GB2515461A - Device for lifting a load - Google Patents

Abstract

Device for lifting a load (figure 1, 1), e.g. intermodal or shipping container, having lifting unit 9, sling (figure 5, 3), e.g. chain, attached at its ends to the load and to the load connector 5, and a conical, funnel shaped load connector guide (figure 6, 6) coupled to the load. Load connector 5 can selectively couple to lifting unit 9, and connector guide 6 guides load connector 5 and lifting unit 9 onto the load 1. Sling 3 may comprise two or four branches, each attached to separate locations on the load 1. Guide 6 may comprise elongate fingers 8 flexibly attached to a central member (figure 1, 7) which may be attached to the load by straps (figure 1, 18). Central member 7 may have a raised portion, and may have a seat 16 for receiving load connector 5. Sling 3 may have elastic members (figure 5, 20) to prevent piling up of sling material.

Description

Device for lifting a load The present invention relates to a device for lifting a load, such as an intermodal container.

The invention is especially directed to a device for lifting container loads and other bulky loads to and from a supply ship that transport goods between a port and an offshore drilling or production facility. In addition the invention is also suitable for lifting loads between boats or between a boat and a port facility. It is common to load the goods into intermodal containers (i.e. standard sized containers), hoist the containers with the use of acrane on board the ship, and secure the containers on the deck of the ship. When the ship reaches the offshore facility the containers are hoisted, again by using a crane, on board the offshore facility. Empty containers and containers carrying waste material are in turn hoisted on board the supply ship for transport to the shore. te *.

* It is generally necessary to have persons oh the deck of the ship, who can connect or disconnect the crane wire with the container lifting slings that generally are permanently attached to the container. 0**

A major challenge, especially when the containers are hoisted between the supply ship and the offshore facility, is that the sea is rarely calm. Accordingly, there is usually a substantial motion between the ship and the facility. Heave compensation systems in the crane may take some of the motion into account, but nevertheless there is a high risk for persons who are working on the deck of the ship. Fatal accidents have occurred during such operations. It has therefore for a long time been a desire to remove the necessity of having someone on deck to perform connection and disconnection.

Several attempts have been made to achieve connection and disconnection without direct hand manipulation by human beings.

One such attempt is described in SE 339299, which shows a device for automatic coupling of a crane wire to a lifting unit. The automatic coupling will probably work fine, but the lifting unit is not suitable for lifting containers at sea.

The lifting unit is L-shaped and has one part that extends under the load while other parts extend vertically along the load and to a position directly above the load. This means that a fairly bulky and heavy lifting unit must be attached to the load before the automatic connection can be made. If the lifting unit were to be made sufficiently sturdy and strong to lift an intermodal container, it would be too heavy to be handled by hand. Consequently, it would have to be lifted in place by a crane, but with the necessity of a human hand to steer it to the right position.

Consequently, at least one person on deck would be necessary.

The lifting unit would be much too bulky for pre-installation on the container before the container is shipped.

Another device is described in WO 2006/078170, which shows a coupling frame which is connected to the load by slings. The coupling frame can connect automatically to hooking head attached to a crane wire. The coupling frame can rest on top of the load when not used for lifting.

A major drawback of the device according to WO 2006/078170 is that the 0*e coupling frame is fixed to the load only by slack wires or chains. Consequently, it is possible for the coupling frame to shift its position and it may also fall off the load and end up hanging down the side of the load, which will most certainly occur frequently with the movement at sea. This makes it difficult for the crane operator to mate the hooking head with the coupling frame. If the coupling frame falls off the top of the load, a person will have to put it back, and thereby put him-or herself at personal risk.

In another embodiment of the device of WO 2006/078170, the coupling frame is made an integra' part of the load. This removes the above disadvantages, but will require a very durabliconnectjon to the load. Such integration with the load therefore requires specially manufactured containers and all of the containers that are employed today will have to be put out of use.

GB 2408251 describes a device, which in some embodiments are similar to the device of WO 2006/078170. In one embodiment the coupling frame is placed on top of the load but has parts that extend over the side edges of the load. This makes the frame very bulky and heavy. Despite this attempt to secure the frame on top of the load, it may shift at rough sea and due to being fairly large and heavy, it may also damage other containers on the ship.

In another embodiment, the coupling frame is attached to the load through a telescopic guide tube. Although this may work for the lifting procedure as such, the relatively large diameter guide tube is highly susceptible to damage if the load should swing to a great extent during the lifting. This type of movement of the load will occur frequently when lifting is performed at sea. Moreover the lower telescopic part of the guide tube will have to be fixed fairly well to the load, which means that it will take a considerable time to retrofit existing containers with this device. Moreover, it would be very difficult to guide the gripping head into the coupling frame, especially at open sea when the load is to be lifted between a supply ship and an offshore installation.

A specific challenge of automatic lifting systems, is that the lifting unit often must be oriented in a specific orientation to be able to mate with the corresponding receptacle on the load. In GB 2408251 the orientation problem has been solved by equipping the lifting unit with a propeller that is adapted to turn the lifting unit when required. This is a very complicated and unreliable solution.

* .*.* * a Other attempts to arrive at better lifting solutions are described in NO 331335, NO 321760, NO 19994724, FR 2744712 and WO 2005/113405. All of these exhibit one or more of the above.drawbacks.

The present invention has as its primary objective to provide a device for load lifting, which is safe to use, removes the necessity for persons to be present on deck for connecting and disconnecting the load and the crane wire, and which can be easily retrofitted on existing containers.

These and other objectives are achieved by the features recited in the characterising clause of the subsequent independent claims.

In a first aspect the invention comprises a lifting unit adapted for coupling to a crane wire; a sling having first and second ends, said sling being attached at first ends to the load; load connector attached to second ends of said sling; and a generally funnel shaped load connedor guide coupled to the load; said load connector being adapted for selective coupling with said lifting unit; said load connector guide being adapted to guide said load connector and said lifting unit towards a specific point on top of the load. In this aspect the invention provides a convenient means for connecting a lifting unit to a load without requiring manual assistance close to the load.

The.sling may comprise several branches. For long and narrow loads, two branches may be sufficient, but for wider loads, three or four branches may be needed for stability.

Preferably, the guide comprises a multiple of elongate members extending 0 generally upwards and outwards from the load to form a general funnel-shape. *

This allows the branches of the sling to fall between the elongate members and thereby not interfere with the load connector or the lifting unit. It also reduces the wind load as compared to a continuous funnel.

Preferably, the elongate members are attached to a central member, said central member in turn being attached to the load. This allows for a more convenient attachment of the guide to the load as a single unit.

Further preferably, the central member is attached to the load by a multiple of straps, said straps being attached at one end to spaced apart locations on the load, and said straps xtending tightly from said locations to said central member. This provides a convenient way of retrofitting an existing container with a guiding device without the need for special tools. It also gives the possibility of easily removing the guiding device when it is not needed.

In an alternative embodiment, the guiding device may be disconnectedly attached to the load via a coupling member that is fixedly attached to the load, such as a bayonet-type coupling or similar. This also gives the possibility of removing theguiding device when not needed, and also makes the process of removal and refitting easier.

In a further preferred embodiment the elongate members are flexibly attached to said central member so that they can flex without breaking if impacted by an object, such as another load.

In an even further preferred embodiment, the central member has a raised portion that acts to prevent portions of said sling settling on said central member thereby any sling chain or wire will slide off the raised portion and not hinder proper contact between the load connector and the seat of the load connector.

In yet a preferred embodiment the central member has a seat for receiving said load connector and that said load connector has a corresponding feature adapted to mate with the seat on said central member. Thereby a predictable and * fixed position of the load connector is ensured. It also will hold the load connector * * stable when the lifting unit is lowered on to this.

* . ** In another preferred embodiment the sling is equipped with elastic members attached to each branch for pulling the sling branches away from the load connector in order to prevent pile-up of sling material within the guiding device.

* Thereby it is ensured that sling chain or wire will not interfere with the load connector or lifting unit.

In a second aspect of the present, invention it comprises a lifting unit adapted for coupling to a crane wire and a load connector attached to the load; said load connector being adapted for selective coupling with said lifting unit; said lifting unit having an aperture that is adapted to receive a portion of theload connector, at least one inclined ramp being situated with said aperture, the at least one ramp co-acting with said portion of the load connector to rotate the lifting unit to a specific orientation relative to the load connector in order to receive said portion of the load connectoi. This provides a simple and reliable means for turning the lifting unit to an orientation where the interface portion of the load connector can be properly received by the lifting unit.

Preferably, there are two ramps situated in the aperture, the ramps being inclined in opposite directions and having a passage there-between, said passage being adapted to receive said portion of the load connector. This provides an even more reliable means for turning the lifting unit.

In a third aspect of the present invention it comprises a lifting unit adapted for coupling to a crane wire; a sling having first and second ends, said sling being attached at first ends to the load; a load connector attached to second ends of said sling; and a load connector guide coupled to the load; said load connector being adapted for selective coupling with said lifting unit; said load connector guide being adapted to guide said load connector and said lifting unit towards a specific point on top of the load; said sling comprising at least two, and preferably four, branches, each being attached at the first end to spaced apart locations on the load; each branch also being equipped with elastic members attached at spaced apart locations on each branch for pulling the sling branches away from the load connector in order to prevent pile-up of sling material within the guiding device. Thereby it is ensured that sling chain or wire will not interfere with the load connector or lifting unit.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention it comprises a lifting unit adapted for coupling to a crane wire; a sling having first and second ends, said sling being attached at first ends to the load; a load connector attached to second ends of said sling; and a load connector guide coupled to the load; said load connector being adapted for selective coupling with said lifting unit; said load connector guide being adapted to guide said load connector and said lifting unit towards a specific point on top of the load; said load connector guide being attached to the load by a multiple of straps, said straps being attached at one end to spaced apart locations on the load, and said straps extending tightly from said locations to said load connector guide. This provides a convenient way of retrofitting an existing container with a guiding device without the need for special tools. It also gives the possibility of easily removing the guiding device when it is not needed.

The invention will now be explained in further detail, referring to exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the guiding device of the invention in a first embodiment on top of an intermodal container, Figure 2 shows the lifting unit and the load connector according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 shows the load connector at its seat within the guiding device and the lifting unit as it is being lowered into the guide device, Figure 4 shows the lifting unit being attached to the load connector, Figure 5 shows the lifting system of the invention as the lifting unit is being raised, and also shows the optional elastic members that keeps the sling from t.. "S * piling up inside the funnel *ee. * S.. *

Figure 6 shows the lifting system of the invention as the container is hanging from the crane wire, * * Figure 7 shows the lifting unit in a cross sectional view, Figure 8 shows the lifting unit in a cross sectional view, perpendicular to the view of figure 7, according to the arrows A, Figure 9 shows the lifting unit seen from the bottom, and Figure 10 shows the lifting unit in isometric view and in cross section.

Figure 1 shows an intermodal container 1. At each corner the container 1 is equipped with lifting ears 2: These may be of different shapes and configurations, which is of no consequence to the present invention.

On top of the container 1 a generally funnel shaped guide 6 is attached. It comprises a central member in the form of a base plate 7. A multitude of elongate members in the form of pins or tubes 8 are fixed to the base plate 7 and extends generally upward from this. The pins or tubes 8 are flared outwardly at least at a portion from their free ends, so that their top portion lie in the imaginary plane of a funnel.

The attachment of the guide can be done in a number of ways, e.g. by gluing, welding or bolting an interlace plate to the roof of the container. The interface -10 plate canreplace the base plate of be in addition to this. However, these methods of attachment require some modifications of the container roof. The preferred method of attachment is therefore to use straps 18 are attached to the ears 17 of the central member 7. The straps extend to the lifting ears 2 at the corners of the container 1, or to any other suitable place for firmly attaching the straps 18. The straps 18 may be conventional lashing down straps and are conveniently equipped with a buckle (not shown) for tightening. By tightening the * straps 18, the guide 6 can be held in place at the desired location on top of the container 1. *0*

The pins 8 are press-fit into bores in or attached by other suitable means to the central member 7. To prevent the pins from breaking if they are hit by the lifting *t.... . . . * -unit, the pins Bare at their lower ends equipped with springs 19, such as washer springs, that enable the pins 8 to flex when subjected to an impact.

At the base plate, the guiding device is equipped with a seat 16 that protrudes upward from the base plate 7. The function of this will be explained below.

Figure 2 shows in isometric view a lifting unif 9 and a load connector 5. The lifting unit 9 is generally ball shaped with an upper ear 12, which is adapted to connection with a crane hook (not shown). At the bottom of the lifting unit 9 there is an aperture 14 for receiving the load connector 5. The load connector 5 has at its lower end two or more ears 11 for connection to the sling branches, as will be explained below. The load connector has a recess 15 at its bottom for mating with the complementary seat 16, which will be explained below. At the top of the load connector 5 is a coupling ear 13 that is adapted for coupling with the lifting unit 9, as will be explained later.

The lifting unit 9 can optionally be equipped with an integrated video camera to helpthe crane operator to guide the lifting unit 9 onto the load connector 5. The lifting unit 9 and load connector 5 can also optionally be equipped with an RFID reader to identifying an RFID tag on the container and thereby track the container being lifted. Instead of an RFID reader a bar code reader or similar óan also be used to read a bar code or other type of readable code on the container.

Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the guiding device 6, load connector 5 and lifting unit 9. The load connector 5 and the lifting unit 9 have been cross sectioned so that the coupling between the two is visible. The lifting unit is being lowered into the funnel of the guiding device 6. During this lowering the guide pins 8 are steering the lifting unit 9 towards the load connector 5.

* The load connector is seated on top of the seat 16 with its recess 15. The seat 16 and recess 15 have a snug fit so that the load connector resides steadily on the seat 16.

The outwardly flared portion of the pins 8 lies in a plane represented by the line in figure 3. The conical portion of the aperture 14 lies in a plane represented by the line 31. The ear 13 of the load connector 5 is, when the load connector is at its seat 16, positioned so that at least the top of the ear is within the space that lies between planes represented by the lines 30 and 31. The outer surface of the lifting unit 9 has a conical portion 33 that is adapted to abut against the flared out portion of the pins 8. Thereby it will be ensured that the aperture 14 of the lifting unit 9 always will be guided to envelope the ear 13 when the lifting unit has been lowered to meet the load connector 5.

In figure 4 the lifting unit has been received by the load connector 5, and a locking bolt 21 has been thread through the coupling ear of the load connector 5, so that the load connector 5 is firmly connected to the lifting unit 9.

Figure 5 shows the situation when the lifting unit 9 has been lifted out of the funnel of the guiding device 6. It also shows a sling 3 connected to the load connector 5. The lifting sling 3 comprising at least two, and preferably four branches 4 (of which two are visible in figure 5) which are attached at one end to * 5 the container 1 lifting ear 2 and at their opposite end to the load connector ears 11. The sling 3 is configured so that the branches 4 are slack when the load connector 5 is situated on top of the seat.

An advantage of a pin guide funnel is that the branches 4 of the sling 3 will position themselves between the pins 8 instead of lying over the edge of the funnel, when the load connector is within the funnel of the guiding device 6. The sling 3 is thereby better protected against damage. The pin guide funnel will also have a reduced wind load as compared to a continuous funnel.

In figure 5 the lifting unit 9 is shown hanging from a crane wire 10. Below the lifting unit, the load connector 5 is shown which chains 4 attached to it, having the eat...

* function of a sling 3. C... eta.

A set of elastic cords 20 or other elongate elastic members are attached to the chains 4 between two distant positions on the each chain 4 in order to prevent a substantial length of the chains 4 from piling up within the guide funnel 6, the pile preventing the load connector 5 from completely entering the seat 16.

Figure 6 shows the container being lifted by the lifting system of the invention.

Figures 7 to 10 show details of the lifting unit 9. In figure 7 the lifting unit 9 is shown in cross section. It shows the aperture 14 into which the ear 13 of the load connector is to be inserted The aperture 14 is conical at its outer end. At the inner end there is provided two inclined ramps 22 and 23, which situated at opposite sides of the aperture and inclined in opposite directions. The ramps 22 and 23 are also shown in figures 1 Oa and lob, which shows two opposite halves of the lifting unit 9 side by side. Figure 9 shows the lifting unit from the bottom with the two ramps 22 and 23. Between the ramps is a generally rectangular passage 24 that extends to the bottom of the aperture 14. -11 -

When the ear 13 of the load connector 5 enters the aperture 14 it will abut against the ramps 22. 23 and action between the ear 13 and the ramps 22, 23 will cause the lifting unit 9 to rotate until the ear 13 is aligned with the passage 24. Thereby the ear 13 can enter all the way in to the bottom of the aperture and be oriented so that the locking bolt 21 can be inserted through the ear 13.

Figure 8 is a cross section of the lifting unit 9 perpendicular to the cross section of figure 7 and seen in the direction of the arrows A. It shows the passage 24 at the inner end of the aperture 14. At one side of the passage 24 there is a sleeve shaped support 25 for the locking bolt 21, and at the opposite side of the passage 24 there is a similar sleeve shaped support 16 that is adapted to receive the locking bolt when it has been slid through the ear 13 to a locking position. In the locking position the locking bolt 21 spans the passage 24 and is supported both by both supports 25 and 26. An actuator (not shown) will be coupled to the locking bolt in order to selectively pUsh the bolt 21 into the locking position and * pull it back into the support 25. ** *. *.* *

Modifications of the above are possible within the ambit of the person of skill. For example the guide may also have a continuous funnel instead of the pins, the seat 16 may be a conical recess that is adapted to receive a conical protrusion * from the underside of the load connector and the same reversing of the conical shapes of the lifting unit and the load connector is also conceivable. It is also possible to connect the load connector to the load either directly or by other means than a sling. These and similar modifications will fall within the scope of the appended claims.