The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 08, 1994
Filed:
Apr. 15, 1993
L Terry Boatman, Katy, TX (US);
Charles O Etheridge, Houston, TX (US);
Sofec, Inc., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
An improved detachable mooring system (1) is disclosed of the kind including a rotatable turret (10) mounted on the vessel (5) and a buoyant spider buoy (20), secured by chains (22) to the sea floor, which may be selectively connected by means of a hydraulic connector (209) to the bottom of the turret (10). The improvement relates to manufacturing the turret in three sections (10A, 10B, 10C), with top and bottom sections joined ultimately by a middle section. The top section (10C) includes a machined surface (102) for connection of the bearing retainer ring to the upper roller bearing (598). The bottom section (10A) includes a machined cylindrical journal surface (110) for connection to the radial support bearing. Another improvement relates to testing during manufacture of the mating and connection between the top of the spider buoy (20) and the bottom of the turret (10) prior to deployment of the vessel and spider buoy (20) in the sea. Such testing occurs before the bottom section (10A) of the turret is installed on the vessel (5) and joined to the turret middle (10B) and upper sections (10C).