Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66D—CAPSTANS; WINCHES; TACKLES, e.g. PULLEY BLOCKS; HOISTS
  • B66D1/00—Rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms; Capstans
  • B66D1/60—Rope, cable, or chain winding mechanisms; Capstans adapted for special purposes
  • B66D1/74—Capstans
  • B66D1/7405—Capstans having two or more drums providing tractive force

Definitions

• the invention relates to a winch of the so-called capstan type, in particular with two drums.
• the invention also relates to the application of such a winch to technologies of the so-called "off-shore” type, in general to petroleum or similar research industries, oceanography and dredging at great depths, etc.
• winch must be understood in its most general sense.
• Capstan winches of single drum or double drum types, have been around for a long time, but have the drawback of causing wear and tear on the driven cable very quickly. This is due to the very principle of operation. Indeed the cable is driven by adhesion. As the tension on the cable increases, the cable lengthens and its linear speed increases accordingly. The drive grooves with which the winch drums are provided being completely rigid, this results in relative sliding between the cable and the grooves, resulting in significant wear, both of the cable and of the grooves.
• winches there are, moreover, many types of winches.
• winches with a drum (s) mentioned above, with a capstan, or of the so-called “winch traction” type according to Anglo-Saxon terminology, and with multiple pulleys.
• the pulley includes a wheel and an endless belt wound on the peripheral surface of the wheel to support the cable to be driven.
• the endless band is constituted by a succession of spaced pads which can slide with friction on the wheel, each pad being connected to the next by an elastically extensible connecting element, the longitudinal elastic modulus and / or dimensions of which are chosen such so that, in service, the elongation of the endless belt corresponds to that of the cable under a determined maximum tension.
• winches capable of carrying very heavy loads, typically equal to or greater than 200 T (approximately 1960 kN), this in very deep water (2000 m to 3000 m, or even 10,000 m for some applications).
• T approximately 1960 kN
• winches of this type would deteriorate them too quickly.
• cables have a complex structure.
• energy transport for example electrical (so-called electrically-carrying cables), or transmission of analog or data signals digital, for example via internal optical fibers (so-called opto-carrier cables).
• electrical for example electrical
• opto-carrier cables for example internal optical fibers
• the invention aims to overcome the drawbacks of the devices of the known art, and some of which have just been recalled, while meeting the needs which are felt, in particular in the context of the preferred application of the invention.
• the invention sets itself the goal of a winch allowing, in particular, to lift large loads, by means of a cable, while substantially eliminating the slippages due to the elongation of the cable causing said loads, which makes it possible to avoid premature wear.
• the winch according to the invention employs the technique, known per se, of the drive of the so-called capstan type with two drums. It is a safe technique, and recognized as such, which allows you to enjoy its advantages.
• a series of independent closed rings, made of material with elastic property, concentric with the two drums is put into operation. This arrangement makes it possible to preserve the advantages inherent in the device which is the subject of the aforementioned French patent No. 90 14612, namely being able to avoid relative slippages between the groove and the cable, while avoiding the drawbacks mentioned.
• the aforementioned rings are provided with grooves machined at the periphery into which the cable to be driven is inserted.
• the material constituting the rings must have physicochemical characteristics which allow it to withstand the loads and pressures exerted, for a given application, as well as to deform in order to elongate by the same value as the cable under the same conditions.
• the friction characteristics must be such that they make it possible to safely drive the cable through the drum. No relative movement between the cable and the grooves of the rings therefore exists.
• the body of the ring must be able to slide on the drum (very small relative movement due to the elongation).
• the rings are advantageously offset axially by a fraction of a pitch, advantageously by half a pitch, the pitch being defined by the distance separating the bottom of the grooves from two adjacent rings of the same drum.
• the axes of the two drums may not be parallel, in order to further limit friction. In other words the axes form between them an angle of small amplitude, typically between 0.5 ° and 3 °.
• the number of drums is equal to two, it is possible to design winches comprising a greater number of drums, without departing from the scope of the invention.
• the invention has many advantages, among which the following: - it is possible to work with any type of cable: steel, synthetic, normal, electro-carriers or opto-carriers, etc. ;
• the main object of the invention is therefore a winch of the so-called capstan type, comprising at least two drums arranged opposite, carrying a load by means of a cable wound on said drums in a predetermined number of turns, characterized in that each of said drums comprises a peripheral wall and is provided with a predetermined number of peripheral rings of elastic material, independent of each other, threaded around said peripheral wall, in that said peripheral rings are each provided , a peripheral groove intended to receive said cable, and in that the elastic material constituting said peripheral rings is endowed with physicochemical characteristics such that it allows, at the same time, a drive of said cable and a relative sliding between a lower wall of said peripheral rings in contact with said peripheral wall of the drums and this wall, said slide relative position being of amplitude substantially equal to longitudinal deformations undergone by said cable, when it is subjected to voltages of variable
• Figure 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a winch according to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, with a view to top and in partial section
• Figure 2 is a detail view of the winch of Figure 1, illustrating more particularly the independent rings of elastic material provided with peripheral grooves intended to receive a cable
• Figure 3 schematically illustrates the operation of the winch of Figures 1 and 2
• Figure 4 illustrates, in side view, a second preferred embodiment of winch according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the winch 1, in top view and in partial section.
• This winch 1 comprises two subassemblies each essentially comprising a drive motor, 6 and 7, respectively, and a drum for driving a cable C, 2 and 3, respectively.
• This assembly therefore has the general structure, known per se, of a so-called "bi-capstan” winch. It also retains the advantages, also well known, as has been recalled.
• the drums, 2 and 3 are provided with central rotary shafts, 20 and 30, respectively, around axes of rotation ⁇ i and ⁇ 2 .
• the shafts 20 and 30 are hollow and concentric with drive shafts 60 and 70, driven by the respective motors 6 and 7.
• the drums, 2 and 3 comprise a cylindrical peripheral wall, 22 and 32, respectively, supported by at least two central radial parts (two per drum in the example described), 24 and 34, respectively. Pairs of lateral rings, 21 a-21 b and 31 a-31 fo, are arranged on either side of the peripheral walls, 22 and 32.
• Each of the peripheral walls, 22 and 32 forms with the pair of lateral rings associated therewith, 21a-21fo and 31 a-31 ⁇ b, respectively, a groove which will be called hereinafter "drum groove”.
• a series of independent peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50-55 is threaded onto the peripheral walls, 22 and 32, in the aforementioned drum grooves.
• These rings are made of elastic material, for example a synthetic material.
• the lower walls, for example 431 to 451, of the peripheral rings, 43 to 45 are substantially planar, so as to be in intimate contact with the peripheral walls, 22 and 32 ( Figure 1), drums, 2 and 3.
• the peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50-55 ( Figure 1) are provided with grooves also machined at the periphery, two of which are visible in Figure 2: 440 and 450, for the respective rings 44 and 45.
• These grooves, 440 and 450 advantageously having the shape of a "V" rounded at its bottom, are intended to receive the drive cable C.
• the dimensions depth, width, radius of the bottom circle, etc.) are naturally suitable for receiving a type of cable, or even a range of separate cables.
• peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50-55 or their replacement, by identical rings (for maintenance reasons, for example) or by different rings (for example , to accept a cable of a different type and / or diameter), is easy. It is only necessary that the pairs of lateral rings, 21a-21 b and 31 a-31 b, (for at least one of the rings of each pair) are removable, that is to say removable. It is then enough to thread the peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50-55, on the drums, 2 and 3, around the cylindrical walls, 22 and 32, and to reassemble the lateral rings, 21a-21 b and 31 a- B.
• the side rings, 21a-21 b and 31 a-31b can be secured to the side walls by any suitable means: screws, etc.
• the number of rings, 40-45 and 50-55 can be any, it only depends on the number of turns (turns) desired for the cable C around the drums, 2 and 3. It is this number of turns which will constitute the determining factor of the reduction in force obtained, in accordance with the well-known operating principle of a capstan.
• Figure 3 schematically illustrates the operation of a winch 1 according to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.
• the cable C is wound in the grooves (440 and 450, Figure 2) of the peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50 -55, so as to form several loops or turns around the drums, 2 and 3.
• the tension force at output F can be, for example 9 T ( Approx. 88 kN) for a tension force F at the input of 3 kN.
• the cable C is wound / unwound on or from a storage device (not shown).
• This member can be chosen from those commonly used in the prior art and it is unnecessary to describe it further.
• the material constituting the peripheral rings, 40-45 and 50-55 must be able, at the same time, as it was recalled in the preamble to the present description, to support the loads and pressures exerted, deform to elongate at the same time as the cable C. In addition, it must have friction characteristics which make it possible to drive the cable C safely, by friction (adhesion).
• peripheral walls, 22 and 32, of the drums, 2 and 3 can be made, in particular, of stainless steel or steel coated with ceramic, which will ensure the abovementioned adhesion.
• the cable C and this constitutes an additional advantage, can be of any type as it was recalled in the preamble of the present description: steel cable, of synthetic material, so-called electro-carrier or opto-carrier cable, etc., even expensive type. Indeed, premature wear is no longer to be feared.
• an axial offset can be provided, that is to say in a direction parallel to the axes ⁇ i and ⁇ 2 which has been implicitly assumed , up to this point in the description, parallel to each other. If we call p the pitch between two adjacent peripheral rings of the same drum, that is to say the distance separating two bottoms of grooves (see for example Figure 2: grooves 440 and 450), we preferentially choose an axial offset equal to half a step, or p / 2, as illustrated more particularly in FIG. 1. This arrangement allows greater limitation of friction.
• the axes of rotation may not be parallel to each other.
• Figure 4 illustrates, in side view, a practical embodiment of a winch according to the invention, more specifically a winch according to a second preferred embodiment. In this figure, only the elements essential for a good understanding of the invention have been referenced.
• the drums, 2 'and 3', are driven by motors, here referenced, 6 'and 7', respectively, via conventional angle transfer and gear members, referenced globally, 60 ′ and 70 ′, respectively.
• the angle ⁇ is typically between 0.5 ° and 3 °.
• the angle ⁇ is calculated from the aforementioned step p (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the winding diameter of the cable C. Still to fix the ideas, in the example illustrated in FIG. 4, the angle ⁇ is equal at 2.32 °.
• This arrangement also allows greater limitation of friction.
• the winch according to the invention has many advantages, which have been previously listed.
• peripheral rings essentially the peripheral rings
• the parts specific to the invention are simple to produce and machine, and do not require the use of particularly expensive materials. They are also easily interchangeable, which makes it possible to change the cable used, without major modifications to the winch.
• the invention is also not limited, as has been indicated, to petroleum research alone or, more generally, to so-called "off-shore” applications at great depth, even if it finds a particularly advantageous application in these areas.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Transmission Devices (AREA)
• Pulleys (AREA)
• Geophysics And Detection Of Objects (AREA)
• Replacement Of Web Rolls (AREA)
• Harvester Elements (AREA)
• Image-Pickup Tubes, Image-Amplification Tubes, And Storage Tubes (AREA)
• Hydraulic Turbines (AREA)
• Jib Cranes (AREA)
• Ropes Or Cables (AREA)
• Devices For Conveying Motion By Means Of Endless Flexible Members (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=31502940

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (20)

Family Cites Families (11)

• 2002
  • 2002-08-28 FR FR0210649A patent/FR2843953B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2003
  • 2003-08-26 AT AT03775495T patent/ATE481351T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-08-26 DE DE60334228T patent/DE60334228D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-08-26 AU AU2003283521A patent/AU2003283521A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-08-26 EP EP03775495A patent/EP1546017B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-08-26 CA CA2496944A patent/CA2496944C/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2003-08-26 WO PCT/FR2003/050040 patent/WO2004020323A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2003-08-26 US US10/525,663 patent/US7175163B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events