Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
- ~174990
Title: Yeeeel.
The inventlon relate~ to a vessel comprising a hollow member
hanging down from the under3ids of the ve~el intendad to ~hed through
it material on the subaqueous ground.
In many caee~ it i~ dasirRble to pour material, for e~ample,
stonea at given pla¢e~ of a subaqueous ground to protect the ground
and/or objects such as pipelines and the like deposited on the ground.
AP a matter of courae it i9 de~irable to a¢quire a maYimum effect by a
minimum amount of dumping material, which can, of course, ohly be
achieved when the dumping material i9 poured aa accurately a~ pos~ible
at the place concerned.
For dumping the material there are ~ometimes used vessels
which permit of gradually pushinR the material o~f the deck of the
vessel or vessel~ having a dividable structure ~o that the cargo of the
vessel can be poured out by opening the vessel. Su¢h methods may
yield satisfactory reaults at deptha which are not too large, but
in the case of greater depth~ undeslrable ~pread of the dumping material
on the ground ~urface will often occur. In order to eliminate thia
drawbaok it has been proposed, in the case of greater deptha, to use
ves~els provided witb rigld pipes, Howe~es, ~everal disadvantages aro
inherent to the use of a veasel equipped with ~uch a rigid pipe,Since
a veasel equipped with auch a pipe i~ partioularly intended to ahed
dumping material at a greater depth such a pipe must have u great length.
Thia requirea a relatively heavy and compli¢ated devi¢e for moving the
pipe up and down in its dire¢tion of length, sinoe it will frequently
not be acceptable and with regard to the water gauge often not be
poaaible to leave the pipe projecting from the ve~sel'o bottom during
the di~placement of the vesael from one location to another.
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- 2 _ ~ 17 4g9 0
Be~ide~, such a pipe hAving a olos~d wall meets heavy
re~i~tance in the water ~o that it will be diffioult to maintain the
ve~el at the place concerned, when the mat~ial i~ being dumped,
or to displace it aocur~tely along the intended path, Moreover, all
efforts exe~ed on ths pipe have to be ab~orbed by ths fa~tening ~truo-
ture between the veqsel and the pipe, which requires a very eturdy con-
~truction. The movements of the ship are, in addibion, transferred to
the pipe, which may produce undesirably heavy forces in the ~y~tem
a~ well as undeJirable di~pl~cements oE the lower end of the pipe.
Aocording to the invention the hollow pipe i8 msde from
flexible, water-perviouJ material.
In practice it ha~ been found that by uoing suoh ~ hollow
member of fle~ible, water-pervious material the disadvantage~ inherent
in the above-de~cribed uses of the pipe can be avoided.
The force~ transferred through the hollow ~ember to the ~hip
may thus be relatively small, ~in¢e the wall of the hollow member is
pervioua to water. Moreover, the hollow member can be readily hauled up
or lowered, ~ince it i~ made from fle~ible material and can, thereEore,
bs folded, ~o to say, in the Eorm oE bellows. By correct con~truction
of bhe flexible member it can be ensured that during dumping of the mate-
rial the ship~s movement~ are appreciably damped along the length of the
hollow member 80 that the u~u~l movement~ oE the ship are ~ubstantially
not transferred to the lower end of the hollow member. As a result,
the lower end of the hollow member ¢an be brought nearer the ground
surface or the ob~ect to be protected w~thout the risk of contact betweon
the lower end of the hollow member and the ground or the obJect concerned
respectively, which would give rise to damage of the hollow member
and/or of the ob~ect to be protected.
The invention will now be described more fully wlth reference
1 174990
to ~n smbodiment of a conetruotion accordi~ to the invention shown
schematically in the accompsnying drawing.
Fig. 1 schematically shows part o~ a ship with a bunker
placed on it, with which communioates the top end of a hollow member.
Fig, 2 show~ on an enlarged scale part of the hollow me~ber.
Fig, 3 i~ a ~ectionu1 viow of the ~ember of Fig. 2 ta~en on
the li~e lII-III in ~ig. 2.
Fig, 4 is an elevational view of the lower end of the hollow
member.
Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the part of Pig. 4.
Fig, 6 is a repre~entation like Flg. 1, the bunker being
moved into an elevated position and the hollow ember being partly
drawn up.
Fig. 7 is a representation corresponding to Fig. 6, the
hollow member being completely drawn up.
Fig. 1 eohematically ehows part Or a ship's hull 1, which
compri~ee a main deok 2 snd a lower eur~aoe 3. In tho ~hip~ hull 1~
arranBed a vertioal pipe 4. Above the plpe le arrangod a bunker 5, which
in the poeition ehown in ~ig. 1 bearo on the main deok 2 by meane of a
bunker eupporting frame 6. With the bunker are coupled a few setting
rams 7 e~tendin6 vertioslly upwards, wlth the aid of whioh the bunker
ie displaceable in a direction of helght, as will be e~plained more
fully hereinafter.
On the main deck 2 i~ arranged a crane (not shown) which
may be dieplaceable or not dieplaceablo along the main deok for loading
the bunker 5 with dumping materisl. ~his dumping material may be tsken
from the hold(~) of the vessel 1 it~el~ or from lighters or the like
lying alongside the vessel. As a matter of oourHo, other oharging devlcee
than a crane may be u~ed for supplying dumping material to the bunker.
~ 4 ~ 1174990
`iith an outlet stub 8 on the under~ide of the bunker oommu-
nicates the top end of a plpe 8A, which is surrondad by the top end of
a flesible, hollow ~ember 9, which e~tends in the position shown in
Fig. 1 downwards through the pipe 4 toward3 the subsqueous ground.
The hollow member 9 comprises a plurality of cylindrical
'nets 10, each of which ia provided at the top and bottom and~ with a
flange 11 and 12 re~pectively (Fig. 2), Between the flanges 11 and 12
ring3 13 eYtend at equal intervals paralle~ to the flange~ 11 and 12
and are conneoted with the net 10,The distance bstwe~ a flange and the
most adjacent ring 13 and the di~tance between two neighbouring rings
1~ are chosen ~o that sAid di~tance is equ~l to or smaller than the
largest diameter of the hollow member 9 comprising the successive
net~ 10. The size of the me~hes of the net is chosen in accordance
with the material to be dumped 80 that no undesirable amounts of this
material can move across the meshes of the net.
~ he lower flange 12 of the net lO i~ conn~cted with the
adja¢ent flange 11 of the ne~t-following net 10 preferably with the aid
of quickly fiYable and relea~able connecting member~, whioh are not
~hown in detail.
A~ hown in Fig~. 4 and 5, the lower end of the hollow
member 9 is provided with a bottom flange 14, to which i~ fastened
the top end of a shoot 15, which constitute~ the lower end of the
hollow member.
Around the ~hoot are arranged four or more driving members 16 to 1g,
which can be put into and out of operation from the ve~el.
With the aid of these driving members (see Fig. 5) the lower
end of the hollow member 9 can be subjected to a force directed to the
left or to the ri~ht and, re~peotively directed upward~ or downwards,
as the ca~e may be, in conjunction 80 that the lower end of the hollow
1 17499
-- 5 --
member 9 can be maiDtaineA in a de~ired po~ition or, respsati~ely,
moved into a de~ired po~ition~ By using four driving members of the
kind descr~bed the control of the lower end Or the hollow member can
even be ensured ~hen one of the two p~rallel driving embers 16 and t8
and/or one of the two parallel driving members 17 and 19 fails to
operate.
It is furthermore ahown that the lower flange 14 i~ 3uspend-gd
to the lower ends of the hoi~ting cableo 20. As ia shown i~ detail in
Figs. 2 and ~ these hoi~ting cables are paseed through and coupled with
cable guides 21 shown only schematically fastened to the flanges 11 and
12 and to the rings, said guide~ being prefersbly ¢onstruoted eo that
they can be readily opened and closed to remove the csbles from the
guides or t~rearrange them therein respecti~aly.
The top ends of the hoiating cablos 20 are connected with
winches 22 arrsn~ed on the veosel, particulsrly on the frame 6.
~ ig. 1 show~ furthermore that to the opening 8 of the
bun~er 18 furthermore fastened a downwsrdly e~tendlng pipe 8~, whloh
e~tonds in the top psrt of the hollow member 9.
The ves~el 1 is proferably oquipped with driving mean~
with the aid of which the vesesl can be displscea both in lte direction
of length and in transver~e direction. Said drivlng meane oan bo oontrolled
with the aid of a computer or the like in a msnner such that the ~essel
io malntalned accurately in a predetermlned poa1tion or moves acourately
along a given track. In thi8 manner it csn be ensured that ~or dumping
material on the sea floor and/or on an obJect lying on the bottom the
lower end of the ~hoot is also maintained at the given area or moves
along the gi~en traok. In thi~ ¢a~e the shoot hsng~ down in the manner
shown in Fig. 1 and will be in the stretched state. The material to
be dumped can then be brought into the bunker 5 and from the bun~er
- 6 117499~
be pa~sed through the pipe 8A and the interior of the hollow member 9
toward~ the end of the hollow member. By ~uitable choioe of the mesh ~i~e
of the net of the hollow member 9 it can bo avoided th~t undesirably
large amounts of dumping ~aterial pas~ a¢ross the me~he~ o~ the net-
shaped material. Water can, however~ pass freoly through the meshe~ of
the net-sh~pea material ~o that the lateral foroe9 e~erted through the
hollow member on the vessel will be relatively slight.
~ y correct choice Or the weight of the flanges 11, 12 and the
ring~ 13 it can be en~ured that the hollow me~ber hanging down from ~he
vessel during operAtion has such aresilienc- aonstant and inertia
that at the occurrence of movements the~s motion~ of the ship are
dy~ng out ~long the length of the hollow embor 80 that thQy will
sub~tantially not be trans~erred to the lower end o~ the hollow member.
~herefore, during operation the lower end of the hollow me~ber can be
fairly closely approached to the ground or the objeot to be covered
with dumping msterial without the risk of the lower end of the holaow
member coming undesirably into ¢onta~ with the ground and/or the object
to be covered.
Since by ~aid construction the hollow member has a low
weight and will esperience little resistance in the water during operation,
lt may unobjeotionably be constructea in a largo dlameter 80 that the
hollow member according to the invention permita of using du~ping
material of large ~ize, for e~ample, stone~ without the risk of cloggiDg
of the hollow member.
Owing to the above.de~cribsd disposltion of ring~ and flangoa
at relative di~tances smaller than the diameter of the pipe it is avoided,
as hae been found in practice, that the pa~sAge is undesirably diminished
due to torsion of the hollow member about lts longitudinal a~is.
~ fter the job has been fini~hed or when the hollow member
7 ~ 174990
has to be inspected, the bunker 5 can be lifted with the aid of the
rams 7 into the position shown in ~igs. 6 and 7, in which the pipe 8A
i9 completely above the main deck. Then by sctuating the wi~ches the
hoisting cable~ 20 can be hauled up ~o that the Ylanges 11, 12 and ring~
of the hollow member are progres~iYely drawn against one another, the
parts of the net being folded in bellows-like faohion as i8 illustrated
in Fig. 6. Thus standing on the main deck o~ the vesoel one c~n cheok
the ~tate of the hollow member and if a gi~en part of the material of
the hollow member is damaged, ~aid part can be readily taken away by
relea~ins the flanges concerned and be replaced by a new p~rt. ~inally
the hollow member can be completely drawn in on the pipe 8A a~ i8
illustrated in Fig. 7, in which pooition al~o the shoot 15 and the
driving members secured thereto can be checked.
From the foregoing it will be obvious that by using the
construction ~c;aording to the invention a p~rticulsrly simple and
efficient structure is obtained, which provtdeo surprisi~g advantages
with reapect to the constructiono hitherto used.
In order to ensure a very uniform ~upply of material to the
hollow member 9 a dosing system, for e~ample, a vibrating chute may be
arran~edbetween the hollow member 9 and the bunker 5.
