Mooring device, ship, and floating platform

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a mooring device and a ship that have low introduction costs and facilitate mooring work. [Solution] A mooring device 1 that is to be installed on a ship S comprises a base part 10 that can rotate around a reference axis, a first arm part 20 that is connected to the base part 10 such that the angle to the reference axis can be changed, a second arm part 30 that is linked to the first arm part 20 such that an opening angle θ to the first arm part 20 can be changed, an end effector 50 that is connected to the tip end of the second arm part 30, an elastic part 60 that produces elastic force that acts to increase the opening angle θ, and a mooring cord 80 that is led out from a winch 70, passes through the end effector 50, and has a noose part 80a at the tip end.

Description

Moorings, ships and floating platforms

[0001] The present invention relates to a mooring device, a vessel and a floating platform.

[0002] Ships and other floating platforms at sea are usually moored to piers or wharves, except for short stays. Typically, ships are moored by multiple mooring lines attached to bollards on the pier or wharf. The mooring lines are attached by ship's crew or port officials, which requires significant manual labor.

[0003] Several proposals have been made to improve ship mooring, most of which involve the use of vacuum or magnetic pads attached to the ship's hull, but these solutions require the installation of mechanisms to attach the pads to the pier, which requires modifications to the port's infrastructure and is therefore expensive.

[0004] International Publication No. 2020 / 187900

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a mooring device and a vessel that can be installed at low cost and that can facilitate mooring operations. However, the present invention is not limited to this problem, and the problem to be solved by the present invention may also be a problem corresponding to each effect of the configuration of each embodiment described below.

[0006] The mooring device according to the present disclosure comprises a base portion configured to be rotatable around a reference axis; a first arm portion connected to the base portion so that the angle it forms with the reference axis can be changed; a second arm portion connected to the first arm portion via a connecting portion so that the opening angle between it and the first arm portion can be changed; an end effector connected to the tip of the second arm portion; an elastic portion that generates an elastic force that acts to increase the opening angle; and a mooring line that is pulled out from a drum, extends from the base portion toward the end effector, passes through the end effector, and has a noose portion at its tip.

[0007] In the mooring device, the first arm portion and the second arm portion may each be configured with a parallel link mechanism.

[0008] Furthermore, in the mooring device, the first arm portion and the second arm portion may be connected via a connecting portion, the first arm portion having a first link member and a second link member that are parallel to each other, the second arm portion having a third link member and a fourth link member that are parallel to each other, one end of the first link member and the second link member each being rotatably connected to the base portion and the other end being rotatably connected to the connecting portion, and the third link member and the fourth link member each being rotatably connected to the connecting portion and the other end being rotatably connected to the end effector.

[0009] The mooring device may further include a sensor unit provided on the end effector for detecting a mooring point.

[0010] In addition, in the mooring device, the sensor unit may have at least one of one or more cameras, a stereo camera, a ToF camera, a laser scanner sensor, a LIDAR sensor, a radar sensor, and an acoustic sensor that have the noose unit in their field of view.

[0011] Furthermore, in the mooring device, the elastic portion may be provided between the first arm portion and the second arm portion, between the first arm portion and the end effector, between the second arm portion and the end effector, between a base on which the mooring device is installed and the second arm portion, between the base on which the mooring device is installed and the end effector, at the connection portion between the first arm portion and a connecting portion connecting the first arm portion and the second arm portion, and / or at the connection portion between the connecting portion and the second arm portion.

[0012] In the mooring device, the elastic portion may be a torsion spring, a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, an air pressure spring, or a hydraulic spring.

[0013] The mooring device may further include a first actuator that rotates the base unit around the reference axis.

[0014] In the mooring device, the first actuator may be provided below the base portion or within a base on which the mooring device is installed.

[0015] The mooring device may further include a second actuator that drives the first arm portion so as to change the angle formed with the reference axis.

[0016] In the mooring device, the second actuator may be provided on the base portion.

[0017] In the mooring device, the horizontal length from the base portion to the end effector may be controlled by unwinding the mooring line from the drum or winding it onto the drum.

[0018] In the mooring device, the drum may be provided in the base portion or in a base on which the mooring device is installed.

[0019] A vessel according to the present disclosure is provided with the mooring device.

[0020] The floating platform according to the present disclosure includes the mooring device.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a ship provided with a mooring device according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the mooring device according to an embodiment as seen from the side; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the mooring device according to an embodiment as seen from diagonally forward; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the mooring device according to an embodiment as seen from diagonally rearward; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the mooring device according to an embodiment as seen from diagonally below; FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mooring device according to an embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mooring device according to an embodiment; FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the mooring device according to an embodiment;

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, components having equivalent functions are denoted by the same reference numerals. Furthermore, terms such as "parallel," "orthogonal," and "equal" that specify shapes, geometric conditions, physical characteristics, and their degrees, as well as dimensions and values ​​of physical characteristics, are not limited to their strict meanings but are interpreted to include the extent to which similar functions can be expected.

[0023] <Ship S> Fig. 1 shows a ship S floating on the sea surface W and moored to a pier P. Mooring devices 1 according to this embodiment are installed at the bow and stern of the ship S. In this embodiment, the mooring device 1 installed on the stern side is installed on a base Ba.

[0024] The ship S is not limited to a normal ship, but may also be an autonomous ship such as an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), an unmanned surface vehicle (USV), or a maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS).

[0025] The number of mooring devices 1 installed is not limited to two as described above, and may be one, three or more, depending on the shape and size of the ship S. The mooring devices 1 may also be installed on the starboard and / or port sides of the ship S.

[0026] The ship S is moored to the pier P by hooking the noose portion 80a of the mooring line 80 of the mooring device 1 to a bollard B (mooring post) of the pier P.

[0027] Note that a machine-readable pattern such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark) may be attached to the bollard B by affixing, printing, or painting, which makes it easier for the sensor unit 90 of the mooring device 1 to detect and identify the position of the bollard B.

[0028] The bollard B may also be fitted with a transmitter of a radio beacon such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or an optical beacon. Providing a receiver on the mooring device 1 can facilitate detection and location of the bollard B. Conversely, the beacon transmitter may be fitted to the mooring device 1 and the receiver may be fitted to the bollard.

[0029] It should be noted that the mooring point of the vessel S is not limited to a pier P, but may also be a floating structure (e.g., another vessel, a barge) or a fixed structure (e.g., an oil drilling platform, a dock) having an appropriate mooring point such as a bollard.

[0030] <Mooring device 1> The mooring device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 5. The mooring device is sometimes called a mooring robot. Figure 2 is a side view of the mooring device 1, Figure 3 is a diagonal front view of the mooring device 1, Figure 4 is a diagonal rear view of the mooring device 1, and Figure 5 is a diagonal bottom view of the mooring device 1.

[0031] The mooring device 1 comprises a base portion 10, a first arm portion 20, a second arm portion 30, a connecting portion 40, an end effector 50 (effector), an elastic portion 60, a winch 70, a mooring line 80, and a sensor portion 90 (sensor head).

[0032] The base unit 10 is a rotation platform configured to be rotatable around a reference axis. In this embodiment, the reference axis is the rotation axis of the actuator 11. Note that the reference axis may be an axis (substantially vertical axis) that is substantially perpendicular to the horizontal direction, the water surface, or the top surface of the base unit 10.

[0033] The base unit 10 is driven to rotate around its rotation axis by an actuator 11 (rotation actuator). In this embodiment, a winch 70 and an actuator 75 (linkage actuator) are mounted on the base unit 10. The actuator 11 is provided below the base unit 10. The actuator 11 may also be provided within a base Ba on which the mooring device 1 is installed.

[0034] The actuator 11 is an example of a first actuator in the claims, and the actuator 75 is an example of a second actuator in the claims.

[0035] In this embodiment, the actuators 11 and 75 have an electric motor as a power source. The power source may be a hydraulic motor. The actuators 11 and 75 may also have a transmission such as a gear, belt, string, or pulley, a rotary encoder, a brake, an electronic control unit (ECU), a torque sensor, a force sensor, or other elements.

[0036] Alternatively, the actuators 11 and 75 may convert rotary motion into linear motion, and may include linear electric actuators such as rotary motors with ball screws, torsion string actuators, or other elements that convert rotary motion into linear motion.

[0037] Additionally, the actuators 11 and 75 may be linear motors, linear hydraulic actuators, or linear pneumatic actuators.

[0038] The first arm unit 20 is connected to the base unit 10 so that the angle it forms with a reference axis (in this embodiment, the rotation axis of the actuator 11) can be changed. The first arm unit 20 is driven by the actuator 75 so that the angle it forms with the reference axis can be changed.

[0039] The first arm unit 20 has four rod-shaped link members that are equal in length and parallel to one another, namely, link member 21, link member 22, link member 23, and link member 24. One end (the base end) of link members 21 and 24 is rotatably connected to base unit 10 by a shaft member (pin) 25, and one end of link members 22 and 23 is rotatably connected to base unit 10 by a shaft member 26. This makes it possible to change the angle between the first arm unit 20, which has link members 21, 22, 23, and 24, and the reference axis of the ship S. In addition, the other end (the tip end) of link members 21 and 24 is rotatably connected to connecting unit 40 by a shaft member 28, and the other end of link members 22 and 23 is rotatably connected to connecting unit 40 by a shaft member 27.

[0040] The second arm unit 30 has four rod-shaped link members that are equal in length and parallel to one another, namely, link member 31, link member 32, link member 33, and link member 34. One end (the end on the base end side) of link members 31 and 34 is rotatably connected to connecting unit 40 by shaft member 38, and one end of link members 32 and 33 is rotatably connected to connecting unit 40 by shaft member 37. In this way, the second arm unit 30 is connected to the first arm unit 20 via connecting unit 40 so that the opening angle θ between the second arm unit 30 and the first arm unit 20 can be changed.

[0041] The other ends (tip ends) of the link members 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the second arm portion 30 are rotatably connected to the end effector 50 by shaft members. That is, the other ends of the link members 31 and 34 are rotatably connected to the end effector 50 by shaft members 35, and the other ends of the link members 32 and 33 are rotatably connected to the end effector 50 by shaft members 36.

[0042] In addition, in the first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30, a bearing (such as a plain bearing or a rolling bearing) may be inserted between the link member and the shaft member. Furthermore, the link member may be connected to the base unit 10, the connecting unit 40, or the end effector 50 via a ball joint. Furthermore, the link member may be connected to the base unit 10, the connecting unit 40, or the end effector 50 by a slide mechanism. In other words, a slider may be provided at the end of the link member, and the slider may move along a guide provided on the base unit 10, the connecting unit 40, or the end effector 50.

[0043] The parallel link mechanisms of the first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30 may have configurations other than those described above. For example, the number of link members in the parallel link mechanism of each arm unit is not limited to four, and may be two, three, five or more.

[0044] Furthermore, the link members of the parallel link mechanism are not limited to rod-shaped ones, but may be, for example, plate-shaped ones. In this case, each arm unit may be formed of a pair of rectangular plate-shaped link members facing each other in parallel. In the case of the first arm unit 20, one end of each plate-shaped link member is rotatably connected to the base unit 10 by a single shaft member, and the other end is rotatably connected to the connecting unit 40 by a single shaft member.

[0045] The connecting portion 40 connects the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30 .

[0046] The first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30 may be directly connected to each other, in which case the connecting unit 40 is omitted. For example, when the arm units are formed of plate-shaped link members, the first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30 may be directly connected to each other without the connecting unit 40. In other words, the plate-shaped link member that forms the first arm unit 20 and the plate-shaped link member that forms the second arm unit 30 may be directly connected to each other via a single shaft member.

[0047] The end effector 50 is connected to the other end (the tip end) of the second arm unit 30. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , a through hole H1 is provided on the inside of the end effector 50, and as shown in FIG. 3 , a through hole H2 is provided on the outside of the end effector 50. The through holes H1 and H2 are through holes for inserting the mooring rope 80. Note that the through hole H1 may be omitted. Furthermore, an elastic element such as a torsion spring may be provided at the connection portion between the second arm unit 30 and the end effector 50.

[0048] The elastic portion 60 generates an elastic force that acts to increase the opening angle θ between the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30. In other words, the elastic force of the elastic portion 60 lengthens the projection of the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30 onto the horizontal plane. In this embodiment, the elastic portion 60 is configured by a torsion spring, and the elastic force is torque. If the elastic portion 60 is a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, a pneumatic spring, a hydraulic spring, or the like, the elastic force is a biasing force.

[0049] The opening angle θ is determined by the elastic force of the elastic portion 60 (a force that tries to increase θ) and the force with which the winch 70 pulls the mooring line 80 (a force that tries to decrease θ). Pulling out the mooring line 80 from the drum of the winch 70 increases the opening angle θ. Conversely, rewinding the mooring line 80 by the winch 70 decreases the opening angle θ. By changing the opening angle θ through the operation of the winch 70 in this way, the horizontal length from the base unit 10 to the end effector 50 can be adjusted.

[0050] In this embodiment, the elastic portion 60 is configured by a torsion spring disposed at the connection portion between the connecting portion 40 and the second arm portion 30. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 3, the shaft member 38 is inserted into the torsion spring, and one end arm of the torsion spring is fixed to the shaft member 39, and the other end arm is fixed to the fixing member 41 of the connecting portion 40. In this way, the torsion spring is provided at the connection portion between the connecting portion 40 and the second arm portion 30.

[0051] The elastic portion 60 is not limited to a torsion spring, but may be other types of springs, such as a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, an air pressure spring, or a hydraulic spring.

[0052] The elastic portion 60 may also be disposed at the connection portion between the first arm portion 20 and the connecting portion 40. Alternatively, the elastic portion 60 may be disposed at both the connection portion between the first arm portion 20 and the connecting portion 40 and the connection portion between the connecting portion 40 and the second arm portion 30. In this manner, two or more elastic portions 60 may be disposed. Alternatively, the elastic portion 60 may be disposed between the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30, between the first arm portion 20 and the end effector 50, or between the second arm portion 30 and the end effector 50. For example, when a compression coil spring is provided as the elastic portion 60 between the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30, one end of the compression coil spring is connected to the first arm portion 20 and the other end is connected to the second arm portion 30. Alternatively, the elastic portion 60 may be disposed between a base Ba on which the mooring device 1 is installed and the second arm portion 30, or between the base Ba and the end effector 50.

[0053] The winch 70 is a winch provided on the base unit 10. The winch 70 may be a windlass. A mooring line 80 is wound around the drum of the winch 70. In this embodiment, the winch 70 is a motor winch, and is driven by a motor to pull out and reel in the mooring line 80 from the drum. The winch 70 reels in the mooring line 80 against the elastic force of the elastic unit 60.

[0054] In this way, the winch 70 controls the horizontal length from the base 10 to the end effector 50 by pulling out or reeling in the mooring line 80 .

[0055] The winch 70 may be any other type of winch, such as an engine-powered winch, a hydraulic winch, a pneumatic winch, a manual winch, etc. The power source of the winch 70 may be the power source described for the actuators 11 and 75.

[0056] Also, when the mooring device 1 is installed on the base Ba of the ship S, the winch 70 may be provided within the base Ba.

[0057] The mooring line 80 is pulled out from the drum of the winch 70 and extends from the base 10 toward the end effector 50. The mooring line 80 then passes through the end effector 50. In this embodiment, the mooring line 80 is inserted through through holes H1 and H2 provided in the end effector 50.

[0058] The mooring rope 80 has a noose portion 80a at its tip. The noose portion 80a is located outside the end effector 50 (i.e., on the opposite side from the base portion 10).

[0059] It is desirable that the mooring line 80 has a certain bending rigidity, particularly in the noose portion 80a, or be reinforced to ensure bending rigidity. This rigidity allows the shape of the noose portion 80a to be maintained without deformation when the mooring line 80 is not attached to the bollard B.

[0060] The above-described characteristics of the mooring line 80 are useful, for example, when removing the noose portion 80a from the bollard B when the ship S departs from the pier P. That is, by pulling out the mooring line 80 from the winch 70, for example, and moving the noose portion 80a away from the ship S, the force between the bollard B and the noose portion 80a is alleviated, and the noose portion 80a returns to its original shape. Thereafter, by lifting the noose portion 80a from the bollard B with the actuator 75, the noose portion 80a is released from the bollard B, and the mooring can be released.

[0061] In this embodiment, the mooring line 80 is unwound from the winch 70 and then extends directly to the end effector 50 without passing through any other elements, but this is merely the simplest example. The direction of the mooring line 80 may be changed midway from the winch 70 to the end effector 50 by one or more deflection elements such as pulleys.

[0062] For example, the mooring line 80 may have its direction changed to adapt to the actual position of the mooring device 1 by one or more pulleys attached to any part of the mooring device 1 (e.g., the base portion 10).

[0063] Furthermore, when the winch 70 is provided within the base Ba, the mooring line 80 pulled out from the winch 70 may be pulled up to the base 10 through a hollow shaft in a vertical joint connecting the base 10 and the base Ba, and then redirected toward the end effector 50 by a pulley attached to the base 10. More specifically, a first pulley with a horizontal axis provided within the base Ba redirects the mooring line 80 in any direction. Next, two coplanar pulleys with parallel vertical axes provided on the base 10 guide the mooring line 80 to the left or right, respectively. Then, another pulley with a horizontal axis fixed to the base 10 guides the mooring line 80 toward the end effector 50.

[0064] The mooring line 80 may also be attached to the end effector 50 via a joint with a horizontal axis so that the noose portion 80a can tilt freely within the plane of movement of the double parallel linkage mechanism.

[0065] The sensor unit 90 is provided on the end effector 50 and is configured to detect mooring points. In this embodiment, the sensor unit 90 has a pair of cameras 91 and 92. The cameras 91 and 92 form a stereo camera. The cameras 91 and 92 are disposed above the noose portion 80a so that the noose portion 80a can be included in their field of view. The cameras 91 and 92 are, for example, mono cameras having a single lens and image sensor. The stereo camera allows the position of the mooring point to be accurately identified.

[0066] The sensor unit 90 may have only a single camera, or may have a multi-view stereo camera including three or more cameras.

[0067] It should be noted that the cameras 91 and 92 may be cameras that operate in visible light (RGB or monochrome), near infrared (NIR), far infrared (FIR), multispectral, hyperspectral, or other spectrums.

[0068] Also, polarizing filters may be applied to the cameras 91 and 92 .

[0069] Also, one or more light sources may be used that have a spectrum that at least partially overlaps with a portion of the spectrum of the cameras 91, 92. The light sources are mounted on the mooring device 1, the vessel S, the pier P, or other structure or vehicle. The light from the light sources may be polarized, structured (patterned), or unstructured, illuminating a continuous area.

[0070] In addition, the sensor unit 90 may have at least one of a ToF (Time of Flight) camera, a laser scanner sensor, a LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor, a radar sensor, and an acoustic sensor, in addition to or instead of the camera.

[0071] The sensor unit 90 uses sensors such as the camera to detect objects such as the bollard B on the pier P. The object detection may involve executing an object detection or segmentation algorithm based on a neural network such as a convolutional neural network (CNN) or a vision transformer. The position of the object such as the bollard B can be derived from, for example, the position of the ship S, the attitude of the mooring device 1, the position of the bollard B within the camera's FOV, and depth information.

[0072] When a bollard B is detected, a decision-making or inference algorithm is used to determine which bollard to attach the mooring line 80 to. Then, the actuators of the mooring device 1, such as the actuator 11, the actuator 75, and the winch 70, are controlled so that the noose portion 80a catches on the bollard B. In this way, the mooring device 1 is controlled by a visual servo system. That is, image data obtained from the sensor unit 90 is processed in real time, and the operation of the mooring device 1 is controlled in real time.

[0073] The determination of the bollards and / or the control of the actuators is performed by a control unit such as one or more ECUs provided on the mooring device 1 or the ship S. The control unit may be provided within the sensor unit 90, or may be provided outside the ship S (such as in a monitoring and control device on land).

[0074] If the vessel S is an autonomous vessel such as an ASV, the vessel control system may be communicatively connected to the control unit or may also serve as the control unit. In the latter case, the mooring device 1 detects and identifies the position of an appropriate bollard B while the vessel control system moves the vessel S toward a docking position on the pier P. Then, the noose portion 80a of the mooring line 80 is attached to the bollard B while the vessel S is approaching the pier P or after the vessel S has reached its final position.

[0075] The winch 70 of the mooring device 1 may be used to pull the vessel S toward the pier P in the final section (such as the mooring preparation section or the final approach section). In other words, the mooring device 1 may support or replace a propulsion device of the vessel S, such as a lateral thruster.

[0076] In addition, after mooring work is completed, the winch 70 may be configured to slightly reel in and tighten the mooring line 80 in order to safely moor the ship S in a predetermined position with minimal movement during cargo loading and unloading work, etc.

[0077] The sensor for detecting the position of the bollard B may be provided somewhere other than the end effector 50. For example, it may be provided on the second arm section 30, the ship S, the pier P, a land structure, or a vehicle. When the sensor is provided outside the mooring device 1, the sensor signal is transmitted to the mooring device 1 via wireless communication means or the like. Instead of transmitting the sensor signal directly to the mooring device 1, a control signal generated based on the sensor signal may be transmitted to the mooring device 1.

[0078] The control of the mooring device 1 is not limited to the autonomous control as described above, but may be performed by complete or partial remote control.

[0079] In the above embodiment, the mooring device 1 is installed on the ship S, but it may also be installed on a floating platform other than a ship (for example, an offshore wind power generation facility or an ocean observation platform).

[0080] <Action and Effect> As described above, the mooring device 1 according to this embodiment comprises the base 10 configured to be rotatable around a reference axis, the first arm 20 connected to the base 10 so that the angle it forms with the reference axis can be changed, the second arm 30 connected to the first arm 20 so that the opening angle θ between it and the first arm 20 can be changed, the end effector 50 connected to the tip of the second arm 30, the elastic portion 60 that generates an elastic force that acts to increase the opening angle θ, and the mooring rope 80 that is pulled out from the winch 70, extends from the base 10 towards the end effector 50, passes through the end effector 50, and has a noose portion 80 a at its tip.

[0081] As a result, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a mooring device that has low introduction costs and can facilitate mooring operations.

[0082] When the elastic portion 60 applies an elastic force to the first arm portion 20 and the second arm portion 30 that increases the opening angle θ, the winch 70 winds up the mooring line 80 against the elastic force, thereby decreasing the opening angle θ. Conversely, when the mooring line 80 is pulled out, the opening angle θ increases due to the elastic force. By controlling the opening angle θ in this manner, the horizontal length from the base portion 10 to the end effector 50 can be adjusted. According to this embodiment, by operating the winch 70 as an actuator, the end effector 50 (noose portion 80a) can be easily brought close to the bollard B, even though the mooring device has a relatively simple structure. As a result, a mooring device 1 can be provided that facilitates mooring operations at low cost.

[0083] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the force mooring the vessel S (mooring force) is hardly applied to the connecting arms (first arm unit 20, second arm unit 30, connecting unit 40, and end effector 50) of the mooring device 1, but is applied to the base unit 10 and the mooring line 80. Also, since relatively heavy elements such as the actuators 11, 75 and winch 70 are disposed within the base unit 10 or the base Ba, the connecting arms do not need to support heavy objects. Therefore, the connecting arms can have a very simple and lightweight structure. For example, a parallel link mechanism can be adopted for the first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30. This allows for lightweight and inexpensive arm units to be realized.

[0084] Furthermore, by configuring the first arm unit 20 and the second arm unit 30 as a double parallel link mechanism in which a parallel link mechanism is connected, the end effector 50 can be kept horizontal at all times regardless of the opening angle θ. This allows the surface formed by the noose portion 80a (loop) to be kept parallel to the horizontal plane (the surface of the pier P), making mooring work even easier.

[0085] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the required mooring operation can be realized by controlling three degrees of freedom (DoF) using the actuator 11, the actuator 75 and the winch 70.

[0086] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by using the winch 70 as one of the actuators of the mooring device 1, the complexity and cost of the structure of the mooring device 1 can be reduced.

[0087] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the sensor unit 90 provided on the end effector 50 can detect a mooring point such as a bollard B, and the mooring operation can be performed automatically using the above three degrees of freedom. Such automatic mooring is particularly useful when the vessel is an autonomous vessel such as an ASV, USV, or MASS, because manual mooring requires calling staff just for the mooring operation, which partially defeats the purpose of autonomy.

[0088] <Mooring Method> Next, an example of a mooring method for the ship S on which the mooring device 1 is installed will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0089] 6 , when the cameras 91, 92 of the sensor unit 90 detect a bollard B on the pier P, the actuator 11 rotates the base unit 10, and the end effector 50 is directed toward the bollard B. Then, the actuator 75 reduces the angle between the first arm unit 20 and the reference axis (the rotation axis of the actuator 11 in this embodiment), so that the noose portion 80a is higher than the bollard B. Thereafter, the mooring line 80 is pulled out from the winch 70, thereby moving the noose portion 80a toward the bollard B.

[0090] Then, when the noose portion 80a comes above the bollard B, the actuator 75 increases the angle between the first arm portion 20 and the reference axis. As a result, as shown in Figures 7 to 9, the end effector 50 is lowered below the bollard B, and the noose portion 80a is hooked onto the bollard B. Thereafter, the winch 70 is driven to reel in the mooring line 80, allowing the ship S to come alongside the pier P.

[0091] In this way, the mooring method using the mooring device 1 according to this embodiment allows mooring work to be performed easily without manual intervention, thereby shortening the time required for mooring work and improving the safety of the mooring work.

[0092] Based on the above description, a person skilled in the art may conceive additional effects and various modifications of the present invention, but the aspects of the present invention are not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Elements from different embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Various additions, modifications, and partial deletions are possible within the scope of the conceptual idea and spirit of the present invention, which is derived from the content defined in the claims and their equivalents.

[0093] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mooring device 10 Base section 11, 75 Actuator 20 First arm section 21 to 24, 31 to 34 Link member 25, 26, 27, 28, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 Shaft member 30 Second arm section 40 Connection section 41 Fixing member 50 End effector 60 Elastic section 70 Winch 80 Mooring line 80a Noose section 90 Sensor section 91, 92 Camera B Bollard Ba Base H1, H2 Through hole P Pier S Ship W Sea surface θ Opening angle

Claims

1. A mooring device comprising: a base section configured to be rotatable around a reference axis; a first arm section connected to the base section so that the angle it makes with the reference axis can be changed; a second arm section connected to the first arm section so that the opening angle between it and the first arm section can be changed; an end effector connected to the tip of the second arm section; an elastic section that generates an elastic force that acts to increase the opening angle; and a mooring line that is pulled out from a drum, extends from the base section toward the end effector, passes through the end effector, and has a noose section at its tip.

2. A mooring device as described in claim 1, wherein the first arm portion and the second arm portion are each configured with a parallel link mechanism.

3. A mooring device as described in claim 2, wherein the first arm portion and the second arm portion are connected via a connecting portion, the first arm portion has a first link member and a second link member that are parallel to each other, the second arm portion has a third link member and a fourth link member that are parallel to each other, one end of the first link member and the second link member is rotatably connected to the base portion and the other end of the first link member and the second link member is rotatably connected to the connecting portion, and the third link member and the fourth link member is rotatably connected to the connecting portion and the other end of the third link member and the fourth link member is rotatably connected to the end effector.

4. The mooring device according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor unit provided on the end effector for detecting a mooring point.

5. A mooring device as described in claim 4, wherein the sensor unit has at least one of one or more cameras, stereo cameras, ToF cameras, laser scanner sensors, LIDAR sensors, radar sensors, and acoustic sensors that have the noose unit in their field of view.

6. A mooring device as described in claim 1, wherein the elastic portion is provided between the first arm portion and the second arm portion, between the first arm portion and the end effector, between the second arm portion and the end effector, between a base on which the mooring device is installed and the second arm portion, between the base on which the mooring device is installed and the end effector, at the connection portion between the first arm portion and a connecting portion connecting the first arm portion and the second arm portion, and / or at the connection portion between the connecting portion and the second arm portion.

7. The mooring device according to claim 6, wherein the elastic portion is a torsion spring, a compression coil spring, a leaf spring, an air spring, or a hydraulic spring.

8. The mooring device according to claim 1, further comprising a first actuator that drives the base portion to rotate around the reference axis.

9. A mooring device according to claim 8, wherein the first actuator is provided below the base portion or within a base on which the mooring device is mounted.

10. A mooring device as described in claim 1, further comprising a second actuator that drives the first arm portion so that the angle formed with the reference axis changes.

11. A mooring device as described in claim 10, wherein the second actuator is provided on the base portion.

12. A mooring device as described in claim 1, wherein the horizontal length from the base portion to the end effector is controlled by unwinding or winding the mooring line from the drum.

13. A mooring device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drum is provided within the base or a base on which the mooring device is mounted.

14. A ship equipped with a mooring device according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A floating platform comprising a mooring device according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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