JP2009299389A - Pneumatic fender - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pneumatic fender in which the appearance of a hull is prevented from being impaired, when the fender is brought into contact with the hull. <P>SOLUTION: A water retainable layer 7 made of a porous material is formed on the outer surface of the outer layer rubber 6 of the pneumatic fender. When the fender is suspended from the hull or a pier and floats on a sea surface, the entire part of the water-retainable layer 7 retains water, since the water in the sea water or the water vaporized from the sea surface is sucked and expanded into the water retainable layer 7 by the capillary action. When the fender is brought into contact with the other hull, water is pushed out from the water retainable layer 7 by contact pressure and is interposed as a water film, between the hull and the fender. Consequently, the frictional resistance between the hull and the fender can be significantly reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pneumatic fender, and more particularly to a pneumatic fender that does not impair the appearance of the hull when the ship is in contact.

  Conventionally, a pneumatic fender has been installed on the quay wall or on the ship side for the purpose of preventing damage to the hull and quay at the time of berthing or berthing of the ship. This pneumatic fender is made of rubber and other elastic materials, with air sealed inside a hollow fender body, and exhibits a buffering effect due to air elasticity at the time of ship berthing or contact. To do.

  However, when the hull and the pneumatic fender come into contact, the friction between them will cause the paint on the hull surface to peel off, or some of the outer layer rubber of the pneumatic fender will adhere to the hull and cause black marks. As a result, the appearance of the hull is damaged, and there is a problem that repair work and cleaning work are frequently required.

  In order to solve such problems, Patent Document 1 proposes to lower the coefficient of friction between the hull and the pneumatic fender by applying urethane elastomer to the surface of the pneumatic fender. ing.

However, the above-mentioned pneumatic fender has a limit in the effect of reducing the coefficient of friction, and thus the outer appearance of the hull cannot be sufficiently protected.
JP 2007-106350 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic fender that does not impair the appearance of the hull when it comes into contact with the hull.

  The pneumatic fender according to the first aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is a pneumatic fender having a surface coated with an outer layer rubber, wherein a water retaining layer made of a porous material is formed on the outer surface of the outer layer rubber. It is characterized by this.

  Also, the pneumatic fender according to the second invention of the present application that achieves the above object is a pneumatic fender having a surface coated with an outer layer rubber, and is a water retaining material comprising a porous material inside or on the inner surface of the outer layer rubber. In addition to forming a layer, the outer rubber is provided with a plurality of through holes that communicate the water retaining layer and the outside of the pneumatic fender.

  It is desirable to form grooves for connecting the through holes to each other on the surface of the outer layer rubber of the pneumatic fender according to the second aspect of the invention.

  The porous material is desirably a continuous foam sponge, or a polymer material in which glass tubes or hollow fibers are dispersed. As this polymer material, rubber, elastomer or polyurethane can be used.

  It is desirable to mix a water retention material in the water retention layer, and a water absorbent polymer or a water retention agent may be used as the water retention material.

  The pneumatic fenders of the first and second inventions of the present application can be suitably used as a shock absorber suspended from a hull surface by a mooring line.

  According to the pneumatic fender of the first invention of the present application, since the water retaining layer made of a porous material is formed on the outer surface of the outer rubber layer, in a state suspended from the hull or quay and floating on the sea surface, Since water or water evaporated from the sea surface propagates through the water retention layer by capillary action and spreads, the entire water retention layer is in a state of retaining water. And when it comes into contact with other hulls, water is pushed out from the water retention layer by the contact pressure, and intervenes as a water film between the hull and the pneumatic fender, greatly increasing the friction coefficient between them. Can be lowered.

  Moreover, according to the pneumatic fender of the second invention of the present application, a water retaining layer made of a porous material is formed inside or on the inner surface of the outer rubber layer, and the outer rubber layer has an outer surface of the water retaining layer and the pneumatic fender material. In the state suspended from the hull or quay and floating on the sea surface, water in seawater or water evaporated from the interface enters the water retaining layer through the through hole and becomes a capillary tube. Since the phenomenon propagates in the water retention layer made of the porous material and spreads, the entire water retention layer made of the porous material is in a state of retaining water. And when it comes into contact with the hull, the water pushed out of the water retention layer by the contact pressure is discharged from the through hole and intervenes as a water film between the hull and the pneumatic fender, so between them The coefficient of friction can be greatly reduced.

  Therefore, according to the pneumatic fenders of the first and second inventions of the present application, since the coefficient of friction between the hull and the pneumatic fender can be greatly reduced as described above, the hull is coated. Since there is no peeling or black marks on the hull surface, the appearance of the hull is not impaired.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a pneumatic fender according to an embodiment of the first invention.

  This pneumatic fender 1 has a structure in which a base 3 is attached to both ends of a substantially fender-shaped hollow fender main body 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the fender body 2 is configured by laminating an inner layer rubber 4, a reinforcing cord layer 5, and an outer layer rubber 6 in order from the inside. In some cases, the reinforcing cord layer 5 and the outer layer rubber 6 are laminated in plural layers.

  In the pneumatic fender 1, a water retaining layer 7 made of a porous material is formed on the surface of the outer layer rubber 6. The water retaining layer 7 does not necessarily have to be formed over the entire surface of the outer layer rubber 6, and may be formed at least on the surface of the cylindrical portion 2 a in the central region of the fender that contacts the hull.

  Thus, since the water retaining layer 7 made of a porous material is formed on the surface of the outer layer rubber 6 of the pneumatic fender 1, as shown in FIG. In the floating state, the water 10 in the seawater or the water 11 evaporated from the sea surface spreads through the water retention layer 7 by capillary action, so that the entire water retention layer 7 is retained. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), when it comes into contact with another hull 12, water is pushed out from the water retention layer 7 by the contact pressure F, and between the other hull 12 and the pneumatic fender 1. Since the water film 13 is interposed, the friction coefficient between the two can be greatly reduced. Therefore, the hulls 8 and 12 are not peeled off and the surface of the hulls are not marked with black marks, so that the appearance of the hulls 8 and 12 is not impaired. Further, even if frictional heat is generated, the water film 13 can be used for cooling, so that the heat effect on the hulls 8 and 12 can be prevented.

  As the porous material constituting the water retention layer 7, open-cell sponge can be used, but a polymer material mixed with a glass tube or hollow fibers may be used. In the latter case, rubber, elastomer, or polyurethane is exemplified as the polymer material.

  In addition, it is desirable to mix a water retention material in the water retention layer 7 so that the water retention state is maintained for a long time. Examples of the water retention material include a water absorbent polymer and a water retention agent.

  FIG. 4 shows the structure of the fender body in the pneumatic fender according to the embodiment of the second invention. The structure of the pneumatic fender is the same as in FIG.

  In this embodiment, a water retaining layer 7 made of a porous material is formed inside the outer rubber layer 6, and a plurality of outer layer rubbers 6 are connected to the outer surface of the pneumatic fender 1 so as to communicate with the water retaining layer 7. A through hole 14 is provided. The water retaining layer 7 may be formed on the inner surface of the outer rubber 6 (the boundary between the outer rubber 6 and the reinforcing cord layer 5). Moreover, although the magnitude | size and position of the through-hole 14 are not specifically limited, It is preferable to provide the through-hole 14 with an internal diameter of about several millimeters at predetermined intervals along the fender material circumferential direction.

  As described above, the water retaining layer 7 made of the porous material is formed inside or on the inner surface of the outer layer rubber 6 of the pneumatic fender 1, and the water retaining layer 7 communicates with the outside of the pneumatic fender 1. Since the outer layer rubber 6 is provided with a plurality of through holes 14, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), in the state suspended from the hull 8 or the like and floating on the sea surface 9, it evaporates from the water 10 in the seawater or the interface. The water 11 that has entered the inside of the water retaining layer 7 through the through-holes 14 spreads through the inside of the water retaining layer 7 by a capillary phenomenon, so that the entire water retaining layer 7 is retained. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), when it comes into contact with another hull 12, the water pushed out from the water retention layer 7 by the contact pressure F is discharged through the through hole 14, and the hulls 8 and 12 and the air defense Since the water film 13 is interposed between the brazing material 1 and the friction material 1, the friction coefficient between them can be greatly reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of through holes 14 are preferably connected to each other by a groove 15 extending in the circumferential direction of the fender. By doing in this way, the water discharged from the through hole 14 is easily transmitted to the entire surface of the outer layer rubber 6 through the groove 15. Further, the groove 15 may be formed along the longitudinal direction or the oblique direction (circumferential direction or the direction inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction) of the fender, or the three directions may be combined.

  The pneumatic fender according to the present invention is used for the same applications as ordinary pneumatic fenders, but is suspended on the ship side surface of a ship by a mooring line such as a wire or rope, and other ships and offshore facilities. It is preferably used as a shock absorber at the time of contact with the like.

It is sectional drawing of the pneumatic fender which consists of embodiment of 1st invention. It is sectional drawing shown by AA arrow in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the effect | action of the pneumatic fender of this invention, Comprising: (a) shows the state suspended from the hull, (b) shows the state which contacted the other hull, respectively. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the fender body in the pneumatic fender which consists of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an external view which shows another example of the pneumatic fender which consists of embodiment of 2nd invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pneumatic fender 2 Fender body 2a Cylindrical part 3 Base 4 Inner rubber 5 Reinforcement cord layer 6 Outer rubber 7 Water retaining layer 8 Hull 9 Sea surface 10 Water in sea water 11 Water evaporated from sea surface 12 Other hulls 13 Water Membrane 14 Through hole 15 Groove

Claims (8)

  A pneumatic fender having a water retentive layer formed of a porous material on an outer surface of the outer rubber layer, the outer fender having a surface coated with an outer rubber layer.   In the pneumatic fender with the outer layer rubber coated on the surface, a water retaining layer made of a porous material is formed inside or on the inner surface of the outer layer rubber, and the water retaining layer and the pneumatic fender are formed on the outer layer rubber. A pneumatic fender with a plurality of through holes that communicate with the outside.   The pneumatic fender according to claim 2, wherein grooves for connecting the through holes to each other are formed on the surface of the outer rubber layer.   The pneumatic fender according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the porous material is a continuous foam sponge, or a polymer material in which glass tubes or hollow fibers are dispersed.   The pneumatic fender according to claim 4, wherein the polymer material is rubber, elastomer or polyurethane.   The pneumatic fender according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a water retentive material is mixed in the water retentive layer.   The pneumatic fender according to claim 6, wherein the water retaining material is a water absorbing polymer or a water retaining agent.   The pneumatic fender according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is a shock absorber suspended from a mooring line on the surface of the hull.

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