JPH0311956B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thrust generating device for a marine structure such as a ship.

It is a well-known fact that the efficiency of the helical propulsion device, which is currently most commonly used in ships, can be improved by making it larger in diameter, rotating at lower speeds, and lowering the load level. However, especially for a wide and shallow water vessel, the diameter of the helical propulsion device cannot be increased beyond a certain limit due to the limitation of water intake, resulting in a decrease in propulsion efficiency.

An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient thrust generating device that solves the above problems.

The thrust generating device according to the present invention includes a swinging member that is attached to an offshore structure so as to be able to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis and extends above the sea surface, and an upper portion of the swinging member that is connected to the portion that extends above the sea surface. a wing support member that is movable up and down and whose lower part is submerged below the sea surface; a hydrofoil that is attached almost horizontally to the underwater part of the wing support member; a wing drive device that swings the swinging member up and down; It includes a position-adjustable weight attached to the member and an adjustable-position elastic body provided between the marine structure and the swinging member.

It is known that a hydrofoil placed almost horizontally in waves generates a thrust force from the trailing edge of the wing toward the leading edge (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-30893 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-55352)).
(see official bulletin). It is also known that thrust is generated from the trailing edge of the wing toward the leading edge by moving a substantially horizontal wing up and down underwater.

Therefore, according to the present invention, thrust can be generated in the hydrofoil by swinging the swinging member up and down with the wing drive device and reciprocating the hydrofoil up and down via the wing support member. . When this invention is applied to a ship, the span of the hydrofoil can be made equal to or larger than that of the ship, so a larger swept area can be secured compared to a helical propulsion device, and the load degree can be greatly reduced. Propulsion efficiency can be improved by lowering the speed to In addition, when this invention is applied to other marine structures floating at a fixed position on the sea surface, the hydrofoils can be moved up and down to generate thrust that cancels out drifting forces such as wave drifting forces. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the marine structure from drifting and to reliably hold it in a fixed position.
Furthermore, when there are waves on the sea, the wave energy is converted into thrust, and the waves also generate thrust on the hydrofoil, so it is possible to obtain part or all of the thrust generation energy as wave energy. In this case, if the hydrofoil is fixed at a fixed position without being driven by a wing drive device, or is supported elastically so that it can freely move up and down, thrust can be generated from wave energy alone. .

Further, according to the present invention, the weight whose position is adjustable is attached to the swinging member, and the elastic body whose position is adjustable is provided between the marine structure and the swinging member. , the load on the blade drive device can be reduced. For example, in order to efficiently propel a large ship, it is necessary to move large hydrofoils back and forth at low speeds, and therefore it is necessary to somehow absorb the large fluctuations in inertia caused by the back and forth movement of the hydrofoils. If this inertial force fluctuation is applied directly to the blade drive device so that the blade drive device can withstand the inertia force fluctuation, a large-capacity blade drive device is required. According to this invention, a vibration system is constructed by providing an elastic body between a marine structure and a swinging member, and by adjusting the positions of this elastic body and a weight, the spring constant of the vibration system can be adjusted. Since the inertia can be changed, fluctuations in inertia caused by the reciprocating movement of the hydrofoil can be absorbed by the elastic body, and only the power necessary for generating thrust can be supplied from the wing drive device. , it is possible to reduce the load on the blade drive device. In addition, when the hydrofoils are not driven by a blade drive device and are allowed to move up and down freely to generate thrust using only wave energy, as described above, it is possible to absorb the wave energy most efficiently. The spring constant and inertia of the vibration system can be adjusted accordingly.

In particular, in the case of a ship, it is desirable to provide two hydrofoils symmetrically on the left and right sides with respect to the center line of the ship, and to connect the wing support members of each hydrofoil to rocking members that are driven separately. If the left and right hydrofoils can be driven separately in this way, the hull can be turned by the hydrofoils. In addition, in order to secure as large a swept area as possible, it is desirable to have a portion of the hydrofoil extend outward from the outer surface of the hull. desirable.

For example, the hydrofoil may be fixed to a wing support member so that it can only reciprocate up and down, but it is also possible to rotate (pitching) around a substantially horizontal axis to change the angle of attack in addition to reciprocating up and down. It is desirable to do so. In this way, even more effective thrust can be expected to be generated. In order to enable pitching of a hydrofoil, for example, the front part of the hydrofoil is attached to a wing support member so as to be able to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis, and the rear part of the hydrofoil is elastically supported by this wing support member, or Alternatively, the front and rear parts of the hydrofoil may be attached to separate wing support members, and the front and rear wing support members may be connected to rocking members that are driven separately.

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

1 and 2 show a ship equipped with a thrust generating device according to the present invention.

Fixed hydrofoils 3 are symmetrically attached to both left and right outer surfaces 2 of the front part of the hull 1. this wing 3
usually extends outward horizontally, and can be folded vertically upward at the attachment point to the hull 1 and stored. Folding of the hydrofoil 3 may be performed by suitable means such as a hydraulic cylinder.

On the upper deck 4 of the ship, four rod-shaped swinging members 5 and 6 extending in the front-rear direction are attached, two on each side. Each rocking member 5, 6 is mounted on a platform 8 on the upper deck 4 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 7 extending horizontally in the left-right direction, and the rear end of each member 5, 6 is connected to the stern end 9. It extends above the sea level 10 behind it. A slider 1 is provided at the rear end of each swinging member 5, 6.
1 is attached so as to be freely movable in the axial direction, and a vertical rod-shaped 4
The upper ends of the two wing support members 12 and 13 are attached to each slider 11 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis extending in the left-right direction. At the top of the stern end 9,
Four arms 14, 15 extending horizontally are provided directly below each swing member 5, 6, and each wing support member 12, 1
3 passes through vertical guide holes provided in each arm 14, 15 so as to be vertically movable. 2 inside left and right
The two wing support members 12 are located near the stern end 9, and the two outer wing support members 13 are located rearward from these, and the lower part of each wing support member 12, 13 is submerged below the sea surface 10. There is. Two substantially horizontal hydrofoils 16 are arranged symmetrically below the sea surface 10 immediately behind the stern end 9, and the left wing 16 is attached to the lower end of the two left wing support members 12, 13 as follows. , the two wings 16 on the left side are connected to the two wing support members 12 on the right side,
13, respectively. That is, the front upper surface of each wing 16 is attached to the lower end of the front wing support member 12 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis extending in the left-right direction. Also, each wing 1
A slider 17 is attached to the rear upper surface of the blade 6 so as to be movable back and forth, and each slider 17 is attached to the lower end of the rear wing support member 13 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis extending in the left-right direction. Further, a portion of each hydrofoil 16 protrudes outward from the outer surface 2 of the hull, and these protruding portions 18 can be folded vertically upward and stored, as in the case of the fixed hydrofoil 3. It's getting old.

Weights 19 whose positions in the axial direction can be adjusted are attached to both the front and rear sides of the support shaft 7 of each swing member 5, 6, and the wing support member slider 11 of each swing member 5, 6 A slider 20 whose position can be adjusted in the axial direction is attached to the front side, and each slider 20
Four movable platforms 21 whose positions can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction are installed on the upper deck 4 directly below the. A spring (elastic body) 22 is provided between each movable table 21 and the slider 20 directly above it, thereby configuring a vibration system.

A slider 23 is attached to the front side of the spring slider 20 of each vibration member 5, 6 so as to be movable in the axial direction,
The upper ends of four vertical power transmission rods 24 are attached to each slider 23 so as to be rotatable about horizontal axes extending in the left-right direction. Each power transmission rod 24
The rods pass through vertical guide holes provided in the upper deck 4 so as to be vertically movable and hang down into the engine room 25, and a rack 26 is provided at the lower end of each rod 24. Four DC motors 27 are installed in the engine room 25, and pinions 29 and flywheels 30 are fixed to these motor shafts 28, respectively, to mesh with the racks 26 of the corresponding power transmission rods 24. Further, an engine 31 and a generator 32 driven by the engine 31 are installed in the engine room 25.
The four motors 27 are connected to a generator 32 via a changeover switch 33. These constitute a drive device, and the four swinging members 5 and 6 are driven separately and independently. That is,
By rotating the motor 27 at an appropriate speed and switching the direction of rotation at an appropriate period using the changeover switch 33, the power transmission rod 24, the swinging members 5, 6, and the wing support member 1 are rotated accordingly.
2 and 13 reciprocate up and down with a constant amplitude and period. By changing the rotation speed and rotation direction switching period of each motor 27, the corresponding amplitude and period of vertical reciprocating movement of the blade support members 12, 13 can be changed separately.

In the above-mentioned ship, the rotational speed of the motor 27 and the cycle of switching the rotational direction are appropriately set by the changeover switch 33, and each of the swinging members 5,
By adjusting the positions of the weight 19 and spring 22 of 6 and appropriately changing the spring constant and inertia of the vibration system, the hydrofoil 16 performs vertical reciprocation and pitching with appropriate amplitude, period, and phase difference. As a result, forward thrust is generated on the hydrofoil 16. Since the spring constant and inertia of the vibration system can be changed separately, the hydrofoil 16 can be made to perform vertical reciprocation and pitching with the optimum amplitude, period, and phase difference depending on the ship speed. When the entire vibration system is synchronized, the small engine 31 can drive the large hydrofoil 16. Note that when the ship is made to proceed straight, the movement of the hydrofoils 16 is adjusted so that the thrust forces generated on the left and right hydrofoils 16 are equal to each other. Further, by changing the magnitude of the thrust generated in the left and right hydrofoils 16, the hull 1 can be turned left and right.
That is, the left and right hydrofoils 16 can also serve as a rudder. In addition, since a fixed hydrofoil 3 is provided at the front of the hull 1, the stern end 9 and the hydrofoil 1
In balance with the movement 6, it is possible to reduce the vibrations of the hull 1 such as vertical movement, pitching, and rolling.

If there are waves on the ocean, thrust can be generated using wave energy alone, as shown below. That is, in this case, the blade drive device is set in a free state so that each of the swinging members 5 and 6 can freely swing up and down. In this way, the hydrofoil 16
The waves cause vertical and reciprocating movement and pitching, which generates forward thrust. Note that at this time, the spring constant and inertia of the vibration system are adjusted so as to absorb wave energy most efficiently.

FIG. 3 shows a different embodiment from the above, in which the hydrofoil 34 is connected to one swinging member 35 or a plurality of swinging members 35 that swing in synchronization with each other via a wing support member 36 as follows. installed. That is, the front part of the wing 34 is a horizontal pin 3 extending in the left-right direction.
It is rotatably attached to the lower end of the wing support member 36 via 7. A horizontal auxiliary member 38 is fixed to the lower part of the wing support member 36, and a spring 39 is provided between the tip of the auxiliary member 38 and the rear part of the wing 34. The hydrofoil 34 normally has a spring 39
It is supported horizontally by The rest is the same as in the above embodiment, and the same parts are given the same reference numerals. In the above, when the wing support member 36 reciprocates up and down due to the vertical swing of the swinging member 35, the hydrofoil 34 also reciprocates up and down, but the hydrofoil 34 is supported by the pin 37 and the spring 39. Since the hydrofoil 34 is rotatably and elastically supported by the member 36, pitching occurs at the same time as the hydrofoil 34 moves up and down. Further, even when the swinging member 35 is made to be able to freely swing up and down without being driven by a blade drive device, the hydrofoil 34 performs vertical reciprocating motion and pitching at the same time due to the waves.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a ship, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1... Hull, 2... Hull outer surface, 3... Hydrofoil, 5, 6, 35... Rocking member, 10... Sea surface,
12, 13, 36... Wing support member, 16, 34...
...Hydrofoil, 18...Hydrofoil overhanging part, 19...
Weight, 22... Spring (elastic body).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rocking member that is attached to an offshore structure so as to be able to rotate about a substantially horizontal axis and extends above the sea surface, and an upper portion of the rocking member that is connected to the portion that extends above the sea surface. A wing support member whose lower part is submerged below the sea surface and is movable up and down, a hydrofoil attached almost horizontally to the underwater part of the wing support member, a wing drive device that swings the swinging member up and down, and a swinging member. A thrust generating device comprising: a position-adjustable weight attached to a marine structure; and a position-adjustable elastic body provided between a marine structure and a swinging member. 2. A patent claim in which two hydrofoils are provided symmetrically on the left and right with respect to the center line of the marine structure, and the wing support member of each hydrofoil is connected to a swinging member that is driven separately. The thrust generating device according to scope 1. 3. The thrust generating device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a portion of the hydrofoil protrudes outward from the outer surface of the marine structure, and the protruding portion of the hydrofoil is foldable. . 4. The thrust generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hydrofoil is fixed to a wing support member. 5. Claim 1, wherein the front part of the hydrofoil is attached to a wing support member so as to be able to rotate around a substantially horizontal axis that changes the angle of attack, and the rear part of the hydrofoil is elastically supported by the wing support member. - The thrust generating device according to any one of Items 3 to 3. 6. Claims 1 to 3, wherein the front and rear parts of the hydrofoil are each attached to separate wing support members, and each of the front and rear wing support members is connected to a rocking member that is driven separately. The thrust generating device according to any one of the above items.