Ship attitude control configuration

Abstract

A suspension system for a watercraft (1) having a port hull (11), a starboard hull (12), and a chassis portion (10), the suspension system including supports (20) for at least partially supporting the chassis portion relative to the port and starboard hulls, front left and back left damping rams (31, 33) connected between the chassis portion and longitudinally spaced apart points on the port hull, and front right and back right damping rams (32, 34) connected between the chassis portion and longitudinally spaced apart points on the starboard hull. The suspension system further includes a deck attitude control system (250) having a controller (252), sensors, and respective actuator arrangements for each of the at least two orthogonally spaced apart damper rams. The actuators control the position of at least one point on the chassis relative to at least one reference.

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present invention relates to a ship having a body or chassis and a movable hull, and more particularly to a suspension system between the body or chassis and at least two such movable hulls. 【Background Art】 【0002】 It is known to at least partially control the attitude of the body or chassis of a ship in relation to the supporting hull. For example, in the specification of U.S. Patent No. 9,061,735 of the present applicant, there is a ship having a body or chassis that is at least partially supported in relation to a left hull and a right hull. Thus, when the ship is a catamaran, the body or chassis is located entirely above the water surface, and as a result, the support is carried out by a suspension system between the body or chassis and the left and right hulls. Conversely, when the body or chassis is engaged with water, such as including a central hull portion, the central hull engaged with the water supports a part of the mass of the body or chassis, and the remaining part or partial support is provided by a suspension system between the body or chassis and the left and right hulls. In either case, by controlling the suspension system, the pitch attitude and roll attitude of the body or chassis can be adjusted. 【0003】 The attitude of the body or chassis of the ship can be controlled so as to minimize the lateral, longitudinal, vertical, and / or roll displacement between a point on the body or chassis and a reference point on an object. This can be particularly useful when transferring personnel or articles between the ship and the object. For example, in the specification of U.S. Patent No. 9,849,947 of the present applicant, the reference point can be a pylon, a dock, or other point on the ship. Also, the reference point can be an absolute point in space. 【0004】 As described in the applicant's U.S. Patent No. 10,286,980, the attitude of the body or chassis can be controlled to minimize the lateral forces felt on the body or chassis of a vessel by adjusting the roll attitude of the body or chassis so that the line of action resulting from gravity and centrifugal forces experienced by the body or chassis remains substantially perpendicular to the deck of the vessel. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve] 【0005】 Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a suspension system that allows adjustment or control of the pitch and roll attitude of a ship's body or chassis in relation to at least two movable hulls, using a mechanism that improves the efficiency of at least some of the known configurations or provides at least an alternative suspension system for ships. [Means for solving the problem] 【0006】 According to a first aspect of the present invention, a suspension system for a ship is provided, the ship having at least one left hull, at least one right hull, and a chassis portion, the suspension system comprising: positioning configurations for restricting the motion of the left and right hulls at least longitudinally and transversely in relation to the chassis portion; support portions for at least partially supporting the chassis portion in relation to at least one left hull and at least one right hull; and at least front left and back left connections between the chassis portion and at least a point separated longitudinally on the left hull. Damper Including the ram, at least the front right and rear right Damper The ram is connected between the chassis section and at least one longitudinally separated point on the right hull, in which case the suspension system is a deck attitude control system with a controller. 、 Force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor Select from at least one individual front left, rear left, front right, and rear right sensor, and at least two of the front left, front right, rear left, and rear right damper palms Arranged in the longitudinal or transverse direction The controller further includes the individual actuator configuration for each damper, when in use, To control the attitude of the chassis, or, The actuator is controlled in response to a signal from at least one force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor to control the position of at least one point on the chassis in relation to at least one reference. The controller can control the actuator to control the damping of the suspension system at all times when the vessel is in use. Alternatively, the controller can control the actuator when the deck attitude control system is in operation, for example when the vessel is stationary and when it is required that the deck remain substantially horizontal, or when the vessel is docked with a pylon, dock, ship, or other object, for example when a point on the deck can be controlled vertically in relation to a point on an object. 【0007】 Any support and / or damper may be directly connected between the chassis portion and the associated hull, or indirectly connected between them, such as between the chassis portion and the positioning configuration. 【0008】 At least one individual force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor, To inform of the power in each dampalm, or, The force within Danparam can be calculated. 、 It can provide at least one individual output signal. The at least one output signal may be a load force, or, for example, compression of a damper or fluid pressure in a rebound chamber. 【0009】 At least one individual force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor can provide at least one individual output signal indicating the displacement of an individual damper. Similarly, at least one individual output signal can indicate the acceleration and / or velocity of an individual damper. 【0010】 At least one reference point may be a point on an object or an absolute point in space. For example, at least one reference point on an object may be a pylon, a deck, another vessel, or at least one point on any other object. Similarly, for example, the orientation may be the absolute pitch orientation (i.e., in relation to the ground) and / or the absolute roll orientation (i.e., in relation to the ground). 【0011】 Each damper ram may include an electromechanical ram. For example, each damper ram may be a linear electromagnetic actuator ram. Alternatively, or in addition to this, each individual actuator configuration may include an individual motor. The motor may be a motor-generator, and / or the motor may be a linear motor or electromagnetic actuator formed at least partially within and / or around the damper ram. 【0012】 Each individual Danparam The fluid ram may include individual compression chambers and individual rebound chambers, in which case the actuator regulates the pressure in the individual compression and / or rebound chambers of at least two longitudinally or transversely arranged damper rams. 【0013】 at least two Arranged in the longitudinal or transverse directionEach actuator configuration for an individual damper may include at least one individual valve. For example, at least one individual valve for an individual actuator may include at least one individual variable valve for changing the damping force within the damper and / or a proportional valve for controlling the pressure in at least the compression chamber of the individual damper, and / or a lockout valve for isolating elasticity or preventing damper flow during the driven or start operation of the damper. 【0014】 at least two Each actuator configuration may include individual pumps. The pumps may be bidirectional and / or reversible. 【0015】 At least one individual valve may include an individual damper compression chamber control valve in fluid communication with an individual damper compression chamber, and an individual damper rebound chamber control valve in fluid communication with an individual damper rebound chamber. 【0016】 Each damper chamber control valve can adjust the pressure within each individual damper chamber. 【0017】 Each damper chamber control valve can selectively connect each damper chamber to a pressure source. In addition, each damper chamber control valve can selectively connect each damper chamber to a fluid reservoir, such as a tank. Alternatively, the damper chamber may include a minimum pressure configuration including a check valve and a fluid pressure accumulator, in which case the maximum pressure in the fluid accumulator is regulated by a pressure relief valve that relieves excessive pressure on the reservoir or tank. As a result, each damper chamber control valve can selectively connect each damper chamber to a fluid accumulator. 【0018】 At least one individual valve, at least one compression chamber and Rebound chamber to between or between the compression chamber and both the rebound chamber and the accumulatorA variable damper valve may be included that provides a controllable variable limit. The variable damper valve may be modified by the controller to provide a force in the damper pallet corresponding to the required force, provided that the pressure and flow in the damper pallet and actuator configuration are sufficient to provide the required force, and the damper valve may then be limited or closed, and the fluid pressure or volume in the compression and rebound chambers may be controlled using a pump and / or valve, pressure source, and reservoir. The damper valve may include a controllable variable limiting valve and a passive valve in parallel, in which case the controllable variable limiting valve may be controlled to the closed position to completely close the damper valve, and a lockout valve may be provided in series with the passive valve (both in parallel with the controllable variable limiting valve) so that the lockout valve can be closed. 【0019】 Each individual Danparam The controller may control the damping force to provide a damping force corresponding to the force required by the controller up to a maximum instantaneous limit damping force, and if this is exceeded, the power is provided by the actuator configuration to provide an activation force. DanparamIt is supplied to the damper. The instantaneous limit damping force may be determined in part by the velocity or rate of the damper's displacement. When the actuator configuration provides an initiating force, the initiating force may correspond to a force required by the controller. For example, when wave-induced motion or motion due to inertia moves the damper in a direction required by the controller by the amount required to maintain a desired deck attitude or relative point location, or when this can be made to be done, for example, by adjusting the variable damper setting, the damper can function as a damper. Whether this is possible at any given time can be determined by several parameters, including the damper force, the pressure in the damper chamber if the damper is a fluid ram, the extension or contraction rate of the damper, the variable damper setting, and / or the extension or contraction acceleration of the damper. When this is not possible, and an external force is required by the controller to drive the position of the damper to maintain a desired deck attitude or relative point location, the damper valve can be closed, and a power or energy source can be used to drive the position of the damper. 【0020】 The support portion can change in pressure (e.g., static or non-dynamic pressure) by less than 25%, preferably less than 20%, more preferably less than 15%, and most preferably less than 10%, over a range of at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%, and most preferably at least 80% of the movement of the support portion. The support portion can change in bearing force by less than 25%, preferably less than 20%, more preferably less than 15%, and most preferably less than 10%, over a range of at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%, and most preferably at least 80% of the movement of the support portion. 【0021】 The support part may be independent. For example, in addition to the beam rigidity, the support part can provide roll rigidity and / or pitch rigidity. For example, the support part may be an independent mechanical, gas, or oil-pneumatic spring. Alternatively, instead of this, the support parts may be at least partially interconnected. For example, the support part can provide roll and / or pitch rigidity that is poorer than the beam rigidity. This can be achieved, for example, by the interconnection of the anchor points of the torsion bars, the interconnection of the gas volumes of the gas springs, or the interconnection of the gas or oil volumes of at least two support parts for at least two points of the support part between the hull and the chassis part. 【0022】 The support parts can be selectively interconnected. For example, the support parts can be interconnected in a diagonal direction during the operation of the deck attitude control system in order to reduce or remove roll and / or pitch rigidity from the support parts. 【0023】 The support part may include a front left support ram, a front right support ram, a back left support ram, and a back right support ram, and each individual support ram has at least an individual support compression chamber, and the individual support compression chambers form at least a part of the individual support compression volumes. 【0024】 The front left and front right support rams may each be interconnected by lateral cross connections, each of which is located between the individual compression chambers of the front support rams on one side of the vessel and the support rebound chambers of the laterally separated front support rams on the opposite side of the vessel. The back left and back right support rams may each be interconnected individually by lateral cross connections, each of which is located between the individual compression chambers of the back support rams on one side of the vessel and the back rebound chambers of the laterally separated back support rams on the opposite side of the vessel. For example, the front left, front right, back left, and support rams are each interconnected by individual lateral cross connections. The front left support compression chamber of the front left support ram is connected to the front right support rebound chamber of the front right support ram by a front left compression conduit that forms a front left support compression volume. The front right support compression chamber of the front right support ram is connected to the front left support rebound chamber of the front left support ram by a front right compression conduit that forms a front right support compression volume. The back left support compression chamber of the back left support ram is connected to the back right support rebound chamber of the back right support ram by a back left compression conduit that forms a back left support compression volume. Furthermore, the back right support compression chamber of the back right support ram is connected to the back left support rebound chamber of the back left support ram by a back right compression conduit that forms a back right support compression volume. 【0025】 At least two of the front left, front right, back left, or back right support compression volumes may be selectively interconnected. For example, the front left and back right support compression volumes may be selectively interconnected by a first diagonal support interconnect valve, and the front right and back left support compression volumes may be selectively interconnected by a second diagonal support interconnect valve. The first diagonal support interconnect valve may be located within the first diagonal conduit, and the second diagonal support interconnect valve may be located within the second diagonal conduit, and a third support interconnect valve may be provided to selectively interconnect the first and second diagonal conduits. Any such selective interconnection may be open when the deck attitude control system is operating and closed when the deck attitude control system is not in use. For example, the selective interconnection may be open when the deck attitude control system is operating, such as when the controller is controlling the actuators during transfer. Similarly, the selective interconnection may be closed when the deck attitude control system is not in use, such as during transit. 【0026】 It would be convenient to further describe the present invention by referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments. Other embodiments of the present invention are possible, and therefore, the details in the accompanying drawings should not be understood to supersede the generality of the above description of the present invention. 【0027】 The attached drawings are as follows: [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0028】 [Figure 1] This is a side view of a ship according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic plan view of a ship according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram of a possible support configuration for a suspension according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]This is a schematic diagram of a further possible support configuration for the suspension according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a schematic diagram of a damper configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram of an alternative damper configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram of an alternative damper configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram of a further alternative damper configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram of the control components of a deck attitude control system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention] 【0029】 First, referring to Figure 1, a vessel 1 having a left hull (not shown) and a right hull 12 engaged in water 2 is shown. The present invention provides a deck attitude control system for controlling the attitude of the deck of vessel 2 or for controlling the position of a point on a vessel in relation to a point on an object or its absolute position or orientation in space. The vessel 2 is adjacent to a pylon 4, and therefore one possible use of the deck attitude control system is to minimize the relative vertical distance between a point on the vessel, such as the bow 18, and a reference point 5 on the pylon 4. 【0030】 The term "chassis portion" should be interpreted as including the chassis or body of the vessel. The chassis portion 10 is positioned in relation to the left and right hulls 12 by a positioning configuration 14 such as the front leading arm shown in Figure 1, although many other suitable positioning configurations are known and can be used instead. The chassis portion is supported in relation to the left and right hulls 12 by a front suspension ram 16 and a back suspension ram 17 positioned between the hull and the chassis portion in any effective manner. 【0031】 Figure 2 shows a ship in a plan view with a chassis portion 10 seated above the left hull 11 and right hull 12, indicated by dashed lines. However, the chassis portion may include the water-engaged portion of a trimaran rather than the catamaran shown. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to quadaran ships, i.e., ships having four hulls such as the front left, front high, back left, and back right hulls. 【0032】 The front and rear suspension rams 16 and 17 preferably each include a support 20 and a damping configuration 30, which together, along with controllers and actuator configurations for the dampers, form a deck attitude control system. Thus, as shown in Figure 2, the front suspension ram 16 includes a front left support ram 21, a front left damper ram 31, a front right support ram 22, and a front right damper ram 32. Similarly, the rear suspension ram 17 includes a rear left support ram 23, a rear left damper ram 33, a rear right support ram 24, and a rear right damper ram 34. 【0033】 When damparams are used to control the attitude of a chassis portion, as in the present invention, it may be beneficial to use supports that provide less roll and / or pitch stiffness than, for example, conventional independent coil springs. This may be through the use of supports such as independent air springs with small variations in stiffness through the center of the stroke, or through the use of additional gas volume for a fluid pressure accumulator of a hydraulic ram. For example, the supports can change in static or non-dynamic pressure by less than 25%, preferably less than 20%, even more preferably less than 15%, and most preferably less than 10%, through at least 50%, preferably at least 60%, more preferably at least 70%, and most preferably at least 80% of the movement of the supports. Alternatively, when damparams in a deck attitude control system are used to control the attitude of a chassis portion of a ship, the supports 20 can be interconnected to reduce or substantially eliminate their roll and / or pitch stiffness. 【0034】 Figure 3 shows one configuration of the support section 20, in which each support ram 21, 22, 23, 24 includes individual compression chambers 41, 42, 43, 44 and individual rebound chambers 45, 46, 47, 48. The front left support compression chamber 41 is in fluid communication with the front right support rebound chamber 46 through a front left lateral cross connection 51 that forms the front left support compression volume 55. Similarly, the front right support compression chamber 42 is in fluid communication with the front left support rebound chamber 45 through a front right lateral cross connection 52 that forms the front right support compression volume 56. The back left support compression chamber 43 is in fluid communication with the back right support rebound chamber 48 through a back left lateral cross connection 53 that forms the back left support compression volume 57, and the back right support compression chamber 44 is in fluid communication with the back right support rebound chamber 47 through a back right lateral cross connection 54 that forms the back right support compression volume 58. The front left, front right, rear left, or rear right support accumulators 65, 66, 67, 68 are connected to the individual support compression volumes 55, 56, 57, 58 via individual support accumulator valves 71, 72, 73, 74. The support accumulator valves are preferably lockout valves, but can be or include any form of damper valve or variable limiter. 【0035】 Such a lateral cross-connection configuration of front and rear double-acting rams essentially provides greater roll stiffness than pitch and heave stiffness. However, by providing a first diagonal support interconnect valve 59 in the first diagonal conduit 61 between the front left and rear right support compression volumes 55, 58, and a second diagonal support interconnect valve 60 in the second diagonal conduit 62 between the front right and rear left support compression volumes 56, 57, the roll and pitch stiffness of the support can be reduced or eliminated while maintaining heave stiffness. When the ship's suspension system is in passive operation, the diagonal support interconnect valves are usually closed so that the support provides common heave and pitch stiffness along with relatively large roll stiffness. However, when the deck attitude control system is in operation, i.e., when the attitude of the chassis section is controlled through the damper, the first and second diagonal support interconnection valves 59, 60 can be opened (and preferably are open) to allow flow along the first diagonal conduit 61 between the front left and rear right support compression volumes, and to allow flow along the second diagonal conduit 62 between the front right and rear left support compression volumes. Flow through these two diagonal conduits 61, 62, which interconnect support compression volumes that are opposite each other in the diagonal state, will reduce or eliminate the roll and pitch stiffness provided by the support section 20. 【0036】 Figure 4 shows the addition of a third support interconnect valve 75 that selectively connects the first diagonal conduit 61 and the second diagonal conduit 62. Thus, when open, the first and second diagonal support interconnect valves 59, 60 reduce or eliminate the roll and pitch stiffness provided by the support section 20, while opening the third support interconnect valve 75 in addition eliminates the warp stiffness of the support section 20. Thus, for example, if a wave passes diagonally below the vessel, thereby compressing, for example, the front left support ram 21 and the back right support ram 24 simultaneously, fluid from the front left and back right support compression volumes 55, 58 can flow through the third support interconnect valve and into the front right and back left support compression volumes 56, 57. This allows the average height of the two diagonals (front left and back right rams versus front right and back left rams) to change freely in relation to each other while maintaining support for the overall average height of the vessel's chassis. 【0037】 As described in relation to Figure 3, the individual support accumulator valves 71, 72, 73, and 74 are preferably lockout valves, but can be or include any form of damper valve or variable limiter. In Figure 4, each of the individual front left, front right, back left, and back right support accumulator valves 71, 72, 73, and 74 has individual support accumulator lockout valves 71a, 72a, 73a, and 74a in parallel with individual support accumulator bypass bleed valves 71b, 72b, 73b, and 74b, which are orifices or other limits to allow the pressure difference between the individual accumulator and the individual support compression volume to gradually decrease. The purpose of this is to provide a passive means for reducing the pressure difference over time to allow the parallel lockout valves to open without abruptly changing the volume of fluid in the individual support compression volume, for such abrupt changes can generate undesirable acceleration of the chassis portion. The limitations provided are that the accumulator does not provide a large amount of elasticity over the short time period considered by the controller, but the floating interface of the hull with the water remains stable. 【0038】 The lockout valves 59, 69, 75, 71a, 72a, 73a, and 74a in Figure 4 are shown as solenoid-pilot operated valves that are normally in an open state, with the solenoids acting on connections to pump pressure P or tank T to supply and close or stop the energy supply to the individual valves and open them. Also shown in Figure 4 are front left, front right, back left, and back right support compression volumetric pressure sensors or transducers 77, 78, 79, and 80, so that the deck attitude control system controller may benefit from access to the support pressure. 【0039】 Figure 4 shows a damping configuration 30. Each individual damper ram 31, 32, 33, 34 includes individual damper compression chambers 83, 84, 85, 86 and individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88, 89, 90. Each individual damper ram can be controlled by individual actuator configurations 101, 102, 103, 104. Individual damper compression chamber pressure sensors 105, 106, 107, 108 are provided to provide pressure information within each compression chamber, and similarly, individual damper rebound chamber pressure sensors 109, 110, 111, 112 are provided to provide pressure information within each rebound chamber. This allows for the calculation of damper force. Displacement, velocity, and / or acceleration sensors for individual rams may be provided but are not shown in Figure 4. 【0040】 In each of the front left, front right, rear left, and rear right actuator configurations, individual variable damper valves 121, 122, 123, and 124 are arranged within an H-bridge type configuration 163 of check valves. This configuration allows for the use of a single variable damper valve to control damped flow in both the compression and rebound directions, and allows individual damper accumulators 145, 146, 147, and 148 to absorb and replenish fluid volume as needed in accordance with the displacement of the damper rod in and out of the damper cylinder. In parallel with the individual damper valves 121, 122, 123, and 124, individual orifices 125, 126, 127, and 128 are provided at the center of the H-bridge type configuration, which are optional but can improve smoothness through the zero-flow position. To prevent undesirable flow through individual orifices 125, 126, 127, and 128 when individual variable damper valves are closed, individual orifice lockout valves 129, 130, 131, and 132 can be optionally provided in series with individual orifices 125, 126, 127, and 128. Additionally, to prevent excessively high pressure in the individual damper compression and rebound chambers, individual damper pressure relief valves 141, 142, 143, and 144 are also provided in parallel with the individual variable damper valves 121, 122, 123, and 124 and the individual orifices 125, 126, 127, and 128. 【0041】 When the damper configuration is controlled to drive the attitude of the chassis, it is necessary to drive only dampers that are separated in two orthogonal states in order to control the roll and pitch attitude of the chassis. For example, two left dampers 31, 33, two right dampers 32, 34, or two back dampers 33, 34 could be driven. However, in the example shown in Figure 4, the two front dampers 31, 32 are driven such that front left and front right damper compression chamber control valves 133, 134 are provided to selectively communicate the individual damper compression chambers 83, 84 with the pressure source 161 or the reservoir or tank 162. Similarly, front left and front right damper rebound chamber control valves 137, 138 are also provided to selectively communicate the individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88 with the pressure source 161 or the reservoir or tank 162. Since the separated damper pallums 31 and 32 in the two orthogonal states are driven by individual actuator configurations 101 and 102, the other two damper pallums 33 and 34 can be controlled by individual actuator configurations 103 and 104 to allow the chassis portion to rotate on small or zero roll and pitch rigidity support sections, for example, as described in Figure 3. 【0042】 The pressures within the front left, front right, back left, and back right damper accumulators 145, 146, 147, and 148 are typically small, such as a static pressure of 12 bar, because, as described above, the accumulators are used to compensate for fluctuations in net cylinder fluid volume at different points throughout the cylinder stroke during normal damper operation. However, over time, for example due to temperature changes, and due to the repeated operation of the front left and front right damper compression chamber control valves 133, 134 and the individual damper rebound chamber control valves 137, 138, the front left, front right, back left, and back right damper accumulators 145, 146, 147, and 148 may gradually become empty or filled. Accordingly, in Figure 4, individual damper accumulator control valves 149, 150 are provided between the individual damper accumulators 145, 146 and the fluid pressure source 161 to allow the fluid volume in each accumulator to be maintained and to prevent the fluid in the accumulators from being used up or depleted. Similarly, individual damper accumulator pressure relief valves 153, 154 are provided between the individual damper accumulators and the reservoir or tank 162 to prevent the pressure in each accumulator from increasing to a pressure exceeding a desired range. 【0043】 The pressures within the individual front left, front right, back left, and back right damper accumulators 145, 146, 147, 148 can be measured using individual damper accumulator pressure sensors 157, 158, 159, 160, which may be useful both for controlling the front left and front right damper accumulator control valves 149, 150 and for other calculations by the controller, such as calculating the pressure difference across individual variable damper valves 121, 122, 123, 124 to determine whether the pressure difference is sufficient and, if so, how to adjust the limits of the individual variable damper valves to continue to allow the required flow. If the pressure difference is insufficient to allow the generation of the required damper force, the individual variable damper valves (along with the individual orifice lockout valves 129, 130, if present) can be closed, and the individual damper compression chamber control valves 133, 134 or the individual damper rebound chamber control valves 137, 138 can be operated to control the pressure in the individual chambers and to generate the required damper force and / or displacement, velocity, or acceleration. 【0044】 Figure 5 shows an alternative damping configuration 30, which is a variation of the damping configuration shown in Figure 4. In Figure 5, the low-pressure sides of the front left and front right damper compression and rebound chamber control valves 133, 134, 137, and 138 are connected to the individual front left or front right damper accumulators 145 and 146. This significantly reduces or prevents the depletion or exhaustion of fluid in the individual damper accumulators during the operation of the individual actuator configurations 101 and 102. Therefore, the individual damper accumulator control valves 149 and 150 in Figure 4, which are normally high-flow valves with fast response, are no longer necessary and can be omitted. The remaining parts of the damping configuration 30 in Figure 5 are identical to those in Figure 4, and the other components of the configuration can operate in the manner described above in relation to Figure 4. 【0045】 Figure 6 shows a further alternative damping configuration 30, in which, instead of individual pairs of damper compression and rebound control valves (such as 133 and 137 or 134 and 138 in Figures 4 and 5), a single axial piston pump can be used, for example. In each of the two orthogonally separated damper chambers 31, 32 driven by individual actuator configurations 101, 102, individual front left or front right damper variable displacement bidirectional pumps 181, 182 are used between the individual damper compression chambers 83, 84 and the individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88. Ideally, the individual damper valves 121, 122 and (if present) any individual orifice lockout valves 129, 130 are closed during the operation of the individual variable displacement bidirectional pumps 181, 182. The variable displacement bidirectional pumps 181, 182 may be unidirectional pumps used in known switching type H-bridge configurations to allow unidirectional pumps to perform the tasks of bidirectional pumps. Similarly, the pump may have a variable speed instead of a variable displacement to achieve a similar result. 【0046】 When the front left or front right damper pumps 181, 182 are driven to extend the individual damper chambers 31, 32, additional volumetric compensating fluid from the individual damper accumulators 145, 146, supplied through one of the check valves 163, in addition to the fluid from the individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88, is drawn through the individual pumps 181 or 182 and into the individual damper compression chambers 83, 84. Conversely, when the front left or front right damper pumps 181, 182 are driven to compress the individual damper chambers 31, 32, individual pilot conduits 185, 186 are provided to allow the pressure from the individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88 to dislodge one of the check valves 163, allowing the remaining portion to flow through the individual pumps 181 or 182 and into the individual damper rebound chambers 87, 88, while the excess fluid flowing from the individual damper compression chambers 83, 84 flows into the individual damper accumulators 145, 146. 【0047】 While all four damper pallets can be driven using a pressure source as shown in Figures 4 and 5 or individual pumps as shown in Figure 6, the use of a support configuration that provides heave support with little or virtually zero roll and pitch stiffness, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, allows for the use of only two driven damper pallets, thereby simplifying the control of the damper actuator configuration and both. However, when only two damper pallets are driven, it is preferable that the two driven damper pallets be located at the ends of the vessel with the maximum load or maximum mass. For example, in the case where the vessel has a cargo deck at the rear that can accommodate a large payload, if the driven damper pallets are located at the front, the support must provide heave support with little or no support in pitch and roll so that the deck attitude control system can provide extension force at the rear to lift the large payload, and the front-driven damper, as shown in Figures 5 to 7, must contract the front to pitch and drive the chassis, thereby generating high pressure in the rebound volume to give an increase in height at the rear. In such vessels where the maximum load applied to the suspension system is located at the stern, the driven damper pallum must be a back damper pallum, as shown in Figure 8. 【0048】 In various damper compression and rebound chambers and damper accumulators, in particular, where there are no control valves to control the supply of fluid from the pressure source or to the tank for each damper, a maintenance control configuration can be provided to maintain pressure and fluid volume within damper configurations, such as those shown in the examples in Figures 4, 5, and 6. Figure 8 shows the in and out valves for the volume within each damper. 【0049】 Further alternative damping configurations 30 are shown with reference to Figure 8. The principle is the same as the damping configurations in Figures 5 to 7, but in the embodiment shown in Figure 8, there are many modifications, such as the back left and back right actuator configurations 103, 104 being driven dampers rather than the front actuator configurations 101, 102 as described above. In addition to the individual front left, front right, back left, or back right damper accumulator control valves 149, 150, 151, 152 connected to the fluid pressure source 161 and the individual damper accumulator pressure relief valves 153, 154, 155, 156 connected to the tank or reservoir 162, individual damper accumulator out valves 201, 202, 203, 204 are also provided to maintain the pressure within the individual damper accumulators 145, 146, 147, 148. 【0050】 Pilot pressure conduits 205 and pilot tank conduits 206 are shown for each of the variable damper valves 121, 122, 123, and 124, because these valves may be solenoid pilot-operated valves. Individual damper accumulator fluid temperature sensors 207, 208, 209, and 210 are also shown. Since the viscosity of a fluid can change with temperature, it may be beneficial to know the temperature of the fluid in each damper accumulator within each actuator configuration or elsewhere. Cooling can be provided and this can be controlled to assist heat exchange according to the measured temperature. 【0051】 The driven rear left and rear right actuator configurations 103, 104 are very similar to those described, for example, for the driven front left and front right actuator configurations in Figure 5. Optionally, rear left and rear right orifice lockout valves 131, 132 are provided in series with the individual orifices 127, 128 to prevent undesirable flow through the individual orifices when the individual variable damper valves 123, 124 are closed. 【0052】 In Figure 8, the individual front left or front right damper compression chamber control valves 133, 134 and rebound chamber control valves 137, 138 of the driven front actuator configurations 101, 103 in Figure 5 are replaced by a single back left or back right directional control valve 221, 222. Each individual back left or right directional control valve selectively connects a pressurized fluid source 161 to the compression or rebound chamber of the individual back damper chamber, while connecting the rest of the compression or rebound chamber to the individual damper accumulators 147, 148 and the individual damper accumulator pressure relief valves. 【0053】 While the directional control valves 221 and 222 essentially control the drive of the back actuator configurations 103 and 104, the damper accumulator pressure relief valves 155 and 156, the damper accumulator out valves 201 and 202, and the damper accumulator control valves 151 and 152 maintain the pressure within the driven back left and back right actuator configurations within a desired range. 【0054】 Figure 9 shows the control components of the deck attitude control system 250, namely the controller 252, sensors, and valves. In Figure 9, the rams and conduits of Figure 8 are omitted for clarity, but the same valves are assigned the same reference numerals. For each individual front left, front right, back left, and back right support or damper ram (not shown), individual displacement sensors 261, 262, 263, and 264 are shown in communication with the controller 252. To enable measurement of forces within the support rams or damper rams, individual support or damper ram force sensors 265, 266, 267, and 268 can be provided, or alternatively, additional pressure sensors on or near the compression and rebound chambers of each ram can be used to calculate the forces within each ram. For example, individual damper compression chamber pressure sensors 105, 106, 107, 108 and individual damper rebound chamber pressure sensors 109, 110, 111, 112 are typically required for damping control, so that they can be used to calculate the individual damper force. 【0055】 Additionally, individual damper accumulator pressure sensors 157, 158, 159, and 160 are also in communication with the controller to enable the maintenance of accumulator pressure. This function may be performed by a separate controller, but it is preferable to include it within the main deck attitude system controller 252. Individual front left, front right, back left, and back right hull accelerometers 269, 270, 271, and 272 can be mounted on or near individual supports or actuator configurations on the ram's hull portion or on the hull itself to provide the controller with signals indicating acceleration in or around one or more axes. 【0056】 One or more accelerometers can be provided on the chassis portion of the vessel. In this example shown in Figure 9, chassis accelerometers 273, 274, 275, and 276 are mounted on the chassis near their respective supports and / or damper pallets, but any number of accelerometers can be used in any location. For example, in addition to or instead of several accelerometers placed in dispersed locations around the chassis portion, a single multi-axis accelerometer can be used at any location on the chassis portion to measure linear and rotational acceleration on the chassis portion. For example, a controller may include a multi-axis accelerometer or gyroscope sensor integrated into the controller's board or case. 【0057】 To change the controller mode, a mode switch 281 or other input means such as selection on a touchscreen or voice control can be used. The controller 252 is connected to support accumulator lockout valves 71a, 72a, 73a, 74a and first and second diagonal support interconnect valves 59, 60 and third support interconnect valve 75, primarily to control the elasticity and rigidity of the support depending on the controller mode. For example, when active deck attitude control or transfer mode is selected and at least two damper pallums are driven to adjust the pitch and roll attitude of the chassis portion, the support accumulator lockout valves 71a, 72a, 73a, 74a can be closed to remove the elasticity from the support, and the support interconnect valves 59, 60, 75 can be opened to remove the pitch, roll, and warp rigidity of the support. 【0058】 The controller 252 is also connected to the individual variable damper valves 121, 122, 123, 124, the back left and back right orifice lockout valves 131, 132, the individual front left, front right, back left, or back right damper accumulator control valves 149, 150, 151, 152, the individual damper out valves 201, 202, 203, 204, and the back left and back right directional control valves 221, 222. The controller is connected to the aforementioned valves to control them in response to inputs from sensors and mode switches. Status and / or warnings and other information may be displayed on the display 282, which may be specific to the deck attitude control system or may be part of a user interface used by other systems on the ship. 【0059】 For example, when the mode switch 281 is in normal or transit mode, the deck attitude control system 250 can be in a deactivated state and supports operation in a passive mode with roll stiffness greater than heave and pitch stiffness. In this passive mode, the variable damper valves can be controlled for variable damping without any damper pallums being driven in position. 【0060】 When the mode switch is enabled or in transfer mode, the deck attitude control system 250 is enabled, and the controller is processing input from sensors, including a bow sensor 283 capable of detecting a load on the bow when in contact with a pylon, or, in addition to or instead of this, optical or relative proximity sensors capable of detecting the position of a reference point on the pylon in relation to the bow of the vessel. 【0061】 When the mode switch is in the normal or through position, some control of the chassis portion attitude may still exist, but preferably not both pitch and roll control of the chassis portion attitude. For example, the mode switch may include three positions in which the deck attitude control system is operable: the active or forward position, the roll adjustment or through position, and the passive position. For example, a roll displacer may be connected between the front left, front right, back left, and back right support compression volumes. Alternatively, the roll displacer may be connected to the front left, front right, back left, and back right actuator configurations to allow the use of damper units to impart a roll moment within the chassis portion. Other forms of fluid control other than roll displacers may also be used to roll the chassis portion in a rotational manner. When passing, it may be beneficial to control the roll attitude of the chassis portion to roll the vessel in a rotational manner, such as as described in the applicant's U.S. Patent No. 10,286,980. 【0062】 Modifications and variations that would be apparent to those skilled in the art are considered to fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, the damper pallum can be electromechanical and can be controlled, for example, to dampen the motion of the ram and, therefore, the vessel, by extracting energy through induction, and similarly to supply energy to drive the damper pallum as required by the controller when force and direction cannot be achieved by damping (energy extraction).

Claims

[Claim 1] A suspension system for a ship, wherein the ship has at least one left hull, at least one right hull, and a chassis portion. The suspension system includes a positioning configuration for restricting the motion of the left and right hulls in at least the longitudinal and lateral directions in relation to the chassis portion, a support portion for at least partially supporting the chassis portion in relation to the at least one left hull and the at least one right hull, at least a front left and a back left damper connected between the chassis portion and a longitudinally separated point on the at least one left hull, and at least a front right and a back right damper connected between the chassis portion and a longitudinally separated point on the at least one right hull, The suspension system further includes a deck attitude control system having a controller, at least one individual front left, rear left, front right, and rear right sensor selected from force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensors, and individual actuator configurations for each of the at least two longitudinally or laterally positioned dampers of the front left, front right, rear left, and rear right dampers. The controller, when in use, controls the actuator in response to signals from the at least one force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor in order to control the attitude of the chassis portion or to control the position of at least one point on the chassis in relation to at least one reference. Each individual damper is controlled by the controller to provide damping force corresponding to the force required by the controller up to the instantaneous limit damping force, and if this limit is exceeded, power is supplied to the damper by the actuator configuration to provide a starting force. system. [Claim 2] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one individual force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor provides at least one individual output signal that indicates the force in the individual damper or from which the force in the damper is calculated. [Claim 3] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one individual force, pressure, acceleration, orientation, or position sensor provides at least one individual output signal indicating the displacement of the individual damper. [Claim 4] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion is a point on an object, an absolute point in space, or an absolute orientation. [Claim 5] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein each damper ram is an electromechanical ram. [Claim 6] The suspension system according to claim 1 or 5, wherein each individual actuator configuration includes an individual motor. [Claim 7] The suspension system according to claim 6, wherein the motor is a linear motor or electro-magnetic actuator formed at least partially within and / or around the damper. [Claim 8] Each individual damper ram is a fluid ram containing individual compression chambers and individual rebound chambers. The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein the actuator adjusts the pressure in the individual compression and / or rebound chambers of the at least two longitudinally or transversely arranged damper chambers. [Claim 9] The suspension system according to claim 8, wherein each actuator configuration of the at least two longitudinally or transversely arranged damper units includes at least one individual valve. [Claim 10] The suspension system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein at least two of the individual actuator configurations include individual pumps. [Claim 11] The at least one individual valve is, Each damper compression chamber control valve is in fluid communication with the respective damper compression chamber, Each damper rebound chamber control valve is in fluid communication with the respective damper rebound chamber, The suspension system according to claim 9, including the following: [Claim 12] The suspension system according to claim 11, wherein each damper chamber control valve adjusts the pressure within each damper chamber. [Claim 13] The suspension system according to claim 11, wherein each damper chamber control valve selectively communicates each damper chamber with a pressure source. [Claim 14] The suspension system according to claim 13, wherein each damper chamber control valve selectively communicates each damper chamber with a fluid reservoir. [Claim 15] The damper includes a minimum pressure configuration comprising a check valve and a fluid pressure accumulator, the maximum pressure in the fluid accumulator being regulated by a pressure relief valve that relieves excessive pressure on the reservoir or tank. The suspension system according to claim 13, wherein each damper chamber control valve selectively communicates each damper chamber with the fluid accumulator. [Claim 16] The suspension system according to claim 9, wherein the at least one individual valve includes a variable damper valve that provides a controllable variable limit at least between the compression chamber and the rebound chamber. [Claim 17] The suspension system according to claim 16, wherein the variable damper valve is modified by the controller to provide a force in the damper pallet corresponding to a required force, such that the pressure and flow in the damper pallet and actuator configuration are sufficient to provide the required force, and thereafter the damper valve is restricted or closed, and the fluid pressure or volume in the compression and rebound chambers is controlled using a pump and / or valve, pressure source, and reservoir. [Claim 18] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein each of the support members has a range of motion including compression displacement and rebound displacement, and when at least one of the support members moves within at least 50% of the range of motion of the support member, the pressure of the at least one support member changes by less than 25%. [Claim 19] The suspension system according to claim 1 or 18, wherein the support portion is independent. [Claim 20] The suspension system according to claim 1 or 18, wherein the support portions are at least partially interconnected. [Claim 21] The suspension system according to claim 1 or 18, wherein the support portions are selectively interconnected. [Claim 22] The suspension system according to claim 1, wherein the support portion includes a front left support ram, a front right support ram, a rear left support ram, and a rear right support ram, and each individual support ram has at least an individual support compression chamber, and each individual support compression chamber forms at least a portion of the individual support compression volume. [Claim 23] The front left and front right support rams are interconnected by lateral cross connections, each of which is located between the individual compression chambers of the front support rams on one side of the vessel and the support rebound chambers of the laterally separated front support rams on the opposite side of the vessel. The suspension system according to claim 22, wherein the back left and back support rams are interconnected by lateral cross connections, and each individual lateral cross connection is located between the individual compression chambers of the back support rams on one side of the vessel and the back rebound chambers of the laterally separated back support rams on the opposite side of the vessel. [Claim 24] The front left, front right, rear left, and support ram are each interconnected by individual lateral cross connections. The front left support compression chamber of the front left support ram is connected to the front right support rebound chamber of the front right support ram by a front left compression conduit that forms the front left support compression volume. The front right support compression chamber of the front right support ram is connected to the front left support rebound chamber of the front left support ram by a front right compression conduit that forms the front right support compression volume. The back left support compression chamber of the back left support ram is connected to the back right support rebound chamber of the back right support ram by a back left compression conduit that forms the back left support compression volume, and The suspension system according to claim 22, wherein the back right support compression chamber of the back right support ram is connected to the back left support rebound chamber of the back left support ram by a back right compression conduit that forms the back right support compression volume. [Claim 25] The front left and rear right support compression volumes are selectively interconnected by the first diagonal support interconnection valve, and The suspension system according to any one of claims 22 to 24, wherein the front right and rear left support compression volumes are interconnected by a second diagonal support interconnection valve. [Claim 26] The suspension system according to any one of claims 22 to 25, wherein at least two of the front left, front right, rear left, or rear right support compression volumes are selectively interconnected. [Claim 27] The suspension system according to claim 25 or 26, wherein the selective interconnection is opened when the deck attitude control system is in operation and closed when the deck attitude control system is not in use.

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