U.S. patent application number 14/124376 was filed with the patent office on 2014-06-19 for ship including a device for recovering floating objects.
This patent application is currently assigned to ECOCEANE. The applicant listed for this patent is Nicolas Autrel, Robert Gastaldi. Invention is credited to Nicolas Autrel, Robert Gastaldi.
Application Number | 20140165894 14/124376 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46331261 |
Filed Date | 2014-06-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140165894 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gastaldi; Robert ; et
al. |
June 19, 2014 |
Ship Including a Device for Recovering Floating Objects
Abstract
A ship comprising a hull at the bow of which an opening is
formed, and on each side of said opening a recovery device designed
to recover floating objects and guide them towards said opening,
each recovering device comprising: a rigid vane having meshes sized
so as to not allow the floating objects to pass but to allow water
to pass, said vane being designed to adopt a stowed position in
which it is out of the water, a collection position in which it is
immersed and disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the
direction of the advance of the ship and upstream of the opening,
and a recovery position in which it is immersed and disposed in a
plane substantially parallel to the direction of advance of the
ship and upstream of the opening, and a control device mounted on
the hull, and on which said vane is mounted, and which comprises
means for ensuring the passage successively from the stowed
position to the collection position and then to the recovery
position and from the recovery position to the collection position
and then to the stowed position.
Inventors: |
Gastaldi; Robert; (Paimpol,
FR) ; Autrel; Nicolas; (Paimpol, FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Gastaldi; Robert
Autrel; Nicolas |
Paimpol
Paimpol |
|
FR
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
ECOCEANE
Paris
FR
|
Family ID: |
46331261 |
Appl. No.: |
14/124376 |
Filed: |
June 5, 2012 |
PCT Filed: |
June 5, 2012 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2012/060607 |
371 Date: |
March 5, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
114/61.27 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63B 35/00 20130101;
B63B 35/32 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
114/61.27 |
International
Class: |
B63B 35/00 20060101
B63B035/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 9, 2011 |
FR |
11/55067 |
Claims
1-6. (canceled)
7. A ship comprising a hull at the prow of which an opening is
formed, and on each side of said opening a recovery device designed
to recover floating objects and guide them towards said opening,
each recovery device comprising: a rigid vane having meshes sized
so as to not allow the floating objects to pass but to allow water
to pass, said vane being designed to adopt a stowed position in
which it is out of the water, a collection position in which it is
immersed and disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the
direction of advance of the ship and upstream of the opening, and a
recovery position in which it is immersed and disposed in a plane
substantially parallel to the direction of advance of the ship and
upstream of the opening, and a control device mounted on the hull,
and on which said vane is mounted, and which comprises means for
ensuring the passage successively from the stowed position to the
collection position and then to the recovery position and from the
recovery position to the collection position and then to the stowed
position.
8. The ship of claim 7, wherein the means of the control device are
designed to effect the passage from the stowed position to the
collection position by a rotation about a first horizontal rotation
axis and by a rotation about a second vertical rotation axis, and
to effect the passage from the collection position to the recovery
position by a rotation about the second rotation axis.
9. The ship of claim 8, wherein the means of the control device
comprise: a base fixed to the hull, a first shaft the axis of which
forms the first rotation axis and on which a first sleeve secured
to the vane fits, and a second shaft fixed to the base, the axis of
which forms the second rotation axis and on which a second sleeve
secured to the first shaft fits.
10. The ship of claim 7, wherein each vane extends, in the
collection position, between an internal end that is situated
upstream of the opening and an external end that is situated
towards the outside of the ship, in that the external end has a
profile arched upstream and in that the internal end has a
substantially planar profile.
11. The ship of claim 7, wherein each recovery device comprises a
sheet intended to be fixed to said vane in front of the meshes.
12. A device for recovering floating objects for a ship according
to claim 7.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention concerns a ship equipped with a device
for recovering objects floating on the water, as well as a recovery
device.
[0002] A device for recovering floating objects is known that takes
the form of two inflatable fenders that are fixed to the bows of a
ship and extend upstream thereof. The inflatable fenders are
disposed in a V in order to sweep a larger surface area of the
water. Such fenders thus form a funnel that directs the water and
floating objects towards the bows of the ship, where a cleaning
device is provided.
[0003] Such a recovery device is not completely satisfactory since
such fenders reduce the manoeuvrability of the ship and take a long
time to fit. The document WO-A-95/21764 discloses a ship that
recovers floating waste.
SUMMARY
[0004] One aim of the present invention is to propose a ship
equipped with a device for recovering objects floating on the water
that does not have the drawbacks of the prior art and in particular
is easy to manoeuvre.
[0005] To this end, a ship is proposed comprising a hull at the
prow of which an opening is made, and, on each side of said
opening, a recovery device provided for recovering the floating
objects and guiding them towards said opening, each recovery device
comprising: [0006] a rigid vane having meshes sized so as to not
allow the floating objects to pass but to allow water to pass, said
vane being designed to adopt a stowed position in which it is out
of the water, a collection position in which it is immersed and
disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of
advance of the ship and upstream of the opening, and a recovery
position in which it is immersed and disposed in a plane
substantially parallel to the direction of advance of the ship and
upstream of the opening, and [0007] a control device mounted on the
hull and on which said vane is mounted, and which comprises means
for providing passage successively from the stowed position to the
collection position and then to the recovery position and vice
versa.
[0008] Advantageously, the means of the control device are designed
to effect the passage from the stowed position to the collection
position by a rotation about a first horizontal rotation axis and
by a rotation about a second vertical rotation axis, and to effect
the passage from the collection position to the recovery position
by a rotation about the second rotation axis.
[0009] Advantageously, the means of the control device comprise:
[0010] a base fixed to the hull, [0011] a first shaft the axis of
which forms the first rotation axis and on which a first sleeve
secured to the vane fits, and [0012] a second shaft fixed to the
base, the axis of which forms the second rotation axis and on which
a second sleeve secured to the first shaft fits.
[0013] Advantageously, each vane extends, in the collection
position, between an internal end that is situated upstream of the
opening and an external end that is situated towards the outside of
the ship, the external end has a profile arched towards the
upstream end and the internal end has a potentially flat
profile.
[0014] Advantageously, each recovery device comprises a sheet
intended to be fixed to said vane in front of the meshes.
[0015] The invention also proposes a device for recovering floating
objects for a ship according to one of the preceding
embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 shows the vane 102 in the stowed position. In the
embodiment of the invention presented here, the vane 102, in the
stowed position, is disposed against the railing 108 of the hull
54, in a turned-over position where the bottom edge 110 is above
the top edge 112.
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a first position intermediate between the
stowed position and the collection position.
[0018] FIG. 3 shows a second position intermediate between the
first intermediate position and the collection position.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows the collection position.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows a third position intermediate between the
collection position and the recovery position.
[0021] FIG. 6 shows the recovery position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] The features of the invention mentioned above, as well as
others, will emerge more clearly from a reading of the following
description of an example embodiment, said description being given
in relation to the accompanying drawings, among which FIGS. 1 to 6
show a ship equipped with a recovery device according to the
invention during various steps of use thereof.
[0023] In the following description, the terms relating to a
position are taken with reference to a ship sailing on the water
with the recovery device in the collection position as shown in
FIG. 4. The upstream and downstream directions are taken with
reference to the direction of movement of the ship when it is
moving forwards.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows a ship 50 that has a hull 54 at the prow of
which there is produced an opening 52 through which objects
floating on the water enter the hull 54 in order to be stored
therein. The hull 54 also has here a railing 108.
[0025] The ship 50 also has, to port and to starboard of the
opening 52, a recovery device 100 that is mounted on the hull 54
and is intended to recover the floating objects and guide them
towards the opening 52. On the various Figs. only the recovery
device 100 disposed to starboard is shown and described, but the
recovery device 100 disposed to port is symmetrical.
[0026] The recovery device 100 comprises: [0027] a rigid vane 102
having meshes sized so as to not allow the floating objects to pass
but to allow water to pass, the vane 102 being designed to adopt a
stowed position in which it is out of the water and, in particular,
stowed against the railings 108, a collection position in which it
is immersed and disposed in a plane substantially perpendicular to
the direction of the advance of the ship 50 and upstream of the
opening 52, and a recovery position in which it is immersed and
disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the direction of
advance of the ship 50 and upstream of the opening 52, and [0028] a
control device 150 mounted on the hull 54 and on which said vane
102 is mounted, and which comprises means for ensuring the passage
successively from the stowed position to the collection position
and then to the recovery position and vice versa.
[0029] The immersion of the vane 102 is not complete, otherwise the
floating objects would pass above it. The immersion is therefore
partial over the height of the vane 102.
[0030] The vane 102 has a bottom edge 110 which, in the collection
position, is immersed in the water, and a top edge 112 which, in
the collection position, remains above the water.
[0031] The rigidity of the vane 102 and the rapidity of the placing
thereof make it possible to act rapidly in places where floating
objects are situated.
[0032] The vane 102 is rigid in order not to bend under the effect
of the water when it is immersed. The vane 102 here consists of a
rigid frame 104 and a net 106 fixed inside the frame 104. It is
also possible to provide for the vane 102 to consist of a single
element, for example made from synthetic resin.
[0033] In the embodiment of the invention presented here, the
passage from the stowed position to the collection position is
effected by a rotation about a first horizontal rotation axis 114
and then a rotation about a second vertical rotation axis 116, and
the passage from the collection position to the recovery position
is effected by a rotation about the second rotation axis 116.
[0034] Thus the means of the control device 150 are designed to
effect the passage from the stowed position to the collection
position by a rotation about the first rotation axis 114 and then
by a rotation about the second rotation axis 116, and to effect the
passage from the collection position to the recovery position by
rotation about the second rotation axis 116.
[0035] In the first intermediate position, the vane 102 has
undergone a rotation of approximately 90.degree. about the first
rotation axis 114.
[0036] In the second intermediate position, the vane 102 has
undergone a rotation of approximately 180.degree. about the first
rotation axis 114. The vane 102 is then immersed in the water and
its bottom edge 110 is below the top edge 112. The downstream face
of the vane 102 is against the hull 54.
[0037] In order to pass from the second intermediate position to
the collection position, the vane 102 undergoes a rotation about
the second rotation axis 116 in order to bring it into the
collection position substantially perpendicular to the direction of
advance of the ship 50, that is to say transversely with respect to
the axis of the ship 50.
[0038] The passage from the collection position to the recovery
position is effected by continuing the rotation about the second
rotation axis 116, passing through the third intermediate
position.
[0039] When it is in the collection position, the vane 102 extends,
in the collection position, between an internal end that is
situated upstream of the starboard edge of the opening 52, and an
external end that is situated towards the outside of the ship
50.
[0040] The external end of the vane 102 has a profile arched to
upstream when it is in the collection position while the internal
end has a substantially planar profile perpendicular to the
direction of advance of the ship 50 in order to form a guide that
guides the floating objects towards the opening 52.
[0041] In the collection position, the vanes 102 are in line with
each other but at a distance from each other and thus have a wide
span that makes it possible to capture a maximum number of floating
objects. The two internal ends are thus disposed on either side of
the opening 52.
[0042] In the recovery position, the vanes 102 are opposite each
other and the external ends are close to each other so that the
vanes 102 form a corridor along which the floating objects are
guided towards the opening 52 and sucked in by it.
[0043] In the context of another embodiment, it is possible to
envisage other kinematics using rotations and/or translations. For
example, from the stowed position, a rotation about the second
rotation axis 116 brings the vane 102 above its collection
position, a rotation about the first rotation axis 114 brings the
vane 102 into the collection position and a rotation about the
second rotation axis 116 brings the vane 102 into the recovery
position. It is also possible to provide, from a stowed position
where the vane 102 would be stowed right side up, a vertical
translation parallel to the first rotation axis 114 to bring it
into the first angular position, and then a rotation about the
second rotation axis 116 in order to bring it successively into the
collection position and into the recovery position.
[0044] In the embodiment in the Figs., the means constituting the
control device 150 comprises a base 152 fixed to the hull 54, a
first shaft 154 the axis of which forms the first rotation axis 114
and on which there fit a first sleeve 155 secured to the vane 102
and a second shaft 156 fixed to the base 152, the axis of which
forms the second rotation axis and on which a second sleeve 157
secured to the first shaft 154 fits.
[0045] The passage from the stowed position to the second
intermediate position is effected by the rotation of the sleeve 155
about the first shaft 154 and the passage from the second
intermediate position to the collection position is effected by the
rotation of the second sleeve 157 about the second shaft 156.
[0046] The passage from the collection position to the recovery
position is effected by the rotation of the second sleeve 157 about
the second shaft 156.
[0047] The rotation movements about the first rotation axis 114 and
the second rotation axis 116 are here effected manually, but it is
possible to automate them by fitting suitable motors or jacks.
[0048] According to another embodiment of the invention, it is
possible modify the structure of the control device 150 as long as
the rotations about the first rotation axis 114 and the second
rotation axis 116 are possible. For example, it is possible to
replace the first sleeve 155 and the first shaft 154 with a shaft
on which the vane 102 is fixed and which is mounted so as to be
able to move in rotation on the second sleeve 157.
[0049] In the embodiment of the invention presented here, the
rotation about the second rotation axis 116 is effected by a lever
160, a control shaft 162 fixed to the hull 54 and a set of linkages
170 that connects the lever 160 to the second shaft 156.
[0050] The linkage assembly 170 comprises a first linkage 172, an
intermediate linkage 174 and a second linkage 176.
[0051] The first linkage 172 comprises a control sleeve 159 fitted
on the control shaft 162. The first linkage 172 and the control
sleeve 159 thereof are thus able to move in rotation about a
vertical control axis 178.
[0052] At one of the ends of the first linkage 172 the lever 160 is
fixed and, at the other end, one of the ends of the intermediate
linkage 174 is assembled by means of a removable pin that is not
fitted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 and is fitted in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6.
[0053] The other end of the intermediate linkage 174 is connected
to one of the ends of the second linkage 176 by means of a pin and
the other end of the second linkage 176 is fixed to the second
sleeve 157.
[0054] Thus, when the removable pin is fitted, the rotation
movement of the lever 160 about the vertical control axis 178
causes the movement of the intermediate linkage 174 and of the
second linkage 176, which in its turn causes the rotation of the
second sleeve 157 about the second shaft 156.
[0055] When the ship 50 is intended to recover liquids floating on
the water such as for example hydrocarbons, an impermeable sheet is
placed on each vane 102 upstream of the meshes so as to cover them
and close them off. Thus each recovery device 100 also comprises a
sheet.
[0056] The sheet that is placed in front of the meshes with respect
to the direction of movement of the ship prevents the meshes being
soiled by the liquid and guides the liquid towards the opening 52.
The sheet is for example fixed to the rigid frame 104 by any
suitable means such as for example: envelopment of the frame, stud
of the press stud type, etc.
[0057] Naturally, the present invention is not limited to the
examples and embodiments described and depicted but is capable of
numerous variants accessible to a person skilled in the art.
* * * * *