239results about "Hoisting/lowering gear" patented technology

A marine handling craft and system is intended for use in deploying, inspecting and receiving vessels and payloads to and from locations on, under, over or near water and wet soils in potentially turbulent aquatic or atmospheric conditions. The marine handling craft may operate as a robot, or deployed from a crane or boom on a mother ship or other platform or helicopter so that it can transport and mate and dock at various locations, such as supply ships or autonomous marine vessels, at a stand off distance to limit potential harm to valuable assets. A sliding fastener and track are included on the marine handling craft so that it can be tethered and lifted by a single line or cable, and so can be manipulated by a single crane or helicopter. The utility of the handling craft is not limited to the transport of payloads and it may function as a stand-alone vessel for various remote sensing purposes. Smart communication between the marine handling craft and other vessels or other nodes in a distributed computer network facilitates simultaneous, hierarchical and multi-tasking control of the craft and permits verification and inspection of payloads, which might otherwise cause damage when proximate to more valuable assets.

A marine handling craft and system is intended for use in deploying, inspecting and receiving vessels and payloads to and from locations on, under, over or near water and wet soils in potentially turbulent aquatic or atmospheric conditions. The marine handling craft may operate as a robot, or deployed from a crane or boom on a mother ship or other platform or helicopter so that it can transport and mate and dock at various locations, such as supply ships or autonomous marine vessels, at a stand off distance to limit potential harm to valuable assets. A sliding fastener and track are included on the marine handling craft so that it can be tethered and lifted by a single line or cable, and so can be manipulated by a single crane or helicopter. The utility of the handling craft is not limited to the transport of payloads and it may function as a stand-alone vessel for various remote sensing purposes. Smart communication between the marine handling craft and other vessels or other nodes in a distributed computer network facilitates simultaneous, hierarchical and multi-tasking control of the craft and permits verification and inspection of payloads, which might otherwise cause damage when proximate to more valuable assets.

A hydrostatic release mechanism is provided which comprises a sealed housing having an interior volume and a tunnel adapted to receive a tether extending therethrough. A depth sensor is mounted to the sealed housing and has a diaphragm covering an opening between the interior volume and the ambient conditions. A trigger is contained within the sealed housing and is operably connected to the diaphragm and a firing mechanism. The firing mechanism is actuated by movement of the trigger in response to inward movement of the diaphragm when the pressure on the diaphragm exceeds a predetermined force. The firing mechanism includes a piston having a blade which moves in response to the expanding gases from a pyrotechnic cartridge and passes through the tunnel thereby severing the tether extending therethrough.

A subsea payload such as an AUV or an AUV garage 22 is lifted from an underwater location by flying a latch unit 38 through the water to the payload. The latch unit carries a lift line 20 toward the payload. The latch unit is then attached to the payload and the payload is lifted using tension applied through the lift line via the latch unit. The latch unit can also be used on a lift line to lower a payload and then to release the payload at an underwater location. The lift line may be supported by a heave-compensating winch 12 on a surface vessel 10 that may effect z-axis movement of the latch unit. The winch may maintain tension on the lift line to prevent the lift line falling on the payload. Movement of the latch unit on x- and y- axes may be effected by on-board thrusters (48, Fig 5).

The invention discloses a device for launching and recovering a boat on a mother ship. An opening and a launching and recovering door are arranged on the rear side of a cabin. The launching and recovering door comprises a door plate seat driven by a lifting device to ascend and descend and a door plate hinged on the door plate seat, and the door plate is driven by an opening and closing device to be opened and closed. A rail leading to the opening is arranged in the cabin, a trolley for carrying the boat and moving on the rail is arranged on the rail, and a bracket capable of docking with the rail when the door plate is opened is arranged on the door plate. The door plate is opened to enable the bracket to be docked with the rail, the boat is pushed onto the door plate, the door plate is driven by the lifting device to descend below the water level, and accordingly the boat is launched. When the boat is recovered, the door plate and the bracket are driven to descend below the water level, the boat runs to above the bracket, then the door plate is lifted to enable the bracket to support the boat, the door plate is lifted continuously to enable the bracket to be docked with the rail, and the boat is pulled into the cabin. By the device, launching and recovery of the boat on the mother ship is achieved quite conveniently, and the whole boat launching and recovery process is stable and safe.

The invention relates to a telescopic boat davit, which comprises a base (1), a pylon (2), a lifting device, a davit arm (4). The swinging base (1) is fixed on a boat body; a rotary disk which can do circular rotary motion is arranged in the swinging base (1) and fixed with the swinging base (1) with bolts; the pylon (2) is also fixed with the rotary disk with the bolts; the pylon (2) can do 360 degrees of circular rotary motion around a central line of the swinging base (1); the base which can do radial motion can drive the pylon and the davit arm to do circular rotary motion together, so that the range of application of the telescopic boat davit is expanded; and the lifting device which is fixedly connected with the pylon effectively reduces the occupied deck space, and the lifting device is matched with the davit arm driven by an oil cylinder, so that the complexity of operation is simplified, and a user and an operator can operate the device in a safe way to make the boat ascend or descend.

The invention discloses an unmanned ship cloth releasing and recovering device with a dock ship as the mother ship. The unmanned ship cloth releasing and recovering device comprises a bracket mechanism and a guiding and winding mechanism. The bracket mechanism is arranged on the mother ship. The appearance of the bracket mechanism is matched with the appearance of an unmanned ship. The bracket mechanism is used for wrapping the whole unmanned ship and supporting the unmanned ship. The bracket mechanism is further used for releasing or locking the unmanned ship according to instructions. The guiding and winding mechanism is arranged on the unmanned ship and used for aiming at a cabin of the mother ship and ejecting out a steel cable so that the unmanned ship can drive into the bracket mechanism according to the designated trajectory. Thus, by means of the unmanned ship cloth releasing and recovering device, the 3-tonnage-level (7.5-m-length) unmanned ship can safely and reliably releaseand recover cloth under the 4-level sea state; the unmanned ship cloth releasing and recovering device has the advantages of being reliable in running, simple in structure, high in autonomy and the like; under the complicated marine environment, the efficiency of the unmanned operation ship is improved, the cloth releasing and recovering program of the unmanned ship is simplified, and the space utilization efficiency of the mother ship and the unmanned ship is improved.

The invention discloses an unmanned ship arrangement and recovery system which comprises a butt joint connected with a sling of a mother ship and further comprises an ejection mechanism, an ejection head, a cloud deck mechanism, a butt-joint mechanism and a pulling line which are mounted on an unmanned ship. The ejection mechanism is mounted on the cloud deck mechanism, and the cloud deck mechanism is used for adjusting the ejection angle of the ejection mechanism. One end of the pulling line is fixedly connected with the ejection mechanism, and the other end of the pulling line is connected with the ejection head. The pulling line is used for guiding the butt joint to be embedded into the butt-joint mechanism, and the ejection mechanism is used for ejecting the ejection head to the mastership. The butt-joint mechanism is used for fixing the butt joint to fix the unmanned ship to the sling. The unmanned ship arrangement and recovery system can improve the arrangement and recovery efficiency of the unmanned ship.

The invention relates to an AUV rapid distributing and releasing recovering device under high sea conditions. The device comprises a V-shaped recovering box, an AUV guiding assembly, a sling assembly,and a stopping net assembly, wherein the V-shaped recovering box is used for storing an AUV; the AUV guiding assembly is mounted at the front portion of the V-shaped recovering box and used for achieving guiding of the near AUV; the sling assembly comprises a drum driving motor fixed at the bottom of an unmanned ship, a sling retracting and deploying drum and V-shaped frame slings correspondinglymounted at the four corners of the V-shaped recovering box, and the V-shaped frame slings control the drum driving motor to achieve releasing and retracting storing of the V-shaped frame slings through a driving motor controller instruction; and the stopping net assembly is mounted among the four V-shaped frame slings and used for achieving protecting stopping of the side surface and the back surface, and the fact that the AUV slides out of the V-shaped recovering box is avoided. Compared with the prior art, the AUV rapid distributing and releasing recovering device has the advantages that the recovery area is expanded, the requirement of high-precision docking is reduced, rapid deploying and retracting recovery is achieved, collision is prevented, and the safety protection is achieved.

A storage system has a relatively unobtrusive mounting plate which is permanently secured to the edge of a vessel's swim platform and removably receives and captively holds a roller assembly. The mounting plate comprises a generally planar rectangular plate configured to conform to the edge shape of the swim platform and includes a generally U-shaped channel extending around the periphery and open at the top to receive the roller assembly. The roller assembly includes a generally rectangular roller supporting plate shaped to fit within the channel of the mounting plate and be captively held therein and a pair of spaced mounting bosses between which there is mounted a roller which extends above the surface of the swim platform for assisting in the loading and unloading of a personal watercraft onto the swim platform. Locking pins extend between the roller plate and the mounting plate for locking the roller assembly in position for use.

A submersible vehicle launch and recovery system comprises a grab comprising at least two arms capable of moving relative to each other, the arms being rotatable between an open position and a closed position, in which closed position the jaws of the arms are able to grip a handling feature on a submersible vehicle. The arms comprise attachment means so arranged that the arms tend to close when the system is suspended by the said attachment means, at least one arm comprising buoyancy means so distributed as to tend to open the said arm when the system is submerged.

A cradle is shaped to accommodate the hull of a small boat such as dinghy, personal watercraft or other type of boat. A support is mounted to a deck such a boat, pier or cock deck. The cradle is pivotally mounted to the support and can be moved to a loading position in which the cradle is generally vertical, or inclined to horizontal, and an outer portion of the cradle is at the water adjacent to the deck. The small boat is moved upon the water against the cradle. A pair of lines extend from the support and are trained through an inner portion of the cradle. The free ends of the lines are attached to the boat, and the lines are drawn toward the support, for example with a hand wheel or hand winch. The boat is pulled toward the support while remaining in a generally horizontal orientation. The boat pivots the cradle from the loading position to a generally horizontal storage position on the deck where the boat and cradle are secured by the lines.

A system and method are provided for launching and recovering an unmanned, water-borne vehicle (UWBV) from a mother ship. The UWBV mimics the behavior of dolphins and is positioned ahead of the ship in preparation for bow riding. The UWBV uses a guidance system to position and keep in the bow wave. A high-frequency (HF) sonar transceiver array aboard the ship computes and sends course corrections to maintain the UWBV within the bow wave. The frequency range of the HF array can be 100 kHz or higher due to the short distance between the ship and the UWBV. Accordingly, the HF array can have a small aperture allowing for accurate bearing resolution. Course corrections can be sent on a near-continuous basis such that changes in thrust and rudder angle can be minimized to allow for accurate control of the UWBV.

The invention provides a fast extension and retraction device of an unmanned ship. The fast extension and retraction device comprises the unmanned ship, a tapered self-locking pendant sleeve with a tapered inner surface and a tapered self-locking pendant matched with the inner surface of the tapered self-locking pendant sleeve, wherein the tapered self-locking pendant sleeve is arranged on the unmanned ship through a metal bracket, a lifting ring connected with a mooring rope is arranged at the upper end of the tapered self-locking pendant, a notch matched with the our surface of the tapered self-locking pendant is formed in the tapered self-locking pendant sleeve, and the orientation of the notch is the direction of a ship bow; and two guide rails are arranged on the unmanned ship, the two guide rails are arranged symmetrically along the midline of the unmanned ship, and the ends of the two guide rails are connected with the notch of the tapered self-locking pendulum sleeve through guide members. According to the fast extension and retraction device of the unmanned ship, fast extension and retraction of the unmanned ship on the sea can be realized, the device is suitable for fast extension and retraction of the unmanned ship in complicated sea conditions by a main ship, and the whole extension and retraction system is simple in principle, simple in the process, convenient and fast to implement and good in reliability.

The invention discloses an underwater equipment deploying and recovering device. According to the underwater equipment deploying and recovering device, a mobile platform is pulled by a winch and driven by an electric motor to move on a guide rail; a steel wire rope is pulled by the winch to be wound on a fixed pulley on a bracket; and the steel wire rope is connected with a hoisted object by usinga remotely controlled releasing lifting hook and moves the object to the external side of a ship side to be placed or moves recovered object to the internal side of the ship side; therefore, variouskinds of underwater equipment are deployed and recovered. According to the underwater equipment deploying and recovering device, an object swinging and shaking phenomenon generated during lifting andplacing the object by using a crane can be avoided by using the bracket; the lifting and placing process is stable; and a collision between the lifted object and a hull cannot be caused; therefore, the hull and the object are prevented from being damaged and the personnel safety is guaranteed. The underwater equipment deploying and recovering device can execute ocean experiment tasks under accident prone rough sea conditions. And can effectively provide assistance to various deploying and recovering works. The underwater equipment deploying and recovering device does not need more operators tooperate and is suitable for deploying and recovering works of various kinds of underwater equipment such as boats, underwater vehicles and torpedoes.

A launch, recovery, and handling system includes a track system arranged on a deck of a ship and a stern door of the ship. The launch, recovery, and handling system also includes an aft cradle and a forward cradle that are connected to the track system and moveable in first and second directions along the track system. The aft cradle is moveable from a first position at a first area inside the ship to a second position on the stern door for at least one of launching and recovering a payload.

The invention provides a single-rope recovery method of an unarmored cable deep diving submersible. The method comprises following steps: (1), an emitter is mounted on a deep diving submersible; (2),one end of a throwing rope is fixed on the deep diving submersible, and the other end of the throwing rope winds around a bullet; (3), after the deep diving submersible returns to water surface near amother ship, an operator on the mother ship controls the emitter to start by a remote-control unit; (4), the bullet carrying the throwing rope flies and lands on the mother ship; (5), the operator onthe mother ship takes down the throwing rope from the bullet, and then one end of the throwing rope is fixed on a mushroom head; (6), a winch rolls up and hoists the mushroom head and the deep divingsubmersible through the throwing rope; and (7), a lifting arm is started to lift the deep diving submersible connected with the mushroom head onto the mother ship, and recovery is finished. A cable is thrown on the mother ship by the aid of the emitter, so that the operator is not required to perform underwater operation, risks of the operator are reduced, and working efficiency is increased.

The invention provides a platform type ship with a small escaping device. The platform type ship comprises platform type ship body and an escaping system and is characterized in that the platform typeship body comprises a ship body and standing columns mounted at the bottom of the ship body, the ship body comprises a platform and a cabin, the platform is mounted at the top of the cabin, limit columns and a first motor are mounted at the top of the platform, the first motor is mounted on one side of one limit column, a first belt pulley is arranged on the output shaft of the first motor, a first rotary shaft is arranged between the two limit columns, an escaping ladder winds the first rotary shaft, one end of the first rotary shaft is provided with a connecting shaft, the limit column on the motor side is provided with a through hole, one side of the limit column on the motor side is provided with a second belt pulley, one end of the connecting shaft penetrates the through hole to be connected with the second belt pulley, and the cabin is provided with a second rotary shaft. The platform type ship is reasonable in structure, high in safety performance and capable of fast rescuing trapped people.

The invention relates to an automatic device. The invention aims to provide an autonomous recovery device of a water surface unmanned boat, and according to the device, the unmanned boat can be stablyrecovered to a mother ship. According to the technical scheme, the autonomous recovery device of the water surface unmanned boat comprises a main controlling table arranged on the mother ship; and the autonomous recovery device is characterized by further comprises a first controlling platform, a lifting platform, a rotating platform and a second controlling platform, wherein the first controlling platform is provided with a handle, the lifting platform is arranged on the rotating platform and used for driving the first controlling platform to vertically move, the rotating platform is arranged on the second controlling platform and is used for driving the lifting platform to horizontally move, and the second controlling platform is arranged on the mother ship and is used for driving the rotating platform to rotate; and the rotating platform comprises a base, a stand column, a lifting arm, a sliding table, a rotating mechanism and a walking mechanism, wherein the base is fixed on the second controlling platform, the stand column is positioned on the base in a rotating mode, the lifting arm is fixed on the top of the stand column and stretches transversely, the sliding table is capable of sliding in the length direction of the lifting arm, the rotating mechanism is used for driving the stand column to rotate, and the walking mechanism is used for driving the sliding table to slide on the lifting arm.

The present invention provides a system for supporting and releasing a twin fall lifeboat, comprising a pair of hooks releasably engaged with a corresponding pair of lifting links; and a lifeboat release assembly. The lifeboat release assembly includes a release handle, a release arm, an emergency release shaft, a weighted rack, and a pair of flexible cables attached at first ends to the rack and attached at second ends to the hooks. The release handle attaches to the release arm at a pivot point. The release arm includes a wheel disposed within a wheel encasement attached to the weighted rack. The system includes an engaged configuration in which the lifting links are secured by the hooks. The release handle is pulled to release the lifting links from the hooks substantially simultaneously. An emergency ratchet lever engages with the emergency release shaft for releasing the twin fall lifeboat under load.

The invention discloses a universal unmanned underwater vehicle recovery device and recovery method, and relates to the technical field of underwater robot recovery. The device comprises a cage and atop cross beam. A first lifting lug, a second lifting lug, a guide cable pulley and a camera cable storage box are mounted on the top cross beam, and the top cross beam and the cage are fixedly connected to form a recovery lifting cage. A front fence and a rear fence are arranged at the two ends of the cage correspondingly. A left eye camera and a right eye camera are mounted on the two sides of an inlet of the cage. A top camera is mounted at the top of the inlet of the cage. A T-shaped groove is formed in the bottom of a middle cross beam of the top cross beam. A spherical hinge structure isin sliding connection in the T-shaped groove. The top cross beam is connected with hose clamps through the spherical hinge structure. The universal unmanned underwater vehicle recovery device and recovery method have the advantages that the two work modes of water recovery and underwater recovery are achieved, the proper work modes can be selected according to different work sea conditions, and work efficiency is improved; and the problem of high danger of release and recovery work of unmanned underwater vehicles can be solved.

A foldaway balcony that includes a vertical support, a platform structure tiltably mounted to the vertical support and a barrier structure mounted on the platform structure. The platform structure includes a support structure and a floor structure which are tiltable separately from one another relative to the vertical support. The barrier structure includes barrier elements, hinged at the edge of the platform structure, and tiltable between a stowed position in which they lie inside the support structure, and a deployed position, in which they stand up relative to the support structure. A barrier element, connected to a distal side of the edge of the platform structure includes a first and a second pair of stanchions hinged to the distal side, a first and a second rod which interconnect the upper ends of the stanchions, and a handrail with parallel guides, in which are housed the first and the second rods.

The lifeboat release mechanism has a hook movably mounted therein. This hook has a concave surface on its lower end. A latch block having a convex surface thereon is also movably mounted therein. In a holding mode, the convex surface of the latch block is laid against the concave surface of the hook. In a release mode, the convex surface is below the concave surface. In a first aspect of the invention, the concave surface extends above and below an axis of rotation of the latch block to prevent an unattended release of the mechanism. In another aspect, the concave surface and the convex surface have a same radius of curvature to prevent localized wear thereon. In a third aspect, the latch lock is rotatable over an angular displacement of 80° between a holding position and a release position, such that the releasing of the mechanism is predictable.

An apparatus for connecting and disconnecting two objects comprises: a housing formed as a hollow type, and having one closed end to which a first object is connected and another opened end; a coupling portion mounted in the housing so as to be movable in an axial direction of the housing, and to which a second object is connected; a clamping portion coupled to the housing for clamping the coupling portion; a cylinder disposed in the housing for pressurizing the clamping portion so that a clamped state of the coupling portion by the clamping portion can be maintained; and a gas generator integrally coupled to an outer surface of the housing so as to be in communication with inside of the housing for generating gas of a high pressure thereby releasing a clamped state of the coupling portion and separating the coupling portion from the housing. Two objects are easily connected or disconnected to / from each other by the simple construction.

The invention discloses a high-speed rescue boat lowering device. The device comprises a lifting arm frame, a lifting arm, pulling cables, a plurality of guide wheels, a first connecting part, a second connecting part and a hook, wherein the lifting arm is hinged with the lifting arm frame; the guide wheels are hinged to the lifting arm frame; the first connecting part is fixedly arranged on the lower end part of the lifting arm; the second connecting part is used for being connected with a rescue boat; the hook is fixedly arranged on the second connecting part; the first connecting part is provided with an inner cavity; the second connecting part is matched with the inner cavity; clamping grooves which are opened downwards are formed in the first connecting part; positioning rods are fixedly arranged on the second connecting part; the positioning rods are matched with the clamping grooves; an adjusting mechanism is arranged between the lifting arm frame and the lifting arm; the lifting arm frame and the lifting arm are matched through the first connecting part on the lifting arm and the second connecting part on the rescue boat; and the first connecting part and the second connecting part are matched through the clamping grooves and the positioning rods to form a rigid body. Swing is reduced in a rescue boat lowering process and a wave compensation effect can be achieved when the rescue boat falls onto the water surface, the rescue boat stably falls onto the water surface, the safety factor is high, and the stability is further improved because the adjusting mechanism for adjusting the verticality and the levelness is arranged.

The disclosure includes a recovery system and method for recovering a deployed vessel having a rotatable support coupled with a stored recovery assembly, including a release unit, line, deployment weight, and drag device on the deployed vessel. A recovery vessel can have a hoist with a coupling element, such as a grapple. For recovery, the recovery assembly can be deployed from the deployed vessel. The drag device can assist in floating and / or maintaining a taut line, especially when the vessel is downwind of the drag device. The coupling element from the recovery vessel can couple with the taut line. Once coupled, the recovery vessel can raise the coupling element with the line, which can rotate the rotatable support to a lifting position above a center of gravity of the deployed vessel. The recovery vessel can then lift the deployed vessel vertically out of the water to a storage position.

The present invention provides a system for launch and recovery of a vessel (1) from a host ship or platform (13), said host ship or platform comprising a lifting device (2) having at least one first lifting cable (9), characterized in that the vessel (1) comprises at least one fastening device (3), releasably connectable to said at least one first lifting cable (9), and at least one lifting winch (5) comprising a lifting winch cable (11), and at least one mast system comprising a mast (14) connected to at least one lifting winch (5) by one end of the corresponding lifting winch cable (11), said mast system being capable of raising the connected end of the lifting winch cable in a vertical direction. In addition, a vessel suitable for said system, and a method for launch and recovery of such a vessel, is provided.

The invention relates to a device for launching and retrieval of a deep sea pull-type sonar system. The device comprises a pulling winch, a cable guiding component and a kunckle crane, wherein the pulling winch mainly comprises a support, a drum mounted on the support, a towrope wound on the drum, and a cable arranging mechanism mounted on the support; one end of the drum is connected with a cablecollecting and laying driving mechanism; a photoelectric slip ring is arranged at the other end of the drum; the cable guiding component comprises a cable guiding bracket and is connected onto a deckthrough a linear guide rail pair and a ball screw; a cable guiding pulley is mounted in the cable guiding bracket; a cable guiding piece provided with a worm cable guiding groove is arranged at the end close to the stern; two pneumatic support rods are connected between the cable guiding piece and the cable guiding bracket; the kunckle crane mainly comprises a base, a main arm rotatably connectedonto the base, a folding arm connected with the upper end of the main arm, a folding arm oil cylinder arranged between the folding arm and a support arm, a telescopic arm mounted in the folding arm,and a telescopic oil cylinder connected with the telescopic arm and the folding arm; and a lug ring for hanging a release is arranged at the outer end of the telescopic arm. The device is easy to control, saves manpower and is high in reliability.