US3703153A

US3703153A - Method for buildi

Info

Publication number: US3703153A
Application number: US97817A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kazuo Maeda
Original assignee: Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co Ltd
Current assignee: Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co Ltd
Priority date: 1970-12-14
Filing date: 1970-12-14
Publication date: 1972-11-21
Anticipated expiration: 1989-11-21

Abstract

A method of building ships in which predetermined blocks of the hull are fabricated remotely and are transported to dockside at an elevated level. The blocks are displaced to overlie the dock bottom and are rotated downwardly onto a conveyor on the dock bottom and are mounted on the conveyor by means of a buffer plate which is adjustable on the conveyor. The block is then displaced into position adjoining other hull blocks on the dock bottom and is adjusted in position to be united with the other hull blocks by means of the adjustable buffer plate.

Description

United States Patent Maeda [54] METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS [72] Inventor: Kazuo Maeda,lchihara,.lapan [73] Assignee: Mitsui Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan [22] Filed: Dee-14,1970

[21] Appl. No.: 97,817

[52] U.S. Cl. ..ll4/77 R, 29/200 A [51] Int. Cl. ..B63b 3/04 [58] Field of Search ..114/77 R, 77 A, 65 R, 56; 214/1 A, 1 Q, 1 OD, 1 06; 9/6; 29/200 A, 208 F [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,447,503 6/1969 Myers ..114/77 R 3,468,393 9/1969 Harrison ..114/77 R X 3,429,456 2/1969 Burgher ..2l4/1 Q 3,374,528 3/1968 Bowcutt et al ..214/1 Q X [451 Nov. 21, 1972 3,011,657 12/1961 Schutze et al ..214/1QG Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-E. R. Kazenske Attorney-Howson and Howson [5 7] ABSTRACT A method of building ships in which predetermined blocks of the hull are fabricated remotely and are transported to dockside at an elevated level. The blocks are displaced to overlie the dock bottom and are rotated downwardly onto a conveyor on the dock bottom and are mounted on the conveyor by means of a buffer plate which is adjustable on the conveyor. The block is then displaced into position adjoining other hull blocks on the dock bottom and is adjusted in position to be united with the other hull blocks by means of the adjustable buffer plate.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED W21 I972 SHEET 2 OF 3 METHOD FOR BUILDING SHIPS This invention relates to a method for building ships. As a typical ship building method currently used is a socalled block system. The block becomes larger in size with increase of ship body. Accordingly it is difficult to hoisten and transfer the blocks by the crane and assemble them into the hull.

It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a method which allows building of a ship without hoisting of the blocks.

It is desirable that the block is held in suitable attitude for working thereof in the steps such as making, transferring and assembling. However, in many cases, such attitude changes at every steps and the block must be turned before it proceeds into the next step. The method according to the present invention is characterized by the improved techniques involving change of such attitude.

The invention will be understood from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a condition in which the ship building is being practiced in a dock, according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing means for transfer or conveyance in the dock;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the transferring means in operation;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing another embodiment of the block rotating means; and

FIGS. 6 to 8 are front views showing a manner of rotation or turn effected by said block rotating means.

Referring now to FIG. 1, l is a block making framing and rotating means thereof, which comprises a pair of rotary wheels 2 and 2a connected to each other by means of connecting members 3. Each of said wheels 2 and 2a is constructed by four arcuated members and is rotatably supported by suitable supporting means not shown. One of the arcuated members of each rotary wheel is removable from the wheel. Each rotary wheel is hollowed to provide a square or rectangular frame for a block assemblage. The principal parts constituting a block 4 are prepared separately and joined together into a block within the rotating means. If necessary, the top arcuated member of the rotary wheel is removed to allow insertion therethrough of the component elements of the block. For convenience of its assembling, the block 4 illustrated in FIG. 1 is assembled in the attitude shown in the figure. However, since this attitude is inconvenient for transfer, the rotary wheels 2 and 2a are turned to let the block take an attitude as indicated by 4a.

Although the block 4a is shown side by side with the original one 4 for the convenience of illustration, it will be understood that the rotary wheel and the block 4a shown on one side are identical with the original ones.

Then, the block 4 is taken out from the rotating means 1 onto a transferring means comprising a plurality of rollers 5 and transfered by rotation of the rollers to a slide plate 6 provided at an end of a dock 11. The block thus placed on said slide plate is securely held at the opposite sides by holding bars 8 of a rotating means 7. The holding bars 8 are provided two on each side of the block and are engaged with rotary shaft 10 so as to be slidable only in the axial direction of the shaft. Thus,

it will be appreciated that the block, securely held by said holding bars, is moved along the slide plate toward the dock 11 until it reaches an upper level overlying the bottom of the dock, where the rotary shaft 10 is turned in the direction of the arrow to allow the block to descend into the dock with rotating.

At the bottom of the dock are laid a suitable number of longitudinally extending parallel lines of transfer platforms 12 on each of which are rotatably embedded a plurality of small balls or spherical bodies as shown in FIG. 3, and on each of said platforms are placed a plurality of travelling pallet 13. As will also be seen, a buffer plate 14 is placed on each travelling pallet. The buffer plate is arranged so as to be movable either vertically or laterally by a hydraulic means and a block is placed on the buffer plates. Then the block is carried by the travelling pallet 13 in the dock to a location where it is assembled into a ship, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. At this location, the buffer plates 14 are moved vertically and/or laterally so as to correctly position the block for joining to the other blocks. The same process is repeated continuously for assembling and transferring the succeeding blocks, thereby gradually building up a ship.

In FIGS. 5 to 8 there is shown a modiffied rotating means. A suitable number of struts 15 are provided in the dock 11, and on the struts 15 are supported rotary platforms 16 arranged rotatable in the longitudinal direction of the dock by means of shafts 17. Connecting between the rotary platform 16 and each strut 15 are the links l8, 19 which are coupled to each other, and connecting between said both links are a hydraulic cylinder 20 and its piston rod 21, with their ends being connected to the suitable parts of the respective links. It will also be noted that a plurality of rollers 22 are arranged in juxtaposition on each rotary platform 16.

As shown in FIG. 5, the block 4 is transferred onto the rollers 22 on the rotary platforms 16, and then the platforms 16 are revolved by actuation of the hydraulic cylinder 26 as shwon in FIG. '7. It is to be noted that a piston 23 is projected from the dock bottom by a hydraulic mechanism at good time to support and prevent the block from falling down. The piston 23 is then gradually moved down synchronized with rotation of the rotary platforms until finally the block is rested on the dock bottom as shwon in FIG. 8.

While the mechanisms shown and described herein I are of the preferred embodiments, various other modifications in the structure will easily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

As obvious from the foregoing, the present invention eliminates any need of hoisting up the blocks, thus making it possible to dispense with a large-sized crane as necessitated in the conventional practice and to rapidly and easily build up a ship.

What is claimed is;

1. A method of building a ship hull in a dock having a bottom underlying the completed hull and an elevated level adjoining said dock bottom comprising the steps of fabricating a plurality of individual hull blocks remote from said dock, positioning each block on a conveyor in a position for transfer, transferring said block on the conveyor to the dock at the elevated level thereof, displacing said block to at least partially overlie said dock bottom and transferring said block to a bottom conveyor on the dock bottom by rotating the block downwardly from the upper level, thereafter conveying said block along said dock bottom into position adjoining other hull blocks thereon, and assembling said blocks in the dock.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said dock bottom conveyor has a fixed path and including the step of adjusting the position of said block on said bottom conveyor so as to insure proper registry of the block with the other blocks during said assembly.

3. A method according to claim 1 including the step of providing a rotary shaft extending over the dock bottom and said transferring operation comprises the step P t nt 3,703,153 wf i $972 Invento KAZUO MAEDA It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet insert [30] FOREIGN PRIORITY DATA December 20, 1969, Japan. .102731/1969 Signed and sealed this 8th day of May 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M .FLETCHER,JR.' ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents USCOMM-DC 6O376-P69 us GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: I969 03ss33a.

Claims

3. A method according to claim 1 including the step of providing a rotary shaft extending over the dock bottom and said transferring operation comprises the step of sliding said hull block axially of said rotary shaft to overlie said dock bottom, and then rotating said shaft to thereby rotate said hull block down onto said bottom conveyor.