Prior art It is known from prior art to establish cabin passages aboard ship so that the cabin passages are constructed on the ship after the cabins have been in- stalled. The walls of the cabin passage are aligned irrespective of the precise position of the cabins so that the cabin passage is straight and has equal width and height everywhere. The alignment is thus a necessary action, as the installation accuracy of the cabins does not normally provide a suffi- ciently straight line for constructing the passage. The alignment is performed for instance by utilising an alignment wire in order to determine precisely the position of the lower stud rail of the wall panels. After the alignment the lower studs are typically welded onto the ship deck. The lower stud rail is typically a rail 271 (FIG. 27) with a U-profile. Similarly, the upper stud rail of the panels is aligned and secured to the ceiling or wall of the cabin by a welded bearer, or to the overlying deck of the ship.

As the position of the cabins on the ship varies within the scope of the in- stallation accuracy, it is necessary to use in situ adapting for the fastening of the passage panels. This means that the passage materials need to be fabri- cated (e. g. cutting, welding, joining of the panels and other material) on the ship, which is slow and complicated to perform due to lack of space. The passage material is typically composed of wall and ceiling panels with stud rails, which are secured to the ship and/or the cabins in the manner described in the above. The passage materials are typically brought onto the ship after

the cabins have been installed, whereby there are extra costs involved in the transport of the materials. Material stocks lying on the cabin passage impede the traffic along the passage and impair the fire safety aboard ship during the time of construction.

It is also known from prior art that the wall of a prefabricated cabin module facing the passage makes the passage wall as well. This kind of solution, however, involves problems due to the installation accuracy of the cabins, because the cabins need to be installed precisely on a certain spot of the ship deck, which is difficult and slow work, as the alignment of the cabin passage requires a whole cabin to be moved. In addition, some service problems arise, as the reparation and change of the cabin passage panels is complicated.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-discussed disad- vantages related to prior art. The object is achieved as is described in the claims.

Brief description of the invention The invention is based on the idea of connecting the cabin passage arrange- ment with cabin modules. Thus, an individual cabin comprises prefabricated module-sized wall panels, as well as adjusting pieces and cover fillets for said panels, of which adjusting pieces and cover fillets a certain portion of the cabin passage can be formed. The adjusting pieces for panels and wall panels are attached to the side of the cabin module facing the passage. Other ele- ments included in the cabin passage portion, which cannot be installed, or it is not practical to install them in advance, are arranged inside the cabin for further installation. In the cabin passage arrangement according to the inven- tion the materials of the cabin passage are thus delivered onto the ship inside a prefabricated cabin module.

List of drawings In the following the invention is described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings, in which Figure 1 shows an example of the cabin passage arrangement according to the invention; Figure 2 shows an example of a module-sized wall panel ; Figures 3 and 4 show examples of various wall panel profiles; Figure 5 shows an example of the connection of a wall panel with an adja- cent wall panel ; Figure 6 shows an example of a module-sized ceiling panel according to the invention; Figure 7 shows an exemplary profile of the ceiling panel ; Figure 8 shows an example of the connection of a ceiling panel or a wall panel with an adjacent panel ; Figures 9-11 show examples of adjusting pieces; Figures 12 and 13 show examples of the positioning of a wall panel with re- spect to the frame of a cabin door; Figures 14 and 15 show an example of a curved cover fillet for corner; Figures 16 and 17 show an example of a right-angl ed cover fillet for corner;

Figure 18 shows an example of a cover fillet with a T-profile ; Figure 19 shows an example of an insulation piece, which may be installed under a cover fillet for corner; Figure 20 shows an exemplary profile of a stud rail and an extension piece for the studs on the ceiling of the cabin passage; Figure 21 shows an example of a stud rail and an extension piece for the studs; Figure 22 shows an example of how the extension piece for the studs is to be installed in the stud rails ; Figures 23 and 24 show examples of the mountability of the adjusting pieces; Figure 25 shows an example, where the adjusting pieces are attached to one another and to a wall panel and cabin; Figure 26 shows an example of the installation of a ceiling panel ; and Figures 27-30 show examples of various stud rails.

Description of the invention Fig. 1 shows an example of cabin modules and passage materials included in the cabin modules. In a typical cabin 1 the wall facing a maintenance triangle 1"and a door 1'is located against the cabin passage. The wall facing the cabin passage has preferably been provided with wall panels for the cabin passage already in the workshop, which panels form a portion of the passage over the distance of the cabin. If some of the panels, e. g. the ceiling panels

and service hatches, and the rest of the passage material cannot be installed in the cabin in advance, they will be delivered as separate elements along with the cabin.

A portion 2 of the cabin's passage wall in the passage system consists for instance of a door portion panel 3, wall panel 4, service hatch 5 and ceiling panels (not shown in FIG. 1). The service hatch is a section of the passage wall at the service triangle, through which it is possible to get into the trian- gle to do maintenance and repair work. The service hatch may be a module- sized element consisting of an upper and lower part, and the hatch itself.

Since the service triangle forms typically one boundary surface against the adjacent cabin, the service triangle may be eliminated from every second cabin. The same applies also to the ceiling panels of the passage, i. e. only some of the cabin modules need to be provided with ceiling panels.

The basic concept of the passage panel is a planar panel, which may have inner or outer corners, openings and/or outfitting (e. g. a passage handrail, electrical accessories) and which may be adjusted by means of separate ad- justing pieces. The passage panel may also comprise corners, which are sali- ent or re-entrant seen from the passage, whereby the wall surface may be provided with desired recesses or protrusions. Moreover, the passage panel may also be shaped so as to fit the door opening of the cabin.

The elements of the cabin passage arrangement are cut-to-size modules. FIG.

2 shows an example of a typical wall panel 21. The panel is normally made of metal (e. g. of steel or aluminium), which is bent at the edge 22 of the panel. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary cutting of the panel according to FIG. 2, where the edges 22'are bent to one right angle. Fig. 4 shows how the wall panel edges may be bent in an alternative way, where the edges 22"are bent twice, whereby they form a groove on the back surface of the panel (on the panel face not visible). FIG. 5 shows an example of the connection of a panel with an adjacent panel, where one edge 22"of a single panel is bent in

the way shown in FIG. 4, but the opposite edge of the same panel is bent so as to form a projecting overhang 51. The edge 22"curving inwards matches the projecting overhang of the adjacent panel.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a ceiling panel 61, the surface of which has been bent so that grooves are formed. FIG. 7 shows a side projection of the panel according to FIG. 6. The side projection shows that the face remaining behind the front face of the panel is provided with two layers 72,73 of in- sulating material, the purpose of which is to act as sound insulation and pre- vent fire. It is also apparent that the edge of the ceiling panel may be bent so as to form a projecting overhang 74 either at both edges or at one edge in order to make the connection with the adjacent ceiling panels neat (cf. FIG.

5).

FIG. 8 shows an alternative for shaping the edges of both the ceiling panels and wall panels in order to accomplish a neat and firm connection with the adjacent panels. According to FIG. 8 one edge of an individual panel forms a projecting overhang 51 and the opposite edge (in the figure the edge of the adjacent panel) forms a bent groove 81, into which the overhang is adapted.

As shown in FIGS. 2-8 both the module-sized wall panels and ceiling pan- els have various alternative concepts. Also the ceiling panel may be planar, such as the wall panel in FIG. 2. The back surface of the wall panels may also be provided with one or several insulation layers, such as the ceiling panels. There are various bending profiles for panel edges, which are suitable for panels both on the ceiling and on the wall.

The wall panels are secured to the cabin wall by means of adjusting pieces.

A single adjusting piece is an angle iron or a plate. The angle iron or the plate may be made of metal suitable for the purpose, such as steel or aluminium, or of other suitable material. FIGS. 9-11 show examples of various ad- justing pieces. In FIG. 9 the adjusting piece is an angle iron 91, the angle of

which is 90 degrees. The angle iron may be provided with several holes, the shape of which may vary depending on the application. In the embodiment of FIG. 9 there are circular holes 93 and elongated holes 92. FIG. 10 shows an- other angle iron 100, the angle of which is larger than a right angle. Also in this example there are circular holes 102 and elongated holes 101 provided in the angle iron. The example of FIG. 11 shows a plate 111, which may be used as an adjusting piece. It is thus evident that the adjusting pieces may comprise angle irons of various sizes and with various angles and provided with holes of desired shape. Also the plate may have a desired size and com- prise holes of desired shape. The use of the adjusting pieces will be explained later.

FIG. 12 shows an example, in which the wall panel 21 of the passage is aligned with the doorframe 121 of the cabin door. A plate 122 (for instance a metal plate) is attached to the doorframe for positioning the panel on ex- actly correct level. The aperture between the frame and the panel may be covered with a percutient fillet 123 having an angle profile. The collar of the percutient fillet needs to be wide enough in order to cover the aperture.

FIG. 13 shows the fastening of a percutient fillet 133 in more detail. A bent plate 132 is attached to the doorframe 131 so as to form a groove, into which the percutient fillet 133 may be fixed. The groove needs to be suffi- ciently deep so that the percutient filler, i. e. the cover fillet, covers the aper- ture between the frame 131 and the panel 21. Thus, the elements in FIGS.

12 and 13 have a different purpose, respectively. The adapter plate 122 is for the wall panel and the bent plate 132 mostly for the percutient fillet. Both elements are thus installed at the same frame, whereby the bent plate 132 is located on the front face of the adapter plate 122 seen from the direction of the passage.

In the solution according to the invention the wall panel between two adja- cent cabin doors may be produced as a prefabricated product by using a di-

mensioning based on the nominal air gap between the cabins as a width of the panel. The width of the collar of the percutient fillet to be attached to the doorframe is dimensioned so that the edge of the panel will remain behind the percutient fillet at every mounting tolerance. The gap between the door- frame and the panel may, when necessary, be battened down for instance by mineral wool. As described, the installation of the door panel is in an advan- tageous case facilitated by support plates attached to the doorframe in ad- vance, by which plates the door panel is positioned accurately flush with the doorframe in the cross-sectional direction of the passage.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show an example of a curved cover fillet 141, by which the gap between two wall panels to be installed in a corner can be covered. FIG.

14 shows that also the edges of the cover fillets may be bent in several dif- ferent ways, for instance so that they form an inwards bent hook. It is also an option not to bend the edges at all.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show an example of a right-angled cover fillet 161, by which the gap between two wall panels to be installed in a corner can be covered. It is apparent from FIG. 17 as well that also the edges of the cover fillets may be bent in several different ways.

FIG. 18 shows a cover fillet 181 with a T-profile. Such a cover fillet may be used for covering the gap between two adjacent panels. The width of the fillet is sufficient for covering the largest possible gap produced by mounting tolerances. FIG. 19 shows an example of insulation material, which may be installed under a cover fillet for corner, if for instance sound insulation or prevention of fire needs to be ensured. Thus, the cover fillets comprise vari- ous kinds of flat cover fillets (fillets that cover a gap on a level, for instance between two panels flush with one another) and cover fillets that form an angle.

There is a connection element between the wall panel and the ceiling panel, by which the panels may be attached to one another. FIGS. 20-22 show examples of such connecting elements. The connecting element is a stud rail 201 on the ceiling, the profile of which is more or less like the letter Z with clasps at the edges. Insulation material 202 may, if needed, be arranged at one clasp, as is shown in FIG. 20. FIG. 21 shows a general example of a stud rail 201'on the ceiling. Since the stud rails on the ceiling are also mod- ule-sized, an extension piece is required between two rails. FIG. 22 shows such an extension piece 201. It is apparent that the extension piece is in- stalled between and on top of the stud rails 201'on the ceiling. The clasp of the extension piece may as well be provided with insulation material. If the clasps of the stud rails 201'on the ceiling are provided with insulation mate- rial, it will be cut off at the extension piece.

FIG. 23 shows an example of how two adjusting pieces 231, i. e. angle irons, are assembled with respect to one another. Both angle irons in this example are provided with elongated holes 232. One face of the first angle iron is placed against that of the second angle iron so that the other wings of the angle irons are pointing outwards from one another on the opposite sides, when seen from the centre of the wings placed against one another. The elongated holes, which are used for fastening the angle irons, enable a cer- tain tolerance, as is shown in FIG. 24. The mutual fastening of the wings of the angle irons placed against one another may vary by a distance Y and the fastening to the wall or panel by a distance X.

FIG. 25 shows an assembly, in which the angle irons 231 are fixed to the cabin wall 231 facing the passage, to the wall panel 22 and to one another.

Said tolerances enable the alignment of the wall panel in the longitudinal and lateral direction of the passage. When the panel is being aligned, the screws, by which the angle iron is fixed, are loosened and after the alignment the screws are tightened again. In other words the mountability of the wall pan- els can be adjusted by means of said adjusting pieces by loosening the fas-

tening of the adjusting piece to the mounting base and/or to another adjust- ing piece, whereby the panel can be located in position to a desired spot, to which the adjusting piece can be attached. It is to be noticed that the fas- tening in this context refers also to the locking of the adjusting pieces in po- sition. The locking of the pieces may be performed for instance by using fas- tening means suitable for quick fastening (e. g. screws, nuts, bolts). The mounting base of the adjusting piece is either a cabin module (e. g. its wall) or a wall panel.

The adjusting pieces may thus be loosened for the installation period, and tightened and locked again after the installation. Adjacent wall panels can thus be positioned on a desired level. In a preferable embodiment the adjust- able wall panel extends from the hatch edge of the cabin's service space to the vicinity of the cabin door, but it may also comprise the frame of the cabin door as one joined panel or as several separate panels. The locking method of the panel enables an easy replacement thereof when the ship is in use. The adjustment of a panel starts by loosening the adjustment of the cabin-specific panel in the longitudinal direction, after which the panel is moved a neces- sary distance in the longitudinal direction of the passage. Next, the longitudi- nal adjustment is locked for instance by a self-boring screw. Finally, the panel is aligned with the passage in the lateral direction of the passage by loosen- ing the adjusting piece and locking it again after the adjustment for instance by a self-boring screw.

FIG. 26 shows an example of the installation of a ceiling panel. In the exam- t ple the ceiling panel 71 is secured to the stud rails 201 on the ceiling by ar- ranging it under the rails, which are placed at the upper end of the wall pan- els 22.

FIGS. 27-30 show examples of various kinds of stud rails. These stud rails are taken into use when needed, and they can be connected with the pas- sage material delivered together with the cabin module. FIG. 27 shows a rail

271 with a U-profile, which can be used both as an upper and lower stud rail. FIG. 28 shows a stud rail 281 with an L-profile. FIG. 29 shows a stud rail 291, the profile of which forms a step. FIG. 30 shows a stud rail 301 with a J-profile, which is particularly suitable for lower studs, for instance for the alignment and fastening of a service hatch, or a service hatch element, onto the ship deck. All these profiles may be extended and/or adapted by means of the adapters shown in FIG. 22. Stud rails are used in special cases, for instance for installing a certain type of service hatch or when more rigid- ity is desired for the fastening of panels. The stud rails comprise lower stud rails, upper stud rails and, when necessary, supporting rails for special in- stallation purposes.

A problem with applying the invention is the fact that prefabricated module- sized elements need to be adapted to an environment, the precise dimensions of which cannot be known in advance. According to prior art this requires, as mentioned earlier, modification of the elements aboard ship. According to the present invention the problem is solved so that the installation of the wall panels is no longer based on stud rails to be fastened onto the ship (except for special cases), but on adjusting pieces to be attached to the wall of the cabin module. Since the size of the air gap between the cabins is known or it is assumed to be within a certain range (nominal air gap 30 mm, mounting tolerance l 5 mm), when the cabin modules are being installed, also the shift in the longitudinal direction of the passage is adjusted by the adjusting pieces. Then it is possible to install the hatch of the service space of the cabin accurately in the free space of the same width as the hatch between the passage panels of two cabins. The unnecessary portion of the wall panel may be covered with cover fillets, for instance by a corner panel, closer to the door (cf. FIG. 1). The mounting tolerances are thus dependent on the in- stallation of the cabins. Since the panels are prefabricated into module-size compatible with the cabin module (and passage), the adjusting pieces and cover fillets establish a sufficient mounting allowance so that the tolerances can be taken into account.

Longitudinal adjustment is not required, if the hatch of the service space used on the ship is provided with a collar allowing a width variation of the hatch of the service space. In this alternative, the module-sized cabin deter- mines the length of the passage, and the service hatch provided with a collar covers the gaps between the cabins caused by the mounting tolerance.

A passage wall panel is thus secured to the cabin module in advance, which panel can be adjusted without moving the cabin. In this way the alignment of the passage on the ship is easy. An essential part of the other prefabricated materials of the passage may be packed in the cabin, for instance other wall panels of the passage, possible stud elements, a service hatch, stud means for the ceiling, wall panels with outfitting as well as supplies and equipment for heating, plumbing, ventilation and electrical installation.

The supplies to the power current and low current systems of the passage are preferably taken from the cabin modules to the passage. In a preferable embodiment the cabin area is electrified essentially by a cabling located in the cabin modules. In one embodiment a link box located in the cabin is pro- vided with respective outputs for, inter alia, the illumination, fire detector, fire alarm, loudspeaker, low-height illumination and socket system of the passage. The cabling from the link box to a device on the passage may be ready-fitted in the cabin module or for instance in a ceiling panel, which is in advance provided with a cable and socket for the connection to the link box.

The sprinkler installation of the cabin passage may be realised so that the sprinkler pipes attached to the cabin modules in advance are connected in series, and the sprinkler of the passage is connected by means of a flexible hose.

In one embodiment of the invention the upper studs between two cabin doors are secured only to the doorframes without supporting the studs else- where in the cabin or on the ship. When erecting a wall, the panel is lifted

into position and screwed tight into the lower and upper stud rails, or to the support plates arranged at the doorframes.

The stud elements for the ceiling of the passage may be delivered in a cabin module as cut and sheered prefabricated products. In a preferable embodi- ment of the invention two prefabricated elements per one stud arrangement are packed in the cabin, the total length of which elements is about 20 mm shorter than the length of the required stud arrangement. This gap is covered with a separate overlapping element, which covers the mounting tolerance in that place.

By utilising the present invention it is possible to avoid separate transport of passage materials onto the ship. Consequently, the logistic costs in the har- bour will be reduced, the cabin passages will remain unoccupied, the fire load during the time of construction will be reduced due to less packing material, and the treatment charges for the purchase will be lower at the shipyard, as also the passage structures will be delivered together with the cabin modules as one single purchase.

By the present invention it is possible to cut down the work aboard ship by shifting work over to a more productive workshop environment, which re- sults in lower costs and improved occupational safety. The work aboard ship will be cut off, as the materials are delivered to the cabin area together with the cabin, and as the prefabricated products eliminate the need for sawing, welding and sheering of the panels and stud arrangements aboard ship. The mounting tolerance of the prefabricated cut-to-size elements can be covered by using overlapping stud arrangements (stud rails on the ceiling). The fire safety on the ship during the construction time will be improved by utilising the present invention, as the welding or cutting of the elements by tools causing arcing will no longer be needed in the installation work. In the light of the above examples it is apparent that the invention is not lim- ited to the above-described examples only, but it can have a plurality of vari- ous embodiments within the scope of the inventive idea.