Pasukan kejuruteraan di pangkalan tentera laut California telah mencipta peranti baharu untuk menguji-kapasiti tampung muatan, yang digunakan untuk menambat kapal besar di pelabuhan dan mesti menahan tekanan ratusan tan.
Tentera Laut AS mengekalkan beribu-ribu bollard di seluruh dunia. Untuk mengujinya, peranti baharu, berbentuk segi empat tepat dan dibuat terutamanya daripada tiub keluli segi empat tepat, diletakkan di sekeliling bollard. Topang boleh larasnya dipasang pada dermaga.
Kabel diletakkan di sekeliling bollard. Anggota silang boleh laras dan pin kunci meletakkan kabel pada pelbagai sudut. Lengan hidraulik atau win (penegang) diaktifkan oleh pengendali ujian untuk menarik kabel, mengenakan daya pada bollard pada ukuran yang dikehendaki.
For their work, U.S. Patent 11,215,541, titled In-situ Bollard Tester, was assigned to the U.S. Navy on January 4, 2022. It is the first patent assigned to the Navy this year, which typically receives over 250 patents per year, and makes them available for commercialization by private companies through technology transfer agreements.
Jurutera yang membina peranti itu adalah dari Komando Kejuruteraan Kemudahan Tentera Laut di Port Hueneme. Mereka ialah Gerritt Lang, Elaina Ryan, Juan Carrillo, Ricardo Contreras, Zachary Harwood, dan Benjamin Hulbert.
Menurut permohonan paten mereka:
"In-situ tests are the preferred method in determining whether bollards and other mooring hardware are performing at their design capacity. There is, however, no accepted standard testing device and procedure. If a bollard is degraded, a ship's mooring line may break the bollard, resulting in damage to the ship and creating a dangerous situation.
"Past bollard test procedures have included the use of tugboats, which is dangerous and not representative of vertical mooring line angles that may cause uplift on the bollards. In this regard, there is a need for improvement to develop a safe device and procedure for testing bollards in-situ."
Interested in using this device? It's not yet available or for sale, but the newly issued 20-year utility patent can now be licensed by the Navy to private companies who can then commercialize it.
TechLink, the U.S. Navy's national partnership intermediary for technology transfer, guides companies through the licensing process. To learn more tap the contact button below.
