Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Apparatus for handling and storing synthetic fibre ropes or lines
The present invention relates to an apparatus for handling and storing
synthetic fibre
ropes or lines, as disclosed in the preamble of attached claim 1.
The apparatus will preferably, but not necessarily, be used in connection with
floating
offshore installations, and be adapted for reception at, storage on board and
deployment
from a ship.
to In connection with, inter alia, the anchoring and mooring of floating
offshore
installations, offshore windmills, offshore wave power plants or other types
of floating
offshore installations, particularly in connection with offshore activities
and use of
support vessels or supply ships such as anchor handling vessels, it has
gradually become
more common to use synthetic fibre ropes and mooring lines instead of chain or
wire of
iron or steel. This has to do with the fact that a rope of this kind, both
when dry and
when wet, weighs far less than metal of the same strength. In water, a fibre
rope will be
almost weightless. Fibre ropes have a high breaking strength and are easier to
handle in
air and water than substantially heavier chain or more rigid and heavier wire.
Storage of chain on board the ship normally takes place by using chain lockers
or
specially constructed chain compartments below deck, the chain being dropped
continuously and often uncontrolledly into the locker or compartment and
becoming
distributed therein in a haphazard manner, whilst storage of fibre ropes and
mooring
lines on board a ship traditionally takes place by using winch drums either
above the
ship's deck, on the ship's deck, or in certain cases even below the ship's
deck.
Flushing of rope, chain or wire as it is taken up from the sea normally takes
place as it
passes over the stem of the ship or the stem roller.
3o The use of a winch drum for storing wound-up rope is a costly and space-
consuming
storage method, in particular when there is a need for simultaneous storage of
a large
number of ropes on board, where the storage capacity normally is limited
because there
are physical constraints as regards how many winch drums it is practically
possible and
cost justifiable to have permanently or temporarily installed on board. When
they are
3s located above deck, their weight and the stability of the ship must also be
taken into
account. This means in reality that the number of rope lengths which can be
stored on
board simultaneously is thus naturally very limited. Operationally, this sets
limitations
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as regards the number of rope lengths an offshore ship, an anchor handling
vessel or a
supply ship can deploy or deliver into the sea, or take in or haul up from the
sea and at
the same time store in a practical, sensible and cost-efficient manner.
There has therefore long been an increasing need to find a simple, yet
efficient and
inexpensive way of handling such fibre ropes or synthetic ropes as regards
storage on
board any offshore service ship whatsoever.
According to the invention, the apparatus referred to above is characterised
in that on
1 o the ship's deck there is provided at least one rope storing tank or
compartment for the
feeding-in, coiling and storage of the rope in successive layers in the tank
or
compartment, and for the feeding-out of the rope from the tank.
Additional embodiments of the apparatus are set forth in attached subsidiary
claims 2-
23.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the
attached
drawings which show non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the apparatus.
Fig. 1 shows the principle of the apparatus according to the invention.
Fig. 2 shows part of an offshore vessel, anchor handling vessel or supply ship
equipped
with an apparatus according to the invention where the rope is being moved
from a
storage tank to the ship's winches.
Fig. 3 shows part of an offshore ship, anchor handling vessel or supply ship
with an
exemplified rope storing tank according to the invention that is in
cooperation with a
shore-based winch drum or winch drum on board another offshore ship for
winding up
or paying out rope.
Fig. 4 shows part of an offshore ship, anchor handling vessel or supply ship
with an
apparatus according to the invention located on the ship's deck, where the
rope is being
moved from the storage tank to the ship's winches.
Figs. 1-4 shows an apparatus for handling mooring line or fibre rope 1 for
reception at,
storage on board and deployment from an offshore ship, anchor handling vessel
or
supply ship 2. The apparatus consists of at least one rope storing tank 3 on
the ship's
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deck 2' equipped with a device 4, 5 for the feeding-in and controlled or
natural coiling
and storage of the rope 1 in successive layers in the tank 3, the rope 1
passing through a
feeding-in and feeding-out opening or port 3' which can be opened in the top
of the
tank. It is also conceivable that the tank 3 is wholly oepn at the top, and
that controlling
the rope 1 may be conducted by use of a crane 13 with adapted operation
equipment 14
or apparatus 14. Alternatively, there may be equipment 5, as part of the said
device for
controlled feeding-out of the rope 1 from the tank 3. Said device 4, 5 and
equipment 5
are, if necessary, designed to cooperate with any winch drum 6 which primarily
is
located on board the ship. As a supplement, said device and equipment may also
io cooperate with a winch drum 7 that is located onshore or on board another
ship, as
shown in Fig. 4.
The ship-based winch drum 6 is arranged to take in the rope 1 from the sea 8
prior to
subsequent storage in the tank 3. Feeding the rope 1 to the tank 3 will as a
rule take
place from the winch drum 6 or 7. Slack rope 1 can also be fed to the tank 3
directly
from the sea. The ship-based winch drum 6 is in addition adapted to take the
rope 1
from the tank 3 to the winch drum 6 either directly or via device 5 for
tension control
prior to subsequent deployment thence from the ship 2, for example, by passing
the rope
1 into the sea 8 when the rope is or is not operationally connected to, for
example,
chain, wire, anchor or other equipment that is to be placed on the seabed, or
the rope is
to be used for, example, for towing. Other use of the rope is of course
possible. The
rope 1 may conceivably also be conveyed into the sea 8 directly from the tank
3 by
means of device 5.
It is also conceivable that said device 4, 5 and equipment 5' cooperate with
the shore-
based or other ship mounted winch drum 7 for either feeding the rope 1 thence
to the
tank 3, or feeding the rope 1 from the tank 3 to the shore-based or other ship
mounted
winch drum 7. This is especially appropriate for filling a supply ship 2 with
or
emptying it of a desired number of, for example, new, previously used or
repaired rope
lengths, or for taking ashore or to another ship rope lengths for intermediate
storage,
repair or disposal, or for providing space and the possibility for rope
lengths of another
diameter, specification and/or length to be brought on board the ship.
In another connection, it may be appropriate to allow the ship-based winch
drum 6 to be
adapted to take in the rope 1 from the sea 8 prior to storage in the tank 3,
the feeding of
the rope 1 to the tank 3 taking place from the winch drum 6, after which the
shore-based
or other ship mounted drum 7 is adapted, when the ship 2 lies close to the
shore or is
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offshore, to take the rope 1 from the tank 3 for subsequent storage and
handling of the
rope ashore or on board another ship.
In another example, the shore-based or other ship mounted winch drum 7 holding
wound-up rope 1 may be adapted to cooperate with said device 4, 5 for feeding
the rope
1 to the tank 3. In this case, as will also be understood from the above, a
winch drum 6
on board the ship will be adapted to take the rope 1 out of the tank 3 for
winding onto
the ship-based winch drum 6 prior to deployment thence from the ship 2.
1o The tank may be circular, rectangular or have another shape. For such
location on the
ship's deck, it is conceivable that one or more specially constructed storage
tanks or
compartments are mounted and stored in place. Both location and height of the
tank
may in some cases be limited by other installations on the ship on a level
with or above
its deck.
The tank 3 may advantageously have an internal rope coiling core 9, wherein
the core at
the bottom 9' may have an almost truncated conical shape which, in its upper,
narrowest
region 9", may pass into an upright column 9"' with varying requirements for
diameter. Upright column 9"' may also extend right down to the bottom of the
tank 3
without any conical configuration. Also at the bottom of the tank 3, there is
advantageously an outlet 10 for water that runs off the rope 1 when it is
coiled in the
tank 3 and after it lies in layers in the tank. The water connection 10 may
also
advantageously be used in the reverse manner to fill the tank 3 with water to
wash the
tank 3 and/or the rope 1 whilst it is stored in the tank 3.
As indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, the core 9 is preferably formed of assembled,
spaced-apart
upright and transverse ribs. The core 9 may also be formed of a solid tube of
varying
diameter. At an upper region 9"", the upright column 9"' is advantageously
equipped
with a rope guide 4 which is manually or mechanically manually/automatically
rotatable
in a horizontal plane. In the illustrated example, the rope guide 4 is
controlled manually
by an operator 11 who stands on a secured platform 12. But it is of course
fully
possible to replace the operator with a mechanically, manually or
automatically
controlled drive means which causes the rope guide 4 to move in a 360-degree
path in
order to help guide the rope into the correct laying in each individual layer.
In this
connection, it is conceivable that the rope guide 4 is either telescopic,
scissor-shaped or
may have its angle to the horizontal plane changed, such that the rope is laid
in the
correct laying radius on each turn. If the tank is open at the top, external
equipment like
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for example the ship's cranes 13 with accompanying apparatus 14 or utilizer
equipment
14 may be emploid. Such apparatus 14 may for example be a controlable or
moveable
rope guide or guiding roller. It is also conceivable that the rope 1 coils
itself into or out
of the tank 3 directly through the feed opening 3' without any form of
mechanical or
5 manual actuation.
The aforementioned device 4, 5 thus consists of the rope guide 4 and said
equipment 5
which is in the form of a controllable or movable guiding roller 5 for the
rope 1. The
guiding roller 5 is driven by a variable speed motor 5', and the guiding
roller 5 is
io preferably close to or above the feeding-in and feeding-out opening 3' in
the tank 3.
The guiding roller 5 may advantageously be configured and arranged such that,
if
necessary, it can exert a certain clamping effect on the rope 1 as the rope 1
is fed into or
out of the tank 3, for the purpose of obtaining a certain tension in the rope
1 towards the
winch 6 or 7, the sea 8 or other apparatus.
There is basically no limit to the number of or location of tanks for rope
storing,
although there is a limitation related to available space on the ship's deck.
