Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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System for launching and recovering marine and submarine devices
assisted by tiltable protective components
The present invention is in the maritime field and relates to a system
for launching and recovering marine or submarine devices (Launch And
Recovery System (L.A.R.S.)) capable on the one hand of raising the device
from the water as far as a towing system on board a support vessel and on
the other hand of lowering the device from the support vessel onto the sea. It
notably applies to launching towed or autonomous submarine devices, the
latter then being provided with a temporary connection du ring the launch and
recovery phases.
The operations of launching and recovering a marine or submarine
device from or to a support vessel also responsible for the transportation of
said device generally include a critical phase, especially in a choppy sea.
That phase consists in the passage from the totally out of the water state in
which the device is fastened to the handling means employed to the totally
submerged state in which the device no longer has any connection with the
latter means, and vice versa. In fact, it is during these critical phases that
the
swell is the most dangerous for the integrity of the device, the latter being
agitated by the swell when it is close either to the structure of the vessel
or to
that of the lifting and handling means, with the attendant risk of striking
them.
This is the case in particular for a marine or submarine device in the launch
or recovery phase when the device is partly in the water: its movements are
not yet (or no longer) completely controlled by the lifting and handling
means.
Accordingly, where autonomous devices, not towed by the
vesse!, are concerned, one known solution consists in providing mooring
means on the hull of the device, for example securing means, said securing
means being such that the device can be lifted whilst remaining in a
horizontal position. Launching and recovery can then be carried out using a
winch mounted on a mobile gantry placed at the stem of the vessel, for
example, or a crane, the gantry or the crane making it possible to position
the
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lifting winch over the recovery area. Thereafter launching and raising are
effected vertically, which limits the possibilities of collision with the
vessel
during raising or lowering. Alternatively, the device can be lifted by placing
it
in a cradle type device itself including appropriate securing points.
This type of solution is applicable, notably autonomously, to devices
towed from the center but is not easily applicable to devices towed from the
front, however, in that, for obvious reasons of efficacy, the aim is to tow
and
to handle the device using a single cable. Handling by means such as those
described above using a single cable proves delicate because it leads to the
device passing from the vertical position to the horizontal position during
launch and conversely during recovery. This handling moreover necessitates
complementary operations the abject of which is, after the device is lifted
and
positioned above the deck of the vessel, to deposit the device flat on the
deck of the vessel or more generally in a storage area. These operations
generally necessitate the intervention of human operatives, which
intervention is rendered more delicate and more dangerous in a heavy sea.
In the case of devices towed from the front, the solution that is generally
preferred consists in using a handling cable temporarily attached above the
center of gravity of the device.
A solution that is also used provides handling based on the placement
of means including an inclined ramp on which the device slides onto the
surface of the water or to leave it and return to the vessel. The ramp is
generally configured to guide the device along a rectilinear trajectory, which
prevents the device from being able to move laterally. However, a ramp of
this kind is not generally suitable for use in a heavy sea: lateral movements
of the device can then damage it.
Using such means advantageously makes it possible to launch and to
deploy the device behind the vessel by allowing the towing cable to play out
and, conversely, to recover the device on board the vessel by winding in the
cable, for example onto the drum of a winch. In this way the device towed by
the vessel can be launched and recovered when the vessel is moving sa that
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the device is naturally positioned on the axis of forward movement of the
latter.
Various solutions have been developed to alleviate these problems of coming
into contact,
generally suited to a given type of device. These known solutions generally
consists in reinforcing
the structure of the device, principally the nose, so that the latter resists
impacts following entry
into contact with the end of the ramp. It also consists in using means for
minimizing these impacts,
in particular configuring the ramp so that its end is situated below the
surface of the water so that
the device floating on the surface comes into contact with the inclined
surface of the ramp and
not its end. Solutions of this kind nevertheless prove inadequate in a heavy
sea because the
slamming effect of the waves is then accentuated by the movement of the
vessel.
Other solutions have been developed (see for example EP 20110793422 and US
8430049B1) in which the vessel incorporates a tiltable articulated ramp. The
inclination of the
ramp makes it possible to control the submerged part of the ramp. Once the
ramp is submerged,
the device is towed over the abutment that separates the ramp from the surface
of the water.
Moreover, in a heavy sea the ramp may come out of the water.
The foregoing solution is effective but cannot be fitted to ail vessels. In
fact, many vessels
cannot support the weight necessary for the installation of the equipment
linked to the operation
of a tiltable articulated ramp. The problem solved by the present invention is
to cause the marine
or submarine device to pass over a step situated between the end of the ramp
and the water,
notably when a small vessel is used, for example less than 50 meters long and
preferably less
than 20 meters long, incapable of supporting the installation of equipment
that is too heavy, such
as a tiltable articulated ramp as described in the prior art.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system
comprising a
ramp and a device for launching and recovering a marine or submarine device
from a support
vessel, said device including a carnage and a protective component, wherein:
the protective component is connected to the carnage by a pivot con nection of
which a
first axis is parallel to a surface of water when said device is secured to
said vessel;
the protective component is adapted to raise said marine or submarine device
partially
or totally out of the water during recovery of the marine or submarine device
and to place said
marine or submarine device in or partially in the water during launch of the
marine or submarine
device, by rotation of the protective component about said carnage;
said carnage and said ramp are connected by a sliding connection;
said ramp is fastened to said vessel;
the protective component is adapted to raise or to deposit said marine or
submarine
device by contact with an element chosen from a wing of said marine or
submarine device, a
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lateral protuberance of said marine or submarine device and the hull of said
marine or
submarine device;
said system includes a sliding zone situated along said ramp fastened to said
vessel;
and
the protective component is adapted to cooperate with the sliding zone to
cause said
marine or submarine device to move from a support of the protective component
to a support of
said ramp or from said support of said ramp to said support of the protective
component.
The system advantageously comprises at least two of said protective components
fastened together.
Said protective component or each of said protective components advantageously
comprises a protective part and an arm connected by a complete connection and
such that said
arm or each of said arms is con nected by one of said pivot connections to
said carnage.
Date Reçue/Date Received 2021-07-27
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Each of said protective parts advantageously comprises at least one
curved part and is adapted to limit the movements of said marine or
submarine device.
At least one part of one of said protective parts of the system is
5 advantageously hollowed out so as not to corne into contact with fragile
parts
of the marine or submarine device.
Said pivot connection connecting each protective component to the
carnage is advantageously freely rotatable.
At least one of said protective parts of the system advantageously
113 includes at least one roller mounted at one of its ends and pivoting about
a
second axis parallel to the surface of the water when said system is secured
to said vessel.
At least one of said protective parts advantageously includes at least
one relier mounted on a part of said protective part adapted to cooperate with
=
said sliding zone and pivoting about a second axis parallel to the surface of
the water when said system is secured to said vessel.
The vessel advantageously includes traction means adapted to
control the sliding of said marine or submarine device on said ramp. Said
carnage of said system can be in direct or indirect contact with said marine
or
submarine device during recovery or launch of said marine or submarine
device.
Said marine or submarine device is advantageously autonomous and .
at least one of said protective components includes an attachment device
enabling connection of said autonomous submarine device at least to said
protective component.
Said traction means of the system advantageously include a winch, a
traction cable and drive means such that said traction cable is fastened to
said marine or submarine device, is driven by said winch, itself fastened to
said support vessel and such that the carnage includes a fairlead guiding
said traction cable on the axis of the ramp.
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The system advantageously comprises at least one raising element
fastened to at least one of said sliding zones in which at least one of said
protective components is able to cooperate with at least one of said raising
elements to cause said marine or submarine device to move from a support
of at least one of said protective components to a support of said ramp or
from said support of said ramp to said support of at least one of said
protective components.
At least one of said sliding zones of the system is advantageously
adapted to force the rotation of at least one of said protective components
about said carnage when said carnage slides on said ramp, locally raising
said marine or submarine device to facilitate its recovery or its launch.
The system advantageously also includes at least one raising
element fastened to at least one of said sliding zones, adapted to force by
contact the rotation of at least one of said protective components about said
carnage when said carnage slides on said ramp, locally raising said marine
or submarine device to facilitate its recovery or its launch.
The system is advantageously adapted to modify the attitude of said
marine or submarine device during the launch or the recovery of said marine
or submarine device.
The present invention also consists in a vessel equipped with at least
one of said systems.
The invention will be better understood and other advantages, details
and features thereof will become apparent in the course of the following
explanatory description given by way of example and with reference to the
appended drawings, in which:
- figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the launch and recovery
device;
- figure 2 is a diagrammatic profile view of one embodiment of a
protective part supporting a wing of a marine or submarine device;
- figure 3 is a
profile view of the entire system at the moment of launch
or recovery;
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figure 4 is a perspective view of the entire system when the marine or
submarine device is entirely mounted on a ramp, and
figure 5 is a sequence of diagrammatic profile views of the entire
system describing a complete recovery phase.
The following description presents a number of embodiments of
the device of the invention: these exannples are not limiting on the scope of
the invention. These embodiments present bath the essential features of the
invention and additional features linked to the embodiments considered. For
clarity, the same elements bear the same reference numbers in the various
figures.
In the remainder of the text the ternis front, rear, in front of and
behind are defined relative to the longitudinal axis of the vessel 6 oriented
from the stem n toward the bow of the vessel 6.
Figure 1 presents a diagrammatic perspective view of the launch
and recovery device 1. That device comprises two elements: the carnage 2
and the protective component 5, itself comprising two parts fastened
together, the protective part 4 and the arm 3. In the figure 1 example, the
two
protective components 5 are installed one on each side of the carnage 2 and
are fastened to each other. They can pivot about the carnage about the axis
y shown. That axis y is parallel to the surface of the water 25 when the
device is secured to a support vessel as described hereinafter in order to be
able to lift or to deposit the marine or submarine device 7 carried by the
protective parts 4, preferably having a curved part to prevent forward or
reanivard movement of the marine or submarine device 7 during the
maneuver. In one particular embodiment the carnage 2 includes a part 26
that has the function of a fairlead.
Figure 2 presents a diagrammatic profile view of one embodiment
of a protective part 4. The shape of this embodiment is in part curved. One of
its functions is to carry the marine or submarine device 7 and to limit or to
prevent movements toward the front of the device 7 of swerving, heaving,
lurching, rolling and yawing caused by external stresses. In one particular
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embodiment of the invention, the rear of the protective part 4 features a
hollowed out part. This configuration can be particularly useful in the case
of
contact between the protective part 4 and a wing 12 of the marine or
submarine device 7.
The rear of the wing 22, termed the trailing edge, is thinner and
mechanically weaker than the front part 23: in this embodiment, contact can
occur only on the surface of the mechanically strongest part of the wing 12.
Figure 3 presents a profile view of one embodiment of the whole of
the L.A.R.S. during a phase of launching or recovering a marine or
submarine device 7. In this embodiment the position of the protective
component 5 is determined by three factors:
- the pivot connection with the carnage 2, described above,
- the difference between the force of gravity and the Archimedean
upthrust exerted on the protective component 5: in this particular
embodiment the protective component 5 is termed of the heavy
type because if does not float, and
- the contact with the wing 12 of the marine or submarine device 7
that bears on the protective component 5.
In this configuration, the pivot connection connecting one of the
protective components 5 and the carnage 2 is qualified as freely rotatable.
Although the rotation can be constrained by one of the above three factors,
this qualification is also made ta distinguish this embodiment from a
particular
embodiment in which the position of a protective component 5 can be
determined primarily by a driving torque applied by first driving means ta the
protective component 5 via the pivot connection connected to the carnage 2.
In one particular embodiment of the invention, a floating protective
component can for example be coupled ta first driving means ta contrai the
submersion of the floating protective component.
In figure 3 the carnage 2 is situated at the bottom of the ramp 11, in a
low or retracted position, ta which ramp it is connected by a sliding
connection. In the phase of launching or raising the marine or submarine
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device 7 the front end of the device 7 is fastened to the traction cable 16.
This traction cable 16 is inserted in the fairlead 26 of the carnage 2 and
remains in close contact therewith, which has the advantageous effect of
maintaining the axis of the device 7 on the axis of the ramp 11 as it moves
along the latter.
This remaining in contact occurs naturally because the carnage 2 is a
heavy component the weight of which, in the absence of the marine or
submarine device 7, tends to cause it to descend along the ramp 11. During
a launch, the carnage 2 therefore accompanies the movement of the marine
or submarine device 7. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the
carnage 2 includes second driving means that enable it to force the descent
along the ramp 11 in order to remain in contact with the marine or submarine
device 7 during its recovery or launch.
The marine or submarine device 7 is raised or lowered by traction
means 14 consisting of the traction cable 16 fastened to the marine or
submarine device 7 and a winch 15 fastened to the support vessel 6 that
enables the cable 16 to be wound in during a recovery phase or the cable 16
to be paid out during a launch phase thanks to third driving means 20 able to
impose a second driving torque on the winch 15. In one particular
embodiment, the marine or submarine device 7 can be an autonomous
marine or submarine device. In this case, the marine or submarine device 7
is provided with a temporary connection during the launch and recovery
phases: the connection between the traction cable 16 and the device 7 is
termed indirect. During the use of an autonomous marine or submarine
device this embodiment can be combined with or replaced by an embodiment
in which at least one of the protective components 5 has a device for
attaching it to the device 7 enabling the device 7 and the protective
component or components to be connected when they corne into contact at
the commencement of recovery of the device 7, for example.
Figure 3 also presents a raising component 18 situated at the edge of
the ramp 11. Its function is described in detail in the description of figure
4.
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Figure 3 illustrates an example of the protective component 5 coming into
contact with the raising component 18 during the recovery or launch phase.
Figure 4 presents a diagrammatic perspective view of the entire
system when the marine or submarine device 7 has been raised completely
5 onto the ramp 11. According to an embodiment presented in this figure, the
marine or submarine device 7 has been recovered using the device
described in figure 1 in which the two protective components 5 are installed
one on each side of the carnage 2 and are fastened to each other. This
feature enables the marine or submarine device 7 to pass over the step
10 between the end of the ramp 11 and the surface of the water 25 without
the
nose or the front of the marine or submarine device 7 being in contact with
the ramp 11. This method makes it possible to avoid impacts capable of
damaging fragile onboard components such as components or sensors, in
particular of a sonar.
Figure 4 makes it possible to illustrate the sliding zone 17 situated
along the ramp 11. It remains in contact with the protective component or
components 5 when the carnage 2 slides along the ramp 11. According to
one embodiment considered, the protective part 4 comprises a roller 10
mounted at one of its ends and pivoting about an axis parallel to the surface
of the water 25, as illustrated in figure 3. This roller 10 enables the
protective
part 4 not to rub on the sliding zone 17 when the marine or submarine device
7 moves on the rarnp 11. According to another embodiment of the invention,
the protective part 4 comprises one or more rollers 10 mounted on a part of
said protective part 4 able to cooperate with said sliding zone 17 and/or a
raising component 18 pivoting about a second axis parallel to the surface of
the water 25 when the system is secured to the vessel 6. These rollers make
it possible to prevent rubbing between the protective components 5 and the
sliding zone 17 and/or one or more raising components 18. They are for
example arranged under the protective part or parts 4 relative to the frame of
reference of the vessel.
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According to the embodiment considered, the sliding zone 17 also
enables the raising component 18, which is fastened to it, to be supported
with the abject of causing the protective component 5 to move through
contact.
Figure 4 moreover illustrates protection and sliding means 30
mounted on the ramp 11 and adapted to favor the movement of the device 7
along the ramp 11 because of the traction exerted by the traction cable 16
and gravity. Said means are for example rollers disposed laterally on the
bottom of the ramp 11 and on which the device 7 rolls.
Figure 5 is a sequence of diagrammatic profile views of the entire
L.A.R.S. showing a complete phase of recovery of the marine or submarine
device 7. One of the main technical problems can be illustrated by figure 5.F.
That figure illustrates the vertical step of height h present between the
surface of the water 25 and the end of the inclined ramp 11. That vertical
wall
represents a source of impacts or shocks with the wall of the marine or
submarine device 7 during launch and recovery thereof, notably when the
front of the marine or submarine device 7 passes between the surface of the
water 25 and the bottom of the ramp.
The effect of the present invention is to enable launching and
recovery of the marine or submarine device 7 avoiding all contact between
the step described above and the front of the marine or submarine device 7.
The recovery sequence is described on the basis of figure 5.A. That figure
illustrates an approach phase of the marine or submarine device 7. The latter
is submerged and fastened to the traction cable 16. It may however be noted
that another embodiment may include a marine or submarine device 7
navigating on the surface during this recovery phase. The carnage 2 is
placed in a retracted position, i.e. at the bottom end of the ramp 11, by
gravity or by the second driving means. The protective components 5 are in
the low position, i.e. pivoted downward, so as to be submerged to receive the
marine or submarine device 7. In the figure 5.A example, the principal axis of
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inertia of the protective components makes an angle with the surface of the
water 25 between 800 and 90 inclusive.
Figure 5.6 illustrates the phase of the marine or submarine device
7 coming alongside. The traction cable 16 is wound in by the winch 15. In this
embodiment the marine or submarine device 7 has wings 12. The traction by
the cable draws the wings 12 into abutment with the protective components
5.
Figure 5.0 illustrates the phase of the front part of the marine or
submarine device 7 mounting the step. The traction cable 16 continues to be
wound in by the winch 15. The protective components 5 are constrained by
the wings 12 of the marine or submarine device 7, by the sliding zone 17 and
by the raising components 18: the protective components 5 then pivot about
the carnage 2, their rotation being forced by the sliding zone 17 and/or a
raising component 18. This rotation of the protective components 5 raises the
front of the marine or submarine device 7 to the level of the ramp. The front
of the marine or submarine device 7 does flot at this time touch any
component of the L.A.R.S., which makes it possible to protect the sensors
from potentially destructive shocks.
Figures 5.D and 5.E illustrate the continued raising of the marine
or submarine device 7 on the ramp 11. In figure 5.D, the traction cable 16
continues to be wound in by the winch 15. The protective components 5
continue to pivot about the carnage 2 as the carnage 2 slides forward along
the ramp 11. The protective components 5 slide, or in one particular
embodiment roll, on the raising component 18, enabling the front of the
marine or submarine device 7 to be raised further. The body of the marine or
submarine device 7, stronger than its front, bears on protection and sliding
means 30 of the ramp, in this instance rollers.
ln figure 5.E, the traction cable 16 continues to be wound in by the
winch 15. VVhen traction is applied, the marine or submarine device bears on
the protection and sliding means 30 of the ramp 11 until it rests on the ramp
11. The contact between the protective components 5 and the raising
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components 18 ceases and the protective components 5 slide or roll on the
sliding zones 17.
Figure 5.F illustrates the marine or submarine device 7 raised to
the end of the ramp 11. The protective components 5 are no longer in their
raised position. The front of the marine or submarine device 7 then rests on
the ramp 11 via its body. The protective components 5 remain in contact with
the wings 12 and therefore notably limit or prevent rolling of the marine or
submarine device 7.
The attitude of the marine or submarine device 7 varies during
launch or recovery as a function of its initial attitude and loads imposed by
the system. In embodiments of the invention, the normal maximum attitude
variation of the marine or submarine device 7 may be between 0 and 900
inclusive. The system is able to modify the attitude of said marine or
submarine device during launch or recovery of said marine or submarine
device.
In one particular embodiment of the invention, the marine or
submarine device 7 does not comprise either wings 12 or lateral
protuberances. The recovery and launch phases are analogous to those
illustrated in figure 5: in this embodiment, the protective part or parts 4
are
directly in contact with the hull of the marine or submarine device 7.
