| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 4299184 |
Method of towing large masses at sea |
November 10, 1981 |
| A large floating mass (10) such as an off-shore structure or an iceberg is towed using two sea anchors (20 & 30) alternately. The motive power for towing is derived from winch means (15 & 16) on the large floating mass or on a barge immediately in front of it. The cable by which the towi |
| 4289423 |
Protective skirt for an iceberg |
September 15, 1981 |
| A protective skirt for a tabular iceberg (10) comprises a string of floating posts which support an upper protective portion near the water line. This portion is constituted by flexible panels (12) which provide both thermal protection and mechanical protection against wave action. C |
| 4258640 |
Large-scale protective device for tabular icebergs or floating structures |
March 31, 1981 |
| A large-scale protective device in accordance with the invention comprises an assembly of two types of unit, rigid cylindrical floating towers (3 to 6) and elastic connecting units (7, 8, 9) consisting of elastomer tubes. The generatrices of these elastic connecting units are in contact |
| 4241685 |
Self-stabilizing floating tower |
December 30, 1980 |
| An offshore floating tower comprises two coaxial cylindrical enclosures (2 and 11) interconnected by continuous radial bulkheads (10) forming in the upper portion a ring of damping chambers (12) and in the lower portion a ring of buoyancy tanks (4) around a bell-shaped chamber (5) which |
| 4230418 |
Thermal protective device for tabular icebergs |
October 28, 1980 |
| A device (4) for thermally protecting the side of a tabular iceberg (1) produces a vertical layer of calm water (7) between itself and the vertical side wall of the tabular iceberg. This thermal protective device is suspended from a mechanical protective device, which may comprise a |
| 4223627 |
Propulsion device for embedding in an iceberg |
September 23, 1980 |
| The device comprises an assembly of three principal components, a member for embedding in the rear wall of a tabular iceberg at some depth below the water line, a support structure projecting therefrom and a propulsion unit. It preferably includes a shield to transmit the thrust to a |
| 4201498 |
Method for rapidly melting an iceberg |
May 6, 1980 |
| To melt an iceberg once it has been brought to a tropical region where it is to act as a source of fresh water, use is made of the warm breezes of such tropical regions. Droplets of an artificial rain of cold fresh water are caused to drop through the warm air, thereby extracting heat fr |
| 4200409 |
Protective side wall for tabular icebergs |
April 29, 1980 |
| A vertical wall is placed next to the flank of an iceberg to retain a vertical layer of trapped water in contact with the iceberg. Zig-zag tubes are threaded through the wall at intervals so that the "elbows" in the zig-zags engage the iceberg flank to keep a fixed distance off. |
| 4193712 |
Wall for protecting tabular icebergs against the mechanical effects of waves |
March 18, 1980 |
| A wall for protecting tabular icebergs against the mechanical effects of the waves and swell contains between the protective wall and the vertical side face of the tabular iceberg to be protected a layer of seawater subject to level variations of smaller amplitude than is the seawater |
| 4191491 |
Creating and maintaining a pool of fresh water on a tabular iceberg |
March 4, 1980 |
| Tabular icebergs can be used as a source of fresh water in arid regions if they are transported from the Antarctic to where there is a need for water. To help reduce the rate at which solar radiation melts the iceberg on its journey, pools of fresh water are maintained on its upper surfa |
| 4178872 |
Member for attaching a propulsion unit to a tabular iceberg |
December 18, 1979 |
| A member in the form of a ring connected by radial fins to central hub includes a heater at least for its lower surfaces so that in operation it melts the ice of the iceberg (starting from the top surface thereof) and sinks therethrough with the ice re-freezing above it. The member also |
| 4177748 |
Device for attaching propulsion units to a tabular iceberg |
December 11, 1979 |
| A flat flotation unit incorporates buoyancy chambers and has a lower portion adapted to be attached to a propulsion unit and an upper portion adapted to grip into the substantially horizontal lower surface of a tabular iceberg. The grip is provided by upstanding support members which |
| 4175887 |
Anti-swell protective device |
November 27, 1979 |
| A device for protecting off-shore structures stretched between two floating towers of the "Froude pole" type against the effects of ocean swell, comprising at least four floating poles, two vertical arrays of horizontal cables, and a deflection panel assembly attached to one of the verti |
| 4166363 |
Method of energy conversion utilizing a tubular iceberg |
September 4, 1979 |
| Melted ice stored in a pool hollowed out of the upper surface of a tabular iceberg is used as a cold source and the sea on which the iceberg is floating is used as a hot source for a heat engine. Useful energy is extracted in spite of the low Carnot cycle efficiency and the melting of |
