EP0700347A1

EP0700347A1 - Support for ship hatchway covers

Info

Publication number: EP0700347A1
Application number: EP94918367A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Volker Dipl.-Ing. GLÖCKNER; Peter Dipl.-Ing. Kloess
Original assignee: Macor Marine Systems International GmbH
Current assignee: Macor Marine Systems International GmbH
Priority date: 1993-06-04
Filing date: 1994-05-25
Publication date: 1996-03-13
Also published as: WO1994029163A1; DE4318706C1

Abstract

In a support for ship hatchway covers, a supporting rod (9) is arranged between the bearing block (3) secured to the coaming plate (1) and the supporting block (4) secured to the hatchway cover (5). The supporting rod (9) transmits on the one hand the vertical forces which result from the inherent weight of the cover (5) and from any deck cargo, and on the other hand, by lateral deflection, allows the supporting block to move sideways in relation to the bearing block (3). This lateral deflection is made possible by an elastically flexible support rod (9) or by movably mounting the supporting rod on both the bearing block and the supporting block.

Description

Support for a ship hatch cover

The invention relates to a support for a ship's hatch cover, the circumferential edge of which, in any case, partially performs horizontal movements in relation to the sill bench surrounding the hatch during ship operation, with a bearing block fastened to the sill bench and a support block fastened on the underside of the hatch cover in the region of its circumferential edge.

It has long been customary not to place the plate-shaped hatch covers serving as the cover-side closure of cargo ship hatch openings along their entire edge on the filling bench surrounding the hatch opening, but rather to distribute several supports around the circumference provide for the weight of both the hatch cover and a deck load attached to it to be removed. Conventionally, these supports have the form of plain bearings made from a pair of metal bearing bodies, which lie against one another with uniformly shaped, mostly flat bearing surfaces.

The development of modern container ships with large hatch openings in relation to the deck area has led to ship hulls whose torsional rigidity around the longitudinal axis of the ship has become less and less. Because the plate-shaped hatch covers can neither undergo the twists of the hull in the deck level nor suppress them by stiffening, a certain horizontal movement of the hatch covers relative to the ship's body must be possible. This relative movement (of the twisting hull relative to the hatch cover) is made possible in the prior art by those plain bearings: the two bearing bodies, that is to say the support block and the bearing block, can shift relative to one another in the plane of their horizontal bearing surfaces.

It has recently become increasingly clear that such slide bearings are overwhelmed if, owing to strong torsion of the ship's hull, large spans of the hatches and thus large dimensions of the hatch covers, and high cover loads with deck load, there are correspondingly high surface pressures in the area the plain bearing surfaces comes. Cases have proven to be particularly problematic in which the surface contact between the bearing surfaces is reduced or even eliminated due to an elastic oblique splitting of the bearing block on the bottom side and / or a deflection of the hatch cover and it is reduced to a smaller contact. surface comes to exorbitant surface pressures. Then the ship deck in the area of the hull is deprived of the opportunity to move horizontally under the hatch covers when the hull is twisted due to excessive friction or even fretting (cold welding) in the hatch cover supports. Damage to the supports, the hatch cover and the deck connections involved are the common consequence.

The invention aims to provide a way out of this problem. It consists in that an essentially vertical support rod is provided, which at its ends engages on the one hand with the bearing block and on the other hand with the support block and transmits the normal bearing forces, and by lateral deflection, relative movements of the support block directed sideways relative to that Bearing block allows.

In a first embodiment, the support rod is highly elastic and is clamped at one end in the bearing block and at the other end in the support block. In this case, as a result of the horizontal relative movement, there is no sliding at all and therefore no (external) friction between the ship or sull¬ side bearing block and the cover-side bearing block. Rather, that relative movement manifests itself in a corresponding elastic bending of the support rod. The increasing with increasing deflection according to the spring detection ensures that in the rest position practically all the support rods of the various bearings of a hatch cover assume their normal position and this also applies to the hatch cover relative to the hull. A prerequisite for such an arrangement of the support rod is, however, in addition to a suitable material for the support rod, that the size of the deflections (deflections) required in ship operation does not exceed a certain limit. Furthermore, this arrangement will not be suitable for high normal forces, that is to say for hatch covers which not only have a high dead weight but also have to absorb considerable deck loads.

There are no such restrictions in a further embodiment of the invention, which is characterized in that the ends of the support rod are movably supported on all sides in the bearing block or in the support block, with at least one unwanted stop arranged between the bench and the hatch cover lateral movements of the hatch cover prevented. The all-round mobility can be ensured in particular by the fact that the bearings consist of ball and ball socket elements. In this case, the relative movement of bearing surfaces known from the conventional plain bearings and the external friction that inevitably occurs between the bearing surfaces are retained. As a result of the double pivoting bearing, however, the main problem of the conventional plain bearings described above is overcome: the surface pressure on which the design is based remains unchanged in all operating states, ie with all horizontal movements of the hatch cover relative to the hull, so that the frictional conditions are also constant and excessive tensile stress is not to be feared either in the hatch cover or in the fill area of the deck. The insensitivity of these support rod supports for ship hatch covers, which are movably mounted on all sides, to harsh operating conditions and the influences of sea water can be further increased in that the bearing elements at the ends of the support rod and the associated counter elements on the bearing block and the support block by securing means held against one another without impairing their swiveling mobility and preferably the counter bearing elements are received in holders so that they support the counter bearing elements laterally but allow them to be pulled out in the vertical direction; it is provided in particular that an elastic sleeve surrounds the support rod between the support block and the bearing block in a concentric, sealing manner. When the hatch cover is opened, the naturally sensitive bearing surfaces - here between the support rod and the bearing bodies on the sill or hatch cover - are no longer exposed and thus exposed to dirt or even damage. Ultimately, the entire support consisting of the support rod and end bearing bodies can be constructed and handled as an easily replaceable unit; the receptacles of the bearing body on the one hand on the sill and on the other hand on the hatch cover require neither special precision nor maintenance.

The all-round movable mounting of the support rod in the bearing block and in the support block can, in suitable cases, also be achieved by accommodating bearing heads made of an elastomeric material in housings which are open on one side and against which the support rod rests.

Further details and other developments of the invention can be found in the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the drawings. In the drawings: 1 is a vertical section of a first embodiment of the invention with the support rod clamped in, namely in the absence of horizontal forces (a) and under horizontal load (b);

FIG. 2 shows a partially sectioned plan view according to line II-II in FIG. 1;

3 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment with a movable support rod, again without the application of horizontal force (a) and with one (b);

FIG. 4 shows a representation largely corresponding to FIG. 3 of a modified embodiment of the support with a movable support rod;

5 shows the representation of another modification, which also largely corresponds to FIG. 3;

Fig. 6 is a plan view along the line VI-VI in Figure 5 b, but without a support rod.

FIG. 7 is another illustration largely corresponding to FIG. 3 of a further embodiment of the support according to the invention;

8 is a partial plan view of the main deck of a cargo ship; and

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view along the line IX-IX in Fig. 8, namely on a greatly enlarged scale.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, a pipe section 2 is welded onto the bench 1, which largely defines the bearing block of a hatch cover support, which is designated as 3 in its entirety. The support also includes a support block 4 on a hatch cover 5, which is indicated only by sections of its bottom plate 6 and its cover plate 7. The support Block 4 is largely defined by a pipe section 8, which in the rest or initial state (FIG. 1 a) is essentially aligned with the pipe section 2 of the bearing block 3.

A support rod 9 is arranged centrally in the pipe 2 and fixed in the pipe section 2 by an annular filling 10 (spout) made of suitable material; a compensating plate 11 is additionally arranged between the lower end face of the rod 9 and the filling bench 1. The other (upper) end of the support rod 9 is centrally attached to the distal end of the pipe section 8 defining the support block 4 by a (similar to the ring filling 10) potting filling 12, so that the support rod 9 is clamped at both ends, on the one hand in the bearing block 3 and on the other hand in the support block 4.

Because the support rod 9 is not clamped over a considerable length between the clamping of the support rod 9 and the bearing block 3 adjacent to the cover plate 7 of the hatch cover 5, it can deform in the area of this central section if between the bearing block 3 and the support block 4 Horizontal forces take effect. 1 b shows this state. It goes without saying that the support rod 9 must be made of a material which, on the one hand, allows the considerable normal forces to be removed, which act on the cover plate 7 of the hatch cover 5 in the vertical direction when the deck load is high, but which on the other hand is so elastic that it can take part in the deformation shown in Fig. 1 b when horizontal forces occur (for example, due to a twisting of the ship with the entrainment of the bench 1 with the bearing block 3). Fig. 2 illustrates - in addition to the representation of the bearing block 3 - with dashed lines a support of the sill bench 1 omitted in Fig. 1 in the area of the bearing block 3 and the edge 13 of the hatch opening running next to it.

In the drawings of the further exemplary embodiments (FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 7), the same construction elements are identified with the same reference numerals as in the illustration in FIG. 1, so that the associated description is not repeated is required; therefore only the deviating structural features are explained below.

In the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 3 (and all other exemplary embodiments), the support rod is not clamped in, but is arranged to be movable. According to FIG. 3, it has approximately the shape of a "dog's bone" and spherical sections 14 at both ends with sliding surfaces 14a (in the area of the bearing block 3) or 15 and 15a (in the area of the support block 4). A bearing shell 16 is arranged in the pipe section 2 of the bearing block 3 and fixed by means of screws 17. Your bearing surface 18 in the form of a ball socket interacts with the spherical bearing surface 14a of the support rod 9. Correspondingly, a bearing shell 19 is arranged in the tube section 8 of the support block 4, specifically below a separating disk 20 spaced from the cover plate 7. The spherical-socket-shaped bearing surface 21 of the bearing shell 19 acts with the outer surface 15a of the upper end of the support rod 9 (in Form a spherical cap). A locking ring 22 keeps the support rod 9 in bearing contact with the bearing shell 19; it is fixed by fixing screws 23. A seal 24 prevents dirt from entering and the leakage of lubricant in the contact area of the bearing surfaces 15a, 21.

3b illustrates that when horizontal forces ("shear forces") occur between the bearing block 3 and the support block 4, the support rod 9 can be inclined with corresponding rotation on the one hand in the bearing block and on the other hand in the support block, without the removal of the above the cover plate 7 on the hatch cover 5 acting load (and the hatch cover dead weight) is impaired.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 is very similar to that of FIG. 3, so that a detailed description is not necessary. In this embodiment, however, a locking ring 25 corresponding to the locking ring 22 is also provided for the lower end of the support rod 9 in the area of the bearing block 3. In addition, an elastic sleeve 26 connects the tube sections 2 and 8 to one another, so that both bearing surface pairings of the support rod 9 are protected on the one hand by the bearing shell 16 and on the other hand by the bearing shell 19 against the ingress of water and dirt.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 differs from the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 mainly in that the (lower) bearing surface on the support rod 9 is not convex, but concave and, accordingly, the counter bearing surface of the bearing block 3 has a convex spherical cap shape . This prevents water or dirt from collecting in the convex (lower) bearing shell of the bearing block 3 and impairing the bearing function. The sectional view of FIG. 5 a shows the mushroom-shaped spherical cap 27 of the bearing block 3, which engages with a pin 28 in a receiving ring 29 welded onto the bench 1, a compensating plate 30 determining the desired height. The bearing surface 32 of a ball socket 33 attached to the lower end of the support rod 9 interacts with the spherical cap 27 or its bearing surface 31.

Another clearly different embodiment of the support according to the invention is shown in FIG. 7. There, the support rod 9 carries at its two ends bearing heads 34 (bearing block 3) and 35 (support block 4) made of an elastomeric material which, on the one hand, contains the standards to be removed is able to transmit paint forces, but on the other hand, when horizontal forces occur, the support rod 9 can be bent without impairing that load transfer (FIG. 7b).

All of the above-described embodiments have in common that when the hatch cover 5 is removed (for the purpose of opening the hatch), the support rod 9 remains either on the hatch cover or on the bench. if necessary, including the element having the associated counter bearing surface, provided such a counter bearing surface according to FIGS. 3-5 is present.

FIG. 8 illustrates how the hatch cover supports are arranged, for example, in the case of a cargo ship which carries containers as deck cargo on its hatch covers. The drawing shows the top view of three hatches, which are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction of the ship (center plane 40). The middle hatch 41 of the three hatches shown is - just like the other Ren hatches - covered by three hatch covers 42, 43 and 44, which are arranged side by side. Each of the points 45 represents a support of the type described above. Indicated at 46 are the containers which are arranged as deck cargo on the hatch covers 42-44 (which correspond to the hatch covers identified above with 5).

2 - 7 so that the hatch covers in the area of their supports do not unintentionally tip over even when there is no horizontal force, so-called stoppers are provided in a conventional manner between the hatch cover and the hatch covers, which are shown in FIG marked section in Fig. 8 are shown; Corresponding stoppers are provided in the area of all transverse joints between all hatch covers of each hatch, so that each individual hatch cover 42 - 44 (in FIG. 8) is locally fixed on two opposite sides by such stoppers without the aforementioned relative mobility relative to the hatch hatch would be excluded at other areas of its peripheral edge.

The stoppers consist of conically tapered pins 47 and 48, which engage in corresponding - lined - openings 49 and 50, respectively, which are provided in the undersides of the hatch covers 44 (or 5); the same applies to the hatch covers 42 and 43. To ensure that the pins 47, 48 can be inserted into the openings 49, 50 without any problems when the hatch covers are put on, direction indicators 51 are provided on the bench 1, which have corresponding guide plates 52 on the hatch covers work together.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Support for a ship hatch cover (5), the peripheral edge of which at least partially performs horizontal movements in ship operation relative to the sill bench (1) surrounding the hatch, with a bearing block (3) attached to the sill bench (1) and one on the hatch cover (5) in the area of its peripheral edge on the underside of the support block (4), characterized by an essentially vertical support rod (9) which at its ends engages on the one hand with the bearing block (3) and on the other hand with the support block (4) and transmits the normal bearing forces and allows laterally directed relative movements of the support block (4) relative to the bearing block (3) by lateral deflection.

2. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that the support rod (9) is highly elastic and with one end in the bearing block (3), with its other end in the support block (4) is clamped.

3. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that the support rod (3) with its ends in the bearing block (3) or in the support block (4) is movably mounted on all sides, at least one between the bench (1) and the hatch cover (5 ) arranged stop (47, 48) prevents undesired laterally directed movements of the hatch cover (5).

4. Bearing according to claim 3, characterized in that the movable bearings consist of ball and socket elements (14, 15, 16, 19; 27, 33).

5. Bearing according to claim 4, characterized in that ball elements (14, 15) are attached to both ends of the support rod.

6. Support according to claim 4, characterized in that the support rod has at its upper end a ball element (15) and at its lower end a downwardly open Kugel¬ pan element (33).

7. Support according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the ball or ball socket elements (14, 15, 16, 19) with the remaining support rod (9) consist of one piece.

8. Support according to claim 3, characterized in that the movable bearings consist of bearing heads made of an elastomeric material, which are accommodated in housings which are open on one side (pipe sections 2, 8) and against which the support rod (9) bears.

9. Support according to at least one of claims 3-8, characterized in that the bearing elements at the ends of the support rod (9) and the associated counter-elements on the bearing block and the support block are held together by securing means (22; 25) without impairing their pivoting mobility.

10. Bearing according to claim 9, characterized in that the counter-bearing elements are received in holders so that they support the counter-bearing elements laterally, but allow them to be pulled out in the vertical direction.

11. Support according to claim 9, characterized in that an elastic sleeve (26) surrounds the support rod (9) between the support block (4) and the bearing block (3) sealingly concentrically.