Patent GB-1505645-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for use in raising or lowering a load in a condition of relative motion
IPC: B66D1/52
Filed: 1974-07-30
Abstract: 1505645 Cable tensioning apparatus STOTHERT & PITT Ltd 9 July 1975 [30 July 1974 13 Dec 1974] 33589/74 and 53963/74 Heading B8B Apparatus for lowering a load 30 on to, or raising the load from a ship 31 which is vertically movable relative to support structure, e.g. an offshore crane, for the apparatus, comprises a primary drive, e.g. winch 24, for vertically moving the load 30 through a cable 25 relative to the ship, an arrangement for applying a tension to the cable 25 to compensate for relative movement between the ship and crane when the load 30 is supprted by the ship 31, and a pawl 40 and ratchet 39 for locking the tensioning arrangement in one direction of motion of the load 30. The load 30 is suspended from a block 27 in a bight of the cable 25 extending from the winch 24, over sheaves 26 and 28 to form the bight and over a sheave 32 to the tensioning arrangement. The latter comprises a pulley 43 centered on a pivot for a cylinder 2 of an hydraulic ram having two co-axial pulleys at the free end of its piston rod 23, the cable 25 being reeved over the pulleys at both ends of the ram and having its end secured to the cylinder 2. The control of the tensioning ram is shown in Fig. 1 and comprises a manual valve 3 for selecting either low or high pressure hydraulic fluid supply from a low or high pressure hydro-pneumatic accumulator 5 or 4, a further hydro-pneumatic accumulator 12 being positioned between the valve 3 and the ram to prevent hydraulic shock during changeover of the valve 3. An hydraulic make up system 13 automatically supplies hydraulic fluid to either of the accumulators 4, 5 in response to signals from sensors 21, 22 which sense the level of floating pistons 6, 7 within the accumulators 4, 5. In operation, low pressure ram actuation is first selected causing a light bias on the cable 25 whereby the load block 27 may be drawn down on to the ship 31 by the line of a ships winch 45, for connection to a load 30, slack being taken out of the cable 25 during wave motion of the ship, by the light tensioning load applied to the cable 25 by the ram. The high pressure ram actuation is then selected whereby a high proportion of the load 30 is supported by the cable 25 and the pawl 40 is pneumatically selected such that it rides over the ratchet teeth 39 during rising action of the ship, but engages the teeth as the ship lowers, to hold the load at the ship's crest position, the load thereafter being raised by operation of the winch 24. The free end of the piston rod 23 of the tensioning ram runs along a vertical track 38 causing angular variation of the ram which reduces the load variation in the line 25 due to change in accummulator pressure as the ram expands. In lowering a load on to the ship, the high pressure system is applied to the tensioning ram, generating a pull greater than the load whereby the ram is fully extended, whereafter the load is lowered by the winch 24 to within a short distance of the ship when the ship's winch line is coupled to the load and the winch 45 is operated to pull the load against the tensioning ram, down on to the ship. As an alternative to the pawl and ratchet arrangement, a pilot operated non-return valve 46 can be fitted between the valve 30 and tee junction 47, enabling the ram piston 1 to move in one direction only when selected. In the embodiment of Fig. 4 (not shown) the lifting cable is reeved in a single fall arrangement and the tensioning ram is fixed to prevent angular pivoting. In the embodiment of Figs. 5 and 6 (not shown), tensioning is effected by a storage drum for a cable actuating a tensioning pulley over which the lifting cable passes, the drum being driven for high or low tensioning of the lifting cable by the accumulators which supply a motor reverse drive acculator during tensioning operation. Either a ratchet is supplied on the storage drum or a non-return hydraulic valve is incorporated to provide lock in the tensioning arrangement. In the embodiment of Fig. 7 (not shown) the load cable drum is driven through a differential gear having an input from a main drive motor and an input from an hydraulic tensioning motor.