BE1020107A3 - RIVER BOAT FOR TRANSPORTING CONTAINERS AND / OR MOBILE BOXES. - Google Patents

Abstract

The river boat has two wedges (2) which extend longitudinally, which wedges (2) are delimited by planks (6) of small thickness and by a T-structure forming the framework, which framework comprises the bottom (5) of said boat and a central wall in the form of a box (7), the upper part of which is arranged in the form of a gangway (8), which planks (6) are supported by stiffeners in the form of dry compression bars and / or partitions. The internal surfaces, on the planking (6) and on the central box (7), in particular, are smooth to act as a reference surface in order to guide the containers (1) or boxes during their integration into the holds. (2).

Description

RIVER BOAT FOR TRANSPORTING CONTAINERS AND / OR

OF MOBILE CASES

The present invention relates to a riverboat for the transport of containers and / or swap bodies, that is to say, according to a commonly used name, a barge, self-propelled or not.

The fluvial transport of containers by boat or barge makes it possible to convey, in large quantities, containers and boxes of various sizes.

Document FR 2 17 6 120, for example, describes a barge for transporting a large quantity of containers and crates. Some of these containers are arranged in the hold of the barge and another part is disposed above the deck and the hatches of the hold, supported by means of removable sleepers. In the hold, the containers are arranged transversely and, above the deck, they are arranged longitudinally, on several lines, and stacked on several levels.

The structure and the frame of the barge that hosts these containers is traditional, with a flat bottom and planks which comprise at their upper part each, a gangway. The section of this type of barge is in a U-shape; the shim extends, in one piece, over the entire length of the barge, between the stern and the bow with, as the case may be, dry compression bars and / or partitions which act as stiffeners.

The insertion of containers in the hold of these large barges is a delicate operation because of the small clearance that exists between the different rows of containers.

The variety of container sizes and the tendency to use larger containers than standard shipping containers has the effect of further reducing the free play in the hold between the containers themselves. The use of "wide pallet" type containers makes it impossible to load four such containers in the width of the hold of the current barges.

These barges or boats are subject to constraints of width, and also of length, which are imposed by the infrastructures specific to this type of fluvial transport, that is to say the locks.

Furthermore, during the loading of the barge, the friction and shocks between the containers cause damage to their side walls, such as breaks in the closure systems and / or seals.

In addition, containers or crates of the type with flexible side walls made of curtains, are virtually prohibited for this kind of transport because of their fragility.

This possible degradation of the lateral surfaces of the containers comes from the fact that it is impossible to guide the containers to introduce them into the hold other than by contact with the free lateral surface of an already positioned container.

During the loading operation of the barge, only the containers arranged laterally on the bottom of the hold may possibly, with specific arrangements, be guided by the inner surface of the planks.

The present invention proposes a new arrangement for high-capacity fluvial boat that can accommodate a wide variety of containers, including "wide pallet" type containers while maintaining the width of the boat to an acceptable value, compatible with the widths current locks.

The riverboat according to the invention is particularly designed to improve the guiding possibilities of the containers during their introduction into the hold. The containers can be put in place without rubbing them against each other, regardless of the position of these containers in the hold of the riverboat.

The invention also has the advantage of improving the forward visibility of this type of boat thanks to a distribution of the containers which provides a corridor of visibility for the boatman, which improves the safety of the navigation during the passages under bridges where the driving position (wheelhouse) has descended below the level of the containers. With the current boats, the navigation is done "blind", except to resort to devices of the type cameras.

Boat layouts also improve the safety of on-board personnel by facilitating access to the bilge and reducing the risk of falling by limiting the height of descent ladders.

The access openings to the holds also make it possible to improve the stability of the boat after damage to one of the planks, by offering the possibility of reducing the heeling angle.

The riverboat according to the invention, of the push or self-propelled barge type, for the dry transport of containers or the transport of swap bodies, comprises, between front and rear walls, two shims which extend longitudinally, the shims are delimited. by thin planks and a T-shaped structure constituting the primary frame of said boat, the primary frame lagoon comprises the bottom of said boat and a box-shaped central wall whose upper part is arranged in the form of a gangway, the framed edges are supported by stiffeners in the form of dry compression bars and / or partitions.

This arrangement makes it possible to position two rows of superimposed containers in each block, longitudinally and in the dry, the containers can be integrated into the hold using, as a guiding and reference surface, the inner surface of the central wall for the containers arranged. in the central part of the boat and, for the containers arranged laterally, towards outside, the internal surface of each plating. These guide and reference surfaces on the inner walls of the plating and the walls of the central box are smooth over their entire height. Similarly, the guiding of each container in the longitudinal direction is ensured by the presence of the dry bars and partitions which act as longitudinal reference surfaces. Thus, it avoids any risk of damage to the containers when they are placed in the hold of the boat and in particular all risks of damage to their side walls and longitudinal.

Still according to the invention, the box-shaped central wall has a thickness which corresponds to the width of a gangway, that is to say a width of the order of 650 mm, which central box is arranged, as the bottom of the boat, so as to constitute a ballast.

This position of the gangway improves the safety of sailors by creating a corridor with two railings. This provision reduces the risk of falling into the water whereas this risk is relatively high with current arrangements where there are two gangways that are located above the plating, on each side of the hold.

According to another embodiment of the invention, transverse partitions acting as stiffeners extend between the plating and the central box and they consist of walls which are assembled in a sealed manner with - the bottom of the shim, the inner wall of the bordered and - the corresponding wall of said central box, thus defining sealed compartments which are distributed along the length of said shim, and the length of these compartments is chosen according to the type of containers and / or boxes likely to be taken into account. load and be transported by the riverboat.

Still according to the invention, the upper part of the transverse partitions disposed in the wedges is arranged in the form of a beam, which beam has, at its upper part, a V-shaped section, or ogive, for guiding the containers. or crates when introduced into said holds.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the gangway which is arranged at the upper part of the central wall comprises side railings, which railings are arranged to integrate at least one of the service lines and in particular the fire fighting lines and / or bilge drains.

Still according to the invention, the floor of the gangway comprises hatches regularly distributed over its length, preferably at each compartment of the holds, which hatches are arranged to allow access to the wells of descent which communicate with each compartment said shims.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the descent wells in the holds consist, on the one hand, of an upper chamber arranged in the thickness of the central box, which chamber extends over a height which corresponds substantially to half of the height of said central box and it comprises, on each side of said box, an opening giving access to scales arranged in the thickness of said box, on each side, to allow a descent to the bottom of the holds, or, as the case may be, giving access directly to the roof of the first layer of containers present in said holds, which openings also make it possible, in the event of damage of the type impact with perforation in a plating, to carry out a gradual inversion of the hold which is opposed to that concerned by said damage, improving the stability of the boat by reducing the angle of heel.

According to another embodiment of the invention, each plating comprises a wall surmounted by a box of tile, which wall consists of a smooth outer sheet reinforced on its inner surface by a plate having vertical ribs shaped omega which him gives an appearance of corrugated iron.

Still according to the invention, the vertical ribs of the inner sheet form a cavity with the outer sheet, and said cavities are filled by heavy products which form a kind of permanent ballast for the riverboat so as to optimize its capacity depending on the water level of the channel in which said riverboat is traveling and according to the air draft available along said channel.

To be able to be executed, the invention is described in a sufficiently clear and complete manner in the following description which, in addition, is accompanied by drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic and perspective view of a riverboat according to the invention of which one of the holds is loaded with containers; - Figure 2 is a plan view of this riverboat, showing the two longitudinal shims with, represented in fine mixed lines, the stiffeners of planks; FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic elevation, in cross-section, showing the two shims which are lined with stacked containers, which wedges are delimited by the T-shaped primary central framework and the planks; - Figure 4 is an elevation showing the partitions which act as stiffeners between the plating and the central wall-shaped box; - Figure 5 is a plan view which shows, on the one hand, the different arrangements of the bottom of the holds to accommodate the corners of the different types of containers and crates and which shows, on the other hand, the development the gangway floor with the hatch access hatches; - Figure 6 is a cross section along VI-VI of Figure 5 showing the well, or chamber, arranged in the box which constitutes the central wall, to allow access to the wedges; - Figure 7 is an elevation of the wall of the central box, according to VII-VII of Figure 5, showing the access opening to the descent ladder in the hold; - Figure 8 is a vertical section along VIII- VIII of Figure 6 showing the well, or chamber, providing access to the wedges; - Figure 9 is a horizontal section along IX-IX of Figure 7, showing the well, or chamber, arranged in the box forming the central partition.

Figure 1 shows, in perspective, a riverboat according to the invention, commonly referred to as "barge", which boat can be push type or self-propelled type.

This boat is arranged for the dry transport of containers 1 and / or swap bodies that equip certain types of vehicles, said boxes are similar in formally to those of conventional containers.

The boat shown in Figures 1 to 3 comprises two longitudinal shims 2 which extend between the wall 3 of the stern and the wall 4 of the bow.

Between the stern and the bow, the boat comprises - a bottom 5 with double walls which is flat, - bordered 6 and, - a vertical and longitudinal wall-shaped box 7 which is arranged in the middle part of the boat; this central box 7 and the bottom 5 constitute the main element of the longitudinal structure of said boat; the section of this structure is T-shaped, a Té returned as shown in Figure 3 in particular, and this structure is the primary frame. Each shim 2 has a U-shaped section and the general section of the river boat is E-shaped. The central box 7 and the lining 6 have the same height with respect to the bottom of the holds 2.

The dimensions of this riverboat are established to accommodate, for example, in each hold 2, two longitudinal lines of containers, with a possibility of superimposing and wedging between the walls of these holds 2, three to four layers of containers 1 or swap bodies.

To obtain this loading configuration, the planks 6 consist of particularly thin walls, and it is the central box 7 which carries, at its upper part, a gangway 8. The boat thus comprises only one gangway 8 , located in the center, between the stern and the bow, which also has the advantage of offering better visibility for the boatman who, usually at the back of the boat, in the wheelhouse. This gangway 8 is located at the same level as the upper edge of the planks 6.

The planks 6 have a thickness that is purely functional, calculated to withstand the forces imposed on the boat; they fill externally the role of sealing barrier for the two shims 2. Internally, the surface of these lined 6 is smooth over the entire height to act as a reference surface and guide containers 1 and crates at their introduction in said shims 2. The thickness of these plating 6, which is the smallest possible, is of the order of 200 mm, for example.

The thickness of the central box 7, over its entire height, corresponds to the width of the gangway 8. This width of the gangway 8 is regulated; it is of the order of 650 mm, according to the recommendations in force. The surface of the central box 7 is smooth on each side, over the entire height, so as to also act as a reference and guide surface of the containers and / or crates, when they are introduced into the holds 2.

The central box 7 and the bottom 5 which is also in the form of box, are arranged to form ballasts, as detailed below.

The small thickness of the planks 6 however imposes the presence of stiffeners regularly arranged over the entire length of each shim 2. These stiffeners may consist of simple dry bars or, as shown in Figure 4, real partitions 9 interposed between the central box 7 and the corresponding 6 edges.

FIG. 4 shows these partitions 9 which serve as a stiffener and which are, in addition, partitioning function to divide each wedge 2 into several compartments, as shown in FIG.

These partitions 9 are in fact constituted by a wall which is surmounted at its upper part by a compression beam 10, which beam 10 acts as a stiffener.

The wall of the partition 9 consists, for example, of a sheet of corrugated sheet type with omega-shaped folds. The beam 10 is shaped so as to have a section V-shaped, or ogive, to achieve continuity with said wall and ensure the guiding of the containers and / or crates when introduced into the holds 2.

The various partitions 9 are preferably welded together on the bottom 5, on the internal faces of the planks 6 and on the sides of the box 7 to form watertight compartments in the shims 2.

Each compartment receives its batch of containers or crates, placed on the bottom 5 of the hold 2.

Note, in Figure 5, the presence of reinforcements 11 judiciously positioned to support the loads at the corners of the containers 1. These reinforcements 11 consist of simple flat thick sheet, welded to the bottom 5. Reinforcements located in the thickness double bottom 5 allow to distribute the forces in the structure.

Still in this FIG. 5, the structure of each plating 6 is also noted. These planks 6 consist of a smooth outer sheet and an inner sheet with vertical ribs 12 with an omega-shaped cross-section which give an undulating appearance to the inner surface of these lined 6 side shim 2. These ribs 12 serve as a reference surface and guides for the containers and / or crates when they are introduced into the shims 2.

The internal cavity of each rib 12, formed with the outer sheet, can advantageously be filled with a high density material, such as stamping shavings or other chips, so as to form a permanent ballast which completes the effect ballasts arranged in the bottom 5 and in the central box 7.

Still in this figure 5, we notice, on the floor of the gangway 8, a hatch 13. This hatch 13 provides access, as shown in Figure 6, to a chamber 14 arranged in the thickness of the central box 7. This chamber 14 forms a manhole access shaft 2.

The chamber 14 comprises, at its lower part, a platform 15 which is situated substantially at half height of the box 7 and, from this platform 15, on each face of the central box 7, there are openings 16 which provide access to ladders 17, hollowed out in the thickness of said box 7, to allow access to the bottom of the shims 2.

These openings 16 also give access to the roof of the first layer of containers 1 when they are placed in the hold 2.

FIG. 7 is an elevation of a portion of the central box 7, showing the opening 16 arranged at the chamber 14, which opening allows access to the scale 17 inscribed in the thickness of said central box 7. This opening 16 also allows to put in communication the two wedges 2 and in particular the corresponding compartments so that, in case of damage on the hull, the kind perforation of the plating, the water can fill the compartment of the boat which is opposite to the one damaged by the damage to limit the angle of heel and maintain the balance of the boat.

FIG. 8 shows this chamber 14 which extends from the floor of the gangway 8 to the platform 15 with, on the inner surface of the box 7, in said chamber 14, a ladder 18 which extends between the hatch 13 and the platform 15.

FIG. 9 is a section along IX-IX of FIG. 7 showing the chamber 14 and its arrangement with the internal ladder 18 and, from the platform 15, the ladders 17 which descend into the shims 2 on the one hand and other of the central box 7.

The gangway 8 may comprise guardrails 19 which extend, as indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, over the entire length of the central box 7. These guardrails 19 may, advantageously, be arranged to accommodate service lines such as example the fire fighting lines and / or pipes connected, for example, sumps 20 which are arranged in the bottom of the holds 2 and, in particular, in each compartment, as shown in Figure 5.

The structure of the central T-frame of the boat makes it possible conventionally to use the bottom 5 as a ballast, and this structure also makes it possible to use the central box 7 as a ballast also by means of a fitting. appropriate.

Each plating 6 may comprise, as represented in FIG. 4, mooring points 21 arranged in the thickness of the ribs 12 or in recesses arranged between two ribs 12.

To increase the security of the loading, that is to say ensure the positioning of the containers 1, the height of the shims 2 is substantially greater than the height of the upper level of two layers of containers 1. In this way, the third layer of Containers 1, or crates, is also held laterally by the tiles 22 of the plating 6 and the upper part of the central box 7, and by the walls 3 and 4 located at the stern and the bow, respectively, of the boat.

Claims (10)

1. Inflatable barge type barge or self-propelled, for the transport of containers or the transport of swap bodies, characterized in that it comprises, between the front and rear walls, two shims (2) which extend longitudinally, which shims (2) are delimited by plies (6) of small thickness and by a T-shaped structure forming the primary framework,. which frame comprises the bottom (5) of said boat and a box-shaped central wall (7), the upper part of which is arranged in the form of a gangway (8), which are bordered (6) supported by shaped stiffeners of dry bar of compression and / or partitions. 2. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises internal walls, on the sides (6) and on the central box (7), in particular, which are smooth over their entire height, to act as surfaces reference and to guide the containers (1) or crates when they are integrated in the holds (2). 3. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a central box (7) whose thickness corresponds to the width of the gangway (8), that is to say a width of the order of 650 mm, which box (7) is arranged, like the bottom of the boat, so as to constitute a ballast. 4. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises transverse partitions (9) acting as stiffeners and which extend between the flanges (6) and the central box (7), which partitions (9) consist of walls which are tightly assembled with - the bottom (5) of the shim (2), - the inner wall of the plating (6) and - the corresponding wall of the central box (7), thus defining watertight compartments which are distributed along the length of said shim (2). 5. Riverboat according to claim 4, characterized in that it comprises, at the upper part of the transverse partitions (9), a beam (10), which beam has, at its upper part, a V-shaped section, or ogive, which allows to guide containers or crates when they are introduced into the hold (2). 6. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a gangway (8) provided with guardrails (19) which are arranged to integrate service lines and in particular the firefighting pipes and / or bilge drain lines. 7. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that the floor of the gangway (8) has hatches (13) regularly distributed, preferably at each compartment wedges (2), which doors (13) are arranged in to allow access to wells that communicate with said holds (2). 8. Riverboat according to claim 7, characterized in that the descent wells in the holds consist, on the one hand, of an upper chamber (14) arranged in the thickness of the central box (7), which chamber (14) extends over a height which corresponds substantially to half the height of said central box (7) and is open on each side of said box (7), giving access to ladders (17) arranged in the thickness of said box (7), on each side, to allow a descent to the bottom of the holds (2). 9. riverboat according to claim 1, characterized in that each plating (6) comprises a wall surmounted by a box of tile (22), which wall consists of a smooth outer sheet reinforced on its inner surface by ribs (12) vertical which gives it an appearance of corrugated iron. 10. Inflatable boat according to claim 9, characterized in that the ribs (12) of the plating (6) form a cavity with the outer sheet, and said cavities are filled with heavy products which form a kind of permanent ballast.