Heavy duty vent cap system for a suction pile

摘要

The heavy duty a vent cap system includes a top plate with a bucket interface, a center stem assembly, a retainer assembly, a bottom plate with a stem sleeve and guiding device, an adapter ring, a plurality of perimeter stem assemblies and a plurality of perimeter installation stems. A remote operated vehicle engages the bucket interface to rotate a center stem member in the center stem assembly. A threaded portion of the center stem assembly engages a stem nut in the retainer assembly. The rotation along threads of the stem nut held within the retainer assembly actuates the bottom plate between opened and closed positions. The bottom plate maintains alignment to the top plate and adapter ring and resists cocking and distortion. The bottom plate seals to a connection portion of the adapter ring in any orientation of the heavy duty vent cap system, ranging from vertical to horizontal.

主权项

1. A vent cap system, comprising:
a top plate having a bucket interface means centered on said top plate; a center stem assembly being comprised of a center stem member, a means for engaging said bucket interface means, and a threaded portion, said means for engaging being positioned on an upper end of said center stem member, said threaded portion being positioned below said means for engaging; retainer assembly being comprised of a nut retaining means and a stem nut housed in said nut retaining means, said stem nut being in threaded engagement to said threaded portion of said center stem assembly, said stem nut being rotatable within said nut retaining means; a bottom plate being comprised of a stem sleeve, a guide means, and a sealing means, said stem sleeve being centered on a bottom surface of said bottom plate, said center stem member being partially housed within said stem sleeve, said center stem member being aligned so as to be removably inserted into said stem sleeve, said nut retaining means being in fixed engagement to said bottom plate, wherein said stem nut exerts force against said bottom plate so as to actuate said bottom plate, and wherein said sealing means is positioned on an outer circumference of said bottom plate; an adapter ring having a welded portion and a connection portion, said welded portion for permanent attachment to the suction pile, said connection portion facing said bottom plate and removably engaging said bottom plate, said bottom plate in removable sealed engagement to said connection portion, wherein said guide means mounts on a perimeter of a top surface of said bottom plate so as to maintain position of said bottom plate relative to said top plate; a plurality of perimeter stem assemblies, each perimeter stem assembly being arranged on a perimeter of said connection portion of said adapter ring so as to maintain position of said top plate relative to said connection portion during raising and lowering of said bottom plate between an opened position and a closed position; and a plurality of perimeter installation stems, each perimeter installation stem being arranged on said perimeter of said connection portion of said adapter ring so as to fixedly attach said connection portion to said welded portion after attachment of said welded portion to the suction pile, each perimeter installation stem extending through said top plate and through said connection portion to engage said welded portion.