NL2018030B1

NL2018030B1 - Mooring system

Info

Publication number: NL2018030B1
Application number: NL2018030A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Antonius Jozef Mampaeij Gerardus; Marlon Boerleider Johan; Van Reenen Wouter
Original assignee: European Intelligence B V
Priority date: 2016-12-21
Filing date: 2016-12-21
Publication date: 2018-06-28
Also published as: WO2018117817A1

Description

Octrooicentrum

BI OCTROOI @ Int. CL:

E02B 3/24 (2017.01) B63B 21/00 (2017.01)

Al) Aanvraag ingeschreven:	(73) Octrooihouder(s):
28/06/2018	European Intelligence B.V. te Dordrecht.
(43) Aanvraag gepubliceerd:
-	(72) Uitvinder(s):
	Gerardus Antonius Jozef Mampaeij
(Ft) Octrooi verleend:	te Dordrecht.
28/06/2018	Johan Marlon Boerleider te Dordrecht.
	Wouter van Reenen te Dordrecht.
(45) Octrooischrift uitgegeven:
09/07/2018
	(74) Gemachtigde:
	mr. ir. J. van Breda c.s. te Amsterdam.

© Mooring system (57) Mooring system (1) for mooring a ship (2) comprising at least one mooring device (3a, 3b, 3c) of the type comprising a base (4a, 4b, 4c) and a movable mooring construction (5a, 5b, 5c) supported by the base (4a, 4b, 4c), and wherein the movable mooring construction (5a, 5b, 5c) is provided with one or more drives (8a, 8b, 8c), preferably hydraulic drive cylinders, for manipulating the movable mooring construction (5a, 5b, 5c) into a desired position, wherein the mooring system (1) further comprises sensory equipment (9) and a realtime control system (10) connected to the sensory equipment (9) and to the said one or more drives (8a, 8b, 8c) of the movable mooring construction (5a, 5b, 5c), wherein said realtime control system (10) is arranged to steer the one or more drives (8a, 8b, 8c) of the movable mooring construction (5a, 5b, 5c) depending on signals derived from the sensory equipment (9).

NL BI 2018030

Dit octrooi is verleend ongeacht het bijgevoegde resultaat van het onderzoek naar de stand van de techniek en schriftelijke opinie. Het octrooischrift komt overeen met de oorspronkelijk ingediende stukken.

Mooring system

The invention relates to a mooring system for mooring a ship comprising at least one mooring device of the type comprising a base and a movable mooring construction supported by the base, and wherein the movable mooring construction is provided with one or more drives for manipulating the movable mooring construction into a desired position.

An example of such a mooring system is known from WO2013/165239. In this citation a movable arm construction supports a frame on which one or more magnets are mounted. The mentioned citation does not mention the type of drives that are applied, but the skilled person recognizes from the figures of this citation that hydraulic drive cylinders are applied for manipulating the movable arm construction into a desired position, as required for mooring of the ship or for following and counteracting the movements of the moored ship.

Another example of such a mooring system carries a hook which is supported by a movable arm construction as described in the not published Dutch patent application 2016062.

Amongst other objects the invention is primarily aimed at improving the efficiency and safety of the known mooring system.

Another object of the invention is to decrease the forces acting on the movable mooring construction, and make operation possible under more severe weather and other environmental conditions.

Still another object of the invention is to restrict the extent of the safety margins that need to be applied in the design of the mooring system, by real-time adaptation of the mooring system to have it attuned to the actual mooring situation .

Still another object of the invention is to have the mooring system respond instantaneously to variations in weather and other environmental conditions.

Yet another object of the invention is to more effectively schedule maintenance on the mooring system to avoid having to repair damage due to overdue maintenance.

These and other objectives and advantages of the invention which will become apparent from the following disclosure are provided by a mooring system having the features of one or more of the appended claims.

In a first aspect of the invention the mooring system further comprises sensory equipment and a real-time control system connected to the sensory equipment and to the said one or more drives of the movable mooring construction, wherein said real-time control system is arranged to steer the one or more drives of the movable mooring construction depending on signals derived from the sensory equipment. In this manner it is possible to reliably operate the mooring device and mooring system of the invention taking the actual situation into account, which also makes it possible to restrict the otherwise required safety margins for a reliable and safe operation of the mooring system.

It has been found beneficial that the sensory equipment is arranged to provide the real-time control system at least with information on surge and roll, heave and pitch, and sway and yaw of the moored ship and/or on the ship's position and back and forth and lateral movements during it being moored. The real-time control system can use this information then to provide counteractive measures so as to stabilize the ship in its moored condition.

The benefits of the invention can further be promoted by arranging that the sensory equipment provides the real-time control system with information on current, tide and/or wind acting on the moored ship. It is remarked that the information on the wind acting on the moored ship includes the wind direction and force. The real-time control system can then derive the expected surge and roll, heave and pitch, and sway and yaw of the moored ship from said information on current, tide and/or wind acting on the moored ship.

Preferably the sensory equipment is arranged to provide the real-time control system with information on current direction and height and direction of the waves acting on the ship .

Beneficially further the mooring system also comprises one or more information systems providing environmental data, wherein said information systems are connected or connectable to the real-time control system, and the real-time control system is arranged to steer the one or more drives of the movable mooring construction depending on the environmental data. In this way it is for instance possible that the mooring system of the invention takes account of the provided weather information; and takes account of information on passing ships which would otherwise go unnoticed. The information on passing ships can for instance be derived from an automatic identification system for ships.

The sensory equipment to derive the above-mentioned information may comprise any type of suitable sensor, such as a load sensor, distance laser, current sensor, precipitation sensor, wave meter, surface scanner, inertial measurement unit, position sensor, motion sensor etc.

In another aspect of the invention the mooring system comprises a predictive model of the ships positional and motion parameters which the model is arranged to calculate depending on the information collected with the sensory equipment and/or with the information systems, and depending on the actual steering of the drives of the movable mooring construction by the real-time control system, wherein the real-time control system steers the drives of the movable mooring construction depending at least in part on the position and motion parameters accordingly provided by the predictive model. This manner of construing the mooring system of the invention secures that overshoot or undershoot of the mooring system is effectively prevented, which increases reliability and secures against early wear and tear of the system of the invention. It effectively avoids the need to use noticeable safety margins in the design of the mooring system. Also maintenance of the system of the invention can thus be scheduled at increased intervals, therewith restricting costs.

Desirably the real-time control system and/or the predictive model is adaptive in that their parameters are tuneable depending on a measured error between predicted positional and motion parameters of the ship derived with the predictive model, and the actual positional and motion parameters of the ship as measured with the sensor system. In this way the mooring system of the invention can learn from earlier behaviour of the system in its environment which is beneficial in numerous aspects, amongst which is that it provides the system of the invention with a desired sustainability. The self-learning ability of the control system can be further supported by archiving the collected history information so as to improve the adaptability of the control system to recurring situations. All in all the mooring system of the invention provides its user a real-time dynamic mooring analysis enabling optimized mooring of any type of ship.

The invention will hereinafter be further elucidated with reference to the drawing of an exemplary schematic embodiment of a mooring system according to the invention that is not limiting as to the appended claims.

In the drawing of a single figure a mooring system according to the invention is shown.

The figure shows a mooring system 1 for mooring a ship 2 according to the invention, comprising three different mooring devices 3a, 3b, 3c. Mooring device 3a comprises a movable mooring construction 5a of the type wherein a hook 6a is supported by a movable arm 7a that is mounted on a base 4a. There is a drive 8a in the form of a hydraulic cylinder for manipulating the arm 7a into a desired position. The other shown mooring devices 3b and 3c are of the type comprising a base 4b, 4c, a movable mooring construction 5b, 5c supported by the base 4b, 4c, and at least one magnet 6b, 6c mounted to a frame 7b, 7c, which frame 7b, 7c is supported by the movable mooring construction 5b, 5c. The movable mooring construction 5b, 5c of this type is provided with one or more drives 8b,

8c, preferably hydraulic drive cylinders, for manipulating the frame 7b, 7c with the magnets 6b, 6c into a desired position.

The mooring system 1 further comprises sensory equipment 9 and a real-time control system 10 connected to the sensory equipment 9 and to the said one or more drives 8a, 8b, 8c of the movable mooring construction 5a, 5b, 5c, wherein said real-time control system 10 is arranged to steer the one or more drives 8a, 8b, 8c of the movable mooring construction 5a, 5b, 5c depending on signals derived from the sensory equipment

9.

The sensory equipment 9 is preferably arranged to provide the real-time control system 10 with information on surge and roll, heave and pitch, and sway and yaw of the moored ship 2 and/or on the ship's position and back and forth and lateral movements.

The sensory equipment 9 is further preferably arranged to provide the real-time control system 10 with information on current, tide and/or wind acting on the moored ship 2, and preferably also to provide the real-time control system 10 with information on current direction and height and direction of the waves acting on the ship 2. The information on the wind acting on the moored ship 2 includes the wind direction and force.

The mooring system further preferably comprises one or more information systems 11 providing environmental data, wherein said information systems 11 are connected to the realtime control system 10, and the real-time control system 10 is arranged to steer the one or more drives 8a, 8b, 8c of the movable mooring construction 5a, 5b, 5c depending on the environmental data.

Preferably the information systems 11 provide weather information; and most preferably also information on passing ships .

In a preferred embodiment as shown in the figure the mooring system 1 comprises a predictive model 12 of the ships positional and motion parameters, which the model 12 is arranged to calculate depending on the information collected with the sensory equipment 9 and/or with the information systems 11, and depending on the actual steering of the drives 8a, 8b, 8c of the movable mooring construction 5a, 5b, 5c by the real-time control system 10, wherein the real-time control system 10 steers the drives 8a, 8b, 8c of the movable mooring construction 5a, 5b, 5c depending at least in part on the position and motion parameters provided by the predictive model 12 .

In a very beneficial arrangement the real-time control system 10 and/or the predictive model 12 is adaptive in that their parameters are automatically tuneable depending on a measured error 13 between predicted positional and motion parameters of the ship 2 derived with the predictive model 12, and the actual positional and motion parameters of the ship 2 as measured with the sensory equipment 9.

Although the invention has been discussed in the 5 foregoing with reference to an exemplary embodiment of the mooring system of the invention, the invention is not restricted to this particular embodiment which can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention. The discussed exemplary embodiment shall therefore not be used to construe the appended claims strictly in accordance therewith. On the contrary the embodiment is merely intended to explain the wording of the appended claims without intent to limit the claims to this exemplary embodiment. The scope of protection of the invention shall therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims only, wherein a possible ambiguity in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using this exemplary embodiment.

Claims

CONCLUSIES

1. Afmeersysteem (1) voor het afmeren van een schip (2) omvattende ten minste één afmeerinrichting (3a, 3b, 3c) van het type omvattende een basis (4a, 4b, 4c) en een beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) gedragen door de basis (4a, 4b, 4c), en waarbij de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) is voorzien van één of meer aandrijvingen (8a, 8b,

8c), bij voorkeur hydraulische aandrijfcilinders, voor het manipuleren van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) in een gewenste positie, met het kenmerk, dat het afmeersysteem (1) verder sensorapparatuur (9) omvat en een real-time-regelsysteem (10) verbonden met de sensorapparatuur (9) en met de genoemde één of meer aandrijvingen (8a, 8b, 8c) van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c), waarbij genoemd realtime-regelsysteem (10) is ingericht voor het sturen van één of meer aandrijvingen (8a, 8b, 8c) van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) afhankelijk van signalen afgeleid van de sensorapparatuur (9).
2. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 1, met het kenmerk, dat de sensorapparatuur (9) is ingericht voor het verschaffen van informatie aan het real-time-regelsysteem (10) met betrekking tot schommelen en rollen, rijzen en stampen, en slingeren en gieren van het afgemeerde schip (2) en/of van de positie en de heen-en-weer-gaande en laterale bewegingen van het schip.
3. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 1 of 2, met het kenmerk, dat de sensorapparatuur (9) is ingericht voor het aan het real-time-regelsysteem (10) verschaffen van informatie met betrekking tot stroming, getijden en/of wind die werkzaam is op het afgemeerde schip (2) .
4. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 3, met het kenmerk, dat de sensorapparatuur (9) is ingericht voor het verschaffen aan het real-time-regelsysteem (10) van informatie met betrekking tot stroomrichting en hoogte en richting van de golven die werkzaam zijn op het schip (2).
5. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 3 of 4, met het kenmerk, dat de informatie met betrekking tot de wind die werkzaam is op het afgemeerde schip (2) de windrichting en kracht omvat.
6. Afmeersysteem volgens één der voorgaande conclusies 1-5, met het kenmerk, dat het afmeersysteem (1) verder één of meer informatiesystemen (11) omvat, welke omgevingsdata verschaffen waarbij genoemde informatiesystemen (11) zijn verbonden of verbindbaar zijn met het real-time-regelsysteem (10), en het real-time-regelsysteem (10) is ingericht voor het sturen van de één of meer aandrijvingen (8a, 8b, 8c) van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) afhankelijk van de omgevingsdata.
7. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 6, met het kenmerk, dat de één of meer informatiesystemen (11) weerinformatie verschaffen; en informatie met betrekking tot passerende schepen.
8. Afmeersysteem volgens één der voorgaande conclusies 1-7, met het kenmerk, dat het afmeersysteem (1) een voorspellend model (12) bevat van de positionele en bewegingsparameters van het schip welke het model (12) is ingericht om te berekenen afhankelijk van de informatie verzameld met de sensorapparatuur (9) en/of met de één of meer informatiesystemen (11), en afhankelijk van de actuele aansturing met de aandrijvingen (8a, 8b, 8c) van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) door het real-time-regelsysteem (10), waarbij het real-time-regelsysteem (10) de aandrijvingen (8a, 8b, 8c) van de beweegbare afmeerconstructie (5a, 5b, 5c) aanstuurt afhankelijk van ten minste ten dele de positionele en bewegingsparameters verschaft door het voorspellend model (12).
9. Afmeersysteem volgens conclusie 8, met het kenmerk, dat het real-time-regelsysteem (10) en/of het voorspellend model (12) adaptief is in dat de parameters daarvan afstembaar zijn afhankelijk van een gemeten fout (13) tussen voorspelde positionele en bewegingsparameters van het schip (2) afgeleid van het voorspellend model (12) en de actuele positionele en bewegingsparameters van het schip (2) zoals gemeten met de sensorapparatuur (9).

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