connect d by a; conduit or to gthe side tube'i iiLither-erbeing aimanualxvalvetfill controll n thez flow :of compressemair from :the side tube 6;!!- throu h a conduit 1:62. The side tube s0 is one of .the skeletonirame tubes ,Zfl, but ia difierent reference character vha been employed .to

emphasizethat the tube as .here considered .is a

storage tank for compressed air and isa separate air-tight compartment.

.A.-fiexible connection-168 isprovided at the end of the pipe .65 and leads to a similar pipe .10.

running d wn the side-oi thenext adjacent unit 1 v attheright. Froma T union J2 ,abranch pipe It leads to a pressure operated valve 7 6 controllingthe supply of compressed air from ahtube compartment '18 through .a conduit into .a. plp,e loop 1.5. Theloop J9has branch connections to six presstu'eoperatedv valves .84 to supply the six pontoons A, B, C, D, and J3 .fromsix storage compartments Af, vB, C, D, E, and F respectively. Associated in theline with each valve, isa pressure regulatingvalveBB. I g

When the valve 64 is manually opened, the tube compartment at once supplies air under pressure to the pipe 66. The pressure in the pipe 66 then acts to open the valve 16 so that the loop 79 is supplied with air under pressure from the tube 18. The pressure in the loop then opens each of the valves 84 to permit compressed air to fill the pontoons AF from the compartments A'-.F' respectiv ye va ves .6 and 4 may be of the type shown in the United States patent to Bliss No. 1,566,814. The pressure regulating Halves 86 shut down automatically and independently as each pontoon reaches a predetermined pressure. The Naive-:86 may be of the type shown in the United States patent to Deisbrock No. 158,768. it will be remembered that the l'ashings 36.;areibrQ-ken asthe pontoons expand (see Figs. 4 and 5).

Similarly the pressure in the line 66 is transmitted through the connection 68 to the line 10 andso on through theseries of craft units which may have been coupled to form a stringoidesired dimensions. The infiatingsystem is the same-for all the units.

Inasmuch as :the inflation of each pontoon {is froma separate compartment and the valve system .is arranged to :isolate each zv-alve 8 3, the presence of aleakin one-pontoon drone compartmentzha no effector; the others. Furthermore the valve 16 maybe operated hyzhandaso that a failure or leak in the compartment-shame valve 54, or the line 55 does notzmean'thatwthe pontoons of each craft :unit cannot be inflated.

The inflating system as-abovedescribed .is pa ticularly valu hl --where-time isof pr mary importance since the frames-may he filled at ileisure prior to agiven military operation, the inflation f th pon ons there takin plac -in theminimum time during the-p og ss of the operation. te nat ly, however. t .units may be inflated y a c nventional c mpres or of modera e size with simpl r ipin a d controls.

Lcom owtoaconsi ratio of the ma n in which the suits previously described-.may-beicom e t d in series ;or -.parallel or h t-11in order p ovid s o ti s decks o d sir le th and width.

To-afiord serial connection ,I. provide vrelatively massive hinge plates wel ed to the ends of t e longitudinal fram members 20. All .one end of eachiunitthere are upwardl inolinedhinge plates I00, while atjthe'otherendhinge plates 1.92 are inclined. downwa d y. iThis ;is .c1ear1y own in a 3. ,T e hin plates e rre e a l inathe form of castin ach eempr ns (as shown i Fig. 12) a 'U+shaped;endplate as havin a ;inte

ral inward y nding annu a flange p rtion Integral with .theplate -39 a plurality ofwer tical hinge-plates -,-I llfl disposed in sparallel .ar-

rangement perpendiculantoihe reinforcingstrap ml. Allrof the hin es-are identified; the reference. characters. l,9li.,.and .LUZbeinausedto entiate @between. those hinges disposed. to extend upwardly and ,those which, areinverted ,topxtend downwardly.

The alternate use of upwardly and downwardly aseme tee s-metastabl issue a serial or end to end connection shown in Fig. 3, and this inturn permits folding successive raft units into a stack as shown in Fig. 8.

It is contemplated that a folded stack of units in vertical formation as shown in Fig. 8 will be carried, properly blocked and shored, in a vessel having a section fitted similarly to the dry dock portion of an LSD. Such a section may be flooded and then opened to the sea. Subsequently a tow line H3 may be secured to theoutboard unit, and a tug can tow the unfolding string of trussed craft units out of the ship. To prevent sudden uncontrollable unfolding of the stack, successive units may be lashed lightly together as shown at H6, so that the stack will remain intact until the pull on the tow line breaks successive lashings. Alternatively a crew member may be detailed to cut the lashings at proper intervals.

In loading a string of units with deflated pontoons into a vessel one end of the string is towed into the flooded well section of the ship until a crane, cargo hoist, or the like, can be connected to the junction of the first two units to enter the vessel. As the hoist operates the two units jackknife together. When vertical they are lashed in position, and the hoist then lifts the third and fourth units at their connection line, and so on until the entire string has been stacked.

The number of units in a string is purely a matter of choice. Hinge pins can be extracted easily to break the stack into sub-assemblies of any desired length.

It should be noted that the tubes 42 of the side panels are also provided at their ends, with hinge plates Hi l extending upwardly and hinge plates lilfi extending downwardly. In stacking and unstacking the units the side panels behave exactly as the main frame.

While a simple string of units in series will prove useful for narrow bridges or landing ramps, it will quite often be desirable to assemble a number of strings in parallel to provide a floating wharf, an aircraft landing deck, or a barge lighter. For this purpose I provide the outboard frame members 23 with a pair of hinge plate members H0 so that lateral connections may be established between adjacent units. Also each of the tube s2 is provided with two pad eyes or hinge plates H2 designed for interconnection through a rigid rectangular link member H4. The connections are shown completed in Fig. 6.

In assembling parallel strings of units they are first arranged as shown in Fig. 10, side by side with the side panels in horizontal position. Then the links I I l are pinned in place to connect the hinge members H2 and the struts 46 are disengaged from their clips. The next step is to swing the side panels down to the position shown in Fig. 6 at which time the locking struts 46 are pinned in the clevises 54. The hinge members H0 will then be in register and may be secured by hinge pins. This process may be facilitated if the pontoons are inflated after the links H4 have been secured in place, because the main deck portion of the units will rise relative to the side panels which can then be very easily swung down for locking.

It should be noted that the generally rectangular outline Of the links H4 is important in restraining horizontal relative motion between adjacent links, although hinge action in the vertical plane is not impeded.

While I have described in detail the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that convenient variations to suit-particular needs will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. 4

I have notattempted to recite all the possible uses to which my invention maybe put .Although I believe the term buoyancy unit is the most apt, I do not mean to exclude the use of the structure of my invention as elements of a suspension bridge, land ramp, or the like. On the other hand, I also contemplate the use of the individual units or groups thereof as life rafts mounted forlaunching in conventional fashion, whereby a vessel may carry enough rafts for abandon ship purposes as well as for combination into strings'for wharves, barges, ramps, etc.

Having now described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent. of the United States is:

l. A buoyancy unit comprising 'a first group of parallel airtight tubes, a second group of parallel airtight tubes arranged transversely to said first group and secured thereto to form a rectangular skeletal frame having interstices, a deck secured to said frame, a collapsible inflatable pontoon disposed beneath said deck within each of said interstices of the frame, a conduit leading from each pontoonto one of said tubes, and a valve controlling said conduit.

2. A buoyancy unit comprising a plurality of tubular members united to form a skeletal frame and a plurality of airtight compartments, a plurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed adjacent said frame, a conduit connecting each pontoon to one of said airtight compartments, a pressure operated valve controllably connected to each of said conduits, a loop conduit connecting 'all of said valves in series, a pressure operated master valve controllably connected to said loop conduit, a supply conduit connected to one of said compartments and to said master valve, and a manually operated valve in said supply conduit, whereby said manually operated valve may be actuated to open the supply conduit to said master valve and thereby cause the master valve to open the pressure operated valves controlling the conduits leading to the pontoons.

3. A trussed buoyancy unit comprisinga plu rality of tubular members united to form a skeletal frame and a plurality of airtight compartments, a plurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed adjacent said frame, a conduit connecting each pontoon to one of said airtight compartments, a pressure operated valve controllably connected to each of said conduits, and means operatively associated with said pressure operated valves for simultaneously applying pressure to said pressure-operated valves to cause simultaneous inflation of said pontoons.

4. A buoyancy unit comprising a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, a plurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed within said frame, valved conduits connecting each pontoon with one of said tubes, a plurality of rods each hinged at one end to one side of said frame, a tube secured to the other ends of said rods, braces connecting said rods and said tube, and means operatively associated with said rod and frame for locking said rods, braces and tube at a predetermined angle with respect to said frame.

5. A buoyancy unit comprising a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, a plurality of collapsible inflatable pontoons disposed within said frame, valved conduits connecting each pontoon with one of said tubes, and aslur of bin e plates seemed o. each end oi said .i the hin e s tes at em end thereof exten mg uewa dla above the name. and the hinge plates at the opposite end thereof extending downwardly beneath the frame.

A buo a cy u t comprisin a skeletal frame of airtight tubes, at m rality of collapsible inflat able .p'ontoons disposed within said frame valaled conduits connecting eaeh pontoon width one o1? said tubes, a plurality of hinge plates seemed to each end of said unit, the hinge "plates at one endthereof extending upwardly above the :Erame and the hinge plates at the opposite end thereof extending downwardly beneath frame, and

a plurality-of hinge plates seemed to. the. slides of the .frame, whereby a phn'ality .of units may be secured serially in :end the end relation, or .in side-by-side relation, or both.

7 A buoyancy unit comprising :a tublrlar mectangular frame divided into a plurality of airti ght compartments, a deck secured' to said frame, a pluralityof collapsible inflatable pon'toons rlis posed beneath said deck adi aoent said frame, a valved conduit connecting each \pontoon to one of said compartments, a trussed panel pivotally connected to each side 0T said frame, a "plurality of h-inge plates --secured to the sides of the frame, and 'a link pivotally connected ts the outer of each of said panels, whereby "two frames may be brought in s'ide by side relation, :connected first by said links, the truss qaanels :sw-un down, and then conneete dby said hinge plates.

3. A landing ramp comprising a series of rectangula-r buoyancy units hinged together :at their ends in an articulated relation and folded on edge in stacked *formation whereby the whole assembly may be milled into extended horizom ta'l positien by traction appliedto the endmost unit of the stack, a "folding reinforcing *truss panel memberhinged to the side of eaoh unit and movable -from infolded inoperative position to a substantially right angular operative position, and rigid struts pivotally secured "to "said unit "and detaohably secured to said "panel for locking the paneflin-operative-position.

9. A "folding buoyant deck or the like comprising a plurality of buoyancy units each inluri n moral t o hollow ht m mbers joined, nd consti irie a'bu en ram apolua ity of ll psible-infl t b n nt qn ecu d to the bottom oi e idh n an o n ed'to sa d me. and a s, co t me, the connectionsfto and stacking, eaeh buoyancy un eomp ieihe a lmzaiity of hollow airtight strength re lying generally in the same plane and join d to eunstitute a buoyant frame, ,a plurality M dollapsible inflatable pontoons secured to said frame, and -valved oonnections from the frame to the *pontoons, whereby compressed gas be stored-in said frame and released to inflate saidpontoons.

11. A portable folding buoyant deck mommies mg a series of buoyancy units each including a plurality :of hollowairtight strength members lying in the same general p'ialne and joined to oonsti tdte a. buoyant rectangular frame, a rigid truss pivotal-1y secured to one side of said frame, and means operative'ly associated with said truss and frame for locking said truss in position at a predetermined angle with respect to said frame; and hinges pivotailyconneetingsueeessive units in said series, said 'l ringes =projeeting alternately in opposite directions from the planes of said units.

12. ,A portable folding; buoyant deck comprising a series 'of units each including a plurality of rigid members lying generally in the same plane and joined to ons'titute -a skeletal *fra-me, means associated with said frame for storing compressed gas a plurality of coilapsilole inflatable piontoons secured to said )frame and connected to said storage means; and. hinges interconnecting said .unit to perniitthe series or units 'tobe'folded'into stack formation.

dte'ferences Cited in the *fileof this patent UN IED td aATiEs BAZEE LIS Number Name Date 23911059 'Ma'clt'arren Dec. 118, 19:45 2323;832 Gearon July 1'5, $1.941

LEORE GN LPAZIIE TTS Member Countr Da e brad-i2 tqerma iy Res-m L931

Images