Adjustable Cable Carousel Structure for Heavy-Duty Cable Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing cable carousels for heavy-duty electric cables are costly and time-consuming to embark and disembark due to their fixed dimensions, leading to high shipping and labor costs, and inefficient use of vessel time during transportation.
Innovation Solution
A cable carousel with adjustable dimensions and a flexible construction, featuring extendable shores and reinforcement beams, allowing for easy adaptation to different cable lengths and secure mounting on vessels, enabling efficient assembly and disassembly for transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional reel or spool is used to store and retrieve heavy-duty electric cables, then the cable can be deployed, but the cable bends sharply at the drum surface causing insulation damage and reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional cylindrical drum with a cable carousel having multiple equally spaced cables extending radially outward from a central hub. This radial configuration allows cables to be stored and retrieved without sharp bends at a drum surface, as each cable follows a more gradual curvature path from its reel through the radial arm to the payout point, thereby reducing insulation damage and extending cable service life.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple cables are stored on a single drum, then space is saved, but cables cross and tangling occurs during deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the cable storage system into multiple independent radial arms, each holding a separate cable reel. This segmentation prevents cable crossing and tangling by giving each cable its own dedicated storage and deployment path, while the compact radial arrangement around a central hub maintains a small footprint. The modular design allows cables to be deployed independently without interfering with adjacent cables.
3Reliability
If heavy-duty cables with thick insulation are used for deepwater applications, then the cables can withstand high pressures, but the cables become extremely heavy and difficult to handle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a counterweight system integrated with the cable carousel mechanism. As heavy-duty cables are paid out during deployment, the counterweight mechanism provides compensating force to offset the cable's weight, reducing the effective load on deployment equipment and making handling easier. This allows the system to use thick-insulated, pressure-resistant cables while mitigating their excessive weight during operation.
4Productivity
If a cable is paid out from a conventional reel, then the cable can be deployed, but the bending radius is limited by the drum diameter causing insulation damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional drum surface winding system to a three-dimensional radial carousel configuration. Cables extend radially outward from the central hub and can be paid out in a manner that allows greater bending radius control. This dimensional change enables the cable to follow a more gradual curvature path during deployment, preventing insulation damage while maintaining efficient deployment speed through the radial geometry.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C
Figure 2
AI summary
Cable carousel comprising a support grid (1) and upstanding supports (2, 2') on the support grid (1) that confine a region in which a heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical can be received and supported by the support grid (1), wherein the upstanding supports (2, 2') are placeable on the support grid (1) at preselected positions defining both an inner barrier (7) and an outer barrier (8) so as to tailor the cable carousel to a dimension between said inner and outer barriers (7, 8) which is necessary and sufficient to store a predetermined length of said electric cable or umbilical, wherein the cable carousel is provided with shores (9) connecting the inner barrier (7) to the support grid (1).