WO2006038814A1

WO2006038814A1 - Device for cutting net ropes from fishing net

Info

Publication number: WO2006038814A1
Application number: PCT/NO2005/000370
Authority: WO
Inventors: Geir Kjetil Nerland; Lars Hoaas
Original assignee: Nerpro As
Priority date: 2004-10-06
Filing date: 2005-10-04
Publication date: 2006-04-13
Also published as: NO20044243D0; EP1804577A1; NO20044243L; NO321852B1

Abstract

Device for cutting net ropes (1) from fishing net (5), the device including a guiding system for the net rope, a cutting device (7) and a pulling system (6) which pulls the net rope through the guiding system. The guiding system includes at least one plate with a longitudinal slit (3), whereby the net rope (1) when guided over the plate is support against the slit, and that the fishing net (5) hangs through the slit (3). Closely below the plate is arranged two rollers (4) at the same vertical distance from the plate, the rollers (4) being counter rotatable, and a plane of mirror symmetry between the rollers is coincident with a middle plane of the slit (3). Finally, the cutting device (7) is arranged immediately close to the slit (3), at the underside of the plate.

Description

Device for cutting net ropes from fishing net.

The present invention relates to a device to facilitate the recovery of net ropes (float rope and sinking rope) from fishing nets, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Background

Most of the fishing boats which fish by use of fishing net, and repair shops for nets, such as Mørenot AS, cut the fishing net from the net rope when the fishing net is worn. The net ropes (float rope and sinking rope) are sewn onto new fishing net. This is repeated 4-5 times before the net rope is completely replaced. This process is currently performed by hand, and is very resource- demanding.

In relation to manual cutting, mechanical cutting will be far more effective, and in addition safer. By manual cutting, the net ropes often get cut, and such a net rope must be scrapped or spliced. If this is not discovered, this can lead to long lengths of fishing nets being torn away, which end up lying at the sea bottom, as traps, for a long time.

A Danish machine, according to Danish Patent 173270 has been produced, but this does not stand up-to the requirements, due to its efficiency being too low. Fishing nets which are to be cut clear, often lack large amounts of the fishing net, up to 80-90 %, and even if the machine according to the Danish Patent worked sufficiently on new nets, it did not work at all on worn nets, as in most cases this will be the practical use of the machine.

Object

The main object of the present invention is a device which is effective and precise, which can cut net ropes clear of fishing net. Other objects of the invention are that the invention should be easy and secure in use, and that it should be cost-effective to purchase and operate.

The invention

The present invention relates to a device for cutting net ropes from fishing net, according to the characterizing part of claim 1. Further advantageous features are described in the dependent claims.

The device includes at least one guiding system, including a plate or similar with a longitudinal slit, two rollers which rotate against each other, arranged immediately below the slit, a cutting device arranged closely under the slit at the outlet end, and a pulling system, arranged at the outlet end of the plate.

By plate is meant every design which can have a longitudinal slit and which is suitable for holding the net rope over the slit at the same time as the fishing net hangs down through the slit. A gutter is a preferred design, due to the net rope automatically positioning itself right above the slit, and thereby the rollers, where an optimal stretch of the fishing net will be achieved. In the following description we will refer to a plate but this should not be interpreted as limiting the protection which is applied for.

The width of the slit in the plate must not be larger than the diameter of the net ropes, so that the net rope cannot be pulled down through the slit. The slit can neither be too narrow, as it is an advantage that the net rope partly pulls down into the slit, so that the fishing net is cut as close to the net rope as possible to avoid leaving remaining fishing net, but without the net rope being damaged. Due to float rope and sinking rope having different diameters, it will be a great advantage if the slit can be regulated, so that it, at any time, is optimal in relation to the net rope which is cut clear.

The rollers should be arranged as close up to the plate as is practically possible and rotate against each other, as the left and right rollers counter rotate. Between the rollers and the plate there must, however, be space for the cutting devices, at least at the end of the slit. This can be solved in different ways, for example the rollers always being at a cutting device distance from the plate, or the plate or the rollers can possibly be curved from each other to provide space for the cutting device.

The rollers are arranged at the same vertical distance from the plate, so that the center, i.e. the tangent point of the two rollers is on the same vertical axis as the center of the slit, i.e. right under the slit. The rollers are further arranged a distance apart from each other, but so that they touch each other, and preferably, so that they exert a certain pressure on each other. The pressure between the rollers should be regulated in respect of the thickness of the fishing net and the force the fishing net should be pulled with, which is thereby adjustable. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the pressure is regulated due to the sort of fishing net, at the same time as it is spring loaded, so that optimal stretch of the fishing net is attained, even though parts of the fishing net are worn thin, unused or overgrown.

A net rope with fishing net is guided into the plate, so that the fishing net hangs down through the slit, and the net rope lays over the plate. The fishing net will be pulled down between the rollers so that it is stretched, and so that the cutting device can cut it off. The net rope is fixed to the pulling system at the outlet end of the plate, so that it is guided along the slit at the same time as the fishing net is stretched by the rollers under the slit. The cutting device will cut the fishing net close up to the underside of the plate; the fishing net will be pulled down by the rollers and collected beneath, as the net rope is coiled up at the rear edge of the pulling system.

The radius of the rollers will determine how short fishing net ends that can be tightened up by the rollers may be as the distance from the underside of the plate to the contact point between the rollers will generally correspond to the radius of the rollers. Fishing net ends being shorter than the radius will therefore not be tightened up by the rollers, and can step aside the cutting device instead of being cut off. The radius of the rollers therefore must be balanced between acceptable length of remaining fishing net ends and what is practical possible to obtain stretch of the fishing net.

The cutting device should be arranged at the back end of the rollers, under, and as close to the plate as possible, so that the ends of the fishing net of the net rope becomes minimal. With that, also the thickness of the plate, and the width of the slit of the plate in which the net rope is supported against, limits how short the ends of the fishing net becomes. In practice, the rollers will pull the net rope partly down in the slit so that it is cut clear. In a specially preferred embodiment, the knives are arranged so that they are completely covered by the plate, and so that the net rope which is cut clear of fishing net, is protected against the cutting device. In the cases where rotating knives are used, they can tear the net rope after it is cut clear. If so, the net rope cannot be used in a new fishing net.

The cutting device, according to the present invention, can have different embodiments, and in the simplest design be a transverse or tilted sharp cutting edge, preferably in the bottom of a V- shaped slit. The fishing net which is stretched by the rollers is pulled against the cutting edge by the net rope which is fixed to the pulling systems, so that the fishing net is cut off. The optimal solution is, however, one or two rotating knives, arranged at the end of the slit. In the cases where two rotating knives are used, the knives are arranged with some horizontal overlap, and the upper of the rotating knives exerts a pressure to the lower of the knives, and rotate against each other so that they work as a scissor.

In the cases where fishing nets which are heavily damaged are handled, the device can advantageously include one or several water or air nozzles. They are arranged so that minor remaining ends of worn fishing nets are flushed/blown down the slit so that they are caught by the rollers, and thereby are stretched so that they can be cut off by the cutting device. It is arbitrary where the nozzle is arranged along the slit, but it will be an advantage if it is arranged as close to the inlet end as possible, to ensure that the ends are caught by the rollers, and cut off by the cutting device. Water will also cool down the rollers and reduce wear, keep the knives clear and it may also clear the net which would be advantageous in case of recycling. Also a vacuum device can be used to provide collection and guiding of the fishing net between the rollers. The vacuum device is preferentially arranged under the plate and directed towards the net rope.

In a specially preferred embodiment of the present invention, two devices are arranged side by side and preferably so that they can use the same pulling system at the rear end of the plate. The plate can also be common, as it has two parallel slits. In this design, the float rope is guided into one of the slits, and the lead rope into the other. The fishing net will be pulled down by two pairs of rollers, respectively under the first and the second slit, so that the middle part of the fishing net is hanging down under the devices.

The cutting devices can in an example like this, be common, as it is the one or the same cutting devices which cuts the fishing net off both the net ropes. A band saw or a rotating knife are examples of cutting devices which can be used in such cases.

It will also be an advantage to arrange brushes to remove remaining fishing net threads. The brushes can either be stationary or rotate against the direction of the pulling system. They can also advantageously be arranged in pairs to cover both the lower and upper side of the net rope. The rollers can advantageously be covered by a material which provides static electricity against the fishing net. For example, rollers manufactured of PVC will at opposite rotation, provide static electricity which pulls on the fishing net.

The rollers can also be clamped with an elastic surface, possibly filled with compressed air or some other gas, which will have an advantage for the production costs in relation to the pressure between the rollers being carried out in another way.

Example

The invention will, in the following, be described with reference to an embodiment shown in the attached Figures, where

Figure 1 shows the device from the side,

Figure 2 shows a cut along line I-I in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 shows an embodiment where both of the net ropes can be cut clear at the same time.

In the illustrated device, the guiding system for the net rope 1 includes a gutter 2 with a slit 3. Immediately below the gutter 2, two rollers 4 are arranged with the same vertical distance from the gutter 2, rotating against each other. The rollers 4 are arranged so that they touch each other, and so that they apply pressure against each other. It is, however, not shown how this pressure is obtained, because this can be done in several ways, and will be obvious for a skilled person. The net rope 1 is guided into the guiding system so that the fishing net 5, which is fixed to the net rope, falls down through the slit 3. The fishing net 5 will thereby be caught by the rollers 4 and stretched so that fishing net 5, which is wound around the net rope 1, or for some other reason not has came down through the slit 3, is pulled down and tightened up. The rollers 4 pull the fishing net 5 so hard that the net rope 1 will be pulled partly down into the slit 3.

The end of the net rope is fixed to a pulling system, so that the net rope and the fishing net are pulled towards the rear end, along the guiding system. In the illustrated embodiment, the net rope cut clear is only wound around a pulling wheel 6, but this can, of course, be solved in many different ways. At the rear edge of the rollers 4, closely under the gutter 2, is arranged a cutting device. In the example illustrated, a rotating knife 7 is used as the cutting device, and it is completely covered by the gutter 2 so that the cut clear net rope is protected from the knife. To give space for the knife 7 between the rollers 4 and the gutter 2, the gutter is inclined slightly upwards at the rear end, as shown in Figure 1. As mentioned above, this can be solved in different ways.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention where two devices are partly arranged together. The same reference numbers are used for the same parts mentioned above. In this case the guiding system for the net ropes includes three plate parts and two slits. The plate parts consist of two edge parts 20, 22, and a middle part 21, where the middle part 21 is common for the guiding systems. The three plate parts can, of course, be replaced by two slits. The sinking rope 11 has a smaller diameter than the float rope 12, and the width of the slit 31 for the sinking rope is thereby narrower than the slit 32 for the float rope. To make the device more general in relation to fishing net type, size of net ropes etc. it is an advantage that the width of the slit 3 is adjustable. This can be carried out in different ways which is logical for a skilled person, and is not shown in the Figures.

The sinking rope 11 and float rope 12 are fixed to the guiding system at the rear end of the plate, and guided over the slit 31 and 32, respectively, so that the fishing net 5 is hanging under, between the slits. In most cases the fishing net is so large in relation to the height of the device that the middle part only is supported against the base.

Claims

Claims:

1. Device for cutting net ropes (1) from fishing net (5), the device including a guiding system for the net rope, a cutting device (7) and a pulling system (6) which pulls the net rope through the guiding system, characterized in

- that the guiding system includes at least one plate with a longitudinal slit (3), whereby the net rope (1) when guided over the plate is supported against the slit, and that the fishing net (5) hangs through the slit (3)

- that closely below the plate is arranged two rollers (4) at the same vertical distance from the plate, the rollers (4) being counter rotatable, and a plane of mirror symmetry between the rollers is coincident with a middle plane of the slit (3), and

- that the cutting device (7) is arranged immediately close to the slit (3), at the underside of the plate.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the plate is curved so as to form a gutter (2).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the width of the slit (3) is adjustable.

4. Device according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the outer diameter of the rollers (4) touches each other, and that the distance between the rollers is adjustable for adjustment of the pressure against the fishing net.

5. Device according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the cutting device is arranged at the rear end of the plate, but so that it completely is covered by the plate.

6. Device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that the cutting device (7) is one, preferentially two rotating knives.

7. Device according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that it is arranged a water- or air nozzle at the upper side of the plate, directed towards the net rope or a vacuum device is arranged at the lower side of the plate, directed towards the net rope.

8. Device according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that the plate (21, 22, 23) includes two slits (31, 32) and that a pair of rollers is arranged below each slit, so that two net ropes can be cut clear at the same time.

9. Device according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that by including two gutters, each gutter having one slit, and two set of rollers, one set of rollers being arranged below each slit so that two net ropes can be cut clear at the same time.

10. Device according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that at least one brush is arranged at the rear edge of the device to remove remaining parts of fishing net threads.