SIDE-LOADING SYSTEM FOR A SHIP

Abstract: Side-loading system for a ship (1), which system includes a cargo lift that in an essentially vertical lift shaft (2) inside the board of a double-bottomed ship runs along a guiding column (3) that turns round a vertical axis, the carriage (4) of which lift is equipped with a cantilever beam (5) at the end of which is by means of a vertical turning axle (6) mounted a cargo platform (7) that by turning the guiding column (3) can be moved from the lift shaft into a desired position outside the ship's board. A side-loading system according to the invention is realized by that the movement of the cargo platform (7) with respect to the cantilever beam (5) is accomplished by means of mechanical transmission controlled by the turning movement of the guiding column (3) with respect to the ship's double bottom.

Description: This invention is related to a side-loading system for a ship, which system includes a cargo lift that in an essentially vertical lift shaft inside the board of a double-bottomed ship runs along a guiding column that turns round a vertical axis, the carriage of which lift is equipped with a cantilever beam at the end of which is by means of a vertical turning axle mounted a cargo platform that by turning the guiding column can be moved from the lift shaft into a desired position outside the ship's board. For loading and unloading cargo units that are to be handled by forklift trucks, there are systems in use in which inside the ship's vertical board is a lift shaft where one or two lifts travel to move cargo in the vertical direction between the ship's decks. To get cargo on the cargo platform of the lift, the ship is equipped with a side port through which a forklift truck can with various methods load the lift with cargo. One such system is known through the British patent no. 1587686, in which a cargo platform that has been driven to the side port can through the port opening be turned outside the ship's board in such a way that the forklift truck on the quay can place the load direct on the cargo platform of the lift. This kind of lift is so built that the lift carriage has a cantilever beam at the end of which the cargo platform is mounted by means of a vertical axle. The cantilever beam is turned round a vertical axis in such a way that the cargo platform situated at its outer end comes outside the ship's board. To facilitate the loading, generally used are parallelogram arms that keep the cargo platform in the direction of the ship's hull during the turning of the cantilever beam. One variation of this kind of system is that the cargo platform is moved outside the ship's board by turning the guiding column situated in the lift shaft, and with it the lift carriage equipped with the cantilever beam and the cargo platform. The drawback with the side-loading systems described above is that to bring about the required motions a moving lift carriage has to be supplied with either hydraulic or electric energy. The hose or cable arrangements needed for this are both expensive and liable to defects under harbour circumstances. The object of this invention is to create a side-loading system from which the the need to supply the lift carriage with electricity or hydraulic fluid is eliminated. The object is achieved with a side-loading system according to the invention that is characterized by that the movement of the cargo platform with respect to the cantilever beam is accomplished by means of mechanical transmission controlled by the turning movement of the guiding column with respect to the ship's double bottom. An advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized by that the mechanical transmission system comprises a vertical torsion axle joined with bearings to the guiding column, by means of which torsion axle the torque needed in the mechanical transmission system is transmitted from the level of the ship's double bottom to the moving lift carriage, and the upper part of which torsion axle most advantageously is square in cross section for transmitting said torque from the torsion axle to an element, such as lever, that running with the lift carriage glides along said upper part. Another advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized by that the mechanical transmission system furthermore includes a tooth ring that is concentric with the turning centre of the guiding column and fixed with respect to the ship's double bottom, and a tooth ring that is in contact with the first-mentioned tooth ring during the turning of the guiding column and mounted on the torsion axle, by means of which tooth rings the torsion axle is forced to turn at the same ti me as the guiding column is being turned with respect to the ship's double bottom. In the following, the invention is explained in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows from the front a lift carriage that runs along a guiding column and is based on the invention. Fig. 2 shows the same from the side, Fig. 3 shows the same from above. In the essentially vertical lift shaft 2 in the ship 1 is installed a guiding column 3 which is so tall that the lift carriage 4 running along it and the cargo platform 7 mounted at the outer end of the cantilever beam 5 of the lift carriage by means of a vertical turning axle 6 can travel between the planned height stations. In the same lift shaft, on its opposite walls, can be two lifts. With a control system, the cargo platform 7 is made to stop automatically at the desired deck and at a chosen level in the region of the side port, which level depends on the ship's draught and the height of the quay. The guiding column 3 is at both the upper and the lower ends equipped with hinges at A in such a way that it can for instance by means of a hydraulic cylinder 14 be turned round a vertical axis about 90 degrees to get the cargo platform through the side port outside the ship's board. Out of the turning movement of the guiding column 3 with respect to the ship's double bottom a torque is developed for turning the cargo platform 7 with respect to the cantilever beam 5 of the lift carriage 4. The torque is transmitted from the level of the ship's double bottom to the lift carriage by means of a vertical torsion axle 10 joined with bearings to the guiding column 3. The torque can be developed for the axle 10 by means of known machine elements for instance in the following way: Concentric with the turning centre A of the guiding column 3 a tooth ring 8 is mounted on the upper surface of the double bottom, and at the lower end of the torsion axle 10 is mounted another tooth ring 9 in such a way that the tooth ring 9 rolls along the tooth ring 8 when the guiding column 3 is being turned, as a result of which the torsion axle 10 too is turned. The above-described action can also be accomplished by means of two pulleys placed in the same way and two cables or chains between them. At the lower end of the torsion axle 10 can in a suitable direction be a lever which, when the guiding column is being turned, is forced to turn because its free end is suitably connected with the ship's double bottom by means of a cable, chain, rod etc. At the end of the lever can also be a pin which moving in a suitably shaped groove in the double bottom forces the lever to turn. The torsion axle has a part that is square in cross section, along which part the element running with the lift carriage 4, most advantageously lever or puller 11, can glide throughout the whole travel of the lift in such a way that the torque can be transmitted from the axle 10 to the element 11 when the lift is at different heights. The lift carriage 4 is equipped with stops that keep the element 11 always at the same height with respect to the lift carriage, and yet allow the turning of the element 11. The turning of the element 11 is made to cause the cargo platform 7 to turn by using for instance levers and a rod in the following way: To the lever 11 is by means of a hinge joined a rod 12 and to that rod is again by means of a hinge joined a lever 13 that is rigidly joined to the turning axle 6 of the cargo platform 7. The transmission from the axle 10 to the cargo platform 7 can also be accomplished with a cable or chain system in which the elements 11 and 13 are pulleys or sprockets of suitable size and between them as the element 12 is an endless cable or chain. In the technical solutions described above, the measurements and geometry of the machine elements must naturally be so designed that in the side-loading system in question the cargo platform 7 can be moved into a desired angle with respect to the ship's hull in the platform's outer position, and that the components have the right strength. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted on the embodiments described above, but can be varied within the scope of the following patent claims.

Claims: 1. Side-loading system for a ship (1), which system includes a cargo lift that in an essentially vertical lift shaft (2) inside the board of a double-bottomed ship runs along a guiding column (3) that turns round a vertical axis, the carriage (4) of which lift is equipped with a cantilever beam (5) at the end of which is by means of a vertical turning axle (6) mounted a cargo platform (7) that by turning the guiding column (3) can be moved from the lift shaft into a desired position outside the ship's board, characterized by that the movement of the cargo platform (7) with respect to the cantilever beam (5) is accomplished by means of mechanical transmission controlled by the turning movement of the guiding column (3) with respect to the ship's double bottom. 2. Side-loading system according to Claim 1, characterized by that the mechanical transmission system comprises a vertical torsion axle (10) joined with bearings to the guiding column (3), by means of which torsion axle the torque needed in the mechanical transmission system is transmitted from the level of the ship's double bottom to the moving lift carriage (4), and the upper part of which torsion axle most advantageously is square in cross section for transmitting said torque from the torsion axle to an element (11), such as lever, that runnig with the lift carriage (4) glides along said upper part. 3. Side-loading system according to any of Claims 1 and 2, characterized by that the mechanical transmission system furthermore includes a tooth ring (8) that is concentric with the turning centre of the guiding column (3) and fixed with respect to the ship's double bottom, and a tooth ring (9) that is in contact with the first-mentioned tooth ring during the turning of the guiding column and mounted on the torsion axle (10), by means of which tooth rings the torsion axle is forced to turn at the same time as the guiding column (3) is being turned with respect to the ship's double bottom.

Inventors: AHOKAS, KALEVI, SUNDMAN, GUSTAV
Applicants: MACGREGOR-NAVIRE FIN OY
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B63B27
IPC codes: B63B27