Portable lightweight apparatus and method for transferring heavy loads

摘要

A method and apparatus for the water-based transfer of heavy loads. The invention is a lightweight apparatus is reconfigurable, and it includes a gantry arrangement mounted on beams or a platform and the apparatus is used to transfer heavy load items. The apparatus reconfigurable and may be used in a water-based loading environments in performing a variety of loading functions in situations involving one or more watercrafts and/or a pier or the like.

主权项

1. A lightweight buoyant apparatus for transferring heavy loads, comprising:
a reconfigurable floating platform arrangement comprising;
a first end portion having an outer edge and an inner edge,a second end portion having an outer edge and an inner edge, anda third portion that is a raft having a substantially flat continuous upper surface, the third portion reconfigurable into several different arrangements in combination with the first end portion and the second end portion including;
a first arrangement in which the third portion is positioned between inner edges of the first end portion and the second end portion, wherein the third portion is attached to each of the first end portion and the second end portion, forming a platform having a continuous substantially flat upper surface extending from the first end portion to the second end portion,a second arrangement in which the third portion is separated into two equal raft sections, wherein one of the two raft sections is attached to an outer edge of the first end portion and the other of the two raft sections is attached to an outer edge of the second end portion leaving a wholly open section between the first end portion and the second end portion, anda third arrangement in which the third portion is separated into two equal raft sections, wherein one of the two raft sections is attached to an outer edge of the first end portion, and the other of the two raft sections is positioned between the first end portion and the second end portion and attached at the inner edge of the first end portion leaving a half-cut-out section between the first end portion and the second end portion, a plurality of substantially U-shaped load transferring frames, each of the substantially U-shaped load transferring frames comprising;
a first vertical section supported on the first end portion,a second vertical section supported on the second end portion, anda substantially U-shaped crossbeam extending from the first vertical section to the second vertical section, the substantially U-shaped crossbeam having a horizontal rail section extending in an X-direction, anda rail for slidingly supporting a load, the rail extending in a Y-direction, perpendicular to said X-direction, the rail supported at a midpoint of each of the plurality of horizontal rail support sections.