ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,312,054, issued on May 27, was assigned to Bardex Corp. (Goleta, Calif.).
"Transition rails for shiplift transfer systems" was invented by Charlie O'Rourke (Ventura, Calif.) and Daniel Lyons (Lompoc, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A shiplift transfer system for moving a ship between a shiplift platform and a shipyard is disclosed. The system includes transition rails coupled with the shipyard that are pivotable about trunnion pins between a position that bridges a gap between the shipyard and the shiplift platform and a position that is clear of the gap and of the shiplift platform. The pins are positioned such that the load is no...