Claims
- 1. A floating structure comprising:
at least one deck having an upper surface; one or more pontoons having an interior chamber, said one or more pontoons attached to and supporting said deck, said chamber being of sufficient volume to cause said deck and said one or more pontoons to float; and a basin containing basin water and having an open top, said one or more pontoons floating in said basin water surrounding said one or more pontoons, and said basin having a chamber of sufficient size to cause the basin to float in a body of water, and said basin having a wall sufficiently high to isolate the basin water from the body of water, said pontoons having horizontal freedom of motion relative to said basin wall.
- 2. The floating structure of claim 1, wherein said upper surface of said deck comprises a generally horizontal and planar upper surface.
- 3. The floating structure of claim 1, comprising a plurality of basins, each of said basins having therein at least one of said pontoons.
- 4. The floating structure of claim 1 wherein said basin is moored to a fixed structure.
- 5. The floating structure of claim 4 wherein said fixed structure is a pier.
- 6. A floating structure comprising:
at least one deck having an upper surface; one or more flotation means attached to and supporting said deck; means for reducing the effects on said flotation means of currents in a body of water, said flotation means having horizontal freedom of movement relative to said means for reducing the effects; and mooring means for restricting translational motion of said structure.
- 7. The floating structure of claim 6, wherein said upper surface of said deck is generally horizontal and planar.
- 8. The floating structure of claim 6, wherein said means for reducing the effects on said flotation means of currents in a body of water comprises a plurality of basins.
- 9. The floating structure of claim 6 wherein said floating structure is moored to a fixed structure.
- 10. The floating structure of claim 9 wherein said fixed structure is a pier.
- 11. A method for providing a floating surface, comprising:
providing one or more floating basins having basin water therein; providing one or more pontoons floating in said basins, each of said pontoons having horizontal freedom of motion relative to said basins; and providing on said pontoons a deck for supporting said surface.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said surface comprises a runway for aircraft.
- 13. The method of claim 11 wherein said basin is moored to a fixed structure.
- 14. The method of claim 13 wherein said fixed structure is a pier.
- 15. The method of claim 11, wherein said surface comprises a roadway.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of copending application Ser. No. 10/109,153, filed Mar. 25, 2002.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10109153 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Child |
10720885 |
Nov 2003 |
US |