Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
  • B63C9/00—Life-saving in water
  • B63C9/22—Devices for holding or launching life-buoys, inflatable life-rafts, or other floatable life-saving equipment

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a protective device for one or more inflatable life rafts on board a ship.
• the device is permanently mounted on the ship's deck or on another of the ship's structures and is normally closed, thus protecting one or more inflatable life rafts which are intended for use in an emergency.
• the device is designed in such a manner that it contains a raft holder with a protective shell and in connection with the raft holder there is rotatably mounted a lid or cover which is closed during normal operation and which together with the shell sealingly encloses one or more inflatable life rafts.
• the lid or cover on the device is locked to the raft holder in such a manner that in an emergency the lid is released automatically or manually, whereupon on account of its design according to the present invention the lid automatically rotates to a position in which the protective device is open, whereupon the life raft is free to leave the device and can be inflated.
• life rafts It is also normal practice for life rafts to contain medicine boxes whose contents include tranquillisers and painkillers, with the result that there is also a need to protect the life raft against break-in and theft when the ship is alongside the quay, and on some types of ship, such as passenger ferries and the like, the life rafts also have to be protected against theft and vandalism while the ship is at sea. If life rafts are contained in a protective device, moreover, it will be easier to detect any break-in or vandalism to the raft, and possible to take corrective measures before the emergency arises.
• the life rafts on a ship must be instantly accessible in an emergency and the accessibility of the life rafts cannot be reduced as a result of the ship losing electrical power supply, for example, or otherwise getting into a helpless situation. It is therefore an object of the device according to the present invention that in an emergency it should open without the necessity of supplying a signal to this effect and without the necessity of supplying external power in order to open the protective device or to release the life raft.
• the protective device must be designed in such a manner that it is possible to open the protective device manually, e.g.
• the lid according to the present invention must therefore be locked to the raft holder in the protective device in such a manner that if the ship gets into a situation where all power supply and communication are interrupted, the lock device between the raft holder and the lid according to the present invention will be automatically released, whereupon on account of its design the lid is automatically brought into a position where the protective device is open and where the life raft is accessible for manually or automatically implemented inflation.
• the manual use of the life raft may be effected by one or more persons removing the life raft from the protective device and then releasing the automatic inflation.
• the life raft can be connected to a release mechanism which is activated by various criteria such as, e.g. water depth, angle of heel, the presence of water or other desirable parameters.
• a release mechanism which is activated by various criteria such as, e.g. water depth, angle of heel, the presence of water or other desirable parameters.
• the release of the life raft is associated with a hydrostat device
• the life raft can be released by a predetermined pressure corresponding to a water depth where it is obvious that the ship must be evacuated.
• the hydrostat is activated at a depth of 1 - 5 metres, the life raft will be released from the protective device in the critical phase during which the ship is in the process of sinking or has capsized in the water so that the life raft is located under water.
• inflation of the life raft may be activated by a line or the like which is broken when the raft floats up when the ship is sinking or taking in large quantities of water. It is known in the prior art to protect life rafts against vandalism and external stresses by means of, e.g., a safety box as disclosed in Norwegian patent 170676, belonging to the inventor of the present invention.
• the safety box in the said publication consists of an upwardly open container in the form of a semi-cylindrical shell, for which container there is provided a lid in the form of a further semi-cylindrical shell which is rotatably mounted at the container's opening in such a manner that the lid is movable from a position in which it covers the opening of the container to a position inside the container in which the container is open.
• a holder for a life raft capsule which holder is arranged at such a distance from the container's internal wall surface that there is free passage for the lid. The lid can be locked in its position where it covers the container opening.
• a drive device is provided for the lid for rotation of the lid between an open and closed position respectively relative to the container. It is further stated that in one embodiment the drive device can be operated manually if the power supply to the drive device has failed in an emergency.
• the life raft is attached to the holder by means of a known per se combined mechanically and hydrostatically operated lock device which provides automatic release of the life raft if it is located under water at a predetermined water depth.
• Norwegian generally available patent application 895134 describes a cradle for storing and launching a raft capsule for a life raft.
• the cradle is manually rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, thereby enabling it to be placed in three different positions. With the cradle opening facing upwards in a position of readiness, the cradle opening facing downwards in a protective position and with the cradle opening facing sideways for launching the raft capsule.
• the cradle protects a life raft but has to be opened manually, which is a disadvantage which it is the object of the present invention to avoid.
• British patent application GB 2079683-A there is further disclosed a device for storing life rafts and releasing them in an emergency.
• a device where a plurality of life raft capsules are stacked in a frame, which is otherwise unprotected against external stresses and vandalism or attempts at theft, while the raft capsules can be released from the frame by a device which is mainly operated in an emergency.
• the framework moreover, is open at the top, thus enabling the life raft capsules to float up in an emergency where the ship is sinking.
• the opening at the top of the framework is uncovered, with the resultant risk that the life raft capsules will become stuck in the framework due to ice and snow or the framework will be exposed in some other way to external stresses which prevent the life raft capsules from escaping from the framework.
• the solution thus provides extremely limited protection for the life raft capsules, while the probability exists that the life raft capsules will be unable to escape from the framework in an emergency.
• the solution is therefore only designed to make it possible to stack a large number of life raft capsules on a small deck space without providing essential protection for the life raft capsules.
• a system for launching life rafts from a ship where there are stored a number of life rafts which are moved in an emergency from a storage position to a releasing position for use.
• the life rafts are moved from storage position to releasing position substantially by manual power and apart from this no further indication is given that the life raft capsules are protected during normal operation against external stresses, vandalism or the like.
• the solution is provided with the object of being able to store a large number of life rafts on a restricted deck space.
• any special features which help to place the life rafts instantly in a position of readiness in an emergency for rapid employment for evacuation.
• life raft capsules are stored in a "frame” or “box” which is rotatably connected to the ship's hull at its lower end and which is in an upright, substantially vertical position when it is stored.
• the "frame” In an emergency the "frame” is released and rotates about its lower end to a position past the horizontal plane, whereupon the weight of the life raft capsules causes them to drop out of the "frame's" open end.
• the life raft capsules are partly protected in the "frame” and at its open end the "frame” is provided with a lid which, when the frame is released, also drops to an open position due to its weight. The lid, however, is kept in place in the storage position by a lock mechanism which has to be released.
• the solution involves the disadvantage that the frame has to be released manually or in some other way by an impulse or action. If the release of the frame is automated, in the event of an exercise or simulated emergency it will be impossible to prevent the life rafts from being released from the frame, with the unfortunate result that the life raft capsules may be damaged, in addition to which the life raft capsules have to be returned to the frame after the exercise and the frame has to be returned to its original storage position. This situation is avoided in the protective device according to the present invention by the fact that in an exercise situation the protective device is opened, assuming a position of readiness without necessarily affecting the life raft capsule.
• the life raft capsule will be in a situation where in specific circumstances it will automatically be inflated or be capable of being manually released and activated by persons in the vicinity of the protective device. It is a drawback that in many of the previously known technical solutions the safety box has to be operated by a power supply or manual effort in order to open the safety box to enable the life raft to be deployed. In an emergency, therefore, it may be impossible to open the safety box because all power to the safety box's opening mechanism has been interrupted, while it will be too time-consuming for a person to open the safety box's lid manually.
• the protective device substantially comprises a raft holder which is securely connected to the ship's deck or another part of the ship's external structure and the raft holder is surrounded by a partial protection in the form of a shell which forms a segment of a cylindrical protective device.
• the partial protection of the life raft is further designed so that it has an opening which is substantially upwardly directed and which further is designed so that it is possible to remove the life raft capsule on the front of the protective device.
• the protective device is further provided on each of the device's transverse sides with protective side members which are provided with a shaft journal on each of the protective device's sides.
• the life raft(s) may be contained in a life raft capsule which further protects the life raft when it is removed from the protective device or the life raft(s) may be packed together and unprotected in the protective device.
• the lid is further designed as a segment of a cylinder covering at least the entire opening formed in the protective device by the raft holder and the side members together with the partial protection provided by the curved shell.
• the lid is further rotatably mounted in the shaft journals on the raft holder's side members. The lid can thereby be rotatably moved relative to the opening in the protective device.
• the lid on the protective device in the present invention is designed in such a manner that in a normal situation the lid will automatically assume a position where the protective device is open and if the protective device has to be closed, the lid has to be brought into a closed position and locked by means of manual force or an external power source.
• a lock device is chosen of such a kind that in normal non- operational situations it is open and in an operating situation the lock device must be kept constantly locked.
• This may be, for example, an electromagnetic lock, an electrical cylinder coil lock, or similar known lock types which must be supplied with an external force or impulse in order to remain locked.
• the lock returns to its released position and according to the present invention the lid will then move to its natural starting point where the protective device is open.
• one of the lid's transverse edges will be positioned beyond the top point of the protective device viewed from the side, relative to the protective device's opening.
• This longitudinal edge, and/or the parts of the lid which are located beyond the top point of the protective device relative to the device's opening are further provided with a weight body, with the result that, if it is released, the lid will naturally rotate to a position where the weight body is located with its centre of gravity in the protective device's lower position.
• the weight of the weight body is adapted relative to the weight of the lid, with the result that in the natural released position the weight body rotates the lid to a position where the protective device is open.
• the lid can rotate in any direction where the rotating movement is initiated by the fact that lid's centre of gravity is located at one side or the other of the top point, whereupon the centre of gravity is displaced and thus located at the rotating movement's lower turning point.
• the lid must be capable of passing unhindered on the bottom of the raft holder and the raft.
• the lid may therefore also be mounted on the outside of the shell, thereby being able to pass between the raft holder's side members and between the supporting base parts.
• the lock device holding the lid in a closed position relative to the raft holder's shell may be mounted at any point where the lid and the raft holder's shell intersect and according to the present invention the lid must be moved to a closed position where, on account of its weight body, the lid is in a naturally unstable position and is locked there by the locking device for the lid. If the locking device is electrically operated, there will have to be power at any time in the circuit keeping the lid in a locked position and if the electric current fails the locking device will be opened and the lid will rotate naturally to its open position. In the same way, any other known kind of lock device may be employed which in the event of power failure, or manual activation (which results in a power failure) releases the lock device, thereby releasing the lid.
• the fulcrum of the lid may be designed as an oblong slit with the result that during the rotating movement the fulcrum is moved to an eccentric position. It will thereby be possible to move the centre of gravity corresponding to the eccentric movement, thus enabling the position of the lid's centre of gravity in the open position to substantially restrict the lid's rotation about the displaced centre point, even when the vessel is located in a lateral heel position.
• a locking mechanism may be provided between the raft holder and the lid which locks the lid in the open position. This may be implemented, for example, by means of a standard barb lock, or other kind of locking mechanism which is released when the lid has rotated to an open position.
• the protective device according to the present invention is further specified in the introductory part of the following independent claim 1 with characterising design features as indicated in the characterising part of the following claim 1. Further embodiments of the protective device are further specified in the following dependent claims.
• fig. 1 is a sectional side view of the protective device according to the present invention with raft holder, shell and lid in a closed position;
• fig. 2 illustrates the protective device according to fig. 1 , with the lid in an open position;
• fig. 3 is a plan view from the side of the protective device according to the present invention with the lid in a closed position;
• fig. 4 is a plan view from the front of the protective device as illustrated in fig. 3 with the lid partly open;
• fig. 5 is a plan view from the side of an embodiment of the raft holder in the protective device
• fig. 6 is a plan view from the side of an embodiment of the shell for use in connection with the raft holder as illustrated in fig. 5;
• fig. 7 is a plan view from the side of a lid for use with the raft holder and the shell as illustrated in figs. 5 and 6 respectively;
• fig. 8 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of the lid in fig. 7 with eccentrically formed fulcrum.
• Fig. 1 is a sectional side view of an embodiment of the protective device according to the present invention substantially consisting of a raft holder 1 with a shell 2, a lid 3 and a base 5.
• the shell 2 is secured between the raft holder 1 and the base 5 and the shell 2 is in the form of a segment of a cylinder and an opening is formed between the upper edge of the shell 2 and the front edge of the raft holder 1.
• the said opening is illustrated covered by a lid 3 , which according to the present invention, in a closed position is provided at its upper part with a weight body 4.
• the lid 3 is rotatably mounted about a shaft journal on each side of the raft holder 1 or the shell 2 at the centre mark 1 1.
• the lid 3 therefore rotates in the direction of the arrow A about the centre mark 1 1 when the lock device 13, which keeps the lid in the closed position, is released, to the open position illustrated in fig. 2.
• FIGS 1 and 2 it is further illustrated how a life raft 6 is mounted on the raft holder and in fig. 2 it is illustrated how the life raft 6 can be freely released through the opening formed in the protective device when the lid 3 is rotated to the open position as illustrated in fig. 2.
• the lid 3 on account of the weight body 4, the lid 3 will seek a position where the lid's centre of gravity is in as low a position as possible.
• the lid is therefore constantly kept in the closed position as illustrated in fig. 1 by the lock device 13.
• the lock device 13 may, for example, be electrically activated, pneumatically or hydraulically operated and the lock device 13 keeps the lid 3 in the closed position during normal operating conditions on board the ship.
• the power supply to the lock device 13 is interrupted, whereupon the lock device 13 is released and the lid 3 rotates to its natural position due to the weight body 4.
• the weight of the weight body 4 must be adapted relative to the weight of the lid 3, while the weight body 4 must be mounted in an area of the lid 3 which is located on the opposite side of the centre line 12 relative to the opening which is formed when the lid 3 is in an open position.
• the weight body 4 may be installed with an angular displacement relative to the centre line 12 in order to ensure that the lid 3 is rotated to an open position due to the weight body 4, even when the ship and thereby the protective device is listing.
• the weight body 4' may be mounted on the side members 8 of the lid 3, as illustrated in fig. 3.
• Fig. 3 further illustrates in a plan view from the side the side member 7 which covers the area between the upper edge of the shell 2 and the front edge of the raft holder 1.
• the centre mark 11 also illustrates here the fulcrum for the lid 3 with side members 8.
• Fig. 4 further illustrates in a sectional view from in front a protective device according to the present invention without a raft 6 being mounted.
• the protective device is mounted on a base 5 which in turn is secured to the ship's deck or another external structure.
• the raft holder 1 has an opening 9 where the lid 3 in a closed position engages sealingly with the raft holder 1 in order to prevent water and dirt from penetrating the protective device where they may damage the life raft.
• the lid 3 with the side members 8 are further illustrated rotatably mounted on the shaft journals 10 located about the centre line 11 on each side of the protective device.
• the shaft journals 10 are further attached to the side members 7 of the shell 2 and the side members 7 are further connected to the raft holder 1.
• the lid 3 is illustrated in a partly open position.
• the raft holder 1 is further illustrated in a plan view from the side, where it can clearly be seen that the top of the raft holder is adapted to the mounting of a life raft in or without a protective capsule, while the rear of the raft holder is curved and adapted to the design of the lid 3 when it rotates from a closed to an open position in the protective device.
• fig. 6 it is illustrated in a plan view from the side how the side member 7 of the shell 2 is adapted to the rotating movement of the lid 3 when it rotates from a closed to an open position.
• the opening is formed over approximately 150° of a full circle when the lid 3 is in an open position.
• a side member 8 for the lid 3 is further illustrated in fig. 7, which side member has to be rotatably mounted relative to the side members 7 of the shell 2 at the centre mark 1 1.
• FIG. 8 An alternative embodiment of the lid 3 with side members 8 is illustrated in fig. 8 in a plan view from the side, where in the side member 8' there is provided an oblong opening 15, one end of which is curved around the centre mark 11 , with the result that in the closed position, the lid 3 with the side member 8' rest on the shaft journal 10 as illustrated in fig. 4 at the centre point 11.
• the lock device 13 When the lock device 13 is released, on account of the weight body 4 the lid 3 will begin a rotating movement and when the rotating movement has completed a certain portion of the total rotating movement, the side member 8' will move relative to the shaft journal 10 with the result that the fulcrum for the side member 8' is displaced from 11 to point 14 through the opening 15 and the rotating movement thereby continues about the shaft journal 10.
• the shell 2 on the protective device must be designed in such a manner that there is sufficient space inside the shell for the lid 3 to travel from the fulcrum 11 to the fulcrum 14 by means of an eccentric movement.
• This movement will reduce the possibility of the lid returning to the closed position on account of moderate heeling of the vessel, while the rotating movement of the lid 3 will accelerate when the shaft journal moves from the fulcrum 1 1 to the fulcrum 14.
• the length of the opening 15 is adapted as desired and in a further alternative embodiment the opening 15 may be curved to provide the desired positioning of the fulcrum 14 relative to the fulcrum 11.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Closures For Containers (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19904068

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Citations (3)

• 1999
  • 1999-12-06 NO NO995998A patent/NO995998A/no not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2000
  • 2000-05-25 AU AU54326/00A patent/AU5432600A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-05-25 WO PCT/NO2000/000173 patent/WO2001040049A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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