Claims
- 1. A pontoon for a collapsible folding bridge and crossing ferry, comprising:
- two inner floatation bodies each having a flat upper deck and a flat bottom; two outer floatation bodies each having a flat bottom aligned with the bottom of the inner floatation bodies, a first upwardly sloped flat deck section adjacent an inner floatation body, a second upwardly sloped flat deck section attached to the first deck section so as to form a step, and a lateral wall between the flat bottom and the second deck section so as to form a freeboard that acts as over-wash protection, the lateral wall being a circular cylindrical section that intersects the flat bottom so that a tangential line at the intersection encompasses an angle of 10-20 degrees with the flat bottom, the outer floatation bodies being wider than the inner floatation bodies; and hinge means for connecting the bodies to one another so that the floatation bodies can be folded into a W-shaped configuration in which the second deck sections of the outer floatation bodies lie flat on the upper decks of the adjacent inner floatation bodies and so that the outer bodies extend beyond the inner bodies.
- 2. A pontoon according to claim 1, wherein the outer flotation bodies are configured so that a center axis of the lateral wall of the cylindrical section lies roughly at a center of an adjacent inner floatation body when the pontoon is folded.
- 3. A pontoon according to claim 1, wherein the first deck section is configured to have a lower slope than the second deck section.
- 4. A pontoon as defined in claim 1, wherein the floatation bodies are at least partially formed of foamed material.
- 5. A pontoon as defined in claim 1, wherein the angle between the bottom and the tangential line is 15 degrees.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
295 16 480 U |
Oct 1995 |
DEX |
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Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/657,408 filed Jun. 3, 1996, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4972538 |
Parramore |
Nov 1990 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1966374 |
Sep 1972 |
DEX |
3004397 |
Aug 1981 |
DEX |
3510778 |
Sep 1986 |
DEX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Militartechnik, Apr. 1972 pp. 182-183. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
657408 |
Jun 1996 |
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