spect to the surface of the body of water and once the 45 lowermost portion of the deck is positioned above a statistical wavecrest height jacking is discontinued and drilling and/or production operations are begun。
The subject invention is directed to a deck locking apparatus for a jack-up platform such as previously 50 described。
Various designs have been advantageously utilized to jack the supporting legs with respect to the platform deck。 One such design comprises a jacking mechanism having hydraulic cylinders which reciprocate vertically 55 along the legs of the offshore tower and carry horizon- tally actuatable pins at the ends thereof for engagement with apertures positioned within rails affixed to the legs。
Another previously known jacking mechanism com- prises one or more racks which longitudinally extend along the operative jacking length of the offshore tower legs。 Pinion gears mesh with the leg mounted racks and are driven by hydraulic or electric drive assemblies mounted upon the platform deck。
Although jack-up platform designs have attained a considerable degree of commercial acceptance, at least some jack-up mechanisms, and particularly the jack-up mechanisms of the rack and pinion type, permit a de-
those presented above should be sufficient to demon-
strate that jack-up platform systems particularly of the rack and pinion type appearing in the past will admit to worth-while improvement。
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a novel, jack-up platform locking apparatus which will obviate or minimize difficulties of the type previously described。
It is a specific object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus wherein the platform deck may be securely connected to the plat- form legs in a raised position independent of the plat- form jacking assemblies。
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus wherein envi- ronmentally imposed moments upon the jack-up legs may be reacted at secure design locations and not through deck well guides。
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus which will enable the structural dead weight of the platform to be reduced while maintaining statistical safety standards for environmentally imposed bending moments。
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus which may be vertically adjusted with respect to the deck and plat- form leg。
It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus wherein a locking mechanism may be horizontally actuated into engagement with the platform legs and securely re- tained in substantial load bearing engagement。
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel jack-up platform locking apparatus wherein the locking assembly may be mechanically secured in a
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vertical posture following a vertical adjustment proce- tion。 In this connection FIGS。 1 and 2 depict an off- dure。 shorejack-up platform 10 of the type which may advan-
It is yet a further object of the tnvention to prOVlde a tageously utilize the locking mechanism of the subject novel jack-up platform locking apparatus which iS C£I1TI- 自升式平台锁定装置英文文献和中文翻译(2):http://www.youerw.com/fanyi/lunwen_96548.html