Portable inspection equipment for ocean going vessels
First Claim
1. The combination of a ship having a cargo hold beneath the deck of said ship and accessible for cleaning and inspection through a cargo hatch of limited dimensions and an inspection device comprising:
- a. carriage support means comprising a plurality of spaced-apart guy wires received within said cargo hold and including attachment means removeably securing said guy wires in a vertical position including first attachment means to secure the upper ends of said guy wires to said deck and second attachment means to secure the lower ends of said guy wires to the bottom wall of said cargo hold;
b. a carriage vertically moveably received on said guy wires;
b. a platform rotationally mounted on said carriage for rotational movement thereon and including a central column;
c. means to direct said guy wires into and through said central column;
d. carriage elevational drive means to raise and lower said carriage on said guy wires.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed an inspection device which can be disassembled into a compact configuration permitting it to be moved into and out of the cargo and ballast tanks of an ocean going vessel through the conventional hatches. The invention comprises a carriage support column which is formed by several cables which are stretched vertically between support plates which are temporarily installed on the bottom of the tank or cargo hold and beneath the vessel'"'"'s decking. A carriage is mounted on the support column for vertical movement thereon, and the carriage preferably carries a remotely controlled drive motor which can rotate the carriage, preferably in a full 360° arc. A remotely controlled television camera and the necessary lights are mounted on the carriage and can be panned around the column to observe and record the visual appearance of the interior structural members. In another embodiment of the invention, the support column is a mast which is constructed from individual mast components which are assembled at the bottom of the cargo hold and are fed upwardly through a mast support until the mast reaches the under surface of the deck, where the upper end of the mast is temporarily secured.
13 Citations
27 Claims
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1. The combination of a ship having a cargo hold beneath the deck of said ship and accessible for cleaning and inspection through a cargo hatch of limited dimensions and an inspection device comprising:
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a. carriage support means comprising a plurality of spaced-apart guy wires received within said cargo hold and including attachment means removeably securing said guy wires in a vertical position including first attachment means to secure the upper ends of said guy wires to said deck and second attachment means to secure the lower ends of said guy wires to the bottom wall of said cargo hold; b. a carriage vertically moveably received on said guy wires; b. a platform rotationally mounted on said carriage for rotational movement thereon and including a central column; c. means to direct said guy wires into and through said central column; d. carriage elevational drive means to raise and lower said carriage on said guy wires. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. The combination of a ship having a cargo hold accessible for cleaning and inspection through a cargo hatch of limited dimensions and an inspection device comprising:
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a. a support spider comprising a central support collar with at least three legs located about said collar and pivotally attached thereto to permit said support spider to collapse to a compact configuration permitting its installation and removal through said hatch of limited dimensions; b. a column support centrally carried on said support spider and comprising clamp means to rigidly secure a column component thereto; c. a plurality of column components, each having a limited length to permit introducing said components beneath said support spider to attach to the lower end of a column component supported thereon; and d. elevation means on said support spider and operatively connected to said column support whereby said column may be elevated to raise the column the length of the lowermost column components and permit attachment of a succeeding column component, whereby a column extending substantially the entire height of said cargo hold may be assembled within said hold. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification