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(11) | EP 0 145 688 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Device on ships for lowering buoy stations or corresponding other apparatuses or apparatus assemblies overboard into the sea and for lifting them on board |
| (57) Device on ships for lowering buoy stations or other apparatuses (K), such as marine
research equipment, overboard into the sea and for lifting them on board. The device
comprises a plane pivoting platform (10), which is journalled as pivotable by means
of a horizontal shaft (16) placed at the proximity of the shell plating (23) of the
ship. The edge of the pivoting platform (10) next to the articulation is provided
with a roll (13), and the opposite outer edge of the pivoting platform (10) is provided
with a pulley (21) or equivalent, the lifting and lowering wire (20) or rope being
guided so as to pass over the said roll and pulley (13, 21). The pivoting platform
(10) has an inwardly pivoted position located at an appropriate working height (H),
in which position the apparatus (K) to be lowered into the sea/the apparatus lifted
out of the sea can be attached (22) to the wire (20")/detached from the wire (20).
The platform (10) has an outwardly pivoted position (10'), in which the outer edge
of the pivoting platform (10) extends to an adequate distance (L) outside the shell
plating (23) of the ship. |
[0001] Device on ships for lowering buoy stations or corresponding other apparatuses or apparatus assemblies overboard into the sea and for lifting them on board
[0002] The invention is concerned with a device on ships for lowering buoy stations or corresponding apparatuses or apparatus assemblies, such as marine research equipment, overboard into the sea and for lifting them on board, the said device being fitted in proximity of the shell plating of the ship and a wire or rope operated by the winch of the ship being used in connection with the said device, by means of which wire or rope the lowering and lifting of the said apparatuses is performed.
[0003] A buoy station is an apparatus assembly used in marine research, in which, e.g., measurement apparatuses for marine research are attached to the wire or rope between the anchor and the carrying buoy. In prior art, buoy stations and other corresponding apparatuses are handled on ships by means of various davits, the wire or rope coming from the winch of the ship running through the blocks attached to the said davits. When the davit is in its innermost position, the apparatus to be moved, e.g. a part of a buoy station, is attached to the wire. By pivoting the davit outwards beyond the side or stern of the ship and by at the same time unwinding the wire from the winch, the apparatus is shifted to outside the ship. By feeding the wire further, the apparatus is lowered into the sea. The lifting takes place in the reversed sequence in the same way.
[0004] The wire is usually passed from the winch to the davit via or above the working deck. A considerable length of the wire is unprotected, and a breaking of the wire causes a great danger for the persons working on the deck.
[0005] At present, the attaching of the meters and other apparatuses takes place near the open edge of the deck. The work requires lifting and supporting of heavy apparatuses. The wire to be handled moves relative the ship, and it may have a high tension.
[0006] When buoy stations or other scientific apparatuses are lowered and lifted by means of a conventional davit, the movements of the ship cause certain problems, e.g., because the shifting of the loads by means of a davit requires a long lifting arm. Thereby the movements of the ship cause a pendulum motion of the load, associated with high displacements and forces. The load may strike against the legs of the davit or against the hull of the ship, which results in damage on the measurement apparatus perhaps of even very high cost. A swinging load also causes danger for the persons working on the deck.
[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a novel device for the purposes of use mentioned above, by means of which device it is possible to substitute for the use of davits and to avoid the said drawbacks and risk factors occurring in connection with the use of davits.
[0008] In view of achieving these objectives, and those that will come out later, the invention is mainly characterized in
that the device comprises a plane pivoting platform, which is journalled as pivotable in the vertical plane by means of a horizontal shaft placed at the proximity of the shell plating of the ship,
that the edge of the pivoting platform next to the articulation is provided with a roll or equivalent and the opposite outer edge of the pivoting platform is provided with a pulley or equivalent, the lifting and lowering wire or rope being guided so as to pass over the said roll and pulley,
that the pivoting platform has an inwardly pivoted position located at an appropriate working height, in which position the apparatus to be lowered into the sea/the apparatus lifted out of the sea can be attached to the wire/detached from the wire, and
that the platform has an outwardly pivoted position, in which the outer edge of the pivoting platform extends to an adequate distance outside the shell plating of the ship.
[0009] In the device in accordance with the invention, the shifting of loads overboard is considerably better controlled. There is no movement similar to the pendulum motion taking place between the support legs of a conventional davit.
[0010] In the invention, the wire can be passed from the winch of the ship to the plane pivoting platform as protected, e.g., through the deck or in troughs placed on the deck. When the pivoting platform is in the upper position, it is also possible to pass the wire to the pulley of the pivoting platform as protected.
[0011] The attaching of the apparatuses to the wire takes place in the advantageous working position placed at an appropriate level, wherein the apparatuses to be attached to the wire rest on the substantially horizontal pivoting platform. The wire passing into the sea is attached to the ship preferably by means of a brake or some other, corresponding device, e.g., by the intermediate of the pivoting platform, so that the wire placed on the pivoting platform is free from tensions.
[0012] In the following, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to an exemplifying embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the figures of the attached drawing, whereat the invention is not restricted to the details of the said exemplifying embodiment.
Figure 1 is an axonometric view of a device in accordance with the invention in the horizontal inwardly pivoted position.
Figure 2 shows the device of Fig. 1 in the outwardly pivoted position.
[0013] The device shown in the figures mainly comprises a plane pivoting platform 10, which is provided with vertical sides 11a and 11b at both longitudinal edges. A roll 13 is attached rotably by means of shafts 15 to one edge of the pivoting platform 10, and a pulley 21 is journalled to the opposite edge of the platform 10. The pivoting platform 10 is fitted in connection with the deck of the ship as pivotable on vertical flanges 14a and 14b, which are attached to immediate proximity of the shell plating 23 of the ship.
[0014] Horizontal guides 17 are attached to the edge of the shell plating 23 of the ship by means of pivot shafts 18, the said guides being supposed to guide the lifting and lowering wire 20. The guides 17 are shown in the outwardly pivoted guiding position by means of reference numeral 17', whereat the wire 20 runs between them V.
[0015] The platform 10 can be pivoted either by manual force or by means of particular actuating means, e.g. by means of a hydraulic cylinder, and the pivoting platform 10 can be locked at the working position shown in Fig. 1, located at an appropriate height H from the deck. In this position, e.g.,the apparatus K can be lifted onto the pivoting platform 10, the said apparatus being shown schematically in the figure. The apparatus K is attached to the wire 20, e.g., by means of a shackle 22 or by other means, the said wire 20 running via the pulley 21 of the pivoting platform 10 to the winch of the ship (not shown) through the deck and/or in troughs on the deck.
[0016] To the end of the pivoting platform 10 placed next to the guide roll 13, a brake device 19 is attached, which consists, e.g., of two brake shoes placed one opposite the other, the wire 20 being fitted so as to pass through the space between them. By pivoting the said brake shoes against each other by means of an appropriate actuating means (not shown), it is possible to lock the wire 20,by the intermediate of the pivoting platform 10,in relation to the ship so that the wire 20 placed on the pivoting platform 10 is free from tensions.
[0017] After the apparatus K has been attached to the wire 20" in the position shown in Fig. 1, by means of a shackle 22 or equivalent, the pivoting platform 10 is pivoted by means of an actuating device (not shown) or manually to the outwardly pivoted position 10' shown in Fig. 2. Thereat the pivoting platform 10' extends by the dimension L to outside the shell plating 23 of the ship, i.e. to the sea-side. The lifting and lowering wire 20 runs as guided by the pulley 12 of the pivoting platform 10' and by the other pulley 24 to the winch of the ship. In the position shown in Fig. 2, by means of the wire 20 or by means of a corresponding rope, by using the winch of the ship, the apparatus K or any other, corresponding apparatus or instrument can be lowered into the sea and, correspondingly, lifted out of the sea.
[0018] In the position shown in Fig. 2, the pivoting platform 10' is kept in position by an appropriate limiter or any other, corresponding device. When various apparatuses are lifted out of the sea in the position of the pivoting platform 10' shown in Fig. 2, the apparatus is first lifted to the level of the pivoting platform 10', and thereupon the pivoting platform 10' is pivoted to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1, whereby the apparatus K lifted out of the sea can be placed onto the pivoting platform 10 reaching the horizontal position under control, in which position the necessary operations can be carried out and, if necessary, the apparatus K be detached from the wire 20" and, after necessary operations, possibly be lowered again into the sea.
[0019] At the stage of lifting of the apparatus in the sea, the guides 17 may be pivoted around their pivot shafts 18 to the position 17' or to an appropriate V-angle so that the wire 20 is guided appropriately into connection with the pivoting platform 10. By means of the guides 17, it is also ensured that the wire 20 is guided between the shoes of the brake 19. If the brake is of such a type that the bringing of the wire 20 into connection with the brake can be ensured by other means, the guides 17 are not necessarily needed.
[0020] When the device in accordance with the invention is out of operation, it is kept pivoted in the inwardly pivoted position of Fig. 1, or it may be kept in any position considered to be most advantageous from the point of view of the other use of the ship. The guides 17 are in the inward position shown in Fig. 1.
1. Device on ships for lowering buoy stations or corresponding apparatuses (K) or
apparatus assemblies, such as marine research equipment, overboard into the sea and
for lifting them on board, the said device being fitted in proximity of the shell
plating (23) of the ship and a wire (20) or rope operated by the winch of the ship
being used in connection with the said device (10), by means of which wire or rope
the lowering and lifting of the said apparatus (K) is performed, characterized in
that the device comprises a plane pivoting platform (10), which is journalled as pivotable in the vertical plane by means of a horizontal shaft (16) placed at the proximity of the shell plating (23) of the ship,
that the edge of the pivoting platform (10) next to the articulation is provided with a roll (13) or equivalent and the opposite outer edge of the pivoting platform (10) is provided with a pulley (21) or equivalent, the lifting and lowering wire (20) or rope being guided so as to pass over the said roll and pulley (13, 21),
that the pivoting platform (10) has an inwardly pivoted position located at an appropriate working height (H) (Fig. 1), in which position the apparatus (K) to be lowered into the sea/the apparatus lifted out of the sea can be attached (22) to the wire (20")/detached from the wire (20), and
that the platform (10) has an outwardly pivoted position (10'), in which the outer edge of the pivoting platform (10) extends to an adequate distance (L) outside the shell plating (23) of the ship (Fig. 2).
2. Device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the pivoting platform (10)
consists of a plane bottom part and of sides (11a,11b) attached to both of its edges,
the said pivoting platform (10) being, by the intermediate of the said sides (11a,11b),
by the edge next to the shell plating (23) of the ship, by means of pivot shafts (16),
attached to flanges (14a,14b) or equivalent, which are attached to the deck of the
ship at the proximity of its shell plating (23).
3. Device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, in connection with the
pivoting platform or immediately in its proximity on the ship, a brake device (19)
is fitted by means of which the lifting and lowering wire (20) or corresponding rope
running in connection with the brake can be locked relative the pivoting platform
(10) or ship.
4. Device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the pivot shaft
(16) of the pivoting platform (10) is placed at the proximity of the shell plating
(23) as substantially parallel to the said shell plating and at an appropriate working
height (H) from the deck of the ship.
5. Device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, facing the pivoting
platform (10), guide arms (17) are attached in connection with the shell plating (23)
of the ship by means of articulated joints, the lifting and lowering wire (20) or
corresponding rope being guided by means of the said guide arms into connection with
the pivoting platform (10) and its brake device (19).
6. Device as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the said pair of guide arms
(17) is linked by means of vertical shafts (18) so that the said guide arms (17) can
be pivoted to inside the shell plating (23) as well as to the guide position (17'),
in which said position the wire (20) is guided and runs between the said guide arms
(17').
7. Device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lifting and
lowering wire (20) is guided, as guided by a pulley (21) fitted at the edge of the
pivoting platform (10) opposite the pivot shaft (16), to underneath the deck of the
ship and/or in troughs placed on the deck of the ship to the winch of the ship.