Mobile Fluid Transfer Reel Without Swivel Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid transfer systems between ships and other locations require swivel joints, which are cumbersome and necessitate significant modifications to vessels and infrastructure, limiting their applicability in harsh environments and varying distances.
Innovation Solution
A mobile transfer system featuring a reel with a drum and flanges, where two hoses are wound in opposite directions around different collecting areas, allowing for fluid communication between a ship and a second location without swivel joints, and can be easily relocated or stored, using buoyancy devices to maintain the reel's orientation and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If swivel joints are used in fluid transfer systems, then fluid transfer between vessels is enabled, but device complexity and modification requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the swivel joint component from the fluid transfer system entirely. Instead of using a swivel joint at the reel axle to accommodate rotation, the system uses two separate hoses that can independently manage their own positioning and tension, eliminating the need for complex swivel mechanisms while maintaining fluid transfer capability between vessels.
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the fluid transfer path into two separate hoses instead of using a single hose with a swivel joint. Each hose is independently managed with its own tensioning mechanism, allowing the system to achieve rotational flexibility and adaptability without requiring a centralized swivel joint, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
2Ease of operation
If hoses are freely floating in water for fluid transfer, then deployment is simple, but reliability decreases due to potential damage from third parties or storms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs buoyancy devices that provide upward buoyant force to counteract the downward weight and environmental forces on the hoses. These buoyancy devices keep the hoses elevated and tensioned in the water column, protecting them from damage by third parties or storms while maintaining simple deployment procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-deploys buoyancy devices along with the hoses before fluid transfer operations begin. This preliminary positioning ensures that the hoses are already protected and tensioned when deployed, preventing damage from external factors without complicating the deployment process itself.
3Ease of repair
If a reel is rotatable to its base anchored to the seabed for hose storage, then hose collection is improved, but device complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the complex rotatable reel mechanism anchored to the seabed. Instead, the system uses a simpler reel that winds and unwinds hoses in a fixed orientation, relying on the independent positioning capability of the two hoses to accommodate vessel movement and orientation changes without requiring complex rotational mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than having the reel rotate to follow vessel orientation (complex approach), the system inverts the approach by keeping the reel fixed and allowing the hoses to independently position themselves relative to the moving vessels. This reverses the problem-solving approach and significantly reduces mechanism complexity.
4Productivity
If vessels are moored close together for fluid transfer, then transfer efficiency improves, but safety decreases in harsh environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a dynamic fluid transfer system where two hoses with independent tensioning mechanisms can accommodate varying distances and orientations between vessels. This dynamic configuration allows vessels to maintain optimal safety distances in harsh environments while still achieving efficient fluid transfer through the flexible hose system that adapts to changing conditions.
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
Enables efficient, swivel-joint-free fluid transfer over a wide range of distances (5 to 500 meters) with minimal modification to existing vessels or facilities, suitable for harsh environments and various fluid types, including cryogenic fluids, and allows for easy relocation and storage.
Implementation Method 1
using buoyancy devices to maintain the reel's orientation and stability
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile system for fluid transfer between a ship and a second location separated by a body of water, comprises a reel with at least two collecting areas, a coupler anchored to the reel with one opening at each collecting area and open towards a winding direction, a first hose extending from one opening to the ship, a second hose extending from the other opening to the second location, and a driving means to apply torques on the reel along the reel axis. When fluid transfer is over, the driving means turns the reel opposite to the winding direction, and both first hose and second hose are wound up in the collecting areas. The mobile transfer system is then ready for storage or for a subsequent fluid transfer elsewhere.