GB2513294A - Boats - Google Patents

Abstract

A boat comprises a hull 2, a relatively moveable and demountable passenger carrying carousel 5 and a damping mechanism 7 by which the carousel is mounted for relative movement in the hull. The damping may be adjustable and may be only for vertical movement with the damping mechanism below the carousel. The carousel may be armoured and may be readily demountable from the hull. The boat may be single or multi-hulled and one or more independent carousel may be provided.

Description

The present invention relates to a boat with an impact absorbing suspended carousel.

As used herein the term boat incorporates any vessel or water craft be it single or multihull.

An issue with any boat or vessel travelling at high speed, especially small ones, is that they impact waves and bounce around due to sea conditions. This is unpleasant and debilitating to anyone on board, who may end up compromised when they get where they are going. With a military craft, this is can be a particular issue as the passengers have to be ready for immediate action when they arrive.

The present way to deal with this problem is to use shock mitigating seats, which have become popular over the past number of years. The seats is have become more and more sophisticated allowing a user to adjust for their weight and improving the damping capabilities. Apart from the cost and inflexibility of this solution a further problem with this is that the person is isolated in his seat with the rest of the vessel structure moving about (up and down) relative to them which effectively negates the ability to do anything useful (like fire a weapon).

Attempts have been made to alleviate the rolling of a vessel in high speed turns. That involves a steering console mounted on a fully articulated platform that may have some shock absorbing capabilities, but it is not weight sensitive and is prone to wobble extensively in use even when not needed.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome those problems and further to provide an improved craft for high speed operation in which passengers are carried within and may operate wholly within contained unit that is shock mitigated.

The present invention provides a boat comprising a hull, a relatively moveable and demountable passenger carrying carousel and a damping mechanism by which the carousel is mounted for relative movement in the hull.

It is highly preferred that the damping mechanism only damps vertical movement. The carousel may be mounted in such a way that only relative vertical movement of the carousel is permitted. The damping mechanism may be located as appropriate to influence that vertical movement. Ideally the damping mechanism is wholly (or at least in part) below the carousel. The damping mechanism may comprise one or more distinct damping units connected between the hull and the carousel. Multiple damping units that are spaced apart may be used. The damping units may be sized so that they give the correct shock mitigation for the carousel, personnel and other cargo making it able to cope with varied and non-uniform loading. The damping mechanism may be adjustable to suit different loads and conditions. Such adjustment may be accommodated during use or at the time of mounting the carousel. Adjustment may be achieved by selecting the appropriate damping units when mounting the carousel. The damping units may be mounted to dedicated locations on the hull and can then connect directly to the base of the carousel unit.

The hull in which the carousel is mounted ideally has a base structure and upstanding sides and the carousel is mounted on the base structure between those upstanding sides. The hull may be specifically designed such that a specific location is defined for the carousel. The sides of the hull may at least in pad define that location. Ideally the carousel will have a complimentary shape to its location within hull and will fit closely inside. The carousel may be at least in pad below the waterline thus reducing the profile of the passengers.

The carousel may conveniently be an open topped chamber. It may have a base and upstanding sides. Ideally the upstanding sides of the carousel extend most or all the way around the base. The carousel defines a space within which boat users may travel to perform their assigned tasks, such as controlling the vessel or operating weapons. The carousel may have a roof, wind shield, windows or other appropriate covering.

The helm and other controls may be provided in the carousel. The position of the helm within the carousel may also be adjustable.

The carousel may be armoured to provide ballistic protection. Such armour may be provided in the material of the upstanding sides and/or the base. The carousel may also have a canopy or other raised part to shield the occupants from the elements or incoming fire.

Ideally the carousel is configured and mounted such that the upper edges of the upstanding sides thereof, are slightly above or approximately in line with the top of the sides of the hull in which it is mounted when in a normal position. Preferably the carousel is a close fit into the hull. Relative movement of the two pads will occur during rough travel. As the carousel moves vertically up and down in relation to the main boat structure, there is the possibility to trap fingers, limbs or other items in the gap between the two.

Ideally some form of protective cover is provided on that interface. That may take the form of a stiff skirt arrangement around the carousel at the interface with the hull. This will keep vulnerable items out while allowing exchange if of air in and out of the hull as the carousel rises and falls.

The boat may comprise a single hull containing one or more independent carousel. The boat may have more than one distinct hull joined together (such as in a catamaran) and one or more carousel may be mounted in one, some or all of the hulls.

The suspended carousel of the present invention mitigates the shocks to the entire section of vessel within which the personnel are located.

Therefore to them at least the part of the vessel structure in which they are sitting is relatively stable, allowing them to move around safely and do work is such as drive the vessel or fire a weapon even when travelling at speed over rough water. Therefore by appropriate design or adjustment of the damping, personnel can travel for extended periods and arrive in a fit condition, to do their job. It also provides a stabilised firing platform even when a small vessel is travelling fast.

The present invention can provide a small, fast vessel that can be very quickly reconfigured and deployed to be able to combat a threat and outgun small vessels while at the same time protecting the operators against small arms fire. In a catamaran there could be carousels in each hull to accommodate crew or passengers in each. The central deck space between the hulls could be outfitted much quicker than a monohull to provide more usable deck space and storage and/or a platform for a large stabilised weapon (20mm or 30mm). This could be mounted on the centreline with the operators in armoured carousels within the hulls. This could permit the craft to neutralise small threats from a distance before an enemy is within range to use their weapons.

It is desirable that the carousel(s) and any mounted components such as weaponry can be quickly demounted from the hull and swapped so that the boat can be reconfigured for many other roles including riverine patrol, troop transport and humanitarian support. For example an armoured carousel with weapon mounts could be swapped for a transport carousel with more seating and other weapons removed to provide more cargo space.

A catamaran provides advantages for a military application including the provision of a stable platform for firing weapons, improved stability in case of damage to one hull and, due to the narrow possibly armoured carousels, is the troops inside are much better protected. In addition, modular pods can be incorporated to allow the centre deck to be used for storing cargo, weapon mounts, additional fuel tanks etc. and have the flexibility to place them anywhere.

For a military craft, the use of ballistic protection is advantageous but due to the weight of such material it is often not fitted in existing boats or only offered as an option of bolt-on panels around the vessel structure. This takes a long time to fit or remove. The present invention however permits a carousel to be demounted and very quick changed. For example a ballistically protected carousel can be swapped for a non-ballistically protected version which massively reduces weight. This can be done quickly with the craft being able to get back into service within an hour or so.

The carousel may be provided with lifting points to facilitate swift mounting and demounting from the hull. The boat may also have lifting and towing points on the hull so that the boat may be retrieved, moored or towed.

The hull may be provided with a combined lifting towing arrangement which does not utilise a standard bracket or fixture bolted to the hull structure but rather comprises openings through the hull structure itself. These may be forward and aft or other suitable points. They may accommodate soft strops that can be threaded therethrough to allow the boat to be lifted or towed or allow it to tow other vessels. This may require the hull structure to be designed to take the loads but it makes lifting and towing much easier and simpler.

In order that it may be better understood, but by way of example only, is the present invention will now be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a partially sectional view of a simple first embodiment of vessel according to the present invention; Figure 2 is side view of a second embodiment of vessel according the present invention Figure 3 is a plan view of that second embodiment of vessel; Figure 4 is a front view of that second embodiment of vessel; Figure 5 is a simplified vertical section through one hull of a third embodiment of vessel; Figure 6 is a simplified front view of the third embodiment of vessel and, Figures 7A, 7B and 7C show alternative configurations of the vessel.

Figure 1 shows a simplified schematic representation of a boat according to the present invention. The boat has a hull (2) and is powered by a water jet propulsion system (3) connected to an engine (not visible in Figure 1 but shown in other of the figures) in the aft end (4) of the hull. The middle section of the hull is shown cut away to reveal a carousel (5) mounted therein (although as in other images the sides of the hull would be continuous pas the carousel. The carousel (5) is mounted to a bottom part (6) of the hull (2) by damping units (7). The carousel is constrained to move only vertically under the control of the damping units and the surrounding parts. The direction of movement is indicated by the arrow shown in Figure 1 and the range of such movement is dependent upon the dimensions and operating capacity of the is vessel but may be approximately 200 mm. The carousel (5) has a base (8) upon which are located seats (9) for the helmsman (10) and a crew member (11). The helmsman is provided with an appropriate control console (12) and a canopy arrangement (13). Both of these are mounted into the carousel (5) such that they move with the crew. The carousel has upstanding sides (14) which may be armoured and the crew may move around on the base (8) whilst he boat is travelling and still benefit from the damping.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 show respectively side, plan and bow elevations of a second embodiment of vessel. This vessel is a twin hull design with a propulsion system (20) mounted in each of the hulls (21 and 22). Within each of the hulls (21, 22) there is provided a demountable carousel, to transport crew (in this instance soldiers) and others. Each carousel is vertically damped independent of the other carousel. The operatives within the carousel may use weapons located on the sides of the carousel or otherwise fixed thereto.

As these weapons are fixed to the carousel they move with the operatives and, therefore, can provide a stable fire platform even at high speed.

On the deck space (23) between the twin hulls (21 and 22) of the catamaran there is mounted a large calibre weapon (25), which sits on the centre line and is operated by a fire controller/gunner sitting in one of the carousels. The flat deck space (23) can be used for cargo storage and transport, and may be provided with a variety of fixing points to hold such cargo down.

The kind of vessels identified in the current drawings are often to be deployed from larger vessels prior to use and then recovered to those larger vessels after use. As such, they are usually provided with convenient lifting points in order that hoisting mechanisms on the larger vessels may be used to launch and recover these as appropriate. In Figure 2 loading straps (40) are shown connected to anchor points (41) on the bow and stern of the hull.

Clearly the straps would be under tension only when the hull is actually being lifted.

Figures 5, 6, 7A, 7B and 7C show various views of alternative embodiments that are configured slightly differently to suit different purposes.

The embodiment of Figure 5 is a catamaran hull configuration carrying a carousel (26) adapted for fire support mode. In this carousel the mounting (27) between the carousel and the hull is provided at the ends of the carousel.

The helmsman (31) is located centrally in the carousel and there are forward and rearward facing gunners (32 and 33) operating weapons (not shown).

Figure 6 shows a bow-on view of an embodiment similar to Figure 5 but with the crew omitted and the damping units 7 provided below the carousel.

In Figure 6 the left hand hull (34) is shown partially in cross-section to indicate the range of travel of the carousel (26). The carousel coaming (28), i.e. the upper edge of the carousel side walls, extends above the hull in order that anything connected to the upper edge of the coaming, such as a mounted weapon, does not collide with the main hull when the carousel travels downward within its normal range of movement to absorb the vertical impact.

Figures 7A, B and C show slightly different embodiments. Figure 7A shows an embodiment in which a carousel adapted for troop carrying is mounted within the hull. In this embodiment a helmsman (31) has seating for four troops (36) behind all within one carousel. Although not visible, a second troop-carrying carousel may be located in the other of the catamaran hulls.

Figures 7B and C show side and front elevations of a boat adapted for river patrol. In this embodiment one of the hulls is provided with a carousel containing the helmsman (31) and helm position (37), and two guns (38) mounted to be operated by crew (39) within the same carousel. The carousel within the other hull is provided with further weapons.

The present invention allows for a high degree of adaptability by swapping the demountable damped carousels in and out as required. To this end the carousels may be provided with lifting points in order that the may be readily swung in and out for mounting and demounting.

Claims (8)

1. Claims 1. A boat comprising a hull (2), a relatively moveable and demountable passenger carrying carousel (5) and a damping mechanism (7) by which the carousel is mounted for relative movement in the hull.
2. 2. A boat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the damping mechanism is configured only to damp vertical movement.
3. 3. A boat as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the damping mechanism is located at least in part below the carousel.
4. 4. A boat as claimed in claim 3 wherein the damping mechanism is located wholly below the carousel.o
5. 5. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the damping N-mechanism comprises one or more distinct damping units (7) connected (4 between the hull and the carousel.
6. 6. A boat as claimed in claim 5 wherein multiple spaced apart damping units are provided.
7. 7. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims wherein the damping mechanism is adjustable to suit different loads and conditions.
8. 8. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the hull in which the carousel is mounted has a base structure (6) and upstanding sides and the carousel is mounted on the base structure between those upstanding sides. -11 -9. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the carousel is at least in part below the waterline.10. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein helm (12) and other boat controls are provided in the carousel.11. A boat as claimed in claim 10, wherein the carousel has multiple mounting locations for the helm such that the position of the helm and associated boat controls within the carousel may be adjusted.12. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the carousel is armoured.13. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the carousel has a floor and upstanding sides. (414. A boat as claimed in claim 13, in which the carousel is mounted suchNthat upper edges of the upstanding sides, are slightly above or approximately in line adjacent parts of the hull in which the carousel it is mounted when in a normal position.15. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims, in which a protective cover is provided at the interface between upper edges of the carousel and the hull.16. A boat as claimed in claim 15, in which the protective cover is a stiff skirt arrangement around the carousel at the interface with the hull.17. A boat as claimed in any if the preceding claims comprising a single hull that contains one or more independently moveable carousel.-12 - 18. A boat as claimed in any of claims 1-16 comprising more than one distinct hull joined together and one or more carousel mounted in one, some or all of the hulls.19. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the carousel is configured such that it may be quickly mounted and demounted from the hull to reconfigure the boat.20. A boat as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which the carousel is provided with lifting points.21. A boat as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as herein described and with reference to the accompanying drawings. (4N