1. A marine fender for attachment to a marine structure to protect against damage from collision forces at the marine structure, the marine fender comprising:
an elongate body of resilient material of indeterminate longitudinal length, the body including:
a basal wall for mounting the body upon the marine structure, the basal wall having a basal mounting surface dimensioned and configured for engaging the marine structure;
an outer wall integral with the basal wall at transversely spaced apart intersections between the outer wall and the basal wall, the outer wall extending laterally outwardly away from the basal wall to establish an inner space between the outer wall and the basal wall, at least a portion of the outer wall following an outwardly curved contour configuration, with the inner space enabling laterally inward resilient flexure of the outer wall in response to collision forces exerted against the outer wall;
a web within the inner space, the web being integral with the basal wall and with the outer wall, and having a generally M-shaped lateral cross-sectional configuration, the M-shaped lateral cross-sectional configuration including a pair of lateral legs spaced apart transversely, each leg extending laterally between a basal end integral with the basal wall and an apical end integral with the outer wall, an intermediate arm extending from each apical end toward the basal wall, intermediate the lateral legs, each intermediate arm extending at an angle to a corresponding lateral leg, such that the intermediate arms converge toward and are integrated with the basal wall intermediate the lateral legs, whereby the web establishes an integral reinforcing, energy absorbing and dissipating construction within the inner space for protecting against damage from the collision forces exerted against the outer wall.
2. The marine fender of claim 1 wherein the outwardly curved contour configuration of the outer wall follows an arcuate configuration, at least between the apical ends of the lateral legs.
3. The marine fender of claim 1 wherein the intermediate arms intersect at an intermediate intersection located about midway between the lateral legs.
4. The marine fender of claim 3 wherein the lateral legs extend essentially parallel to one another.
5. The marine fender of claim 3 wherein the intermediate intersection is spaced laterally outwardly away from the basal wall, and the M-shaped lateral cross-sectional configuration includes an intermediate lateral leg extending laterally from the intermediate intersection to the basal wall such that the intermediate arms and the intermediate lateral leg establish an essentially Y-shaped lateral cross-sectional configuration.
6. The marine fender of claim 5 wherein the lateral legs extend essentially parallel to one another.
7. The marine fender of claim 1 wherein the basal wall includes a flange projecting beyond each intersection between the outer wall and the basal wall, to a terminal edge spaced from each intersection, the flanges being dimensioned and configured for attachment to the marine structure.
8. The marine fender of claim 7 wherein the basal mounting surface follows a concave curved contour configuration and the flanges each include a flange mounting surface following the concave curved contour configuration.
9. The marine fender of claim 7 wherein the basal mounting surface follows an essentially planar configuration and the flanges each include essentially planar flange mounting surfaces extending at an angle to the basal mounting surface.
10. The marine fender of claim 9 wherein the flange mounting surfaces extend essentially normal to the basal mounting surface.
11. The marine fender of claim 7 wherein each flange includes a bead extending longitudinally along a corresponding terminal edge for militating against tearing of the flange at the terminal edge.
12. The marine fender of claim 7 including a fillet within the inner space, juxtaposed with each intersection between the outer wall and the basal wall for militating against tearing of the body at each intersection.
13. The marine fender of claim 1 wherein the outer wall includes an outer surface and a relief depression extending longitudinally along the outer surface in juxtaposition with the apical end of each lateral leg for facilitating flexure and inward movement of the outer wall in response to a collision force exerted upon the outer surface.
14. The marine fender of claim 1 including a fillet within the inner space, juxtaposed with each intersection between the outer wall and the basal wall for militating against tearing of the body at each intersection.
15. The marine fender of claim 1 wherein the basal wall, the outer wall and the reinforcing web comprise a unitary structure constructed of a resilient synthetic polymeric material.
16. The marine fender of claim 15 wherein the unitary structure comprises an extruded synthetic polymeric material.
17. The marine fender of claim 16 wherein the synthetic polymeric material is PVC.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A thermal well, comprising:
a continuous low relative dielectric constant structure with at least one internal cavity having an end region;
a thermal sensor at least partially located within the at least one internal cavity and having one or more wires extending out of the end region of the internal cavity;
a first low relative dielectric constant potting material encapsulating at least a portion of the thermal sensor within the internal cavity; and
a second low relative dielectric constant potting material filling at least a portion of the end region of the internal cavity.
2. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the thermal sensor is one of a thermocouple, a thermal switch, and a resistant temperature device.
3. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the end region of the internal cavity of the low relative dielectric constant structure includes threads formed in an internal sidewall of at least a portion of the end region.
4. The thermal well of claim 3, further including a strain relief member for supporting the one or more wires of the thermal sensor, the strain relief member including threads for engaging the threads of the end region of the internal cavity.
5. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the low relative dielectric constant structure comprises Teflon.
6. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the first low relative dielectric constant potting material is selected from at least one of epoxy and silicone gel.
7. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the second low relative dielectric constant potting material is selected from at least one of epoxy and silicone gel.
8. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the thermal sensor is disposed entirely within the at least one internal cavity.
9. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the at least one internal cavity includes:
a first internal cavity with a first end region;
a second internal cavity with a second end region;
wherein the first and second internal cavities are each configured to receive a thermal sensor.
10. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the low relative dielectric constant structure includes:
a first portion having a first outer dimension;
a second portion proximate the first portion, the second portion including at least one abutment surface extending outwardly therefrom and having a second outer dimension that is greater than the first outer dimension.
11. The thermal well of claim 9, wherein the at least one internal cavity is centered on the first and second portions of the low relative dielectric constant structure relative to outer surfaces thereof.
12. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the first low relative dielectric constant potting material substantially fills the entire internal cavity.
13. The thermal well of claim 1, wherein the second low relative dielectric constant potting material substantially fills the entire end region.
14. A method of making a thermal well, the method comprising:
forming at least one internal cavity each with an end region in a low relative dielectric constant structure;
inserting a first low relative dielectric constant potting material within at least a portion of the internal cavity;
inserting a thermal sensor into each internal cavity with a plurality of sensor wires extending outside of the internal cavity; and
inserting a second low relative dielectric constant potting material within at least a portion of the end region.
15. The method of claim 14, further including:
forming threads in an internal sidewall of at least a portion of the end region.
16. The method of claim 15, further including:
engaging threads of a strain relief member with the threads of the end region, the strain relief member supporting the one or more wires of the thermal sensor.
17. The method of claim 14, further including:
forming the low relative dielectric constant structure to include:
a first portion having a first outer dimension, and
a second portion proximate the first portion, the second portion including at least one abutment surface extending outwardly therefrom and having a second outer dimension that is greater than the first outer dimension.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein forming at least one internal cavity with an end region in a low relative dielectric constant structure further includes:
centering each internal cavity on the first and second portions of the low relative dielectric constant structure.
19. The method of claim 14, wherein:
inserting a first low relative dielectric constant potting material within at least a portion of the internal cavity further includes substantially filling each entire internal cavity with the first low relative dielectric constant potting material; and
inserting a second low relative dielectric constant potting material within at least a portion of the end region further includes substantially filling each entire end region with the second low relative dielectric constant potting material.
20. A transformer apparatus, comprising:
at least one primary. coil wound at least partially around a core structure;
at least one secondary coil wound at least partially around the core structure; and
at least one thermal well positioned proximate one of the at least one primary coil and the at least one secondary coil, the at least one thermal well comprising:
a low relative dielectric constant structure with at least one internal cavity having an end region,
a thermal sensor at least partially located within the at least one internal cavity and having one or more wires extending out of the end region of the internal cavity,
a first low relative dielectric constant potting material encapsulating at least a portion of the thermal sensor within the internal cavity, and
a second low relative dielectric constant potting material filling at least a portion of the end region of the internal cavity.