US3854435A

US3854435A - Installation for assemblying ship hull subassemblies

Info

Publication number: US3854435A
Application number: US00419945A
Authority: US
Inventors: Y Kinoshita
Original assignee: Sumitomo Shipbuilding and Machinery Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sumitomo Shipbuilding and Machinery Co Ltd
Priority date: 1973-01-18
Filing date: 1973-11-29
Publication date: 1974-12-17
Anticipated expiration: 1991-12-17
Also published as: SE389646B; NO139999B; FR2214626B1; GB1435303A; NO139999C; DE2358480A1; FR2214626A1; DE2358480B2

Abstract

An installation for assemblying ship hull subassemblies each consisting of a pair of vertical subblocks which are assembled in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction and in transversely spaced apart relation and a horizontal subblock joined to the upper or lower sides of the pair of vertical subblocks. In the parallelepiped structure of the installation, there are provided apparatus for positioning the vertical subblocks, apparatus for holding them in vertical position, and a plurality of carriages with vertically movable scaffolds which are movable on the floor or ride on rails laid within the structure at a predetermined height from the floor.

Description

[451 Dec. 17, 1974 INSTALLATION FOR ASSEMBLYING SHIP 3,753,413 8/1973 Ichikawa et HULL SUBASSEMBLIES [75] Inventor: Yoshitaka Kinoshita, Yokosuka, Primary EXamil 1@rGerge Halvosa Japan Assistant Examzner.lesus D. Sotelo Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Armstrong, Nikaido & [73] Assignee: Sumitomo Shipbuilding & Wegner Machinery Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Nov. 29, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT An installation for assemblying ship hull subassemblies each consisting of a pair of vertical subblocks which are assembled in parallel with each other in the longi- [22] Filed:

[21] Appl. No.: 419,945

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 18, 1973 48-833 tudinal direction and in transversely spaced apart relation and a horizontal subblock joined to the upper or lower sides of the pair of vertical subblocks. ln the parallelepiped structure of the installation, there are provided apparatus for positioning the vertical subblocks, apparatus for holding them in vertical position, and a plurality of carriages with vertically movable scaffolds which are movable on the floor or ride on rails laid within the structure at a predetermined height from the floor.

Feb. 28, 1973 [52] US. 114/65 R [51] Int. B6311 3/00 [58] Field of Search... 114/65 R, 74 R, 74 T, 74 A, 114/75, 76, 77 R, 77 A, 78, 79 R, 79 W; 214/730; 61/64-68; 29/33 R, 200 R [56] References Cited 5 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures R 5 M M SW Tm NW m m A" m Sm mm Am 1 D m W9 NH Um 0O 3 3 s 2 3 FATE NIH] SEC I 7 I974 sum 03 or 1 PEG.

PATENTEL SEC! 7 I974 saw on or 12 PATENTEUUEBI H914 3.854.435

sum 05 0f 12 FIG. 5

PATENTEB SE81 7 I974 sum as nr 12 PATENTED m .1 3.854.435

sum 11 or 12 FIG. #2

FIG. l3

PATENTEU 71974 3.854.435

sum 120F12 INSTALLATION FOR ASSEMBLYING SHIP HULL SUBASSEMBLIES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an installation for assemblying hull subassemblies of a large ship, especially upper and lower wing tank sections which constitute a parallel part of the hull of a large tanker.

In general in building a large ship such as an oil tanker by the so-called block assembly method, structural members are assembled into subassemblies, ready for erection, which are brought to a building berth or clock for erection on the ship as a unit. In order to attain further exploitation of the so-called block assembly method, there has been proposed a method in which structural members are assembled into a unit to be referred to as a subblock in this specification in a welding shop, and the subblocks are brought to as near the building berth or dock as practicable so that they may be further assembled into a subassembly to be erected on the ship. This method has an advantage that the number of hull subassemblies to be erected on the building berth or dock may be considerably reduced. Furthermore since the assembly of subassemblies is accomplished upon the ground, the working conditions may be considerably improved. However the above method has also some disadvantages. First of all, the subblocks must be correctly positioned and aligned manually by skilled workers using hydraulic jacks or the like as in the case of the erection of the subassemblies on the ship on the building berth. Furthermore wires, pieces and so on must be fixed in order to hold the subblocks in correct position, and scaffolds for welding operations must be erected and removed.- Thus the conventional assembling method requires much time and labor, but the subblocks cannot be assembled with a desired degree of accuracy. Furthermore when an upper wing tank section is assembled, an upper deck subblock is laid upon the ground and a side shell subblock and a longitudinal bulkhead subblock are erected upon and welded to the upper deck subblock. After assembly the subassembly must be turned upside down for erection. Therefore the conventional method further requires time and labor and is dangerous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to provide an installation which permits the mechanization of the assembly of subblocks into a subassembly so as to save labors and to improve the efficiency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an installation which may assemble subblocks into a subassemblies in a simple manner yet with a higher degree of accuracy.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an installation which may assemble two vertical and parallel subblocks of for example an upper wing tank section and a horizontal subblock such as an upper deck subblock into a subassembly such as an upper wing tank section without inverting the subblocks.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an installation which may assemblevarious types of ship hull subassemblies with various dimensrons.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an installation capable of assemblying simultaneously two symmetrical ship hull subassemblies.

Briefly stating, an installation in accordance with the present invention for assemblying ship hull subassemblies each consisting of a pair of vertical subblocks which are assembled in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction and in transversely spaced apart relation and a horizontal subblock joined to the upper or lower sides of said pair of vertical subblocks, comprises a parallelepiped structure whose ceiling and at least one side are opened, means for separately carrying said subblocks into said structure for assembly, two means for positioning said vertical subblocks in said structure, respectively, each of said positioning means comprising stopper means which is disposed adjacent to one end wall of said structure for receiving one vertical end of said vertical subblock, and means for pushing said vertical subblock in the longitudinal direction so as to abut said subblock against said stopper means, means for releasably engaging with the vertical ends of said vertical subblock, thereby holding said vertical subblock in vertical position, scaffold carriage means each of which is provided with a plurality of vertically movable scaffolds and which is adapted to travel in the horizontal direction in a lower or upper portion of said structure, and a carriage adapted to travel upon the floor of said structure, to carry an assembled subassembly thereupon and to move said subassembly out of said structure through said opened side thereof. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in .conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a parallel part of the hull of an oil tanker illustrating the arrangement of upper and lower wing tank sections;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating subblocks of an upper wing tank section before assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an assembled upper wing tank section; I

FIG. 4 is a top view of an installation for assembling upper wing tank sections, taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 is a front view, partly in section, taken along the line V--V of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken along the lines VI-VI and VIIVII of FIG. 4, respectively;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating subblocks of a lower wing tank section before assembly;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an assembled lower wing tank section;

FIG. 10 is a top view of an installation for assembling lower tank wing sections, taken along the line X-X of FIG. 11;

FIG. 11 is a front view thereof, partly in section taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII- -XII of FIG. 11;

FIG. l3 is an end view looking in the direction indicated by the arrows XIII in FIG. 11; and

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a scaffold assembly of the installation shown in FIGS. 10-13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT One preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described as being applied to the assembly of subblocks into wing tank subassemblies which constitute a parallel part of the hull of a tanker.

Referring to FIG. 1 illustrating in perspective view one tank section in a parallel part of the hull of a tanker, wing tanks W1 and W2 are constructed symmetrically with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ship, and comprise upper wing tank sections U1 and U3; and U2 and U4 and lower wing tank sections L1 and L3; and L2 and L4, which are assembled by the hull subassembly assembling installation in accordance with the present invention to be described in detail hereinafter. The subassemblies are transported to a building berth or dock to be assembled with each other and an upper deck block A and a center bottom block B into one tank section.

FIG. 2 shows a side shell subblock l, a longitudinal bulkhead subblock 2 and an upper deck subblock 3 which are assembled by the hull subassembly assembling installation of the present invention into a port side upper wing tank section U1 or U3 as shown in FIG. 3. Struts 4 are to be joined between transverse side frames 1' and 2' of the side shell subblock 1 and the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 2.

Next referring to FIGS. 4-7, the installation for assembling subblocks into upper wing tank section subassemblies as shown in FIG. 3 will be described. In the instant embodiment two installations generally indicated by 5 and 5' are symmetrically constructed in order to assemble port and starboard side upper wing tank subassemblies. The installation structure 5 or 5' is substantially parallelepiped in configuration and comprises a plurality of columns 17 and truss beams 6 interconnecting these columns. The ceiling is opened in order to lower subblocks into the installation 5 by a heavy-lift crane (not shown), and the front side is also opened as shown at right in FIG. 5 in order to move an assembled upper wing tank subassembly out of the installation.

A pair of parallel rails 7 and 7 are laid upon the floor of the installation 5 and extended out of it in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of scaffold carriages 8 and a plurality of strut carriages 9 alternately ride on these rails 7 and 7' and are coupled to each other. Two pairs of horizontal bases 10 and 10' and 11 and 11' are placed upon the floor outwardly transversely of the rails 7 and 7', respectively. A stationary pallet 12 is securely laid upon the pair of bases 10 and 10' in the longitudinal direction, and a movable pallet 13 which is placed upon the other pair of horizontal bases 11 and 11' is adapted to move in parallel with the pallet 12' over a maximum distance D, by suitable means (not shown). The distance between the pallets l2 and 13 is selected depending upon the width of a subassembly to be assembled. Both the pallets l2 and 13 are provided with longitudinal grooves into which are slidably fitted the lower edges of two vertical subblocks, that is the side shell subblock l and the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 2, respectively. A stopper 14 is securely fixed to one end of each longitudinal groove of the pallet and a device 15 such as a hydraulic cylinder for moving a subblock l or 2 is disposed at the other end. The stoppers 14 of the pallets l2 and 13 are disposed in the same plane perpendicular to the pallets l2 and 13.

A transverse beam 18 is extended between columns 17 ofa partition wall 16 between the installation structures 5 and 5', and carries a first and second holding or retaining

devices

19 and 20. The first retaining device 19 is held stationary immediately above the pallet 12 whereas the second retaining device is movable along the transverse beam 18 so as to be aligned with the movable pallet 13.

A transverse beam 22 is suspended from the ceiling on the side of an end wall 21 in opposed relation with the transverse beam 18, and is movable longitudinally in parallel with the transverse beam 18 over the maximum distance D2 (See FIG. 4). The longitudinally movable transverse beam 22 has a stationary third holding or retaining device 23 immediately above the pallet 12 and a movable fourth holding or retaining device 24 which is movable along the transverse beam 22 so as to be aligned with the movable pallet 13. The first to

fourth retaining devices

19, 20, 23 and 24 are similar in construction and their holding surfaces are extended and retracted by a hydraulic system.

As best shown in FIG. 7 each scaffold carriage 8 has a pair of collapsible booms 25 and 25' which are extended and retracted by hydraulic cylinders, and the booms 25 and 25' carry a plurality of vertically spaced apart

scaffolds

26 and 26. Cap tyres for welding machines, electric wires for illumination, oxygen supply hoses, acetylene supply hoses, compressed air supply hoses and so on are extended to the scaffolds 26 and 26' from the scaffold carriage 8 which in turn is communicated with various external supply sources. As shown in FIG. 5, a scaffold 27 is suspended from the movable beam 22 so as to be movable therealong. The movablescaffold 27 is also supplied with electricity, compressed air, oxygen, acetylene gas. and so on.

As best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pair of stoppers 28 are securely fixed to the partition wall 16 above and between the first and

second retaining devices

19 and 20 and adapted to receive the end on the side of the bow of an upper deck subblock as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The receiving or bearing surfaces of the stoppers 28 are in a vertical plane containing the receiving surfaces of the stoppers 14.

The installation structure 5' is substantially similar in construction to the structure 5 described hereinabove. Thus port and starboard side upper wing tank subassemblies can be constructed simultaneously.

Next the mode of assemblying an upper wing tank section in the installation 5 will be described. First the side shell subblock 1 (See FIG. 2) is lifted and lowered through the opened ceiling of the assembling installation 5 upon the pallet 12 in such a way that the end on the side of the stern of the side shell subblock 1 may be in opposed relation with the partition wall 16 and the lower edge is fitted into the longitudinal groove of the pallet 12. Next means 15 such as a hydraulic cylinder is actuated to move the side shell subblock 1 so that the end on the side of the stern of the subblock 1 may abut against the stopper 14. Next the first retaining device 19 and the second retaining device 23 mounted on the movable transverse beam 22 are actuated to press against the bow and stem side ends of the side shell subblock 1 so that the latter may be securely held in vertical position on the pallet 12. Thereafter the wire ropes fixed to the side shell subblock l are removed by workers who may stand on a stage on the top of the side wall of the structure 5. In like manner, the

longitudinal bases

118 and 119 into the

installation

105 or 105 until the bottom subblock 103 abut against stoppers (not shown). Thereafter the supporting member of the carriage 132 is lowered to lower and place the subblock 103 upon the

horizontal bases

118 and 119, and then the carriage 132 is moved out of the installation 105. The hydraulic cylinders 121 are actuated to move the horizontal base 119 toward the stationary horizontal base 118 so that the end of the bottom subblock 103 on the side of the partition wall 107 may be abutted against the stoppers 126 and 126'.

Next the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 102 is lifted by a jib crane (not shown) and lowered through the opened ceiling of the installation structure 105 or 105' to be placed upon the bottom subblock 103 along a predetermined longitudinal side edge thereof. The hydraulic cylinder 124 which is moved along the supporting frame 122 of the movable horizontal base 119 to V the position opposed to the bow side end of the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 102 is actuated to move the subblock 102 toward the partition wall 107 until the stern side end is pressed against the stopper 126. The second and

fourth holding devices

129 and 131 are actuated to securely hold the longitudinal subblock 102 in vertical position. in like manner the side shell subblock 101 is lifted and lowered to be placed on the bottom subblock 103 along the other side edge thereof. After the subblock 101 has been correctly placed in position by means of the hydraulic cylinder and the stopper 126', the first and

third holding devices

128 and 130 are actuated to securely hold the subblock 101 in vertical position.

The two scaffold assemblies 109 are advanced toward the

subblocks

101 and 102, and the scaffolds 115 are lowered inside the

subblocks

101 and 102 in such a manner that they may sandwich the transverse frames 101' and 102' which are to be joined by the strut 104.

Thereafter the struts 104 are hoisted by the chainblocks 117 to be placed between the transverse frames 101' and 102'. Thereafter the welding operation is started to assemble the

subblocks

101, 102, and 103 and the struts 104 into the subassembly as shown in H6. 9.

. After assembly, the holding

devices

128, 129, 130, and 131 are released, and the scaffolds 115 are hoisted to their initial positions. The carriage 132 is advanced again into the installation 105 and below the subassembly. The supporting member is lifted to raise the subassembly away from the

horizontal blocks

118 and 119 so that it may be moved out of the installation 105.

Various types of hull subassemblies with various dimensions may be assembled in the installation 105 as in the case of the installations and 5 described with reference to FIGS. 4-7.

As described hereinabove and according to the present invention, subblocks are mechanically placed in position and aligned with the adjoining subblocks so that the assembling efficiency is remarkably increased as compared with the conventional manual assembling methods. Furthermore the scaffolds are automatically and mechanically extended and retracted so that the assembling time may be considerably reduced and the working conditions may be much improved.

What is claimed is:

1. An installation for assemblying ship hull subassemblies each consisting of a pair of vertical subblocks which are to be assembled in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction and in transversely spaced apart relation and a horizontal subblock to be joined to the upper or lower side edges of said pair of vertical subblocks, said installation comprising a. a parallelepiped structure whose ceiling and at least one side are opened, b. means for separately carrying said subblocks into said structure, 0. means for positioning said subblocks in said structure, said positioning means comprising stopper means which is disposed adjacent to one end wall of said structure for abutting against one vertical end of said subblock, and means for pushing said subblock in the longitudinal direction so as to abut said subblock against said stopper means, d. means for releasably engaging with the vertical ends of said vertical subblocks, thereby holding said vertical subblock in vertical position, e. scaffold carriage means which is provided with a plurality of vertically movable scaffolds and which is adapted to travel in the horizontal direction in a lower or upper portion, and f. a carriage adapted to travel upon the floor of said structure, to carry an assembled subassembly thereupon and to move said subassembly out of said structure through said opened side thereof. 2. An installation as defined in claim 1 wherein the spacing between said two positioning means in the transverse direction is adjustable, and said four holding means are so arranged that the spacings therebetween in both longitudinal and transverse directions may be adjusted.

3. An installation wherein two installations as defined in claim 1 are constructed symmetrically in the longitudinal direction.

4. An installation as defined in claim 2 further comprising a. a pair of pallets each provided with a longitudinal groove into which is slidably fitted the lower side of said vertical subblock,

b. a pair of horizontal bases disposed upon the floor of said structure for supporting said pair of pallets horizontally at the same level and in parallel in the longitudinal direction, one of said horizontal bases being adapted to adjust the transverse position of one of said pallets,

c. two stopper means each disposed at one end of each of said pallet so as to receive one vertical end of each of said vertical subblocks,

d. two hydraulic cylinder means each disposed at the other end of each of said pallets so as to push each of said vertical subblocks toward said stopper means,

e. a pair of parallel rails extended upon the floor of said structure in the longitudinal direction between said pair of horizontal bases, and

f. a plurality of carriages each riding upon said pair of rails and having a plurality of vertically movable scaffolds mounted thereupon.

5. An installation as defined in claim 2 further comprising a. a first horizontal base disposed upon the floor of said structure along one end wall thereof,

b. a second horizontal base movable in the longitudinal direction upon the floor of said structure in parallel with said first horizontal base so that the spacing therebetween may be adjusted,

bulkhead subblock 2 is lifted by a heavy-lift crane and lowered onto the pallet 13 which is spaced apart from the stationary pallet 12 by a distance equal to the width of the upper wing tank subassembly in such a way that the lower horizontal edge of the subblock 2 may be fitted into the longitudinal groove of the movable pallet 13, and the bow side end is pressed against the stopper 14 by the hydraulic cylinder 15. The second and third retaning means and 24 are actuated to hold the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 2 in vertical position. The hoisting wire ropes fixed to the bulkhead subblock 2 are removed.

The scaffold carriages 8 and the strut carriages 9 each of which carries one strut (See FIG. 2) are advanced into the space between the side shell and longitudinal bulkhead subblocks 1 and 2 which are now securely held in vertical position. The struts 4 are placed between the transverse frames 1' and 2' by means of a device (not shown) for positioning the strut 4.

The upper deck subblock 3 is lifted by a heavy-lift crane and lowered to bridge the side shell and longitudinal bulkhead subblocks 1 and 2 with the stern side end being abutted against the stopper 28.

The booms and 25' on the scaffold carriages 8 are extended to hold the

scaffolds

26 and 26 in operative position. The scaffold 27 mounted on the movable transverse beam 22 is also located so that the workers on the scaffold 27 may reach the positions which are not accessible to those on the scaffolds 26 and 26'. The

subblocks

1, 2, and 3 are welded together into the upper wing tank section as shown in FIG. 3.

After the assembly, the retaining

devices

19, 20, 23, and 24 are released, and the booms 25 and 25' and hence the scaffolds 26 and 26' are retracted so that the scaffold carriages 8 and the strut carriages 9 are moved out of the assembled subassembly or the upper wing tank section. Thereafter a subassembly carriage 29 whose upper supporting member is adapted to be lifted is advanced between the pair of horizontal bases 11 and 11 from the front side of the structure 5 below the subassembly. The supporting member of the carriage 29 is lifted to raise the subassembly so that the lower edges of the subblocks 1 and 2 may be released out of the longitudinal grooves of the pallets 12 and 13. Thereafter the subassembly carriage 29 is reversed to transport the subassembly to a building berth or dock. In like manner the

subblocks

1, 2, and 3 are assembled into the subassembly in the installation 5'.

As described above, depending upon the length and width of a subassembly to be assembled, the positions of the pallet 13 and the retaining

devices

20, 23, and 24 may be adjusted so that various types of subassemblies may be assemblied in the

installations

5 and 5. Furthermore, the subblocks are assembled in normal upright position, that is an upper deck subblock is placed on and joined to the top side of the subblocks 1 and 2. It is therefore not required to turn the subassembly upside down as in the case of the conventional assembly methods.

FIG. 8 shows a side shell subblock 101, a longitudinal bulkhead subblock 102, a bottom subblock 103 and struts 104 which are assembled into a port side lower wing tank section L1 or L3 as shown in FIG. 9. The struts 104 are joined between the transverse frames 101' and 102' of the side shell subblock 101 and the longitudinal bulkhead subblock 102.

Installations generally indicated by and 105' in FIGS. 10-13 for assemblying starboard and port side lower wing tank sections are substantially similar in construction to the

installations

5 and 5 described hereinbefore except an arrangement for assemblying a bottom subblock which is to be joined to the lower edges of the

vertical subblocks

101 and 102.

Referring to FIGS. 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, two gantry type scaffold assemblies generally indicated by 109 and best shown in FIG. 14 ride on rails 106 and 106' which are laid in parallel along a partition wall 107 and an end wall 108 at the midpoint thereof. The gantry type scaffold assembly 109 comprises a pair of inverted T- shaped legs 110 and a girder 111 bridging the legs 110. Cantilevers 112 are extended backwardly transversely from the girder 111 to suspend a gondola 113 which is lifted and lowered by a hoisting motor 114. A plurality of scaffolds 115 which are suspended from the gondola 1 13 are adapted to be moved manually to desired positions. Cables, hoses and so on for supplying electricity, compressed air, oxygen, acetylene, and so on are extended from the leg 110 to the scaffolds 115. Chain blocks 117 are suspended from a rail 116 attached to the undersurface of the girder 111 (See FIG. 11).

A stationary horizontal base 118 is transversely extended along the partition wall 108 upon the foundation and a movable horizontal base 119, along the end wall 108. The movable horizontal base 119 is placed upon a plurality of transverse rails 120 so that it may be movable over the maximum distance D1 (See FIG. 10) in the longitudinal direction by a plurality of hydraulic cylinders 121. A supporting frame 122 which extends along the horizontal base 119 by a predetermined distance is provided with a groove 123 having a hydraulic cylinder 124 disposed therein. The hydraulic cylinder 124 is movable over the maximum distance D2 (See FIG. 10) along the transverse groove 123. Rollers 125 are disposed upon the stationary horizontal base 118, and a pair of stoppers 126 and 126' which are spaced apart from each other and extended by predetermined distances respectively in the transverse direction are disposed on the stationary horizontal base 118 on the side of the partition wall 107. A suspended beam 127 is movable in the longitudinal direction over the maximum distance D1 (See FIG. 10) as in the case of the transverse beam 22 of the installation 5. A first, second, third and

fourth holding devices

128, 129, 130, and 131 which are similar to those described hereinbefore with reference to FIGS. 4-7, are provided, and the second and

fourth holding devices

129 and 131 are movable transversely over the maximum distance D2. A hydraulic cylinder not shown which is disposed downwardly inwardly of the third holding device 130 and at the same level with the hydraulic cylinder 124 is movable over the maximum distance D1.

Next the mode of assembling the

subblocks

101, 102, 103, and 104 (See FIG. 8) into a lower wing tank section or subassembly will be described. The two gantry type scaffold assemblies 109 are returned to the initial position, and the movable beam 127 and the

movable holding devices

129 and 131 are moved to the positions which are dependent upon the width and length of a lower wing tank subassembly. The bottom subblock 103 is placed upon a carriage 132 similar to the subassembly carriage 29, and the struts 104 are placed between side frames 103' of the bottom subblock 103. The carriage 132 is advanced between the horizontal c. means for moving said second horizontal base tog. a pair of parallel rails laid in the transverse direc- Wafd or y from Said first horizontal base, tion within said structure at a predetermined height a plurality of Supporting roller means disposed from the floor along said one end wall and an end upon the top of said first horizontal base, e. stopper means disposed adjacent to said one end 5 wall for receiving the vertical subblocks, h Spectweg 2 h f f. hydraulic cylinders mounted upon said second hortwo sea 9 assem w n e on Sal 0 izoma] base for pushing the vertical ends of Said parallel rails for movement in the transverse direcvertical subblocks remote from said one end wall, tion and each of which has a plurality of Vertically thereby abutting said vertical subblocks against 10 movable scaffolds Suspended therefromsaid stopper means,

wall in opposed relation with said one end wall, re-

Claims

1. An installation for assemblying ship hull subassemblies each consisting of a pair of vertical subblocks which are to be assembled in parallel with each other in the longitudinal direction and in transversely spaced apart relation and a horizontal subblock to be joined to the upper or lower side edges of said pair of vertical subblocks, said installation comprising a. a parallelepiped structure whose ceiling and at least one side are opened, b. means for separately carrying said subblocks into said structure, c. means for positioning said subblocks in said structure, said positioning means comprising stopper means which is disposed adjacent to one end wall of said structure for abutting against one vertical end of said subblock, and means for pushing said subblock in the longitudinal direction so as to abut said subblock against said stopper means, d. means for releasably engaging with the vertical ends of said vertical subblocks, thereby holding said vertical subblock in vertical position, e. scaffold carriage means which is provided with a plurality of vertically movable scaffolds and which is adapted to travel in the horizontal direction in a lower or upper portion, and f. a carriage adapted to travel upon the floor of said structure, to carry an assembled subassembly thereupon and to move said subassembly out of said structure through said opened side thereof.

2. An installation as defined in claim 1 wherein the spacing between said two positioning means in the transverse direction is adjustable, and said four holding means are so arranged that the spacings therebetween in both longitudinal and transverse directions may be adjusted.

4. An installation as defined in claim 2 further comprising a. a pair of pallets each provided with a longitudinal groove into which is slidably fitted the lower side of said vertical subblock, b. a pair of horizontal bases disposed upon the floor of said structure for supporting said pair of pallets horizontally at the same level and in parallel in the longitudinal direction, one of said horizontal bases being adapted to adjust the transverse position of one of said pallets, c. two stopper means each disposed at one end of each of said pallet so as to receive one vertical end of each of said vertical subblocks, d. two hydraulic cylinder means each disposed at the other end of each of said pallets so as to push each of said vertical subblocks toward said stopper means, e. a pair of parallel rails extended upon the floor of said structure in the longitudinal direction between said pair of horizontal bases, and f. a plurality of carriages each riding upon said pair of rails and having a plurality of vertically movable Scaffolds mounted thereupon.

5. An installation as defined in claim 2 further comprising a. a first horizontal base disposed upon the floor of said structure along one end wall thereof, b. a second horizontal base movable in the longitudinal direction upon the floor of said structure in parallel with said first horizontal base so that the spacing therebetween may be adjusted, c. means for moving said second horizontal base toward or away from said first horizontal base, d. a plurality of supporting roller means disposed upon the top of said first horizontal base, e. stopper means disposed adjacent to said one end wall for receiving the vertical subblocks, f. hydraulic cylinders mounted upon said second horizontal base for pushing the vertical ends of said vertical subblocks remote from said one end wall, thereby abutting said vertical subblocks against said stopper means, g. a pair of parallel rails laid in the transverse direction within said structure at a predetermined height from the floor along said one end wall and an end wall in opposed relation with said one end wall, respectively, and h. two scaffold assemblies which ride on said pair of parallel rails for movement in the transverse direction and each of which has a plurality of vertically movable scaffolds suspended therefrom.