DE20120146U1 - Lifeboat system for ship has a flexible telescopic escape chute between the ship and the lifeboat - Google Patents

Abstract

A lifeboat system for a ship has an extending flexible chute connecting the ship to the lifeboat. The chute can have telescopic or folding sections and is adjustable in all directions. It can be stowed in a compact space on the lifeboat. The lifeboat is equipped with a mooring system which holds the craft tight against the ship's hull to ease the transfer of people into the lifeboat. This mooring system can include suction grips.

Description

Bremen,

Our reference: Direct dial:

Applicant/Owner: Official reference number:

12 December 2001

F 870 JK/ssi/sol 0421/36 35

Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing. Günther Eisenführ Dipl.-Ing. Dieter K. Speiser Dr.-Ing. Werner W. Rabus Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Brügge Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Klinghardt Dipl.-Ing. Klaus G. Göken Jochen Ehlers Dipl.-Ing. Mark Andres Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Uwe Stilkenböhmer Dipl.-Ing. Stephan Keck Dipl.-Ing. Johannes M.B.Wasiljeff Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing. Stefan Sasse

Attorneys Ulrich H. Sander Christian Spintig Harald A. Förster Sabine Richter

Martinistrasse 24

D-28195 Bremen

Tel.+49-10)421-36 35 0

Fax +49-10)421-337 8788 IG3)

Fax +49-10)421-328 8631 (G4)

mail@eisenfuhr.com

http://www.eisenfuhr.com

Patent Attorney

European Patent Attorney

Dipl.-Phys. Frank Meier

Lawyers

Rainer Boehm

Nicol A. Schrömgens, LL. M.

Munich

Patent attorneys

European Patent Attorneys

Dipl.-Phys. Heinz Nöth

Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing. Rainer Pritsche

Lbm.-Chem. Gabriele Leißler-Gerstl

Dipl.-Ing. Olaf Ungerer

Patent Attorney

Dipl.-Chem. Dr. Peter Schuler

Berlin

Patent Attorneys European Patent Attorneys Dipl.-Ing. Henning Christiansen Dipl.-Ing. Joachim von Oppen Dipl.-Ing. Jutta Kaden

Alicante

European Trademark Attorney Dipl.-Ing. Jürgen Klinghardt

Fr. Fassmer GmbH & Co. Ship and boat yard New registration

Fr. Fassmer GmbH & Co. KG Ship and Boat Yard
Industriestrasse 2, 27804 Beme/Motzen

Rescue device for watercraft

The invention relates to a rescue device for watercraft with at least one lifeboat.

Such rescue devices are well known.

The object of the present invention is to create a possibility whereby the passengers to be rescued can get into the lifeboat safely and quickly.

This task is solved by providing a tubular or hose-shaped entry device that can be connected to the lifeboat to guide the passengers into the lifeboat.

• *·

Accordingly, in an emergency, the passengers are guided through the pipe- or hose-shaped boarding device provided according to the invention to the lifeboat, which is connected to the boarding device. The invention thus offers a safe way for the passengers to be rescued to get into the lifeboat quickly and in a targeted manner, without, for example, the danger of falling into the water outside the lifeboat. In addition, the invention offers the further advantage that the passengers can be rescued in a substantially protected manner with the help of the pipe- or hose-shaped boarding device.

The entry device can be conveniently folded for storage so that it takes up little space when stowed. For this purpose, the entry device preferably has several tubular or hose-shaped segments that can be connected to one another and which can in particular be telescoped into one another at least partially.

The tubular or hose-shaped entry device should be able to be aligned essentially at an angle to the horizontal, in particular at least partially vertically.

A further preferred embodiment, in which the lifeboat is provided with a device for mooring to a watercraft, is characterized in that the mooring device is designed in such a way that the lifeboat can be fixed in place in relation to the watercraft. In this embodiment, ropes, cables or other means of mooring, which are cumbersome to handle and cost valuable time, can be dispensed with, and there is no need to adjust the tubular or hose-shaped boarding device accordingly, particularly in rough seas. The mooring device should usually be designed to create a detachable, rigid connection between the lifeboat and the ship. The mooring device should expediently have suction means for detachably fixing the lifeboat to the side of the ship, whereby a simple, detachable fixation can be achieved in a particularly effective manner.

• *

A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawing. It shows

Fig. 1 a preferred embodiment of a rescue device

with a lifeboat in a stowed position on a passenger ship and in a floating position in use, as well as with a tubular boarding device connected to the lifeboat in its floating position.

Fig. 1 shows a section of a ship's side wall, which in the illustrated embodiment is a passenger ship. The ship 1 has several decks, of which one deck 2 is shown in Fig. 1. This deck 2 belongs to the upper decks in the illustrated ship and has an outside area, which is commonly referred to as a promenade deck.

Lifeboats are usually stowed in this outer area of the deck 2, of which a lifeboat 6 is shown in Fig. 1 as an example in its stowed position I. In this stowed position I, the lifeboat 6 is suspended above the floor 4 of the deck 2 on suitable devices (not shown in Fig. 1), such as pivoting or telescopic davits.

In an emergency, the lifeboats are then lowered into the water from deck 2. Fig. 1 also shows, as an example, a lifeboat 6 in its floating position II floating on the water surface W.

In the embodiment shown, the lifeboat 6 is provided with suction devices on both sides for mooring to the side of the ship 1. Ropes or other means of mooring are therefore not necessary. In order for the suction devices to work, the side of the ship 1 must of course have essentially flat surfaces, at least in the relevant sections, on which the suction devices can sit well by generating a negative pressure and thus be fixed.

As can be seen from Fig. 1, an emergency boarding aid 10, which in the illustrated embodiment has two hoses 11 and 12, is provided for

-A-

Lifeboat 6 is provided. The hoses 11 and 12 of the boarding aid 10 are designed to be flexible and for this purpose consist of a large number of interconnected and telescopic segments, as can be seen in Fig. 1. The telescopic arrangement of the individual segments relative to one another not only allows the flexible design already mentioned, but also a space-saving stowage of the hoses 11, 12 on the ship 1. By pushing the individual telescopic segments into one another, the hoses 11, 12 can be significantly shortened to a fraction of the usable length.

The hoses 11, 12 of the boarding aid 10 are fastened at their lower ends 11a and 12a, respectively, to the lifeboat 6 by fastening means not shown, thereby creating a firm connection with the lifeboat 6. At their opposite upper ends 11b, 12b, the hoses 11, 12 are fastened to the ship 1, preferably at the level of an open deck, such as the deck 2 shown in Fig. 1, by holding means not shown.

In use, the hoses 11, 12 of the boarding aid 10 run essentially in a vertical direction from a higher deck such as deck 2 shown in Fig. 1, from which the passengers leave the ship 1 or are rescued from the ship 1, to the lifeboat 6 lying in the water below. The hoses 11, 12 serve as a type of slide through which the passengers get from deck 2 of the ship 1 into the lifeboat 6. The diameter of the hoses 11, 12 or their segments is therefore dimensioned such that at least one person can fit through, and is usually designed accordingly taking into account the body size of larger, stronger and/or fatter people. Furthermore, the material of the hoses 11, 12 or the associated segments, particularly with regard to type and strength, is to be selected so that the strength is still guaranteed even for people with a higher body weight.

Finally, it should be noted that instead of the previously mentioned hoses 11, 12, tubular entry aids can also be used.

Claims (8)

1. Rescue device for watercraft ( 1 ) with at least one lifeboat ( 6 ), characterized by a tubular or hose-shaped entry device ( 10 ) connectable to the lifeboat ( 6 ) for guiding the passengers into the lifeboat ( 6 ). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the entry device ( 10 ) is collapsible for storage. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the entry device ( 10 ) has several interconnectable tubular or hose-shaped segments ( 11 , 12 ). 4. Device according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the segments are at least partially telescopic into one another. 5. Device according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the tubular or hose-shaped entry device ( 10 ) can be aligned substantially at an angle to the horizontal, in particular at least partially vertically. 6. Device according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, in which the lifeboat ( 6 ) is provided with a device ( 8 ) for mooring to a watercraft ( 1 ), characterized in that the mooring device ( 8 ) is designed such that the lifeboat ( 6 ) can be fixed in place with respect to the watercraft ( 1 ). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the mooring device ( 8 ) is designed to produce a detachable rigid connection between the lifeboat ( 6 ) and the watercraft ( 1 ). 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the mooring device ( 8 ) has suction means for releasable fixing to the side of the watercraft ( 1 ).