GB2032572A - Creación de Inventos y Patentes con Inteligencia Artificial

GB2032572A – Underwater pipe support
– Google Patents

GB2032572A – Underwater pipe support
– Google Patents
Underwater pipe support

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Publication number
GB2032572A

GB2032572A
GB7935903A
GB7935903A
GB2032572A
GB 2032572 A
GB2032572 A
GB 2032572A
GB 7935903 A
GB7935903 A
GB 7935903A
GB 7935903 A
GB7935903 A
GB 7935903A
GB 2032572 A
GB2032572 A
GB 2032572A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
guide means
pipeline
legs
abutment
members
Prior art date
1978-10-17
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)

Granted

Application number
GB7935903A
Other versions

GB2032572B
(en

Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)

SnamProgetti SpA

Original Assignee
SnamProgetti SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
1978-10-17
Filing date
1979-10-16
Publication date
1980-05-08

1979-10-16
Application filed by SnamProgetti SpA
filed
Critical
SnamProgetti SpA

1980-05-08
Publication of GB2032572A
publication
Critical
patent/GB2032572A/en

1982-11-10
Application granted
granted
Critical

1982-11-10
Publication of GB2032572B
publication
Critical
patent/GB2032572B/en

Status
Expired
legal-status
Critical
Current

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Classifications

F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING

F16—ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL

F16L—PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL

F16L1/00—Laying or reclaiming pipes; Repairing or joining pipes on or under water

F16L1/12—Laying or reclaiming pipes on or under water

F16L1/20—Accessories therefor, e.g. floats, weights

Description

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GB 2 032 572 A 1
SPECIFICATION
Apparatus for use in supporting pipelines
This invention relates to an apparatus which may be used for supporting a submerged pipeline 5 over a depression in a submarine bed; the apparatus may be used not only to support the pipeline but also to impart thereto an optimum predetermined configuration.
The sea bed is usually not completely flat, but 10 usually includes obstacles of various types such as rock projections or fissures or depressions of varying sizes and depth, where a pipeline would be in a suspended state. When laying piplines in shallow water it has been possible to avoid the 15 pipeline being unduly suspended over such depressions but it is not always possible to prevent this when laying pipelines in deep water. When a pipeline becomes suspended over a wide depression the pipeline can kink or bend, and in 20 extreme cases the pipeline can break.
Various types of adjustable apparatuses for supporting a pipeline suspended over depressions in deep sea beds are already known. Certain of these known apparatuses, besides being 25 complicated and therefore costly structures, have the drawback of having to be lowered and guided from the surface vessel to the pipeline to be supported by means of guide cables fixed to the pipeline. A consequence of this is that surface 30 vessels have to be used which are capable of being anchored at great depths and maintained accurately in position, and thus represent costly craft. Moreover, as the surface vessel remains connected to the pipeline by means of the guide 35 cables, any movement made by the surface vessel is transmitted to the pipeline, with the consequent serious danger of fracturing it.
These drawbacks are obviated in other types of known apparatuses such as those described in our 40 British Patent Application No. 2109/78, Serial No. 1564493 which require no connection between the pipeline and the surface vessel, and therefore enable a surface vessel to be used which is not anchored, and thus represents an economical craft 45 from which the apparatus is simply lowered to the sea bed and then dragged under the pipeline to be supported by a submarine. However, these latter known apparatuses also have certain drawbacks, one of which arises because of their considerable 50 height, which means that they cannot be used in all those cases in which the pipeline to be supported is fairly close to the sea bed. Moreover, as they have to be dragged by a submarine under the pipeline to be supported on account of their 55 bulk, and as they usually include a large base which rests on the sea bed, their use is limited to the case of a relatively flat sea bed free from roughness, because a sea bed which is nonuniform or strongly sloping, as is often 60 encountered at great depth, would give rise to considerable problems in dragging the apparatus, or indeed would make it impossible.
The present invention provides an apparatus suitable for supporting a submerged pipeline over
65 a depression in a submarine bed, which apparatus comprises:—
two or more support legs, the intention being that there shall, in use, be at least one support leg on each side of the pipeline to be supported; 70 an upper structure provided with: an abutment zone on its underside for abutting an upper portion of the pipeline, two or more upper guide means for slidably guiding the two or more support legs with at least one upper guide means on each side of 75 the abutment zone, lockable means for releasably locking the upper structure to the legs when the latter are guided by the upper guide means, and non-return holding mechanisms which with the lockable means unlocked permit upward 80 movement but prevent downward movement of the upper structure along the legs;
a lower structure provided with: two or more lower guide means for slidably guiding the two or more legs and corresponding in disposition to the 85 upper guide means, non-return holding mechanisms for permitting upward movement and for preventing downward movement of the lower structure along the legs, movable linking means mounted on and movable with respect to 90 one or more of the lower guide means and capable in use of linking the lower guide means on one side of the pipeline with a lower guide means on the opposite side of the pipeline, and one or more abutment members carried by the linking means 95 and intended to abut and support the underside of the pipeline when lower guide means on opposite sides of the pipeline are linked; and means for moving upwards the upper and lower structures relative to the legs.
100 The present invention also provides an apparatus suitable for supporting a submerged pipeline over a depression in a submarine bed, which apparatus comprises:—
four or more support legs, the intention being 105 that there shall, in use, be at least two support legs on each side of the pipeline to be supported;
an upper structure provided with: an abutment zone on its underside for abutting an upper portion of the pipeline, four or more upper guide means 110 for slidably guiding the four or more support legs with at least two upper guide means on each side of the abutment zone, lockable means for releasable locking the upper structure to the legs when the latter are guided by the upper guide 115 means, and non-return holding mechanisms which with the lockable means unlocked permit upward movement but prevent downward movement of the upper structure along the legs;
a lower structure provided with: four or more 120 lower guide means for slidably guiding the four or more legs and corresponding in disposition to the upper guide means, non-return holding mechanisms for permitting upward movement and for preventing downward movement of the 125 lower structure along the legs, two or more movable linking means mounted on and movable with respect to two or more of the lower guide means and capable in use of linking the lower guide means on one side of the pipeline with a
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lower guide means on the opposite side of the pipeline, and one or more abutment members carried by each of the linking carrier means and intended to abut and support the underside of the 5 pipeline when lower guide means on opposite sides of the pipeline are linked; and means for moving upwards the upper and lower structures relative to the legs.
The present invention is able to obviate the 10 aforementioned drawbacks, and allows a pipeline to be suspended over a depression in a deep sea bed to be supported, whatever the distance between the pipeline and the sea bed, and for any configuration, slope or nature of the sea bed. The 15 apparatus of the present invention is of simple structure and easy installation, and can be easily conveyed by a submarine onto the pipeline to be supported, instead of having to be dragged.
Preferably, but not necessarily, the apparatus 20 has four support legs, four upper guide means and four lower guide means.
Preferably the upper structure includes a floodable caisson having a square horizontal cross-section.
25 With such a caisson, conveniently the upper guide means are in the vicinity of the corners of the square cross-sectioned caisson.
The caisson, is preferably provided with one or more handles on its side region and with a ring on 30 its top region.
Preferably the abutment zone of the upper structure is semi-cylindrical.
Preferably the upper guide means are guide tubes in which the legs may move translationally 35 but not rotationally. Preferably each lower guide means is a guide tube.
Conveniently each leg is provided with one or more rack disposed parallel to the leg. Preferably each rack has teeth each having a horizontal upper 40 face and a lower face inclined to the horizontal.
In the case in which there are at least 4 support legs, the lower structure preferably further includes connecting members which extend between the lower guide means on the same side 45 of the pipeline.
Preferably the movable linking means comprises a plurality of elongate members which correspond in number to the number of lower guide means the elongate members being 50 rotatable with respect to the respective lower guide means betwen a rest position, in which the pipeline is free to move between the lower guide means, and a work position, in which in use the elongate members are below the pipeline, each 55 elongate member carrying an abutment member, and the elongate members when in the work position being disposed as one or more pair extending between the two legs of each one or more pair of opposing legs. Preferably each 60 abutment member has an abutment face corresponding to a segment equivalent to one quarter of a circular cylinder.
When four legs are present preferably of the four elongate members provided with abutment 65 members, two each have a cross-section in the form of three elongate elements joined end-to-end with the two terminal elements being parallel and extending perpendicularly from the same side of the intermediate element, the uppermost element, on which the abutment member is fixed, being of reduced length from a central portion of the elongate member onwards, whereas the other two elongate members each have a cross-section in the form of a hollow square which, when in its working position, is inserted in the cavity of one of the first mentioned two elongate members and is fitted on its upper face with the abutment member in that region which faces the region of reduced length of the uppermost elongate element of the first-mentioned elongate member.
Preferably the lockable means for releasably locking the upper structure to the support legs provided with racks is constituted by two or more pins which are insertable into the teeth of the racks on the two or more support legs, the pins being rigidly mounted perpendicularly to two or more levers which are disposed perpendicularly to the racks and are pivotally mounted at one end region to a body of the upper structure and at their other end to a common control rod supported to slide generally perpendicularly to the levers on the body, the pins being kept inserted into the teeth of racks by virtue of a hook member which is pivoted to the body of the upper structure and is inserted into a bore provided at one end region of the common control rod, to compress a spring acting on the rod in a direction which would tend, were it not for the hook member, to rotate the levers and cause the pjns to.be withdrawn from the racks.
When the legs have toothed racks, preferably the non-return holding mechanisms of the upper and lower structures each comprise a pin which is supported in a housing fixed to the respective guide means in opposition to the or one of the racks of the respective support legs, the pin being resiliency urged by a springs towards the teeth of the rack and passing through a corresponding bore in the guide means.
When there are present connecting members connecting the lower guide means on one side of the pipeline, preferably the means for moving upwards the upper and lower structures relative to the support legs comprises double-acting hydraulic jacks each pivotally mounted respectively between the one off the connecting members which connect together the guide means of the lower support structure on one side of the pipeline, and two overlying members welded to and extending between the guide means of the upper structure.
Preferably, for recovery purposes, the double-acting hydaulic jacks are pivotally mounted to the connecting members which connect together the guide means of the lower structure, by means of respective releasable systems.
For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
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Figure 1 is a view towards one side of an embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a view towards one end of the 5 apparatus of Figure 1;
Figure 3 shows, on an enlarged scale, a vertical section through a pawl and rack mechanism for allowing upward, but not downward, movement of an upper structure and a lower structure relative 1 o to the support legs of the apparatus of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1 ;
Figure 5 shows, on an enlarged scale, part of a locking mechanism shown in Figure 4; 15 Figure 6 shows a horizontal section through the apparatus, taken on the line Y—Y in Figure 2;
Figure 7 is a cross-section through rotatable cross members provided with semi-saddles in the apparatus of the invention, taken on the line A—A 20 in Figure 6; and
Figure 8 is a cross-section through rotatable cross members provided with semi-saddles in the apparatus of the present invention, taken on the line B—B in Figure 6.
25 Referring to the drawings, there is shown a submerged pipeline 1 suspended over a depression in the sea bed 2, supported by an apparatus according to the present invention. This apparatus includes, as two major components, an 30 upper structure 3 and a supporting lower structure 4 which are separate or separable from each other. Another essential component of the apparatus is the set of support legs described hereinafter.
35 The upper structure 3 includes a buoyant caisson 5 to which are welded and through which pass four vertical guide tubes, 6, 7, 8 and 9, in the proximity of the four vertical vertices of the caisson 5 which has a square horizontal section. 40 The guide tubes 6,7,8 and 9 project below the bottom of the caisson 5 and terminate at their lowfer ends in flanges 10.
Located within the four guide tubes 6, 7,8 and 9 are four support legs 11,12,13 and 14, 45 respectively, which legs are capable of vertical movement within the guide tubes but cannot rotate therein. Each of the support legs 11, 12, 13 and 14 is provided over a major portion of its length with two diametrically opposed racks 15 50 and 16, and at its lower end region with a support base 17 having a point which is inserted in the sea bed 2.
The caisson 5 has in the region of its lower face an abutment zone in the form of a semi-cylindrical 55 depression 18 which runs from one end of the caisson along a central line to the other end of the caisson and which is intended to accommodate an upper portion of the pipe line 1 to be supported. The caisson 5 is also provided at its two opposite 60 ends with handles 19 and 20 intended to be grasped by articulated arms of a submarine, and on its upper face or roof with a ring 21 to which a support cable (not shown) may be made fast.
Also on the upper face or roof of the caisson 5 is 65 a mechanism for releasably locking the upper structure 3 of the apparatus to the support legs 11 to 14. This mechanism, which is shown in more detail in Figures 4 and 5, includes four pins 22 which pass through holes in the guide tubes 6, 7, 8 and 9 and enter gaps between adjacent teeth of the racks 16 on the support legs 11 to 14. The pins 22 are rigidly mounted on, and extend perpendicularly from, four levers 23 which lie in a plane perpendicular to the length of the racks 16 and which are pivotally mounted at one end region on mountings 24 provided on the roof of the caisson 5. The opposite end regions of the levers 23 are provided with respective slots 25 extending parallel to the length of the levers 23. Inserted in the slots 25 are four respective pins 26 carried by a single central control rod 27 permitted to slide generally perpendicularly to the levers 23 on the roof of the caisson 5 by guides 28 fixed to that roof. A spring 29 acts on the control rod 27 in a manner such as to tend to urge to control rod 27 to move to the right in Figure 4; any such movement to the right by the control rod 27 would have the effect of causing pivotable movement of the levers 23 about their respective mountings 24 which, in turn, has the effect of moving the pins 22 away from their respective racks 16, thereby unlocking the upper structure 3 with respect to the support legs 11 to 14.
However, at least during the initial stages of the operation, the control rod 27 is prevented from undergoing such movement to the right by a hook member 30 which is pivotally mounted on a mounting 31 provided on the roof of the caisson 5, as is shown in Figure 5. The hook member 30 has its hook or nose 32 inserted in a vertical bore 33 provided in a left hand end region of the control rod 27. To unlock the upper structure of the apparatus relative to the support legs 11 to 13, it is necessary merely to pivot the hook member 30 upwardly, after which the control rod 27 is free to move to the right under the action of the compression spring 29.
The upper structure 3 of the apparatus is also provided with non-return holding mechanisms which prevent the upper structure 3 from moving down the legs 11 to 14 but which permit upward movement of the upper structure 3 along those legs. The upper structure 3 has eight such mechanisms, one associated with each of the eight racks 15 and 16. One of the mechanisms is illustrated in Figure 3, which shows a pin 34 capable of undergoing translational movement in a housing 35 and urged by a spring to a position in which the pin 34 partially projects beyond the housing 35. As is clear from Figure 3 the pin is able to enter a gap between two teeth of the rack 15 or 16. The teeth of the rack 15 or 16 are shaped so as to have a horizontal upper face and an inclined lower face, this arrangement ensuring that the pin 34, and hence the upper structure 3 is prevented from moving down the leg 11,12, 13 or 14. The mechanism nonetheless permits the pin 35 and hence the upper structure 3 to move upwards with respect to the support leg.
The supporting lower structure of the apparatus
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includes four vertical guide tubes 38, 39, 40 and 41 provided at their upper end regions with flanges 42, and disposed to correspond to the guide tubes 6 to 9 of the upper structure 3, so that g when the upper and lower structures 3 and 4 abut, they do so in the region of their respective flanges 10 and 42. Also, as is dear from Figures 1 and 2, the support legs 11 to 14 also pass through the guide tubes 38 to 41 respectively. 10 A horizontal connecting cross member 43 connects the guide tube 38 to the guide tube 41, and another, parallel horizontal connecting cross member 44 connects the guide tube 39 to the guide tube 40. Provision also exists for connecting 15 the guide tube 38 to the guide tube 39, and for connecting the guide tube 40 to the guide tube 41. For this purpose, the guide tubes 38, 39,40 and 41 are provided in lower regions thereof with respective collars 45,46,47 and 48, which are 20 provided with horizontally-extending cross members 49, 50, 51 and 52 respectively, each of which is provided with an abutment member 53 which has an abutment face resembling one quarter of a circular cylinder.
25 By virtue of the collars 45 to 48, the rotatable cross members 49 to 52 can be rotated through 90 degrees from a rest position, in which the cross members extend parallel to the connecting cross members 43 and 44, to a working position in 30 which the cross members 49 to 52 extend generally perpendicularly with respect to the connecting cross members 43 and 44. In the working position, the cross member 49 is coupled to the cross member 50, and the cross member 35 51 is coupled to the cross member 52, with the result that the abutment member 53 on the cross member 49 and that on the cross member 50 together constitute a support having a semi-cylindrical abutment face for supporting the 40 underside of the pipe line 1, and the abutment member 53 on the cross member 51 in conjunction with the abutment member 53 on the cross member 52 constitutes a second semi-cylindrical support for supporting the underside of 45 the pipe line 1.
In Figure 6 the cross members 49 to 52 are indicated in the rest position by interupted lines and by corresponding accentuated numbers (and this also applies to the cross member 49′ which is 50 shown in an intermediate position during its rotation), and the same cross members are indicated in the working position by continuous lines.
The degree of rotation of the cross members 49 55 to 52 is limited in their rest position by shoulder stops 54 provided with a conventional snap system for locking the cross members in position, and is limited in their working positions by similar shoulder stops 55, all of these stops 54 and 55 60 being supported by support flanges 56 each of which is fixed to one of the guide tubes 38 to 41.
The two cross members 49 and 51 which, in use of the apparatus, are the first to be rotated from their rest position to their working position, 65 are each constituted by a beam having a cross-
section in the form of three elongate elements joined end to end at right angles, the two terminal elements extending from the same side of the intermediate element. The terminal elements are horizontally disposed and the intermediate element is vertically disposed. The three elements are approximately the same length except for the uppermost element 51a which, over that half of its length which is remote from its collar, is of reduced length. The abutment member 53 is mounted on the broad part of the uppermost element 51a. The reason for the reduction in width of the uppermost element 51 a is to permit the abutment member 53 of the other cross member 50 or 52 to lie in the same plane as its own abutment member 53. Figures 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings show the cross members 49, 50, 51 and 52 most clearly. The two other cross member 50 and 52 each have a hollow square cross-section, with the abutment members 53 extending from the uppermost face of the cross member in that half of the cross member nearer the respective collar 46 or 48. As is clear from Figures 7 and 8, the cross members 49 to 52 are dimensioned such that the cross members 50 and 52 can be accommodated within the cross members 49 and 51 respectively.
The lower structure 4 of the apparatus is also provided with non-return holding mechanisms 57 which prevent it from moving down the support legs 11 to 14 but permit it to move up those legs, the mechanisms 57 being identical or similar to those used for the same purpose for the upper structure 3, as illustrated in Figure 3.
Another important component of the apparatus is a pair of double-acting hydraulic jacks 58 which are vertically disposed and which are for releasably connecting together the upper structure and the supporting lower structure 4 of the apparatus. The jacks 58 are pivotally connected at their lower end regions to the horizontal connecting cross members 43 and 44, respectively, of the lower structure 4 by means of respective, conventional releasable systems 59, and are pivotally mounted at their upper end regions to two horizontal cross members 60 (only one of which is visible in Figure 1, the other being oh the opposite side of the apparatus) disposed above the cross members 43 and 44 and welded respectively to the guide tubes 6,9 and 7, 8 of the upper structure. The jacks 58 are fed in parallel and are operated by means of two connectors provided on the caisson 5 (but not shown in the drawings), into which flexible feed hoses from a submarine may be plugged.
Having described the construction of the apparatus, the manner in which it can be operated will now be described.
The apparatus is prepared for use, on a surface vessel such as a depot ship. Assume initially that the upper structure 3 is connected to the lower structure 4 by means of the hydraulic jacks 58, with the upper structure 3 above the lower structure 4. The support legs 11 to 14 are then fed, from the top, into the guide tubes 6 to 9 of the
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upper structure and into the corresponding guide tubes 38 to 41 of the lower structure. Once the desired degree of insertion is achieved, the upper structure 3 (and hence the lower structure 4 also) 5 is locked to the support legs 11 to 14 by moving the control rod 27 to the left (in Figure 4) against the action of the spring 29 and securing it in position by inserting the hook 32 of the hook member 30 into the vertical bore in the control rod 10 27. The support bases 17 are then secured to the lower end regions of the support legs 11 to 14.
The cross members 49 to 52 are then secured in their rest position, and the interior of the caisson 5 is filled with sufficient water to ensure 15 that the apparatus will have a suitable residual weight in water. The apparatus is then lowered from the surface vessel to the sea bed by means of a support cable hooked to the ring 21. If desired, and this is likely in the event of adverse weather 20 conditions, the support cable is then released from the ring 21, once the apparatus is in the charge of a submarine which, with its articulated arms, can manhandle the apparatus by virtue of the handles 19 and 20. The submarine conveys the apparatus 25 to the pipe line 1 to be supported, in such a manner that the apparatus is lowered onto the pipe line 1 whereby the upper portion of the pipe line 1 becomes accommodated within the depression 18 in the undersid&x>f the caisson 5. 30 At this stage, the cross members 49 to 52 are moved into their working position, where they become automatically locked to each other, by rotating them in the sequence 49, 51, 50, 52 by means of the articulated arm of the submarine. 35 Also, the hook member 30 is withdrawn by rotating it upwards by means of an articulated arm on the submarine, in order to release the support legs 11 to 14 which thus fall by virtue of their own weight and become embedded in the sea bed 2. 40 The flexible feed hoses from the submarine are then connected to the feed connectors for the two hydraulic jacks 58, which are operated simultaneously firstly in the sense of raising the upper structure 3 by exerting a downward force on 45 the lower structure 4 which remains stationary (as does also the pipe line 1), because downward movement of the lower structure 4 is prevented by the non-return mechanisms 57; after this, the jacks are operated in the sense of pulling the lower 50 structure 4 upwards, thereby exerting an upward force on the underside of the pipe line 1, by exerting a downward force on the upper structure 3 which is prevented from moving downwards by the non-return holding mechanisms (34, 35 and 55 36).
Such alternate upward movement of the two structures 3 and 4 is repeated until the pipe line 1 is supported to the desired extent by the lower structure 4 or is raised by the necessary amount to 60 give it the predetermined optimum geometrical configuration.
Then the feed hoses are uncoupled from the connectors, and the systems 59 which connect the hydraulic jacks 58 to the cross members 43 65 and 44 of the lower structure are released.
whereupon the upper structure 3 complete with the jacks 58 may be recovered by the surface vessel by exertion of an upward force on the ring 21 by means of a support cable, the upper 70 structure 3 being free to move upwardly over the upper portions of the legs 11 to 14.
In a modification of the illustrated embodiment, the double-acting hydraulic jacks 58 may be replaced by some other lifting equipment; for 75 instance gear wheels could be used which engage the racks on the support legs and which are rotated by electric or hydraulic motors. Alternatively, there would be employed an elevator which acts under the pipe and rests on gO the sea bed.

Claims (1)

1. An apparatus suitable for supporting a submerged pipeline over a depression in a submarine bed, which apparatus comprises:—
05 two or more support legs, the intention being that there shall, in use, be at least one support leg on each side of the pipeline to be supported;
an upper structure provided with: an abutment zone on its underside for abutting an upper portion go of the pipeline, two or more upper guide means for slidably guiding the two or more support legs with at least one upper guide means on each side of the abutment zone, lockable means for releasably locking the upper structure to the legs when the 95 latter are guided by the upper guide means, and non-return holding mechanisms which with the lockable means unlocked permit upward movement but prevent downward movement of the upper structure along the legs;
I oo a lower structure provided with: two or more lower guide means for slidably guiding the two or more legs and corresponding in disposition to the upper guide means, non-return holding mechanisms for permitting upward movement 1 05 and for preventing downward movement of the lower structure along the legs, movable linking means mounted on and movable with respect to one or more of the lower guide means and capable in use of linking the lower guide means on one 110 s’de °f the pipeline with a lower guide means on the opposite side of the pipeline, and one or more abutment members carried by the linking means and intended to abut and support the underside of the pipeline when lower guide means on opposite 115 sides of the pipeline are linked; and means for moving upwards the upper and lower structures relative to the legs.
2. An apparatus suitable for supporting a submerged pipeline over a depression in a
120 submarine bed, which apparatus comprises:—
four or more support legs, the intention being that there shall, in use, be at least two support legs on each side of the pipeline to be supported; an upper structure provided with: an abutment 125 zone on its underside for abutting an upper portion • of the pipeline, four or more upper guide means for slidably guiding the four or more support legs with at least two upper guide means on each side of the abutment zone, lockable means for
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releasable locking the upper structure to the legs when the latter are guided by the upper guide means, and non-return holding mechanisms which with the lockable means unlocked permit upward 5 movement but prevent downward movement of the upper structure along the legs;
a lower structure provided with: four or more lower guide means for slidably guiding the four or more legs and corresponding in disposition to the 10 upper guide means, non-return holding mechanisms for permitting upward movement and for preventing downward movement of the lower structure along the legs, two or more movable linking means mounted on and movable 15 with respect to two or more of the lower guide means and capable in use of linking the lower guide means on one side of the pipeline with a lower guide means on the opposite side of the pipeline, and one or more abutment members 20 carried by each of the linking carrier means and intended to abut and support the underside of the pipeline when lower guide means on opposite sides of the pipeline are linked; and means for moving upward the upper and lower 25 structures relative to the legs.
3. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, which has four support legs, four upper guide means and four lower guide means.
4. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 3, wherein 30 the upper structure includes a floodable caisson having a square horizontal cross-section.
5. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the upper guide means are in the vicinity of the corners of the square cross-sectioned caisson.
35 6. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein the caisson is provided with one or more handles on its side region and with a ring on its top region.
7. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding 40 claim, wherein the abutment zone of the upper structure is semi-cylindrical.
8. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the upper guide means are guide tubes in which the legs may move translationally
45 but not rotationally.
9. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each leg is provided with one or more rack disposed parallel to the leg.
10. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9, 50 wherein each rack has teeth each having a horizontal upper face and a lower face inclined to the horizontal.
11. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each lower guide means is a guide
55 tube.
12. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or in any one of Claims 3 to 11 when appendant to Claim 2, which further includes connecting members which extend between the lower guide
60 means on the same side of the pipeline.
13. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the moveable linking means comprises a plurality of elongate members which correspond in number to the number of lower
65 guide means, the elongate members being rotatable with respect to the respective lower guide means between a rest position, in which the pipeline is free to move between the lower guide means, and a work position, in which in use the elongate members are below the pipeline, each elongate member carrying an abutment member, and the elongate members when in the work position being disposed as one or more pair extending between the two legs of each one or more pair of opposing legs.
14. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, wherein the elongate elements are associated with snap locks for locking the elongate elements in the rest and work positions.
15. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13 or 14, wherein each abutment member has an abutment face corresponding to a segment equivalent to one quarter of a circular cylinder.
16. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 13, 14 or 15 when appendant to Claim 3, wherein of the four elongate members provided with abutment members, two each have a cross-section in the form of three elongate elements joined end-to-end with the two terminal elements being parallel and extending perpendicularly from the same side of the intermediate element, the uppermost element, on which the abutment member is fixed, being of reduced length from a central portion of the elongate member onwards, whereas the other two elongate members each have a cross-section in the form of a hollow square which, when in its working position, is inserted in the cavity of one of the first-mentioned two elongate members and is fitted on its upper face with the abutment member in that region which faces the region of reduced length of the uppermost elongate element of the first-mentioned elongate member.
17. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 or 10, or in any one of Claims 11 to 16 when appendant to Claim 9 or 10, wherein the lockable means for releasably locking the upper structure to the support legs provided with racks is constituted by two or more pins which are insertable into the teeth of the racks on the two or more support legs, the pins being rigidly mounted perpendicularly to two or more levers which are disposed perpendicularly to the racks and are pivotally mounted at one end region to a body of the upper structure and at their other end to a common control rod supported to slide generally perpendicularly to the levers on the body, the pins being kept inserted into the teeth of racks by virtue of a hook member which is pivoted to the body of the upper structure and is inserted into a bore provided at one end region of the common control rod, to compress a spring acting on the rod in a direction which would tend, were it not for the hook member, to rotate the levers and cause the pins to be withdrawn from the racks.
18. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 9 or 10, or in any one of Claims 11 to 17 when appendant to Claim 9 or 10, wherein the non-return holding mechanisms of the upper and lower structures each comprise a pin which is supported in a housing fixed to the respective guide means in
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opposition the or one of the racks of the respective 15 support legs, the pin being resiliently urged by a spring towards the teeth of the rack and passing through a corresponding bore in the guide means.
19. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 12 or in any one of Claims 13 to 18 when appendant to 20 Claim 12, wherein the means for moving upwards the upper and lower structures relative to the support legs comprises double-acting hydraulic jacks each pivotally mounted respectively between the one of the connecting members 25
which connect together the guide means of the lower support structure on one side of the pipeline, and two overlying members welded to and extending between the guide means of the upper structure.
20. An apparatus as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the double-acting hydraulic jacks are pivotally mounted to the connecting members which connect together the guide means of the lower structure, by means of respective releasable systems.
21. An apparatus suitable for supporting a submerged pipeline over a depression in a sea bed, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.
Printed for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa, 1980. Published by the Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1 AY, from which copies may be obtained.

GB7935903A
1978-10-17
1979-10-16
Underwater pipe support

Expired

GB2032572B
(en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number
Priority Date
Filing Date
Title

IT28824/78A

IT1099960B
(en)

1978-10-17
1978-10-17

ADJUSTABLE EQUIPMENT FOR THE SUPPORT OF A PIPE INSTALLED IN HIGH BOTTOMS IN CORRESPONDENCE OF A SEA BOTTOM

Publications (2)

Publication Number
Publication Date

GB2032572A
true

GB2032572A
(en)

1980-05-08

GB2032572B

GB2032572B
(en)

1982-11-10

Family
ID=11224261
Family Applications (1)

Application Number
Title
Priority Date
Filing Date

GB7935903A
Expired

GB2032572B
(en)

1978-10-17
1979-10-16
Underwater pipe support

Country Status (21)

Country
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US
(1)

US4252466A
(en)

JP
(1)

JPS5560780A
(en)

AR
(1)

AR217012A1
(en)

AU
(1)

AU524454B2
(en)

BE
(1)

BE879437A
(en)

BR
(1)

BR7907211A
(en)

CA
(1)

CA1106194A
(en)

DE
(1)

DE2942044C2
(en)

DK
(1)

DK145125C
(en)

ES
(1)

ES485084A1
(en)

FI
(1)

FI793059A
(en)

FR
(1)

FR2439351A1
(en)

GB
(1)

GB2032572B
(en)

IT
(1)

IT1099960B
(en)

MA
(1)

MA18616A1
(en)

NL
(1)

NL7907517A
(en)

NO
(1)

NO793321L
(en)

OA
(1)

OA06360A
(en)

PT
(1)

PT70325A
(en)

SE
(1)

SE7908531L
(en)

TR
(1)

TR20637A
(en)

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FR2523612A1
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1982-03-19
1983-09-23
Snam Spa

ADJUSTABLE APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING A SUBMERSIBLE PIPE DEPOSITED TO A LARGE DEPTH ABOVE A DEPRESSION OF THE SEA

GB2186657A
(en)

1986-02-13
1987-08-19
Exxon Production Research Co
Underwater cryogenic pipeline system

WO1994008166A1
(en)

1992-10-07
1994-04-14
S.E.I.C.-Submarine Engineering Inspection Construction-S.R.L.
Span support for underwater pipelines

GB2335725A
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1998-03-26
1999-09-29
Ultraframe Uk Ltd
Pipe support

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1981-06-26
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DEVICE FOR MAINTAINING A PIPING

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1980-02-19
1989-07-16
Rognoni Antonio

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR UNDERWATER PIPES DISTANT FROM THE BOTTOM.

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1980-02-19
1989-07-16
Rognoni Antonio

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR SUBMARINE PIPES AT SMALL DISTANCE FROM THE BOTTOM.

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1990-01-16
1991-10-01
Parks James M
Placement of foraminous piping in non-cohesive subsoils

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1993-11-23
Canadian Rubber & Steel Ltd.
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1994-03-01
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1992-04-03
1993-09-07
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Apparatus for laying pipe

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Sonsub International Management Inc.
Pipe attachment and receiving assembly

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Mechanical pipeline span prop with suction anchor foundation

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Fixing device used in petroleum transportation process

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ADJUSTABLE EQUIPMENT TO SUPPORT AND ASSUME A PREDETERMINED GEOMETRIC CONFIGURATION TO A PIPE INSTALLED IN HIGH BOTTOMS CORRESPONDING TO THE ACCIDENTALITY OF THE SEA BOTTOM

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EQUIPMENT FOR THE SUPPORT OF SUSPENDED PIPES ON HILLS LOCATED ALSO AT THE GREAT DEPTHS OF THE SEA AND METHOD FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE SEA

1978

1978-10-17
IT
IT28824/78A
patent/IT1099960B/en
active

1979

1979-10-03
US
US06/081,489
patent/US4252466A/en
not_active
Expired – Lifetime

1979-10-03
FI
FI793059A
patent/FI793059A/en
not_active
Application Discontinuation

1979-10-09
ES
ES485084A
patent/ES485084A1/en
not_active
Expired

1979-10-10
NL
NL7907517A
patent/NL7907517A/en
not_active
Application Discontinuation

1979-10-12
AU
AU51746/79A
patent/AU524454B2/en
not_active
Ceased

1979-10-15
NO
NO793321A
patent/NO793321L/en
unknown

1979-10-15
DK
DK434879A
patent/DK145125C/en
active

1979-10-15
SE
SE7908531A
patent/SE7908531L/en
not_active
Application Discontinuation

1979-10-16
FR
FR7925704A
patent/FR2439351A1/en
not_active
Withdrawn

1979-10-16
PT
PT70325A
patent/PT70325A/en
unknown

1979-10-16
MA
MA18816A
patent/MA18616A1/en
unknown

1979-10-16
GB
GB7935903A
patent/GB2032572B/en
not_active
Expired

1979-10-16
BE
BE0/197666A
patent/BE879437A/en
unknown

1979-10-16
CA
CA337,866A
patent/CA1106194A/en
not_active
Expired

1979-10-17
AR
AR278543A
patent/AR217012A1/en
active

1979-10-17
OA
OA56920A
patent/OA06360A/en
unknown

1979-10-17
DE
DE2942044A
patent/DE2942044C2/en
not_active
Expired

1979-10-17
JP
JP13304279A
patent/JPS5560780A/en
active
Pending

1979-10-18
BR
BR7907211A
patent/BR7907211A/en
unknown

1980

1980-01-01
TR
TR20637A
patent/TR20637A/en
unknown

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party

Publication number
Priority date
Publication date
Assignee
Title

FR2523612A1
(en)

1982-03-19
1983-09-23
Snam Spa

ADJUSTABLE APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING A SUBMERSIBLE PIPE DEPOSITED TO A LARGE DEPTH ABOVE A DEPRESSION OF THE SEA

GB2186657A
(en)

1986-02-13
1987-08-19
Exxon Production Research Co
Underwater cryogenic pipeline system

US4718459A
(en)

1986-02-13
1988-01-12
Exxon Production Research Company
Underwater cryogenic pipeline system

GB2186657B
(en)

1986-02-13
1990-03-07
Exxon Production Research Co
Underwater cryogenic pipeline system

WO1994008166A1
(en)

1992-10-07
1994-04-14
S.E.I.C.-Submarine Engineering Inspection Construction-S.R.L.
Span support for underwater pipelines

GB2335725A
(en)

1998-03-26
1999-09-29
Ultraframe Uk Ltd
Pipe support

GB2335725B
(en)

1998-03-26
2003-04-09
Ultraframe Uk Ltd
Connecting device

Also Published As

Publication number
Publication date

DK145125B
(en)

1982-09-06

IT7828824D0
(en)

1978-10-17

DE2942044A1
(en)

1980-04-24

AU5174679A
(en)

1980-04-24

ES485084A1
(en)

1980-04-16

AU524454B2
(en)

1982-09-16

CA1106194A
(en)

1981-08-04

FR2439351A1
(en)

1980-05-16

DK145125C
(en)

1983-02-07

NL7907517A
(en)

1980-04-21

DK434879A
(en)

1980-04-18

BE879437A
(en)

1980-04-16

IT1099960B
(en)

1985-09-28

PT70325A
(en)

1979-11-01

GB2032572B
(en)

1982-11-10

MA18616A1
(en)

1980-07-01

BR7907211A
(en)

1980-06-17

DE2942044C2
(en)

1982-01-21

JPS5560780A
(en)

1980-05-08

TR20637A
(en)

1982-03-16

AR217012A1
(en)

1980-02-15

US4252466A
(en)

1981-02-24

NO793321L
(en)

1980-04-18

OA06360A
(en)

1981-06-30

SE7908531L
(en)

1980-04-18

FI793059A
(en)

1980-04-18

Información de contacto