CN116997507A

CN116997507A - Expandable buoy and buoy assembly

Info

Publication number: CN116997507A
Application number: CN202280022244.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 皮集·布恩利基切瓦
Original assignee: Pi JiBuenlijiqiewa
Current assignee: Pi JiBuenlijiqiewa
Priority date: 2021-04-02
Filing date: 2022-01-20
Publication date: 2023-11-03
Also published as: WO2022211747A1

Abstract

An expandable buoy (100) comprises a hollow body (100) made of a hard material, the hollow body (15) comprising an empty space, which space of the hollow body (15) can be filled with a material. One of the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B) includes a plurality of protrusions (30A) that have been formed to protrude from the surface, and a plurality of recesses (30B) have been made to be recessed into the surface. The plurality of protrusions (30A) and the plurality of recesses (30B) are configured to mate when the expandable buoy (100) is stacked onto another expandable buoy (100). A buoy assembly (200) has been constructed from expandable buoys (100), each of which is connected to expand by a connection structure comprising a plurality of vertical links (320) and a plurality of horizontal links (310), the horizontal links (310) being connected to the vertical links (320). Wherein each of the vertical link (320) and the horizontal link (310) are connected together to form a connection structure that holds each expandable buoy (100) together without forming any holes in each hollow body (15).

Description

Expandable buoy and buoy assembly

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of engineering, in particular to an expandable buoy.

Background

Buoys have been used to support floating structures or devices (such as rafts, floating houses, floating nets, piers, wind turbine generators, wave energy generators installed in the middle of the ocean, floating rigs, wave attenuation devices, etc.), and to prevent coastline erosion, etc. Furthermore, the buoy may be used as a position marker in a river or ocean, or for attaching a light signal rod or other monitoring device in the middle of the ocean, etc.

Japanese patent JPH04358991, entitled "steering buoy for yacht racing", discloses a cylindrical buoy having a central hole mounted on a central shaft. The buoy is wrapped with shockproof rubber, and the top and the bottom are connected with connecting plates so as to firmly fix the floating device.

Patent application publication WO01/47767A1, entitled "multipurpose buoy", discloses an annular buoy which is coupled between annular flanges having a circular cage-like structure, the upper and lower sides of which are fastened using a plurality of screws through bores of the buoy. Furthermore, there is a central shaft extending in a rotatable manner through the upper and lower coupling plates. However, drilling holes in the buoy for screw tightening may reduce the strength of the buoy.

The buoy according to WO01/47767A1 can be extended in the vertical direction to have more buoys. However, there is a disadvantage in terms of strength because the buoy must be drilled to form a through hole from the top to the bottom of the buoy body in order to be fastened with bolts or screws, which may reduce strength.

Furthermore, both types of such buoys do not reliably spread laterally and may not be strong enough to support heavy weight loads.

Patent application publication WO2016/200090A1 entitled "plastic buoy" discloses a modular buoy in a ring buoy made of six plastic buoy parts in the shape of crescent cylinders. Each crescent shaped member of the buoy is fastened together at the lateral sides using screws. Furthermore, a hole is provided in the center of the circular buoy for placement on the post (9), and a pair of top-bottom coupling plates are screwed.

Patent application publication WO2018/213868A1 entitled "buoy with a buoyancy core and a buoy with a plurality of buoyancy members" discloses a circular ring buoy assembled from a central column of the buoy and a plurality of crescent shaped members of a detachable buoy surrounding the central column. These buoy members are screwed together on the lateral sides of each crescent buoy to form a surrounding cylindrical shape and to support the central column.

The buoys according to WO2016/200090A1 and WO2018/213868A1 disclose large buoys assembled from a plurality of crescent shaped members of the buoy member, which are screwed together on the lateral sides. However, the buoys cannot be stacked layer by layer to expand in the vertical direction, nor in the lateral direction.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present application to provide an expandable buoy and buoy assembly which can be expanded in horizontal and vertical directions in accordance with the above-mentioned drawbacks. This allows the expansion of the buoy assembly to be matched to the weight of the workload. In addition, a sturdy connection structure for connection without forming any holes in the buoy is provided, and the buoy can be fastened together to form a sturdy floating structure that can be easily replaced for repair or additional assembly as desired.

The expandable buoy according to the present application comprises: a hollow body made of a hard material. The hollow body includes an upper surface, a bottom surface opposite the upper surface, and side surfaces connected to the upper surface and the bottom surface. The upper surface, the bottom surface and the side surfaces define a space that can be filled with a material into the hollow body. The upper surface includes a plurality of protrusions formed to protrude from the upper surface. Further, the bottom surface includes a plurality of recesses recessed into the bottom surface. The plurality of protrusions and the plurality of recesses have been configured to matingly mate with one another when one expandable buoy is stacked onto another expandable buoy.

By providing said protrusions and recesses, this results in reduced movement of the stacked buoys and increased stability and strength of the buoys.

Furthermore, the hollow body of the expandable buoy according to the present application may further comprise a through hole at the middle of the hollow body. A through hole extends from the upper surface to the bottom surface of the body. The through-hole includes a sidewall and a plurality of second vertical grooves, each second vertical groove spaced apart along a perimeter of the through-hole and extending from the upper surface to the bottom surface of the hollow body on the sidewall of the through-hole. Each of the second vertical grooves is arranged substantially parallel to each other. The provision of the through-holes and the second vertical grooves on the side walls of the through-holes will facilitate the mounting together of each buoy for a tighter and stronger.

Furthermore, the hollow body of the expandable buoy according to the present application may further comprise a plurality of first vertical grooves arranged along the periphery of the side surface of the hollow body. Each of the plurality of first vertical grooves extends from the upper surface to the bottom surface and is arranged substantially parallel to each other. The provision of a plurality of said first vertical grooves will facilitate a tighter installation of each of the buoys.

Furthermore, the hollow body of the buoy according to the application may further comprise a plurality of horizontal grooves provided on the upper surface and the bottom surface, respectively.

Further, each of the plurality of horizontal grooves of the hollow body extends radially from a center to an outer edge of the hollow body and is connected between and between a corresponding one of the first and second vertical grooves located on the side surface and the through hole of the hollow body, respectively.

Furthermore, the hollow body may further comprise an opening openable and closable by a plug for filling material into the empty space inside said hollow body. This configuration enables the user to fill the hollow body with water, sand, concrete, etc., for weighting and submerging the buoy so that it can be used as a ballast in situations where it is desirable to improve the stability of the floating structure. On the other hand, depending on the purpose of use, air, foam or other material having a density less than water may be filled into the opening, which is then plugged to increase the strength of the hollow body and float the buoy.

The buoy assembly according to the present application comprises: at least two expandable buoys as described above; and a connecting structure for connecting the at least two expandable buoys together so as to expand in a lateral and/or vertical direction.

The connecting structure includes a plurality of vertical links and a plurality of horizontal links, each horizontal link connected to one of the vertical links. Each of the vertical and horizontal links are connected together to form a structure for holding each of the expandable buoys together without forming any holes in the hollow body of each expandable buoy. The horizontal connecting rod is placed inside a horizontal groove on the upper surface of the hollow body or inside a horizontal groove on the bottom surface of the hollow body. Furthermore, the vertical links are arranged inside vertical grooves of the side surfaces of the hollow bodies of the at least two expandable buoys or inside vertical grooves on the side walls of the through holes on the hollow bodies.

Furthermore, the connection structure may further include an upper coupling plate and a lower coupling plate that have been arranged in the middle of the upper surface and the bottom surface of the hollow body of the buoy, respectively. The plurality of vertical links are connected to the upper link plate and the lower link plate in a vertical direction. In order to securely couple the expandable buoys of the plurality of stacks, the plurality of vertical links are inserted into the through holes of the hollow body and secured to the upper surface and the bottom surface. This arrangement of the upper and lower link plates enables the buoy assembly to be easily expanded in the lateral and vertical directions and also increases their strength.

Further, the upper and lower link plates may further include lugs attached to a surface of each of the link plates for fastening the buoy assembly with a rope or the like. The user may tie the buoy assembly to a submerged anchor or other floating structure to maintain the buoy assembly in a desired position.

In addition, the vertical link and the horizontal link may be connected together using a jig or the like, such as a fixing jig, a right angle jig, or the like. In this manner, a user may quickly and easily install or replace the buoy assembly to repair the buoy assembly.

The above and other objects and features of the present application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present application when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1A and 1B show perspective views of the expandable buoy in a first embodiment from a top and bottom view, respectively.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of two stacked expandable buoys.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the buoy assembly, which has been expanded on both horizontal and lateral sides.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an example of a buoy assembly 200 that has been expanded in a horizontal direction and a lateral direction in a first aspect.

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the buoy assembly 200, which has been expanded in the vertical direction, assembled from five sets of buoys 10 and the connection 300.

Fig. 6 shows details of the connection structure 300 of the buoy assembly according to the application.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a second aspect of the expandable buoy of the present application.

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of an example of a buoy assembly 200 which in a second aspect has been expanded in horizontal and lateral direction, which buoy assembly is built up from a buoy 100 according to fig. 7.

Fig. 9 shows details of a clip 380 for attachment to a vertical link 320 in accordance with the present application.

Fig. 10 shows an assembly of a connection structure 300 of a buoy assembly according to the application, with an enlarged view of an upper side coupling plate 340.

Fig. 11 shows a detail of the lateral lock plate 390.

Detailed Description

The description of the present application is given below by way of example embodiments of the present application and is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified by like reference numerals, to illustrate examples and help clarify the description. However, the application is not limited to this description, but the scope of the application is defined by the appended claims.

Fig. 1A and 1B show perspective views of the expandable buoy (100) in a first embodiment from a top and bottom view, respectively.

The expandable buoy (100) comprises a hollow body 15 made of a hard material, such as plastic, high Density Polyethylene (HDPE), nylon, stainless steel, etc., so as to be corrosion resistant and have a strength for receiving the required weight load. It is recommended that the hollow body 15 should be made of high-density polyethylene because high-density polyethylene is light in weight and high in strength. In addition, the outer surface may be coated with a UV radiation protective substance to prevent the material from becoming distorted when installed in harsh environments.

According to fig. 1A and 1B, the hollow body 15 comprises an upper surface 10A and a bottom surface 10B opposite to the upper surface 10A, and a side surface 20 connected to said upper surface 10A and said bottom surface 10B. Wherein the upper surface 10A, the bottom surface 10B and the side surfaces 20 define a space within the hollow body 15 for filling the hollow body 15 with a material.

According to fig. 1B, the hollow body 15 comprises an opening 18, which opening 18 can be opened and closed using a plug for receiving material into an empty space within said hollow body. This configuration enables a user to fill water, sand, concrete or other similar material into the hollow body for weighting and submerging the buoy for use as ballast to increase the stability of the floating structure. In addition, in order to increase the strength of the hollow body and float the buoy, air, foam or other material having a density less than water may be filled and inserted into the opening 18. All of which depend on the purpose of use.

The upper surface 10A includes a plurality of protrusions 30A formed to protrude from the upper surface. Further, the bottom surface 10B includes a plurality of dimples 30B made to be recessed into the surface. Wherein the plurality of dimples 30B have been arranged to mate and interlock with one another when one expandable buoy is stacked onto another expandable buoy as shown in fig. 2.

The protruding portion 30A may be formed in a cross shape protruding from the upper surface 10A, as shown in fig. 1A. Further, the pit 30B may be formed in a cross shape by being recessed into the bottom surface 10B, respectively. The size of the recess 30B may be equal to or slightly larger than the size of the protrusion 30A so that the protrusion 30A may fit tightly into the recess 30B when stacking the buoys. However, the protrusions 30A and the indentations 30B may be designed in any other shape such that the protrusions and indentations may mate and interlock with each other. For example, the protrusion 30A is cylindrical, and the recess 30B is a circular hole having a diameter slightly larger than that of the cylinder.

With this configuration provided with the protrusions 30A and the indentations 30B, the stacked expandable buoy 100 will be prevented from moving out sideways from the stack to the stack. Thus, the floating buoy strength increases.

As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the hollow body 15 may include a plurality of first vertical grooves 40 arranged along the periphery of the side surface 20 of the hollow body 15. Each of the plurality of first vertical grooves 40 extends from the upper surface 10A toward the bottom surface 10B and is arranged parallel to each other.

In addition, the hollow body may further comprise a plurality of horizontal grooves 50A,50B provided on said upper surface 10A and said bottom surface 10B, respectively. Each of the plurality of horizontal grooves 50a,50b of the hollow body 15 extends radially from the center of the hollow body 15 to the outside of the hollow body 15.

As shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the hollow body 15 may also include a through hole 60, shown here as a circular hole, located in the middle of the hollow body 15. However, the through holes 60 may be formed in other shapes, such as square, polygonal, etc.

The through hole 60 extends from the upper surface 10A to the bottom surface 10B. The through-hole 60 includes a sidewall and a plurality of second vertical grooves 62, each second vertical groove 62 being spaced apart along the perimeter of the through-hole 60 and extending from the upper surface 10A to the bottom surface 10B of the hollow body 15 on the sidewall of the through-hole. Preferably, each of said second vertical grooves 62 is arranged parallel to each other.

According to fig. 2, each of the plurality of horizontal grooves 50a,50b communicates with an opposite one of the first vertical grooves 40 located on the outside of the side surface 20 of the hollow body 15 and with a second vertical groove 62 on the side wall of the through hole 60. Further, at the junction between the interior and exterior of each groove, there are provided a plurality of extensions or shoulders 44, the extensions or shoulders 44 being the ends of the grooves on each side. When the expandable buoy 100 are stacked together, the extension or shoulder 44 will be configured as a recess 70 (as shown in fig. 3), the recess 70 being recessed in the junction area between the layers of the buoy 100 in the two lines of the first and second vertical grooves 40, 62. A plurality of extensions or shoulders 44 at the inner ends of the grooves may also serve as supports for the upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B. The details will be further explained.

In order to more stably support the connection structure 300, a plurality of horizontal grooves 50A,50B are arranged on the upper surface 10A and the bottom surface 10B, a plurality of first vertical grooves 40 are arranged on the side surface 20 of the hollow body 15, and a plurality of second vertical grooves 62 are arranged on the side wall of the through hole 60. This will be explained in further detail.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the buoy assembly 200, which has been expanded on both horizontal and lateral sides. Wherein the buoy 100 is firmly connected together by the connection structure 300.

According to fig. 3, the buoy assembly 200 comprises at least two expandable buoys 100 and a connection 300 for connecting the at least two expandable buoys together in a horizontal and/or vertical direction.

The connection structure 300 includes a plurality of vertical links 320 and a plurality of horizontal links 310 connected to the respective vertical links 320. Each of the vertical link 320 and the horizontal link 310 are connected to form a structure for attaching each of the expandable buoys 100 together without forming any holes in the hollow body 15 of each expandable buoy 100. With this structure of the present application, the disadvantages of the prior art can be reduced. For example, the buoy disclosed in WO01/47767A1 has the disadvantage that the connection of the buoy (requiring drilling of holes in the buoy) results in a decrease in the strength of the buoy or may result in leakage or damage of the buoy.

According to fig. 3, the horizontal link 310 is placed in the horizontal groove 50A of the upper surface 10A of the hollow body 15 and in the horizontal groove 50B of the bottom surface 10B of the hollow body 15. In addition, the vertical links 320 are placed in the first vertical grooves 40 of the side surface 20 of the hollow body and in the second vertical grooves 62 on the side walls of the through holes 60 on the hollow body 15 of the at least two expandable buoys. This arrangement forms a strong rectangular structure from a side view.

As shown in fig. 3, the recesses 70 are located in the junction area between the layers of adjacent buoys 100. The recess 70 is defined by the end of the horizontal groove 50A of the buoy 100 at the bottom intersecting the end of the first vertical groove 40 and the end of the horizontal groove 50B of the other buoy 100 at the top intersecting the end of the first vertical groove 40.

In the event that it is desired to increase the strength of the connection structure 300 of the buoy assembly 200, the horizontal link 310 may also be inserted into the recess 70 and connected to the vertical links 320 located inside and outside.

Preferably, the horizontal and vertical links 310 and 320 should be made of a strong, durable, corrosion resistant, rust resistant, and lightweight material such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), plastic, nylon, or stainless steel, among others.

Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of an example of a buoy assembly 200 that has been expanded in a horizontal direction and a lateral direction in a first aspect of the application. The buoy assembly 200 includes a buoy assembly consisting of seven groups, each group having two expandable buoys stacked in a vertical direction. Each group is laterally connected together in a connecting structure of the same construction as shown in fig. 3 in the above description.

According to fig. 5, the connection structure 300 includes an upper coupling plate 340A and a lower coupling plate 340B, which are respectively disposed in the middle of the upper surface 10A and the lower surface 10B of the hollow body 15 of the buoy 100.

The plurality of vertical links 320 fit into opposing corresponding holes on the upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B (fig. 10). For the assembly operation, a plurality of the vertical links 320 are inserted into the through holes 60 of the hollow body 15 and fitted into the holes 342 on the upper and lower link plates 340A and 340B overlapped in the vertical direction so as to assemble and insert the stacked plurality of the expandable buoys 100 between the two link plates to prevent their lateral movement.

According to the right-hand enlargement in fig. 10, additional details of the upper link plate 340A (the lower link plate 340B is similar to the upper link plate 340A) are shown. The upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B are flat plates having a number of holes 342 (shown here as six holes) therein equal to the number of vertical links 320 to mate with the vertical links 320 and upper link plates 340A. Further, the lower link plate 340B has been connected to a plurality of cores 400, the cores 400 being metal studs having threaded ends for tightening with nuts. The core 400 is inserted into the corresponding through hole 60 of each buoy 100 and through the opposing holes on the upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B such that a plurality of buoys 100 are securely coupled between the two link plates. And a lug 350 is fixed to the surface of each link plate. Furthermore, to increase the stability of the buoy, the user may additionally install a weight by hanging or lashing on lugs 350 attached to the underside link plate 340B of the buoy.

According to fig. 6, an upper link plate 340A is provided on each horizontal link 310. While the lower link plate 340B is disposed below each of the horizontal links 310 at the bottom. However, in another arrangement, the upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B may be provided on a plurality of extensions or shoulders 44 located at the inner ends of the grooves 50A at the top and bottom of the floating buoy, respectively. Wherein the horizontal link 310 may be placed on the upper side link plate 340A and under the lower side link plate 340B, respectively.

According to fig. 5 and 6, the upper and lower coupling plates may further comprise lugs 350, the lugs 350 being attached to the surface of each coupling plate by welding or fastening by bolts and nuts. Lugs are used to secure the buoy assembly with a rope or the like.

Furthermore, the connection structure 300 may also include a lateral locking plate 390 (shown in more detail in fig. 11). The lateral locking plate 390 is a clamp for clamping to the vertical link 320 to lock the buoy in position between the various buoy layers.

According to the enlarged view of the upper left of fig. 5 and the enlarged view of fig. 9, an example of connecting the vertical link 320 and the horizontal link 310 together using the clamp 380 is shown. In detail, the clamp 380 includes a semicircular plate having a size such that it can be fitted around the vertical link 320. Each semicircular plate has a bolt 382, which bolt 382 may be matingly inserted into a through hole 322 in the vertical link 320. After the two semicircular plates of the clamp 380 are mounted to the vertical links 320, the determined ends of the two links will then be clamped using screws or bolts and nuts. In addition, the other half circular plate may be attached to the horizontal link 310 in such a manner that a rod is inserted into an end of the horizontal link 310 and fastened by a bolt, or the rod may be welded to an end of the horizontal link. In addition, a hole 322 is drilled at a predetermined position on the vertical link 320.

As shown in fig. 11, the lateral locking plate 390 is a two-piece fixing clip or clips that includes a strap 392 configured such that it can be wrapped around a portion of the vertical link 320 and a bonding plate 394 that is a flat plate with two holes drilled therein for fastening with screws so as to be clamped with the strap 392 so as to be firmly clamped and wrapped around the vertical link 320. Further, the coupling plate 394 has a mating surface 396, which mating surface 396 is a curved surface on the upper and lower portions of the coupling plate such that the curved surface can be inserted and matingly locked to the surface of a groove in the recess 70, which recess 70 is formed at the junction area between the layers of each stacked buoy 100 (shown in fig. 5). This arrangement may enhance the locking stability between the buoys 100.

According to fig. 6, the connection structure 300 includes an upper coupling plate 340A and a lower coupling plate 340B, which are respectively disposed in the middle of the upper surface 10A and the bottom surface 10B of the hollow body 15 of the buoy 100.

A plurality of vertical links 320 are fitted into corresponding holes on the upper and lower link plates 340A, 340B. For the assembly operation, a plurality of said vertical links 320 are inserted into the through holes 60 of the hollow body 15 and fitted into holes on said upper and lower coupling plates 340A and 340B opposite in the vertical direction so as to assemble a plurality of expandable buoys 100 in a fastened stack and inserted between the two coupling plates respectively at the top and bottom to prevent its lateral movement. In addition, the two link plates 340A and 340B are fastened by a plurality of cores 400 (see fig. 10) inserted into the holes 60.

In installing the assembly, a plurality of said vertical links 320 are placed in the first vertical grooves 40 and the corresponding second vertical grooves 62 and connected to the horizontal links 310 placed in the upper horizontal grooves 50A and the lower horizontal grooves 50B. This arrangement forms a star structure with an upper link plate 340A and a lower link plate 340B at the center when viewed from top and bottom. This construction provides strength to the buoy and improves its lateral side shock absorption due to its connection structure 300, and the connection structure 300 is a cage-like structure that closely surrounds and covers the buoy 100 stacked inside thereof.

Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the expandable buoy 100 of the present application. The hollow body 15 of the buoy 100 has an equilateral hexagonal shape, while the other components are similar to the expandable buoy 100 described above. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the buoy 100 may be made in other polyhedral shapes than the hexagonal shape as shown in the second embodiment, such as triangular, square, pentagonal, octagonal, etc.

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of an example of a buoy assembly 200, which in a second embodiment has been expanded in horizontal and lateral direction, which buoy assembly is built up from a buoy 100 according to fig. 7. It should be noted that in this second embodiment, each buoy 100 is tightly coupled together.

As described above, it can be seen that the expandable buoy 100 and buoy assembly 200 of the present application can be connected to expand in both the horizontal and vertical directions. This allows the expansion of the buoy assembly to be matched to the weight of the workload. In addition, there is a strong connection structure for connection without forming any hole in the buoy, which reduces the strength of the buoy or causes damage to the buoy. Thus, when each buoy is fastened together, it will create a strong floating structure that can be quickly and easily replaced to repair or add additional buoys to the assembly as needed.

While the application has been described in detail and shown by way of example in the drawings, it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made therein by those skilled in the art and that such modifications and changes fall within the scope and intent of the application. The scope of the application corresponds to the embodiments of the application described in the appended claims. The scope of the application is, however, not only specifically included in the claims but also in the scope of use and implementation of the embodiments of the application described in the claims and the like.

List of reference numerals

10A upper surface

10B bottom surface

15. Hollow body

20. Side surfaces

30A protrusion

30B recess

40. First vertical groove

50A,50B horizontal grooves

60. Through hole

62. Second vertical groove

70. Recess (between layers of stacked buoy 100)

100. Expandable buoy

200. Buoy assembly

300. Connection structure

310. Horizontal connecting rod

320. Vertical connecting rod

340A upper side connecting plate

340B underside connecting plate

342. Hole(s)

350. Lug boss

380. Clamp

390. Lateral locking plate

392. Strap strip

394. Bonding board

396. Mating surfaces

400. Core part

Claim (modification according to treaty 19)

1. An expandable buoy (100), the expandable buoy comprising:

a hollow body (15) made of a hard material;

the hollow body (15) comprises an upper surface (10A), a bottom surface (10B) opposite to the upper surface, and a side surface (20) connecting the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B), wherein the upper surface, the bottom surface and the side surface define a space, which space can be filled with a material into the hollow body,

the upper surface (10A) comprising a plurality of protrusions (30A) formed to protrude from the upper surface, and the bottom surface (10B) comprising a plurality of recesses (30B), the plurality of recesses (30B) having been arranged to mate and interlock with each other when one expandable buoy is stacked onto another expandable buoy,

characterized in that the hollow body (15) further comprises a through hole (60) located in the middle of the hollow body (15), wherein the through hole (60) extends from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B), the through hole (60) comprises a side wall and a plurality of second vertical grooves (62), each second vertical groove being spaced apart along the circumference of the through hole (60) and extending from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B) of the hollow body (15) on the side wall of the through hole, each second vertical groove (62) being arranged substantially parallel to each other.

2. The expandable buoy (100) of claim 1, wherein the hollow body (15) further comprises a plurality of first vertical grooves (40) arranged along a circumference of a side surface (20) of the hollow body (15), each first vertical groove (40) extending from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B) and being arranged substantially parallel to each other.

3. The expandable buoy (100) of claim 2, wherein the hollow body further comprises a plurality of horizontal grooves (50A, 50B) provided on the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B), respectively.

4. An expandable buoy (100) according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of horizontal grooves (50 a,50 b) of the hollow body (15) extends radially from the center to the outer edge of the hollow body (15) and connects between corresponding ones of the first and second vertical grooves (40, 62) located on the side surface of the hollow body (15) and the through hole (60), respectively.

5. An expandable buoy (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the hollow body (15) further comprises an opening (18) openable and closable by a plug for filling a space inside the hollow body with a material.

6. A buoy assembly (200), the buoy assembly comprising:

at least two expandable buoys (100) according to any of claims 1-6; and

a connection structure (300) for connecting the at least two expandable buoys together in a horizontal and/or vertical direction,

wherein the connection structure (300) comprises a plurality of vertical links (320) and a plurality of horizontal links (310) connected to one of the vertical links (320), each of the vertical links (320) and the horizontal links (310) being connected together to form a structure for holding each of the expandable buoys (100) together without forming any holes in the hollow bodies (15) of the expandable buoys (100),

characterized in that the horizontal link (310) is placed inside a horizontal groove (50A) of the upper surface (10A) of the hollow body and inside one of the horizontal grooves (50B) of the bottom surface (10B) of the hollow body, and the vertical link (320) is placed inside one of the first vertical grooves (40) of the side surfaces (20) of the hollow bodies of the at least two expandable buoys and inside a second vertical groove (62) on the side wall of the through hole (60) on the hollow body.

7. The buoy assembly (200) of claim 6, wherein the connection structure (300) further comprises an upper side coupling plate (340A) and a lower side coupling plate (340B) placed intermediate the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B) of the hollow body (15) of the expandable buoy, respectively, and the plurality of vertical links (320) fit into corresponding holes on the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B), the plurality of vertical links (320) being to be inserted into the through holes (60) of the hollow body (15) and into the holes (342) on the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the holes (342) on the lower side coupling plate (340B) coinciding in a vertical direction, respectively, in order to attach the plurality of expandable buoys (100) of the stack and to be inserted between these two coupling plates to prevent their lateral movement, the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B) being fastened with the plurality of through holes (400B).

8. The buoy assembly of claim 7, wherein the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B) further comprise lugs (350) attached to a surface of each of the coupling plates for fastening the buoy assembly with a rope or the like.

9. The buoy assembly of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the vertical link (320) and the horizontal link (310) are connected together using a clamp (380).

Description or statement (modification according to clause 19)

The present application, which is currently modified in accordance with the following discussion, is advantageously reconsidered by a request for a tzerland.

Claims 1 to 10 are currently under examination. The modification of claim 1 has been made by the current modification. The modification of this claim is not to be overshadowed by the originally filed application. The additional features of claim 2 have been added to claim 1 and claim 2 has been deleted. The method of claims 3 to 10 is unchanged.

Claims

1. An expandable buoy (100), the expandable buoy comprising:

a hollow body (15) made of a hard material;

characterized in that the upper surface (10A) comprises a plurality of protrusions (30A) formed to protrude from the upper surface, and the bottom surface (10B) comprises a plurality of recesses (30B), the plurality of recesses (30B) having been arranged to mate and interlock with each other when one expandable buoy is stacked onto another expandable buoy.

2. The expandable buoy (100) according to claim 1, wherein the hollow body (15) further comprises a through hole (60) located in the middle of the hollow body (15), wherein the through hole (60) extends from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B), the through hole (60) comprising a side wall and a plurality of second vertical grooves (62), each second vertical groove being spaced apart along the circumference of the through hole (60) and extending from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B) of the hollow body (15) on the side wall of the through hole, each second vertical groove (62) being arranged substantially parallel to each other.

3. The expandable buoy (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hollow body (15) further comprises a plurality of first vertical grooves (40) arranged along a circumference of the side surface (20) of the hollow body (15), each first vertical groove (40) extending from the upper surface (10A) to the bottom surface (10B) and being arranged substantially parallel to each other.

4. An expandable buoy (100) according to claim 3, wherein the hollow body further comprises a plurality of horizontal grooves (50A, 50B) provided on the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B), respectively.

5. The expandable buoy (100) of claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of horizontal grooves (50 a,50 b) of the hollow body (15) extends radially from a center to an outer edge of the hollow body (15) and connects between corresponding ones of the first and second vertical grooves (40, 62) located on a side surface of the hollow body (15) and the through hole (60), respectively.

6. An expandable buoy (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the hollow body (15) further comprises an opening (18) openable and closable by a plug for filling a space inside the hollow body with a material.

7. A buoy assembly (200), the buoy assembly comprising:

at least two expandable buoys (100) according to any of claims 1-6; and

8. The buoy assembly (200) of claim 7, wherein the connection structure (300) further comprises an upper side coupling plate (340A) and a lower side coupling plate (340B) placed intermediate the upper surface (10A) and the bottom surface (10B) of the hollow body (15) of the expandable buoy, respectively, and the plurality of vertical links (320) fit into corresponding holes on the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B), the plurality of vertical links (320) being to be inserted into the through holes (60) of the hollow body (15) and into the holes (342) on the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the holes (342) on the lower side coupling plate (340B) coinciding in a vertical direction, respectively, in order to attach the plurality of expandable buoys (100) of the stack and to be inserted between these two coupling plates to prevent their lateral movement, the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B) being fastened with the plurality of through holes (400B).

9. The buoy assembly of claim 8, wherein the upper side coupling plate (340A) and the lower side coupling plate (340B) further comprise lugs (350) attached to a surface of each of the coupling plates for fastening the buoy assembly with a rope or the like.

10. The buoy assembly of any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the vertical link (320) and the horizontal link (310) are connected together using a clamp (380).