EP2331395B1 - Lifting system - Google Patents

Abstract

A lifting system for navigable watercraft or marine vessels for temporary stationary positioning of the vessel on a seabed includes supporting legs that may be lowered and raised, and a locking and braking device to provide a force locking engagement with the respective supporting leg. The lifting system also includes a hydro-mechanical device, combined with hydraulic devices, to allow a stationary position of a raised vessel and a lowering of the vessel during transition to a travelling position to be achieved.

Description

The invention relates to a watercraft, in particular feeder-lifting ship with a lifting system, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Hubsysteme comparable type are for example from the publications DE 100 21 163 A1 . DE 2 041 925 A1 . EP 1 795 443 A1 . EP 094 434 A1 or US 6,808,337 B1 . US 4,456,404 known.

The DE 2 041 925 A1 shows, for example, a floating, self-lifting platform, but which is equipped with relatively complex rack gears, so that lowering and raising of support legs by means of this form-fitting device runs relatively slowly.

These lifting systems used in various types of vessels, stationary offshore structures or implements often have the disadvantage that they are relatively expensive to construct and usually use positive-locking lifting and holding systems.

Nor does this design technique make it possible to perform a relatively quick positioning of a corresponding vessel or to cancel the steady state.

With the construction of offshore wind farms or other comparable offshore facilities, such as reconnaissance platforms, artificial islands or drilling rigs, it is becoming increasingly important to supply these offshore facilities with fast and safe transport of as large as possible assemblies to these stationary offshore Ensure facilities that can be mounted quickly.

It is therefore desirable to separate the logistics chain for the supply of such offshore facilities in the areas of transport and installation of supplies and assemblies.

For the efficient transport of assemblies and components from the port, for example, into an offshore wind farm, it would therefore be advantageous to be able to combine the advantages of a feeder lifting platform with that of a transport ship. It would mean, on the one hand, that one is independent of the sea during the period of unloading the supplies and, on the other hand, because of the function of the transport ship, it achieves high flexibility, speed and economy.

In the U.S. Patent 3,717,001 a vessel described as offshore storage device having comparable features according to the preamble of claim 1 of the invention.

This vessel has three support legs which can be lowered and raised by means of pneumatic, hydraulic or mechanical lifting and gripping elements. In this known vessel, an upper tank can be raised above the level of the upper water surface and then filled with water, so that higher forces can be applied to the support legs to lower them deeper into the seabed.

However, safety devices for the lowering of the support legs and a later lifting are not apparent from this document.

The invention is therefore an object of the invention to provide watercraft with a lifting system, especially for transport vessels in the manner of feeder helicopters, which can be supported by means of support legs temporarily on the sea or seabed, the lifting system should be designed cost-effective and safe and from Timing a relatively quick positioning at the appropriate marine position as well as a relatively rapid lifting support legs used to allow.

This object is achieved by the features of claim 1. An essential core idea can be seen therein, on the one hand, to create a non-positive arrangement between the hull or body of the watercraft and the lowerable and liftable support legs.

In this way, as it were, a largely continuous lowering of support legs on the seabed can be done. Also, the reverse process of lifting or floating of the support legs can be carried out in this way largely continuously and smoothly, so there are no intermediate time stations that would slow down these processes.

In addition, it is particularly advantageous to realize a constructive combination between the hydraulic sub-region of the lifting system and a hydromechanical sub-region.

Under this latter hydromechanical portion of the lifting system, the flooding of a corresponding support leg, in particular in conjunction with a float or a flooding and buoyancy body, simplistic understood, so that in conjunction with the non-positive and expediently hydraulically actuated locking and braking system, a rapid lowering, but also a relatively fast floating or raising the support legs using compressed air is possible.

A transport ship equipped with such a lifting system also makes it possible to cancel the temporary stationary positioning by means of support legs on the seabed relatively quickly.

For this purpose, a expression or blowing out of the water from the respective flooded support leg with buoyancy or floating body is required, the floating of the support leg in an upper, locked resting or transport position can be performed relatively quickly and largely continuously.

The lifting system also allows a vessel equipped therewith to be largely independent of and unaffected by the sea, especially during the transfer or takeover of assemblies to and from the stationary offshore facilities.

After the support of the watercraft on the corresponding support legs on the seabed, it allows the locking device to fix the vessel to the support legs at the appropriate height, so that subsequently by means of the lifting device, which is suitably equipped with lifting cylinders, the vessel further raised relative to the support legs can be, so that floating in waves is prevented.

In this position is usually a part of the underwater ship, for example, the keel area or ship's bottom, still in contact with the surrounding water.

For temporary stationary positioning of the ship or watercraft on the seabed, the lifting system provides lowerable and liftable support legs, which cooperate with a lowering device and a lifting device. An essential idea of the invention lies in the arrangement of a locking and braking device, which is designed for a frictional engagement with the respective support leg. This is made possible on the one hand via extending in the longitudinal direction of the support leg wings or brake rails. Furthermore, a lifting device is functionally connected with this locking and braking device, which is fixed on the other hand on the hull of the ship. With lowered support legs, this lifting device, which is expediently based on the hydraulic principle, a further lifting of the hull of the ship, so that a floating in a wave is prevented.

The locking and braking device is advantageously equipped with brake calipers or brake shoes, which are frictionally with the wings, which are flat iron in a simple manner and mounted offset by 180 ° on opposite sides of the hollow cylindrical support leg, can be brought into engagement.

The frictional engagement can optionally be improved by positive contours in the wing or brake rails.

Another essential feature of the invention can be seen in the connection of the hollow cylindrical and waterproof support legs with a provided in the lower region of the support leg float, which can also be referred to as flooding and buoyancy. This makes it possible, by simply flooding the support leg and the flood and buoyancy body to allow at the same time controlled braking device, a relatively rapid and largely continuous lowering of the support legs on the destination position.

In the reverse manner, the water is blown out by the injection of compressed air into the hollow cylindrical support legs and the buoyant body, so that a relatively rapid, but controlled floating of the corresponding support leg is thereby realized.

The combination of non-positive engagement on the support leg on the locking and braking device in cooperation with the suitably hydraulically designed lifting device and the hydromechanically designed lowering and Aufschwimmeinrichtung of support leg and float allows therefore, a structurally relatively simple but very efficiently constructed lifting system, with high stability Transfer positions of assemblies on a stationary offshore facility, which is a largely independent of the sea conditions use of a ship with such a lifting system is achieved.

As essential core elements of the lifting system, therefore, on the one hand, the hollow, watertight support legs with floating bodies can be regarded, which can be flooded and dehydrated by compressed air. On the other hand, there is the locking and Braking device with which the relative movement of the floating support legs relative to the hull of the ship can be slowed defined until the ship is firmly on the seabed with his support legs.

The weight of the support legs is to be such that flooding of the float, which acts as flooding and buoyancy body, in connection with the filling state of the support leg, this floats or drops. The upper area of the float should float in waterless condition just at the water surface.

At the lower end of the support legs a cone-shaped tip is suitably provided, which allows a better engagement in the seabed. At the transition between the cone and the smooth tube of the support leg expediently air outlet holes are provided which prevent in the manner of a pressure relief valve that an excessive internal pressure is built up in the float. When emptying the float by means of compressed air these exit holes also ensure that the lower end of the support leg with a conical tip can be relatively easily detached from the seabed.

After lowering the support legs on the seabed, the locking device having a ring body is fixed by means of the frictional engagement between brake calipers or brake shoes on the wings or brake rails of the support legs. The hull of the ship thus depends on the lifting device on the corresponding ring bodies. The appropriately equipped with hydraulic cylinders lifting device can then lift the ship from this position further out of the water until the desired working position for the transfer or takeover of assemblies can be performed regardless of the sea state.

The way the hydraulic cylinders have to travel depends on the penetration depth of the support leg into the seabed and on the wave height. The ship must be pulled up so that it does not float in a wave even when discharged, but not so high that the underside of the ship can be damaged by waves.

The number of provided on a support leg wings or brake rails can be different and be selected depending on the carrying capacity. In terms of in a simple arrangement and cost savings, two wings and two braking systems, designed for example as double caliper brakes, should be sufficient per support leg.

The functional sequence for the offshore supply of a ship equipped with such a lifting system looks something like this:

After reaching the operational position of the ship, the support legs are flooded and lowered to the seabed. When floating the ship in a wave, the locking and braking device is tightened, so that the ship is set at this height relative to the support legs. Subsequently, the ship is raised via the lifting device with, for example, hydraulic function further up to its working height. To relieve the corresponding lifting devices and the corresponding hydraulic system, the forces of the hydraulic system, for example, by lashing chains, rigid hawsers or the like can be taken in this working position.

When placing the ship from the offshore facility, the lashing chains are first released and taken over by the forces of the lifting device. The ship is then slowly lowered by means of the lifting device and let into the water. The support legs are then released hydraulically or by blowing from the ground, for example. After introducing compressed air into the support legs and the float, the braking device is released, so that the support legs can float largely continuously and completely. In this position, the braking devices are tightened and fixed and the float out in Arretiersättel, where they can be hydraulically locked with bolts, for example. This measure secures the support legs with float in a rest position and especially when the ship.

An improvement of the braking device can be achieved in that the brake shoes have, for example, about wedge shape, so that with an increase in the load and a greater holding force is generated.

The corresponding lifting system therefore allows the combination of hydraulic and hydromechanical lifting mechanism, without the transition from one to the other method of sea state influences is prevented. At the same time is the lifting system fast and inexpensive, since it uses the buoyancy forces of the hollow cylindrical support legs with floating body, so that even with larger water depths a relatively fast retraction of the support legs is possible in their locked position.

Fig. 1

die schematische Seitenansicht eines mit einem derartigen Hubsystem ausgestatteten Schiffes, wobei der mittlere Schiffsrumpf in Längsrichtung aus Vereinfachungsgründen weggelassen wurde;

Fig. 2

eine Draufsicht auf das Vorschiff entsprechend Fig. 1;

Fig. 3

eine schematische Ansicht in Längsrichtung des Schiffes auf ein Hubsystem;

Fig. 4

eine Seitenansicht des Hubsystems nach Fig. 3 mit Blick gegen die Bordwand des Schiffes und

Fig. 5

das Hubsystem nach Fig. 3 in abgesenkter Position des entsprechenden Stützbeines auf den Meeresgrund.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to an example and schematic drawings. Hereby show:

Fig. 1

the schematic side view of a vessel equipped with such a lifting system, the middle hull was omitted in the longitudinal direction for simplicity's sake;

Fig. 2

a plan view of the foredeck accordingly Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3

a schematic view in the longitudinal direction of the ship to a lifting system;

Fig. 4

a side view of the lifting system after Fig. 3 facing the ship's side wall and

Fig. 5

the lifting system after Fig. 3 in lowered position of the corresponding support leg on the seabed.

In Fig. 1 a ship 1 is shown in side view with lifting systems 5. It is shown in the length of the ship shortened representation without the central longitudinal region of the ship 1, since in the example, the lifting systems 5 are arranged in the front and aft of the ship 1.

The lifting system 5 has a support leg 10 with wings 13 provided on the outside or brake rails. This support leg 10 has a float 11 integrated in the lower area, which continues down the lower part of the support leg 10 with conical tip 35 (see also Fig. 4 ).

The lifting system 5 is further characterized by an annular body 23 about the support leg 10, which receives brake calipers 24 and brake shoes in the opposite region. On this annular body 23 is still on both sides, in the example parallel to the midships axis, a lifting device with two lifting cylinders 16 is provided. These lifting cylinders 16 are in the example ( Fig. 4 ) firmly hinged to the hull 20.

In resting or driving position of the ship 1, the support legs 10 are raised so far that the upper surface of the in a Arretiersattel 31 ( Fig. 4 ) fixed float 11 comes to rest approximately at the level of the waterline. At the same time it can be seen that the cone-shaped tip 35 does not come to lie below the ship's bottom.

According to the Fig. 1 In the example, two lifting systems 5 are provided on the starboard side, one arranged in the fore section 2 and another in the aft section 3 of the ship.

The Fig. 2 2 shows a top view of the fore section 2 with lifting systems 5 arranged on the starboard side and on the port side. These lifting systems 5 are connected to one another via cross braces 42 for further stabilization (FIG. Fig. 5 ).

Furthermore, in the plan view Fig. 2 recognizable that U-shaped transverse arm 17 fixed to the hull 20, in particular welded, are. These U-shaped, outwardly open transverse arm 17 take on the lifting systems 5, so to speak. In this case, the lower ends of the lifting cylinders 16 are supported against these transverse arms 17, so they are articulated or rigidly fixed thereto.

In Fig. 3 is fragmentary a section in the longitudinal direction of the ship 1 of a lifting system 5 shown. With simultaneous inclusion of the representation after Fig. 4 , Which shows a lateral plan view of a lifting system 5 in fragmentary representation, are on both sides of the hollow cylindrical support leg 10 wings or brake rails 13 recognizable. One at the top of the FIGS. 3 and 4 shown annular body 23 takes in this case the locking and braking device 15, which has brake calipers or brake shoes 24 inside. On the outer flanges of the locking device 15 engages on the one hand, the piston rod of a lifting cylinder 16 and on the other hand, a lashing 26 is attached in the example. Lifting cylinder 16 and lashing 26 are provided on both sides of the ring body 23.

Fixed to the hull 20 is in the lower region on both sides of the support leg 10 each have a hook for fixing the lashing 26 is provided. In the resting position or driving position, the drop-shaped float 11 is placed in locking saddles 31 fixed to the hull 20, for example via bolts.

In Fig. 3 is seen in the direction of the ship this blocked by means of bolts 32 and shown locked position, so that even when driving the ship 1 or at sea a secure attachment of the respective lifting system is achieved.

The floating body 11 has a larger diameter than the cylindrical support leg 10. Towards the outboard wall of the ship 1, this floating body 11 is slightly flattened so that a smaller distance between the vertical longitudinal axis of the lifting system 5 and the hull 1 is achieved.

In Fig. 5 is comparable to Fig. 3 shown a Lageanordung in which the support leg 10 of a lifting system 5 is lowered onto or into the seabed 45. In this position, the corresponding bolts 32 are unlocked. Depending on the depth of the vessel 1, this can be lifted from this position on the hydraulic cylinder 16 of the lifting device even further from the water, so that a floating of the ship 1 can be avoided even when the sea is moving. In such a position, the lashing chains 26 can then be fixed relative to the hooks 27 and thus the hull 20, so that the lifting device can be relieved of load.

Upon completion of a supply process between the ship 1 and an offshore device, not shown, the lifting device is first put into operation with their lifting cylinders, so that the lashing chains 26 can be solved. Subsequently, in the fixed position of the locking and braking device 15 relative to the support legs 10, the lifting cylinder 16 is relieved of power, so that the ship 1 slowly sinks down and is guided. This takes place up to the immersion depth of the hull 20 due to the weight present.

The ship 1 thus already floats, but is still supported in and on the seabed 45 by means of its four lifting systems 5, for example.

To lift the waterproof legs 10 and the float 11 are pressurized with compressed air, so that the water present in the interior is pushed out. Conveniently, this can also be done partially via the outlet openings 36 in the region of the cone-shaped tip 35, so that the vertical release of the support legs 10 from the seabed 45 is facilitated.

In this position and phase, the brake shoes 15 are dissolved in the ring body 23 or are available with a small and controlled force engagement with the wings 13 in conjunction, so that a largely continuous floating of the float 11 together with the support leg 10 is achieved.

Will the in Fig. 1 achieved position of the floating body 11 is reached, the locking and braking device 15 is fixed relative to the respective support leg 10 and the entire lifting system fixed in the Arretiersätteln 31.

Claims (9)

1. Watercraft (1), in particular a feeder lifting vessel, with a lifting system, with supporting legs (10) which can be lowered and raised for at least temporary stationary positioning of the watercraft (1) on the seabed (45) or over a determined seabed position,
   with a lowering device (11, 10) and an additional lifting device (16, 17) for the supporting legs (10) and the watercraft (1),
   with at least one locking and braking device (13, 23, 24) for a force locking engagement with the respective supporting leg (10),
   wherein the lifting device (16, 17) is on the one hand in operative connection with the locking and braking device (13, 23, 24) and
   on the other hand is fixed to the body (20) of the watercraft (1) in such a way that
   when the supporting legs (10) are lowered a relative lifting of the watercraft (1) is possible in relation to the supporting legs (10),
   characterised in that
   the supporting legs (10) comprise in longitudinal direction at least one, in particular two opposite-lying wing elements or brake rails (13),
   with which the locking and braking device (23, 24) equipped with at least one brake calliper (24) or with brake shoes (24) can be brought into engagement in a force locking way and
   the means for lowering and lifting the supporting legs (10) comprise a hydromechanical device (10, 11).
2. Watercraft according to claim 1
   characterised in that
   the lifting device (16, 17) comprises lifting cylinders (16) which are connected via an annular or shell-form holder (23) around each supporting leg (10) in a force locking and / or shape locking way with the bearing of the brake calliper (24) or the brake shoes (24).
3. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 2,
   characterised in that
   the braking device (15) is designed with double calliper brakes and wedge form brake shoes are provided to increase the holding forces with a higher carrying load.
4. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 3,
   characterised in that
   U-shaped transverse arms (17) for supporting the lifting device (16) are provided on the body (20) of the watercraft (1).
5. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 4,
   characterised in that
   to the front and rear of the watercraft (1), in particular on the outboard side, two respective opposite-lying lowering (11, 10) and lifting devices (16, 17) are provided which are stabilised against each other with a cross brace (42).
6. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that
   the supporting legs (10) are designed to be hollow cylindrical and comprise at the lower end region at least one flooding and buoyancy body (11), in particular orientated in roughly a drop form in the direction of travel, and in that supporting legs (10) and flooding and buoyancy bodies (11) are designed to be watertight.
7. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that
   lashing chains (26) are provided for relieving the load of the lifting cylinders (16) in the raised position of the watercraft (1).
8. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 7,
   characterised in that
   a termination with conical tip (35) is provided at the lower end of the supporting legs (10).
9. Watercraft according to one of the claims 1 to 8,
   characterised in that
   blow-out holes (36) are provided at the lower end of the supporting legs (10) below the flooding and buoyancy bodies (11).

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