Patent Publication Number: US-7213530-B2

Title: Hatch or door system for securing and sealing openings in marine vessels

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/357,735, filed Feb. 4, 2003, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,953,001, on Oct. 11, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/354,315 filed on Feb. 4, 2002, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 

   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   N/A 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Ships and other marine vessels include hatches formed in horizontal surfaces and doors formed in vertical surfaces to allow crewmembers and goods to pass through. A hatch or door must be watertight around all of its edges and sufficiently stiff and strong to withstand the forces applied during use. Hatches are typically formed of metal and are heavy to open and close. Thus, a scuttle sized to allow passage of a single person is typically provided within the hatch. The scuttle must also be watertight. The operating mechanisms to open and close both the hatch and the scuttle are conventionally provided on the hatch itself, adding to the weight. 
   Hatches and scuttles on ships are traditionally made from steel. During many years of marine service, steel hardware has proven to be relatively inexpensive, to have good resistance to damage from routine operational impacts, to provide inherent EMI and EMP shielding, and to perform well in standard fire tests. 
   Steel hatches and scuttles have several drawbacks, however. Life cycle costs can be high, due to considerable routine maintenance, such as regular painting to prevent corrosion. Also, the heavy weight makes opening and closing of the hatch and/or scuttle unsafe, particularly in rough weather or in other difficult or dangerous circumstances. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A hatch system of the present invention provides a hatch panel formed of a composite material. The composite material contributes to a significant reduction in weight over that of a conventional all-metal hatch and scuttle system. The composite hatch panel is bonded to a metal frame, which allows the composite panel to be readily integrated to a metal coaming structure fixed to the ship surrounding the hatch panel. The operating mechanism to open and close the hatch panel is shifted off the movable hatch panel to the fixed coaming structure. The operating mechanism provides a discrete-to-continuous dogging mechanism to distribute mechanical point loads over a greater percentage of the panel&#39;s periphery. 

   
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a hatch or door system of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded isometric view of a panel assembly of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a partial isometric view of the panel assembly of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a partial, cut away isometric view of the panel assembly of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a partial view illustrating a shaft mechanism of the operating mechanism of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a partial view illustrating a linkage mechanism of the operating mechanism of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an isometric view illustrating the shaft mechanism of  FIG. 5  and the linkage mechanism of  FIG. 6  in an assembled configuration; 
       FIG. 8  is an isometric view of the system of  FIG. 1  with the surrounding coaming structure removed; 
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional side view of the shaft mechanism of  FIG. 5  in an open position; 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional side view of the shaft mechanism of  FIG. 5  is a closed position; 
       FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional isometric view of the shaft mechanism of  FIG. 5  is a closed position; 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective front view of a duckbill latch mechanism of the system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective rear view of the duckbill latch mechanism of the system of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIG. 14  is a further perspective rear view of the duckbill latch mechanism of the system of  FIG. 12 ; 
       FIGS. 15A ,  15 B, and  15 C are schematic illustrations of the discrete latching mechanism of the linkage mechanism of  FIG. 6  in an open position, an intermediate position, and a closed and sealed position; 
       FIG. 16  is an isometric view of a further embodiment incorporating a transmission in the operating mechanism; 
       FIG. 17  is a further isometric view of the embodiment of  FIG. 16 ; and 
       FIGS. 18A ,  18 B, and  18 C illustrate stages of latching the panel assembly employing the transmission of  FIG. 16 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–7 , a hatch or door system  10  of the present invention includes a hatch or door panel assembly  12  including a composite material interior panel  14  fitted within a metal frame  16 . The panel assembly is hinged to a surrounding metal coaming structure  18  of a ship with any suitable hinges  20 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . An operating mechanism  30  mounted on the surrounding coaming structure closes and seals the hatch panel assembly in two stages. In the first stage, a latching mechanism (described further below) is actuated to hold the panel assembly closed. In a preferred embodiment, closing the panel assembly actuates the latching mechanism. In the second stage, a discrete-to-continuous latching mechanism (described further below) is actuated to pull the panel assembly tight against a seal mechanism, thereby providing a watertight seal. 
   The composite material of the composite material panel  14  is a fibrous reinforcement impregnated with a matrix material. The panel is bonded to or otherwise suitably mounted within the metal frame  16 , which allows the composite panel to be readily integrated to the metal coaming structure  18 . The frame includes a circumferential wall  22  that conforms to the sides of the composite panel and upper and lower inwardly facing flanges  24 . See  FIGS. 2–4 . The wall and inward flanges form a recess  26  into which the sides of the composite panel fit. Preferably, the metal frame is formed in two pieces for ease of assembly to the perimeter of the panel. The frame may be bonded or otherwise attached to the panel in any suitable manner, such as with an adhesive. The frame also includes a circumferential outwardly extending latching flange or lip  42  and a circumferentially extending recess  44  in which a gasket material  46  is located. The frame may be made of any suitable metal, such as steel. 
   The operating mechanism  30  is illustrated in  FIGS. 5–8 . The operating mechanism is mounted to the coaming structure  18  rather than to the panel assembly, to minimize the weight of the panel assembly. The operating mechanism includes a shaft mechanism  32  ( FIG. 5 ) and a linkage mechanism  34  ( FIG. 6 ). In the first stage, the shaft mechanism is actuated to hold the panel assembly closed against the coaming structure. In the second stage, the linkage mechanism engages the shaft mechanism via discrete latching elements  36  to pull the panel assembly into sealing engagement with the coaming structure. Continuous latching elements  38  on the shaft mechanism effect the sealing engagement. 
   The shaft mechanism includes a plurality of rocker shafts  52  along each edge of the panel assembly. The rocker shafts are supported for rotation on the coaming at suitable shaft supports  54 . At the corners of the panels, the rocker shafts are connected by universal joints  56 . Thus, rotation of one rocker shaft causes rotation of the other rocker shafts via the universal joints. 
   A rocker arm  58  is mounted for rotation on each rocker shaft between the shaft supports. The continuous latching elements  38 , such as followers or dogging members, are attached to each rocker arm. In the first stage, rotation of the rocker shafts rotates each follower to contact the latching flange  42  on the panel assembly frame to apply a force along at least a portion that extends continuously along the straight edges of the panel assembly. 
   A continuous knife edge or lip  62  on the coaming structure extends into the gasket  46  in the recess  44  on the frame  16  of the panel assembly. As the rocker shaft is rotated, the follower pushes against the latching flange, pulling the knife edge into contact with the gasket along the perimeter of the panel assembly. See  FIGS. 10 and 11 . 
   In one embodiment, the first stage of rotation is activated by closing the panel assembly to rotate the rocker shaft  52 . See  FIGS. 12–14 . Toward this end, the latching flange  14  on the frame engages a duckbill latch  72  that is pivotally mounted on one or more of the universal joints  56 . As the panel is closed, the latching flange  42  contacts and rotates the duckbill latch  72 , which in turn rotates the universal joint  56 , thereby rotating the rocker shafts. 
   A cam element  74  is also mounted on the universal joint  56 . A roller rocker  76  including a roller  78  engages the cam surface  82  of the cam element  74 . The roller rocker is mounted to the coaming with a strut and spring mechanism  86  to bias the roller into engagement with the cam surface. Movement of the panel assembly to a closed position causes the roller to snap over the cam surface into a closed position. The cam and the roller rocker are synchronized with the rotation of the duckbill latch to ensure that the rocker shafts are in an open or a closed position relative to the panel assembly&#39;s open or closed position. In  FIG. 13 , the roller contacts cam surface portion  82   a  in the closed position and cam surface portion  82   b  in the open position. 
   In the second stage, the panel assembly is sealed to the coaming structure by pulling the knife edge  62  into sealing engagement with the sealing element or gasket  46 . More particularly, the linkage mechanism actuates a plurality of discrete latching elements  36 . The discrete latching elements include landing elements  92  pivotably mounted to the rocker arms  58 . Each landing element includes a wedge or inclined surface  94 . The linkage mechanism includes a plurality of complementary discrete latching members  96  pivotably mounted to the shaft supports  54 . One end of the latching member includes a rub pad  98  that rides along an associated wedge. Another end  102  of the latching member is mounted to a planar linkage  104  for movement therewith. The planar linkage includes a plurality of connected links  106  arranged to surround the opening in the coaming structure. A handle  110  actuates the planar linkage. As the planar linkage moves, the discrete latching members rotate, moving the associated rub pads along the wedges, which forces the rocker shaft to rotate further. The further shaft rotation pulls the knife edge into sealing engagement against the gasket. See  FIGS. 10 and 11 . In this manner, the operating mechanism provides discrete-to-continuous dogging to the composite panel, so that the composite panel can be readily integrated to the metal coaming structure. 
   In a further embodiment, a transmission  112  is provided at the handle  110 . See  FIGS. 16–18C . Movement of the handle actuates the transmission. When the hatch panel is closed, the handle is rotated partially, such as 40° ( FIG. 18B ), until the followers  38  contact the latching flange. The transmission disengages the shaft mechanism  32  from the handle and engages the planar linkage  104  to actuate a throw rod  114  that drives the planar linkage. Further rotation of the handle a full 180° ( FIG. 18C ) actuates the linkage to preload the panel frame, sealing the panel. The transmission is preferably enclosed with a suitable cover (not shown) to prevent contamination. 
   Any desired form of composite panel can be used with the present invention, such as a sandwich panel or a panel with integral stiffeners. The panel can be manufactured in a number of ways, such as with a pultrusion process or a vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process (VARTM) other process alternatives include resin transfer molding, press molding, pultrusion of subcomponents, filament winding of circular frame sections, and prepreg layup. The composite material of the hatch panel contributes to a significant reduction in weight over that of a conventional all-metal hatch and scuttle system. By mounting the latching mechanism to the coaming structure rather than to the hatch panel and frame assembly, the weight of the panel and frame assembly that must by lifted by personnel is minimized. 
   While described in conjunction with a ship or other marine vessel, the hatch or door system of the present invention can be employed in other situations where the hatch system would be useful, such as in openings to provide access to building roofs or in aircraft. Similarly, although the panel is described as being formed of a composite material, it will be appreciated that the various embodiments of the operating mechanism mounted on the surrounding structure are also operable in conjunction with a metal panel. In this case, the metal frame could be integrally formed with the interior panel, for example, as an edge detail. The invention is not to be limited by what has been particularly shown and described, except as indicated by the appended claims.