Patent Publication Number: US-2023150624-A1

Title: Hull-mounted installation conversion method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a hull-mounted installation conversion method. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     It is conventional practice to remodel an existing ship for one purpose into a ship for another purpose. Examples of the existing ship to be remodeled include various types of transport ships (such as a petroleum tanker). 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         PTL 1: Chinese Utility Model No. 205569455 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     For example, in the case of remodeling a petroleum tanker into a luxury cruise ship, their hull structures are completely different. Thus, remodeling of the petroleum tanker into the luxury cruise ship involves cost and time comparable to those required for building of a new ship. From this perspective, it is conceivable to convert an installation on a hull without changing the hull itself significantly. 
     Patent Literature 1 describes placing medical units on a hull and constructing a medical installation to build a hospital ship. However, Patent Literature 1 fails to describe constructing another installation in place of the medical installation or constructing the medical installation in place of an installation other than the medical installation. 
     It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to provide a hull-mounted installation conversion method capable of remodeling a ship at a low cost and in a short period of time. 
     Solution to Problem 
     In order to solve the problem described above, a hull-mounted installation conversion method of the present disclosure includes: removing some or all of first-use units from a hull, the first-use units being placed on the hull and constituting a first-use installation; and placing second-use units on the hull to construct a second-use installation after the removing of the first-use units. 
     With the above configuration, the first-use installation can be converted into the second-use installation by replacing some or all of the first-use units with the second-use units. Thus, a ship can be remodeled at a low cost and in a short period of time. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     According to the present disclosure, a ship can be remodeled at a low cost and in a short period of time. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a side view of a ship including a first-use installation. 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded perspective view of the ship of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a side view of a ship including a second-use installation. 
         FIG.  4    is an exploded perspective view of the ship of  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  5 A  is a perspective view of a first-use unit,  FIG.  5 B  is a bottom view of the first-use unit,  FIG.  5 C  is a perspective view of another first-use unit, and  FIG.  5 D  is a bottom view of the other first-use unit. 
         FIG.  6 A  is a perspective view of a second-use unit,  FIG.  6 B  is a bottom view of the second-use unit,  FIG.  6 C  is a perspective view of another second-use unit, and  FIG.  6 D  is a bottom view of the other second-use unit. 
         FIG.  7    is a plan view of a part of a hull in one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  8    is a side view of passageway containers. 
         FIG.  9    shows an example where a hospital building is located on a hull. 
         FIG.  10 A  is a front view of a support base including wheels and a unit with the support base mounted thereto, and  FIG.  10 B  is a side view of the support base and the unit. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     A hull-mounted installation conversion method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a first step of constructing a first-use installation  30  on a hull  2  as shown in  FIG.  1   ; and a second step of constructing a second-use installation  40  on the hull  2  as shown in  FIG.  3   . That is, a ship  1 A including the first-use installation  30  is obtained by the first step, and the ship  1 A is remodeled into a ship  1 B including the second-use installation  40  by the second step. In the case where the first step has been previously completed, the hull-mounted installation conversion method may include only the second step. 
     Specifically, in the first step, first-use units  3  which constitute the first-use installation  30  are placed on the hull  2  as shown in  FIGS.  1  and  2    to construct the first-use installation  30 . In the second step, some or all of the first-use units  3  are removed from the hull  2  and then, as shown in  FIGS.  3  and  4   , second-use units  4  which constitute the second-use installation  40  are placed on the hull  2  to construct the second-use installation  40 . 
     The hull  2  includes an upper deck  23 , and the first-use and second-use units  3  and  4  are placed on the upper deck  23 . Abridge  24  is located at the stem of the hull  2 . The bridge  24  is not limited to being located at the stern and may be located at the bow. 
     In the present embodiment, the first-use units  3  are medical units, and the first-use installation  30  is a medical installation. As such, the ship  1 A is a hospital ship. The second-use units  4  and the second-use installation  40  are not limited to particular kinds of units and installation. For example, the second-use units  4  are cruising units, and the second-use installation  40  is a cruising installation. In this case, the ship  1 B is a luxury cruise ship. 
     With the configuration of the present embodiment, a hospital ship including a medical installation can be remodeled into a ship including another installation. Contrary to the present embodiment, the second-use units  4  may be medical units, and the second-use installation  40  may be a medical installation. In this case, a ship including an installation other than any medical installation can be remodeled into a hospital ship including a medical installation. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the first-use units  3  include first unit-side connectors  31 , respectively, and each of the first unit-side connectors  31  includes an interface for an infrastructure required by a corresponding one of the first-use units  3 . Likewise, as shown in  FIG.  4   , the second-use units  4  include second unit-side connectors  41 , respectively, and each of the second unit-side connectors  41  includes an interface for an infrastructure required by a corresponding one of the second-use units  4 . 
     The hull  2  includes first hull-side connectors  21  connectable to the first unit-side connectors  31 , respectively, and second hull-side connectors  22  connectable to the second unit-side connectors  41 , respectively. The first hull-side connectors  21  and the second hull-side connectors  22  are connected to various pieces of equipment mounted on the hull  2  via flexible tubes or cables. 
     In the present embodiment, the first-use units  3  are classified into different types. For example, as shown in  FIGS.  5 A to  5 D , the first-use units  3  include two types of first-use units  3 A and  3 B. All of the first-use units  3  may be of the same type. 
     Furthermore, in the present embodiment, each of the first-use units  3  is a container including an internal configuration corresponding to the type of the first-use unit  3 . The first unit-side connector  31  of each of the first-use units  3  is at a location on a bottom surface  32  of the first-use unit  3 , and the location of the first unit-side connector  31  differs according to the type of the first-use unit  3  (in  FIG.  2   , the first unit-side connectors  31  are depicted on side surfaces of the first-use units  3  for ease of understanding). 
     The first unit-side connector  31  need not be located on the bottom surface  32  of the first-use unit  3 , but may be located, for example, on a side surface of the first unit  3 . 
     As described above, the first-use units  3  are medical units in the present embodiment. For example, the medical units include a residence container, an isolation container, and a treatment container. Inside the residence container there are pieces of equipment required for daily life of a person (such as a bed and a stove burner). Inside the isolation container there are beds and pieces of equipment required for care of patients (such as an aspirator). Inside the treatment container there are medical instruments and medical drugs required for treatment of patients. 
     Examples of the infrastructure required by the residence container include electricity, gas, clean water, and water drainage. Examples of the infrastructure required by the isolation container include electricity, clean water, vacuum, and water drainage. Examples of the infrastructure required by the treatment container include electricity, clean water, oxygen, and water drainage. 
     The medical units may further include a caregiving container, a rehabilitation container, and an infection research container. Examples of the infrastructure required by the caregiving container and the rehabilitation container include electricity, gas, clean water, and water drainage. Examples of the infrastructure required by the infection research container include electricity, clean water, vacuum, and water drainage. 
     The first-use units  3  may include a passageway container  5  as shown in  FIG.  8    which is used as a passageway, irrespective of whether the first-use units  3  are medical units. That is, inside the passageway container  5  there are no large-sized pieces of equipment but only small-sized pieces of equipment such as a lighting instrument. For example, in the case where two passageway containers  5  are connected to each other, connection modules  7  each of which is in the form of bellows or the like may be located at both ends of each passageway container  5 , and the connection modules  7  may be coupled to each other. 
     In the case where the first-use units  3  include the passageway container  5 , a cable and/or a duct may, as shown in  FIG.  8   , be laid inside the passageway container  5  and along the ceiling of the passageway container  5 . The cable is for flow of electric currents, and the duct is for flow of gas or water. Alternatively, the cable and/or duct may be laid along the bottom of the passageway container  5 . In the case where the cable and/or duct is laid along the bottom of the passageway container  5 , a partition board is located inside the passageway container  5  and above the cable and/or duct to form the floor of the passageway container  5 . 
     In the present embodiment, all of the containers serving as the first-use units  3  are of the same size. The containers may be arranged in a plane on the upper deck  23  or arranged in stacks on the upper deck  23 . 
     One or some of the containers may differ in size from the other containers. Alternatively, all of the containers may have different sizes. Two or more of the containers may be combined to constitute a single room. Furthermore, each of the first-use units  3  need not be a container but may be an open-type unit. 
     In the present embodiment, the second-use units  4  are classified into different types like the first-use units  3 . For example, as shown in  FIGS.  5 A to  5 D , the first-use units  3  include two types of second-use units  4 A and  4 B. All of the second-use units  4  may be of the same type. 
     Furthermore, in the present embodiment, each of the second-use units  4  is a container including an internal configuration corresponding to the type of the second-use unit  4 . The second unit-side connector  41  of each of the second-use units  4  is at a location on a bottom surface  42  of the second-use unit  4 , and the location of the second unit-side connector  41  differs according to the type of the second-use unit  4  (in  FIG.  4   , the second unit-side connectors  41  are depicted on side surfaces of the second-use units  4  for ease of understanding). 
     The second unit-side connector  41  need not be located on the bottom surface  42  of the second-use unit  4 , but may be located, for example, on a side surface of the second-use unit  4 . 
     For example, in the case where the second-use units  4  are cruising units, the cruising units include a leisure container, a workshop container, and a sport container. For example, inside the workshop container there are desks and chairs, and examples of the infrastructure required by the sport container include electricity, clean water, and water drainage. 
     Like the first-use units  3 , the second-use units  4  may include the passageway container  5  used as a passageway. In this case, a cable and/or a duct may be laid inside the passageway container  5  and along the ceiling or the bottom of the passageway container  5 . 
     In the present embodiment, all of the containers serving as the second-use units  4  are of the same size. The containers may be arranged in a plane on the upper deck  23  or arranged in stacks on the upper deck  23 . 
     One or some of the containers may differ in size from the other containers. Alternatively, all of the containers may have different sizes. Two or more of the containers may be combined to constitute a single room. Furthermore, each of the second-use units  4  need not be a container but may be an open-type unit. 
     On the upper deck  23  of the hull  2 , as shown in  FIG.  7   , there are distinct regions in each of which the first-use unit  3  or the second-use unit  4  is placed (i.e., areas each of which is occupied by a corresponding one of the units). The number of the first hull-side connectors  21  in each of the distinct regions is equal to the number of the types of the first-use units  3 , and the number of the second hull-side connectors  22  in each of the distinct regions is equal to the number of the types of the second-use units  4 . Furthermore, each of the first hull-side connectors  21  is located in correspondence with the first unit-side connector  31  the location of which differs according to the type of the first-use unit  3 . Likewise, each of the second hull-side connectors  22  is located in correspondence with the second unit-side connector  41  the location of which differs according to the type of the second-use unit  4 . 
     At least one of the types into which the first-use units  3  are classified and at least one of the types into which the second-use units  4  are classified may be the same. For example, one or some of the first-use units  3  and one or some of the second-use units  4  may be residence containers. Alternatively, one of the first-use units  3  and one of the second-use units  4  may be electricity generation units each of which includes an electricity generator. With this configuration, at least one of the first-use units  3  may be used as the second-use unit  4 . 
     As described above, with the use of the hull-mounted installation conversion method of the present embodiment, the first-use installation  30  can be converted into the second-use installation  40  by replacing some or all of the first-use units  3  with the second-use units  4 . Thus, a ship can be remodeled at a low cost and in a short period of time. 
     In the present embodiment, each of the first-use units  3  includes the first unit-side connector  31 , each of the second-use units  4  includes the second unit-side connector  41 , and the hull  2  includes the first hull-side connectors  21  and the second hull-side connectors  22 . Thus, infrastructure system construction following placement of the first-use units  3  on the hull  2  can easily be performed, and infrastructure system construction following placement of the second-use units  4  on the hull  2  can also easily be performed. 
     Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the location of the first unit-side connector  31  differs according to the type of the first-use unit  3 . Thus, the first hull-side connector  21  to be connected can be identified based on the location of the first unit-side connector  31 . Additionally, the location of the second unit-side connector  41  also differs according to the type of the second-use unit  4 . Thus, the second hull-side connector  22  to be connected can be identified based on the location of the second unit-side connector  41 . 
     After the ship  1 A (hospital ship) is obtained, the ship  1 A may be moored to a wharf, and the ship  1 A and the wharf may be flexibly connected to allow people to come and go between the ship  1 A and the wharf. This enables the ship  1 A to operate as a common hospital. In the event of a disaster such as an earthquake or a pandemic, hospitalized patients may be transferred to an onshore hospital, then the flexible connection may be cut off, and the ship  1 A may be navigated to the disaster- or pandemic-affected area. With this ship operation method, the medical installation (second-use installation  40 ) of the ship  1 A can be fully utilized in the disaster- or pandemic-affected area. 
     Although not shown, the hull  2  includes a propulsion engine (internal combustion engine) that drives a propulsion propeller. In the case of mechanical propulsion, the propulsion engine directly drives the propulsion propeller, while in the case of electric propulsion, the propulsion engine drives the propulsion propeller via an electricity generator and a motor. In the case of mechanical propulsion, the propulsion engine may drive not only the propulsion propeller but also the electricity generator. 
     The hull  2  may include an electricity connector for externally supplying electricity generated by the electricity generator driven by the propulsion engine. In general, the propulsion engine is scarcely used when the ship  1 A is at anchor. However, in the case where the hull  2  includes the electricity connector, the propulsion engine can be operated in the ship  1 A at anchor to sell the generated electricity. In the event of a disaster such as an earthquake, electricity can be supplied according to the needs after arrival at the disaster-affected area. 
     (Modifications) 
     The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. 
     For example, as shown in  FIG.  9   , a support base  9  may be mounted to at least one of the first-use units  3  and/or at least one of the second-use units  4 . With this configuration, a cable or a duct can be laid within the support base  9 , or the vertical location of the unit ( 3  or  4 ) can be adjusted to that of another installation by the support base  9 . 
     For example, in the case where, as shown in  FIG.  9   , a hospital building  8  including first to fourth stories  81  to  84  is located as a permanent installation on the hull  2 , the height of each of the second to fourth stories  82  to  84  is set to about 3 m. The first story  81  on the upper deck  23  includes a large-height portion  81   b  located under the second to fourth stories  82  to  84 , and a small-height portion  81   a . The large-height portion  81   b  has substantially the same height as the second to fourth stories  82  to  84 , and the small-height portion  81   a  has a smaller height than the second to fourth stories  82  to  84 . Thus, if the unit ( 3  or  4 ) with the support base  9  mounted thereto is placed on the small-height portion  81   a , the level of the floor of the unit can be adjusted to the level of the floor of the second story  82  of the hospital building  8 . Furthermore, the height of the units ( 3  or  4 ) is set to about 2.5 m to allow for overland transportation of the units. Thus, if the unit ( 3  or  4 ) with the support base  9  mounted thereto is placed on the unit ( 3  or  4 ) located on the small-height portion  81   a , the level of the floor of the unit with the support base  9  mounted thereto can be adjusted to the level of the floor of the third story  83  of the hospital building  8 . In  FIG.  9   , the connection modules  7  are located between the units ( 3  or  4 ) themselves and between the units and the hospital building  8 . 
     In the case where the support base  9  is mounted to at least one of the first-use units  3  and/or at least one of the second-use units  4 , the support base  9  may include wheels  91  as shown in  FIGS.  10 A and  10 B . The wheels  91  are retracted in the support base  9  when the support base  9  is on the hull  2 . In the example shown, each of the wheels  91  is pivotally movable between an in-use position where its axle extends horizontally and a retracted position where its axle extends vertically. Alternatively, the wheels  91  may be removed from the support base  9  when the support base  9  is on the hull  2 . With this configuration, the unit ( 3  or  4 ) can easily be transported overland together with the support base  9 . 
     SUMMARY 
     A hull-mounted installation conversion method of the present disclosure includes: removing some or all of first-use units from a hull, the first-use units being placed on the hull and constituting a first-use installation; and placing second-use units on the hull to construct a second-use installation after the removing of the first-use units. 
     With the above configuration, the first-use installation can be converted into the second-use installation by replacing some or all of the first-use units with the second-use units. Thus, a ship can be remodeled at a low cost and in a short period of time. 
     The first-use units may be medical units, and the first-use installation may be a medical installation. With this configuration, a hospital ship including a medical installation can be remodeled into a ship including another installation. 
     The second-use units may be medical units, and the second-use installation may be a medical installation. With this configuration, a ship including an installation other than any medical installation can be remodeled into a hospital ship including a medical installation. 
     The first-use units may include first unit-side connectors, respectively, each of the first unit-side connectors including an interface for an infrastructure required by a corresponding one of the first-use units, the second-use units may include second unit-side connectors, respectively, each of the second unit-side connectors including an interface for an infrastructure required by a corresponding one of the second-use units, and the hull may include first hull-side connectors connectable to the first unit-side connectors, respectively, and second hull-side connectors connectable to the second unit-side connectors, respectively. With this configuration, infrastructure system construction following placement of the first-use units on the hull can easily be performed, and infrastructure system construction following placement of the second-use units on the hull can also easily be performed. 
     The first-use units may be classified into different types, each of the first-use units may be a container including an internal configuration corresponding to the type of the first-use unit, the first unit-side connector of each of the first-use units may be at a location on a bottom surface of the first-use unit, and the location of the first unit-side connector may differ according to the type of the first-use unit. With this configuration, the first hull-side connector to be connected can be identified based on the location of the first unit-side connector. 
     The second-use units may be classified into different types, each of the second-use units may be a container including an internal configuration corresponding to the type of the second-use unit, the second unit-side connector of each of the second-use units may be at a location on a bottom surface of the second-use unit, and the location of the second unit-side connector may differ according to the type of the second-use unit. With this configuration, the second hull-side connector to be connected can be identified based on the location of the second unit-side connector. 
     The first-use units may be classified into different types, the second-use units may be classified into different types, and at least one of the types into which the first-use units are classified and at least one of the types into which the second-use units are classified may be the same. With this configuration, at least one of the first-use units can be used as the second-use unit. 
     For example, the first-use units and/or the second-use units may include a passageway container used as a passageway. In this case, a cable and/or a duct may be laid inside the passageway container and along a ceiling or a bottom of the passageway container. 
     A support base may be mounted to at least one of the first-use units and/or at least one of the second-use units. With this configuration, a cable or a duct can be laid within the support base, or the vertical location of the unit can be adjusted to that of another installation by the support base. 
     The support base may include wheels, and the wheels may be retracted in the support base or removed from the support base when the support base is on the hull. With this configuration, the unit can easily be transported overland together with the support base. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
           2  hull 
           21  first hull-side connector 
           22  second hull-side connector 
           3  first-use unit 
           30  first-use installation 
           31  first unit-side connector 
           32  bottom surface 
           4  second-use unit 
           40  second-use installation 
           41  second unit-side connector 
           42  bottom surface 
           5  passageway unit 
           9  support base 
           91  wheel