Ship Cargo Support Frame With Dampers for Wave Motion Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Containers and other cargoes on ships often fall overboard due to rigid attachment to the ship's structure, causing unbalanced movement and disconnection during wave-induced movements, leading to economic and ecological damage.
Innovation Solution
A non-rigid supporting arrangement using movement dampers to connect containers to the ship's structure, limiting the transmission of ship movements such as rolling and pitching, which includes a supporting frame with dampers between the load and the ship's structure or directly between the load and the ship, integrating connection and damping functions without requiring structural changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If containers are rigidly attached to the ship's structure, then connection strength is improved, but stability deteriorates due to unbalanced movement during wave-induced motions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing the rigid, fixed connection with a dynamic, movable connection system. The supporting arrangement includes elements that can move relative to each other, allowing the container to dynamically adapt to ship movements rather than being constrained by a rigid attachment. This dynamic connection maintains stability while preserving connection strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the connection parameters from rigid/fixed to movable/flexible. By modifying the connection characteristics to allow controlled movement and adjustment, the system can accommodate wave-induced ship motions without losing connection integrity or stability. The connection parameters are optimized to balance strength and stability requirements.
2Reliability
If rigid connection is used between containers and ship structure, then connection reliability is improved, but container stability during rolling and pitching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting arrangement implements a dynamic connection system that moves with the container during ship rolling and pitching. This dynamic behavior maintains reliable connection while preventing the stability problems caused by rigid attachments that cannot adapt to rotational ship motions.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system is segmented into multiple movable components rather than a single rigid attachment. This segmentation allows different parts of the connection to move independently, maintaining overall reliability while accommodating the complex six-degree-of-freedom ship motions that affect container stability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If movement dampers are introduced to reduce ship movement transmission, then container stability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the supporting and connecting functions into an integrated supporting arrangement. By combining these functions, the system achieves movement damping and stability improvement without proportionally increasing device complexity. The integrated design is more efficient than separate damping and supporting components.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting arrangement serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, enables movement damping, maintains connection reliability, and accommodates ship motions. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving improved container stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Prevents or significantly reduces the transmission of ship movements to the containers, enhancing stability and preventing falls overboard, while simplifying mounting and integrating with existing structures without substantial modifications.
Implementation Method 1
A non-rigid supporting arrangement using movement dampers to connect containers to the ship's structure, limiting the transmission of ship movements such as rolling and pitching
Data Source
AI summary
A supporting arrangement for a carried load, more particularly a load carried on a ship such as, for example, a container, is provided. The supporting arrangement provides for connecting, in a non-rigid manner, the carried load to a bearing structure integral with the ship and to this aim it comprises a plurality of movement dampers interposed between the carried load and the bearing structure. The dampers can be directly interposed between the load and the bearing structure; alternatively, the supporting arrangement further comprises a supporting frame and the movement dampers are applied to the supporting frame. Owing to the fact that the carried load is not rigidly connected to the structure of the ship, the movements to which the ship is subjected during sea travel, especially because of wave movement, are not transmitted to the carried load, which therefore does not risk falling overboard.