EP2500258A2

EP2500258A2 - Combined hatch for a vessel, crane therefor, and vessel and method

Info

Publication number: EP2500258A2
Application number: EP11180561A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hendrik Hessels
Original assignee: SMST Rodenstaal BV; U-Sea Beheer BV
Current assignee: SMST Rodenstaal BV; U-Sea Beheer BV
Priority date: 2011-03-18
Filing date: 2011-09-08
Publication date: 2012-09-19
Also published as: EP2500258A3

Abstract

The invention relates to a combined deck hatch, hatch crane therefor, vessel provided therewith and method therefor. The combined deck hatch according to the invention comprises: a support beam provided with a contact surface; and a plastic panel which can be connected via the contact surface to the support beam such that a deck hatch assembly is thereby obtained. The contact surface is preferably a support surface here and the plastic panel preferably comprises a composite material.

Description

The present invention relates to a combined deck hatch for a vessel. Such a deck hatch is used to cover a cargo hold of a vessel. In addition, cargo is usually also placed on the provided deck hatches.
Known deck hatches are manufactured from steel to ensure sufficient strength against the constant cargo load on the one hand and against the variable environmental impact of wind, rain and waves on the other. The problem of these conventional hatches is that they take a heavy form, whereby they are difficult to handle and for instance require auxiliary means taking a heavy form, such as a hatch crane, to displace this deck hatch, for instance for the purpose of loading and unloading the vessel.
Due to the heavy form of the hatches and the possibly required auxiliary means, the vessel also takes a heavy form so that the fuel consumption is also relatively high.
The present invention has for its object to provide an improved deck hatch with which the above stated problems are wholly or partially obviated.
The present invention provides for this purpose a combined deck hatch for a vessel, comprising:

a support beam provided with a contact surface;
a plastic panel which can be connected via the contact surface to the support beam such that a deck hatch assembly is thereby obtained.

The opening in the vessel can be covered by providing a support beam and a plastic panel which can be connected thereto. During use the support beam is preferably provided here in the width direction of the vessel and thereby rests on the side walls of this vessel. The opening to the ship's hold is provided with a number of support beams provided at a mutual distance. The plastic panels are placed herebetween. An assembled deck hatch is in this way realized with a combination of the support beam and the plastic panel.
Conventional steel deck hatches usually have a width, which during use is provided in longitudinal direction of the vessel, of about 6122 millimetres and are placed on the opening with an intermediate spacing of about 10 mm. In a currently preferred embodiment according to the present invention a support beam with a width of about 1000 mm is placed at a mutual centre-to-centre distance of 6132 mm, wherein between two adjacent support beams is provided a plastic panel of about 5112 mm which is placed between the support beams with an additional intermediate spacing of about 10 mm. The length of the support beams with panels which are placed in the width direction of the vessel preferably amounts to about 10000 to 13000 mm. Other dimensions are of course also possible.
The assembly according to the invention forms a so-called weather deck cover. In a possible embodiment the load resulting from cargo placed on the deck amounts to about 3 tons per m².
The plastic panel preferably comprises a fibre-reinforced material of a glass composite provided with about 30% by weight of the resin type 1967. Alternative resins can also be applied.
The contact surface of the support beam is preferably a support surface. This achieves that during use a plastic panel rests on a support beam when covering an opening.
A seal is preferably also provided between the support beams and the plastic panel to prevent possible entry of for instance rainwater or seawater into the hold during transport.
In an advantageous preferred embodiment according to the present invention the deck hatch further comprises coupling means for mutually coupling the support beam and the panel during use.
Once the support beam and the panel have been arranged they can be mutually connected by providing the coupling means. An entity of the assembled deck hatch is hereby obtained such that the hold remains closed during transport. An example of such a coupling means is the use of a wedge which can be struck through respective openings on or in the support beam and the panel. This further enhances the overall stability of the central deck hatch.
In an advantageous preferred embodiment according to the present invention the support beam is provided with load points for fixing cargo on the deck.
By providing the support beam with so-called load points, for instance in the form of coupling means and/or recesses and/or a recessed relief, cargo with a contact surface or contact point can be fixed herewith relative to the deck. It is thus possible for instance to place a container foot in a recessed relief in the support beam. This can be carried out in effective manner through standardization of containers. It is also possible to fix specific parts or contact points of other type of cargo, for instance wind turbines or components thereof, with the support beam. In addition to fixation of the cargo to be transported, this achieves the forces of this cargo are absorbed by the support beam and not by the plastic panel. A good transmission of forces is hereby realized.
It has been found that the overall weight reduction with the combined deck hatch according to the invention amounts to about 40% relative to similar conventional deck hatches, without concessions having to be made in respect of stability and load-bearing capacity.
Owing to said weight reduction, auxiliary means such as a hatch crane can take a lighter form so that the whole vessel becomes lighter. This simplifies handling of the deck hatches, so that they can be positioned more efficiently. Owing to the weight reduction of the deck hatch and the associated auxiliary means the fuel consumption of the vessel overall is also greatly reduced during transport.
In an advantageous preferred embodiment according to the present invention the panel is provided with support means.
By arranging additional support means, for instance in the form of ribs, the overall weight of the combined deck hatch can be further reduced. Such support means in the form of for instance ribs ensure a good transmission of forces and thereby realize a greater weight-saving.
In a further advantageous preferred embodiment according to the present invention the combined deck hatch comprises a lock system provided with a pressure contact such that the lock can be pressed through an opening in the vessel.
By providing the lock system deck hatches are not only positioned on the opening but also secured thereto. By providing the lock system with a pressure contact it is possible to, as it were, press the lock into the associated opening when the deck hatch is arranged. Such a pressure contact is for instance pressed down using a pressing unit provided on the hatch crane with which the deck hatches are being positioned.
A lock system preferably comprises a so-called twist lock. The lock system is hereby fixed so that the deck hatch is positioned fixedly relative to the vessel. The rotation of the lock is preferably also performed during positioning of the deck hatch on the opening by for instance a hatch crane.
An observation system is preferably provided, for instance in the form of a camera system, preferably in the vicinity of the point of engagement between lifting means of a hatch crane and the deck hatches, so that it is possible to monitor remotely whether the engagement has been fully effected. A safe monitoring or security system is hereby realized.
The so-called twist lock is preferably provided with a detection system and generates a release signal, preferably wirelessly, in the case of a good connection between the lifting means of the hatch crane and the deck hatch. This results in a better control of the process of lifting and (dis)placing deck hatches.
An additional advantage of using the observation system and/or lock system is that operation of the hatch crane can also take place remotely. It is possible here to envisage operation from the bridge or even from the quayside. This has the result, among others, that hatches open more quickly so that cargo can be placed in the hold or can be unloaded more quickly and safely. This has the further additional advantage that it is possible with the hatch crane according to the present invention to dispense with a portal with platform giving an operative access to either side of the opening for the purpose of monitoring engagement of the lifting means on the deck hatches. The weight of the hatch crane is hereby further reduced, resulting in the above stated advantages. A further advantage of remote control is that the area of the hold can be free of personnel such that personal accidents are avoided.
The present invention further relates to a hatch crane for a vessel, comprising:

a frame provided with a total of at least two uprights which can be placed on either side of a hold opening of a vessel;
lifting means connected to the frame for picking up and/or placing the hatches on the hold opening; and
compensating means arranged on the frame close to at least one upright, wherein the lifting means form the connection between at least two uprights on either side of a vessel.

Providing uprights which during use are provided on either side of the opening of the ship's hold, and in an advantageous preferred embodiment a girder therebetween which is movable in height direction relative to these uprights, achieves that the lifting means, which are preferably connected to the girder, can pick up and/or (dis)place the hatches or deck hatches. The opening can be covered with such hatches to prevent the entry of water into the opening. The hatches are removed in order to leave the hold opening clear for loading and unloading goods from the ship's hold.
When two uprights are provided on the frame, one of these uprights is situated during use on each side of the opening. The girder is preferably movable along a guide track on or at the upright by means of a drive mechanism such as a hydraulic cylinder, preferably a double-action hydraulic cylinder. The use of other drive mechanisms is also possible according to the invention. The lifting means comprise an engaging means, for instance in the form of a hook or eye, with which the crane can be connected to a deck hatch. Providing at least one upright, or the direct vicinity thereof, with compensating means achieves that the crane can compensate the outward curving of a ship's hull. The compensating means are preferably provided close to the contact between the girder and the upright, such that compensation is made for the outward curving of the ship's hull in efficient and effective manner. Owing to this compensation lateral movement of the at least one upright is made possible in a manner such that the consequences for the crane of the outward curving of the ship's hull are hereby compensated. By providing the compensating means close to the transition between the girder and the at least one upright a small angular displacement between these two elements is made possible, such that the foot of the upright can co-displace with the whole ship's hull without the crane also being deformed. The chance of damage to the crane according to the invention is hereby reduced. This has the result, among others, of increasing the safety of these cranes. Better utility under extreme conditions is also achieved.
An additional advantage of the hatch crane according to the present invention lies in the weight reduction which can be brought about for such a hatch crane. The hatch cranes known in practice have to be given a weighted form to be able to guarantee sufficient strength during use and transport. A crane known in practice here has a weight of for instance about 8 tons. Owing to the compensating means a similar crane according to the present invention can be embodied with a weight of about 4 to 4.5 tons. This results in a cost reduction in the manufacture of such cranes. In addition, less maintenance is also required for these cranes as a result of the lower load and/or the more effective design. The paint surface area is thus for instance reduced. A further additional effect is that, owing to the weight reduction of the hatch crane, less uneconomic mass need be transported such that a vessel can carry more paid cargo.
The compensating means can be embodied in the form of for instance a hinge and/or comprise damping means, for instance in the form of a damper block provided close to the transition between the at least one upright and the girder or hatch. Both constant and peak loads can hereby be absorbed in effective manner by the hatch crane. The total weight of this hatch crane can remain limited here, and thereby enhances the advantage of the lightweight embodiment of the deck hatch according to the invention as described above. The girder of the hatch crane is preferably also provided with mutually releasable flanges, for instance with bolt connections, for the purpose of realizing a removable crane system. Transport and assembly of the hatch crane is hereby easier.
The hatch crane preferably comprises a pressing unit for activating a lock system. The lock system is hereby pressed into an opening in the ship's hull and then optionally rotated in the case a so-called twist lock system is used.
The invention also relates to a vessel provided with a combined deck hatch and/or hatch crane as described above.
Such a vessel provides the same effects and advantages as stated in respect of the combined deck hatch and/or the hatch crane.
The present invention further relates to a method for providing deck hatches as described above on an opening of a ship's hold.
Such a method provides the same effects and advantages as stated in respect of the combined deck hatch and/or hatch crane.
The method preferably further comprises of displacing a deck hatch using a hatch crane. When a ship's hatch is opened a hatch crane is positioned above a deck hatch to be displaced. Said deck hatch is picked up and displaced using the lifting means. The hatch crane is subsequently positioned above a, for instance adjacent, deck hatch and also picks up and displaces it. This second deck hatch is usually placed here on top of the previous, already displaced hatch. This is then repeated until the opening has been cleared for the purpose of removing the cargo from the ship's hold or placing the cargo therein. During closing of the hold the hatches are repositioned in reverse sequence using the hatch crane. A safe and effective hatch crane and positioning of the deck hatches on the opening of a vessel are realized by providing the hatch crane as described above. Owing to the weight reduction of the hatch crane according to the present invention compared to known hatch cranes a simpler and also more rapid movement of the hatch crane relative to the opening of the ship's hold is made possible. This achieves that the loading and unloading process can be performed more quickly.
Further advantages, features and details of the invention are elucidated on the basis of preferred embodiments thereof, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a view with a vessel, combined deck hatch and crane according to the invention;
Fig. 2A, B, C and D show views of the combined deck hatch of figure 1;
Fig. 3 shows a view of the crane according to the invention;
Fig. 4 shows a further view of the crane of fig. 2;
Fig. 5 shows a side view of the crane of fig. 2;
Fig. 6 shows a top view of the crane of fig. 2;
Fig. 7A and B show views of the engagement of the deck hatch; and
Fig. 8 shows a view of a lock system of the hatch.

A vessel 2 (fig. 1) is provided with a crane 4 for transporting goods over a body of water or sea 6. Vessel 2 has a starboard side 8 and port side 10, wherein vessel 2 is aligned on starboard side 8 in the shown embodiment. Vessel 2 has deck hatches 12 for covering an opening in deck 14.
The combined deck hatch 12 (fig. 2A, B, C and D) comprises a support beam 66. When placed on an opening in deck 14 a number of steel support beams 66 are situated at a mutual distance of about 6132 mm and a number of plastic panels 68 are placed between support beams 66. A seal 69 is further provided between support beam 66 and plastic panel 68. After placing of beams 66 and panels 68 a connection is realized between support beam 66 and an adjacent plastic panel 68 using a wedge 70. In the shown embodiment the support beam has a width of about 1000 mm and panel 68 a width of about 5112 mm. In the shown embodiment the length of support beam 66 and panel 68 is about 12500 mm. Also provided on support beam 66 are a number of load points 72 which in the shown embodiment are embodied as recessed relief. In the shown embodiment support beam 66 has in the longitudinal direction a supporting surface 73 on which a panel edge 74 can be positioned. In the shown embodiment plastic panel 68 is provided with support beams 76 between which composite material 78 is provided. Additional supports 80 are provided for the side edges of the total deck hatch 12 as seen in longitudinal direction of vessel 2. In the shown embodiment an additional support or reinforcement 82 is also provided so as to further optimize the transmission of forces.
In the shown embodiment crane 4 (fig. 3-6) is provided with a first upright 16 on starboard side 8 of vessel 2. A second upright 18 is provided on port side 10 of vessel 2. Extending between the two uprights 16, 18 is a girder 20 on which a first transverse beam 22 and second transverse beam 24 are arranged. Hooks 26 for picking up deck hatches 12 are provided on transverse beams 22, 24.
A pressing unit 27 is provided for pressing down deck hatches 12 when they are placed, particularly for pressing the lock of the deck hatch into an opening.
Uprights 16, 18 have a guide 28. Uprights 16, 18 are further provided in the shown embodiment with a double-action hydraulic cylinder 30, the housing of which is mounted for movement relative to deck 14. Cylinder 30 is connected to slidable element 32, which is slidable relative to guide 28. Plates 34, which in the shown embodiment have a triangular form, are connected to beams 22, 24 and girder 20. A connecting strip 36 is provided here between plate 34 and girder 20. In the shown embodiment upright 16 is provided with compensating means 38 such that a pivot mounting is realized between upright 16 and girder 20. In the shown embodiment a damper block 38 is provided here between plate 34 and girder 20 for the purpose of absorbing inter alia the vibrations which occur. Girder 20 is provided at two positions with flanges 40. Provided on the deck side of uprights 16, 18 are wheels 42 which make the frame with uprights 16, 18 and girder 20 displaceable relative to deck 14. Wheels 42 here move over guide rails 44.
Deck hatch 14 is provided with an edge or recess 46 with which hook 26 can engage on deck hatch 12 (fig. 7A). A connection between hook 26 and edge 46 can be monitored using contact element 48. In an alternative embodiment (fig. 7B) hook 26 engages in a recess 50, wherein a contact element 48 can likewise be provided.
Cylinder 30 is secured on the deck side to connecting plate 54 using fastening 52. Uprights 16, 18 are provided on this plate 54 via fastening 56. Uprights 16, 18 are further provided on connecting plate 54 by means of an additional strip 58.
In an alternative embodiment (not shown) crane 4 is provided for displacement relative to the rest of vessel 2 using a rack and pinion. The safety of crane 4 is further increased with such a non-slip construction.
In the case that vessel 2 curves outward the displacement will take place in the shown embodiment particularly on port side in view of the starboard alignment of vessel 2. A small movement is hereby made possible between girder 20 and upright 18. The movement of the hull in lateral direction of vessel 2 is hereby compensated by crane 4.
A lock system 58 (figure 8) connects a deck hatch 12 to a recess 60 in vessel 2. Provided here is an opening 62 through which a part of lock system 58 is pressed using pressing unit 27 of crane 4 when deck hatch 12 is placed on the opening in ship's hold 14. In the shown embodiment lock system 58 comprises a so-called twist lock 60 which is preferably automatically rotated through about 90° during placing of the deck hatch in order to thereby realize a fixation between deck hatch 12 and vessel 2.
When a hold of vessel 2 is opened, crane 4 is positioned above a first deck hatch 14. Hook 26 is placed in engaging edge 48 of the associated first deck hatch 14. After proper engagement has been confirmed, deck hatch 14 is lifted off the opening in the hold of vessel 2 and displaced by crane 4 using contact element 50. The other deck hatches are then lifted in similar manner and stacked so as to gain access to the hold. Crane 4 is displaced here over guide rails 44 of deck 12 using wheels 42. After loading and/or unloading of the goods the opening in the hold of vessel 2 is covered with deck hatches 14 using crane 4.
The present invention is by no means limited to the above described preferred embodiments thereof. The rights sought are defined by the following claims, within the scope of which many modifications can be envisaged. Hatch crane 4 according to the present invention can for instance also be used to place a cover on storage bunkers on land. It is also possible to place hatch crane 4 on the quayside when loading and/or unloading a vessel 2 so that crane 4 does not have to be transported as well during sailing. This placing of crane 4 is simplified by the relatively limited weight of hatch crane 4 according to the invention. This can be carried out in additionally advantageous manner owing to the symmetrical construction thereof.

Claims

Combined deck hatch for a vessel, comprising:
- a support beam provided with a contact surface;

- a plastic panel which can be connected via the contact surface to the support beam such that a deck hatch assembly is thereby obtained.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in claim 1, the contact surface of which comprises a support surface.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the plastic panel comprises a composite material.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising a seal arranged during use between the support beam and the panel.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-4, further comprising coupling means for mutually coupling the support beam and the panel during use.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-5, wherein the support beam is provided with load points for fixing cargo on the deck.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-6, wherein the panel is provided with support means.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-7, further comprising a lock system provided with a pressure contact such that the lock system can be pressed at least partially through an opening in the vessel.
Combined deck hatch as claimed in claim 8, wherein the lock system comprises a twist lock.
Hatch crane for a vessel, comprising:
- a frame provided with a total of at least two uprights which can be placed on either side of a hold opening of a vessel;

- lifting means connected to the frame for picking up and/or placing the hatches on the hold opening; and

- compensating means arranged on the frame close to at least one upright, wherein the lifting means form the connection between at least two uprights on either side of a vessel.
Hatch crane as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a pressing unit for activating a lock system.
Vessel provided with a combined deck hatch and/or hatch crane as claimed in one or more of the foregoing claims.
Method for providing deck hatches as claimed in one or more of the claims 1-9 on an opening of the ship's hold.
Method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising of displacing the deck hatch using a hatch crane according to claim 10 or 11.