PLATE-FORME SILO POUR FERMES PISCICOLES

SILO PLATFORM FOR FISH FARMING

Abrégé français

L'invention porte sur une plate-forme silo (10) flottante de type catamaran pour ferme piscicole comportant un flotteur (12) principal ancré relié à au moins un flotteur secondaire (14) et divisée en plusieurs chambres séparées ou silos (22) servant au stockage des aliments pour poissons, ou à tout autre usage.

Abrégé anglais

Catamaran Silo Platform (10) for use in floating position by fish farming,
having an anchored primary float (12) which is connected
to at least one secondary float (14), being divided in several individual
chambers or silos (22) as well as for storing fish feed as for other
intended purposes.

Revendications

5
What is claimed is:
1. A silo platform of a catamaran type for use in floating position by fish
farming,
even in stormy waters, comprising:
an anchored primary float; and
a longitudinal corbel quay in level with a driveway and gangways for
connecting
the primary float and at least one secondary float in a fixed distance from
each other,
wherein the floats, for the purpose of easing the flow of oxygen rich,
environmentally beneficial sea water, is placed in such direction that their
longitudinal
axis coincide with the direction of current, whereby the installation only to
a small extent
is influenced by currents and wave movements,
wherein the primary float, depending upon its width, is divided in a number of
internal chambers or silos for the storage of fish feed and for serving as
observation
chamber, living quarter, equipment room, generator room, diesel oil, water
tanks or
combinations thereof,
wherein each individual silo chamber extends downwards to the float base, and
wherein the float side walls are forming two of the chamber sides and half the
chamber
bottom, and
wherein the buoyancy of the secondary float is sufficient to support the
driveway
and the gangways.
3

Description

CA 02340743 2005-03-18
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SILO PLATFORM FOR FISH FARMING
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a silo platform, and more specifically to a
silo platform to be
used in fish farming installations.
Background of the Invention
A feed silo platform is a well known in the art. The platform installations
that are not of a
catamaran type have a common handicap, as the weight of the stored fish feed
is causing an
imbalanced load of the installation, depending upon the amount of feed.
Further the marine
currents and waves will provoke movements leading to tensile stresses in the
installation,
whereby the fish farming environment is deteriorated: Moving the installation
to new sites is
also cumbersome.
From the above will appear that there is a need for a silo platform
installation of a type where
the drawbacks mentioned above are eliminated or relieved.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new silo platform of a
catamaran type for
fish farming.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a silo
platform of a
catamaran type for use in floating position by fish farming, even in stormy
waters, which
includes: an anchored primary float; and a longitudinal corbel quay in level
with a driveway
and gangways for connecting the primary float and at least one secondary float
in a fixed
distance from each other, wherein the floats, for the purpose of easing the
flow of oxygen
rich, environmentally beneficial sea water, is placed in such direction that
their longitudinal
axis coincide with the direction of current, whereby the installation only to
a small extent is
influenced by currents and wave movements, wherein the primary float,
depending upon its
width, is divided in a number of internal chambers or silos for the storage of
fish feed and for
serving as observation chamber, living quarter, equipment raom, generator
room, diesel oil,
water tanks or combinations thereof, wherein each individual silo chamber
extends

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downwards to the float base, and wherein the float side walls are forming two
of the chamber
sides and half the chamber bottom, and wherein the buoyancy of the secondary
float is
sufficient to support the driveway and the gangways.
The silo platform, creating one of four sides in the fish farming enclosure,
is preferably
constructed from profiled steel plates, and is generally characterised by an
underlying
floating construction of a catamaran type with a primary float and at least
one secondary float
being placed at a suitable distance from and parallel to the primary float,
the longitudinal
float axis coinciding with the direction of the current. Driveway and gangways
are
interconnecting the floats. The primary float is of a different construction
with bigger
dimensions than the secondary float and both floats are particularly adapted
for its intended
purpose. The distance float to float gives room for paired enclosures as for
example of
dimensions 15x15, 20x20 or 25x25 meter. In the primary float there is arranged
a number of
inner chambers and silos extending downwards to the float base and where the
float sidewalk
are forming two of the silo sides and half the silo base. The silo chambers
will partly serve
for storage of fish feed, partly as observation chamber, living quarter,
equipment room,
generator room, diesel oil and water tanks as well as central feeding unit.
Because of the important length of the primary float the anchoring points of
the mooring
hawser will be spaced far away from each other, and this is preventing
deformation of the
anchoring system as a docking sea vessel can cause this. Because of the silo
placement, the
weight will provoke an unbalanced load. Each individual silo or chamber that
is integrated in
the installation itself can have a total load capacity of 100 metric tons or
more. Free chambers
can be used for other purposes.
The secondary float is of a construction having enough buoyancy for, with the
necessary
freeboard, to carry the driveway and the gangways, thereby adding the
excellent stability in
floating position.
Because the floats are placed in the sea in such a way that their longitudinal
axis coincide
with the direction of the current, oxygen rich, environmentally beneficial sea
water is all the
time flowing through the fish farming installation so that an accumulation of
unwanted
elements is excluded.

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By the silo platform being built in one unit with the fish farming
installation, one avoids
having to use vehicle bridges between the storage platform and the fish
farming installation,
this leading to economical, environmental and safety benefits.
A silo platform according to the invention is constructed from profiled steel
plates and
constructed for application in stormy waters. Because of the compact
construction that only
to a small extent is influenced by currents and wave movements, all work can
be executed
under great safety. The excellent stability and buoyancy of the installation
opens for the use
of support rails for stretching out the nets at the bottom, so that these are
kept stationary,
approximately in vertical position, thus always maintaining the maximal
production volume.
The platform installation is of a compact construction that will ease the
towing to other sites
and simplify feed loading, feed distribution, feeding and so on, in addition
to permit the
continual control with the operation of the installation.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Reference is made to the enclosed illustrations, where:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view, as seen from above, showing installation of a
silo platform of a
catamaran type for fish farming in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
Figs 2 and 3 are cross-section views showing the silo platform of Figure 1.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments)
Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, a silo platform 10 of a catamaran type for fish
farming is described.
The silo platform I O includes one primary float I2. The primary float 12 is
connected to at
least one secondary float 14 that in floating position is situated mainly
parallel to each other
in a fixed distance from each other. Upon the primary float 12, there is
arranged a
longitudinal corbel quay 16 in level with a driveway 18 and gangways 20
connecting the
floats 12 and 14.

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The primary float 12 is divided into a plurality of inner chambers (or silo),
depending on its
width. The inner chambers extend downwards to the float base and where the
float sidewalls
are forming two of the chamber sides and half the chamber bottom.
The inner chambers will partly serve for storage of fish feed, partly as
observation chamber,
living quarter, equipment room, generator room, diesel oil and water tanks as
well as central
feeding unit.
The primary float 12 is equipped with several chambers or silos 22, the exact
number
depending upon the length of the float. Each silo chamber 22 is extending from
a
superstructure of the quay 16, down to the float base through the inner
chamber, and is
equipped with a roof hatch and a base sluice.
The driveway 18 and the gangways 20 connecting the floats 12 and 14 are
carried by the
floats with the necessary freeboard at water surface Level.
In addition to serving for the storage of fish feed, the silos or chambers 22
are intended for
the possible use as observation room, living quarter, equipment room,
generator central,
diesel oil and water tanks as well as central feeding unit, and can also be
utilised for other
purposes.
The silo platform 10 is, as presented, calculated, dimensioned, built and
quality controlled
based on Norwegian standard.

Dessin représentatif