Shallow water vessel

Abstract

A vessel designed to collect water from the estuary of large rivers, with a flat bottom and opening gills for filling. Vessels of this type are preferably sail-powered and / or solar-powered.

Description

Title of the invention: Shallow water vessel

[0001] In many regions of the world, a fresh water crisis is looming. Obtaining it by desalinating sea water is very expensive because it consumes a lot of energy. Different storage systems are being considered, but it is necessary to supply them. The present invention presents a naval system for collecting water in the estuary of large rivers such as the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Maroni, the Congo, the Niger, the Rhone, the Somme, etc. The ships according to the invention can also transport other liquids, goods, freight, minerals and possibly passengers; but their preferred destination is the collection of fresh water in the estuary of large rivers, thanks to an adapted morphology. First of all, according to the invention, these ships are preferably flat-bottomed or very slightly curved. Their sides, both on the port and starboard sides, are very close to the vertical.Transporting very large quantities of water over long distances, using fossil energy, is obviously to be avoided. The ships according to the invention can be covered with solar panels on all available surfaces, likely to never be in contact with the sea surface and particularly protected by a transparent cover resistant to sea spray. Furthermore, rows of sails, each consisting of a single rigid surface and arranged along the planking, each having a horizontal axis articulation, can, according to the invention, tilt to retract along the sides of the ship. In this way, during collection or emptying operations, when the ship is stationary or at very low speed, it is not hindered by a strong crosswind, for example.During these operations, the propulsion and positioning of the vessel are ensured by electrical energy, of solar origin, stored in batteries, preferably arranged in the bilge. In the case where the vessel, according to the invention, is required to draw water from shallow depths, it may possibly run aground on a sand or gravel bank. To prevent its propulsion means, propellers, turbines, or others, from being damaged, these means are arranged higher than the level of the bottom of the vessel, preferably in nacelles, placed along the sides of the vessel, towards the bow and the stern, but also, if necessary, between these two positions. These nacelles can be articulated along a vertical axis, thus being able to rotate 360°, offering the possibility of providing thrust forward, backward, to the right or to the left. In this way, a rudder is not necessary.In this way, when the ship has finished filling with fresh water, it can reverse out to sea, the maneuvers required to turn around risking collisions with other ships. According to the invention, when the ship is sailing, drifts . can be lowered into the water, allowing the course to be maintained. These drifts can be raised along the sides of the vessel. To capture water in the river estuary, the vessel can be equipped with pumps. Preferably, according to the invention, the vessel is equipped, on its bow, with gills which can open forward facing the river current and equipped with protective grilles against the entry of unwanted bodies. Also according to the invention, the vessel is equipped, at the rear, with a hatch, opening flush with the bottom of the vessel. This hatch is opened at the start of filling, so that the water current sweeps away any unwanted bodies which may have remained after previous fillings and emptyings, as well as the sea water taken on board to serve as ballast during the return journey to the destination estuary.According to the invention, to avoid untimely internal movements of large volumes of water, when the ship is caused to list, during a storm for example, the interior of the hull is divided into several volumes, by means of watertight bulkheads, to avoid the concentration of water on the lower side of the ship. These bulkheads are longitudinal to allow the sweeping mentioned above. Furthermore, to ensure absolutely certain buoyancy, whatever the filling level of the hull and whatever the circumstances, watertight volumes, serving as floats, possibly filled with closed bubble foam, are arranged inside the hull along the sides of the ship. After emptying its cargo of fresh water, the ship can, according to the invention, embark a certain quantity of sea water to serve as ballast, so that the ship, on its return to the filling areas, does not sail unladen, offering too much windage.At its fresh water delivery point, the ship performs this operation using discharge pumps installed on board. Since the ships according to the invention are generally large, it is possible to arrange the deck in such a way that it can serve as a landing and take-off runway for aircraft. [Fig.l]) is a longitudinal section of the ship according to the invention. [Fig.2]) is a transverse section showing the bottom of the ship. [Fig.3]) is a horizontal section. With reference to [Fig.l]), there is shown in (1) a row of rigid sails which can, thanks to horizontal axis articulations (2), retract along the sides of the ship. In (3) drifts which can be raised along the sides of the ship. In (4) a set of electric storage batteries. In (5) one of the filling vents. In (6) the rear hatch. With reference to [Fig.2]), the nacelles containing the propulsion elements are shown in (7).In (8) the longitudinal partitions for fragmenting the on-board volume. In (9) the floats ensuring flotation safety. With reference to [Fig.3]) the proposed positioning of the propulsion elements (7), induces the possibility of making a half-turn on the spot when the front and rear thrusters provide lateral thrusts in opposite directions. A fleet of ships according to the present invention will be able to, in winter, fill large storage capacities such as those described in the . patent application FR 2302035 and, during consumption periods, to top up the water levels in these reservoirs as they are drawn off. Thus, for example, abundant watering of crops, such as corn in the plains of western France, will allow the maintenance of significant humidity in these territories, beneficial, in a westerly wind regime, to all areas to the east of these regions.

Claims

Claims

1. Ship for transporting freight, passengers and preferably fresh water, propelled by a system of rigid sails (1), comprising at their base a horizontal axis articulation (2), characterized in that these sails can be retracted along the sides of the ship.

2. Ship according to claim 1) comprising solar panels, supplying the electrical propulsion components (7) on the one hand and the charging of electricity storage batteries (4) on the other hand, characterized in that these panels are arranged on the free surfaces of the ship never being below sea level and further characterized in that these panels are coated with a transparent layer resistant to sea spray.

3. Vessel according to claims 1) and 2) intended to transport fresh water captured in the estuary of large rivers such as the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Congo or the Rhône, without this list being limiting, characterized in that it comprises, to fill its hull (10), with fresh water, gills (5) on its bow, which can open facing the current of the river, or close, further characterized by the fact that these gills are provided with protective grilles against the entry of foreign bodies.

4. Vessel according to claim 3) characterized in that it comprises, for the evacuation of foreign bodies, thanks to the current formed, a hatch (6) at the rear opening flush with the bottom, when the gills (5) are open.

5. Vessel according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, to guarantee its buoyancy in all circumstances, floats (9) fixed inside the hull (10).

6. Ship according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, inside the hull, to avoid untimely internal transfers of water, in the event of significant heeling, longitudinal separation partitions (8).

7. Ship according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deck can be arranged to serve as a take-off and landing runway for aircraft.

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