SHIP WITH MOORING MEANS

Abstract: Mooring means of a ship, comprising a tube rotatably support­ ed at its top-end inside the ship (1) by means of an axial- or axial/radial bearing (8,9). The outer ring (8) of said bearing being fixed to a rigid ring (7), which does not follow deformations of the hull of the ship.

Description: The invention relates to a ship with mooring means comprising a tube which is fastened rotatably about a vertical axis to the ship by means of a bearing structure inside the hull of the ship in a chamber which is at least open at the bottom, which bearing structure can absorb axial and radial forces and has its outer ring fastened to the said chamber and its inner ring to the said tube, which tube at its bottom end has means for fastening anchor chains or cables. Such a ship is known from GB-A-2,150,517. In said known ship the rotatory tube is supported at its lower end adjacent to the means for fastening anchor chains or cables by means of an axial/radial bearing and at its upper end by means of a radial bearing only. The hull of a ship or ship's structure, in particular of a moored ship, is subjected to deformations. Said deformations deform the walls of the chamber and as a result deform the shape of the bearing rings. The bearing structure, however, should not deform and if deformations occur the bearing no longer functions at its best. The object of the present invention is to produce a ship with mooring means of the type mentioned in the preamble, in which deformations are held far from the axial/radial bearing structure. This object is achieved according to the invention in that the outer ring of the axial/radial bearing is fixed to a rigid ring, which in turn is fastened to a tube fixed within the ship's structure and forming the said chamber and surrounding the rotatory tube, said rigid ring being attached to the said fixed tube at a distance from the structure of the ship. Due to the fact that the rigid ring has no direct contact. with the ship's structure deformations of said structure stop at the rigid ring and accordingly cannot reach the bearing structure. Accordingly no risk exists that the bearing structure is deformed into an oval shape so that the bearing under all harsh conditions will function properly. On the basis of this principle, the rigid ring can be of any desired design. It is preferably a rigid ring which is designed as a tubular section. The position of the rigid ring can be above the deck of the ship, but it can also be below it, in fact at any desired level. With the use of an axial/radial bearing, it can be combined with a radial bearing at a lower level, as known from US Patent Specification 4,660,494. This radial bearing can, however, be omitted, depending on the rigidity and height of the rotary tube. The fixed tube, which must thus permit oval deformation, need not be higher than is necessary to bridge the distance between the rigid ring and the deforming part of the hull. This fixed tube can, however, extend over the entire height of the open chamber and can then, together with the rotary tube, provide space for the radial bearing which is known per se, and which is located near the bottom end of the rotary tube. The invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows schematically in cross section a first embodiment of the ship according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows schematically a second embodiment. The ship 1 shown in Fig. 1 is provided at a distance from the bow with a cylindrical tube 2, forming a hollow chamber which runs over the whole height of the ship. The deck 3 has a recessed part 4, the bottom of which is indicated by 5. A tube 6 runs upwards from the bottom 5, and said tube 6 can be an extension of the tube 2. This tube 6 bears at its top end a rigid ring 7, designed as a box section running round the fixed tube 6. The axial/radial bearing comprises an outer ring 8 which is fixed in a manner known per se to the rigid ring 7, and an inner ring 9 which is fixed in a manner known per se to the top end 10 of a rotary tube 11, which is provided, below the bottom 12 of the ship, with means 13 for fastening thereto anchor chains 14. At 15 there can be a radial bearing which absorbs transverse forces, but permits lengthwise displacements. The recessed part 4 shown can also be at an even lower level, which further limits the desirability of the radial bearing 15. In the embodiment of Fig. 2 the rotary tube 16 is mounted in the ship 1 by means of a single axial/radial bearing 17, which is fastened in the same way as shown in Fig. 1 by the inner ring to the rotary tube 16 and by the outer ring to the rigid ring 18, which is itself fastened to the outer tube 19, which is fixed in the hull of the ship at a lower level, i.e. lower than the rigid ring 18. The radial bearing is omitted here. The main difference from the embodiment of Fig. 1 is that the rigid ring 18 and the axial/radial bearing 17 are above the deck 3 of the ship. In the case of both embodiments, when the ship exposed to bending through the wave movement deforms at the hollow chamber, viewed in horizontal sections, to such an extent that a cylindrical section becomes an oval section, this deformation, for example, at the level of the bottom 5 of the recess, gradually passes into the non-deformable part which is surrounded by the rigid ring.

Claims: 1. Ship with mooring means comprising a tube (11) which is fastened rotatably about a vertical axis to the ship (1) by means of a bearing structure (8, 9) inside the hull of the ship (1) in a chamber (2, 19) which is at least open at the bottom, which bearing structure (8, 9) can absorb axial and radial forces and has its outer ring (8) fastened to the said chamber and its inner ring (9) to the said tube (11), which tube (11) at its bottom end has means (13) for fastening anchor chains or cables (14), characterized in that the outer ring (8) of the axial/radial bearing (8, 9) is fixed to a rigid ring (7), which in turn is fastened to a tube (2) fixed within the ship's structure and forming the said chamber and surrounding the rotatory tube (11), said rigid ring (7) being attached to the said fixed tube (2) at a distance from the structure of the ship (1). 2. Ship according to Claim 1, characterized in that the rigid ring (7) is a tubular section. 3. Ship according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the rigid tube (2) extends over the entire height of the open chamber. 4. Ship according to Claim 3, characterized in that a radial bearing (15) is provided between the fixed tube (2) and the rotary tube (11) at a level below the axial bearing or axial/radial bearing (8, 9).

Inventors: POLDERVAART, LEENDERT, STAMBOUZOS, MICHAEL
Applicants: SINGLE BUOY MOORINGS INC.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B63B22
IPC codes: B63B21