US3483842A

US3483842A - Ocean-going push-barge and bargeline

Info

Publication number: US3483842A
Application number: US764785A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ken Ohcho; Hiromu Ono; Yoshikiyo Kanefusa
Original assignee: Aoki Construction Co Ltd
Current assignee: Aoki Construction Co Ltd
Priority date: 1968-10-03
Filing date: 1968-10-03
Publication date: 1969-12-16
Anticipated expiration: 1986-12-16

Description

Dec. 16, 1969 KEN OHCHO ETAL 3,483,842

OCEAN-GOING PUSH-BARGE AND BARGELINE Filed 001.. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2.

Dec. 16, 1969 KEN OHCHO ETAL 3,483,842

OCEAN-GOING PUSH-BARGE AND B ARGELINE Filed Oct. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.4.

United States Patent US. Cl. 114235 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Means to link an ocean-going barge with a pusher boat, the said barge having a curved recess in the stern thereof which is open at the main deck, the stern and the bottom, the said recess being large enough to receive the bow of the pusher boat, the said bow of the pusher boat having a shape generally complementary to and slightly smaller than the shape of the recess, shock absorbing members of elastic material being interposed between the bow portion of the pusher boat and the wall of the barge defining the recess, the barge and the pusher boat being so linked that the stern of the pusher boat can ride on the wave independently of the barge, thereby maintaining the propeller of the pusher boat constantly in the water.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 678,453, filed Oct. 26, 1967 and now Patent No. 3,446,173, which in turn is a continuation of application Ser. No. 589,078, filed Oct. 24, 1966.

The invention relates to an ocean-going barge and a pusher boat, and its object consists in providing a oceangoing barge and a pusher boat capable of navigating on a rough sea with ease and safety by preventing a decrease in propulsion by means of increasing the navigability.

In the conventional linking device of the barge and the pusher boat, both the bow and the stern of the pusher boat are rigidly fixed to the barge, the barge and the pusher boat constantly pitching integrally against the waves, the propeller of the pusher boat frequently emerging above the water consequently, with the result that the propulsion efficiency is greatly reduced and the propulsion is drastically diminished, thus rendering the barge and the pusher boat unsuitable for the navigation on a rough sea.

The invention relates to improvements of the linking device of the barge and the pusher boat for the prevention of a decrease in the propulsion by obviating the foregoing defects; a recess being formed at the stern of the barge to receive the bow of the pusher boat thereinto, the barge and the pusher boat being linked together by means of coupling rope which has enough elasticity to allow the stern of the pusher boat to pitch with shock absorbing members interposed between the bow of the pusher boat and the recess at the stern of the barge, so that the stern of the pusher boat can ride on the wave independently of the barge thereby maintaining the propeller of the pusher boat constantly in the water.

The particulars of the invention will be set forth hereinunder in reference to the embodiment illustrated by the accompanying drawing, of which:

FIG. 1 is a plan indicating the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the foregoing in the state wherein the barge is unloaded.

FIG. 3 is a lateral view of the foregoing in the state wherein the barge is loaded to capacity.

ICC

FIG. 4 is a relative lateral view of the pusher boat and the barge on a high sea, illustrating the etfect of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a relative lateral view of the barge and the pusher boat integrally fixed together by the conventional method.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the numetal 1 designates a barge and 2 designates a pusher boat.

At the stern 3 of the barge 1 is formed a curved recess 5 into which to fit the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2.

The recess 5 is to have a depth necessary and enough to enclose the pivoting point of the pusher boat 2 thereinto, i.e. approximately one-third to one-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2. At the time when the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2 is fitted into the recess 5 of the barge 1, shock absorbing members 7 consisting of rubber or the like of a large dimension are fitted to the inside 9 of the recess 5 so that the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2 may come in contact with the said shock absorbing members 7, similar shock absorbing members 7 consisting of ribbon or the like being also interposed between both sides 8 of the how 4 and the inside 9 of the recess 5.

The coupling of the pusher boat 2 and the barge 1 is effected by erecting a hooking member 10 at the inner most part of the recess 5 adjacent the rear end of the center line (a) of the barge 1 and another hooking member 11 at the front end of the center line (b) of the pusher boat, i.e. on the front end of the bow 4, both

members

10, 11 being linked together by means of a coupler 12.

It is advisable to so arrange that the linking parts of the coupler 12 and the hooking

members

10, 11 will be level with each other.

The relative position of the pusher boat 2 and the barge 1 being different according as the barge 1 is unloaded as illustrated in FIG. 2 and the barge 1 is loaded to capacity as illustrated in FIG. 3, a hooking member 14 is erected in the window 13 provided at the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2, so that the coupler 12 may be maintained on a level by linking the hooking

members

10, 11 together when the barge 1 is unloaded and by linking the hooking

members

10, 14 together when the barge 1 is loaded to capacity.

The object of linking the hooking

members

10, 11 or 14 on a level is to enable the coupler 12 to link the said hooking

members

10, 11 or 14 in the shortest distance, thereby avoiding unnecessary elongation of the coupler 12.

For the coupler 12 is used a powerful elastic substance consisting of synthetic fiber or natural fiber, such as nylon rope and the like, which is tied up after being wound round the hooking

members

10, 11 or 14 several times, with the result that, even when the barge 1 and the pusher boat 2 pitch heavily owing to high waves and a considerably big stress is imposed on the linking parts, the coupler 12, only elongating to a certain extent, is safe from breakage, partly with the help of the damping properties of the shock absorbing members 7.

The barge 1 and the pusher boat 2 being thus coupled, the stern 15 of the pusher boat 2 is never heaved above the surface of water even on a rough sea as illustrated in FIG. 4, the propeller being constantly maintained in the water, thereby preventing a decrease in the propulsion, whereas in case of the. conventional method wherein the barge and the pusher boat are integrally fixed together the stern 19 of the pusher boat 17 is heaved above the water as the pusher boat 17 and the barge 18 make an integrated longitudinal movement as illustrated in FIG. 5, as a result of which the propeller 20, frequently exposed above the water, is let to race, the propulsion being greatly reduced consequently. Therefore, the barge and the pusher boat of the integrated type is unusable on a rough sea.

The linking device of the invention has for its object enclosure of the pivoting point 6 of the pusher boat 2 inside the recess 5 of the barge 1 by gving the said recess 5 a depth of approximately one-third to one-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4.

The draft of the pusher boat 2 being changed on a rough sea, the pivoting point 6 of the pusher boat 2 is variable between the points from one-third to one-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2 from its how.

The foregoing pivoting point 6 being constantly enclosed inside the recess 5 of the barge. 1, the moment which arises at the time when the ladder 22 of the pusher boat 2 is deflected at such an angle as indicated in FIG. 1, acting in the directions pointed by the-

arrows

23, 24 centering on the pivoting point 6, is absorbed at the point A on the internal wall of the recess 5 through the shock absorbing members 7, with the result that both the. maintenance and change of the course are greatly facilitated. The coupler 21 at the stern indicated in FIGS. 2, 3 is an emergency coupler in case of possible breakage of the forward coupler 12, the said emergency coupler 21 being usually fixed in a line of the barge to the stern thereof and being substantially symmetrical with respect to said centerline, the bow of the pusher boat having a shape substantially complementary to and slightly smaller than the shape of the recess of the barge, the recess being sufiiciently deep in the direction of the length of the barge to enclose the pivoting point of the pusher boat, shock absorbing members positioned along the length of the curved sidewalls of the recess and being interposed between the bow portion of the pusher boat and the sidewalls of the barge which define the recess, and coupling means linking the barge and the pusher boat and consisting of a first coupler lying substantially on thecenterline of the bargeand extending on a level from the main deck of the barge to the bow of the pusher boat and being sufliciently elastic to allow a limited amount of relative movement between the barge and the pusher boat, and cables extending from the main deck of the barge at the. stern thereof to the stern of the pusher boat, whereby the stern of the pusher boat will ride on the waves independently of the barge so that the propeller of the-pusher boat will always remain in the water.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner