Pivot column bearing for pivotable fin stabilizer device

Abstract

The invention discloses a pivot column bearing for a fin stabilizer device of a ship and the fin stabilizer device. The pivot column bearing is provided with at least one spherical plain bearing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a pivoting column bearing for a pivotable fin stabilizer and a fin stabilizer according to the preamble of claim 1 . Background Art

[0002] Fin stabilizers are used to stabilize the roll of a vessel while underway, at anchor or at zero speed, and / or to influence the vessel's heading. Known pivotable fin stabilizers have a stabilizer fin that, in its rest position, pivots into a fin box. In its operational position, the stabilizer fin pivots out of the fin box about a pivot axis and can thus perform an up-and-down motion about its vertical axis.

[0003] The pivot post extends along the pivot axis, and the stabilizing fin extends transversely from this post. A so-called pivot post bearing is provided for the pivotable support of the pivot post. The pivot post bearing has a lower bearing and an upper bearing for guiding the pivot post at its ends. The bearings have cylindrical plain bearing surfaces and are each integrated into the wall sections of the fin box (also known as the top and base plates). The bearings are typically inserted into openings in the wall sections and connected to them by bolts. The fin box itself is welded to the opening in the vessel's hull. Due to thermal stresses generated during welding, misalignment between the bearings can occur. Such misalignment can lead to seizure and / or damage to the bearings. To compensate for misalignment, the pivot post bearings are typically provided with axial and / or radial play. This axial and / or radial play can compensate for misalignment even under extremely adverse conditions, minimizing damage to the bearings and / or pivot post, as well as seizure during operation. However, if there is no or only minimal misalignment between the bearings, the clearance fit may be too large, which can also lead to damage to the plain bearings and / or pivot post, as well as high noise levels. Furthermore, if the play no longer exists, attempts may be made to fill it with lining after the fin stabilizer arrangement has been installed in the vessel, or the bearings may be re-machined to prevent or eliminate bearing seizure after the vessel has been put into operation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to create a pivoting column bearing for a pivotable fin stabilizer arrangement for a vessel which is capable of automatically compensating for misalignment and operating reliably with minimal or no misalignment, and to create a fin stabilizer arrangement with an optimally guided stabilizing fin.

[0005] This object is achieved by a pivot column bearing having the features of claim 1 and a fin stabilizer arrangement having the features of claim 9. Advantageous embodiments can be found in the dependent claims.

[0006] A pivot column bearing for a fin stabilizer device for a vessel according to the present invention includes an upper bearing and a lower bearing for supporting a pivot column of a stabilizing fin, which is pivotable about a vertical axis (pivot axis) of the fin stabilizer device. According to the present invention, the upper bearing and / or the lower bearing have a spherical plain bearing surface.

[0007] The fin device according to the invention has a pivoting column bearing according to the invention.

[0008] For the purposes of the present invention, a pivoting column is understood to be a device by means of which all forces generated at the stabilizing fin are transmitted to the vessel. Misalignments or angular misalignments between the plain bearings due to sphericity or crowning can be compensated with a constant play. Compensation takes place automatically without the need for corrective measures or external adjustments. The pivoting column bearings according to the invention can thus be manufactured with an optimal fit. The lubricant is supplied so that when the load direction is switched, the lubricant is pressed through the bearing and the corresponding free space like grease. The spherical part of the bearing acts as a guide. This measure significantly reduces or even eliminates the so-called switching click.

[0009] The spherical plain bearing surface of the lower bearing is preferably formed on a bearing bushing, which interacts with the cylindrical bearing surface of the bearing ring on the pivot column side. The cylindrical bearing surface of the bearing ring surrounding the pivot column makes it easier to manufacture. The lower bearing is preferably designed as a floating bearing. The bearing bushing can be bronze. The upper bearing can also be designed as a floating bearing. A floating bearing is a bearing that transmits radial forces exclusively or almost exclusively (without taking friction into account). It is primarily used to compensate for height differences / displacements.

[0010] Manufacturing of the lower bearing can be simplified if the spherical plain bearing surface is made of a conical section and a cylindrical section. The conical sections can, for example, be oriented so that they rise in opposite directions and merge into one another via the cylindrical section. The sphericity of the lower bearing can be adjusted via the angular position of the conical sections and, in particular, their length and the length of the cylindrical section.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, the lower bearing is designed as a floating bearing. For this purpose, it has a spherical bearing to realize the tilting movement of the pivot column and a cylindrical bearing to realize the axial displacement of the pivot column.

[0012] The spherical plain bearing surface of the upper bearing is preferably formed on the housing-side bearing shell and interacts with a corresponding spherical bearing surface of the bearing ring on the pivot column. The bearing ring is mounted on the pivot column. The two bearing surfaces are designed to correspond, which ensures that the bearing ring is guided or supported on the bearing housing over a large area in any angular position, thereby optimizing the introduction of the operating loads acting on the stabilizing fin into the vessel structure. Preferably, the upper bearing is designed as a fixed bearing. However, in principle, the lower bearing can also be designed as a fixed bearing. In this context, a fixed bearing means the one of the two bearings that transmits both radial and axial forces.

[0013] In particular, for radial and axial support of the stabilizing fins, it is advantageous if the spherical plain bearing surface of the upper bearing and the corresponding spherical bearing surface are arranged so that their lower region is radially further inward than their upper region. In other words, the ball center point of the bearing housing is located above the bearing housing. The "curvature" or orientation of the spherical portion is such that its surface area increases from bottom to top.

[0014] The bearing ring of the upper bearing can have a second spherical bearing surface on its head facing away from the lower bearing. This second spherical bearing surface is oriented in the opposite direction to the first spherical bearing surface and interacts with a corresponding sliding surface of the radially movable bearing cap. As a result, the upper bearing has two spherical parts that do not share the same center of rotation. In the event of deflection due to misalignment, the bearing cap is radially displaced. This displacement serves as a compensation during the installation of the fin stabilizer device in the vessel (e.g., by welding) and is generally only necessary during this phase. The corresponding surfaces still ensure that operational loads are transmitted to the vessel structure. In particular, the spherical center point of the bearing cap is located below the bearing cap. In this exemplary embodiment, the bearing shell is designed so that the pivot post is generally pressed downward (by gravity) during the pivoting movement. This is because pivoting preferably occurs only when the stabilizing fin is in a neutral position and generates little buoyancy. The bearing shell can still transmit radial and axial forces, whereas the bearing cap cannot (due to radial deflection).

[0015] The bearing cap is preferably guided above the bearing housing so as to be radially displaceable relative to the thrust ring. The sliding surface is located between the thrust ring and the bearing cap. Contact between the bearing cap and the bearing shell should be avoided. Ideally, an axial gap is always formed between the bearing cap and the bearing shell. This axial gap ensures that the bearing cap, which must be able to move radially, cannot become trapped between the thrust ring and the bearing shell. Due to the axial gap, the two surfaces between the bearing cap and the bearing shell are not in direct functional connection.

[0016] In particular, the second bearing surface of the upper bearing ring can have a shorter axial extent than the first bearing surface. The bearing cap can be designed to be correspondingly axially short (flat). It has been shown that only the lower spherical surface transfers the load (weight) during the pivoting movement. The upper spherical surface can therefore be made smaller. When the stabilizing fin is pivoted to its neutral position, it generates no significant lift, or almost no lift. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In the following, a preferred exemplary embodiment of a fin stabilizer arrangement according to the invention will be explained in more detail with the aid of the accompanying highly simplified drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an exemplary embodiment of a pivot column bearing according to the present invention

[0019] Figure 2 Is from Figure 1 Detailed view of the lower bearing, which is designed as a fixed bearing,

[0020] Figure 3 Is from Figure 1 and Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the lower bearing,

[0021] Figure 4 Is from Figure 1 Detailed view of the upper bearing, designed as a fixed bearing, and

[0022] Figure 5 Detailed view of the lower bearing designed as a floating bearing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In the context of the present invention, expressions such as "axial" and "radial" refer to the pivot axis or vertical axis of the pivot post of a pivotable fin stabilizer device, and expressions such as "top" and "bottom" refer to the mounting position of the fin stabilizer device in the vessel. The fin stabilizer device is typically welded to the hull at a mounting angle of 0° to 45°.

[0024] Figure 1 A cross section along the pivot axis X, or vertical axis, of an exemplary pivot column bearing 1 is shown. The pivot column bearing 1 is a component of a fin stabilizer device for roll stabilization on a vessel. The pivot column bearing 1 enables a pivot column 2, which carries a stabilizing fin, to pivot about the pivot axis X. To pivot the pivot column 2, a pivot arm 4 is attached to the pivot column 2, which is operatively connected to a suitable drive (not shown), such as a hydraulic or electric motor.

[0025] The pivot post bearing 1 has a lower bearing 20 and an upper bearing 50 which each surround the end portions 6, 8 of the pivot post 2 and are inserted into opposing openings 10, 12 of the lower and upper wall portions 14, 16 of the fin box.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, the lower bearing 20 has a bearing bushing 22 on the housing side and a bearing ring 24 on the column side. It is designed here as a floating bearing. The bearing ring 24 is securely attached to or screwed onto the lower end portion 6 of the pivot column 2 and is rotatably guided in the bearing bushing 22. The bearing bushing 22 is inserted into the lower opening 10 and clamped to the lower wall 14 by means of an outer ring cover 26 and an inner support bearing cover 28. A lubricant supply 34 is integrated into the lower bearing 20 to supply lubricant to the guide surfaces 30, 32 of the lower bearing 20.

[0027] according to Figure 3 As shown in detail in FIG. 1 , the guide or sliding bearing surface 30 of the bearing bushing 22 of the lower bearing 20 is spherical or quasi-spherical. The guide or bearing surface 32 of the bearing ring 24, which cooperates with this lower spherical sliding bearing surface 30, is cylindrical. In this exemplary embodiment, sphericity is achieved by dividing the spherical sliding bearing surface 30 into two outer conical portions 36, 38 and a central cylindrical portion 40. The two conical portions 36, 38 are oriented in opposite directions, with the cylindrical portion 40 connecting them being located radially inward of the conical portions 36, 38. Figure 3 The annular gap 41 between the bearing bushing 22 and the bearing ring 24 shown in FIG. 4 is useful for the operation of the lower bearing.

[0028] Figure 4 A detailed illustration of the upper bearing 50 is shown. This is designed here as a fixed bearing. It has a bearing ring 52 on the column side, which surrounds the upper end section 8 of the pivot column 2 and is firmly connected to it. On the housing side, the bearing ring 52 is radially guided in a bearing shell 54. The bearing shell 54 is inserted into the opening 12 of the upper wall section 16 of the fin box and is fixed to prevent rotation. An outer support bearing ring 56 and an inner thrust ring 57 are clamped to the upper wall section 16. A lubricant supply (not shown) is provided in the upper bearing 50 to supply lubricant to the guide surfaces 58, 60, 62, 64 of the upper bearing. An axial hole 66 can be provided in the thrust ring 57 for indirectly measuring the axial play.

[0029] Both the bearing ring 52 and the bearing shell 54 have spherical guide surfaces 58, 60. The spherical guide surface or sliding bearing surface 58 of the bearing shell 54 and the spherical guide surface or bearing surface 60 of the bearing ring 52 are designed to correspond to each other. They are oriented toward each other so that their lower areas are arranged radially inwards relative to their upper areas.

[0030] In addition to this first spherical degree, the upper bearing 50 has a second spherical degree. To this end, the upper bearing ring 52 has a second spherical bearing surface 62 on its head 68 facing away from the lower bearing 20. This second spherical bearing surface 62 is oriented in the opposite direction to the first spherical bearing surface 60 and interacts with a corresponding sliding surface 64 of the bearing cap 70. The second bearing surface 62 of the upper bearing ring 52 and the sliding surface 64 of the bearing cap 70 have a shorter axial extent than the first bearing surface 60 of the upper bearing ring 52. The bearing cap 70 is supported on the bearing ring 52 and is radially displaceable relative to the thrust ring 57. Contact between the bearing cap 70 and the bearing housing 54 must be avoided. Axially upward forces are transmitted to the thrust ring 57 via the bearing cap 70. In particular, the ball center point of the bearing housing 54 is located above the bearing housing 54. The ball center point of the bearing cap 70 is located below the bearing cap 70.

[0031] According to the invention, misalignment of the bearings 20 , 50 relative to one another is compensated by the sphericity or crowning of their guide surfaces 30 , 32 and 58 , 60 , 62 , 64 .

[0032] If an angular position is imposed on the pivoting column 2 due to alignment errors, the pivoting column 2 can tilt accordingly due to the sphericity of its bearings 20, 50. Due to its tilting, the upper bearing cap 70 is radially displaced by the head of the upper bearing ring 52. The sphericity not only ensures the tilting of the pivoting column 2, but also, in particular, ensures the maximum possible constant / continuous surface contact between the guide surfaces 30, 32 and 58, 60, 62, 64, thereby optimally introducing the operational loads acting on the stabilizing fin into the vessel structure.

[0033] exist Figure 5 In, with Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 In contrast to the exemplary embodiment in FIG, the lower bearing 71 is designed as a floating bearing with two spherical bearing surfaces. To this end, the lower bearing 71 has a bearing shell 72 with a radially inner spherical bearing surface 74 and a radially outer cylindrical bearing surface 76. The spherical bearing surface 72 interacts with a corresponding spherical mating surface 78 of a cylinder-side bearing ring 80. The cylindrical bearing surface 76 interacts with a corresponding cylindrical mating surface 82 of the housing-side annular cover 26, the housing-side support bearing cover 28, and / or the wall 14 of the fin box, so that forces are indirectly transmitted to the wall 14 via the support bearing cover 28 and the annular cover 26 or directly introduced into the wall 14.

[0034] Spherical bearings 74, 78 allow Figure 1 The pivot column 2 shown in FIG is capable of tilting movement. Cylindrical bearings 76 , 82 enable the pivot column 2 to be displaced along its pivot axis x.

[0035] In order to prevent the bearings 74 , 78 and 76 , 82 from getting stuck, respective bearing gaps 84 , 86 are provided between the bearing portions 74 , 78 and 76 , 82 that are in sliding contact with each other.

[0036] To simplify assembly, the bearing housing 80 can be split in two in the transverse direction (parting plane 88 ), thus consisting of two housing halves 72 a, 72 b. A vertical split is also possible (not shown).

[0037] Disclosed are a pivot column bearing for a fin stabilizer device of a ship and a fin stabilizer device. The pivot column bearing has at least one spherical plain bearing.

[0038] Reference Signs List

[0039] 1 pivot column bearing

[0040] 2 pivot columns

[0041] 4 pivoting arms

[0042] 6 Pivot column ends

[0043] 8 Pivot column end

[0044] 10 openings

[0045] 12 openings

[0046] 14 wall fin box

[0047] 16 wall fin boxes

[0048] 20 lower bearing

[0049] 22 bearing bushing

[0050] 24 bearing rings

[0051] 26 ring cover

[0052] 28 bearing cap

[0053] 30 Guide surface or sliding bearing surface

[0054] 32 guide surface or bearing surface

[0055] 34 Lubricant Supply Department

[0056] 36 conical sections

[0057] 38 conical part

[0058] 40 cylindrical parts

[0059] 41 annular gap

[0060] 50 upper bearing

[0061] 52 bearing ring

[0062] 54 bearing shell

[0063] 56 supporting bearing ring

[0064] 57 thrust ring

[0065] 58 guiding surface or sliding bearing surface

[0066] 60 guide surface or bearing surface

[0067] 62 guide surface or second bearing surface

[0068] 64 guiding surface or sliding surface

[0069] 66 Hole for indirect measurement of axial clearance

[0070] 68 head

[0071] 70 bearing cap

[0072] 71 lower bearing (floating bearing with two spherical surfaces)

[0073] 72 bearing shell

[0074] 72a, 72b bearing bushing halves

[0075] 74 spherical bearing surface

[0076] 76 cylindrical bearing surface

[0077] 78 spherical mating surface

[0078] 82 cylindrical mating surface

[0079] 84 bearing clearance

[0080] 86 bearing clearance

[0081] 88 separation surface

[0082] X pivot axis

Claims

1. A pivoting column bearing (1) for a pivotable fin stabilizer device for a vessel, comprising an upper bearing (50) and a lower bearing (20, 71) for pivotally mounting a pivoting column (2) of a stabilizing fin about a vertical axis (X) of the pivoting column bearing, characterized in that The upper bearing (50) and / or the lower bearing (20) have spherical guide surfaces (30, 32, 58, 60, 62, 64).

2. The pivot column bearing according to claim 1, wherein: The spherical sliding bearing surface (30) of the lower bearing (20) is formed on the bearing bushing (22) and cooperates with the cylindrical bearing surface (32) of the pivot column side bearing ring (24).

3. A pivot column bearing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The spherical sliding bearing surface (30) of the lower bearing (20) is formed by two conical parts (36, 38) and a cylindrical part (40) arranged between the conical parts (36, 38).

4. The pivot column bearing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The lower bearing (71) has a spherical bearing (74, 78) and a cylindrical bearing (76, 82).

5. A pivot column bearing according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein The spherical sliding bearing surface (58) of the upper bearing (50) is formed on the housing-side bearing shell (54) and cooperates with a corresponding spherical bearing surface (60) of the pivot column-side bearing ring (52).

6. The pivot column bearing according to claim 5, wherein: The spherical bearing surface (58) and the corresponding spherical bearing surface (60) of the upper bearing (50) are arranged with their lower regions facing radially inward relative to their upper regions.

7. A pivot column bearing according to claim 5 or 6, wherein: The bearing ring (52) has a second spherical bearing surface (62) on its head (68) facing away from the lower bearing (20, 71), which is oriented in the opposite direction to the first spherical bearing surface (60) and cooperates with a corresponding spherical sliding surface (64) of a radially displaceable bearing cap (70).

8. The pivot column bearing according to claim 7, wherein: The bearing cap (70) is guided in a radially displaceable manner relative to the thrust ring (57).

9. A pivot column bearing according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: The second bearing surface (62) of the upper bearing ring (52) has a shorter axial extent than the first bearing surface (60).

10. A fin stabilizer arrangement having a pivot column bearing (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

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