RENNEISEN INGO (DE)
KERKELING CHRISTOPH (DE)
VISINESCU RADU-MIHAIL (DE)
KRETH LASZLO (DE)
RENNEISEN INGO (DE)
KERKELING CHRISTOPH (DE)
VISINESCU RADU-MIHAIL (DE)
| WO1997009203A1 | 1997-03-13 |
| FR2785956A1 | 2000-05-19 | |||
| DE19929048A1 | 1999-12-02 | |||
| DE19625295A1 | 1997-01-02 | |||
| DE19514324A1 | 1995-12-07 | |||
| DE19902311A1 | 2000-07-27 |
| 1. | Assembly for partially covering a ship's hatch during loading and unloading, said assembly being of the kind comprising a) a bridge (1) adapted to be placed upon and be supported by two coaming (2) sides, said bridge comprising an opening (14), through which cargo may be loaded or unloaded, and b) at least one tarpaulin (3,4) adapted to be rolled up on an elongate rollingup member (5,6) and when fully or partially unrolled therefrom to cover a part of the hatch extending from said bridge at least to the coaming (2) , characterized in c) that each rollingup member (3,4) is rotatably supported by said bridge (1 ) or a structure connected thereto. |
| 2. | Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the tarpaulins (3,4) adapted to be rolled up on said rollingup members (5,6) has securing means at its free edge for securing to said coaming (2) or other structure connected thereto. |
| 3. | Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said bridge (1) is provided with wire anchoring means (11) for anchoring ends of tarpaulin supporting wires ( 10) , the opposite ends of which are adapted to be secured to said coaming (2) or other structure connected thereto. |
| 4. | Assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that each of said wire anchoring means comprises at least one winch means for winding or unwinding said supporting wire(s) (10) AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 01 September 1992 (01.09.92) original claims 1 and 2 amended; other claims unchanged (2 pages)] 1 Assembly for partially covering a ship's hatch during loading and unloading, said assembly being of the kind comprising a) a bridge (1) adapted to be placed upon and be supported by two coaming (2) sides, said bridge comprising an opening (14) , through which cargo may be loaded or unloaded, and b) at least one tarpaulin (3,4) adapted to be rolled up on an elongate rollingup member (5,6) and when fully or partially unrolled therefrom to cover a part of the hatch extending from said bridge at least to the coaming (2), whereas c) each rollingup member (5,6) is rotatably supported by said bridge (1) or a structure connected thereto, characterized in d) that said bridge (1) comprises a rigid threedimensional structure, to which means (7,8,19) rotatably supporting said rollingup members (5,6) are rigidly secured. |
| 5. | 2 Assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said bridge (1 ) is provided with means (9 ) for connecting the bridge to lifting tackle and/or a crane for lifting and lowering the assembly. |
| 6. | 3 Assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said bridge ( 1 ) is provided with wire anchoring means (11) for anchoring ends of tarpaulin supporting wires (10), the opposite ends of which are adapted to be secured to said coaming (2) or other structure connected thereto. |
| 7. | 4 Assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that each of said wire anchoring means comprises at least one winch means for winding or unwinding said supporting wire(s) (10). |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an assembly for partially covering a ship's hatch, said assembly being of the kind set forth in the preamble of claim 1.
BACKGROUND ART
An assembly of the kind referred to above is known from JP patent document No. 59-128137. In the known assembly, the rolling-up members, on which the tarpaulins or roof sheets are wound, are placed in a stationary manner at the end of the hatch coaming in question. This means of course, that it is difficult to move the assembly from one hatch to another or to adapt it to hatches of different sizes, as is it necessary to move the bridge and the rolling-up members as separate items.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to provide an assembly of the kind referred to initially, that may be moved as a single item from one hatch to the other, and this object is achieved with an assembly of the kind referred to above, which according to the present invention is characterized by the features set forth in the characterizing clause of the claim 1.
With this arrangement, the tarpaulins are paid out from or wound up towards the bridge, as the latter carries the rolling-up members as components of itself. When the assembly is to be moved from one
hatch to another or to be stored between periods of use, the only operation necessary to prepare for this move is to wind the tarpaulins onto the rolling-up members, from which they may be paid out when assembly is to be used again, preferably after the bridge having been placed on the hatch coaming in question.
Advantageous embodiments of the assembly according to the present invention, the effects of which are explained in the following detailed portion of the present specification, are set forth in claims 2-4.
The present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view as seen from above of an exemplary embodiment of a hatch covering assembly according to the present invention, placed in a position to cover a ship's hatch, Figure 2 is a thwartships secional view as taken along the line II-II in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a fore-and-aft secional view as taken along the line III-III in Figure 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The hatch covering assembly shown on the drawing consist of three main components, viz. - a bridge 1 adapted to be placed so as to span a ship's hatch, of which only the coaming 2 is visible, the hatch itself being covered by the assembly, and two tarpaulins 3 and 4, each extending from one side of the bridge 1 to a facing side of the coaming 2, where it is releasably secured by means not shown, such as hooks or the like.
Each tarpaulin 3 and 4 is adapted to be wound on or unwound from a rolling-up tube 5 or 6 respectively extending along substantially the full length of the bridge 1. Each rolling-up tube 5 and 6 is adapted to be rotated and securely held in any rotational position by a winch 7 or 8 respectively, in the exemplary embodiment shown being adapted to be operated by hand, although these winches may equally well be operated by suitable motor means (not shown).
When the hatch cover assembly is not in use, it will be stored on board or ashore with the tarpaulins 3 and 4 being fully wound up on the rolling-up tubes 5 and 6 so as to take up af minimum of space and be protected from injury. When the assembly is to be used for its designated purpose, it will be hoisted by means of a crane and lifting tackle (not shown) engaging lifting lugs 9 (not shown i Figure 1 ) on the central portion of the bridge 1, and then, after the hatch in question has been at least partially uncovered, lowered into the operating position shown. Any planks, tarpaulins or the like covering the remainder of the hatch are then removed, while the tarpaulins 3 and 4 are unwound so as to extend to the sides of the coaming 2 as shown, after which they are secured to the coaming by means of the hooks or other means mentioned above. As soon as the free edges of the tarpaulins 3 and 4 have been secured to the coaming sides, they may be pulled taut by means of the winches 7 and 8, which then may be blocked to keep the tarpaulins taut, e.g. by means of a suitable pawl mechanism (not shown).
When the hatch cover assembly according to the present invention is to be used for covering large hatches, it may be necessary to provide further support for the
tarpaulins 3 and 4. Such support may suitably be provided by means of support wires 10, one end of which may be permanently secured to wire anchors 11 secured to the bridge 1, while the opposite ends are adapted to be secured whilst keeping the wires taut to the coaming 2 by suitable means (not shown). Instead of being permanently secured to fixed wire anchors 11, the support wires 10 may be wound on winch drums (not shown) adapted to be operated in a similar manner to the tarpaulin winches 7 and 8, in which case the free ends of the support wires 10 may be provided with hooks or the like (not shown) adapted to engage the coaming 2 or suitable engagement means (not shown) on the latter.
To make it possible to load or unload the ship, of which only small portions of the deck 12 and railings 13 are shown on the drawing, through the hatch being covered by the hatch cover assembly according to the present invention, a cargo opening 14 is formed in the central part of the bridge 1, through which opening 14 suitable means (not shown) for loading or unloading cargo, such as loading chutes or suction-unloading tubes, may be lowered. If these devices are not provided with means to cover the remainder of the cargo opening 14, the latter may advantageously be covered by a loose tarpaulin or suitably shaped loose cover plates (not shown).
The bottom of the bridge 1 may suitably be in the form of a grid-structure footbridge 15, making it possible for personnel to move about on, or rather in, the bridge. A protective railing 16 (not shown in Figure 1) is placed on the footbridge 15 around the cargo opening 14 to prevent persons from falling down
through the latter.
As indicated in Figure 3, the bridge 1 is preferably constructed in the form of a lattice structure covered by suitable tarpaulins 17 or the like to prevent rain and snow from falling through the bridge structure into the ship's hold. Windows 18 may be placed in suitable locations in the tarpaulins 17.
The exemplary embodiment of the hatch cover assembly according to the present invention shown on the drawing is adapted to be placed with the bridge 1 in one position on the coaming 2, to be removed or re-positioned only after being lifted by means of the lifting lugs 9. It does, however, lie within the scope of the present invention to provide the bridge 1 with e.g. wheels enabling it to be moved along those coaming sides, on which it rests. Such wheels could be connected to the winches 7 and 8, possible also to the winches (not shown) mentioned above for the support wires 10, in a manner to wind and unwind the tarpaulins 3 and 4, possibly also the support wires 10, so as to keep them taut during the movement of the bridge 1. The requisite connecting means are not shown on the drawing, but persons with elementary knowledge of mechanics will know how to design and construct such means without further guidance from the present specification.
In cases where the rolling-up tubes 5 and 6 will be extremely long, they may be supported by one or more sets of bearing rollers 19 secured to the bridge 1 in suitable locations along the length of the tubes 5 and 6. As the bearing rollers 19 support the tubes 5 and 6 through a variable number of layers of the
tarpaulins 3 and 4 respectively, the tubes 5 and 6 will be lifted somewhat, when much tarpaulin material is wound up on them, and vice versa. This may make it necessary to construct the winches 7 and 8 to allow for this variation, unless the tubes 5 and 6 are sufficiently flexible and the distance from each winch to the bearing rollers 19 concerned is sufficiently large to allow slight bending on the tubes 5 and 6 without unduly stressing the remaining structure of the bridge.
In the exemplary embodiment shown on the drawing, the length of the bridge 1 is substantially equal to the length in the fore-and-aft direction of the coaming 2. It is, however, possible to use a bridge of a certain length for covering hatches that are shorter than the bridge, provided - of course - that there is enough deck space on the ship in question. In the case of ships with very long hatches, two hatch cover assemblies according to the present invention may be used by placing their bridges to span the shortest dimension of the hatch and interconnecting the tarpaulins on the mutually facing sides of the two bridges. In this case, loading and unloading may be carried out at two locations simultaneously.