Submersible mooring pulley for offshore structure mooring system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system, comprising: a body which supports a part of a fairlead chain, that is disposed underwater and co

Description

Invention Title: SUBMERSIBLE MOORING PULLEY FOR OFFSHORE STRUCTURE MOORING SYSTEM Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an offshore structure mooring system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system, the submersible mooring pulley being capable of facilitating adjustment of mooring tension of an offshore structure in normal times not only with stable connection of a mooring chain extending from an anchor in the water but also with control of bi-directional movements of a fairlead chain extending from the offshore structure toward the water, and capable of facilitating disconnection of the fairlead chain in emergency situations. Background Art

[0002] In the case of offshore structures, such as offshore wind turbines, they are inevitably affected by waves and currents due to their location on the sea.

[0003] Therefore, an offshore structure is moved due to the effects of waves and currents, and when the offshore structure is excessively moved, this situation may not only lead to the loss thereof, but also lead to damage by collapse.

[0004] Various mooring devices or mooring systems, such as those disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0126022, are used to secure an offshore structure to a point on the sea.

[0005] At this point, a chain extending from the offshore structure toward the water on the water, more specifically, a fairlead chain is connected to a 'chain stopper' or 'pulley equipped with a stopper' . The chain may be moved and tightened while being pulled in one direction in the connected state, thereby performing adjustment of mooring tension of the offshore structure to stably perform mooring the offshore structure.

[0006] However, a chain stopper or a pulley equipped with a stopper that is applied to a conventional offshore structure mooring system can control movement of the fairlead chain only in one direction, e.g., can pull the fairlead chain in a direction from the water toward the surface of the water. Therefore, there may be difficulty in adjusting mooring tension of the offshore structure and it is not easy to remove connection of the fairlead chain without support of a large fleet when relocation of the offshore structure is required due to emergency situations such as typhoons, and it is difficult to quickly respond the situation, which is a problem.

[0007] For the above reason, in this field, attempts are being made to develop a chain stopper for an offshore structure mooring system, which can perform bi-directional movement control of a fairlead chain extending from an offshore structure toward the water to facilitate adjustment of mooring tension of the offshore structure in normal times and to facilitate disconnection of the fairlead chain in emergency situations, or a pulley equipped with a stopper, but satisfactory results have not been obtained to date.

[0008]     Documents of Related Art

[0009]     Patent Document

[0010] (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2014-0126022 Disclosure Technical Problem

[0011] The present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure is intended to propose a submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system, the submersible mooring pulley being capable of facilitating adjustment of mooring tension of an offshore structure in normal times not only with stable connection of a mooring chain extending from an anchor in the water but also with control of bi-directional movements of a fairlead chain extending from the offshore structure toward the water, and capable of facilitating disconnection of the fairlead chain in emergency situations. Technical Solution

[0012] In order to achieve the above objective, the present disclosure proposes,

[0013] a submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system, the submersible mooring pulley including: a body disposed in the water and supporting a part of a fairlead chain extending from an offshore structure on the water, and comprising a support block arranged between opposite side surfaces thereof and having inclined longitudinal first and second surfaces; a pair of movable members rotatably arranged between longitudinal first and second ends of the body and arranged at the front and the rear with a gap therebetween, wherein when the movable members rotate forwards or reversely within a predetermined angle range by protrusion or retraction of a rod of a cylinder, one of both the movable members may be brought into contact with one of the inclined portions of the support block to control longitudinal movement of the fairlead chain; and a wireless controller arranged on one surface of the body and configured to control operation of the movable members according to a remote signal input from an outside space. Advantageous Effects

[0014] According to the present disclosure, the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system includes: the pair of movable members provided between the longitudinal first and second ends of the body and arranged at the front and the rear with a gap therebetween; and the wireless controller controlling operation of the movable members in response to a remote signal. With operation of the movable members performed by control of the wireless controller, longitudinal movement control of the fairlead chain, more specifically, control of a forward or rearward movement thereof can be performed. Therefore, not only is it possible to facilitate adjustment of mooring tension of the offshore structure in normal times to allow a moored state of the offshore structure to be stably maintained, but in emergency situations, emergency disconnection of the fairlead chain can be simply performed to facilitate relocation of the offshore structure.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present disclosure, the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system includes the pulling member connected to the movable members. Therefore, operation of the movable members can be performed also by pulling the pulling member so that bi-directional movement control of the fairlead chain can be efficiently performed even in abnormal situations of the wireless controller.

[0016] Furthermore, the body of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure includes the binding member. Therefore, the mooring chain extending from the anchor is bound using the binding member thus the body and the mooring chain may be simply connected to each other, thereby facilitating connection work of the mooring chain. Description of Drawings

[0017] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a view of an example showing a connection of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure, to a fairlead chain and a mooring chain.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a view of an example showing a first directional movement of the fairlead chain of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a view of an example showing a second directional movement of the fairlead chain of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a view of an example showing binding of the mooring chain by the binding member, of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a view of an example showing binding by a link member of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a view of an example showing mooring an offshore structure by using an offshore structure mooring system to which the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure is applied. Best Mode

[0024] Hereinbelow, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

[0025]

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1, according to the present disclosure, a submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system includes: a body 10; movable members 20; and a wireless controller 30.

[0027] The body 10 of the present disclosure is disposed in the water and supports a part of a fairlead chain 110 extending from an offshore structure S on the water.

[0028] At this point, the body 10 includes a wheel 11 rotating forwards or reversely in response to a movement direction of the fairlead chain 110, and the wheel 11 may allow forward and rearward movements of the fairlead chain 110 (longitudinal direction of the fairlead chain) to be stably performed.

[0029] At this point, the wheel 11 includes a support member 11a having protruding parts (without reference numeral) formed radially along a circumference of a central portion thereof, and at least one of the protruding parts of the support member 11a is caught by the fairlead chain 110 so that it is possible to prevent the fairlead chain 110 from slipping and twisting in the body 10.

[0030] Furthermore, a support block 12 is arranged between opposite side surfaces of the body 10 and the support block has longitudinal first and second surfaces, the first and second surfaces being inclined. When one of the pair of movable members 20 is brought into contact with one of the inclined portions of the support block 12, movement of the fairlead chain 110 may be controlled.

[0031] At this point, the support block 12 has an opening (without reference numeral), and when the fairlead chain 110 is inserted into the opening, the fairlead chain 110 may extend from one end to the other end of the body 10.

[0032] Furthermore, the body 10 includes a binding member 13 disposed on one surface thereof, and a mooring chain 140 extending from an anchor 150 in the water is bound using the binding member 13, thereby simply connecting the mooring chain 140 to the body.

[0033] At this point, the binding member 13 may use any known structures and methods as long as it can facilitate the binding of the mooring chain 140, and as an example, the binding member may be an openable and closeable shackle.

[0034] Furthermore, the body 10 includes a link member 14 disposed on one surface thereof, and a rope 160 extending from an outside space is bound to the link member 14, thereby simply connecting the rope 160 to the body.

[0035] At this point, a float 161 may be coupled to one end of the rope 160.

[0036] Therefore, when the rope 160 is pulled using a winch (without reference numeral) disposed at a ship 200 on the water, the body 10, i.e., the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure may be towed and the mooring chain 140 connected to the submersible mooring pulley A may be pulled.

[0037] Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 7, as a part of the offshore structure mooring system 100, one end (e.g., upper end) of the fairlead chain 110 connected to the body 10 may pass through a fairlead chain stopper 130 to extend outwards to be connected to a wire rope 120, and the other end (e.g., lower end) thereof may pass through a lower end of the body 10 to extend outwards to be connected to the wire rope 120.

[0038] Therefore, adjustment of mooring tension of the offshore structure S can be performed by pulling the wire rope 120 connected to one end of the fairlead chain 110 or the other end of the fairlead chain 110 by using the winch (without reference numeral) of the ship 200 located on the water.

[0039] The movable members 20 of the present disclosure are rotatably provided between longitudinal first and second ends of the body 10, the front and rear movable members being arranged with a gap therebetween. The movable members 20 rotate forwards or reversely within a predetermined angle range according to protrusion or retraction of a rod 21a of a cylinder 21 thus one of both the movable members 20 is brought into contact with one of the inclined portions of the support block 12 to control movement of the fairlead chain 110.

[0040] At this point, the movable members 20 include a link 22 rotatably connected to both the movable members 20 while being located therebetween. As one of both the movable members 20 rotates with protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21, the other movable member rotates together, and therefore, when one of the movable members 20 is brought into contact with one of the support block 12, connection between the other movable member and the other support block 12 may be removed.

[0041] Meanwhile, as the degree of protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21 is artificially adjusted, both the movable members 20 may be disconnected from the support block 12.

[0042] Therefore, when both the movable members 20 are disconnected from the support block 12, the fairlead chain 110 may be freely moved in the longitudinal direction in the body 10, thereby facilitating initial connection work of the fairlead chain 110 to the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure.

[0043] At this point, the case in which both the movable members 20 are disconnected from the support block 12, as described above, is artificially performed only in special situations such as the initial connecting of the fairlead chain 110 to the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure, but in general situations, at least one of both the movable members 30 are in contact with the support block 21.

[0044] The wireless controller 30 of the present disclosure is arranged on one surface of the body 10 and controls operation of the movable members 20 according to a remote signal input from an outside space.

[0045] At this point, the wireless controller 30 controls operation of the movable members 20, and controls protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21 in response to the remote signal. Therefore, as one of the movable members 20 is brought into contact with the support block 12 by protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21, longitudinal movement of the fairlead chain 110 may be controlled.

[0046] Meanwhile, the wireless controller 30 may use any known structures and methods as long as it can control the operation of the movable members 20 in response to a remote signal input from a remote location, for example, from a communication device of the ship 200 on the water, and detailed description of the wireless controller 30 will be omitted.

[0047] Furthermore, additionally, the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure may include a pulling member 40 connected to both the movable members 20.

[0048] Therefore, in an abnormal situation of the wireless controller 30, the movable members 20 may rotate also by pulling the pulling member 40 and accordingly one of both the movable members 20 may be brought into contact with the support block 12.

[0049] At this point, the pulling member 40 may use any known shapes and types as long as it can pull the movable members 20, for example, the pulling member may be a rope.

[0050]

[0051] The submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure may adjust the mooring tension of the offshore structure S by bi-directional movements of the fairlead chain 110. The above configuration will be described in detail as follows.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2, the fairlead chain 110 extending from the fairlead chain stopper 130 coupled to the offshore structure S on the water is inserted into the body 10 of the present disclosure, and an underwater part of the fairlead chain 110 may be supported by the body 10.

[0053] At this point, the body 10 includes the wheel 11 rotating forwards or reversely in response to a movement direction of the fairlead chain 110. The wheel 11 includes the support member 11a having the protruding parts formed radially along the circumference of the central portion. The wheel 11 may allow the fairlead chain 110 to be stably moved forwards or rearwards, and particularly as at least one protruding part of the support member lib is caught by the fairlead chain 110, it is possible to prevent the fairlead chain 110 from slipping and twisting at the body 10.

[0054] At this point, when the fairlead chain 110 supported by the body 10 is freely moved in the forward or rearward direction, i.e., the longitudinal direction, the fairlead chain 110 may be separated from the body 10, thereby causing unintentional separation thereof.

[0055] However, the present disclosure includes the movable members 20 arranged at the body 10, and the movable members 20 are brought into contact with the support block 12 provided at the body 10 to partially block the openings formed in the support block 12, so that movement of the fairlead chain 110 passing through the openings may be controlled and thus unintentional separation of the fairlead chain 110 can be achieved.

[0056] However, when movement control of the fairlead chain 110 by the movable members 20 is limited to one direction, e.g., in a direction from the water toward the surface of the water, there may be difficulty in controlling the mooring tension of the offshore structure S.

[0057] However, according to the present disclosure, the pair of movable members 20 is provided and arranged at the front and the rear with a gap therebetween. One of the movable members 20 is brought into contact with one inclined portion of the support block 12, so that movement of the fairlead chain 110 may be controlled in one direction thereof, e.g., a direction from the water toward the surface of the water, as shown in FIG. 3. In addition, the other of the movable members 20 is brought into contact with the other inclined portion of the support block 12, so that movement in the other direction of the fairlead chain 110 may be controlled, e.g., in a direction from the surface of the water toward the water, as shown in FIG. 4. Eventually, the movable members 20 may allow bidirectional movement control of the fairlead chain 110, so that it is possible to facilitate adjustment of mooring tension of the offshore structure S in normal times. Furthermore, as one end of the fairlead chain 110 is pulled at the side where the fairlead chain 110 extends longer outwards from the body 10, it is possible to quickly perform withdrawal of the fairlead chain 110 from the body 10, in other words, simply perform disconnection of the fairlead chain 110 so that relocation of the offshore structure S in emergency situations such as typhoons can be quickly performed.

[0058] At this point, there may be difficulty in controlling the operation of the movable members 20.

[0059] However, the present disclosure includes the wireless controller 30 that controls the operation of the movable members 20 in response to a remote signal input from the outside space, so that the operation of the movable members 20 is controlled by the wireless controller 30 thereby reducing difficulty of controlling the operation of the movable members 20.

[0060] At this point, the wireless controller 30 controls the operation of the movable members 20, and the wireless controller 30 controls the protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21 in response to the remote signal, and the movable members 20 connected to each other via the link 22 rotate forwards or reversely with protrusion or retraction of the rod 21a of the cylinder 21. Accordingly, one of both the movable members 20 may be brought into simple contact with the support block 12 to reduce the difficulty of controlling the operation of the movable members 20.

[0061] Meanwhile, the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure may control bi-directional movements of the fairlead chain 110 even in abnormal situations of the wireless controller 30.

[0062] In other words, the present disclosure may include the pulling member 40 connected to the movable members 20, so that in abnormal situations of the wireless controller 30, the movable members 20 connected to each other via the link 22 may rotate by pulling the pulling member 40. Therefore, one of both the movable members 20 may be brought into contact with one of the support block 12 thereby controlling bidirectional movements of the fairlead chain 110.

[0063] Furthermore, the body 10 of the present disclosure includes the binding member 13 arranged on one surface thereof, e.g., an openable and closeable shackle. As shown in FIG. 5, the mooring chain 140 extending from the anchor 150 in the water is bound using the binding member 13, so that the connection between the body and the mooring chain 140 can be simply performed.

[0064] In addition, the body 10 of the present disclosure includes the link member 14 arranged on one surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, the connection between the body 10 and the rope 160 can be simply performed by binding the rope 160 extending from the outside space to the link member 14, and towing the body 10, i.e., the submersible mooring pulley A for an offshore structure mooring system according to the present disclosure and towing the mooring chain 140 connected to the submersible mooring pulley A can be simply performed by pulling the rope 160 by using the winch (without reference numeral) arranged at the ship 200 on the water.

[0065] The present disclosure described above is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions, and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims, and the modifications, additions, and substitutions are within the scope of the protection of the patent right of the present disclosure that is defined by description of the claims.

[0066]

[0067] [Description of Reference numerals]

[0068] 10 : body 11 : wheel

[0069] 11a : support member 12 : support block

[0070] 13 : binding member 14 : link member

[0071] 20 : movable member 21 : cylinder

[0072] 21a : rod 22 : link

[0073] 30 : wireless controller 40 : pulling member

[0074] 100 : mooring system 110 : fairlead chain

[0075] 120 : wire rope 130 : fairlead chain stopper

[0076] 140 : mooring chain 150 : anchor

[0077] 160 : rope 161 : float

[0078] 200 : ship A : fairlead chain stopper

[0079] S : offshore structure Industrial Applicability

[0080] According to the present disclosure, adjustment of the mooring tension of an offshore structure can stably performed in normal times not only with stable connection of the mooring chain extending from the anchor in the water but also with bi-directional movement control of the fairlead chain extending toward the water from the offshore structure and to facilitate disconnection of the fairlead chain in emergency situations. Therefore, the present disclosure has 5 industrial applicability in relation to the manufacturing of the submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system.

Claims

05 01 261. A submersible mooring pulley for an offshore structure mooring system, the submersible mooring pulley comprising:5 a fairlead chain;a body disposed in the water and supporting a part of the fairlead chain extending from an offshore structure on the water, and comprising a support block arranged between opposite side surfaces thereof and having inclined 10 longitudinal first and second surfaces;a pair of movable members rotatably arranged between longitudinal first and second ends of the body and arranged at a front portion and a rear portion of the body with a gap therebetween, wherein when the movable members rotate forwards 15 or reversely within a predetermined angle range by protrusion or retraction of a rod of a cylinder, one or both of the movable members are brought into contact with respective ones of the inclined surfaces of the support block to control longitudinal movement of the fairlead chain; and20 a wireless controller arranged on one surface of the bodyand configured to control operation of the pair of movable members according to a remote signal input from an outside space .25 2. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 1, whereinthe body comprises a wheel rotating forwards or reversely according to a direction of movement of the fairlead chain.05 01 263. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 2, wherein the wheel comprises a support member having protruding parts formed radially along a circumference of a central portion 5 thereof.

4. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 1, wherein the body comprises: a binding member arranged on one surface thereof, and configured to bind a mooring chain extending from 10 an anchor in the water; and a link member arranged on one surface thereof, and providing a binding portion for a rope extending from an outside space.

5. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 1, wherein 15 the movable members comprise a link rotatably connected to both the movable members while being located therebetween.

6. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 1, wherein the wireless controller controls operation of the movable 20 members, and configured to control protrusion and retraction of the rod of the cylinder according to the remote signal.

7. The submersible mooring pulley of claim 1, further comprising:25 a pulling member connected to both the movable members.

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