EP1688347B1 - Submarine with special access - Google Patents

Abstract

The submarine comprises a tower and a chute that is made up of two sections. One shaft section (2) has an access to the pressure body, whilst a second shaft section (4) has a pressure-tight lockable opening between the submarine and the surrounding atmosphere. The first and second shaft sections are arranged over each other, with a pressure-tight lockable channel (10) between them. The second shaft section is built as a sluice to lock out a person. The second shaft section may have system for flooding and venting, and the second shaft section may have a closable covering (14) that can turn relative to the first shaft section.

Description

The invention relates to a submarine with a pressure hull, in which the access to the pressure hull takes place via a shaft provided in the tower.

Especially in submarines smaller and medium size of the central, located in the tower shaft serves not only as an entry and exit shaft over water, but also for emergency exit under water. For this purpose, the shaft is closed on the one hand at its upper end by means of a pressure-tight lid, on the other hand provided a corresponding pressure-tight lid at the lower end. In addition, pipes and fittings are provided so that the shaft can be used as a lock.

In a known submarine, the shaft is provided for discharging two people standing in the shaft one above the other. After the shaft is closed to the pressure body, it is flooded and pressurized with the surrounding pressure. Only when the ambient pressure has been reached, the lid closing off the outside can be opened, after which first the person located in the shaft above and then the person underneath can get out.

Such an arrangement is for example " Unterseebootbau ", Ulrich Gabler, 1997, Bernard & Graefe Verlag, page 44 known.

When leaving at greater depths, this can lead to problems, since the period in which the shaft is completely flooded and pressure balanced, is comparatively long. In addition, the as Wait for the second person to leave while the ambient pressure is applied until the first person leaves the manhole.

GB 449,361 and DE 535 593 C1 describe devices for exiting and entering a submerged submarine, in which entrances with entrances to the outside of the submarine are formed as locks, with a lock part open to the pressure hull of the submarine and being barometrically closed. So is in GB 449,361 before the lock forming the decline a tank arranged, which is open on one side and also flooded when flood the lock. This tank will be in DE 535 593 C1 formed by an open water basin arranged below the companionway. A disadvantage of these devices is that the air pressure in the pressure body when flooding the lock must be increased so that it closes the pressure body barometric against the lock.

Out EP 1 457 419 A1 is a submarine known that in a tower next to a vertical shaft for the overwater exit has a horizontally oriented lock for discharging and infiltrating divers. On one longitudinal side of the tower, the lock has a training or entry opening. In order to achieve this opening from the pressure body, it is first necessary to rise in the vertical direction from the pressure body into the overlying lock and then to move in a horizontal direction to the lock opening. This angled path can lead to orientation difficulties for inexperienced persons and makes the lock unsuitable for an emergency exit of normal crew members of the submarine.

Against this background, the present invention seeks to provide a generic submarine with low design effort in such a way that the exit time under water and In particular, the exit time can be shortened in an emergency exit on the located in the tower of the submarine shaft.

This object is achieved by a submarine with the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims, the following description and the drawings.

The submarine according to the invention has, in a manner known per se, a pressure hull and a tower in which a shaft leading to the pressure hull is arranged. The shaft is formed in two parts and has a first shaft part with access to the pressure hull and a second shaft part with a pressure-tight lockable opening to the atmosphere surrounding the submarine there. The first and the second shaft part are arranged one above the other.

Between the first and the second shaft part a pressure-tight lockable passage is provided. Only the second shaft part is designed as a lock for discharging a person.

The basic idea of the present invention is to reduce the volume of the shaft in the tower as far as it performs a lock function. Since the clear width of the shaft can be reduced only conditionally anyway, provides the solution according to the invention to form only the upper shaft section as a lock and dimensioned so that only a single person can be discharged. As a result, the volume of the shaft serving as a lock is considerably reduced, so that with the same line cross-sections and fittings for the flood of the lock the discharge compared to the prior art can be done much faster, so that the person to be ejected much shorter time exposed to the low pressure is.

The passage located between the shaft parts can remain open in normal boat operation and thus allow unobstructed access to and from the pressure hull during transit. In an emergency situation, but also in any other situation that requires a Unterwasseraus- or entry from or into the submarine on the shaft, a person can be ejected when she goes into the second part of the shaft. Then, the passage between the first shaft part and the second shaft part is pressure-sealed. In the second part of the shaft can now be made equal to the pressure prevailing in the environment of the submarine deep pressure, which ensures that the arranged on the second part of the shaft opening to the environment of the submarine can be opened, and the person in this part of the shaft then leave the submarine can.

The first and the second shaft part are advantageously dimensioned so that both in the first and in the second shaft part usually a person can stand upright. Preferably, the first shaft part adjoining the pressure body has a height of at least two meters, while the standing height in the second shaft part is preferably about two meters.

In the second shaft part, which has the opening to the atmosphere surrounding the submarine, means for flooding and dewatering are preferably provided. These are, for example, corresponding lines, valves and fittings, which can be actuated from outside, advantageously also from within the second shaft part.

By means of this means, in the second shaft part, as described above, a pressure equalization can be established between the pressure prevailing in the second shaft part, which is generally the internal pressure in the pressure hull, and the low pressure surrounding the submarine. For this purpose, the second shaft part is flooded. After the second shaft part is filled with water and under pressure, the person inside it can open the opening to the environment of the tower and leave the submarine. If the person has left the second shaft part, its opening to the environment can be closed again. Due to gravity, the second shaft part is then dewatered, so that after completion of this process and pressure equalization to the pressure hull another person can open the passage to the second part of the shaft, enter the second part of the shaft and can also leave the submarine in the manner described above.

An advantage of the two-part design of the shaft, in which only the second upper shaft part is flooded and drained, compared to one-piece shafts, as they have been for Unterwasserein- and in particular used for underwater outfall, it is that the volume of the flood to be flooded and drained lock is significantly reduced, whereby the flooding and drainage times are significantly shorter and also the air consumption is significantly reduced.

The second shaft part is preferably lockable with respect to the first shaft part with a lid. In this case, the cover is preferably formed pivotable and arranged so that it can be moved on the one hand in the passage between the first and the second shaft part closing position and on the other hand can be pivoted so that it passes the person from the first to the second shaft part and vice versa, especially during normal operation of the submarine not hindered.

Particularly preferably, the lid is articulated so that it is pivoted into the first shaft part during opening. As a result, a person located in the second chess part is not hindered by the closing of the lid in their preparations for an underwater exit. Further, the height of the first shaft portion is generally made so large that a person located in the first shaft portion is not obstructed by the lid.

Both in the first and in the second part of the shaft expediently means for opening and closing the lid are provided. In this way, the access between the first and the second shaft part can be closed or opened not only on the part of the first shaft part, but also on the part of the second shaft part.

The cover is advantageously pivotable via a mechanical transmission. In order to operate the lid from both shaft parts, is particularly favorable an operable drive train of the transmission arranged both in the first and in the second part of the shaft. By arranging a handle, such as a crank or a handwheel, a reliable manual operation of the lid is possible. About the gearbox required for pivoting effort can be reduced and it is possible to arrange the operation of the transmission easily accessible.

For this purpose, the transmission preferably has a transmission shaft, which is expediently arranged in the first shaft part. In this part of the shaft, the lid is above the head of a person who wants to open it from the first part of the shaft. By means of the transmission shaft, it is possible to transmit the rotational movement of a handle of the friction, for example a handwheel, which is arranged so that it is easy to reach and use by the person, to other gear components arranged in the region of the cover.

The lid also advantageously has a lock which can be actuated from the first and the second shaft part. With this lock, for example, an accidental opening of the lid can be prevented, in particular when the second shaft part is flooded to equalize the pressure with the environment with water and presses this water in the opening direction on the lid. The lock is preferably actuated via a hand wheel arranged on both sides of the cover, which is in each case integrated in the cover.

In the second part of the shaft a non-slip base is particularly favorable. This base is preferably formed by a grid.

A further advantageous embodiment of the shaft provides that the first shaft part and the second shaft part are formed as separate components, which are preferably connected to each other by means of a flange connection. In this case, the first and the second shaft part are preferably screwed together. But it is also possible to weld the two shaft parts together if necessary.

Thus, in the submarine according to the invention, an underwater exit via the shaft located in the tower is made possible, whereby the volume to be flooded or drained is significantly reduced due to the division of the shaft into two separable pressure-tight shaft sections with respect to undivided shafts. This also applies to the consumption of breathing air by discharging. A second person who is waiting in the first, non-flooded shaft part on their underwater outlet is not exposed to the endangered water pressure, especially at great depths during the waiting period. Another advantage is that even submarines with a one-piece shaft can be equipped in a simple manner with the two-part shaft according to the invention by only the upper, the pressure body facing away from the shaft part is separated and replaced by a shaft part with the inventive design.

Fig. 1

einen Längsschnitt durch einen zweiteiligen Schacht,

Fig. 2

einen Längsschnitt des Schachts entlang der Linie ∥-∥ in Fig. 1 und

Fig. 3

eine Unteransicht des Deckels zwischen erstem und zweitem Schachtteil gemäß Fig. 1.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1

a longitudinal section through a two-part shaft,

Fig. 2

a longitudinal section of the shaft along the line ∥-∥ in Fig. 1 and

Fig. 3

a bottom view of the lid between the first and second shaft part according to Fig. 1 ,

With reference to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, wherein for reasons of clarity in the figures essentially only the components and subassemblies of the submarine are shown, which are different from the known shaft formation, as are common for example in submarines of the type 209, differ.

In the Fig. 1 and 2 a shaft is shown, which is arranged in a tower, not shown, of a submarine and is provided as a manhole to an arranged in the tower cockpit of the submarine. The shaft is formed in two parts with a substantially cylindrical shaft part 2 and an adjoining it at the top shaft part 4, which tapers conically towards its end remote from the shaft part 2 end.

At the mutually facing ends of the shaft parts 2 and 4, a circular plate 6 is welded to the shaft part 2 and to the shaft part 4, a likewise circular plate 8, wherein the plates 6 and 8 have the same diameter and are dimensioned and arranged so that they protrude beyond the outer wall of each connected thereto shaft part 2 and 4 respectively. In this area, the two plates 6 and 8 are screwed together so that the two shaft parts 2 and 4 are pressure-tightly connected to each other in the form of a flange connection.

The plates 6 and 8 have circular openings, which are arranged in alignment with each other and eccentric to the center of the plates 6 and 8. They form a passage 10 between the shaft parts 2 and 4, so that the shaft has an access from the directly to the pressure body subsequent lower end of the shaft part 2 to the upper end of the shaft part 4 allows. The pressure hull is not shown in the figures. The upper end of the shaft portion 4 is formed in the form of a sill 12 for a hatch also not shown in the figures, which allows access to the environment of the tower and is formed in a conventional manner and therefore will not be described in detail here.

The passage 10 is closed by a cover 14 which is connected to the shaft part 2 facing side of the plate 6 so that it can be pivoted from a passage 10 closing position into a passage 10 releasing position (lid 14 '). In the releasing position, the lid 14 'is pivoted by about 90 ° relative to the passage 10 closing position in the shaft part 2.

The pivoting of the lid 14 via a toggle mechanism. For this purpose, the free end of a lever arm of the toggle lever is hinged to the lid 14 and the free end of the other lever arm of the toggle lever pivotally attached to the inner peripheral surface of the shaft part 2. Between the levers, a spindle nut is arranged on the knee joint, through which a threaded spindle is guided. A rotational movement of the threaded spindle can be converted in this way into an axial movement of the spindle nut, which leads to a pivoting of the toggle lever and thus to a pivoting of the lid 14. The dimensioning of the toggle mechanism is adapted to both the installation conditions in the shaft part 2 and the weight and size of the lid 14.

The threaded spindle is motion-coupled with a gear 16, which is fastened substantially next to the cover 14 on the chess part 2 facing side of the plate 6. So there is a lot the transmission 16 in the chess part 2 overhead of a person standing there, which is not affected by the transmission 16 in this way in their freedom of movement. On the inner wall of the shaft part 2, another gear 18 is arranged at a readily accessible height. This transmission 18 is coupled in a motion-coupled manner to the transmission 16 via a shaft 22, so that movements initiated at the transmission 16 can be transmitted to the transmission 18 and from there via the spindle drive and the toggle mechanism to the cover 14. For this purpose, the gear 18 has a handwheel 20, which allows a person a relatively convenient opening and closing of the lid 14, without having to work overhead.

A drive train 24 of the transmission 15 is passed through the plates 6 and 8. This drive train 24 has a square on which a suitable handwheel (not shown in the figures) can be plugged, so that the lid 14 can also be opened or closed by the second shaft part 4.

In order to lock the lid 14 in the passage 10 closing position, a locking mechanism is provided, which is actuated by hand wheels 26. These hand wheels are integrated in the lid 14, wherein in the drawing only in the Fig. 3 a handwheel 26 is shown on the side of the lid 14 facing the shaft part 2. The locking mechanism is dimensioned so that it exerts on the cover 14 such a locking force, which withstands the water pressure acting on the cover 14 when the shaft part 4 flooded.

In the shaft a climbing aid, not shown in the figures, preferably a ladder is arranged, via which a person can climb to the underwater exit from the submarine into the upper, second shaft part 4. To stand there safely, there is a stand there 28 arranged in the form of a non-slip grid so that in the shaft part 4 is a measured from the base 28 from stand height of about two meters.

If the person is in the shaft part 4, the passage 10 between the chess part 2 and the shaft part 4 can be closed by the cover 14, so that then the shaft part 4 is pressure-tightly separated from the shaft part 2. Then, the shaft part 4 is flooded to open the arranged on the top of the shaft part 4 hatch. The funds required for this purpose are not shown in the drawing for the sake of clarity, they otherwise correspond to the prior art. During the exit of this person, another person in the first shaft part 2 can wait for their exit under the pressure conditions prevailing in the pressure body and open the lid 14 when the upper hatch of the shaft part 4 is closed and the shaft part 4 is dehydrated again. Then she can leave the submarine in the manner described above.

In the figures, the transition from the shaft to the pressure hull of the submarine is not shown. It should therefore be noted at this point that the underside of the shaft part 2, which connects directly to the pressure body, both as a lockable with a lid hatch and as an open access can be formed. For example, an initially provided for the discharge of two people shaft, which is designed pressure-tight lockable on its underside with a lid opposite the pressure hull of the submarine, so that an upper part of the shaft is separated and a second shaft part 4 is flanged, said between the first shaft part 2 and the second shaft part 4 in the manner according to the invention a pressure-tight sealable passage 10 by means of a cover 14 is provided. The lid on the underside of the shaft part 2 is then actually no longer necessary because the lid 14 performs the task of sealing off the pressure hull against the water pressure, however, the lid on the underside of the shaft part 2 provides double security against possible ingress of water.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

2

shaftpiece

4

shaftpiece

6

plate

8th

plate

10

passage

12

Süll

14.14 '

cover

16

transmission

18

transmission

20

handwheel

22

transmission shaft

24

drive unit

26

handwheel

28

footprint

Claims (9)

1. A submarine with a pressure hull, with a tower and with a shaft which is located therein and which forms an entry shaft to a cockpit arranged in the tower, characterised in that the shaft is designed divided in two and comprises a first shaft part (2) with an access to the pressure hull, and a second shaft part (4) with an opening to the atmosphere surrounding the submarine there, said opening being able to be closed in a pressure-tight manner, wherein the first and the second shaft part (2, 4) are arranged above one another and are dimensioned in a manner such that a person may stand upright in the first as well as in the second shaft part, and wherein a passage (10) being able to be closed in a pressure tight manner is provided between the first shaft part (2) and the second shaft part (4) being able to be flooded with water, and only the second shaft part (4) is designed as a lock for bringing out a person.
2. A submarine according to claim 1, wherein means for flooding and draining are provided in the second shaft part (4).
3. A submarine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the second shaft part (4) may be closed with respect to the first shaft part (2) by way of a cover (14) which for opening is preferably pivotable into the first shaft part (2).
4. A submarine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein means (16, 18, 20, 22) for opening and closing the cover (14) are provided in the first and in the second shaft part (2, 4).
5. A submarine according to claim 4, wherein the cover (14) is pivotable via a gear (16) and wherein an actuatable drive train (18, 24) of the gear (16) is arranged in each case in the first and in the second shaft part (2, 4).
6. A submarine according to claim 5, wherein the gear (16) comprises a transmission shaft (22).
7. A submarine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the cover (14) comprises a locking which may be actuated from the first and the second shaft part (2, 4).
8. A submarine according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a preferably slip-proof standing surface (28) is arranged in the second shaft part (4).
9. A submarine according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the first shaft part and the second shaft part (4) are designed as separate components which are connected to one another via a flange connection.

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