AN INTEGRATED UNIT FOR RETRIEVAL AND STORAGE OF A LENGTHENED BODY The present invention relates to an integrated unit for retrieval and storage of a lengthened body, e. g. a cable, such as a synthetic fibre rope. The integrated unit comprises a detention unit, a storage winch or storage reel, and a spooling device guiding the lengthened body from the detention unit to the winch, all having a common or separate framework (s).

In the retrieval of lengthened bodies such as cables and the like from the sea onboard a boat, the cables are normally retrieved by a winch and stored on storage reels or are reeled in on a winch drum for storage. Such devices are applicable for rope and wire of high strength. For more sensitive equipment like a synthetic fibre rope however, the high tension and the pressure from the cable on the winch drum or reel flanges and on the layers below, while reeling up the cable, may result in a damaged cable. To solve this problem different detention units has been developed. US 6,182, 915 and the documents cited therein which is all included herein as reference, all describe different detention units.

Onboard a ship the lengthened body is retrieved by the detention unit and transferred to a winch or storage reel. One detention unit may serve as a retrieval unit for one or more winch (es) or storage reel (s). This solution works fine in many cases but a large portion of a deck onboard the ship is occupied with the detention units and storage reels.

Additionally, when using the same detention unit for several storage reels or winches, the direction of the lengthened body leaving the detention unit and the direction in entering the storage reel or a spooling unit for the storage reel, is not optimal for all combinations of detention units and storage reels. This may introduce abrasion and generate some heat that may cause damage to the lengthened body.

One goal of the present invention is to reduce the total footprint of the equipment used for retrieval and storage of lengthened bodies. Another goal is to provide a portable unit including the features that is necessary for safe retrieval of a lengthened body.

According to the present invention there is provided an integrated unit for retrieval and storage of a lengthened body, comprising a detention unit comprising two or more

movable friction surfaces adapted to pull in the lengthened body and a drum for storage of the lengthened body.

The detention unit and the drum are preferably mounted on a common frame.

The moveable friction surfaces are preferably sheaves.

It is preferred that the integrated unit according also comprising a spooling unit to control the distribution of the lengthened body on to the drum.

The integrated unit is preferably portable.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a preferred and integrated unit according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a different perspective view of the same device as shown in figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the same device as shown in figure 1, illustrating the detention unit; and Figure 4 is a bird's view of the device according to figure 1.

The preferred embodiment of the integrated retrieval and storage unit 1 illustrated in the figures comprises a detention unit 2 and a storage unit 3 mounted on a common frame 4.

The detention part The illustrated detention unit 2 is a unit mainly according to US 6,182, 915 comprising two groups 6,7 of mutually parallel sheaves 8 each sheave having a separate, not shown, propulsion unit. The outer peripherical surface of the sheaves has the function of moveable friction surfaces. The invention is not limited to a specific form of propulsion but the propulsion units are preferably electrical or hydraulical. It is, however, important that the propulsion for each sheave 8 is separate and that power of and speed of propulsion may be separately adjusted for each sheave 8. The outer peripheral surface of the sheaves has the function of moveable friction surfaces.

As indicated in the figures, the sheaves 8 are placed in parallel rows 6,7 of sheaves 1.

The drums in each row 6,7 are displaced relative to each other both radial and axial so that the radii are mainly parallel to each other. The axis of rotation of the drums in the same row 6,7 are thus parallel and are angled relative to an imaginary straight line between the centres of the drums. The radial distance between two adjacent drums 1 in the same row is preferably constant, and the radial distance in the first row 6 is preferably equal to the radial distance in the other row 7.

To make the device more compact the rows 6,7 are placed with the top row 6 on the top of the lower row 7.

In addition to the sheaves that are parallel to each other, each of the rows includes an additional sheave 8,9. The additional sheave 9 in the lower row 7 is an entrance sheave having an angle and position adjusted to the direction of a lengthened body 5 entering the unit and is placed so that the lengthened body may pass to the first sheave in the upper row in a straight line.

The lengthened body 5 entering the unit as described above and enters the first sheave 8 in the upper row 6 from the entrance sheave 9, is placed around about one half of the circumferential surface of the sheave 8. The sheave 8 is preferably provided with a groove to ensure centring of the cable on the circumferential surface. From the first sheave 8 in the upper row 6, the lengthened body 5 is led to the nearest sheave 8 in the lower row 7 to bear against half of the circumferential surface on this sheave. The lengthened body 5 is then led in the same way between the rows 6,7. The lengthened body rests against about half of the circumference, or about 180 °, of the sheaves 8 and about 90 ° of the sheaves 9 and 10, in the illustrated embodiment. This is, however, dependent on the specific configuration of the detention part and may vary from 180 to 90 °.

To avoid sideways forces on the lengthened body 5 in the transition from one sheave to the next sheave, the sheaves in the respective rows are tilted horizontally or vertically relative to each other so that the lengthened body is running in an approximate helical way through the detention unit without being pressed against the sidewalls of the groove.

The number of sheaves in the detention unit may be varied according to the demand and available space. The device must have at least two sheaves whereas there is no upper

limit. A large number of sheaves will ensure that the tension in the lengthened body is distributed on several drums.

The diameter of the sheaves is adjusted according to the smallest allowable curvature for the cable 9.

The last sheave 10 in the upper row 6 is a departure sheave and may not be, like the entering sheave, parallel with the rest of the sheaves in the same row. The departure sheave 10 is placed and orientated so that the cable is not twisted or pressed against the sidewalls of the grooves of the sheaves and so that the cable has the correct direction from the detention part to the storage part of the integrated unit.

The skilled man in the art will understand that an alternative detention unit described in US 6,182, 915, i. e. a detention unit where the sheaves 8 are substituted with conveyors acting as moveable friction surfaces.

The storage part The lengthened body 5 leaving the departure sheave 10 enters a spooling sheave 23 on a spooling unit 20 in the storage part of the integrated unit 1. The function of the spooling unit 20 is to change the direction of the lengthened body 5 leaving the departure sheave 10 towards a drum 30, so that the lengthened body is guided towards the drum to be effectively spooled up at the drum 30, and to avoid the necessity for fleeting sideways.

Fleeting sideways introduces a high risk for abrasion and heat generation, which may cause damage to a lengthened body as a cable or fibre rope.

The spooling sheave is placed on a carriage 22 that is slideably mounted on tracks 21 so that it may be moved mainly parallel to the drum's 30 axis of rotation. The movement of the carriage may be effected by any suitable means such as hydraulic pistons, mechanical or electrical means, and the movement may be controlled by mechanical or electronical devices as well known by the skilled man in the art. Preferably the carriage is moved in one single longitudinal direction during spooling of a lengthened body.

The drum 30 is preferably provided with shields on both sides to allow multiple layers of the lengthened body to be spooled up on to the drum.

The integrated unit The illustrated embodiment of the integrated unit is built in a common frame 4. The frame 4 illustrated in the figures is an exemplary frame but the skilled man in the art will understand that the frame may have a different configuration dependent on the specific needs. The frame 4 serves as support for the detention part, the spooling device and the drum. The integrated unit may also comprise more than one frame or any other structure supporting the different parts.

As illustrated in the figures, the drum's axis of rotation is mainly perpendicular to the axis of the"helix"defined by the lengthened body in the detention device. The lengthened body enters the unit substantially parallel with the drum's axis of rotation as illustrated in figure 1. This mutual orientation of the parts makes it possible to produce a very compact integrated unit.

The integrated unit in a common frame 4 also enables the system to be installed as a portable module that may be moved internally onboard the ship or may be taken onboard according to the need for a specific mission.