DE29903337U1 - Loading / unloading and storage system for ships - Google Patents

Description

Weber & Heim · ^:: · "^&Ggr;" ^: - ^: "·· * "Wardstrasse

D-81479 Munich

German Patent Attorneys y _e l 089-79 90

European Patent Attorneys &rgr;_&khgr; qq^_ ™, co cz

Euro Trademark Attorneys

A268

Loading/unloading and stowage system for ships

The invention relates to a loading/unloading and stowage system for ships according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention is suitable for all types of ships in the world merchant fleet, in particular for container ships as well as for RoRo and ferry ships, and preferably for the transport of palletized goods, trailers and containers.

In almost all areas of shipbuilding, there has been a trend for some time now to build and use ships for maximum speeds. In relation to sea transport, these are ships that are intended to reach speeds of around 35 to 40 knots and more. Up to now, ships with a maximum speed of 20 to 25 knots have predominantly been used.

However, the desired high-speed sea transport with significantly shorter travel times is still being hampered by relatively long layover times for loading and unloading in ports, as well as relatively high weight and the resulting higher energy costs. In the case of fast container ships, the dead weight of the containers has a particularly negative effect on the overall weight balance.

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Well-known loading and unloading systems have cranes or container bridges. RoRo ships, which are mainly used as car ferries, dock with the stern or bow at a landing ramp for unloading and loading. With the stern or bow flaps open, the vehicles drive from the ship onto the pier. New vehicles can usually only be driven in once all vehicles have been unloaded.

The invention is based on the object of creating a loading/unloading and stowage system for ships which enables particularly cost-effective and flexible loading and unloading of ships and ensures an extraordinary weight reduction and at the same time a high reloading speed.

According to the invention, the object is achieved by a loading/unloading and storage system according to claim 1. Useful and advantageous embodiments are contained in the subclaims and in the description of the figures.

A basic idea of the invention is to use a system with at least one adjustable, in particular movable, level for loading and unloading and to integrate the preparation of loading a ship as well as the stowage of the transport goods after loading the ships into this system and to use it advantageously for the subsequent unloading.

The shifting system according to the invention has a carpet or mat-like structure in the shiftable plane, which is designed to accommodate the transported goods, i.e. load units or cargo. The

The sliding level serves as a transport medium and is also intended as a base for the cargo unit in the hold of a ship. In the destination port, the sliding level again serves as a transport medium and is unloaded with the cargo unit or the cargo.

The movable level is referred to below in simple terms as a sliding mat, whereby according to the invention it is also used as a base for the load units before and/or after the loading and unloading process and in this function is referred to as a stowage mat.

According to the invention, at least for transporting the sliding mats with cargo units or cargo between a loading base and a ship, a support plane is arranged, which is designed in such a way that sliding mats and cargo units arranged thereon can be moved, for example pushed or pulled, without great expenditure of force.

A light, extremely fast and cost-effective loading/unloading and storage system is achieved when sliding mats and support levels are used which have a low frictional resistance in a sliding area. The effort required to slide the loaded sliding mats on the support levels is then low, which has a positive effect on the energy and operating costs of the loading and unloading process.

It is advantageous that the sliding mat can be designed to accommodate one or more load units. During loading and unloading and for stowing in a ship or a land vehicle or even in an aircraft, the sliding mats with the load units positioned on them are placed horizontally on the support levels.

valley and in a particularly advantageous manner into or onto the ship and a deck and loading area provided therein, in particular pulled or pushed.

It is advantageous that a shifting unit, which is to be understood as a shifting mat and at least one cargo unit arranged on it, can be brought to sliding transport with the aid of the ship's equipment. It can be useful if a traction device acts on a front side of the shifting unit, in particular on the shifting mat.

The sliding mats according to the invention have different surfaces or structures on their top and bottom sides due to their function. Multi-layer structures have proven to be particularly advantageous, each of which has a particularly low-friction sliding surface on its lower area facing the support planes. The upper side of the sliding mats, on the other hand, is designed as a holding surface and is preferably made of a slip-inhibiting material to ensure stable holding of the load units.

It is also advantageous if a contour corresponding to the pallets, vehicles or their tires to be transported is incorporated into the holding surface or in the holding area.

Between the upper holding area with the holding surface and the lower sliding area with a particularly smooth sliding surface, a support structure is provided which serves to distribute the load without increasing the frictional resistance when moving.

The sliding mats and support levels can advantageously be designed to be relatively narrow and long, e.g. as strips, and can extend over a loading area or the entire length of the ship. Sliding mats that are also used as stowage mats in containers can be designed with appropriate dimensions.

The support levels are designed in a particularly simple, cost-effective way to resemble carpets or mats and, like the sliding mats, can be made of plastic. The support levels are also referred to below as support mats for short. The support mats can be arranged in different ways in or on the loading areas or storage areas of ships, transport vehicles, containers and the like and in or on the transport areas of the transfer points and securely fastened. In the simplest case, the support mats can be laid and fixed in place, e.g. glued, on a stable surface, for example on a platform-like support structure, like a floor covering.

The support mats can alternatively be designed as sliding loading and transport surfaces or layers. The support mats have an upper sliding area that interacts with the lower sliding surfaces of the sliding mats and should therefore be designed in such a way that there is very little frictional resistance during sliding transport.

It has been found that support mats or surfaces with a carpet structure, i.e. vertically positioned knobs, fibers, needles and the like, and with gaps to collect contaminants, show low frictional resistance, especially when the knobs, fibers and needles have a particularly smooth end region.

It is advisable to provide support levels in all accessible areas of the loading/unloading and stowage system and to lay them out, for example, with support mats. The sliding mats with the loading units or cargo can then be moved and arranged horizontally "seamlessly" in these areas. At the transition between the ship and the transport area, in which several longitudinally aligned support mats are conveniently arranged parallel to one another, a particularly high reloading speed is achieved if the transport area can be moved or moved at least in the area of the support levels transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ship and the support mats. For this adjustment of the support levels, these can be arranged, for example as support mats, on a support structure that is adjustable.

For ships and ferries with multiple decks or loading platforms, it is also advisable to make at least the supporting structure, and if necessary the entire transport area, height-adjustable.

The use of a pontoon or pontoon bridge is particularly simple and cost-effective. If the pontoons can be flooded, the transport area can be used as a height-adjustable landing platform at the required height of the ship levels to be loaded.

The transition between the transport area and a loading base, on which the loading units or the cargo are prepared for loading or the unloaded cargo and the loading units are placed, must be connected to the transport area via sliding support surfaces or plates, in particular if, in order to implement the

The containers are unloaded due to an extremely advantageous weight reduction and do not take part in sea transport as "transport covers". If a sliding mat is arranged as a so-called stowage mat under the cargo and in the container, the sliding system according to the invention can be used particularly effectively from the container to the intended loading deck of the ship to be loaded.

The main advantages of the loading/unloading and stowage system for ships according to the invention are an extraordinarily high reduction in weight, especially when cargo, such as pallets, boxes and the like, is transported without container packaging. The mat concept does not require any expensive investments, is largely wear-free and can also be used for ferries, car transporters and the like. The use of mats or carpet structures made of plastic, e.g. an elastomer, enables the loading and stowage strips to be adapted and optimized at short notice to the respective ships and their dimensions. In addition, it is possible to carry out unloading and loading in parallel.

The loading/unloading and stowage system according to the invention is not limited to the land-sea and sea-land transfer points, but can also be used for rail-bound goods and freight transport and for transshipment processes at the intersection points of rail traffic or road traffic and air traffic. Furthermore, the horizontal transport level also includes ramps or inclined planes, which, with appropriate holding or fastening devices, ensure a safe sliding movement of the sliding mats with the load.

The invention is further described below with reference to a drawing, in which, in a highly schematic representation,

Fig. 1 shows an arrangement of the loading/unloading and stowage system according to the invention at the start of loading a ship;

Fig. 2 shows an arrangement of the loading/unloading and storage system according to the invention in a second phase of the loading process according to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the loading/unloading and stowage system according to the invention during loading of a ship;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the loading/unloading and stowage system according to the invention during unloading of a ship;

Fig. 5 a highly schematic cross-section of a support structure in the area of a transport area with a sliding mat on top and

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the loading/unloading and storage system according to the invention.

Fig. 1 to Fig. 4 show, as components of the extremely light loading/unloading and stowage system, a transport area 8 as part of a berth of a ship 2, which is loaded and unloaded at the stern.

The transport area 8 is formed by a pontoon 10, which can be flooded and enables loading and unloading of a lower and upper deck 11 of the ship 2 according to the shifting concept.

The start of the loading process is shown in Fig. 1. On the transport area 8 or pontoon 10, support levels are arranged as support mats 7 and sliding mats 6 (see also Figures 3 and 4) are arranged on these. With the help of the sliding mats 6, motor vehicles 20, a container 13 and cargo 19, which is arranged on pallets 21, are positioned as loading units 4. Together with the sliding mats 6, the loading units 4 are pushed or pulled from the pontoon 10 to a lower deck and, when this is loaded, to an upper deck 11.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the change in height of the pontoon 10 and the loading of an upper deck 11 when the lower deck 11 is already loaded.

From the top view of Figures 3 and 4 it can be seen that four web-shaped support surfaces or mats 7 are arranged on the transport area 8 and sliding mats 6 are arranged above them when the unloading process is completed (see Fig. 4). The sliding mats 6 and support mats 7 have a width and length that is matched to the loading areas of the ship 2. This enables very rapid loading and unloading, especially if two adjacent sliding mats 6 can also be pulled parallel from the transport area 8 into the ship 2.

From Fig. 4 it can be seen that the support planes 7 are designed as sliding surfaces and can be integrated into the loading and deck surfaces. Mat or sheet-like supports

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The support planes are fixed in position on the deck surfaces 11 and can be guided, for example, in rails (not shown). A comparison of Figures 3 and 4 shows that the combination of 2 x 2 support mats 7 and the sliding mats 6 arranged on them, if applicable, are moved or shifted transversely to the longitudinal direction of the ship 2 in order to enable the loading of the ship, i.e. adjustment of all sliding mats 6 via a rear opening 22 of the ship 2.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a cross-section through the loading/unloading and stowage system. One of the levels required for unloading, loading and stowing in a ship 2, in a container 13 (see also Fig. 6) is designed as a sliding mat 6, suitable for absorbing high forces during the sliding process and provided with a lower sliding area 26 with a sliding surface 16. This level 6 slides on knobs or fibers 18, the upper end areas of which are designed as a sliding structure 17 and form a common sliding area 26 with the lower sliding surface 16 of the sliding mat 6. In this embodiment, a support mat 7 is attached as a support level 7 over an adhesive layer 24 to a rigid, e.g. plate-shaped, support structure 9. The support structure 9 rests on a substructure 12, which is arranged at least in the transport area 8 (see Fig. 4 and 6) in order to enable the displacement shown in Fig. 3 and 4 across the ship 2. Sliding rollers 29 are arranged between the support structure 9 and the substructure. In the area of a ship's deck 11, the support levels 7 will generally not be adjusted horizontally, which is why a support level 7 here comprises the support structure 9, i.e. a deck or loading surface, and a sliding surface, a support mat 7 or track.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of the particularly easy and fast loading/unloading and stowage system. In a loading base 3, the cargo units 4 to be loaded onto the ship 2 (shown schematically) are prepared in a preparatory phase for moving with the transport system 6, 7 according to the invention. An arrow A indicates the order in which cargo 19 is pulled from containers 13 onto support level 7 of the transport area 8.

In the transport area 8, in this example, three strip-like support mats 7 are laid out on a support structure 9 and rigidly attached. Cargo 19, which has been pulled out of containers that have already been removed with the help of sliding mats 6, which are designed as storage mats for the individual cargo units of a container 13, and pulled in one plane over the transport area 8 into the ship 2 (not shown). Fastening or securing elements (not shown), which are provided on the sliding mats 6 and in the area of the ship 2 on the support mats 7, ensure the necessary securing of the cargo 19.

Claims (17)

- 12 - D-81479 Munich German Patent Attorneys jel 089-79 90 47 European Patent Attorneys p 089-7915256 Euro Trademark Attorneys A 268 CLAIMS: 1. Loading/unloading and stowage system for vessels with a loading base (3) for cargo units (4) and a transport device for transporting the cargo units (4) from the loading base (3) to a ship (2) or from a ship (2) to the loading base (3), characterized in that the transport device is designed for horizontally displacing the load units (4) and has a support plane (7) and a displacement plane (6), that sliding mats (6) are provided as the sliding plane which are designed to accommodate the loading units (7), and that the support plane (7) in the ship (2) and in a transport area (5) between the ship (2) and the loading base (3) is designed in the form of a strip or band. - 13 - 2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that the support plane (7) is arranged in the form of support mats (7) on a support structure (9) or is designed as a sliding surface or sliding coating on a support structure (9) and that a traction means is provided for the horizontal displacement of the sliding mats (6) and the load units (4) arranged thereon. 3. System according to claim 1 or 2,
characterized in that the sliding mats (6) and the support mats (7) adjoin one another in a sliding region (26) and have a low frictional resistance when sliding. 4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the sliding mats (6) have a smooth sliding surface (16) and the support mats (7) have a carpet-like structure with smooth knobs, needles or fibers (18) as a sliding structure (17). 5. System according to claim 4, characterized in that the sliding mats (6) are designed as multi-layer structures and a support structure (14) is arranged between the sliding surface (16) on the underside and a holding surface (15) on the upper side. 6. System according to claim 5, characterized in that the holding surfaces (15) of the sliding mats (6) consist of a dimensionally stable material and in particular have a configuration which is adapted to the respective loading units (4) 7. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding mats (6) and the support mats (7) are designed in strip form. 8. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding mats (6) are designed as loading and stowage strips which extend over almost the length of a ship, or as stowage mats for containers. 9. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support mats (7) are attached to support structures (9). 10. System according to claim 9, characterized in that the support mats (7) are attached to the support structures (9) by gluing. 11. System according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the support structures (9) have a substructure (12) at least in the transport area (8) and can be moved or displaced with the support mats (8) transversely to the longitudinal axis of the ship (2). 12. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sliding mats (6) are provided with holding elements for fastening the loading units (4). 13. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that decks (11) of the ships (2) and loading floors of ferries, container ships and the like have securing elements for the sliding mats (6) and/or the cargo units (4) positioned thereon, for example frames for guiding the sliding mats (6). 14. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support structure (9) in the transport area (8) is horizontally and/or vertically adjustable with the attached support mats (7) and optionally with sliding mats (6) and loading units (4). 15. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a pontoon (10) or a pontoon bridge is provided as the transport area (8). 16. System according to claim 15, characterized in that structures, for example tents for events and the like, are arranged on the pontoon (10) or the pontoon bridge. 17. System according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support plane (7) and/or the displacement plane (6) is made of a plastic, in particular an elastomer.