Patent Description:
As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, two types of methods have been used to fix a floating body in a floating offshore wind power generators according to the related art.

As shown in <FIG>, one of the two types is a catenary type according to which a plurality of anchors <NUM> are drawn in various directions and deeply inserted into a seabed <NUM>, and each of the anchors <NUM> is diagonally connected to a floating body <NUM> (a floating body of so-called spar type or semi-submersible type) by using a mooring chain <NUM> (or a mooring rope). Furthermore, as illustrated in <FIG>, the other one type is a taut type according to which the anchor <NUM> is fixed to the seabed <NUM> and by extending the mooring chain <NUM> (or a mooring rope) in a direction perpendicular to the anchor <NUM> to maintain tension, a floating body (so-called tension lag platform (TLP) type) is moored.

In the case of the catenary type, as a length of a mooring line increases significantly in deep water, economic efficiency may be deteriorated, and as the mooring line is arranged to extend diagonally, an installation area for a floating offshore wind power generator may increase.

As for the taut type, as a mooring line is connected vertically, economic efficiency in materials costs may be excellent; however, when the bearing capacity of the anchor is diminished, the stability of the floating body may be affected, and there is also a possibility of overturning of the floating offshore wind power generator. Moreover, a separate fixing device needs to be added to improve the bearing capacity of the anchor, which may lead to complicated installation of the mooring device and increased costs.

<CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> disclose background art.

The present disclosure pertaining to a mooring device used to moor a floating offshore wind power generator is devised to resolve the foregoing issues and aims to provide a mooring device capable of minimizing the length of a connecting member required for mooring in deep water and minimizing an installation area as well as firmly and stably mooring a floating body.

The invention is defined in the independent claim.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a mooring device includes: a weight structure which sinks by gravity to be seated on a seabed; an anchor portion which is settled on the seabed to anchor a floating body; and a connecting member which includes one end portion connected to the floating body and the other end portion connected to the anchor portion, and has an extension direction that is changed by passing through a direction changing portion provided in the weight structure. The direction changing portion includes: a rotating portion arranged to be rotatable around a rotation shaft provided in the weight structure; a holding portion provided at one end portion of the rotating portion and configured to hold inward and extend the connecting member; and a fixer provided at the other end portion of the rotating portion and fixed in the seabed when the rotating portion is rotated by tension of the connecting member.

In a mooring device according to the present disclosure, as a connecting member is connected and extends in the vertical direction from a weight structure to a floating body (e.g., a floating body for a floating offshore wind power generator) by a direction changing portion provided at the weight structure and extends and is anchored in a direction adjoining the seabed from the weight structure to an anchor portion, the technical stability and economic efficiency may be improved remarkably.

That is, even in the deep water, the connecting member required for mooring may be minimized, and as the connecting member is connected vertically from the floating body to the weight structure, an area required for installation of the floating offshore wind power generator may be minimized as well.

Furthermore, as the connecting member extends in the horizontal direction adjoining the seabed from the weight structure to the anchor portion, the grip force by the anchor portion may be secured sufficiently, which lead to the effect of firmly and stably mooring the floating body.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a diagram of a mooring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is a plan view of <FIG>. <FIG> is a front view of a mooring device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is a plan view of <FIG>. <FIG> are diagrams illustrating an embodiment in which a fixing portion is coupled to a weight structure. <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which a different type of direction changing portion is applied, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which another type of weight structure is applied. <FIG> are diagrams illustrating modification examples of a shape of a weight structure.

A mooring device <NUM> according to the present disclosure relates to a device configured to moor a floating body which floats on a water surface. The mooring device <NUM> of the present disclosure may be used to fix a floating offshore wind power generator which floats on a water surface.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the mooring device <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a weight structure <NUM>, an anchor portion <NUM>, and a connecting member <NUM>.

The weight structure <NUM> may sink by gravity and be seated on a seabed. The weight structure <NUM> may have a weight sufficient to fix a floating body such as a floating offshore wind power generator. The weight structure <NUM> may be made of reinforced concrete or steel concrete. However, the material of the weight structure <NUM> is not limited to the foregoing, and the weight structure <NUM> may include various materials. A lug <NUM> for refloat and installation may be formed on the weight structure <NUM>.

According to the embodiment, the weight structure <NUM> may include a direction changing portion <NUM> configured to change an extension direction of the connecting member <NUM>. The direction changing portion <NUM> may be arranged in such a manner that a part of the connecting member <NUM> extending upwards from the direction changing portion <NUM> is arranged downwards vertically from the floating body, and a part of the connecting member <NUM> directed towards the seabed by the direction changing portion <NUM> extends in the horizontal direction.

The anchor portion <NUM> may be arranged to be settled on the seabed and anchor the floating body. According to the embodiment, a plurality of anchor portions <NUM> may be provided to be settled on the seabed and moor the floating body, together with the weight structure <NUM>.

The connecting member <NUM> may be component connecting the anchor portion <NUM> to the floating body. A chain, a wire rope, etc., which are commonly employed in a mooring device, may be used as the connecting member <NUM>. One end portion of the connecting member <NUM> may be connected to the floating body, and the other end portion may be connected to the anchor portion <NUM>. The extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> may be changed when the connecting member <NUM> passes through the direction changing portion <NUM> provided at the weight structure <NUM>.

According to the embodiment, the weight structure <NUM> may have a structure of a regular polygon. The direction changing portion <NUM> may change the extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> to a direction towards each vertex of the regular polygon from the center of the regular polygon. That is, the extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> extending downwards vertically may be changed to a direction towards a lateral side of the weight structure <NUM> by the direction changing portion <NUM>. When the seabed is horizontal, the direction changing portion <NUM> may change the extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> to the horizontal direction.

According to the embodiment, as illustrated in <FIG>, the weight structure <NUM> may be formed in a shape of a square, and the connecting member <NUM> may proceed in a direction of an arrow by the direction changing portion <NUM>. However, as illustrated in <FIG>, the shape of the weight structure <NUM> may be modified to a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, etc..

A plurality of direction changing portions <NUM> may be provided at the weight structure <NUM>, and each of connecting members <NUM> may be provided to pass through each direction changing portion <NUM>. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the direction changing portion <NUM> may include a first opening <NUM>, a second opening <NUM>, and a wheel portion <NUM>.

The first opening <NUM> may be a part opened in an upward direction, and the connecting member <NUM> may extend upwards vertically through the first opening <NUM>.

The second opening <NUM> may be a part opened in a lateral direction, and the connecting member <NUM> may extend horizontally in the lateral direction through the second opening <NUM>.

The wheel portion <NUM> may be arranged between the first opening <NUM> and the second opening <NUM> and configured to change the extension direction of the connecting member <NUM>. The wheel portion <NUM> may be in contact with the connecting member <NUM>. That is, the direction of the connecting member <NUM> may be turned and changed at the wheel portion <NUM>.

Hereinafter, the actions and effects according to the configuration of the mooring device <NUM> are described in detail.

In the mooring device <NUM> according to the present disclosure, the extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> may be changed by the direction changing portion <NUM> of the weight structure <NUM>. The connecting member <NUM> may extend downwards vertically from the floating body to the weight structure <NUM>.

The connecting member <NUM> may extend horizontally from the weight structure <NUM> to the anchor portion <NUM>. Such structure may implement both of the catenary type mooring method and the taut type mooring method simultaneously and thus be able to provide advantages of both types of the mooring method.

More specifically, the catenary type is a type according to which a mooring chain (or a mooring rope) is arranged diagonally from a floating body to a seabed to moor the floating body. As the chain extends diagonally in the catenary type, a length of the chain or a rope required for mooring may increase in the deep water. Accordingly, not only the expense for such chain or rope increases, but also an occupied or used area of a floating offshore wind power generator may also increase, and fishery activities by fishing vessels may be directly disturbed.

Meanwhile, the taut type is a type according to which a mooring chain (or a mooring rope) is arranged vertically from the floating body to the seabed to moor the floating body. As the chain extends vertically, an area occupied by the floating wind power generator may be reduced, and the fishery activities may not be hindered as much. However, the chain should be fixed securely to the seabed vertically, and strong tensile force needs to be maintained, which may be technically challenging.

According to the present disclosure, the connecting member <NUM> may be arranged vertically from the floating body to the direction changing portion <NUM> by the weight structure <NUM> which sinks to the seabed by gravity. Accordingly, the present disclosure may provide the advantage of the taut type mooring method. That is, as the connecting member <NUM> is arranged vertically, the cost necessary for the expensive connecting member <NUM> may be saved, and an occupied or used area of a public water surface required for a floating offshore wind power generator may be reduced. Moreover, the fishery activities of fishing vessels may not be overly disturbed.

Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the connecting member <NUM> may extend adjoining the seabed from the direction changing portion <NUM> to the anchor portion <NUM>. As the connecting member <NUM> extends adjoining the seabed, and the anchor portion <NUM> is coupled to an end portion of the connecting member <NUM>, the tensile force at an anchor point may work horizontally instead of vertically or diagonally. Accordingly, the stability of the mooring device <NUM> may be enhanced by increasing the fixation force.

As such, as the connecting member <NUM> extends adjoining the seabed, and one end of portion of the connecting member <NUM> is coupled to the anchor portion <NUM>, sufficient fixation force may be secured in the deep water. The present disclosure may provide the effect of convenient construction or installation without employing a separate complex fixing device for improving the fixation force as in the taut type mooring method. That is, the mooring device <NUM> according to the present disclosure may resolve the technical issue concerning a fixing device used to fix a mooring device when a floating offshore wind power generator of tension leg platform (TLP) type, which requires vertical tensile force, is deployed.

<FIG> are diagrams of the mooring device <NUM> according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment of <FIG>, components acting or functioning the same as in <FIG> are denoted by the same reference numerals as in <FIG>, and any redundant description thereon is omitted.

With reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, the mooring device <NUM> according to the embodiment may have a different direction changing portion, compared to the embodiment of <FIG>. The rest of the components are substantially identical to the components of <FIG>. The direction changing portion <NUM> according to the embodiment may be formed in a tubular shape of which an inlet portion <NUM> opened in an upward direction and an outlet portion <NUM> opened in a lateral direction are connected to each other so that connecting member <NUM> passes through the direction changing portion <NUM>. An inside of the tubular shape has a gentle curved surface so that the connecting member <NUM> may come out therethrough. The lug <NUM> for refloat and installation may be formed on the weight structure <NUM>.

The extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> may be changed when the connecting member <NUM> passes through the direction changing portion <NUM> having the tubular shape. The feature of extending vertically from the inlet portion <NUM> to the floating body and extending in a direction adjoining the seabed from the outlet portion <NUM> to the anchor portion <NUM> is the same in both direction changing portions. The actions and effects according to the embodiment are substantially identical to those of the embodiment according to <FIG>.

In the embodiment according to <FIG>, a fixing portion <NUM> may be further provided to fix the weight structure <NUM> onto the seabed. The fixing portion <NUM> may protrude from a bottom surface of the weight structure <NUM> to be inserted into and fixed onto the seabed.

According to the embodiment of <FIG>, the fixing portion <NUM> may include an insert portion <NUM> and a screw portion <NUM>.

The insert portion <NUM> may protrude from the bottom surface of the weight structure <NUM> to be inserted into the seabed. The screw portion <NUM> may be a spiral wing coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the insert portion <NUM> and be provided to facilitate the insertion of the fixing portion <NUM> into the seabed and to prevent the fixing portion <NUM> from being easily detached from the seabed. Accordingly, the fixing portion <NUM> having a shape of a screw may provide the effect of sufficiently improving the grip power while enduring the tensile force due to the buoyant force caused by the floating body.

Moreover, as illustrated in <FIG>, the fixing portion <NUM> may be formed in a pile type. Similar to the screw type, the pile type may also endure the strong tensile force formed by the buoyant force of the floating body and improve the grip force.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a plurality of fixing portions <NUM> may be provided on the edge bottom surface of the weight structure <NUM>. The fixing portion <NUM> formed in a corn shape at the edge of the weight structure <NUM> may improve the grip force of the weight structure <NUM> in the vertical direction and endure the tensile force when the connecting member <NUM> extends in a direction adjoining the seabed from the lateral side of the weight structure <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment in which the direction changing portion <NUM> is configured differently, compared to <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the direction changing portion <NUM> applied to the embodiment may include a rotating portion <NUM>, a holding portion <NUM>, and a fixer <NUM>.

The rotating portion is provided to be rotatable around a rotation shaft <NUM> provided in the weight structure <NUM>. The rotating portion <NUM> may include a shaft hole <NUM> into which the rotation shaft <NUM> is inserted, a first rotation bar <NUM> and a second rotation bar <NUM> which extend from the shaft hole <NUM> in an opposite direction from each other.

The holding portion <NUM> is provided at one end portion of the rotating portion <NUM> to hold inward and extend the connecting member <NUM>. According to the embodiment, the holding portion <NUM> may be provided at an end portion of the first rotation bar <NUM>. The connecting member <NUM> extending from the holding portion <NUM> towards the floating body may extend in the vertical direction. The extension direction of the connecting member <NUM> extending from the holding portion <NUM> towards the seabed may be changed from the vertical direction to be directed towards the seabed.

The fixer <NUM> is provided at the other end portion of the rotating portion <NUM> and is fixed in the seabed when the rotating portion <NUM> is rotated by the tension of the connecting member <NUM>. According to the embodiment, the fixer <NUM> may be coupled to one end of the second rotation bar <NUM> and be formed in a shape of a hook, and the second rotation bar <NUM> may burrow into the seabed and fix the weight structure <NUM> onto the seabed. The fixing portion <NUM> of rotating type may fix the weight structure <NUM> in the vertical direction and facilitate the bearing of the tensile force caused by the connecting member <NUM> pulled by the anchor portion <NUM> in the lateral direction.

<FIG> illustrates an embodiment in which the weight structure <NUM> is configured differently, compared to <FIG>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the weight structure <NUM> applied to the embodiment may include a body portion <NUM> and a setting portion <NUM>.

A space portion <NUM> filled with an auxiliary weight may be formed at a center portion of the body portion <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the body portion <NUM> may be formed in a cylindrical shape including a space therein. The shape of the body portion <NUM> is not limited to the cylindrical shape, and the body portion <NUM> may have any other shapes as long as it includes the space portion <NUM>. The space portion <NUM> may be filled with rocks or a concrete weight <NUM>. To increase the grip force between the body portion <NUM> and the seabed, the fixing portion <NUM> may be applied to the seabed. The lugs <NUM> for installation and refloat may be arranged apart from each other on an upper surface of the body portion <NUM>.

The setting portion <NUM> may be radially coupled to an outer circumferential surface of the body portion <NUM> and may be seated on the seabed. A contact area between the body portion <NUM> and the seabed may be increased by the setting portion <NUM>. According to the embodiment, the direction changing portion <NUM> may be formed at the setting portion <NUM>. The configuration of the direction changing portion <NUM> may employ one of the forms applied to the embodiments.

Claim 1:
A mooring device comprising:
a weight structure (<NUM>) which sinks by gravity to be seated on a seabed;
an anchor portion (<NUM>) which is settled on the seabed to anchor a floating body; and
a connecting member (<NUM>) which includes one end portion connected to the floating body and the other end portion connected to the anchor portion (<NUM>), the connecting member (<NUM>) having an extension direction that is changed by passing through a direction changing portion (<NUM>) provided in the weight structure (<NUM>),
characterized in that the direction changing portion comprises:
a rotating portion (<NUM>) arranged to be rotatable around a rotation shaft (<NUM>) provided in the weight structure;
a holding portion (<NUM>) provided at one end portion of the rotating portion (<NUM>) and configured to hold inward the connecting member (<NUM>), allowing the connecting member to extend; and
a fixer (<NUM>) provided at the other end portion of the rotating portion (<NUM>), and fixed in the seabed when the rotating portion (<NUM>) is rotated by tension of the connecting member (<NUM>).