GR1009903B - System for the cleaning and inspection of containers and tanks in commercial ships with use of robot wire ropes - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cleaning and inspection system practicable for the containers of seagoing merchant ships, using Cable Robot technology. Containers of the seagoing merchant ships transporting bulk products are usually cleaned either by the ship's crew or an external cleaning crew; this manual, time-consuming and laborious process poses a great risk to the cleaning crew and the environment. One recent popular technology is the use of wire cable robots (a platform suspended from four or more points by wire cables). The movement of the platform in the three-dimensional space is done by changing the length of the wire ropes, using specially shaped winches. The present invention adopts the above technology to address the problems that arise during the cleaning of holds in Merchant Shipping, to improve the cleaning process and to perform a barn inspection technique.

Description

Description

Commercial Ship Hulls and Tanks Cleaning and Inspection System Using Wire Rope Robots

The present invention relates to a hull cleaning and inspection system on ocean-going commercial ships using Wire Rope Robot technology.

Cleaning the hulls on seagoing commercial bulk carriers is a process that is usually carried out by the ship's crew or by a specialist external crew. It is a manual, time-consuming and laborious process that poses a great risk to the crew and the environment. The hold is a closed space with possible presence of flammable gases and lack of oxygen. During this process the crew descends into the hold with the required equipment (hoses, spray gun, chemicals) depending on the contamination from the previous cargo. The crew using a special nozzle wets the walls of the hold. Due to the size of the tanks, it stands to reason that wetting such a large area with a jet from a distance of 40-50 meters will produce mediocre results. Thus, in addition to wasting time and effort, there is a great waste of chemicals and water, which should then be treated and disposed of safely.

A recently popular technology is Wire Rope Robots, which consist of a platform suspended from four or more points by ropes or cables. The movement of the platform in the three-dimensional space is done by changing the length of the suspension ropes, using specially designed winches.

The present invention adopts Wire Rope Robot technology to address the problems encountered in the cleaning of holds in Merchant Shipping, to improve this process and to perform hold inspection technique.

This is achieved by fitting the appropriate cleaning and inspection equipment to the platform, i.e. the cleaning nozzle, the cleaning fluid supply pipe and the inspection camera, which can then be moved around the work area by remote control or automatic control.

The advantages of the present invention are that the movement of the platform in three-dimensional space can be done with great precision and speed and for a great range. Also, the platform can easily support the required weight of the cleaning equipment and inspection camera, the installation requirements are low and the equipment is portable so it can serve many cases of ships.

It is a safe way of cleaning hulls and tanks, even while sailing, without the presence of people inside the tanks, during which the inspection of the cleaning is carried out at the same time, reducing the overall cost and working time. There is the possibility of a fully automated hull/tank cleaning process through a Central Control System, the ability to calculate the optimal scan path and automatically calibrate the platform based on the hull geometry. In addition, the present invention achieves water savings and at the same time an optimal cleaning result, due to the possibility of wetting from a short distance.

The invention is described below, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows the hull or hold of a commercial bulk carrier (Figure 1, [1]). We consider as the workspace of our System the movement space of our Wire Rope Robot a rectangular parallelepiped with the width and length of the opening of the hold and a style equal to that of the hold. At the corners of the o/p there will be eight bearing points (Figure 1, [4]). The platform (Figure 1, [2]) of the robot will be suspended by four (or more) wire ropes (Figure 1, [3]) that will end in four specially designed winches (Figure 1, [4]). The movement of the platform will be done by winding and unwinding the wire rope on the winches (Figure 1, [4]), which are driven by frequency converters. The winches can be placed on metal straight rails, so that they can be moved to the most suitable position before starting or during the work. The system can be controlled manually or with a programmable logic controller (Figure 1, [5]).

Figure 2 shows the detail of the platform, which is a metal structure with a volume of one cubic meter that carries on it all the necessary components for the robot to perform its various functions.

Specifically, it carries:

Nozzle (Figure 2, [6]) for storming the walls of the hold with sea water, which will be supplied from the waiting hot water supply on the upper deck of the ship. Typical outputs of these pumps are of the order of 20-40 cubic meters per hour.

Support of the nozzle with its rotation mechanism in the vertical and horizontal direction (Figure 2, [7]).

Plastic and flexible hose (Figure 2, [8]) to carry the cleaning liquid to the nozzle (Figure 2, [6])

Special camera (Figure 2, [9]) to inspect the cleaning (remnants of previous load) and identify any imperfections in the protective paint/corrosion.

The movement of the platform is controlled by the operator via a remote control. The instructions of the System Operator are converted through a special Algorithm of the Central Control System (Figure 1, [5]) into appropriate guidance of the winches (Figure 1, [4]). The Central Control System gives automatic scan path reporting.

It is worth noting that the present invention is portable, which means that it can be transferred to another hull or even to another ship.

We note that there is a noticeable difference in the existing and patent-pending technologies for cleaning the outer surface of ocean-going ships in relation to the present invention. The surface to be cleaned in the first case is flat without obstacles, while in the present invention, where the holds are cleaned, the surface is largely covered with reinforcements and other geometries that prevent the use of robotic systems that come into contact with the walls of the hold . Also, recently Unmanned Air Vehicles or UAVs or otherwise known as "Drones" or "quadcopters" have made their appearance in the shipping field, but they cannot carry weight, such as e.g. a water hose and are mainly used for inspection purposes.

The present invention can be adapted for cleaning oil tanks on tankers. The necessary modifications that will be needed are for all equipment to be explosion proof (winches, electrical panels) and to be reduced in size to fit through a hatch due to the lack of an opening (as in bulk holds).

The present invention can be used to repair paintwork. For sandblasting applications, the conversions that need to take place are to fit a sandblasting nozzle, abrasive feed and compressed air supply. For painting applications, a paint nozzle, anti-corrosive paint supply and compressed air supply must be installed.

The present invention can be used to unload bulk cargo from the hold. Necessary equipment for this application is a bulk absorption facility.

The present invention can be used to clean floating or fixed roof crude oil tanks in a refinery. For this application all equipment must be explosion proof (winches, electrical panels).

The present invention can be supported on four additional extreme points in the lower part of the hold, that is suspension in total on eight wire ropes that will end in eight winches.

In the present invention there is the possibility of input by the operator of the basic geometric characteristics of the hull and automatic calculation by the Algorithm of the optimal scanning path.

In the present invention there is the possibility of calibrating the platform in relation to the geometry of the hull by the System.

In the present invention there is the possibility of automatic calculation of the Optimal scanning path by the Algorithm.

Claims (7)

1. Hull cleaning and inspection system (Figure 1, [1]) applied to ocean-going commercial ships characterized by the use of Wire Rope Robot technology. The system is characterized by a platform (Figure 1, [2]), suspended by means of ropes or cables (Figure 1, [3]), whose movement in three-dimensional space is made through the suspension ropes using winches (Figure 1, [ 4]). 2. System according to claim 1, characterized by a metal platform (Figure 1, [2]), which carries on it all the necessary components for the robotic system to perform its various functions. Specifically, it has: a) Nozzle (Figure 2, [6]) for spraying the walls of the hold with seawater, b) supporting the nozzle with a mechanism for rotating it along the vertical and horizontal axis (Figure 2, [7]) plastic and hose (Figure 2, [8]) to transport the cleaning liquid to the nozzle and d) Special camera (Figure 2, [9]) to inspect the cleaning (remnants of previous load) and identify any defects / corrosion in protective paint. 3. System according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by a metal platform (Figure 1, [2]), the movement of which is made by winding and unwinding the wire rope on the electric winches (Figure 1, [4]), the which are driven by frequency converters. The winches can be placed on metal straight rails, so that they can be moved to the most suitable position before starting or during the work. The movement of the platform is controlled by the operator via a remote control. The instructions of the system operator are converted through a special Algorithm of the Central Control System (Figure 1, [5]) into appropriate guidance of the winches (Figure 1, [4]). 4. System according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by a metal platform (Figure 1, [2]), the movement of which is made automatically by entering the basic geometric characteristics of the hull in the Central Control System (Figure 1, [5]) the which calculates the optimal route. 5. The system according to claims 1 and 2, characterized by a metal platform (Figure 1, [2]) of a size of one cubic meter. The working area of the system is a rectangular parallelepiped (o/p) with the width and length of the hatch opening and a style equal to that of the hatch (Figure 1, [1]). 6. The system according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that it is used, with the appropriate choice of nozzle (Figure 2, [6]), for water spraying/painting and inspection of oil tanks on tankers. In this variant all equipment is explosion proof. 7. The system, according to claim 1, is characterized in that it is portable, meaning that it can be transferred to another hull or ship.