US836113A - Steel barge. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

A. L. HOFFMAN.

STEEL BARGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.'9. 1904.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

INVENTOR WITNESSES THbF NORRIS PEYERS co., WASHINGTON, D. c,

PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906. A. L. HOFFMAN.

STEEL BARGB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R 0 T N E V m m o m o fl o o m N a a o o o fl o o o m o m dm wrmesszzs rm: NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, ma.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

AR-THUR L. HOFFMAN, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO OSCAR F. GRANT AND ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN G. MCDOWELL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEEL BARGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed August 9. 1904- Serial No. 220,083.

To all whom, it nasty concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. I'IOFFMAN, of Allegheny, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Steel Barge, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steel barge constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section, on a larger scale, on the line III III of Fig. 2. Figs. 4 to 9 are detail views on a larger scale than the other figures, Fig. 4 being a vertical section on the line IV IV of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 an elevation of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 a vertical section of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 an elevation of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an elevation showing the connecting-piece for the marginal stiffener Without the pulling-post. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail view showing the attachment of the T-iron which I preferably employ for the transverse stiffening members. Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the end of the barge, and Fig. 1 1 is a similar View on the line XL XI of Fig. 10.

Barges such as are commonly employed for carrying coal and like merchandise present problems of peculiar difficulty to the constructor. The nature of their cargo requires that their interior should not be obstructed by many braces, for the scoops which are employed for unloading must have free access to all parts of the interior. The consequence is that such barges are apt to be frail and unfit to stand heavy strains. Attempts to make such barges of steelplates have heretofore been unsatisfactory so far as I am aware, because the difiiculties above pointed out have necessitated the employment of very heavy metal, which has unduly increased their weight and cost.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a construction which will enable such barges to be built of light material and will afford a barge of great durability and strength which being of light weight will have less draft than barges heretofore constructed.

The drawings illustrate the preferable form of my construction; but it will be understood by those skilled in the art that it may be modified in various ways Without departure from the principle of my invention.

As shown in the drawings, the body of the barge is made of a series of riveted metal plates 2 2, the ends 3 of the barge and the lateral corners being curved, as shown, in order to secure great strength with a minimum amount of riveting and bracing. The plates may be riveted in various ways. They may be abutted and riveted to connecting strips or pieces, or they may be lapped and thus riveted directly together. In Fig. 3 I show the plates lapped at their joints, and inthe modified construction shown in Fig. 9 the ends of the plates are abutted and are riveted to the flanges of the T-irons.

The barge is stiffened by the employment of flanged stiffening members 5, preferably T-irons, which extend transversely and preferably in continuous pieces across the hull from one margin to the other, their flanges being riveted to the plates 2 and the Web of the T proj ecting inwardly at right angles to the plates. These members are secured at their ends to the marginal stiffening-bar 6 by but ting away the web at their ends, bending the flanged portions around the bar 6, and securing it to the plates of the hull by riveting, as

shown in Figs. 3 and 41. The marginal-stiffening-bar 6 is preferably a pipe which extends around the margin of the boat; but instead of a pipe bars of other section may be employed. At intervals the hull is provided with horizontal cross-braces 7 7, which are preferably pipes and extend from one margin of the hull to the other. They are secured to the marginal stiffening-bar 6, preferably by pipe T-couplings 8, Figs. 6, 7, and 8, presenting sockets 9 for the attachment'of the cross-braces 7. These T-couplings have preferably also integral flanges 10, by which they are riveted to the sides of the boat, and some of them, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, are forged or cast with vertical pulling-posts 11, ghlilch are thus very rigidly applied to the u For the purpose of strengthening the ends of the barge I employ longitudinal strengthening-bars 12, preferably T-irons, as above described, which are riveted to the hullplates, as shown in Fig. 2, being applied to the marginal stiffening bar or pipe 6 in the same manner as above described With reference to the T-irons 5.

I prefer to strengthen the hull also by applying to the bottom exterior longitudinal stiffening members 13, preferably T-irons, as

shown in Fig. 3.

I prefer also to strengthen the ends by employing inclined braces 14 and horizontal plates 15.

The system of bracing described above imparts great stiffness to the hull, enabling it to resist the strains of pulling and of collisions to which barges are subjected when in use, and this bracing while rendering the hull stiff and durable does not unduly increase its Weight, which can be even less than in the wooden constructions heretofore employed.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction above described, I claim 1. A steel barge having a skeleton frame provided with a marginal stiffening-bar, cross-braces and transverse stiffening members, each secured individually directly to the marginal stiffening-bar, said transverse stiffening members following the contour of the hull and riveted to the plates, external flanged bottom members extending longitudinally and riveted to the bottom plates, and internal end stiffening members following the end contour secured in parallelism to the end plates; substantially as described.

2. A steel barge having metal plates, a marginal stiffening-bar of pipe-section, crossbraces, and T-couplings applied to the marginal stiffening-bar and to the braces; substantially as described.

3. A steel barge having metal plates, a marginal stiffening-bar of pipe-section, crossbraces, and T-couplings applied to the marginal stiffening-bar and to the braces, and

also riveted to the plates; substantially as described.

4. A steel barge composed of metal plates and having a tubular marginal stifiem'ng-bar,

and pulling-posts secured directly to said marginal stiffening-bar; substantially as described.

5. A steel barge composed of metal plates, a tubular marginal stiffening member extending along the upper edge, and transverse stiffening members secured to said tubular marginal member; substantially as described.

6. A steel barge composed of metal plates and having a marginal stiffening-bar, and pulling-posts secured directly to said marginal stiffening-bar substantially as described.

7. A steel barge composed of metal plates having a tubular marginal stiffening member, and pulling-posts, each forming part of a T-coupling with said tubular marginal member substantially as described.

8. A steel barge composed of metal plates having a tubular end marginal stiffening member, and longitudinal stiffening mem bers, each secured individually to said end A. L. HOFFMAN.

substantially as Witnesses:

T. W. BAKEWELL, H. M. CoRWIN.

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