Dual Drum Winch for Compact Underwater Device Stowage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for stowing underwater devices with heavy traction cables and rigid towed bodies are complex, costly, and difficult to automate, posing risks to human operatives and limiting their use on small platforms and autonomous surface vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A handling device featuring a winch with a dual drum system, allowing the traction cable to be wound around one drum while the flexible elongate body is wound around another, enabling the towed body to be stowed in a compact space without manual intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single winch is used to stow the traction cable and flexible elongate body separately, then the device complexity is reduced, but the stowage space required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements nesting by placing the first drum (for traction cable) inside the space delimited by the second drum (for flexible elongate body). The first drum is positioned concentrically within the annular space created by the second drum, allowing both drums to occupy overlapping spatial volumes and enabling compact stowage of both cables on a single winch assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the radial dimension by arranging the first drum concentrically within the space delimited by the second drum. This three-dimensional arrangement allows the traction cable to be wound on an inner drum while the flexible elongate body is wound on an outer drum, efficiently utilizing vertical and radial space rather than requiring separate horizontal stowage areas.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If automated means are implemented for detaching the towed body, then human safety is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the stowage process into distinct phases: first the traction cable is wound around the first drum, then the towed body is detached and stowed in the space delimited by the second drum, and finally the flexible elongate body is wound around the second drum. This segmentation allows automated control of each step while maintaining operational safety by removing human operatives from hazardous environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The handling device performs automated detachment and stowage operations without requiring human intervention. The winch system automatically winds the traction cable, detaches the towed body, stows it in the designated space, and then winds the flexible elongate body, making the system self-sufficient and eliminating exposure to harmful factors for human operatives.
3Volume of moving object
If the towed body is stowed in the space between the drums, then the stowage compactness is improved, but the access for detachment becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a movable cap that can be displaced along the second drum's axis. The cap defines a through-opening that provides access to the space between the first and second drums. During stowage, the cap is positioned to allow the towed body to pass through; during detachment operations, the cap can be moved to provide enhanced access while maintaining the compact stowage configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap acts as an intermediary element between the external environment and the stowage space between the drums. It provides controlled access to the towed body for detachment operations while maintaining the compact nested arrangement of the drums during normal stowage, effectively mediating between the conflicting requirements of compactness and accessibility.
Data Source
AI summary
A handling device includes a winch comprising a frame, intended to be attached to a structure of the surface vessel and a first drum capable of turning relative to the frame about a first rotation axis and an assembly comprising at least one second drum which surrounds the first drum and is capable of turning relative to the frame about a second rotation axis substantially parallel to the first rotation axis, the winch being capable of being in a decoupled state wherein the first drum and the second drum are rotationally decoupled about the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis so as to allow a traction cable to be wound around the first drum during a first winding step wherein the first drum is rotated about the first axis, the second drum being capable of being in an open state wherein the second drum has a receiving opening that a towed body is capable of passing through in order to enter the interior of the space that surrounds the first drum and that is surrounded by the second drum, the winch being capable of being in a coupled state wherein the first drum and the second drum are rotationally coupled about the second rotation axis so as to allow a flexible elongate body to be wound around the second rotation axis during a second winding step wherein the second drum is rotated about the second axis.