EP4039576A1 - Cleaning system for removing particles from an external surface of a water vehicle or a water structure and mobile transport device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a cleaning system for cleaning particles from an outer surface of a watercraft or a hydraulic structure, the cleaning system having a floating system support device and a cleaning device that can be suspended in the water, the system support device having a drive for moving in the water and a suction pump and the cleaning device having at least has a brush roller for moving and for cleaning the particles from the outer surface and the system carrier device and the cleaning device can be connected to one another via a detachable supply and disposal connection, and the at least one brush roller is arranged in and/or on a suction area of the cleaning device and the system carrier device has a filter system for separating cleaned particles from the water, so that the water contains the particles cleaned by means of the at least one brush roller ln via the suction area, the supply and disposal connection can be conveyed through the filter system due to a negative pressure generated by the suction pump and the particles can be separated by means of the filter system. Furthermore, the invention relates to a mobile transport device.

Description

The invention relates to a cleaning system for cleaning particles from an outer surface of a watercraft or a hydraulic structure, the cleaning system having a floating system support device and a cleaning device that can be floated in the water, the system support device having a drive for moving in water and a suction pump and the cleaning device having at least has a brush roller for moving and for cleaning the particles from the outer surface and the system carrier device and the cleaning device can be connected to one another via a detachable supply and disposal connection. Furthermore, the invention relates to a mobile transport device.

On technical surfaces, such as ship hulls and hydraulic engineering systems, undesirable colonization of organisms (fouling) takes place, especially under water. To counteract fouling, conventional antifouling coatings are used, which permanently release toxic substances (biocides) into the surrounding water. However, antifouling coatings are not required on ships due to the constantly changing routes, the different levels of vegetation in the various waters and the different regional Legislation on antifouling coatings difficult to implement.

Especially in coastal waters and lakes, biocide-free, cleanable hard coatings are increasingly being used, which can be used with additional mechanical help to keep ship and boat hulls free of growth. On the one hand, these coatings are self-cleaning when the ship moves regularly and correspondingly quickly, during which the growth is largely removed by the water resistance. In the case of stationary water structures and boats that rarely sail, however, additional mechanical cleaning of the underwater area must be carried out. Both with biocide-containing antifouling coatings, especially with the high growth intensities in seawater, and with cleanable, non-toxic hard coatings, mechanical cleaning of the growth must therefore be carried out at regular intervals.

For this purpose, divers are usually used, who clean the underwater hull with purely mechanical manual methods. When seagoing vessels are docked or when hauling in smaller boats on land, their underwater hulls can also be cleaned of growth on land, for example by means of a high-pressure cleaner.

Furthermore, from the WO 2019/012184 A1 a treatment system for underwater surfaces and for the removal of particles with a brush device is known, which has a drain line and a pump with a Treatment unit is connected, the treatment unit being installable on a watercraft. In the brush device, the rotatable brushes are arranged directly on the underwater surface for cleaning and a drain opening of the drain line is attached to the side of the brushes, surrounded by an apron and a housing.

the WO 2018/096214 A1 discloses a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) which moves by means of wheels on a continuous rail on a ferrous surface and has a brush unit for cleaning in its front area which rests directly on the surface to be cleaned at the bottom.

The object of the invention is to improve the prior art.

The object is achieved by a cleaning system for cleaning particles from an outer surface of a watercraft or a hydraulic structure, the cleaning system having a floating system support device and a cleaning device that can be floated in the water, the system support device having a drive for moving in the water and a suction pump and the The cleaning device has at least one brush roller for moving and cleaning the particles from the outer surface, and the system support device and the cleaning device can be connected to one another via a detachable supply and disposal connection, the at least one brush roller being arranged in and/or on a suction area of the cleaning device and the system support device has a filter system for separating cleaned particles from the water, so that the water with the particles cleaned by means of the at least one brush roller can be conveyed through the filter system via the suction area, the supply and disposal connection due to a negative pressure generated by the suction pump and the particles can be separated by means of the filter system.

A self-sufficient cleaning system is thus provided, with which underwater ships and underwater structures as well as structures above the waterline can be automatically cleaned of vegetation in a simple manner. It is particularly advantageous that the cleaning system for cleaning off the vegetation does not require a human being to dive in or a watercraft to be brought in on land.

Due to the two-part design of the cleaning system with the system carrier device, which can be floated and moved on the water surface, and the cleaning device, which can be floated in the water and can therefore be used under water, a user-friendly cleaning system is provided without great technical effort. In addition to being easy to use, the cleaning system can also be used flexibly and mobile. In this case, it is particularly advantageous that, by means of the system support device, the cleaning device can be individually moved to the location of the desired cleaning, such as an underwater hull, a shipping sign or a lock gate in the water can be driven and/or placed directly into the water on site.

As a result, there is no need for biocide-containing antifouling paints on ship hulls, and the cleaning system can be used individually and flexibly for cleaning biocide-free, mechanically cleanable hard coatings. The cleaning system thus contributes to the relief of the respective body of water and the environment.

In this regard, it is particularly advantageous that the cleaned particles are not released into the surrounding water, as is the case with conventional mechanical cleaning work underwater, but that the cleaned particles are kept in the suction area of the cleaning device and are sucked off through the supply and disposal connection by means of the suction pump, which how the filter system for separating the cleaned particles sucked off with the water is located in the system carrier device. Due to this arrangement of the filter system in the system support device floating on the water surface, the cleaned particles can be removed from the filter system in a simple manner and, for example, disposed of on land. In addition, the actual filters and/or filter media of the filter system can be cleaned and/or backwashed more easily on the water surface.

Because the suction pump and the filter system for separating the cleaned particles from the water are in spatially close, but spatially separated from the cleaning device on the floating system support device, the cleaning device itself is free of a filter system and a pump and thus has a smaller, lighter and more flexible manoeuvrable size.

An essential idea of the invention is based on the fact that due to the formation of the cleaning system from at least two components with the cleaning device that can be operated under water, which only removes the growth and thus the particles at the location of the outer surface to be cleaned, and the system carrier device that can be moved on the water, which serves both the energetic supply of the cleaning device as well as the separation of the cleaned particles from the suctioned water by means of the integrated filter system, a flexible, easy-to-use and environmentally friendly cleaning system is provided. It is particularly advantageous here that all functions of the cleaning device can be controlled and/or regulated under water by means of the system support device automatically and/or by means of an operator, without the operator having to dive in. Due to the use of at least one brush roller, whose bristles are largely impermeable to water when rotating, on and/or in the suction area of the cleaning device, the particles cleaned by the brush roller are held directly within the suction area and through the disposal connection (e.g. a suction hose) with the water after conveyed up into the system carrier device on the water surface and through the filter system for separating the cleaned particles from the water.

In addition, the cleaning device can also be used to clean surfaces of the watercraft or hydraulic structure above the water, for example to remove rust film from scattered deck coatings or airborne particles from shipping signs. For this purpose, only the brush roller is adjusted accordingly.

The following terms are explained:

A "cleaning system" is, in particular, a device for cleaning particles and/or fouling from an external technical surface of an object, which in particular is partially or completely in the water. The cleaning system is in particular constructed in two parts from a floating system carrier device and a cleaning device that can be floated in the water, both of which can be connected by means of a detachable and/or pluggable supply and disposal connection. During operation, the system support device and the cleaning device of the cleaning system are constantly connected to one another via the supply and disposal connection.

The "system carrier device" (also called system carrier) is in particular a mobile and floatable unit. The system carrier device can in particular be a watercraft. the System support device has in particular a voltage supply unit, such as an accumulator or a battery. However, the system carrier device can also have a power generator, such as a solar cell and/or a solar module. The cleaning system is designed in particular as a hybrid, which means that energy can be fed in directly from an external vehicle electrical system or from a jetty, independently of its existing battery feed, so that unlimited energy can be available. Furthermore, the system support device has in particular the filter system, an operating system and/or an adapter system. The system support device has in particular its own drive or several own drives, so that it can be brought to the ships or hydraulic structures to be cleaned by the user himself. A drive can be, for example, a transverse thruster control system, such as a bow or stern thruster, a propeller and/or a driven ship screw. For example, the system support device can have a main drive with two transverse thruster units or with two rotatable propeller units. In the case of two rotatable propeller units, in particular the feed on the system support device is optimally available in any position by rotating the two propeller units by 360° in each case. As a result, sufficient contact pressure of the cleaning device and/or the brushes can also be ensured when cleaning above the water line. In addition, the system support device has, in particular, a suction pump. For spatial orientation and For stability, the system support device can have a ballast plate or several ballast plates on its outside, in particular in the underwater area. Furthermore, the system support device can have a steering system and a wheel or multiple wheels and/or can be operated by radio. As a result, the mobile cleaning system is designed in particular in such a way that a person can slip the entire system in and out of a trailer via a ramp at any time by radio. As soon as the cleaning system is in the water, the system support device can be moved to a jetty by radio, where the operator goes to an operator station and/or a cockpit.

A “suction pump” is, in particular, a pump that generates a vacuum. The suction height of the suction pump is adjusted according to the length of the disposal connection (suction hose). In order to overcome very high suction heights, a delivery pump, for example a submersible pump of the disposal connection, can also be interposed. A suction pump is preferably a self-priming pump, such as a positive displacement pump. For example, a self-priming bilge pump with a volume flow of 14,000 liters per hour can be used as the suction pump, which is arranged approx. 0.1 m below the waterline in the system support device, while the cleaning device with the suction opening is approx. 2 m under water and the pressure line to the filter system are about 0.5 m above water, so that at a maximum water flow into the filter system with a height difference of 2.5 m.

A "detachable supply and disposal connection" has in particular an electrical connection and a fluid connection between the system carrier device and the cleaning device. The detachable supply and disposal connection has, in particular, an electrical supply cable and a suction hose. The electrical supply cable for supplying power to the cleaning device through the system support device can in particular be routed separately and/or bundled with the suction hose (disposal connection). Furthermore, the detachable supply and disposal connection can also have other cables, such as signal cables for information transmission. The cables are designed in particular to be waterproof. All of the cables and the at least one suction hose can in particular also be routed together in a flexible surrounding hose. The disposal connection and thus the suction hose can be a conventional suction/pressure hose, for example. The detachable supply and disposal connection and/or the respective cable and the suction hose can in particular be plugged in at their respective end on the system support device and the cleaning device.

The "cleaning device" has in particular at least one brush roller and a suction area. The suction area can in particular be provided by a brush roller or several brush rollers, baffles and / or buoyancy be limited. The buoyancy body or several buoyancy bodies serve to adjust and/or to align the cleaning device, which is in particular floating in the water. The suction area is partially or completely open, particularly on the underside of the cleaning device, and is therefore just not filled with brushes. This means that the intake area, which is open at the bottom, is directly in contact with this side of the technical surface to be cleaned. In addition to a brush roller or several brush rollers for cleaning and for moving on the technical surface, the cleaning device can also have other wheels for moving and feeding. For autonomous movement in the water, the cleaning device can also have a drive, such as a propeller or multiple propellers. Furthermore, for example, two propellers can also be arranged outside of the actual suction space between the brush rollers and the buoyancy bodies, so that no particles that have been cleaned off can escape due to the propeller flow. In addition, a necessary contact pressure of the cleaning device on the surface to be cleaned under water is provided by a propeller or by several propellers. As a result, the required contact pressure of the brush rollers is maintained, especially when the cleaning device is moving along a vertical surface.

In particular, a "brush roller" is a brush having a continuous cylindrical body which is bristled on its outer surface. Here, in particular, the cylindrical body (roller) is not permeable to water. The brush roller has, in particular, a shaft and/or axis that runs through the middle in the longitudinal direction. The shaft and/or axle can be designed as a hollow shaft, for example, in which a motor for rotating the brush roller is arranged. The cavity not occupied by the engine serves in particular as a buoyancy body. The hollow shaft has in particular plastic. Due to the fact that the brushes are only arranged on the outer diameter of the roller according to the respective brush fiber length, the passage of water through the brush roller is advantageously reduced due to the solid cylindrical body. In addition, the bristles of the brush in particular are essentially not permeable to water during their rotation. A brush roller can also be a nub and/or lobed roller or another cleaning trimming. For example, the brush trimmings can have alloyed wire and/or plastic bristles. In particular, the brush roller has a very high and almost complete coverage of the brush fibers. Instead of two brush rollers arranged opposite one another, a belt brush can also be used, for example. In particular, the brush roller can be replaced and has a quick-release fastener for this purpose, for example. The brush roller or rollers are optimally applied to the technical surface to be cleaned, in particular via brush roller kinematics, each having a tension spring and a pivot point. Thereby Irregularly shaped structures such as underwater ships, sheet piling, lock gates, buoys, floating docks, offshore components and the like can also be cleaned optimally and over the entire surface.

Through the targeted arrangement of one brush roller or several brush rollers in the cleaning device, the suction area is limited to the outside to the surrounding water and the escape of cleaned particles from the suction area is prevented. In particular, several brush rollers laterally surround the suction area, which is open at the bottom, whereby the suction area is specifically enclosed and particles are prevented from escaping from the suction area. On the other hand, brush rollers, in contrast to cup brushes, have the advantage of gentle cleaning, since the rotation of the brush rollers does not grind down shellfish that have grown on the paint surface of the object to be cleaned, such as barnacles, while with cup brushes the bristle ends cover a much longer distance detrimentally touch the cleaning surface and damage to the coatings is inevitable as a result.

A “filter system” is in particular a device for removing fouling and/or particles that have been cleaned off from water. A filter system has in particular a water filter or several water filters. In particular, the filter system can have a surface filter and/or a depth filter. For example, the filter system can have two screen filters connected in parallel. In principle, however, the filter system can be any known filter designed for the removal of the respective particle size is suitable. A filter of the filter system can also be an automatic backwash filter. The filter system preferably has, in particular, two easy-to-remove screen filter baskets. The filter of the filter system has in particular a filter fineness in a range from 10 μm to 2 mm, in particular from 10 μm to 1 mm, preferably from 50 μm to 500 μm.

"Particulate" means any shape, type, and size of debris, growth, and/or fouling found on the exterior of a engineered surface. Particles can, in particular, contain inorganic and/or organic material. In addition to dispersions, particles can also be suspensions. Particles are, for example, algae, sand, barnacles, dust, but also colloidal, dispersed proteins.

In a further embodiment of the cleaning system, the cleaning device has a second roller brush, a third roller brush and/or further roller brushes, with two roller brushes being able to be driven in the same direction or in opposite directions.

The cleaning performance is improved by the arrangement of two or more brush rollers. In addition, by increasing the number of brush rollers, the shielding of the cleaned particles from the surrounding water in the suction area is increased and the suction is thus improved. Several Brush rollers can in particular be arranged side by side and/or one behind the other. Preferably, at least two brush rollers arranged opposite one another delimit the suction area from the outside.

In particular, the flow of the water with the cleaned particles can be influenced by driving two opposing brush rollers in opposite directions or in the same direction. The cleaning device preferably has two brush rollers driven in opposite directions at the outermost edge of the suction area, as a result of which the cleaned particles reach the center of the suction area and thus in the immediate vicinity of the suction opening of the suction hose. In this case, the extraction area is delimited by opposing buoyancy bodies in the case of a square or rectangular basic shape, in particular on the other two side walls. In addition, the flow control in the suction area can be influenced by specifically arranged baffles and the water with the cleaned particles can be guided to the suction opening of the suction hose.

A “second, third and/or further brush roller” is, in particular in terms of design and function, a brush roller as defined above.

In order to optimally apply the respective brush roller to the outer surface to be cleaned and/or to remove a different thickness of growth, the cleaning device has a pressing unit for pressing the Brush roller or brush rollers to the outer surface. In addition, technical recesses or elevations on the outer surface can also be optimally cleaned.

The "pressing unit" can be, for example, the brush kinematics described above or another press-on mechanism for the brush roller or brush rollers.

In a further embodiment, the cleaning device, the brush roller or the brush rollers has or have a buoyancy body.

A floating state of the cleaning device in the water and its position and orientation in the water can be adjusted by one or more buoyancy bodies of the cleaning device. For example, the roller of a brush roller can also be designed as a buoyancy body, which can be advantageous when cleaning the underside of a structure, such as a floating pontoon.

As an alternative or in addition to automatic control or remote control of the cleaning system, the system support device can have an operating system with an operator station for controlling and/or regulating the system support device and the cleaning device.

As a result, an operator can be located directly on the system support device and this and the Drive, control and/or regulate cleaning equipment under water.

For this purpose, the system carrier can have, for example, an open or closed cockpit with an operator station. The operator sitting in the system carrier controls the necessary movements of the cleaning device and the system carrier device itself, for example via a touch screen and joystick. In particular, the operator can regulate all drives of both components of the cleaning system. In addition, the operator station can also be equipped with a video screen for monitoring the cleaning activities to be carried out. The operating system also has a control cabinet, which is arranged, for example, behind the backrest of the operator station. 24 V accumulators, for example, can be arranged on the floor of the cockpit to provide the necessary energy. A charger with a 220 V mains connection integrated in the system support device can be used to charge these accumulators. The current status of the accumulator capacity is displayed digitally in the operating system. In addition, the system carrier has an external power feed connection for the charger. In order to additionally clean horizontal surfaces on, for example, ship decks with the cleaning device, a control console can be provided which is connected to a control cabinet of the control system in particular via a spiral cable, with the control console being placed on the cleaning device.

In principle, the operating system is designed in such a way that a user, after appropriate instruction, can independently drive and operate the cleaning system at different locations.

In a further embodiment of the cleaning system, the system support device has an adapter unit for accommodating the cleaning device in such a way that the cleaning device can be used above a waterline.

In addition to cleaning off vegetation above the waterline and/or the waterway using the cleaning device accommodated on the adapter unit, the cleaning device can also be specifically moved to hard-to-reach places using the system support device and these can be cleaned. Due to the fact that the adapter unit is arranged on the system carrier device, the adapter unit with the coupled cleaning device is located directly in the operator's field of vision. For this purpose, the adapter unit is preferably arranged in accordance with the orientation of the operator station in front of the operator in the direction of travel on the outside at the front of the system support device.

The "adapter unit" is in particular a separate unit which can be arranged on the outside of the system support device. In particular, the adapter unit can be displaced, rotated, pivoted and/or moved vertically on the system carrier device. In addition to a recording for the cleaning device, the Adapter unit also have an additional drive, such as a transverse thruster. However, a single transverse thruster unit is preferably arranged in and/or on the system carrier. The adapter unit is preferably arranged on the front of the system carrier device.

A "water line" is in particular the line which results from an intersection of the water surface with the hull of a ship or a hydraulic structure. The waterline also includes a waterline as a colored stripe on the design waterline.

In order to avoid a collision of the system carrier device with the object to be cleaned and to bring the cleaning device to hard-to-reach places on the surfaces to be cleaned, the adapter unit has an adapter mount, in particular an extendable and/or swiveling adapter mount, for accommodating the cleaning device.

The adapter receptacle can be pivoted in the horizontal direction, in particular in an angle range from 0° to 180°, in particular up to 120°, preferably up to 90°, from its basic position.

In order to take the cleaning device out of the water more easily, the adapter receptacle can preferably be extended and retracted. In addition to holding the cleaning device firmly when cleaning above and below the waterline, the adapter holder is used for the adapter unit also for holding the cleaning device stationary during transport of the cleaning system.

In a further embodiment, the adapter unit has an adjustment device for moving the adapter unit and/or the cleaning device.

As a result, the position and/or the spatial alignment of the adapter unit and/or the cleaning device relative to the system carrier device and/or the cleaning device relative to the adapter unit can be changed. Consequently, a wide variety of structures, such as an underwater hull, a sheet piling, a floating dock and/or a shipping sign can be optimally cleaned with targeted alignment of the cleaning device and/or the brushes.

For flexible spatial alignment, the adjusting device has a vertical lifting device with a drive for moving the cleaning device vertically, in particular over a water line, a rotating device for rotating the adapter unit and/or the cleaning device, a pivoting device for pivoting the cleaning device and/or a pull-in and/or Dispensing device for moving the cleaning device horizontally.

Thus, all movements, such as turning, pivoting, vertical lifting and horizontal retraction and/or extension, are made possible by means of the adjustment device in order to be able to move the cleaning device accordingly in and above the waterline. To do this, the vertical Lifting device can be arranged with the drive within the adapter unit in order to move the cleaning device up and down. Likewise, the adapter unit itself can be moved up and down on a vertical surface of the system carrier device by means of a vertical lifting device and thus the cleaning device accommodated can be moved vertically up and down accordingly.

The adapted cleaning device and thus the brushes with the adapter unit can be rotated by means of the rotating device in order to obtain a safer parking position and to enable optimal cleaning overhead and/or over water. The adapter unit can preferably rotate about its own axis by means of the rotating device.

The retraction and/or deployment device can be used to retract the floating cleaning device located in the water, for example via a cable pull, at the end of which there is a cable hook. The cleaning device is manually suspended in the water and pulled onto an adjusting bolt on the adapter unit and positioned.

In order to enable visualization of the condition of the underwater hull and/or underwater structure and video surveillance, the cleaning system has a camera system and/or a lighting system for monitoring the cleaning of the outer surface and/or for inspecting the cleaned outer surface.

The cleaning system preferably has two camera and lighting systems, one camera and lighting system being arranged on the adapter unit and the second camera and lighting system being arranged on the cleaning device. With one or more cameras on the cleaning device, the condition of the underwater hull, for example, can be displayed directly on the video screen integrated in the cockpit and the entire cleaning process can be monitored and adjusted, especially if there is sufficient visibility under water. Thanks to the underwater camera and lighting system, the success of the cleaning can be assessed based on the condition before and after cleaning and, after cleaning, damaged areas on the coating or the structure of the ship can be recognized directly on the screen in the cockpit of the system support facility without the need for a diver. Thus, using the operating system, the user can influence the cleaning result himself through his own operation, supported by the visualization, and can directly identify weak points under water.

In a further aspect of the invention, the object is achieved by a mobile transport device, in particular a motor vehicle trailer, with a manipulation unit for introducing a cleaning system into a body of water and/or for removing the cleaning system from the body of water, the mobile transport device having a cleaning system as described above.

Using the mobile transport device, the cleaning system can be transported to different piers, marinas and Shipyards and transported directly from land into the water and/or introduced by means of the manipulator integrated in the mobile transport device. A manipulator can be a crane or a slip device, for example. Thus, the mobile transport device provides an overall system by means of which the user can independently bring the cleaning system into and out of a body of water, drive the cleaning system to the object to be cleaned in the water, carry out testing and cleaning activities above and below the water and remove the cleaned particles can dispose of on the mainland in an environmentally friendly manner.

In addition, a photovoltaic system can be installed on the trailer roof in order to charge an on-board battery of the cleaning system and/or the system support device when driving between uses.

Figur 1

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung eines Abreinigungssystems mit einer Systemträgereinrichtung verbunden mit einem Reinigungsgerät,

Figur 2

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung des Reinigungsgeräts mit Draufsicht auf seine Unterseite,

Figur 3

eine Seitenaufsicht auf das Reinigungsgerät an einer Schiffswand mit zwei inneren Ausschnitten einer Bürstenwalzenkinematik,

Figur 4

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung eines Adaptersystems an der Systemträgereinrichtung am Bug der Systemträgereinrichtung,

Figur 5

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung eines Filtersystems am Heck der Systemträgereinrichtung,

Figur 6

eine schematische Schnittdarstellung einer Vertikalhubeinrichtung der Adaptereinheit an der Systemträgereinrichtung,

Figur 7

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung eines Hauptantriebs am Heck der Systemträgereinrichtung,

Figur 8

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung eines unteren Ausschnittes des Adaptersystems mit einem Querstrahlruder,

Figur 9

eine dreidimensionale Darstellung des Hecks der Systemträgereinrichtung mit einem Querstrahlruder, und

Figur 10

eine schematische Darstellung der Draufsicht auf einen PKW-Anhänger mit dem darauf angeordneten Abreinigungssystem und in gestrichelter Darstellung das ausgekrante Abreinigungssystem.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments. Show it

figure 1

a three-dimensional representation of a cleaning system with a system carrier device connected to a cleaning device,

figure 2

a three-dimensional representation of the cleaning device with a top view of its underside,

figure 3

a side view of the cleaning device on a ship's hull with two inner sections of a brush roller kinematics,

figure 4

a three-dimensional representation of an adapter system on the system support facility at the front of the system support facility,

figure 5

a three-dimensional representation of a filter system at the rear of the system carrier device,

figure 6

a schematic sectional view of a vertical lifting device of the adapter unit on the system carrier device,

figure 7

a three-dimensional representation of a main drive at the rear of the system carrier device,

figure 8

a three-dimensional representation of a lower section of the adapter system with a transverse thruster,

figure 9

a three-dimensional representation of the stern of the system support device with a transverse thruster, and

figure 10

a schematic representation of the top view of a car trailer with the cleaning system arranged thereon and the craned-out cleaning system is shown in dashed lines.

A cleaning system 101 has a system carrier device 103 and a cleaning device 105 (in figure 1 in plan view of the underside of the cleaning device 105). The system support device 103 and the cleaning device 105 are connected to one another by means of a pluggable suction hose 107 and a pluggable power supply line 109 . The suction hose 107 and the power supply line 109 are routed individually, but tied together at several points.

The system carrier device 103 has a filter system 111 at the rear. Aligned towards the bow, the system carrier 103 has a cockpit 121 with a seat 123 for an operator on the inside. A charger 127 for charging accumulators 129 arranged on the floor of the cockpit 121 is located behind the backrest. Furthermore, a power feed 131 with a 220 V mains connection for the charger 127 is arranged at the top at the front of the system support device 103 in order to charge the accumulators 129 if necessary charge.

At the front of the system support device 103, an adapter system 161 is arranged on two guide rails 177 so that it can move vertically in the lifting direction 172 on the system support device 103. By means of an in 1 The adapter system 161 can be rotated in a direction of rotation 162 with respect to the system carrier device 103 by means of a rotating device that is not visible and is arranged on the inside of the adapter system 161 . The adapter system 161 has an adapter rod 163 for accommodating the cleaning device 105, which is attached to the in figure 1 not shown top has a corresponding counter-adapter mount. When used in water 193, the system support device 103 with the adapter system 161 is designed for a water line 191 which corresponds to the design water line. A distance between an upper edge of the system support device 103 and the waterline 191 is approximately 0.45 m. The system support device 103 with the connected adapter system 161 has a width of 0.70 m, a length of 2.30 m and a height of 1.10 m on. The system support device 103 has a total weight (including fixtures and ballast plates) of approximately 400 kg.

The adapter rod 163 of the adapter system 161 can be extended horizontally in a pull-in and pull-out direction 164 and pivoted in a pivoting direction 165 for receiving and moving the cleaning device 105. The adapter rod 163 can be pivoted horizontally in the pivoting direction 165 by 90°. A lighting and camera system 167 is arranged on both sides of the adapter rod 163 (see Fig figure 4 ) .

The adapter system 161 is movably held on the two guide rails 177 by means of a vertical lifting device 170 . The adapter system 161 can be moved in the lifting direction 172 in an up and down movement 201 by means of the vertical lifting device 170 . For this purpose, the vertical lifting device 170 has a DC motor as a drive 171, which is installed on the front end wall of the system carrier device 103. Because the drive 171 is arranged above the waterline 191, it does not have to be sealed with a watertight housing. A cable drum 169 is installed on an output shaft of the drive 171 . A wire rope 173 is wound or unwound on the rope drum 169 depending on the lifting height of the adapter system 161 . Furthermore, the adapter system 161 has guide rollers 175 which prevent jamming in the guide rails 177 . The maximum stroke length of the vertical lifting device 170 is limited by means of a sensor 179 . A transverse thruster 207 is arranged in the adapter system 161 below the vertical lifting device 170 (see figure 8 ).

The cleaning device 105 has two buoyancy bodies 141 as side walls ( 2 ). A rubber wheel 143 for a forward movement of the cleaning device 105 is introduced into the respective underside of the two buoyancy bodies 141 . Two brush rollers 145 are each rotatably mounted at the opposite ends of the buoyant bodies 141 . On the inside, the cleaning device 105 has brush roller kinematics 122 for each brush roller 145, each of which includes a tension spring 153 and a pivot point 155 for pressing the brush roller 145 against a surface to be cleaned (see Fig 3 ). The opposing brush rollers 145 and the opposing buoyancy bodies 141 form a suction area 145 inside on the underside of the cleaning device 105 ( 2 ). The end of the suction hose 107 that is inserted into the cleaning device 105 ends openly in this suction area 147. At the lower edge of the suction area 147 a propeller 149 is arranged. Furthermore, the cleaning device 105 has a lighting and camera system 151 on its front side. The cleaning device has a width of 0.50 m, a length of 0.70 m and a height of 0.35 m and a weight of approx. 23 kg.

The filter system 111 arranged at the rear in the system carrier device 103 has two filter baskets 113, which can be used in a filter basket holder 115 for filtering the extracted water with the cleaned particles (see Fig figure 5 ). The two filter baskets 113 each have a filter fineness of 200 μm. The filter system 111 is connected via a pipeline to a suction pump 117 and further to the suction hose 107 which is routed to the cleaning device 105 .

In the rear of the system carrier 103 (see figure 7 and 9 ) a main drive 203 and a stern transverse thruster 205 are also arranged.

The cleaning system 101 with the cleaning device 105 coupled to the adapter system 161 has been loaded onto a car trailer 183 . The car trailer has a slewing crane 185 .

The following work steps are carried out with the car trailer 183 and the cleaning system 101:

The charged cleaning system 101 with the system carrier device 103, the connected adapter system 161 and the cleaning device 103 held thereon is moved to a pier 187 by means of the car trailer 183 . by means of Slewing crane 185, the cleaning system 101 is craned out over the pier 187 on the water side and lowered into the water 193, so that the craned out cleaning system 181 (in figure 10 shown in dashed lines and referred to below as the cleaning system 101) floats on the water. An operator, not shown, enters cockpit 121 from pier 187 and takes seat 123 . The operator moves the cleaning system 101 by means of the main drive 203 and the two transverse thrusters 205 and 207 of the system support device 103 to a ship's wall 195 to be cleaned of vegetation uncoupled and lowered into the water.

The cleaning device 105 then sinks while it is floating and is moved to the ship's wall 195 by means of its propeller 149 controlled by the operator in the cockpit 121 . Due to the movement of the propeller 149, the underside of the cleaning device 105 is pressed against the ship's wall 195. The cleaning device 105 moves along the ship's wall 195 via the driven rubber wheels 143 . Here, the growth is cleaned from the ship’s hull 195 by means of the counter-rotating brush rollers 145, whereby due to the counter-rotating direction of rotation, the cleaned particles collect in the suction area 147 and are conveyed via the suction opening of the suction hose 107 due to a negative pressure of the suction pump 117 with the water into the filter system 111 will. By a sieve effect of the filter baskets 113 of the filter system 111 are the The cleaned particles are retained in the filter baskets 113 according to the filter fineness, while the filtered water flows back into the surrounding water 193 by gravity. After the cleaning has been completed, the filter baskets 113 are removed manually by the operator when the cleaning system 101 is again in contact with the pier 187, and the cleaned particles are disposed of on land. Since the ship's hull 195 is an underwater surface with a biocide-free coating, the cleaned and filtered particles can be composted on land.

Due to attachments 197 and depressions 199 on the ship's wall 195, each brush roller 145 is optimally applied to the ship's wall 195 by means of the brush roller kinematics 152 due to the respective pivot point 155 and the respective tension spring 153 for complete cleaning. The counter-rotating brush rollers 145 are pressed against the ship's hull 195 to be cleaned by the tension springs 153 and the supporting buoyancy bodies 145 . This brush roller kinematics 152 ensures that the brush rollers 145 nestle against convex surfaces, attachments 197 and depressions 199 of the ship's hull 195 with the necessary contact pressure. This ensures that vegetation is removed from the ship's hull 195 in an optimum manner.

All of the work processes described above are visually monitored by the operator and controlled accordingly via the lighting and camera system 151 of the cleaning device 105 and a video screen in the cockpit 121 .

After the ship's hull 195 has been completely cleaned, the cleaning device 105 is moved by the operator in the cockpit 121 to the water surface to the adapter system 161 and coupled there by the adapter system 161 via the extended adapter rod 163 on the upper side of the cleaning device 105 . The adapter rod 163 is then moved back into the interior of the adapter system 161 so that the cleaning device 105 is in contact with the outer wall of the adapter system 161 . The operator now moves the cleaning system 101 to the ship's hull 195 above the waterline of the ship (not shown) and cleans the ship's hull 195 above the waterline using the now laterally aligned brush rollers 145 of the coupled cleaning system 105 . For this purpose, the cleaning device 105 coupled to the adapter system 161 is moved up and down accordingly due to the movement of the vertical lifting device 170 . These work processes are monitored and adjusted by the operator via visualization using the lighting and camera system 167 of the adapter system 161 . After the ship's hull 195 has been cleaned above the waterline of the ship (not shown), the operator drives the cleaning system 101 back to the pier 187 using the main drive 203 and the transverse thrusters 205 and 207. The cleaning system 101 is then lifted using the slewing crane 185 of the Trailer 183 craned and placed on the car trailer 183. The operator can then drive the cleaning system 101 directly to the next place of use using the car trailer 183 .

Reference List

101

cleaning system

103

system carrier device

105

cleaning device

107

suction hose

109

power supply line

111

filter system

113

filter basket

115

Filter basket mount

117

suction pump

121

cockpit

123

Seat

127

charger

129

accumulators

131

power feed

141

buoyancy body

143

rubber wheel

145

brush roller

147

suction area

149

propeller

151

Lighting and camera system

152

Brush roller kinematics

153

tension spring

155

pivot point

161

adapter system

162

direction of rotation

163

adapter rod

164

infeed and outfeed direction

165

pan direction

167

Lighting and camera system

169

cable drum

170

vertical lifting device

171

drive

172

stroke direction

173

Wire rope

175

leadership role

177

guide rail

179

sensor

181

craned cleaning system

183

Car trailer

185

slewing crane

187

pier

191

waterline

193

water

195

ship wall

197

extensions

199

deepening

201

up and down movement

203

main drive

205

Transverse thruster (stern)

207

Transverse thruster (bow)

Claims (11)

Cleaning system (101) for cleaning particles from an outer surface (195) of a watercraft or a hydraulic structure, the cleaning system (101) having a floating system support device (103) and a water-floatable cleaning device (105), the system support device (103) has a drive (203) for moving in the water and a suction pump (117) and the cleaning device (105) has at least one brush roller (145) for moving and cleaning the particles from the outer surface (195) and the system carrier device (103) and the cleaning device (105) can be connected to one another via a detachable supply and disposal connection (107, 109), characterized in that the at least one brush roller (145) is arranged in and/or on a suction area (147) of the cleaning device (105) and the system carrier device (103) a filter system (111) for separating off cleaned particles from the water, so that the water with the particles cleaned off by means of the at least one brush roller (145) via the suction area (147), the supply and disposal connection (107, 109) through the filter system due to a negative pressure generated by the suction pump (117). (111) can be conveyed and the particles can be separated by means of the filter system. Cleaning system (101) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the cleaning device (105) has a second brush roller (145), a third brush roller and/or further brush rollers, with two brush rollers each being able to be driven in the same direction or in opposite directions. Cleaning system (101) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cleaning device (105) has a pressing unit (152) for pressing the brush roller or brush rollers (145) against the outer surface (195). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning device (105), the brush roller or the brush rollers (145) has or have a buoyancy body (141). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system support device (103) has an operating system with an operator station (121) for controlling and/or regulating the system support device (103) and the cleaning device (105). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the system support device (103) has an adapter unit (161) for receiving the cleaning device (105) in such a way that the cleaning device (105) can be used above a water line (191). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter unit (161) has an adapter mount (163), in particular an extendable and/or pivotable adapter mount (163) for accommodating the cleaning device (105). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the adapter unit (161) has an adjusting device for moving the adapter unit (161) and/or the cleaning device (105). Cleaning system (101) according to Claim 8, characterized in that the adjusting device comprises a vertical lifting device (170) with a drive (171) for moving the cleaning device (105) vertically, in particular over a water line (191), a rotating device for rotating the adapter unit (161 ) and/or the cleaning device (105), a pivoting device for pivoting the cleaning device (105) and/or a drawing-in and/or discharge device for horizontally moving the cleaning device (105). Cleaning system (101) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cleaning system (101) has a camera system and/or a lighting system (151, 167) for monitoring the cleaning of the outer surface (195) and/or for inspecting the cleaned, outer has surface. Mobile transport device (183), in particular a motor vehicle trailer, with a manipulator unit (185) for introducing a cleaning system into a body of water and/or for removing the cleaning system from the body of water, characterized in that the mobile transport device (183) has a cleaning system (101) according to one of claims 1 to 10.

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