GB2598704A

GB2598704A - Mooring apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2598704A
Application number: GB2010500.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Cole David
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2020-07-08
Filing date: 2020-07-08
Publication date: 2022-03-16
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-08
Also published as: GB2598704B; GB202010500D0

Abstract

A mooring apparatus 2 including a support assembly, a mooring bar 24 and a locking apparatus. The mooring bar includes a first end portion 26 which is rotatably carried within a bearing 16 in the support assembly such that the mooring bar is rotatably coupled to the support assembly via the first end portion. A second end portion 28 of the mooring bar projects from the support assembly and is angled with respect to the first end portion. The first end portion of the mooring bar includes a first part 42 of the locking apparatus and the support assembly includes a second part 32 of the locking apparatus. The locking apparatus has a locked configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is engaged with the second part of the locking apparatus and prevents rotation of the mooring bar relative to the support assembly, and the locking apparatus has a released configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is disengaged from the second part of the locking apparatus and the mooring bar is free to rotate relative to the support assembly.

Description

Mooring Apparatus The present invention relates to a mooring apparatus for mooring ships at a jetty.

It is known to provide a mooring apparatus about which a mooring rope from a ship can be releasahly retained. However, these all tend to suffer from at least one problem.

Typical requirements for port moorings are that the moorings should be able to release a rope secured thereto when the rope is either slack or under full tension (which may be up to 50 tons of load). In order to achieve this, conventional moorings include a rope engagement portion that can be released or moved to allow the rope to become disengaged from the engagement portion. The release mechanism typically includes an arrangement of levers and/or linkages that prevent movement of the engagement portion when in a locked configuration (i.e. when a rope is engaged with the engagement portion), but which permit movement of the engagement portion when it is desired to release the rope from the mooring. Unfortunately, the components of the release mechanism frequently seize-up or fail as a result of salt typically present in the air around large jetties. This causes the moorings to malfunction, which may then result in further damage as the dock workers try to release the rope (usually involving the use of one or more hammers or similar tools). This causes delays in unmooring ships.

For example, one known type of apparatus includes a retaining element in the form of pivotable prongs which have a locked position and a release position. In the locked position, the prongs are angled away from the ship and in the release position, they are either substantially horizontal or the distal ends of the prongs are allowed to fall to the ground. One problem with this type of apparatus is that the mooring rope typically needs to be exerting a significant force on the prongs before they can be released as a result of the release mechanism employed in such mooring apparatus. This delays the release of the mooring rope in situations where the rope has gone slack and is not exerting sufficient force on the prongs. In addition, the apparatus needs a locking mechanism which is capable of resisting the force exerted on the prongs by the mooring rope. As noted above, this may be fifty tons or more. Furthermore, after the ship has left its mooring, an operator has to re-set manually the prongs to the locked position. The prongs are typically very heavy and for large moorings, there may be up to sixteen mooring apparatus which need to be re-set. This is clearly a very onerous task.

Alternatively, the prongs may include a large counterweight, which is heavier than the prongs, which urges the prongs back to their locked position. However, such counterweight systems add significantly to the costs of such moorings.

The present invention sets out to address or ameliorate at least some of the known problems with mooring apparatus.

According to the present invention, there is provided a mooring apparatus including a support assembly, a mooring bar and a locking apparatus, wherein the mooring bar includes a first end portion which is rotatably carried within a bearing defined by or carried by the support assembly such that the mooring bar is rotatably coupled to the support assembly via the first end portion, and a second end portion which projects from the support assembly, wherein the second end portion is angled with respect to the first end portion, and wherein the first end portion of the mooring bar includes a first part of the locking apparatus; and the support assembly includes a second part of the locking apparatus, wherein the locking apparatus has a locked configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is engaged with the second part of the locking apparatus and prevents rotation of the mooring bar relative to the support assembly, and the locking apparatus has a released configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is disengaged from the second part of the locking apparatus and the mooring bar is free to rotate relative to the support assembly.

The provision of an angled mooring bar which retains a mooring rope in use results in an arrangement in which the mooring rope exerts little or no torque or turning force on the first end of the mooring bar in use. This means that the locking apparatus needs only to prevent the unintended rotation of the first end of the mooring bar relative to the support assembly, rather than resist the entire force exerted by the mooring rope. Thus, as the mooring bar resists the strain exerted against it by the mooring rope, but little or none of this strain force acts to rotate the mooring bar relative to the support assembly, the locking apparatus need not be as robust as systems in which the locking apparatus needs to resist the force exerted on the mooring rope by the ship.

Once the first part of the locking apparatus has been disengaged from the second part of the locking apparatus, the mooring bar is free to rotate within the bearing relative to the support assembly. As a result of such rotation, the direction of the force exerted by the mooring rope may be towards a convex portion of the angled mooring bar, rather than the mooring rope being retained within a concave portion of the angled mooring bar. When the tensile force exerted by the mooring rope is directed to a convex portion of the mooring bar, there is an upward component of the force which causes the mooring rope to slip over the convex portion and away from the mooring bar.

This is of particular benefit in situations where emergency release of the mooring ropes is necessary.

As the locking apparatus may be a relatively lightweight system, it can be released quickly and with relatively little force.

Furthermore, the mooring ropes can be released from the mooring apparatus regardless of what forces they are exerting. There is no need for a minimum or maximum threshold force to be exerted before release can occur.

Additionally, in order to re-set the mooring apparatus for the next ship to moor, the mooring bar needs only to be rotated through 180° such that the second end of the mooring bar is angled away from the ship and the locking apparatus transitioned to its locked configuration. This requires relatively little effort.

The skilled person will understand that when the mooring bar is locked against rotation by the locking apparatus, the second end of the mooring bar suitably is angled away from a ship and towards the jetty to which the mooring apparatus is secured. In this way, the looped end of the mooring rope is passed over the second or distal end (i.e. the end furthest from the support assembly) of the mooring bar and retained within a cavity defined by the second end of the mooring bar and a body portion of the support assembly. The angle defined between the second end of the mooring bar and the body of the support assembly when the locking apparatus is in its locked configuration is an acute angle. However, when the locking apparatus is transitioned to its released configuration and the mooring bar is permitted to rotate relative to the support assembly, the forces exerted by the mooring rope, even when the mooring rope is slack and hanging, cause the mooring bar to rotate through about 1800 such that the angle defined between the second end of the mooring bar and the body portion of the support assembly becomes an obtuse angle. This permits the mooring rope to disengage from the mooring bar as a result of the strain force exerted by the mooring rope towards the ship then having an upward component.

Once the mooring rope has been disengaged, the mooring apparatus may be re-set for future use simply by rotating the mooring bar relative to the support assembly and re-engaging the first and second parts of the locking apparatus. The skilled person will appreciate that the rotation of the mooring bar would require minimal force on the part of a user or it may be an action that could be automated via a motor.

In view of the above, the support assembly may include a first (i.e. a distal) end at which the bearing is defined, a main body portion and a second (i.e. proximal) end opposite to the first end, wherein when the locking apparatus is in its locked configuration, the second end portion of the mooring bar is angled towards the second end of the support assembly. As the second end of the support assembly effectively is the end at which the mooring apparatus is secured to the jetty, the second end of the mooring bar is angled towards the jetty and away from a ship moored to the mooring apparatus when the mooring bar is locked against rotation relative to the support assembly.

The skilled person will appreciate that the "acute" and "obtuse" angles mentioned above are defined between the second end of the mooring bar and the main body portion of the support assembly.

In an embodiment of the invention, the second end of the support assembly includes one part of a connector via which the support assembly may be secured to a jetty. For example, the connector part may include one or more apertures defined at the second end of the support assembly via which the support body is secured to a capstan base mounted on the jetty.

The mooring rope typically includes an end loop which is passed around the mooring bar in use. In this case, the mooring bar is in its locked configuration and the second end of the mooring bar is angled away from the main body of the mooring rope (i.e. away from the ship). The looped end of the mooring rope is secured within a recess defined by the body portion of the support assembly and the second end of the mooring bar, which defines an acute angle with the support assembly body.

The location of the mooring rope loop within this recess prevents the unintended release of the mooring rope loop from the second end of the mooring bar.

In a further embodiment, the angle between the first and second ends of the mooring bar is from 950 to 175°. As the first end of the mooring bar is arranged substantially perpendicular to the support assembly body, the angle defined between the second end of the mooring bar and the body of the support assembly may be in the range 5° to 85°. Suitably, the angle between the body of the support assembly and the second end of the mooring bar is from 30° to 600, such as, for example from 400 to 500 or about 450. In order to achieve such angles, the angle between the first and second ends of the mooring bar would be from 1200 to 1500, such as for example from 130° to 1400 or about 135°.

As noted above, the bearing defined by or carried by the support assembly is suitably located at the first or distal end of the support body. In order to define a stop in relation to the insertion of the first end of the mooring bar into the bearing defined by or carried by the first end of the support assembly, the support assembly may include a base plate which closes the bottom end of the bearing.

As the mooring rope exerts relatively little or no torque on the mooring bar when coupled thereto, the locking apparatus can be less robust than locking systems which are designed to directly counter the forces exerted by the mooring ropes. As such, the locking apparatus of the present invention may comprise a first part of the locking apparatus in the form of an arm which is rotationally fixed relative to the first end of the mooring bar and which rotates in a horizontal plane, and a second part of the locking apparatus in the form of a receiving portion carried by the support assembly which can selectively retain the arm in the receiving portion (locked configuration) or can release the arm from the receiving portion (released configuration). For example, the receiving portion may include a locking element which releasably engages with the arm. In an embodiment of the invention, the locking element includes a pair of spaced apart rotatable elongate members, wherein each elongate member rotates in a respective vertical plane. The rotatable elongate members define a gap therebetween which is sized to receive therein the arm of the first part of the locking apparatus. In the locked configuration of the locking apparatus, the two elongate members extend through the horizontal plane within which the arm rotates (e.g. depend downwards) and the arm is located between them. Such an arrangement prevents the rotation of the arm in its horizontal plane relative to the elongate members, and consequently prevents rotation of the first end of the mooring bar relative to the support assembly. In the released configuration, the two elongate members are rotated within their respective vertical planes until they are spaced from the horizontal plane within which the arm rotates. In this configuration of the elongate members, the arm is capable of rotation within its horizontal plane and, consequently, the first end of the mooring bar is capable of rotating relative to the support assembly.

In an alternative embodiment, the second part of the locking apparatus may include a lock member which is adapted to releasably engage the first part of the locking apparatus, which is in the form of a complimentary socket or aperture defined by the first end of the mooring bar. In such cases, a complementary aperture may be formed in the bearing defined by or carried by the support assembly. This relatively simple arrangement is easy to make and easy to release. For example, the lock member may be biased towards the mooring bar such that when it is aligned with the socket or aperture, it automatically engages it and prevents the bar from further rotation.

The lock member may be slidably coupled to the support assembly, for example to the main body portion of the support assembly. In this way, the movement of the lock member may be constrained between the locked configuration and the released configuration. The lock member may include a handle portion which may be used by a user, either directly or via a suitable tool, in order to move the lock member between the locked and released configurations. In an alternative embodiment, the locking apparatus may further include a drive motor which drives the lock member to move between the locked and released configurations. In this embodiment, the motor may be operated on site or remotely in order to move the lock member.

As noted above, the lock member may be biased towards the lock receiving portion of the mooring bar.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the second end of the mooring bar includes a second end body portion and a sleeve coaxially arranged around the second end body portion, wherein the sleeve is rotatably coupled to the second end body portion to permit coaxial rotation of the sleeve relative to the second end body portion. Thus, the sleeve is able to rotate about the second end body portion of the mooring bar. This "double bearing" arrangement (the first end of the mooring bar being rotatable within the bearing and the sleeve being rotatable relative to the second end body portion) makes it easier to release the mooring rope from the mooring bar by rotating the mooring bar through about 180° such that the angle between the second end of the mooring bar and the body of the support assembly changes from an acute angle to an obtuse angle. Suitably, the sleeve is permitted to rotate about the second bearing, but is prevented from axial movement relative to the second end body. In other words, the sleeve is prevented from longitudinal displacement relative to the second end body.

Jetties alongside which ships are moored tend to include capstans which are capable of receiving a heaving line and which include motors to draw across the mooring rope via the heaving line. The capstans are typically secured to the jetty via a capstan housing and the capstan housing provides a suitable base to which the mooring apparatus may be secured.

As ships of various different lengths may be moored to the jetty, the angle between the mooring rope and the jetty may vary in the horizontal plane. In order to accommodate these different angles, the mooring apparatus may be rotatably coupled to the capstan housing.

The skilled person will appreciate that the features of the embodiments described above are not mutually exclusive and as such, they can be combined in various ways. Thus, the invention includes all possible combinations of the optional features described herein and is not limited to the specific embodiments described above.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a mooring apparatus according to the invention in its locked configuration; Figure 2 is a plan view from above of the mooring apparatus shown in Figure 1 with the mooring bar removed for clarity; and Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the mooring apparatus shown in Figure 1 in its released configuration.

For the avoidance of doubt, reference to up, down, left, right, horizontal, vertical, etc. relates to the orientation of the apparatus as shown in the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show a mooring apparatus 2 according to the invention. The mooring apparatus 2 comprises a support assembly which includes a main body portion 4, having a first (distal) end 6 and a second (proximal) end 8. The main body portion 4 is formed from profiled steel plate which is bent through 1800 at the first end 6 to provide a first side wall 10, a second side wall 12 and a return portion 14 of the assembly. Within the return portion 14 is welded a steel cylinder 16. A steel block 18 having a semi-circular profile at one end is welded to the portion of the cylinder 16 not in contact with the return portion 14 and to each of the side walls 10, 12. This arrangement secures the cylinder 16 to the main body portion 4.

In order to close the bottom end of the cylinder 16, a base plate 20 is welded to a bottom portion of the main body portion 4 beneath the cylinder 16.

As can be seen in Figure 1, a bore 22 is defined in each side wall 10, 12 at the second end 8 of the main body portion 4.

Also shown in Figure 1 is a mooring bar 24 having a first end portion 26, a second end portion 28 and an angled middle portion 30, which defines an angle of 135° between the first and second end portions 24,26 as a result of the angle "a" defined by the angled middle portion 30 being 450. The first end portion 26 has a diameter which allows it to be rotatably mounted within the cylinder 16 and a length that permits the free end of the first portion 26 to contact the base plate 20 while the angled middle portion 30 projects from the cylinder 16. The second end portion 28 comprises a body 28a which has a diameter that is less than the diameter of the first end portion 26, and a sleeve 28b which is coaxially arranged around the second end portion body 28a and which is rotatable about its longitudinal axis relative the second end portion body. An end cap 28c prevents the sleeve from moving axially in a first direction and the angled middle portion 30 prevents the sleeve from moving axially in the opposition direction.

A locking apparatus is also shown in Figures land 2. The locking apparatus comprises a lock member 32 in the form of a cylindrical rod, a first arm 34 slidably engaged with the first side wall 10, a second arm 36 slidably engaged with the second side wall 12, a rear cylindrical body 38 and an operating handle 40.

The first end 26 of the mooring bar 24 defines a socket 42, the cylinder 16 defines therethrough a bore 44 and the steel block 18 defines therethrough a corresponding bore 46, all sized to receive therein or therethrough the lock member 32. The bores 44,46 defined through the cylinder 16 and the steel block are fixed in alignment with each other, but the socket 42 defined by the first end 26 of the mooring rod 24 only aligns with the bores 44,46 when the mooring bar is in the configuration shown in Figure 1.

In order to rotate the mooring bar 24 relative to the support assembly 4, the lock member 32 is first retracted from the socket 42 defined by the first end 26 of the mooring bar 24 by applying a force to the operating handle 40 directed away from the mooring bar 24. In doing this, the first and second arms 34, 36 slide within channels 48 (shown in Figure 1) defined by the first and second side walls 10, 12, which results in the linear displacement of the lock member 32 away from the socket 42.

When the lock member 32 has been retracted from the socket 42 and is spaced therefrom, the first end 26 of the mooring bar 24 is permitted to rotate within the bearing cylinder 16 Figure 1 also shows a looped end of a mooring rope 50 located within a recess defined between the second end 28 of the mooring bar 24 and the upwardly facing portions of the side walls 10, 12. This recess prevents the unintended disengagement of the looped end of the mooring rope SO from the mooring apparatus 2 as a result of the weight of the rope 50 and the angle of the second end 28 of the mooring bar 24.

Finally, Figure 1 shows a coupling 52 rotably coupled to a capstan (not shown) mounted on a jetty (also not shown). The coupling 52 comprises a tab 54 which defines therethrough a bore 56. The bore 56 is aligned with the bores 22 defined by the first and second side walls 10, 12 and a fixing, such as a bolt is located within all three bores 22, 56. The tab is secured to a collar 58 which is rotably coupled to the capstan in a conventional manner. The coupling described above permits the side walls 10,12 to pivot vertically relative to the tab 54, thereby allowing the mooring apparatus 2 to pivot in a vertical plane relative to the capstan. It also permits the mooring apparatus 2 to rotate in a horizontal plane relative to the capstan.

Figure 3 shows the mooring apparatus 2 with the lock member 32 in its released or retracted configuration. As noted above, this configuration permits the first end 26 of the mooring bar 24 to rotate within the bearing cylinder 16. The tensile force exerted by the mooring rope 50 causes the mooring bar 24 to rotate through 1800 compared to the orientation shown in Figure 1. In the orientation shown in Figure 3, the tensile force has a upward component that urges the rope 50 to slide up the second end 28 of mooring bar 24 until the rope SO is no longer in contact with the mooring bar 24 and is released from the mooring apparatus.

Once the mooring rope has disengaged from the mooring apparatus 2, the mooring bar may be manually re-set to the orientation shown in Figure land the lock member 32 may be re-engaged with the socket 42. The mooring apparatus is then ready for use once again.

Claims

Claims 1. A mooring apparatus including a support assembly, a mooring bar and a locking apparatus, wherein the mooring bar includes a first end portion which is rotatably carried within a bearing defined by or carried by the support assembly such that the mooring bar is rotatably coupled to the support assembly via the first end portion, and a second end portion which projects from the support assembly, wherein the second end portion is angled with respect to the first end portion, and wherein the first end portion of the mooring bar includes a first part of the locking apparatus; and the support assembly includes a second part of the locking apparatus, wherein the locking apparatus has a locked configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is engaged with the second part of the locking apparatus and prevents rotation of the mooring bar relative to the support assembly, and the locking apparatus has a released configuration in which the first part of the locking apparatus is disengaged from the second part of the locking apparatus and the mooring bar is free to rotate relative to the support assembly.
2. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the support assembly includes a first end at which the bearing is defined and a second end opposite to the first end, and wherein when the locking apparatus is in its locked configuration, the second end portion of the mooring bar is angled towards the second end of the support assembly.
3. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein the second end of the support assembly includes one part of a connector via which the support assembly may be secured to a capstan housing.
4. A mooring apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the angle between the first and second ends of the mooring bar is from 950 to 175°.
5. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 4, wherein the angle is from 120° to 150°.
6. A mooring apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the support assembly includes a base plate which closes one end of the bearing.
7. A mooring apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the second end of the mooring bar includes a second end body portion and a sleeve coaxially arranged around the second end body portion, wherein the sleeve is rotatably coupled to the second end body portion.
8. A mooring apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the first part of the locking apparatus is rotationally fixed relative to the first end of the mooring bar.
9. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 8, wherein the first part of the locking apparatus includes an arm which projects radially from the first end of the mooring bar and which rotates in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the first end of the mooring bar.
10. A mooring apparatus according to any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the second part of the locking apparatus is slidably coupled or rotationally coupled to the support assembly.
11. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 10, wherein the first part of the locking apparatus includes an arm which projects radially from the first end of the mooring bar and which rotates in a plane which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the first end of the mooring bar and the second part of the locking apparatus includes at least one elongate member which extends through the rotational plane of the arm in the locked configuration, and which is spaced from the rotational plane of the arm in the released configuration.
12. A mooring apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein the second part of the locking apparatus includes a pair of spaced apart elongate members and the arm is located between the pair of spaced apart elongate members in the locked configuration and both of the elongate members are spaced from the rotational plane of the arm in the released configuration.