US3228368A - Ship structure and control means therefor - Google Patents

Description

1965 J. o. DEAL, JR., ETAL 3,223,368

SHIP STRUCTURE AND CONTROL MEANS THEREFOR Original Filed Dec. 24, 1963 fFxcml f: a u INVENTORS JOSEPH D. DEQL,JF., BUCHOLQS E ORESKO r-Jouu L. STEVENS,Jr. BYWJ m ilO ATTORNEYX MACHINERY United States Patent Ofiice 3,228,368 SHZP STRUCTURE AND CONTROL MEANS THEREFOR Joseph D. Deal, Jr., Nicholas E. Oresko, and John L. Stevens, In, Newport News, Va., assignors to Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Va., a corporation of Virginia Original application Dec. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 332,99. Divided and this application Dec. 21, E64, Ser. N0.

2 Claims. (Cl. 114.5)

The present invention relates to a new and novel ship structure and control means therefor, and more particularly to a ship structure utilized in an underwater mining operation carried out at great depths beneath the surface of the sea.

The present application is a division of copending US. patent application Serial No. 332,999, filed December 24, 1963.

The present invention is especially adapted for use with apparatus employed for the recovery of solid substances disposed at the bottom of the sea such as manganese nodules which are resting on the sea bottom and which are found in quantities sufiicient for commercial mining at depths ranging generally from 400 feet to 12,000 feet or more beneath the surface of the sea.

Apparatus employed for the mining of such substances according to the present invention includes a ship adapted to move along the surface of the sea, the ship being operatively connected with a suitable collecting means which moves along the sea bottom and collects the desired solid bodies.

It is contemplated that the ship employed for underwater mining will be a completely self-contained unit carrying all of the necessary underwater mining equipment thereon, and these mining operations will generally be carried out a considerable distance from shore on the high seas, and accordingly the ship and the mining equipment must be capable of operating under varying environmental factors such as the prevailing winds, sea currents and sea conditions which occur at sea.

The basic combination of the present invention includes a ship adapted to move through the water over a particular mining area of the sea bottom which is connected by means of an elongated conduit means with a collecting means adapted to move along the sea bottom. The conduit means is provided for transporting the collected solid bodies from the collecting means up to the ship, and in addition the conduit means is adapted to tow the collecting means along the sea bottom in one form of the invention.

In order to perform the most economical mining operation, it is essential to maintain a substantially steady course of movement of the collecting means through a particularly mining area. Especially in the case where the collecting means is being towed, special attention must be given to current conditions at the mine site. In an area where tidal currents prevail, it will probably be necessary to set up a scheduled ships heading to change course with each tide change making appropriate adjustments for wind and sea conditions to avoid zigzagging across the mine field.

The ship is provided with means which provides a stable ship for supporting the underwater mining equipment and which permits the ship to be precisely controlled and accurately maneuvered into proper position. Since the mining operation or movement of the collecting means will nominally be at speeds less than 5 knots, a controllable reversible pitch propeller is provided for obtaining the necessary control. In order to assure a reasonably steady ships heading, a bow thruster means is installed in the bow portion of the ship to counter the effects of wind and sea. In a typical example, the ship should be 3,228,358 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 designed for a free route speed of about 14 knots for travel between port and the mine site with cargo and wing tanks ballasted as required to maintain a draft of about 30 feet with the underwater mining equipment stowed as illustrated in the drawings. Anti-roll tank means is also incorporated in the ship to minimize roll and to provide the maximum degree of stability.

The mining ship also is of a unique construction in that it includes a central well portion which permits ready access to the sea for lowering large heavy components of the underwater mining equipment into the sea and for lifting such equipment from the sea, this well portion being so positioned as to facilitate handling of the equipment on the ship and positioning of the ship properly for lowering operations. The well portion extends completely through the ship and opens in an upward direction as well as in a downward direction.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mining ship including means which permits ready access to the sea for lowering large heavy components of the mining equipment into the sea and for lifting such equipment out of the sea, and which is so positioned as to facilitate handling of the equipment on the ship and positioning of the equipment properly for lowering operations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a ship for use in underwater mining operations including means which provides a stable ship for supporting the underwater mining equipment, the ship being capable of being precisely controlled and accurately maneuvered into any desired position for carrying out underwater mining operations.

Other objects and many attendant advantages of the invention will become more apparent when considered in connection with the specification and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the mining ship structure according to the present invention; I

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 33 of FIG. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 55 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 66 of FIG. 5 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates the mining ship of the present invention, and as seen in this figure, the ship is indicated generally by reference numeral 110. In a typical example, the ship may have an over-all length of about 625 feet with a displacement at operating draft of about 32,000 tons. The ship includes a bow portion 111 and a stern portion 112, a bow thruster mechanism being indicated generally by reference numeral 113 and disposed at the bow portion of the ship for providing accurate control of the direction of movement of the ship. A controllable reversible pitch propeller 114 is provided at the stern portion of the ship, and a steering rudder 115 is provided for steering the ship.

The ship is provided with a well portion indicated by reference numeral 125, this well portion being disposed substantially midway between opposite side portions of the ship thereby providing a centrally located well which opens upwardly and also opens downwardly into the sea and is open completely through the ship so as to provide a means for readily lowering the mining equipment into operative mining position and which also enables the mining equipment to be lifted or retrieved back into the ship when desired.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, the general configuration of the well is illustrated. The well is substantially rectangular and includes a plurality of wall-s which define a central well area through which the various underwater mining components pass during lowering of equipment into mining position and raising the equipment from mining position. In addition, the various wall portions include certain right angular bracket-like portions which define certain cutout areas which are adapted to receive an elevator mechanism mounted for movement in the well.

An aft wall portion 1030 defines the aft part of the well area, and side wall portions1032 and 1033 form a cutout area, these side wall portions tapering downwardly and outwardly from the top portions thereof adjacent the deck which is illustrated by reference numeral 635. At the forward side of the well portion, wall portions 1045, 1046, 1047, 1048 and 1049 define the forward extent of the well area.

The wall portions 1062, 1063, 1064, 1065, 1066, 1067, 1068 and 1069 cooperate with an elevator guide portion 1070 to define the starboard extent of the well area, and the wall portions 1072, 1073, 1074, 1075, 1076, 1077, 1078 and 1079 cooperate with an elevator guide portion 1080 to define the port extent of the well area.

The particular configuration as seen in FIG. 2 provides clearance for the various underwater mining components as described in more detail in the present patent application Serial No. 332,999, filed December 24, 1963. At the same time, a relatively large central area is provided in the well as seen in FIG. 2 through which components of large dimension are adapted to be moved.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 4 of the drawing, a passage 475 extends laterally from one side of the ship to the other, and opens at opposite sides of the ship. A controllable pitch propeller 476 is supported within the central portion of the passage and is operatively connected with suitable driving mechanism indicated at 477. By controlling the pitch and therefore the direction and amount of thrust of the propeller 476, the heading of the bow of the ship can be very accurately controlled so as to enable proper maneuvering of the ship during mining operations.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing, stabilizing means in the form of anti-roll tank means includes a pair of anti-roll tanks 480 and 481 disposed at opposite sides of the ship. A pair of passages 483 and 484 extend athwartships and serve to interconnect the two anti-roll tanks. Liquid is disposed in the anti-roll tanks and in the connecting passages, the tanks and passages being less than full such that liquid is adapted to move back and forth between the tanks through the passages. Suitable control means is provided for controlling the movement of the liquid through these passages and this control means is indicated as selectively controllable gate means indicated by reference numerals 486 and 487 whereby the amount of liquid flowing through the connecting passages may be selectively adjusted. This over-all arrangement provides a very effective means for stabilizing the ship and for maintaining the ship in the proper attitude for effective mining operations.

It is apparent from the foregoing that there is provided according to the present invention a new and novel mining ship including means in the form of a well which permits ready access to the sea for lowering large heavy components of the mining equipment into the sea and for lifting such equipment back out of the sea, and which is so positioned as to facilitate handling of the equipment on the ship and positioning of the equipment properly for lowering operations. Means is also provided which affords a stable ship for supporting the underwater mining equipment, the ship being capable of being precisely controlled and accurately maneuvered into any desired position for carrying out underwater mining operations.

As this invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, the present embodiment is therefore illustrative and not restrictive, and since the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, all changes that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims or that form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for use in underwater mining at great depths beneath the surface of the sea comprising a ship adapted to move through the water over a particular mining area, said ship having walls defining a well substantially rectangular in cross section, disposed at a position substantially symmetrical about the center line of the ship, said well opening upwardly for receiving mining equipment from the deck of the ship, said well also opening downwardly into the water, the upper portion of said well having right angular wall portions inwardly spaced from at least two opposed walls of said well defining supporting and reinforcing brackets, said brackets including portions extending inwardly from the walls of the well and at right angles thereto, said inwardly extending portions terminating in said right angular brackets, and said brackets being spaced from each other to form downwardly extending pasageways, and a reversible and variable pitch propeller drive means at the stern portion of said ship for accurately controlling the speed thereof in a forward and reverse direction.

2. Apparatus for use in underwater mining at great depths beneath the surface of the sea comprising a ship adapted to move through the water over a particular mining area, said ship having walls defining a well substantially rectangular in cross section, disposed at a position substantially symmetrical about the center line of the ship, said well opening upwardly for receiving mining equipment from the deck of the ship, said well also opening downwardly into the water, the upper portion of said well having right angular wall portions inwardly spaced from at least two opposed walls of said well defining supporting and reinforcing brackets, said brackets including portions extending inwardly from the walls of the well and at right angles thereto, said inwardly extending portions terminating in said right angular brackets, and said brackets being spaced from each other to form downwardly extending passageways, reversible and variable pitch propeller drive means at the stern portion of said ship for accurately controlling the speed thereof in a forward and reverse direction, stabilizing means comprising spaced anti-roll tanks disposed at opposite side portions of the ship adjacent the deck thereof, laterally extending rectangular shaped passages each being substantially the height of the tanks and providing communication between said spaced tanks, liquid disposed in said spaced tanks and adapted to travel back and forth between said spaced tanks through said passages, and means at each end of each passage for controlling the flow of liquid through said passages between said spaced tanks.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,227,093 5/1917 Terhaar ll4-148 2,077,143 4/1937 Carroll 114125 2,931,443 4/ 1960 Pehrsson 11534 3,002,486 10/1961 Jardmo 1l4l43 3,010,214 11/1961 Postlewaite 114-444 3,078,680 2/1963 Wepsala 114148 X 3,145,683 8/1964 Kolb et al 114-144 3,160,135 12/1964 DeVries 114-125 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner. ANDREW H. FARRELL, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. APPARATUS FOR USE IN UNDERWATER MINING AT GREAT DEPTHS BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE SEA COMPRISING A SHIP ADAPTED TO MOVE THROUGH THE WATER OVER A PARTICULAR MINING AREA, SAID SHIP HAVING WALLS, DEFINING A WELL SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR IN CROSS SECTION, DISPOSED AT A POSITION SUBSTANTIALLY SYMMETRICAL ABOUT THE CENTER LINE OF THE SHIP, SAID WELL OPENING UPWARDLY FOR RECEIVING MINING EQUIPMENT FROM THE DECK OF THE SHIP, SAID WELL ALSO OPENING DOWNWARDLY INTO THE WATER, THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID WELL HAVING RIGH ANGULAR WALL PORTIONS INWARDLY SPACED FROM AT LEAST TWO OPPOSED WALLS OF SAID WELL DEFINING SUPPORTING AND REINFORCING BRACKETS, SAID BRACKETS INCLUDING PORTIONS EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE WALLS OF THE WELL AND AT RIGHT ANGLES THERETO, SAID INWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS TERMINATING IN SAID RIGHT ANGULAR BRACKETS, AND SAID BRACKETS BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER TO FORM DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PASSAGEWAYS, AND A REVERSIBLE AND VARIABLE PITCH PROPELLER DRIVE MEANS AT THE STERN PORTION OF SAID SHIP FOR ACCURATELY CONTROLLING THE SPEED THEREOF IN A FORWARD AND REVERSE DIRECTION.

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