US3581694A

US3581694A - Longitudinally split barges which are interconnected by means of hinges

Info

Publication number: US3581694A
Application number: US804501A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kjell Werenskiold
Original assignee: Ingenior F Selmer AS
Current assignee: Ingenior F Selmer AS
Priority date: 1969-03-05
Filing date: 1969-03-05
Publication date: 1971-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1988-06-01

Abstract

The present invention relates to an improvement in longitudinally split dump barges where the two barge halves are interconnected by hinges so that by means of one or more pressure cylinders, the two halves may be pivoted away from and towards each other. The pressure cylinder comprises two double acting pistons with opposingly directed piston rods which at their free ends are hinged at an suitable distance below the interconnecting hinges of the barge. When the barge is opened, only the strong cylinder shell is exposed in the gap opening between the barge halves, the piston rods with the finely polished surfaces being protected inside the two barge halves.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Kjell Werenskiold Belrkestua near Oslo, Norway App]. No. 804,501 Filed Mar. 5, 1969 Patented June 1, 1971 Assignee lngenior F. Selmer A/S Oslo, Norway LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT BARGES WHICH ARE INTERCONNECTED BY MEANS OF HINGES 3,404,650 10/1968 Miller ABSTRACT: The present invention relates to an improvement in longitudinally split dump barges where the two barge halves are interconnected by hinges so that by means of one or more pressure cylinders, the two halves may be pivoted away from and towards each other. The pressure cylinder comprises two double acting pistons with opposingly directed piston rods which at their free ends are hinged at an suitable distance below the interconnecting hinges of the barge. When the barge is opened, only the strong cylinder shell is exposed in the gap opening between the barge halves, the piston rods with the finely polished surfaces being protected inside the two 'barge halves.

PATENT-ED JUN Han INVENTOR.

Kw WMEM 7? WM W mag-f LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT BARGES WHICH ARE INTERCONNECTED BY MEANS OF HINGES The present invention concerns an improvement in longitudinally split dump barges where the two barge halves are interconnected by hinges in such a manner that, by means of one or more pressure cylinders, the two halves may be pivoted apart for emptying the load, and pivoted together to form a conventional hull shape.

Longitudinally split and hinged dump barges are previously known where opening and closing is effected by means of double acting hydraulic cylinders positioned at each end of the hold.

One known solution to this problem is a conventional hydraulic double acting cylinder, where the cylinder end is hinged to a point in a compartment, open to the sea, inside one barge half and the piston rod end is hinged in a similar manner in the other half of the barge. This solution has two major disadvantages:

1. When the hydraulic cylinder is in extended position, the cylinder acts as a column with its minimum moment of inertia thereof at the middle of the column where the greatest strain against buckling occurs. The maximum moment of inertia is derived from the dimensions of the piston rod only.

2. When the barge is fully open, portions of the highly polished piston rod are exposed in the gap between the two barge halves,'thus increasing the risk of damage from material being dumped from the barge or drifting in the sea.

A further solution to the problem is the locating of two cylinders side by side in a watertight compartment at each end of the hold in one half-barge. The said cylinders being interconnected by means of a crossbar to a common push and tension rod, connected by a hinge to a rod projecting through the sideplates, said rodbeing sealed with a gland and connected by a hinge to the other barge half. This solution is complicated, however, and liable to damage due to the many hinges, glands and exposed polished surfaces in the area between the two barge halves.

The object of the present invention is to provide an operating cylinder of simple design yielding optimal reliability in operation, andovercoming the above described disadvantages.

This is achieved by 'means of a double acting hydraulic cylinder provided with two opposed pistons, each piston connected to a piston rod projecting through a gland at each end of the cylinder. The free ends of the piston rods are pivoted to respective barge halves inside a compartment which-is open to the sea butwatertight to the interior of the barge. The hydraulic cylinder is so designed that, when the barge is fully open, only the cylinder itself is exposed in the gap formed between the two barge halves, and the highly polished cylinder rods are thus protected from damage caused by the dumped material or floating debris. When the cylinder has reached its maximum stroke and acts as a column, it is in central position and, with its great moment of inertia, forms a very strong compression member.

The hydraulic fluid is conveyed to the cylinder through central bores in both piston rods which are provided with hose connections adjacent to the pivoted ends of the rod, connection of hydraulic hoses in exposed areas where they are liable to damage being avoided thereby. ln this manner a compact, sturdy, reliableand comparatively simple mechanism is obtained for checking and activating the opening and closing movement of the two interconnected barge halves.

The maximum discharge opening of the barge is governed by the vertical distance between the interconnecting hinges and the centerline line of the hydraulic cylinder, and the maximum stroke of the hydraulic cylinder. With a barge having loading capacity of 200 yard, a discharge opening of 6 feet 6 inches has proved satisfactory for all types dredged material.

The invention is characterized by a hydraulic cylinder comprising one cylinder fitted with two opposed pistons and piston rods which are connected to the two barge halves at a suitable vertical distance from the interconnecting hinges of the barge and, when the barge is open only the strong cylinder shell is exposed in the gap between the barge halves, and the piston rods which are easily damaged, are always protected within the barge.

Utmost security against damage to the hydraulic hose connections is obtained by connecting the said connections to the free ends of the piston rods rather than to the actual cylinder. The piston rods are provided with generally known central bores, and a further characterizing feature resides in the fact that one bore communicates with the chamber between the two pistons, and the bore in the second piston rod communicates with one of the chambers between the end covers of the piston and the cylinder, and these two outer chambers are interconnected so that when the hydraulic fluid enters one or other of the piston rod bores, the pistons will move away from each other or towards each other, and the cylinder will be in central position when the full stroke has been achieved.

The invention is described hereinafter with reference to the drawings where:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross section through the barge in fully open position, and

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the hydraulic cylinder.

FIG. 1 shows a section of a longitudinally split barge where the two halves l are pivoted away from each other about the axis of pivoting of the hinges 3 by means of the hydraulic cylinder 2. The two inclined sideplates of the bold are indicated in dotted lines 4 and have an inclination such that any type of dredged material will slide therealong, and fall out when the barge is in open position as indicated on the drawing. The barge is equipped with an aggregate 5 for the delivery of hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder 2 which is provided with connections 6, adjacent the pivot connections 7 between the cylinder, and the barge halves 1. The sealing means between the two barge halves may be of any type and construction, and is not further described herein.

The hydraulic cylinder 2 is shown as a longitudinal section in FIG. 2, and consists ofa cylinder 10 with two pistons 11,12 with opposingly directed piston rods 13,14, and bores 15 for interaction with the pivot connections 7 on the barge halves 1. The piston rods 13,14 are provided with longitudinal central bores 16,17, which both extend from the hose connections 6 at the free ends of the piston rods 13,14 to the pistons 11,12. The bore 17 extends through the piston 12 and terminates in the chamber 18 between the two pistons 11,12, and the bore 16 terminates in the chamber 19 formed between the cylinder end and the piston 11. The two

outer chambers

19,19 of the cylinder 10 are interconnected by a pipe 20.

When a hydraulic fluid enters the bore 17 through the connection 6, the fluid will flow through the bore 17 and into the central chamber 18 and force the pistons 11,12 apart, thereby forcing the fluid located in the outer chamber 19' through the pipe 20 and to the outer chamber 19, from which the fluid continues to flow through the bore 16 and out through the connection 6 to a reservoir.

By reversing the direction of flow the opposite effect will be achieved: The pistons 11,12 with the piston rods 13,14 are forced against each other so that the barge halves l are swung towards each other, thus closing the hold.

The two barge halves may be interlocked in closed position by a suitable locking device which is not described herein.

1 claim:

1. In a longitudinally split dump barge comprising two barge halves the upper portions of which are interconnected by hinges in such a way that the two barge halves are adapted to be pivoted away from and towards each other respectively to empty the load and close the barge, at least one hydraulic cylinder for effecting the pivoting of the barge halves and for sealing and firmly interlocking them, the improvement wherein the hydraulic cylinder is provided with two double acting pistons, opposingly directed piston rods having finely polished surfaces respectively connected to said pistons, the free ends of the piston rods being hinged to the respective barge halves at a suitable distance below the interconnecting hinges of the barge, and the cylinder and piston rods being located in a position such that, when the barge is open, only the cylinder is exposed in the gap opening between the barge halves while the piston rods with their finely polished surfaces are located respectively within the barge halves and protected thereby.

2. A longitudinally split barge according to claim 1, wherein the piston rods in the hydraulic cylinder are provided with longitudinal central bores for supply and evacuation respectively of hydraulic fluid to and from the cylinder, connections at the free ends of the piston rods with the bores for hydraulic fluid supply, the bore in one piston rod having a connection with

Claims

2. A longitudinally split barge according to claim 1, wherein the piston rods in the hydraulic cylinder are provided with longitudinal central bores for supply and evacuation respectively of hydraulic fluid to and from the cylinder, connections at the free ends of the piston rods with the bores for hydraulic fluid supply, the bore in one piston rod having a connection with the chamber between the two pistons, the bore through the other piston rod having a connection with the end chamber in the cylinder through which said other piston rod extends, and means interconnecting the end chambers of the cylinder for flow of hydraulic fluid, whereby the supply of hydraulic fluid through the bore of either said one piston or said other piston forces the pistons respectively apart or together, while the cylinder itself remains in a central position when full stroke has been achieved in either direction.