WO2005113405A1

WO2005113405A1 - Cargo lifting coupler

Info

Publication number: WO2005113405A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/001945
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dale Botham; Martin Clive-Smith
Original assignee: Dale Botham; Martin Clive-Smith
Priority date: 2004-05-20
Filing date: 2005-05-17
Publication date: 2005-12-01
Also published as: GB0411223D0

Abstract

A single point lifting coupler comprises a frame (4) for attachment to a cargo module (1), the frame including a female coupling part (6). A complementary male coupling part (5) is attachable a to a lifting device such as a crane. The male and female coupling parts are inter-engageable to allow the frame and hence the associated cargo module to be lifted by the single point lifting coupler on entry of the male part Into the female part. The male and female parts may the reversed is desired and one of the parts may carry a latching means (15) for engagement with a cooperating formation (28) on the other part when the male part enters the female part. The invention also provides a cargo container or cargo lifting frame which includes a single point lifting coupler part (5, 6) and a method of lifting a cargo container or lifting frame using a single point lifting coupler.

Description

CARGO LIFTING COUPLER

In the field of cargo movement there is sometimes the need to be able to transfer one or more pieces of cargo from a ship to an oil rig. When the seas are rough, the rig is more or less stationary, yet the ship must ride up and down with the waves and from side to side with the rolling sea. The relative movement can be 10's of feet and with rapid frequency. Thus a crane sited on the rig must be able to very quickly attach itself to the cargo and whisk it off the ship to avoid itself being pulled down by the fall of the ship.

Typically there is a hook located on a number of lift wires hanging from the crane, and slings tied to the cargo. The cargo can be a bundle of pipes, a container or other such cargo. As the ship rises the hook is brought as close as possible to the slings on the ship and men rush forward to guide the hook under the slings. The crane is then activated and the cargo lifts and swings away. Men on the ships are often injured or killed during this very difficult and skilled operation.

Where the cargo comprises a container, it has been suggested that a crane spreader be hung from the crane hook, and conventional twistlocks located at each corner of the spreader engage with top apertures in the conventional corner fittings provided on the container. However with the problems of relative rotational movement and the rise and fall of the container and spreader, and the need of all four twistlocks at the corners of the spreader to locate in and then safely engage with the container corner fittings, the chances of this happening in rough seas are very remote. It is essential that all four twistlocks must engage for safe operation. Furthermore the target apertures of the container corner fittings are typically only 65 x 125 mm which can hardly be seen by a crane driver in stormy conditions.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a cargo lifting coupler which at least mitigates the above problems. Thus according to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a single point cargo lifting coupler comprising a frame for attachment to a cargo module, the frame including either a female coupling part or a male coupling part, a complementary male or female coupling part which is attachable to a lifting device, the male and female coupling parts being interengageable to allow the frame and hence the associated cargo module to be lifted by the single point lifting coupler.

Preferably the male and female coupling parts engage each other for lifting, on entry of the male part, into the female part.

For example, one of the coupler parts carries spring biased latching means which automatically snaps into engagement with a co-operating formation on the other coupling part when the male part enters the female part.

Such a cargo lifting coupler can be rapidly coupled to the cargo module without the need of personnel and the target which the crane operator is attempting to engage can be made significantly larger since only one coupler is used.

Remotely operable means may be provided for retracting the latching means to allow disengagement of the coupling parts.

In a further form of the coupler one of the coupler parts may carry a locking pin actuated by remotely operable means to lock/unlock the male part within the female part.

These remotely operable means may be operated either pneumatically, hydraulically or electronically.

To further assist engagement of the coupling parts the male and female coupling parts may be shaped to interact with each other to move the parts into their inter- engaging position as the parts are moved towards each other. In one form of the invention the frame is adapted for attachment to a cargo module in the form of a cargo container. This may be achieved using the standard corner fittings provided on the container.

In an alternative form of the invention the cargo module is secured between the frame and a base frame.

Alternatively the frame may be rigidly secured to the base frame in a manner which straddles the cargo. This rigid securement may be provided by a pair of posts which extend upwardly from the base frame on either side of the cargo and the frame comprises a detachable cross-piece which extends between the upper ends of the posts and carries one of the coupler parts.

In a yet further form of the invention the frame may be secured directly to the cargo module with the cargo itself forming the structural component of the cargo module.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a cargo container or cargo lifting frame including a single female or male coupling part for engagement with a complementary single male or female part attached to a lifting device, the male and female coupling parts being inter-engageable to allow the container or frame to be lifted by the single inter-engaged coupling parts.

The invention also provides a method of lifting a cargo container or cargo lifting frame comprising :- providing a container or lifting frame with a single female or male coupling part; providing a lifting device (such as a crane) with a single complementary male or female coupling part which is inter-engageable with the female or male part on the frame; lowering the coupling part attached to the lifting device into lifting engagement with the coupling part on the container or lifting frame, and raising the coupling part attached to the lifting device to lift the container or lifting frame via the single inter-engaged coupling parts.

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic view of a single point lifting coupler in accordance with the present invention for attachment to a cargo container;

Figure 2 shows diagrammatically a cargo container about to be lifted from a ship to an oil rig using the coupler of figure 1;

Figure 3 shows schematically details of the interengagement of the male and female parts of the coupling;

Figures 4A and 4B show diagrammatically elongated male and female coupling parts;

Figure 5 shows diagrammatically a reverse coupling arrangement in which the frame for attachment to the container carries the male coupling part and the crane carries the female coupling part;

Figure 6 shows diagrammatically how the frame of figure 5 can be secured to the top or bottom of a container and how such frames can be stacked one above the other;

Figure 7 shows diagrammatically on a larger scale, details of a reverse coupling arrangement similar to that of figure 5; Figure 8 shows diagrammatically a frame with a female coupling part attached to a base frame with corner posts by cable slings with cargo held between the two frames;

Figure 9 shows diagrammatically a frame with a male coupling part secured to a base frame by cable slings with cargo in between the two frames;

Figure 10 shows diagrammatically a frame with a male coupling part which is rigidly secured to a base frame by a pair of vertical posts on either side of the cargo;

Figure 11 shows diagrammatically an arrangement in which the frame which carries the male coupling part is secured directly to the cargo with the cargo itself forming the structural component of the cargo module, and

Figure 12 shows diagrammatically an elongated coupling arrangement similar to that of figure 4A in which the coupling parts are engaged for lifting by rotating one part through 90 degrees relative to the other part.

In figure 1 there is shown a shipping container 1 with typical corner fittings 2 at each corner comprising rectangular hollow boxes having formed in their three outermost faces handling apertures in particular the top apertures 3 which are of elongate shape designed to receive known twistlocks.

Hovering above the container is shown a frame 4 with four twistlocks 40 of known type one at each corner which are formed to enter the elongate top lift apertures 3 and lock within the corner fittings 2. The frame is held aloft by a male coupling part 5 which in this example is cone shaped. The male coupling part 5 engages with a female coupling part 6 incorporated in frame 4 and is locked to it. The male part is connected to a wire rope 7 which is connected to a boom of a crane (not shown).

In the stable conditions such as on calm seas or on land, the frame 4 can be lowered onto the container 1 and twist-locked in position. The combined container and frame can then be lifted up by the crane and placed on a ship or other transport device.

In figure 2 there is shown a ship 9 on which the container 1 can be carried to an oil rig 10 for example. Here where the seas 11 can be very rough, the crane 12 is fitted with a male coupling part 5 which is tapered with its tip 13 being cone shaped. The frame 4 has a female part 6 with a circular aperture 14 of a diameter of perhaps 500 mm with the tip 13 of the cone being smaller of perhaps only 50 mm diameter. Due to the large difference in size of male tip 13 and female aperture 14, a large tolerance in position is acceptable whilst still ensuring that the male coupling part 5 enters the female aperture 14 as the part 5 is lowered. Thus in rough seas and high winds and times of poor visibility, the crane driver has a good probability of locating the male coupling part 5 within the aperture 14.

Skill of the crane driver is nevertheless important and once over the target, the male part must be lowered rapidly into the aperture and locked to it.

An example of a locking means is shown in figure 3 in which the male coupling part 5 is shown in section. There are shown two latches 15 which project out of the face 16 of the male part 5. Each is pinned at pin 17 for pivotal movement relative to the male part. They are further pinned linked by links 19 to an activating device, in this example a linear activator in the form of a pneumatic cylinder 20. A resilient means such as compressed air or a spring 21 is located inside the cylinder which acts on a piston 22 and through rod 23 keeps the catches deployed in an extended position where they project from the male part 5. As the male part 5 is lowered into the aperture 14 the latches 15 contact the sides of aperture and are displaced back into the male part 5 against the action of spring 21 until the lift faces 27 of the latches 15 snap outwardly into contact with bearing faces 28 of the female coupling part 6 as shown in figure 3. The container can then be lifted by contact between faces 27 and 28.

If it is required to retract the latches 5, the cylinder 20 can be energized by the flow of compressed air into the lower chamber 24 of cylinder 20. Compressed air is a useful medium for this use because it can be stored at high pressure in a tank 25 and released into the cylinder chamber 24 very rapidly via an electro-pneumatic valve 26 to almost instantaneously withdraw the latches 15 to positions 15' and free the male part 5 from engagement with the female part 6.

So, for example, if it is required in an emergency to release the male part 5 from the female part 6, the cylinder 20 would be energized in the lower chamber 24 with compressed air and as soon as clearances between the lift faces 27 of catches 15 and bearing faces 28 of female part 6 are large enough, such as would occur as the container rose on a wave up towards a stationary male part 5, the piston 22 would rise up pulling on links 19 and thus withdrawing catches 15 from engagement with female part 6. The force from the air pressure in the lower chamber would be engineered to be significantly greater than the downward force of the spring 21 used to deploy the catches. Once this release cycle is over and the male part is free of the female part, the compressed air can be released to atmosphere equally rapidly via another electro-pneumatic valve 29 to set the latches extending from the male part again for automatic locking engagement.

In figure 4A is shown an alternative shape for the male and female parts where the shape of the male and female parts is elongate in an oval fashion. If the male part is misaligned when lowered it will become naturally urged and rotated into alignment with the female aperture as the face 55 of the cone 5 makes contact with the face 54 of the aperture 14 two come together. Similarly figure 4B shows an elongated rectangular aperture 14 and corresponding elongated rectangular pyramid male part 5.

In figure 5 is shown a male coupling part 45 mounted on a frame 44 projecting upwardly and a female coupling part 46 held on the lifting device or crane. When the female part is mounted on the lifting device the equivalent catches and operating system for the system could be reversed so that the catches are mounted within the face of the aperture 54 and act upon a receiving annular groove 34 formed in the face of the male part 5. With this construction any orientation of the cone to aperture would allow the catches 15 to engage the groove 34. In this reverse arrangement frames 44 could be located on the deck of the ship 9 or rig 10 and a co-operating aperture 47 be formed in the underside of container 1 (see upper part of figure 5). With such an arrangement when the container is lowered close to cone 45 the cone tip easily enters the aperture 47 and assist in the location of container 1 relative to the deck or rig. As earlier twistlocks 40 seen in figure 6 link frames 44 to container 1 either from below or above and figure 6 shows how frames 44 can also be stacked one above the other since the height H of the projecting male coupling part 45 is less that the depth D of the frame 44.

Figure 7 shows in more detail a reverse coupling arrangement similar to that of figure 5 in which the male coupling part 45 is provided with the coupling groove 34 which receives two diametrically opposed latches 47 which are spring-loaded at 50 to their extended position in which they project into opening 14. As the female coupling part 46 is lowered over the male part 45 the latches 47 are deflected radially outwardly as cam surfaces 48 thereon contact the conical male part 45. The latches 47 eventually snap into groove 34 under the action of their spring loading. A lever 49 is provided for releasing the latches to allow the coupling parts to be disengaged when the lifting has been completed. Alternatively any suitable form of remotely actuated release mechanism may be used to retract latches 47

In the arrangement shown in figure 8, the frame 30 which carries the female coupling part 6 is not much larger than the female coupling part 6. Such a lightweight frame 30 might be located sufficiently by webbing straps 37 which tie the frame to a cargo module which does not comprise as before a container but comprises pipes 31 tied to a base frame in the form of a flatrack shipping container 32. The frame 30 is anchored for lifting to the container 32 by wire slings 33, or it is envisaged directly to a rigid cargo thereby negating the need for a container 32.

In the arrangement shown in figure 9 the slings 33 are arranged to hold a frame 40 to a base frame 36 with a cargo of pipes between the two frames. The pipes are of sufficient strength and rigidity to brace the cargo. Figure 9 also shows a reverse coupling arrangement on frame 40 which has a male projecting cone 45 and a female coupling part 6 on the crane cable.

In a further embodiment shown in figure 10 a base frame 60 is provided with a central frame 67 comprising vertical posts 61 , and transverse header or cross piece 62. The posts 61 are pinned to the base 60 via releasable pivot pins 68 which when released allow the central frame 67 to be lifted away from the base. The lifting may take place via a lifting eye or loop 63 fixed to the header 62 to which a lifting wire 65 can be tied or via a hook box 64 described below.

Between the posts 61 are the pipe spacers 69 which hold the cargo of pipes 70 in place during transport.

The header 62 has at each end a fixing device such as a twistlock 66 projecting from it which engages with aperture 71 formed in the top of each post 61. Once locked to the posts 61, and the posts 61 locked to the base 60, the whole container comprising frame 67 and base 60 can be lifted from a single lift point in this case, loop 63.

A hook box 64 is provided on the crane cable 65. The hook box has tapered sides 72 so that as it is lowered into close proximity of the loop 63, it is guided over the loop. In order to contain the loop 63 within the box, the box has end plates 73. The loop is formed with sloping sides 74 so that they too guide the box over the loop 63 when misaligned from a central position. Once the loop 63 is with the box 64, the box 64 can be pinned to the loop 63 via a pin 75 inserted through the opening 76 formed by the loop. It is envisaged that the pin be motorized and operated remotely via a system such as an electrical solenoid, hydraulic ram or motor enhanced by spring loading as required. Most likely the pin 75 will be semi automatically engaging through the triggering of a spring loaded catch as the loop 63 seats firmly inside the box 64.

In figure 11 there is shown another arrangement in which the base frame 60 has been dispensed with and the pipes 70 form the structural arrangement of the cargo as a whole, bundled together by a number of frames 76 which grip the pipes. Loops 63 or cones as earlier described can be fixed to the centre frame 76 or end frames 76 as handling requires.

Figure 12 shows diagrammatically how elongated male and female coupling parts, similar to those shown in figure 4A can be locked together for lifting after the male part has passed through aperture 14 and the male part is then rotated through approximately 90 degrees so that shoulder 5a on the male coupling part 5 engages abutments 6a on the female coupling part 6. This rotation of the coupling part may be achieved pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically.

It is envisaged that various features described herein may combined so for example the hook box 64 in figure 10 might be adapted to receive releasable spring loaded latches as 47 in figure 7.

In figure 5 it can be seen that the frame 44 has projecting twistlocks or locating spigots 40 to engage with apertures in the corner fittings 2 of the container 1. However it is envisaged that similar twistlocks 40 might be fitted to the top of one or more of the containers removably or permanently in lieu of the top aperture 3'. To mate with such a twistlock, the underside of the frame 44 instead of having a projecting twistlock would be formed with a cooperating aperture to receive the twistlock 40.

Claims

1. A single point lifting coupler comprising a frame for attachment to a cargo module, the frame including either a female coupling part or a male coupling part, a complementary male or female coupling part being attachable to a lifting device, the male and female coupling parts being inter-engageable to allow the frame and hence the associated cargo module to be lifted by the single point lifting coupler.

2. A coupler according to claim 1 in which the male and female coupling parts engage each other for lifting, on entry of the male part, into the female part.

3. A coupler according to claim 2 in which one of the coupler parts carries latching means for engagement with a co-operating formation on the other coupling part when the male part enters the female part.

4. A coupler according to claim 3 in which one of the coupler parts carries spring biased latching means which automatically snaps into engagement with a cooperating formation on the other coupling part when the male part enters the female part.

5. A coupler according to claim 4 in which remotely operable means are provided for retracting the latching means to allow disengagement of the coupling parts.

6. A coupler according to claim 1 in which one of the coupler parts carries a locking pin actuated by remotely operable means to lock/unlock the male part within the female part.

7. A coupler according to claim 5 or 6 in which the remotely operable means are operated either pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically.

8. A coupler according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the male and female coupling parts are shaped to interact with each other to move the parts into their inter-engaging position as the parts are moved towards each other.

9. A coupler according to claim 1 in which the male and female coupling parts comprise a projection and an aperture respectively both of elongated form, the male projection engaging the female aperture with the longitudinal axes of the elongated parts generally aligned and the coupling parts being engaged for lifting by rotating one of the parts relative to the other part so that the longitudinal axes of the elongated parts extend generally at right angles so that shoulders on the projection engage behind abutments on the female part thus preventing removal of the male part from the female part.

10 A coupler according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in which the frame is adapted for attachment to a cargo module in the form of a cargo container.

11. A coupler according to claim 10 in which the frame is designed to be attached above the container.

12. A coupler according to claim 11 in which the frame is attached to the container using standard corner fitting provided on the container.

13. A coupler according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in which the cargo module is secured between the frame and a base frame.

14. A coupler according to claim 13 in which the frame is secured to the base frame by cable slings.

15. A coupler according to claim 13 in which the frame is rigidly secured to the base frame in a manner which straddles the cargo.

16. A coupler according to claim 15 in which the frame is secured to the base frame by a pair of posts which extend upwardly from the base frame on either side of the cargo and the frame comprises a detachable cross-piece which extends between the upper ends of the posts and carries one of the coupler parts.

17. A coupler according to any one of claims 1 to 9 in which the frame is secured directly to the cargo module with the cargo itself forming the structural component of the cargo module.

18. A cargo container or cargo lifting frame including a single female or male coupling part for engagement with a complementary single male or female part attached to a lifting device, the male and female coupling parts being inter- engageable to allow the container or frame to be lifted by the single inter- engaged coupling parts.

19. A container or lifting frame according to claim 18 in which the coupling part associated therewith is formed on a separate demountable frame which is attached to the container or lifting frame.

20. A container or lifting frame according to claim 18 or 19 in which the coupling part associated with the container or lifting frame is engageable with a complementary coupling part on an adjacent container or lifting frame to hold the two adjacent containers/frames together.

21. A container or lifting frame according to claim 20 in which the coupling part is associated with the top and/or base of the container or lifting frame.

22. A cargo container or cargo lifting frame according to any one of claims 18 to 21 which employs coupler parts in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 9.

23. A method of lifting a cargo container or cargo lifting frame comprising:- providing a container or lifting frame with a single female or male coupling part; providing a lifting device (such as a crane) with a single complementary male or female coupling part which is inter-engageable with the female or male part on the frame; lowering the coupling part attached to the lifting device into lifting engagement with the coupling part on the container or lifting frame, and raising the coupling part attached to the lifting device to lift the container or lifting frame via the single inter-engaged coupling parts.

24. A method according to claim 23 in which on lowering of coupling part attached to the lifting device into engagement with the coupling part on the container or lifting frame the parts automatically engage each other to allow lifting of the container or lifting frame.

25. A lifting coupler constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 or 4A or 4B or 5 and 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12 of the accompanying drawings.

26. A cargo container or lifting frame constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figures 1 to 3 or 4A or 4B or 5 and 6 or 7 or 12 of the accompanying drawings.