Winch System Stress Distribution via Active-Passive Cycling
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Solution Overview
Problem
In winch systems used for vessel mooring, stress and wear are unevenly distributed among individual winches, leading to potential instability and reduced lifespan.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where at least two winches alternate between active and passive states over time, ensuring each winch operates in its active state for a portion of the time and in its passive state for another portion, thereby distributing the stress and wear more evenly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual winches operate in a stand-alone manner for mooring, then each winch can independently control the spoolable medium tension, but the stress and wear are distributed unevenly among the winches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the control of multiple winches under a single centralized control unit that coordinates their operation. The control unit distributes mooring operations among multiple winches in a balanced manner, ensuring that stress and wear are evenly distributed while maintaining independent control capabilities through coordinated switching between active and passive states
2Measurement precision
If a single winch continuously monitors and adjusts tension, then the tension control is precise and responsive, but the winch experiences concentrated stress and reduced lifetime
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by alternating between multiple winches in active and passive states. The control unit switches which winch is actively monitoring and adjusting tension, while others remain passive. This periodic switching distributes the continuous monitoring and adjustment workload across multiple winches, maintaining precise tension control while extending individual winch lifetime through reduced continuous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the continuous tension monitoring and adjustment function across multiple winches rather than concentrating it in one winch. Each winch takes turns performing the active monitoring and adjustment role while others remain in passive state, dividing the continuous operational burden into discrete segments that are distributed over time and multiple components
Data Source
AI summary
A method for operating a winch system, and an arrangement including at least two electric drives each configured to operate a respective winch including a winch drum to spool a spoolable medium, and an electric motor to rotate the winch drum, each of the winches having an active state, in which the winch drum is driven according to a predetermined tension set point value, and a passive state, in which the winch drum is prevented from rotating, wherein, during a mooring of a vessel, the arrangement is configured to operate the at least two winches such that, over a period of time, each of the at least two winches is operated in its active state for a portion of the period, and each of the at least two winches is operated in its passive state for a portion of the period.