TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cargo hold arrangement for a vessel, such as a coaster, or a MPP (Multi Purpose Vessel) where the arrangement comprises a tween deck and/or a bulkhead. Especially, the invention relates to a beam for creating a tween deck or bulkhead and methods for arranging such in a cargo hold. Further, the invention relates to a reel holder for holding of reels on a ship, especially suited for such cargo hold arrangement and in a supplementary manner a container arrangement for such reel holders.

BACKGROUND ART

Many vessels for shipping of different kinds of cargo are currently equipped with removable tween decks and/or bulkheads in order to be able to utilize the space in the cargo hold more efficiently. Such tween decks and bulkheads enable the cargo hold to be divided into smaller spaces or compartments, hence being better tailored to the nature of the cargo to be transported. A further removable item in this regard is a reel holder.

From WO 01/49559 Al is known a tween deck, which is formed by a number of tween deck beams being arranged side by side. When loading the space below the tween deck, the tween deck beams are stored in a magazine, from where they by means a lifting arrangement are placed on support means attached to the side walls of the hold, when the space below is loaded, e.g. with containers. In order to enable safe transport of reels or other cylindrical objects it is known to place reel holders onto the tween deck.

Further, it is known to use tween decks as bulk heads and vice versa, simply by rotating them 90 degrees.

One disadvantage of this known tween deck is that although it consists of tween deck beam, each such beam is very large and heavy, making it difficult to handle them when assembling/disassembling a tween deck and to stow them away when not in use. The fact that the known tween deck beams are very large also means that it is difficult or even impossible to achieve optimal use of the space in the cargo hold depending on cargo type. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to solve, or at least to minimize the above mentioned problems and to provide a cargo hold arrangement where a tween deck or bulkhead may be assembled and disassembled in a quick and easy way and such that the space of the hold may be better utilized.

This is achieved by a beam for creating a tween deck or bulkhead in a cargo hold of a vessel, said cargo hold having a tank top and hold sides, where the beam is box shaped (three dimensional) with a length L and a width B, where L > 5B, and being

characterized in that the beam comprises anchoring means. Hereby is achieved, both when creating a tween deck and a bulk head, that two or more beams next to each other side by side may be anchored, so that a large, robust continuous surface is obtained. Further is achieved synergies, not only that the is easier to handle, but also that the hold may be optimally exploited, e.g. creating a storage space for containers, and/or container racks, and/or reel holders, despite the fact that the beam in itself occupies a very limited space, i.e. wide enough to provide a safe and reliable support surface for a pair of ends of containers, and/or container racks, thereby forming flexible "bridges" for optimal and flexible use of a hold. Accordingly, for assembly of two or more beams, the beam preferably comprises anchoring means as mentioned, which in principle may adopt any appropriate form. However, it is preferred that the anchoring means of the beam comprise through going holes extending from one side surface of the beam to the other. The anchoring means also comprise a rod or bar for being inserted through said through going holes in adjacent beams, said rod or bar is preferably provided with an end stop at one end and a thread in the other end for receiving a nut and eventually a washer. The beam is preferably provided with a recess around said through going hole in order to receive the end stop of the rod or bar and/or the washer and nut. The rod and/or bar is preferably made of cast iron.

The beam has an upper surface, a lower surface, two side surfaces and two ends.

The beam has preferably a width B within the range from 0,5 to 3 meters, preferably 2 meters or less, and more preferred within 1,5 to 2 meters. If the beams are wider they will be too heavy and unhandy and the cargo space may not be fully exploited, and if the beams are narrower they may not be safely used as a base for two opposing containers or container racks. In principle, the beam or beams may be removably mounted in the hold in any appropriate manner. Thus, when creating a tween deck, the beams may simply be placed on rails or protrusions provided on the side walls of the hold or they may be mounted with their ends extending into recesses provided in said side walls. However, it is preferred that the beam comprises securing means at both its ends for securing the beam via corresponding fittings to side walls of the hold. Such securing means may comprise securing rods being mounted in holes and protruding from the beam ends, whereas the corresponding fittings may simply consist of preferably reinforced holes, which latter often are integral parts of the vessel construction. The securing rods are preferably made of cast iron.

The beam is preferably made with an essentially planar upper surface, hence making it possible to create flush tween decks or bulk heads. In some situations, it is required that objects in a safe manner may be attached to the upper surface of the beam. Such objects may e.g. be a container rack, a container or a reel holder. Accordingly, it is preferred that the beam comprises attachment means for attaching object to its upper surface. It is preferred that such attachment means are container fittings provided in the upper surface of the beam and being arranged for cooperation with a corresponding attachment means attached to the object, the latter attachment means may be a twist lock, which is a commonly used device for securing container racks etc. to tween decks.

Hence, by the described preferred beam according to the invention, one and the same beam may be used both for building tween decks and bulk heads.

According to a further aspect of the invention it is a further object to provide a reel holder that better suits the needs of today's shipping, especially in combination with providing a cargo hold arrangement where a tween deck or bulkhead may be assembled and disassembled in a quick and easy way and such that the space of the hold may be better utilized, which is achieved by means of a reel holder comprising a pair of reel holder members each one having a sloping support wall arranged to support a reel.

The reel holder according to the invention is preferably combined with a beam with an essentially planar upper surface, hence making it possible to create flush tween decks or bulk heads, facilitating easy and safe attached to the upper surface of the beam a reel holder. As a consequence, it is preferred that the beam comprises attachment means for attaching a reel holder to its upper surface. It is preferred that such attachment means are container fittings provided in the upper surface of the beam and being arranged for cooperation with a corresponding attachment means attached to the reel holder, the latter attachment means may be a twist lock, which is a commonly used device for securing container racks etc. to tween decks.

The above described preferred beam enables that, one and the same beam may be used both for building tween decks bulk heads and attaching reel holders.

According to a further aspect of the invention it is a further object to provide a new container concept, which satisfies a long felt need in the steel industry, providing a homogeneous system for transporting steel coils in containers

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a cargo hold arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention, where the hold comprises a flush tween deck,

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of a flush tween deck according to one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 3 is a view of a bar for use when assembling the flush tween deck in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a beam according to the invention for use in a tween deck or bulkhead,

Fig. 5 is a view of a cargo item, such as a reel, being placed on a tween deck according to one embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a bulkhead during assembling according to one embodiment of the invention and,

Fig. 7 is a view in greater details of part Fig. 6,

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a reel holder, Fig. 9 is a top view of the bottom of a container, and Figs. 10 - 13 are different side and end views, respectively, of containers equipped with reel holders for transport of coils.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will hereinafter be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings. The following description should be considered as preferred form only, and is not decisive in a limiting sense.

In Fig. 1 is shown a perspective view of a cargo hold arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention in a space 3 of a hold H in a vessel. In the shown embodiment the hold H comprises a flush tween deck 4, which consists of a number of container racks 1 being supported by two beams 2 and releasable fixed to fitting holes 20 (hereinafter also referred to as container fittings) in the upper surface of the beams 2 by means of fittings 7 (see fig 2) according to one embodiment of the invention. The beams 2 may be releasable attached to the hold H by means of fittings 8 (which may be arranged in varying patterns (e.g. a great plurality to provide large flexibility, or a at desired predefined distances, e.g. to fit a container length, in different holds, to adapt to different needs) on the hold H and securing rods 22, see Fig. 2, on the beams 2. In principle, everything that is container fitted, such as containers and racks having container fittings, may by placed on the beams 2. Of course goods/objects may be placed on a beam, e.g. lashed, also without container fittings.

In Fig. 2 is shown an exploded view of a flush tween deck according to one

embodiment of the invention. The shown tween deck includes four beams 2 arranged side by side and being assembled by means of bars 5, which are led through the beams 2 via through going holes 25. The bars 5 are provided with an end stop 50 at one end and a thread 52 at the other end for receiving a washer and nut 54. The beams 2 comprise at their ends holes 21 for insertion of securing rods 22, and a recess 23 around the through going hole 25 for receiving the end stop 50. Further, the beams 2 comprise container fittings 20 provided in their upper surface. Further, a section of a container rack 1 is shown, having a twist lock 7 connected thereto (known per se) for insertion into the container fitting 20 for attachment to the beam 2.

In Fig. 3 is shown a bar 5 for use when assembling a flush tween deck as the one shown in Fig. 2. The has a bar end stop 50 and a thread 52 for receiving a nut 54. The bar 5 is preferably made of steel. In Fig. 4 is shown a perspective view of a beam 2 according to the invention for use in a tween deck or bulkhead. As seen in the figure, the beam 2 is basically box shaped and comprises on its upper surface a number of container fittings 20, which are intended for cooperation with corresponding fittings, such as twist locks 7 on e.g. a container and/or container rack, and/or a reel holder 6. Further, the beam 2 comprises holes 21 at its short end sides for securing rods 22, as shown in Fig. 2, and through going holes 25 extending through the long sides of each beam 2, within which holes 25 bars 5 are secured when a flush tween deck consisting of multiple beams 2, as shown in Fig. 2, is assembled. The dimensions of the beam 2 are dependent on what kind of material and design is being used, as is well known to the skilled person. In a preferred embodiment welded steel plates are being used to form a beam like structure having a rectangular cross section, B x h. If steel plates of about 20 mm thickness are being used to form the beams 2 the dimensions preferably are within the ranges as follows, length 5 m < L < 20 m, width 1 m < B < 3 m and height 0,3 m < h < 1 m. As is evident the length L is adapted to actual dimensions within a hold H and further the parameters do relate to each other, especially L and h, since the longer the beam 2 needs to be the more height is needed, if same design and material, to obtain same strength properties. Hence, a large variety of dimensions are possible within the ambit of the invention. However, in a preferred mode it is beneficial to use a limited width B, i.e. wherein B < 0,25 L, more preferred B < 0,2 L, and preferably also a limited height h, i.e. wherein h < lm, more preferred 0,3m < h < 0,8 m.

In Figs. 4 is also depicted a reel holder member, 6 having support sidewalls 60, a vertical rear wall 61 and a bottom wall 62, that may be connected to a beam 2, preferably by means of twist-locks 7.

In Fig. 5 is shown how a reel 13 by means of a lifting cable 11 is loaded into the hold H of a ship and placed onto two-reel holder member 6 mounted on one beam 2 each. Two- reel holder members 6 are mounted on top of two neighboring beams 2 A, 2B that are secured within the hold H a distance S sufficiently close to each other (e.g. S < 2B) to form a reel holder 5 that safely may support a reel 13. The reel holder members 6 are preferably fastened thereto by means of twist locks 7 cooperating with the fitting holes 20. A plurality of reel holders 5 may be used next to each other, e.g. to support a plurality of separate reels and/ or to support a longish steel coil or other cylindrical items that are to be shipped. It is evident that it may be flexibly used, e.g. to have reel holders 5 along the whole of the beams 2A and 2B, and then continue with e.g. containers 1 put next to the reels 13 on the inner edge of the inner beam 2B, or create a flush tween deck by means of container racks (not shown) or by means of a beam assembly. Further it is feasible to merely use a part of the length of the beams 2A, 2B for reel holder 5 and use the remaining part of the beams for other objects, e.g.

containers fitted close to the wall of the hold H in line with the outer side of the outer beam 2A, etc.

In Fig. 6 is shown a perspective view of a bulkhead during assembling according to one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the bulkhead comprises a number of vertical rods 10 (which preferably are of the same design as the rods 5 shown in figs. 2 and 3) attached to the bottom of the hold H by an attachment arrangement 9. As seen in the figure beams 2 are lowered down onto the vertical rods 10 by means of a crane hook 12 and a lifting cable 11, in such a way that the vertical rods 10 extend through the holes 25. In this way a bulkhead of a desired height may be build.

In Fig. 7 is shown a preferred embodiment of the attachment arrangement 9 of the vertical rods 10 shown in Fig. 6. Hence, as shown, the attachment arrangement 9 comprises a number of recesses 90 provided in the bottom of the hold H and being electrically magnetisable. Correspondingly, each of the vertical rods 10 are provided with a magnetic end stop 100 (corresponding to ref. no 50 for a rod 5 as shown in figs 2 and 3) being placed in each their recess 90, when a bulkhead is to be built. When a recess 90 is not in use it is preferably covered by a cover plate 14, preferably

comprising a handle 140. In Fig. 8 there is shown a most preferred embodiment of a reel holder 5, having a design enabling storing of a plurality of reel holder members 6 on top of each other. This is achieved by providing a U-shaped support frame 64 on to which slightly sloping sides 63 and the angled support surface 60 are attached, protruding upwardly from the insides of the frame 64. Protruding outwardly and sideways there are attachment lugs 65 having holes adapted for twist locks 7 for attachment e.g.to a beam 2. Further the lugs 65 may be used for fixating a plurality of reel holder member 6 placed on top of each other, e.g. during storage. In the preferred mode the reel holder member 6 has an open rear side 61, but also a slightly sloping rear side 61 would fulfil the purpose of having the reel holders stack able.

In Fig. 9 is shown a top view of a container 200 for the new container concept according to a further aspect of the invention, which may be subject for its own protection by means of one or more divisional appl ication/s. This new container concept may satisfy a long felt need in the steel industry, which today does not have a homogeneous system for transporting steel coils in containers. The shown container 200 comprises a rigid bottom 201 provided with numerous container fittings 20 for cooperation with corresponding fitt ings of a reel holder 6 ( see figs 10-13), such as twist locks. Further the container 200 may be arranged with vertical beams 202 in each corner, hav ing a height corresponding to standard measures for containers. Alternat ively, the container sides may be covered and arranged with a ceiling, in a more tradit ional manner. On top of the vert ical beams 202 there may be pil ing fitt ings 203, e.g. in the form of twist locks, enabling piling of containers on top of that container 200. Thanks to the use of vert ical beams 202 there will be provided open spaces in between that enables easy l ift ing and remov al of coils 13 (see figs 10- 13 ). Moreover, the bottom 201 may be used as such, i.e. a rack for fixation of coils during transport, and preferably having standard measures corresponding to containers, e.g. a 20- foot container. In order to prov ide flexibility, the plurality of fittings 20 are positioned in a pattern, involving fi st and second

longitudinal rows 204, 205, wherein each row 204, 205 preferably include fitt ings 20 closely posit ioned (preferably merely a sufficient smal l distance to enable easy exchange/removal of one in-between fitt ing 20) the w hole distance between the vert ical beams 202, enabl ing a great flexibility to fit different sized coils, (see fig. 10) The fittings 20 are preferably posit ioned adjacent the side walls 201 A, B of the container bottom 201 , most preferred as close as possible to the side wal ls 201 A. B such that as much as possible of the transversal distance may be used for reel holders 6. As shown in fig 1 1 the coils preferably are fitted such that the coil sides 13 A. B may freely fit into the gap betw een two vertical beams 202. Further there are preferably also arranged a plurality of paral lel transversal rows 206-209 for increased flexibility, i.e. enabling mount ing of reel holders 6 longitudinally (see Figs 12, 13 ). In the preferred embodiment there are two closely posit ioned inner rows 207, 208 on each side of the transversal center line 2 10, and two outer rows 206, 209 adjacent each transversal side 201 C, D of the container bottom 201 .

In Figs. 10 - 13 are shown different side and end views, respectively, of containers 200 equipped with reel holders 6 for transport of coils 13. It is bel ieved that the novel concept shown in Figs. 9 - 13 may provide a signi ficant ly improved transport system including reel holders 6. The container bottom 201 may easily be designed to be a good foundat ion for the reel holders 6 where the user can optimize the size of coils 13 to be transported. When the container 200 is not used for the transport of coils 13 the reel holders 6 may simply be removed. Further, the reel holders 6 may be used on land too for transportation of coils, e.g. by means of rail way or trucks.

Many other variations are also possible, as will be readily understood by the person skilled in the art. For instance, it is evident that the reel holders 5 may also be positioned at other places than on a beam, whenever appropriate to transport reels in other storage places of a ship, which may be easily achieved by merely arranging for twist lock fittings 7, at desired places.