JP3472307B2 - Load operation device and load operation method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a load manipulating device capable of raising and lowering loads and towing loads, and for manipulating distribution cables and / or hoses connected to said loads. Of equipment. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, applicable to the operation of undersea equipment such as grabs.

Traditionally, distribution to groundwater installations has required the installation of special bundles of cables and / or hoses attached to each application. For some applications,
It is known to incorporate distribution bundles inside armored fishing ropes. This method has many drawbacks. The resulting rope is expensive and has poor fishing characteristics. Moreover, since the diameter of the rope that can be operated is limited, the distribution that can be incorporated is limited. Moreover, as a practical matter, it is not possible to increase the length of the rope or to combine different types of materials (eg wire rope and textile rope).

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load manipulating device, a load supporting rope, a mechanism for paying out and collecting the rope, a drum for holding a distribution cable for a length extended from itself, and the rope. At the time of unwinding, the distribution cable is wound around the rope by rotating the distribution cable around the length by the length, and at the time of collecting the rope, a wrapping for unwinding the distribution cable from the rope. And a device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a load operating method, wherein a step of paying out a load supporting rope, a step of winding a distribution cable around the rope while paying out the rope, and a step of winding the distribution cable from the rope while collecting the rope. Unwinding the distribution cable.

As used herein, the term "distribution cable" is intended to refer to a flexible extensible member used to transmit power or data, such as electrical cables, fiber optic cables, pneumatic hoses, hydraulic hoses and the like. Used.

Preferably, the distribution cable is spirally wound around the rope. Typically, the load bearing rope is a fishing rope used to raise and lower loads. Alternatively, the load-bearing rope may be a tow rope used for unwinding, towing and collecting loads, such as an ocean sensor array.

The device may comprise a plurality of distribution cables, each of which extends from its own drum.

The mechanism for paying out and collecting the rope comprises a rope winder from which the rope reaches a load along a substantially straight axis after the rope has passed through a rope pulley. Preferably.

The wrapping device may include the or each distribution cable drum arranged to rotate about a drum axis coincident with the linear axis. The distribution cable drum typically has a central opening for passing a load-bearing rope through which a distribution cable of said length is mounted for movement in an annular passage around said axis. It is preferably adapted to pass through a distributed cable pulley.

Alternatively, the or each delivery cable drum may be rotatable on a structural member arranged to move in an annular passage about the axis.

The fishing rope hoist, the or each distribution cable drum, and the wrapping device are conveniently provided with their own drive motors, respectively, but via a suitable mechanical chain. It can also be driven by a single source.

Embodiments of the load operating device and the load operating method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The description of the figure is as follows.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the operation principle of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the device used in the first embodiment shown in FIG.
It is a more detailed side view shown by the partial cross section.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 for explaining a modified example of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the apparatus used in the second embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a third embodiment similar to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 but modified to pull rather than lift.

FIG. 7 illustrates a fourth embodiment similar to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, but modified to pull rather than lift.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fishing rope 1 is deployed from a fishing rope hoist 13 through a fishing rope pulley 4 to support a lifting and lowering load (not shown). The fishing rope 1 may be any suitable form of fishing rope, such as a flexible steel wire rope or a synthetic fiber (eg "Kevlar") rope. The distribution cable 2 is wound around the distribution cable drum 3 and reaches the load via the distribution cable pulley 5.

The fishing rope 1 penetrates the central opening of the distribution cable drum 3, and the distribution cable pulley 5 is the distribution cable 1.
Are arranged to be driven circumferentially around the axis of. By adjusting the operations of the fishing rope hoist 13, the distribution cable drum 3, and the distribution cable pulley 5, the distribution cable 2 can be spirally wound around the fishing rope 1 when the load is lowered and unwound when the load is hoisted. . In this way, fishing ropes with any desired characteristics can be used in combination with any necessary distribution connections.

FIG. 2 shows the distribution cable drum 3 and its associated parts in more detail. The shaft of the fishing rope pulley 4 is attached to a fixed frame 20 supported by any suitable support structure (not shown). The distribution cable drum 3 has a fixed frame.
It is rotatably installed at the bottom of 20 and has a motor 6
Is driven to rotate.

The inner end of the distribution cable 2 is connected to a suitable distribution source by means of a coupling assembly 8 consisting of a slipring device in the case of electrical distribution or optical fiber distribution and a rotating pair in the case of pneumatic or hydraulic distribution. . Rotating pairs as described above are well known in the art.

The shaft of the distribution cable pulley 5 is fixed by a motor 7 to a fixed frame.
It is attached to a mounting frame 9 which is rotatable around 20.

The distribution cable 2 shown in this embodiment may be a single cable or a hose, or may be a characteristic cable composed of a plurality of cables or hoses.

The motor 6 or 7 is driven at a speed related to the axial speed of the fishing rope 1. The correlation of speeds may be fixed, but the twisting (pitch) length of the distribution cable 2 on the fishing rope 1 and the distribution cable 2 may be fixed.
It is preferable to be able to control both the tension at and the tension at.

FIG. 3 shows another distribution cable 17 together with the distribution cable 2.
Shows a modified example in which the fishing rope is wound around the rope 1. In this modified example, the distribution cables 2, 17 are provided with respective cable storage drums 15, 16 and with respective cable sheaves 5, 14 suitably supported by a common support frame for harmonic rotation.

The device may be further modified by adding more drums and pulleys to handle more rations.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment. In this second embodiment, a distribution cable 2 is wound around a drum 3, which itself is rotated around a fishing rope 1 so that it can be spirally wound and unwound. As shown in more detail in FIG. 5, the distribution cable drum 3 is rotatably mounted on a fixed frame 20 and a hub motor 11 supported on one end of an arm 18 driven by the motor 10. It consists of 12 drums.

Similar to the first embodiment, the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be modified by further adding a plurality of distribution cable drums that can be rotated by the motor 10.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the embodiment of FIG. 1 is modified for application to marine tow such as feeding, towing and recovery of a sensor array such as a sonar sensor and a surveying sensor of a seismograph.
The sensor array is pulled in water or on the surface of the water. The distribution cable drum 3 is a tow ship (not shown).
It is hinged to the main structure and can be tilted to the desired traction angle by a hydraulic mechanism or other mechanism. Similarly, FIG. 7 shows an example in which the embodiment of FIG. 4 is modified for the same purpose as described above. In this variant, the frame supports an arm for mounting a distribution cable drum 3 which is hinged to the towing vessel and tilted to the desired traction angle by a hydraulic mechanism or other mechanism.

The present invention may be applied to a device in which one or more distribution cables are applied to a load supporting rope supporting a distribution channel in addition to performing a load supporting function. For example, the load-bearing rope may be a steel wire cable that carries electrical signals, or it may be a rope that combines "Kevlar" load-bearing strands with fiber optic cables.

  Other changes may be made within the scope of the invention.

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Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A load-carrying rope (1, 19), a mechanism for paying out and collecting the rope (1, 19), and for holding a distribution cable (2, 17) for a length extending from itself. Drums (3, 12, 15, 16) and the rope (1,
19) When the delivery cable (2, 17) is unwound around the rope (1, 19), the delivery cable (2, 17) is rotated around the rope (1, 19) by the length. ), And at the time of collecting the rope (1, 19), the distribution cable (2,
A device for load operation including a wrapping device for unwinding 17). 2. A device according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of distribution cables (2, 17) extending from their own drums (3, 12, 15, 16). 3. The means for paying out and collecting the rope (1, 19) comprises a rope winder (13) from which the rope (1, 19) is removed. The load is adapted to reach a substantially linear axis after passing through the rope pulley (14).
Or the apparatus according to 2. 4. The wrapping device comprises said or each distribution cable drum (3, 12, 15, 16) arranged for rotation about a drum axis coinciding with said axis. The device according to claim 3. 5. Device according to claim 4, wherein the or each distribution cable drum (3, 12, 15, 16) has a central opening for the passage of load-bearing ropes (1, 19). 6. A distribution cable (2, 17) of said length is adapted to pass through a distribution cable pulley (5, 14) mounted for movement in an annular passage about said axis. The device according to any one of claims 3 to 5. 7. The or each distribution cable drum (3, 12, 15, 16) is rotatable on a structural member (20) arranged to move in an annular passage about the axis. The device according to claim 3. 8. The fishing rope hoist (13),
The or each distribution cable drum (3, 12, 15, 1
Device according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein 6) and the wrapping device each have their own drive motors (6, 7, 10). 9. The fishing line hoisting machine (13),
The or each distribution cable drum (3, 12, 15, 1
Device according to any of claims 3 to 7, wherein 6) and the wrapping device are driven by a single source via a suitable mechanical chain. 10. A method of unwinding a load supporting rope, winding a distribution cable around the rope while unrolling the rope, and then unwinding the distribution cable from the rope while collecting the rope. Load handling method including. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of distribution cables are wound around the rope while paying out the rope.