Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION
HAWSER GUIDANCE SYSTEM FOR A MOORING
HOOK ASSEMBLY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to mooring hook assemblies.
More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a hawser
guidance system for a mooring hook assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Generally, a boat or a ship is secured to a wharf or dock to
a securing device, which is usually a mooring hook assembly, by a
mooring cable, having a large eye or loop, running from the ship to the
dock, which must be sufficiently tight to prevent excessive movements of
the ship with respect to the dock. A messenger line is usually attached to
the mooring cable and thrown to the mooring hook assembly. An operator
standing on the dock receives and secures the messenger line, and
makes sure that the big eye of the mooring cable is engaged into a hook
of the mooring hook assembly.
A number of mooring hook assemblies are available in the
art to fasten the mooring cable to secure the ship and also to release the
mooring cable before the ship sails away from the dock. Mooring hook
assemblies generally comprise a main body fixedly mounted on the dock
and supporting a hook that may move between an open position and a
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closed position to secure the mooring cable by engaging the big eye
thereof.
For example, US Patent number 3,763,815 (Hodate)
describes a releasable mooring hook assembly having one end pivotally
mounted on an horizontal supporting surface of a dock and another end
provided with a hook that can pivot between a first opposition in which a
bight thereof is open toward the mounted end and a second position in
which the bight is open in the opposite direction, the bight being spaced
from a pivot axis of the hook so that a rope held in the hook in the first
position tends to turn the hook into its second position.
On the one hand, rapid disengagement of the cable is
usually difficult. US Patent number 3,811,720 (Epstein) discloses a
fastening means for a releasable mooring hook assembly that can be
actuated by an operator on the dock to allow the cable to slip away from
the fastening means so that the ship may sail away from the dock.
Still, engagement of the ship mooring cable to the mooring
hook assembly mounted on the dock generally requires hard labor and
may be dangerous since the cable is usually of a large diameter and
heavy, even though efforts have been made in the art to provide improved
mooring hook assemblies, such as by providing a multi-part rotatable lever
to catch the cable (see US Patent number 3,761,122 (Epstein) for
instance).
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a hawser guidance
system that facilitates engagement and disengagement of the mooring
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cable to and from the hook of a mooring hook assembly, without undue
manual intervention, and even in adverse conditions as where wind or
waves are present, for example.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide
a hawser guidance system for a mooring hook assembly to facilitate
engagement and disengagement of the mooring hook.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
More specifically, in accordance with the present invention,
there is provided hawser guidance system adaptable to a mooring hook
assembly having a first end mounted on a wharf and a second end
supporting a pivoting line engaging member, the hawser guidance system
comprising a vertical arm mounted to the mooring hook assembly between
the first and second ends thereof to catch and secure a messenger line
attached to an incoming mooring cable running from a ship, so that an eye
of the mooring cable is presented over the line engaging member to
facilitate the line engaging member into the eye.
Other objects, advantages and features of the present
invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-
restrictive description of specific embodiments thereof, given by way of
example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the appended drawing:
Figure 1 is a side-view of a mooring hook assembly, in a
fully closed position, provided with a hawser guidance system according
to one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side-view of the mooring hook assembly, in an
open position, provided with the hawser guidance system of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a top of the mooring hook assembly, in a fully
closed position, provided with the hawser guidance of Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a side-view of the mooring hook assembly, in a
fully closed position, provided with the hawser guidance system of Figure
1 combined with a capstan.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Generally stated, the present invention provides a hawser
guidance system for a mooring hook assembly. Since mooring hook
assemblies are believed to be well known in the art, only the parts thereof
necessary for the description of the hawser guidance system of the
present invention will be mentioned herein; therefore mooring hook
assemblies themselves will not be described in further detail.
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As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the appended drawings,
the hawser guidance system 10 according to an embodiment of the
present invention may be adaptable to a mooring hook assembly
comprising an elongated hook supporting member 12 having one end 30
5 pivotally mounted on a surface of a wharf (not shown) and a line engaging
member 14 pivotally attached to an other end of the elongated hook
supporting member 12.
The elongated supporting member 12 conventionally
comprises two spaced-apart plates 20 and 22, each comprising a lower
end 24, which is of a generally curved or circular configuration, and an
upper end 26. The plates 20 and 22 are fixedly attached to one another
by a shaft 28 and jointly connected to a pivot assembly at the end 30
mounted on the horizontal wharf, not otherwise shown.
A free other end of the elongated supporting member 12
pivotally supports the line engaging member 14 on a shaft 32 connecting
the two spaced-apart plates 20 and 22 and parallel to the shaft 28.
The line engaging member 14 is typically a U-shaped hook
comprising a first leg 34 and a second leg 36, each leg 34, 36 having a
substantially rounded portion 38 and 40 respectively (best seen in Figure
2), and both legs 34, 36 having a common base 42 (best seen in Figure
1 ). The U-shaped hook 14 is positioned between the two spaced-apart
plates 20 and 22 and fastened on the lower end 24 thereof by the shaft 32
which extends through aligned apertures (not shown) in the two spaced-
apart plates 20 and 22, in the base 42 and in the hook 14 respectively.
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The hook 14 may be locked in a closed position illustrated
in Figure 1 and may be unlocked under the tension of a mooring cable,
secured to the hook by an eye, to an unlocked position thereof illustrated
in Figure 2. During this pivoting movement of the hook 14 into the
unlocked position of Figure 2, the free end of the supporting member 12
and the hook 14 mounted thereon are moved upward and away from the
surface of the wharf (not shown), by a mechanism including a release
level 46. The release lever 46 is a rotatable lever attached on the upper
end 26 of the two spaced-apart plates 20 and 22 by means of a bolt 48
running through aligned apertures (not shown) in the plates 20 and 22 and
in a lower end of the release fever 46. The release lever 46 has a short leg
50 through which the bolt 48 passes, and a long leg 52. Such a
mechanism is believed to be well known in the art and will not be further
described herein. (t allows a rapid release of the cable 44, since the hook
14 is pivoted by tension of the cable 44, by counterbalancing, after release
of the locking mechanism. Once open as illustrated in Figure 2, the hook
14 may be manually reset to the locked position of Figure 1.
The hawser guidance system 10 of the present invention
comprises a vertical arm 16 mounted on the elongated hook supporting
member 12 between the two ends thereof. The hawser guidance system
10 may further comprise a righting bar 18 located in front of the line
engaging member 14.
The vertical arm 16 may comprises a pair of vertical rods 16'
and 16", raising from mounting brackets 21, 23 provided on the plates 22
and 20 respectively. The vertical rods 16' and 16" are spaced-apart so
that a messenger line 47 attached to the mooring cable 44 passes
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therebetween and drops all the way down. An automatic swinging of the
arm 16 is allowed under tension of the mooring cable 44 coming from a
ship (not shown), which causes the arm 16 to orient itself aligned with the
direction of the incoming mooring cable 44, permitting an eye 45 of the
mooring cable 44 to presents itself above the hook 14 to facilitate
engagement of the hook 14 into the eye 45.
Moreover, the vertical rods 16' and 16" may be so shaped
to provide an neck region 54 to prevent the messenger line 47 from being
pulled out when in a loose condition for example.
Obviously, the vertical arm 16 may be an articulating arm, a
bracket or a rope carrier providing that it guides the messenger line 47 so
that the eye 45 of the mooring cable 44 reaches a location over the hook
14 allowing a direct engagement of the hook 14 into the eye 45.
Alternatively, a non-articulating arm may be used.
The righting bar 18 may be further located in front of the
hook 14 for righting the eye 45, so as to straighten the mooring cable 44
if it gets twisted, and also to flatten the messenger line 47, in order to
facilitate engagement of the hook 14 into the eye 45, and inversely, to
ease disengagement of the hook 14 therefrom (in the opening position as
illustrated in Figure 2). The righting bar 18 may be of a fairlead type or a
roller-type. The righting bar 18 may be an open or closed-type. Its location
relative to the hook 14 of the hawser guiding system 10 may vary,
depending on the type and size of the mooring cable 44 and on an angle
of approach of the boat to the deck for instance.
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The hawser guiding system 10 advantageously includes a
means of automatically swinging the vertical arm 16 to orient itself in the
direction of the incoming mooring cable 44.
5 Figure 1 illustrates a mooring hook assembly in a fully
closed position thereof, when the mooring cable 44 is secured through
engagement of the eye 45 and under strain. In that position, the second
leg 36 is inserted between the two spaced-apart plates 20 and 22, while
the first leg 34 is in an upward position. An anticlockwise movement of an
10 end 56 of the hook 14 allows the release of the eye 45 of the mooring
cable 44, in the open position showed in Figure 2, as is well known in the
art.
As should now be apparent, the hawser guidance system of
15 the present invention generally comprises a vertical arm mounted on a
mooring hook assembly at a distance from the hook thereof, which
catches and guides a messenger line attached to an incoming mooring
cable and may orient itself aligned with a direction of the incoming mooring
cable. The hawser guidance system may further comprises a righting bar
20 located in front of the hook for righting the mooring cable, in such a way
that the messenger line is caught by the vertical arm in a generally flat
horizontal position so that the mooring cable is untwisted and an eye
thereof presents itself in a position above the hook allowing an easy
engagement of the eye by the hook.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, illustrated
in Figures 3 and 4, the hawser guiding system of the present invention
may further include a means to retrieve the messenger line 47, such as a
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power-operated capstan 60 (electrical, hydraulic or air-operated), which
position and operation is integral with an automatic operation of the
system according to the present invention. The capstan 60 may be part
and on top of the mooring hook assembly on which the system 10 is
5 adapted, as illustrated in the Figures 3 and 4, or separated therefrom on
a platform, or even located behind. The capstan 60 is selected with
characteristic that may advantageously include size, horse-power rating,
capstan head design, shape and size, and positioning of the capstan 60
in relation to the hook 14 or vertical arm 16.
People in the art will appreciate that a winch may be
substituted for the capstan 60.
Optionally, a roller fairlead 62, comprising for example
15 pulleys or rollers arranged to permit reeling in of the messenger line 47
from any direction, may be used in conjunction with the capstan 60 to
guide the messenger line 47 to a drum 64 of the capstan 60.
People in the art will also appreciate that a hawser guiding
system according to the present invention may be adapted to any
conventional mooring hook assembly as described herein, without
requiring complicated, time-consuming and therefore expensive
modifications thereof.
25 Although the present invention has been described
hereinabove by way of specific embodiments thereof, it can be modified
without departing from the spirit and nature of the subject invention, as
defined in the appended claims.
