GB2079683A

GB2079683A - Device for storing and dispensing of life saving craft on board of a seagoing installation

Info

Publication number: GB2079683A
Application number: GB8120840A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: DAVIT CO BV
Current assignee: DAVIT CO BV
Priority date: 1980-07-09
Filing date: 1981-07-06
Publication date: 1982-01-27
Also published as: DK299881A; NL178404C; GB2079683B; NL178404B; NL8003966A

Abstract

In a device for storing and dispensing life saving craft, such as folded life saving rafts packed in capsules, on board of a seagoing installation, such as a ship, drilling platform, semi- submergable hotel platform, a plurality of these capsules are stacked the one above the other in a perforate frame work, which is at the lower side provided with an opening having a dispensing device for dispensing the capsules one by one. The upper side of the device is open, so that the capsules can freely float up in case of sinking of the seagoing installation during which, the life saving rafts are inflated to be ready for use. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for storing and dispensing of life saving craft on board of a seagoing installation The invention relates to a device for storing and dispensing of life saving craft on board of a seagoing installation.

In this connection "life saving craft" can comprise for example, life saving rafts, -capsules, or the like, whereas a "seagoing installation" can be formed for example by a ship, pontoon, drilling platform, semi-submerged hotel platform and the like.

A device of the type described in the preamble is known from practice as a so called case or trunk which is disposed on deck of a seagoing installation and in which a life saving craft is stored, such as for instance a folded life saving raft that is packed in a capsule. Cases of this type can usually contain only one or two life saving rafts, which lie next to each other on the bottom of the case, so that relatively much deck room is taken up.

The object of the invention is provided a device of the type described in the preamble, in which a great number of life saving craft can be stored without much deck service being taken up, whereas also the dispensing of the life saving craft in case of necessity can take place fast and efficiently.

This object is reached according to the invention, in that the device comprises a cassette, which can contain a number of life saving craft lying on top of each other in the storage position.

By application of the invntion a greater number of life saving craft can be stored on a deck surface, which is about as large as the surface needed for a single life saving craft.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the cassette has been provided near the lower side with an opening for dispensing the life saving craft.

According to another preferred embodiment the cassette comprises a cage, in which the life saving craft are guided by gravity to the dispensing opening. Appropriately the inside of the cassette has a cylindrical shape.

The invention will now further be elucidated referring to the accompanying drawing of an embodiment, in which the life saving craft are formed by folded life saving rafts stored in capsules.

Figure 1 is a fron view of a cassette according to the invention for life saving capsules.

Figure 2 is a side view of the cassette shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawing the device according to the invention comprises a vertical standing cassette generally indicated with 1. The cassette 1 has the shape of a perforate, vertical cage structure which is constructed from an upper frame 2 placed on top of a lower frame 3, of which the horizontal cross sectional dimensions are somewhat larger than those of the upper frame 2.

The upper frame 2 is constructed from a plurality of vertical uprights 3, which are connected, such as for instance by means of welding, by horizontal girders 4.

The horizontal cross section (not whown) of the upper frame 2 is rectangular, and encloses with some play the life saving capsules 5, of which in the drawing a number of five cassettes are shown, namely going upwards from below, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and 5e. The upper side of the upper frame 2 is open and has the insertion opening 6. By way of this rectangular insertion opening the life saving capsules 5 can be inserted from above into the upper frame 2 of the cassette 1, whereas in case of the sinking of the seagoing installation the freely floating up of the life saving capsules is possible.

Preferably near the outside of the insertion opening 6 a (non shown) counter-operating means is disposed, that can cooperate with an operating means on the life saving capsule, when a life saving capsule leaves the cassette 1 by way of the insertion opening 6 as a result of freely floating up, so that outside the cassette the life saving raft present inside the capsule is automatically inflated.

By way of gravity the life saving capsules 5 descent through the cage of the upper frame 2 into the lower frame 3, that is provided with a dispensing device, generally indicated with 7. This dispensing device 7 supports the lower capsule 5a in the storage position and is capable of removing at the desired moment the lower most capsule 5a by way of the dispensing opening 8 at the one side near the lower side of the device to the outside. Outside the life saving raft inside the capsule can be automatically inflated by the operation of its operating means and can be lowered to the underlying watersurface by means of for instance a davit or a launching platform.

The embodiment of the dispensing device according to the invention shown in the embodiment comprises at Iseast two flaps symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal center plane A-A of the cassette. These flaps are movable between a receiving position, shown in Figure 2 with solid lines, and a dispensing position, shown in Figure 2 with dash-dot lines.

Preferentially the flaps each comprise two rods 9, 10 extending parallel to the longitudinal center plane A-A of the cassette 1. The rods have been indicated in the receving position with 9a and 10a, whereas they have been indicated in the dispensing position with 9b and 10b. In the receiving position the rods 10a support the lower side of and the rods 9b rest on the upper side ofthe cylindrical capsule 5a. In this receiving position the capsule 5a is not only supported in such a way, that it cannot leave the cassette, but also the capsules 5b through 5e lying on top of it are supported.

In the dispensing position the rods 10b have been moved away from each other over such a distance, that they let the cylindrical capsule 5a pass, which is shown with dash lines in the passing position and is indicated with 5al. Thereafter this capsule moves by way of the preferentially elastic guide bands 11, which absorb a great part of the fall energy outside through the dispensing opening 8, such as shown with thinly drawn dash-dot lines. Consecutively the capsules 5a through 5e can be dispensed one by one from the cassette 1 by way of the dispensing device 7.

The rods 9 and 10 have each been provided at both ends with a rod yoke 12, of which the two outer ends each support one of the rods 9, 10, whereas one inner end is pivottally connected with the corresponding inner end of the opposing yoke 12 for forming a main pivot point 13. The main pivot points 13 of the yokes 12 can be moved up and down by means of a movement mechanism.

This movement mechanism comprises appropriately a U-shaped guide frame which is pivotally mounted to the fixed part of the device, such as two the uprights of the lower frame 3. Both guide arms 14 of the U-shaped guide frame are pivotally connected with the main pivot point 13 and move this one along an arm of a circle around the pivot point 15 of the guide frame on the lower frame 3. This arc of a circle coincides substantially with the longitudinal center line which forms the side view of the longitudinal center plane A-A.

Furthermore the movement mechanism comprises a crank-connecting rod mechanism, of which the end of the connecting rod 16 is pivotally connected with at least one ofthe main pivot points 13. The crank 17 of the crank-connecting rod mechanism is driven by means of a mono-directional drive 18, which can be manually driven from the outside of the cassette by means of a hand crank 19.

The invention is not limited to the shown and described embodiment but covers all variations thereof.

Claims

1. Device for storing and dispensing of life saving craft on board of a seagoing installation, characterized in that this device comprises a cassette (1) which can contain a plurality of life saving craft (5a through 5e) lying on top of each other in the storing position.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that, the cassette (1 ) is provided near the lower side with an opening (8)forth dispensing of the life saving craft.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cassette (1) comprises a cage, in which the life saving craft are guided by gravity to the dispensing opening (8).

4. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-3, characterized in that, the inner side of the cassette (1 ) is cylindrical shaped.

5. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-4, adapted for life saving rafts which have in the storage position the outside form of substantially circle cylindrical capsules with spherical ends, char acterized in that, the cross section of the inside of the cassette (1) has the shape of a rectangle which encloses the axial cross section of the capsule with some play, in such a way, that the capsules (5a through 5e) can move through the cassette with their longitudinal axes in a substantially horizontal position.

6. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-5, characterized in that, the cassete comprises a vertical, cylindrical cage with a rectangular cross section.

7. Device according to one or more of the claims1-6, characterized in that, the cassette ( 1 ) is provided at the upper side with an opening for the insertion of' life saving craft.

8. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-7, characterized in that, the insertion opening (6) is open so that in case of the sinking of the seagoing installation the freely floating up of the life saving craft (5) is possible.

9. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-8, in which the life saving craft can be transferred from the storage position to the use position by the operation of an operating means, characterized in that, near the outside of the insertion opening (6) a counter-operating means is disposed, which can cooperate with an operating means when a life saving craft (5) leaves the cassette by way of the insertion opening as a result of the freely floating up.

10. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-9, characterized in that, the opening (8) near the lower side of the cassette (1), which is adapted for the dispensing of the life saving craft, is provided with a dispensing device (7) with which the life saving craft (5) can be dispensed from the cassette one by one.

11. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-10, characterized in that, the dispensing device comprises at least two, relatively to the longitudinal center plane of the cassette symmetrical flaps, which are movable between a receiving position, in which they can receive a life saving craft (5a) coming from the upper lying part of the cassette and can support this life saving craft (5a) together with the stack of life saving crafts (5b through 5e) resting thereon, and a dispensing position, in which they can dispense the formerly received life saving craft and can still support the upper lying stack of life saving craft.

12. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-11, characterized in that, the flaps each comprise two rods (9, 10) extending parallel to the longitudinal center plane of the cassette, said rods being each provided at both ends with a rod yoke (12), of which the two outer ends each carry one of the rods, whereas an inner end is pivotally connected with the corresponding inner end of the opposing yoke (12) for the forming of a main pivot point (13).

13. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-12, characterized in that, the main pivot points (13) of the yokes (12) can be moved up and down by means of a movement mechanism. r

14. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-1 3,characterized in that, the movement mechanism for the main pivot points comprises a U-shaped guide frame which is pivotally fastened to a fixed part of the device, of which guide frame both guide arms (14) are pivotally connected through the main pivot point (13) and guide this main pivot point along an arc of a circle, which substantially coincides with the longitudinal center line (A-A) of the cassette.

15. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-4, characterized in that, the operating mechanism comprises a crank-connecting rod mechanism, of which the end of the connecting rod (16) is pivotally connected with at least one main pivot point (13).

16. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-15, characterized in that, the crankconnecting rod mechanism is driven by means of a mono-directional drive (18).

17. Device according to one or more of the claims 1-6, characterized in that, the monodirectional drive (18) can be driven by means of a hand crank (19).

18. A device for storing and dispensing life saving craft, substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.