NL2009156C2 - VESSEL WITH ROTATABLE POD. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a vessel and a method for driving a vessel. Said vessel is provided with a pod arranged at the rear side thereof which is arranged rotatably with respect to the vessel. Rotation is effected about an axis which deviates slightly from the vertical. According to the invention, the axis of the propeller shaft forms an angle which is smaller than 90° with the axis of rotation of the pod. As a result of this combined positioning of the rotation shaft of the pod and the positioning of the propeller shaft, the axis of the propeller shaft with respect to the horizontal will vary when the pod is rotated depending on the rotation position of the pod. This permits optimum adaptation to the various operating conditions of the propeller position.

Description

Vessel with rotatable pod

The present invention relates to a vessel comprising a hull and a pod drive arranged thereon, which pod drive comprises a housing, including a propeller shaft protruding through that housing and to which a propeller is attached, as well as a propeller for that propeller shaft, which propeller shaft a first axis defines which housing is rotatable relative to said body about a rotation axis that defines a second axis. More in particular, the present invention relates to relatively large vessels, that is to say vessels with a length of more than 20 and more in particular more than 50 or even more than 80 meters.

Pod drive is a more attractive alternative to conventional drive where a propeller shaft is used in a fixed position relative to the vessel to which a propeller is attached and a rudder is used for maneuvering.

In particular when using electrically driven pods, a diesel-electric propulsion can be provided which can be optimized depending on the operating conditions. By using a number of aggregates for generating electricity, the reliability can be increased as well as the efficiency. Moreover, depending on the position, it is possible to comply with the applicable regulations such as environmental regulations.

The implementation of the pod is not relevant to the present invention. This means that the pod can have either a motor located in the vessel that drives the propeller shaft in the housing via a shaft and gears, a thruster, or it can be provided with an (electric) motor mounted in the housing that may or may not drives the propeller shaft via a reduction gear that can be built on any conceivable.

In the prior art, the axis of the propeller shaft is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the pod housing relative to the vessel. Moreover, the second axis, i.e. the axis of the rotation of the pod housing relative to the vessel, is vertical. In this way, when the housing is rotated relative to the vessel, the horizontal position of the first axis, i.e. the axis of the propeller shaft, is always guaranteed. This position is optimal for driving the vessel over greater distances.

P6035967EN 20110620 2

Although in theory a horizontally arranged propeller shaft provides the most optimal propulsion force for propelling a ship, in specific cases the designer can choose to give the propeller shaft a (slight) angle in sailing condition, for example parallel to the flow along a hull shape.

5 If a vessel carries out a return trip where there is less or no load, it is necessary to provide this vessel with ballast. After all, if no measures were to be taken due to the lower weight, the vessel would become higher and circumstances would arise that are no longer optimal for propulsion by the propeller.

On the other hand, it has been found that if the surface or the volume of the vessel in contact with the water decreases, the flow resistance decreases, so that sailing can be done either faster or with a lower use.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a vessel which, when loaded, has operating conditions comparable to a vessel commonly known in the prior art. However, in a state where the vessel is less loaded, it is contemplated to further optimize the operating conditions of the vessel.

This object is achieved with a vessel described above in that a center line α of 60 ° -80 ° is bounded between said first and second and said second center line is not vertical.

Due to the non-vertical placement of the second axis in combination with the non-perpendicular positioning of the first axis with respect to the second axis, upon rotation about the second axis the first axis will, depending on the rotation, always be in a different position relative to the horizontal (and vertically). In the simplest embodiment, the first axis, ie the axis of the propeller shaft, defines a cone when rotating about the second axis, i.e., rotation axis of the pod. More complicated movements are also possible. This makes it possible to adjust the position of the axis of the propeller shaft depending on the rotational position of the housing of the pod. That is, in a driving position, this axis of the propeller shaft is in the usual horizontal position. However, with rotation through 180 ° the axis of the propeller shaft will make a considerable angle with the horizontal. As a result of this tilting of the propeller shaft and thus of the propeller, the height of the propeller experienced decreases relative to the vertical because it acquires a horizontal component. As a result, the underside of the propeller comes closer to the underside of the vessel and the top of the propeller lies deeper in the water.

It has been found that, among other things, it is possible to operate a vessel that is not provided with or has little ballast. The position described above is assumed in which the screw is inclined relative to the horizontal. Due to the slope, the screw is in a position in which it does not protrude above the water surface or there is a risk of striking air. The rotation of the propeller is then started and the vessel is driven. The screw then rotates "backwards" to move the vessel 10 forwards. Due to the non-horizontal position, the efficiency of the drive is less than in the horizontal position of the screw. However, this company is temporary. After all, as soon as the vessel has made some speed, a stern wave will arise and the propeller can be positioned again such that the propeller shaft is substantially horizontal. The propeller then turns "forward" again for forward movement of the vessel.

According to a particular embodiment of the present invention, the second axis, i.e. the axis of rotation of the pod housing relative to the vessel, extends at an angle of 5-30 ° with the vertical.

In combination with the angle of 60-80 ° described above, in the 180 ° rotated position described above, starting from a horizontal starting position at 0 °, a displacement with respect to the horizontal of 15-60 ° results. As a result, a considerable height (depth) restriction of the screw, whether or not provided with a nozzle, can be achieved.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the pod is arranged at the rear of the hull of the vessel, which rear is slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal. It is thereby possible to arrange the axis of rotation, i.e. the second axis perpendicular to this inclined plane, so that the above-described deviation from the vertical is obtained.

The displacement of the second axis relative to the vertical is preferably achieved at least in the vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane of the vessel, which vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane of the vessel comprises the longitudinal axis of that vessel. That is, the second axis is preferably inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vessel in a forward or rearward direction with respect to the vertical.

Moreover, it is possible to move this second axis, i.e. the axis about which the pod housing rotates, relative to the vertical in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vessel. This is preferably achieved if two (or more) pods are present at a preferably symmetrical position with respect to the vertical longitudinal median plane.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the present invention, an annular nozzle is arranged around the screw and is provided on the top with a (dismountable) protrusion extending in the direction away from the housing and which functions as a current conduction. As soon as this protrusion is submerged in the tilted-down position, the screw can already suck in water.

According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the rotational movement of the second axis is further complicated. In the embodiments described above, the second axis, i.e. the axis of rotation of the pod relative to the vessel, is arranged in a fixed position relative to the vessel.

According to a variant of the invention, this position of the second axis is changed depending on the rotation position with respect to the vessel. This can be achieved by providing a bush in the vessel in which the pod can rotate about the second axis in the manner described above. However, this bush itself is rotatable about a third axis that deviates from the second axis. Due to the mutual positioning of the rotation position of the pod and the bush a large range of angles of the propeller shaft, i.e. first axis, can be realized.

The present invention also relates to a method for operating a vessel, which vessel comprises a hull, a pod or thruster mounted at the rear underneath that hull and rotatable relative to that hull, which pod comprises a rotatable on that hull attached housing and a driven propeller shaft arranged in said housing, which propeller shaft projects through the housing and on which a propeller is arranged outside the housing, said pod serving to propel that vessel and both sailing conditions and maneuvering conditions, said pod being rotated from a sailing condition, in which the axis of said propeller shaft is substantially horizontal, to a maneuvering position wherein the axis of said propeller shaft makes an angle of 25-80 ° with respect to the horizontal. Apart from the situation described above in which the start-up of a vessel can take place in a fully-loaded condition without the screw operation being adversely affected, such a method can also be used for sailing in shallow water and other maneuvering operations. It will be understood that other operating conditions can be optimally covered with the construction according to the present invention. The invention is applicable, for example, to pontoons and other maritime constructions which must reside in a precisely defined location.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the drawing. Show:

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically in side view a vessel in loaded condition provided with the pod according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the vessel according to fig. 1 in fully or partially emptied state according to the state of the art;

FIG. 3 the vessel according to FIG. 2 provided in the same state with the present invention;

FIG. 4 the vessel according to the present invention in fully or partially emptied state after it is up to speed; FIG. 5 details of the pod construction in a first position thereof;

FIG. 6 a second position of the pod housing;

FIG. 7a-d schematically show, in top and rear view, different positions of a variant with two pods; and

FIG. 8 shows a variant of the pod according to the invention.

In fig. 1 a vessel is indicated in its entirety by 1. According to the present invention, this is a relatively large vessel such as an inland vessel, coastal vessel or larger. The length thereof is preferably greater than 20 and 40 meters respectively. The driving power used for such vessels may, for example, be in the range of many kilowatts to a few megawatts. The vessel is indicated in its entirety by 1 and is provided with a pod 2 at the rear which is indicated by 3. The water line is indicated by 10 in Fig. 1 while the longitudinal axis of the hull is indicated by 15. Fig. 1 shows the loaded state in which the screw is completely below the waterline.

6

In Fig. 2, the same vessel 1 is shown in an unloaded state, the pod being arranged in a manner customary according to the state of the art. From this it appears that the pod and in particular the screw thereof comes out above the water line 10, as a result of which sailing is not well possible. According to the present invention, it is proposed to tilt the 5 pod and in particular the axis of the propeller shaft and thus the propeller in the manner to be described below, whereby the same vessel as shown in Fig. 2, which is in the same loading condition, can now be removed. sail because the propeller is below the waterline level 10. This is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the pod is rotated through 180 ° and due to its special positioning, the screw with the associated casing comes out below the water line 10. For forward movement, the direction of rotation of the propeller in the pod is of course reversed and the vessel can be started.

As soon as the vessel makes some speed, a stern wave will arise, whereby the propeller can be brought back into the usual position, that is to say with a substantially horizontal propeller shaft and a substantially vertical propeller surface. This is shown in Fig. 4, wherein the pod again has the usual direction of rotation.

Fig. 5 shows an exemplary embodiment with which it is possible to obtain the tilt of the screw shown with reference to Figs. 1-4 and more particularly Fig. 3. A bearing bush 8 is arranged in the rear 3 of the vessel. A pin 9 with a rotation axis (second axis) 12 is arranged in the bearing bush 8. In contrast to the state of the art, this second axis 12 is not vertical but deviates from it, for example, with an angle β of 5-30 °. In the present example, this deviation only takes place in the vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane that contains the longitudinal axis of the vessel. Depending on the slope of the rear side 3, it is possible to arrange the bearing bush 8 perpendicular to that rear side. Pin 9, on the other hand, is connected to the housing 4 of pod 2. In said housing there is a screw shaft 5 which protrudes through the housing 4 and is connected to screw 6. The center line of the propeller shaft is indicated by 7 and is indicated as the first center line. A steel pipe 17 is arranged around the screw. This is provided at the top with a protruding 13 (removable) projection extending away from said housing. Pod 9 can be provided with a drive which is located in the ship's hull, in which case pin 9 will extend a drive shaft. It is also possible to provide pod 2 with an electric drive located in the housing 4. In that case, a cabling will extend through the hollow pin 9. Other variants are also possible and not shown in the drawing in order to emphasize these different embodiments.

As is apparent from Fig. 5, the first axis 7 makes an angle with α and the second axis 12 and this angle is unequal to 90 ° and more particularly it is between 60-80 °. In combination with the angle β, it is possible to obtain the position shown in Fig. 5, wherein the propeller shaft, i.e. the first axis 7, is substantially horizontal, i.e. is in an optimum position for the long-term propulsion of the vessel , is located.

By rotating pin 9, the pod housing will be rotated with the screw.

After a 180 ° rotation, the situation as shown in Figs. 3 and 6 arises. In that case the screw is at an angle to the horizontal, i.e. the first axis is no longer horizontal. This situation is slightly less optimal for driving a vessel over long distances. However, it is thereby realized that the bottom side of the screw or the nozzle arranged around it is higher and the top side lower. On the one hand, this offers opportunities for sailing in shallow water and, on the other hand, it is therefore possible to first develop the speed of this on a high-lying vessel. Subsequently, as described with reference to Fig. 4, it will be possible, by forming a stern wave, to turn the pod back to the position in Fig. 5, in which sufficient water is always present to allow undisturbed operation of the screw. to make.

Fig. 5 furthermore shows the point of intersection X between the screw circle and the screw axis (or the axis) and the point of intersection Y between the screw axis and the slant axis of rotation (or 2nd axis). The length between the two points (A) determines the geometric tilt and height position of the screw in the tilted-down position. If value A = 0, the screw will tilt about point Y, in this case equal to X, and point X will not move down vertically and the screw will not project lower in the tilted position than in the horizontal position. This choice of A applies in particular to vessels sailing with a low water depth (including inland shipping). If the value A is chosen to be larger, in this case values in the order of 50-100% of the screw diameter, the screw will tilt about point Y and both tilt and move down vertically in the tilted position. This choice of A applies in particular to vessels sailing with low draft (including sea shipping).

8

In Fig. 7 different operating states are shown by adjusting the pod 2. Fig. 7a shows a vessel in top view, wherein a pod is arranged on either side with respect to a center longitudinal line 15. It is possible to rotate these pods to a position of 90 ° as shown in Fig. 7b or even to rotate them to a position of, for example, 120 ° as shown in Fig. 7c. During those positions, maneuvering can be carried out under slow sailing conditions and, moreover, a braking effect in fast sailing.

Fig. 7d shows a rear view of a vessel from which it appears that the second center lines 12 are tilted with respect to the vertical in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 15. This tilt can be combined with the tilt described earlier as shown in 5 and 6.

Fig. 8 shows a further variant of Figs. 5 and 6, wherein the same reference numerals are used as far as possible. The pin which is connected to the housing 4 of the pod is herein indicated by 29 and this defines a second axis 32. This sleeve is received in a sleeve 30 which is rotatable relative to the stern of a ship according to a third axis 31 bearing for this purpose is a bearing bush 28. The second and third center lines differ with an angle γ as appears from the drawing. Due to mutual rotation about the second and third center line, a wide range of different positions can be reached from the pod, as a result of which the above described effect of tilting the screw can make it even more pronounced and, moreover, it is possible, for example, in the 0 ° or 180 ° position to give the pod housing a different angle of inclination. It is even possible to rotate the bushing 30 while keeping the pin 29 stationary to change the angle that the screw axis makes with the horizontal.

These and further variants are within the scope of the appended claims 25 and are obvious after the above. In addition, rights are explicitly requested for variants described in the subclaims independent of the independent claims.

Claims (11)

A vessel (1) comprising a hull and a pod drive (2) arranged thereon, which pod drive (2) comprises a housing (4), which includes a propeller shaft (5) protruding through said housing and on which a propeller (16) ) and a drive for said propeller shaft, said propeller shaft (5) defining a first axis (7), which housing (4) is rotatable relative to said hull about an axis of rotation (9, 29) which has a second axis (12; 32), characterized in that 10 between said first (7) and second (12, 32) center line (a) is limited from 60 ° -80 ° and that second center line is not vertical Vessel according to claim 1, wherein in use condition said second center line makes an angle (β) of 5-30 ° with the vertical. 15 Vessel according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said hull comprises a longitudinal axis (15), wherein the first (7) and second (12, 32) center line are selected in such a way that they are rotated about that rotation axis (9, 29) that first axis (7) can be brought into a position that is parallel to the longitudinal axis (15) of that hull. 20 Vessel according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at the location (3) of the attachment of said pod (2) to said hull, said hull is inclined with respect to the horizontal, and wherein said second center line (12) perpendicular to said hull is at the place of that confirmation. 25 Vessel according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said hull comprises a vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane and said second axis (12) lies in said vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane or in a plane parallel therewith. Vessel according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said hull comprises a vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane, two pods arranged on either side of said plane, the second axes (12) of said pods being mirror-symmetrically arranged with respect to said vertical longitudinal longitudinal plane. 7. Vessel as claimed in claim 6, wherein said second center lines do not lie in a plane parallel to said longitudinal longitudinal plane. 8. Vessel as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the pod comprises an annular nozzle (17) arranged around the screw (16), which nozzle (17) is provided at the top with a protrusion (13) extending away from said housing ). 9. Method for operating a vessel (1), which vessel comprises a hull, a pod (2) rotatable below said hull at the rear (3) and which pod comprises a rotatable on said hull body (4) and a driven propeller shaft (5) mounted in said housing (4), which propeller shaft projects through the housing (4) and on which a screw (6) is arranged outside the housing, said pod (2) serving for propelling that vessel in both sailing conditions and maneuvering conditions, characterized in that said pod is rotated from a sailing condition in which the axis (7) of said propeller shaft is substantially horizontal, to a maneuvering position in which the axis (7) of that propeller shaft makes an angle of 25-80 ° to the horizontal. 20 A method according to claim 9, wherein the distance between the bottom of said hull and the top of said screw (6) is reduced by rotation of said pod from said sailing condition to said maneuvering condition. A method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein said company comprises empty voyage in sailing condition.