KR20170127626A - Vessel towing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A vessel towing device is provided. The vessel towing device comprises: a flight body; a propulsion device generating a thrust while connected to the flight body to enable the flight body to fly; a buoyant body connected to the flight body to generate buoyancy; and a connection unit connected to the flight body to be connected to a towing cable to tow a ship.

Description

[0001] VESSEL TOWING APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to a ship towing apparatus.

The life of the ship can be estimated to be 25 to 30 years after drying. The vessel which has reached the end of its life will be commissioned to dismantle it.

On the other hand, ships that do not reach full life expectancy continue to operate, and various components such as engines may become obsolete and fail to exhibit full performance.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0018932 (Feb. 25, 2015)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a vessel towing apparatus.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to accomplish the above object, an aspect of the present invention is a ship towing apparatus comprising a flying body, a propeller for generating a propulsive force in a state of being connected to the flying body to allow the flying body to fly, A buoyant body for generating buoyancy, and a connection part connected to the towing cable connected to the flying body for towing the ship.

The distance between the connecting parts provided at both ends of the flying body is longer than the distance between both connecting parts of the ship to which the towing cable is connected.

The towing cable includes a cylinder portion and a piston portion that moves in parallel with the inside of the cylinder portion. The cylinder portion is connected to an adjacent cylinder portion by a flexible wire, and the piston portion is connected to an adjacent piston portion by a flexible wire.

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the vessel towing apparatus of the present invention as described above, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

First, there is an advantage of increasing the speed of ship by combining aircraft propulsion technology.

Second, there is an advantage that the freight revenue is increased because the service life is improved and the number of service is increased.

Third, there is an advantage of improving the operational competitiveness of ships whose operating efficiency is lowered due to the economical efficiency of large sized containers.

1 is a perspective view of a ship towing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side view of a vessel towing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 and 4 are views showing the ship towing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention towing a ship.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a cable according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a view showing a coupling portion and a coupling portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view showing a cable body of a cable according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 and 9 are views for explaining the operation of the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a view showing a cable that is a case where the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the first state. FIG.
11 is a view showing a cable that is a case where the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the second state.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention and the manner of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used in a sense commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Also, commonly used predefined terms are not ideally or excessively interpreted unless explicitly defined otherwise.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ship towing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a ship towing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. Is a view showing towing of a ship.

1 and 2, a ship towing apparatus 10 includes a flying body 100, a propeller 200, a buoyant body 300, and a connecting portion 400.

The flying body 100 may have the shape of a wing. Accordingly, the moving flying body 100 receives lifting force and floats the ship towing apparatus 10 in the air. The cross section of the side surface of the flying body 100 may be formed so as to be higher in height than the rear side in order to properly receive the lift force according to the flow of the air. Further, in order to reduce the resistance of the air, the cross-section of the side surface of the flying body 100 is preferably streamlined.

The propeller 200 generates propulsion force in a state where the propeller 200 is connected to the flying body 100, thereby allowing the flying body 100 to fly. The propeller 200 may push the air backward and thereby generate propulsion forces that cause the flight body 100 to advance. The propeller 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be a propeller 200 of an aircraft, and may be composed of only a motor and a propeller. The fuel of the propeller 200 may be provided in the internal space of the flying body 100.

FIG. 1 shows the propeller 200 installed on the upper surface of the flying body 100, but the installation position of the propeller 200 is not limited thereto. For example, the propeller 200 may be installed on the lower surface of the flying body 100.

The buoyant body 300 is connected to the flying body 100 to generate buoyancy. The ship towing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can tow the ship. The ship towing device 10 can wait in the sea before towing the ship, and can land at sea when the towing of the ship is completed. For this purpose, the buoyant body 300 may be provided on the flying body 100 of the ship towing apparatus 10. As the buoyant body 300 generates buoyancy, the ship towing apparatus 10 can be positioned on the sea surface without sinking into the seawater.

The connection unit 400 may be connected to the towing cable 30 for towing the ship by being connected to the flying body 100. One end of the towing cable 30 may be connected to the connection unit 400, and the other end may be connected to the ship. The ship towing apparatus 10 tows the ship by pulling the towing cable 30 connected to the connecting section 400. [

As shown in FIG. 3, the connection unit 400 may be provided at both ends of the flying body 100. That is, two connecting portions 400 are provided at both ends of the flying body 100.

The connecting part 400 provided on the left side of the flying body 100 is connected to the connecting part 21 provided on the left side of the ship using a towing cable 30 and connected to the connecting part 21 provided on the right side of the flying body 100 400 may be connected to a connecting portion 21 provided on the right side of the ship using another cable 30 as an example. Thus, the direction of the ship can be changed more easily. For example, when the ship's moving direction is to be changed to the right, the ship towing apparatus 10 can pull the towing cable 30 provided on the left side of the flying body 100 more strongly while turning to the right. A larger tension is generated on the cable 30 provided on the left side of the flying body 100 than the cable 30 provided on the right side of the flying body 100 so that the direction of movement of the ship is changed to the right .

The distance D between the connecting parts 400 provided at both ends of the flying body 100 is determined by the distance D between the connecting parts 400 provided at both ends of the flying body 100, (D) between the connecting portions 21 on both sides of the connecting portion. As a result, the change in force due to the change of direction of the ship towing apparatus 10 can be more efficiently transmitted to the ship.

The position of the flying body 100 to which the connecting part 400 of the present invention is connected is not limited to both ends of the flying body 100. The connecting part 400 may be provided at various positions of the flying body 100 . For example, the connecting part 400 may be provided at the center of the flying body 100 together with both ends of the flying body 100, and the connecting part 400 may be provided only at the center of the flying body 100.

Hereinafter, the connection portion 400 is provided at both ends of the flying body 100.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ship towing apparatus 10 can tow the ship while maintaining a certain distance from the sea surface SF. In other words, the ship towing device 10 tows the ship while flying in a state spaced apart from the sea surface SF. Since the ship is towed without touching the seawater, energy loss due to friction with seawater is prevented, and most of the propulsive force by the propeller 200 can be used for towing the ship.

The ship 20 can be operated even if the engine of the ship 20 is out of order due to the ship towing apparatus 10 towing the ship 20. [

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a cable according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a coupling portion and a coupling portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the towing cable 30 is configured to include a catching portion 31 and a cable body 33.

The engaging portion 31 is engaged with the connection portion 400 provided in the ship towing apparatus 10 and transmits the driving force of the ship towing apparatus 10 to the cable body 33. The latching part 31 may include a connection space SP for accommodating the connection part 400. [ The latching portion 31 may include separation preventing portions 31a and 31b for preventing separation of the connection portion 400 while covering both ends thereof. The separation preventing portions 31a and 31b may include a first separation preventing portion 31a and a second separation preventing portion 31b.

The first departure preventing portion 31a and the second departure preventing portion 31b may enclose both ends of the connecting portion 400 to prevent the connecting portion 400 from separating from the engaging portion 31. [ The second departure prevention portion 31b may include an opening / closing portion 32 for allowing the end of the connection portion 400 to be horizontally moved in and out. The opening and closing part 32 is hinged to the second departure prevention part 31b and can rotate with respect to the second departure prevention part 31b. When the opening / closing part 32 is opened, one end of the connection part 400 can enter the connection space SP in a horizontal direction. Then, after the connection portion 400 enters the connection portion accommodating space SP, the opening portion 32 is closed to prevent the connection portion 400 from being separated.

The user may insert the other end of the connection part 400 into the opening of the opening and closing part 32 after inserting the one end of the connection part 400 into the first departure prevention part 31a.

The opening and closing part 32 may be coupled to the second departure prevention part 31b by a fastening means such as a bolt B. [ As the opening and closing part 32 is coupled to the second departure prevention part 31b by the fastening means, the connecting part 400 can be firmly connected to the fastening part 31. [ The opening and closing part 32 and the second departure prevention part 31b may be provided with a fastening hole H for fastening the bolt B to the bolts B. [

The connection part 400 may be provided not only on the ship towing device 10 but also on the ship. Also, the connecting portion 21 provided on the ship may be the same or similar in shape to the connecting portion 400 provided on the ship towing device 10. Accordingly, the hooking portions 31 of the towing cable 30 can be provided at the opposite ends of the cable body 33. The user connects the hooking part 31 provided at one end of the towing cable 30 to the connecting part 400 of the vessel towing device 10 and connects the hooking part 31 provided at the other end of the towing cable 30 Can be connected to the connecting portion 21 of the ship, so that the cable connection between the ship towing device 10 and the ship can be performed.

Since the coupling between the connecting portions 400 and 21 and the engaging portion 31 is relatively easy, it is possible to connect the ship towing apparatus 10 to different ships and tow them.

7 is a view showing a cable body of a cable according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Fig. 7, the cable body 33 includes a piston portion 33a, a cylinder portion 33b, and flexible wires Wa and Wb.

The surface of the piston portion 33a may be provided with a guide groove G formed along the longitudinal direction thereof. The guide groove (G) may be provided with an elastic means (34) for generating an elastic force in the longitudinal direction.

The cable body 33 may include a plurality of piston portions 33a and each piston portion 33a may be connected to the adjacent piston portion 33a through a flexible wire Wa. That is, the plurality of piston portions 33a can be connected in series through the flexible wires Wa.

Likewise, the cable body 33 may include a plurality of cylinder portions 33b, and each cylinder portion 33b may be connected to the adjacent cylinder portion 33b through a flexible wire Wb. That is, the plurality of cylinder portions 33b can be connected in series through the flexible wire Wb.

Guide projections P may be provided on the inner surface of the cylinder portion 33b. The guide protrusion P is provided at a position corresponding to the guide groove G of the piston portion 33a and can move in parallel along the guide groove G. [ Parallel movement of the piston portion 33a with respect to the cylinder portion 33b becomes possible as the guide projection P is inserted in the guide groove G and moved in parallel. For example, the piston portion 33a may be inserted or exposed to the cylinder portion 33b.

As described above, the guide groove G of the piston portion 33a is provided with the resilient means 34. This is because the engagement between the cylinder portion 33b and the piston portion 33a maintains a constant shape . Specifically, the piston portion 33a can be kept inserted into the cylinder portion 33b by the elastic means 34. [ In this case, only when the external force is larger than the elastic force by the elastic means 34, the piston portion 33a can be exposed in the cylinder portion 33b.

The state of the cable body 33 in which the piston portion 33a is completely inserted into the cylinder portion 33b is referred to as a first state and at least a part of the piston portion 33a is formed in the cable body 33b exposed in the cylinder portion 33b, (33) is referred to as a second state.

8 and 9 are views for explaining the operation of the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention.

8 shows a first state, that is, a state in which the piston portion 33a is inserted into the cylinder portion 33b. The guide projection P of the cylinder portion 33b can receive a force in one direction by the elastic means 34 while being inserted into the guide groove G of the piston portion 33a. As a result, the entirety of the piston portion 33a is kept inserted into the cylinder portion 33b.

As shown in FIG. 8, one piston portion 33a and one cylinder portion 33b are connected to each other to constitute a connection body. One connector is connected to the other connector through the flexible wires Wa and Wb. One cylinder portion 33b accommodates only one piston portion 33a and the adjacent two connectors are connected to each other through the soft wires Wa and Wb so that the towing cable 30 can maintain its free shape. For example, only a portion of the forces acting on one connector act on adjacent connectors.

Fig. 9 shows a second state, that is, a state in which a part of the piston portion 33a is exposed in the cylinder portion 33b. Another portion of the piston portion 33a exposed in one cylinder portion 33b can be inserted into the adjacent cylinder portion 33b. In other words, both sides of the piston portion 33a are inserted into different adjacent cylinder portions 33b. One cylinder portion 33b accommodates a portion of each of two adjacent piston portions 33a Can be understood.

The towing cable 30 can be converted into a rigid form as one cylinder portion 33b accommodates a part of each of the two adjacent piston portions 33a. That is, the force acting on one cylinder portion 33b is transmitted to the adjacent cylinder portion 33b through the piston portion 33a which is in contact with the one cylinder portion 33b. Also, the force transmitted to the adjacent cylinder portion 33b can be transmitted to the other cylinder portion 33b through the piston portion 33a again.

As a result, as the state of the towing cable 30 is switched to the second state, the cable body 33 of the towing cable 30 can provide the same rigidity as a single pipe.

When the ship towing apparatus 10 tows the ship, the ship towing apparatus 10 may be rocked when the propulsion force is excessively large. Also, the ship towing apparatus 10 may be rocked by an external force. The propulsive force generated when the ship towing apparatus 10 is rocked may not be transmitted to the ship correctly and the ship towing apparatus 10 may be damaged by the seawater.

On the other hand, when the towing cable 30 is switched to the second state to connect the ship to the ship towing apparatus 10, it is possible to prevent the ship towing apparatus 10 from rocking, Can be transmitted to the ship more normally.

A plurality of cylinder portions (hereinafter, referred to as " cylinder groups ") connected by a plurality of piston portions (hereinafter referred to as piston groups) and a flexible wire Wb connected by a flexible wire Wa for switching states to a first state and a second state May be connected to the ship towing apparatus 10 or the ship, respectively. For example, the piston group may be connected to the vessel towing device 10, and the cylinder group may be connected to the vessel.

Thus, when the ship towing apparatus 10 is simply connected without towing the ship, the cable body 33 can maintain the first state. On the other hand, when the ship towing apparatus 10 tows the ship, the cable body 33 can be switched to the second state.

FIG. 10 is a view showing a cable that is a case where the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention is the first state, and FIG. 11 is a view showing a cable as a case where the cable body according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the second state to be.

As shown in Fig. 10, when the cable body 33 is in the first state, the towing cable 30 can maintain its free form. In the first state, the position of the ship towing apparatus 10 relative to the ship can be freely formed as long as the ship towing apparatus 10 does not pull the ship. Alternatively, it is also possible to mount the ship towing apparatus 10 on the ship with the towing cable 30 connected thereto.

On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 11, when the cable body 33 is in the second state, the towing cable 30 is converted to a rigid form. Even if an external force is generated in the ship towing apparatus 10, the position of the ship towing apparatus 10 relative to the ship can be fixed and the ship towing apparatus 10 can be fixed to the sea water It is also possible to prevent the situation from being struck.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

10: Ship towing device
20: Ship
30: Towing cable
100: Flying body
200: propeller
300: Buoyant body
400: Connection

Claims (3)

Flying body;
A propeller for generating a propulsive force in a state of being connected to the flying body to allow the flying body to fly;
A buoyant body connected to the flying body to generate buoyancy; And
And a connecting portion connected to the towing cable connected to the flying body for towing the ship. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the flying body is elongated in both lateral directions perpendicular to the direction of the driving force,
Wherein a distance between the connecting portions provided at both ends of the flying body is longer than a distance between both connecting portions of the ship to which the towing cable is connected. The method according to claim 1,
The towing cable includes:
A cylinder portion; And
And a piston portion that moves in parallel with the inside of the cylinder portion,
Wherein the cylinder portion is connected to the adjacent cylinder portion by a flexible wire,
Wherein the piston portion is connected to the adjacent piston portion by a flexible wire.

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