Patent Application
20190291826
The present invention generally relates to a connection device for establishing a connection between a vehicle and a fluid or energy distribution system. It further relates to a connection system comprising such a connection device.
Within the context of the present description, a vehicle is a mobile device that is used for carrying or transporting persons, goods and/or equipment on land, in the water or in the air. Typical vehicles are e.g. land vehicles (as for example: cars, trucks, busses, movable working machines, . . . ), rail-guided vehicles (as for example: trains, trams, cranes, . . . ), watercraft vehicles (as for example: ships, boats, ferries, submarines, . . . ), aircraft vehicles (as for example: planes).
WO 2004/099061 discloses a hydrocarbon transfer system comprising an articulated arm mechanism carrying a releasable connector for connecting to a floating structure. A substantially vertical first arm whose rear end is connected via a pair of first articulations to a support structure. A substantially horizontal second arm is connected with its rear end via a pair of second articulations to the front end of the first arm. Each of the first and second articulations provides three rotational degrees of freedom, identified as pitch, roll and yaw. The front end of the second arm carries via an articulation with three rotational degrees of freedom the releasable connector. Counterweights and damping means are provided to be able to easier control the pivoting movement (pitch) of the second arm about a horizontal axis defined by the pair of second articulations connecting the first arm to the second arm.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection device for establishing a connection between a vehicle and a fluid or energy distribution system, wherein this device shall have a compact, rugged and cost-efficient design, shall be easy to control during the connection operation and/or shall ensure a reliable connection, even in case of large misalignments, and/or shall tolerate small movements of the vehicle while connected to the connection device.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a connection device that is best suited for establishing a connection between a watercraft vehicle and a fluid or energy distribution system.
In accordance with the present invention, a connection device for establishing a connection between a vehicle and a fluid or energy distribution system comprises: a main support structure, a connector head, for releasably connecting to a connection facility on the vehicle; a support beam having a longitudinal axis, a front-end supporting the connector head and a rear end; a support mechanism supporting the rear end in the main support structure, so that the support beam is movable along its longitudinal axis and has two translational degrees of freedom that are perpendicular to its longitudinal axis; and an articulation with three rotational degrees of freedom connected between the front-end of the support beam and the connector head. It will be appreciated that connection device may have a compact, rugged and cost efficient design, and nevertheless ensure a reliable connection, even in case of large misalignments, and tolerate small movements of the vehicle while connected to the connection device. Last but not least, in comparison to the hydrocarbon transfer system disclosed in WO 2004/099061, the proposed connection device greatly simplifies control of the trajectory of the coupling head during a connection operation.
A particularly compact, rugged and cost efficient embodiment of the support mechanism, which supports the support beam in the main support structure, comprises a three-dimensional parallelogram mechanism having a fixed rear end link supported by the main support structure and a movable front-end link supporting the support beam, whereby the support beam remains parallel to itself when the front-end link is moved out of a home position, either upward and downward or to the left and to the right. This home position is advantageously defined by springs and by gravity forces.
In the preferred embodiment, the front-end link of the three-dimensional parallelogram mechanism supports an elongate guide structure in a cantilevered way, wherein the rear end of the support beam is guided by this elongate guide structure so that the support beam is movable in a guided way along its longitudinal axis. This elongate guide structure is advantageously conceived as a kind of guide channel, in which the rear end of the support beam is slidingly received. To achieve a smooth guided movement, the rear end of the support beam advantageously includes wheels that are guided in rails of the elongate guide structure. Usually, the device further comprises a reversible drive for driving the support beam in a forward movement and a backward movement along the elongate guide structure. Such a drive is advantageously a linear drive, preferably a chain drive, more preferably an endless chain drive with a servo or stepper motor.
The articulation connected between the front-end of the support beam and the connector head is advantageously a cardan joint with three rotational degrees of freedom. The axes of rotation of two of these rotational degrees of freedom are preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the support beam, wherein the axis of rotation of the third rotational degree of freedom is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support beam.
A preferred embodiment of such a cardan joint includes: an inner ring with two inner ring pivots, which are spaced by 180°, and two inner ring slotted holes, which are circumferentially extending and located at 90° from the two inner ring pivots; an outer ring with two outer ring pivots, which are spaced by 180°, and two outer ring slotted holes, which are circumferentially extending and located at 90° from the two outer ring pivots. The outer ring is mounted about the inner ring so that both rings are coaxial with a common central axis and can rotate relative to one another about this common central axis. The inner ring pivots are circumferentially guided in the outer ring slotted holes, and the outer ring pivots are circumferentially guided in the inner ring slotted holes. Thus, the outer ring and the inner ring cooperate to provide a first rotational degree of freedom. The outer ring pivots and inner ring pivots cooperate with the front-end of the support beam and the connector head, to define two further rotational degrees of freedom. It will be appreciated that this is a particularly compact, rugged and cost efficient embodiment of the articulation connected between the front-end of the support beam and the connector head.
Each of the three rotational degrees of freedom of the articulation connected between the front-end of the support beam and the connector head is preferably mechanically limited to less than +/−10°, preferably to less than +/−6°, most preferably in the range of +/−3° to +/−6°. Such rotational degrees of freedom are generally sufficiently important to ensure that the orientation of the connector head can compensate angular misalignments during the connection operation, and tolerate angular movements of the vehicle (rolling, pitching and yawing), while the connection device is connected to the connection facility of the vehicle. They are also sufficiently small to avoid a blocking of the connector head during the connection operation. If bigger rotational degrees of freedom are required, it is recommended to provide a spring centred home position for the connector head.
It will be appreciated that the proposed device is particularly interesting, if the vehicle to which a connection is to be established is a ship. This is, amongst others, due to the fact that the device tolerates without problem small translation and angular movements of the ship to which it is connected.
If the vehicle to which a connection is to be established is a ship, the proposed device advantageously further comprises a floating body supporting the main support structure.
In a preferred embodiment, the connector head comprises: a front side; a connector or a connector arrangement arranged on the front side; and at least four guide rolls or four guide roll arrangements arranged symmetrically around the connector or connector arrangement and/or two guide pins or two guide tubes or a guide pin and a guide tube arranged around the connector or the connector arrangement.
A connection system for establishing a connection between a vehicle and a fluid or energy distribution system comprises: a connection device as specified above; and a funnel-shaped connection facility on the vehicle. For establishing a connection between the vehicle and the fluid or energy distribution system, the connection head is introduced into the funnel-shaped connection facility.
In a preferred embodiment of this connection system, the funnel-shaped connection facility has an inlet section that has the shape of a truncated pyramid with four surfaces, each of these surfaces being capable of cooperating with one of the four guide rolls or one of the four guide roll arrangements on the connection head for centring the connection head in the funnel-shaped connection facility.
In a further preferred embodiment of this connection system, the funnel-shaped connection facility has at least one guide pin that cooperates with a guide tube on the connector head and/or at least one guide tube that cooperates with a guide pin on the connector head.
The afore-described and other features, aspects and advantages of the invention will be better understood with regard to the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention and upon reference to the attached drawings, wherein:
While this device 10 has been especially developed for connecting an electrically powered ferry to an electric power distribution system, for recharging the batteries of the ferry, the vehicle 12 may also be: a land vehicle (as for example: a car, a truck, a bus, a movable working machine, . . . ); a railed vehicle (as for example: a train, a tram, a crane, . . . ); a watercraft vehicle (as for example: a ships, a boat, a submarine, . . . ); or an aircraft vehicle (as for example: a plane).
The distribution system 14, to which this vehicle is to be connected, may also be a distribution system for: a liquid (as for example: water, liquid fuel, hydraulic oil, or any liquid transported by the vehicle); a gas (as for example: pressurized air, gaseous fuel, or any gas transported by the vehicle); or even a pneumatically or hydraulically conveyable solid/fluid or solid/gas mixture.
The connection device 10 comprises an outer casing and main support structure 16, which advantageously comprises a closed casing protecting the mechanisms inside against harsh environments. In
In a preferred embodiment, the mechanism 26 comprises a three-dimensional parallelogram mechanism. This mechanism has a fixed rear end link or frame link 28, which is formed by (respectively supported by) the main support structure 16, and a movable front-end link formed by a front plate 30. Four parallel connection links 32i (i=1 to 4), which all have the same length, connect the movable front plate 30 to the rear end link 28, wherein eight cardan joints 34i (i=1 to 8), each of them having two rotational degrees of freedom, form the four joints between the parallel connection links 32i and the front plate 30, respectively the four joints between the parallel connection links 32i and the rear end link 28. The front plate 30 can consequently be moved vertically up and down (i.e. parallel to reference axis X) and sideways to the left and to the right (i.e. parallel to reference axis Y), wherein the three-dimensional parallelogram mechanism 26 ensures that the movable front plate 30 remains always parallel to itself.
Two suspension springs 361, 362 are connected between the upper connection links 321,2 and the outer casing 16, so as to resiliently oppose a downward and sideward movement of the front plate 30. In a section that is perpendicular to the plane of
The front plate 30 supports an elongate guide structure 38 in a cantilevered manner in the space between the four parallel connection links 32i. The three-dimensional parallelogram mechanism 26 consequently ensures that the elongate guide structure 38 can be moved vertically up and down (i.e. a movement parallel to reference axis X) and sideways to the left and to the right (i.e. a movement parallel to reference axis Y), while always remaining parallel to itself (i.e. parallel to the reference axis Z). In the elongate guide structure 38, the rear end of the support beam 22 is guided so as to be solely movable in a translation movement along its longitudinal axis 24, i.e. parallel to the reference axis Z. In a preferred embodiment, the elongate guide structure 38 has the form of a guide channel 38 in which the rear end of the support beam 22 is slidingly received. To achieve a smooth linear guidance of the support beam 22 along its longitudinal axis 24, the rear end of the support beam 22 is preferably equipped with two pairs of wheels 40 guided in two pairs of rails 42, but other kinds of guidance systems, with or without wheels and/or rails, are not excluded. To move the support beam 22 along its longitudinal axis 24 forward and backward parallel to the reference axis Z, the support beam 22 is connected to a reversible linear drive 44, preferably an endless chain drive equipped with a reversible motor 46, preferably a servo motor or a stepper motor. Alternatively, a reversible motor may also be mounted on the support beam 22 and be equipped with a toothed wheel engaging with a toothed rail or with a chain, which are fixed on the guide channel 38. As a further alternative, a linear motor may be used for driving support beam 22.
The front plate 30 is arranged behind a front opening 48 in the outer casing 16. Through this front opening 48, the support beam 22 can push the connector head 18 out of the casing 16, in the direction of reference axis Z, or retract it back into a frontal cavity 50 of the outer casing 16. When the device 10 is not used, the support beam 22 is entirely retracted, wherein the connector head 18 is located in the frontal cavity 50, which is then advantageously closed by means of e.g. a sliding door, a hatch or a rolling shutter (not shown). In
Still referring to
Referring now to
Alternatively, the connection facility 20 may be equipped with an arrangement of electrical connectors, which are in this case mechanically and electrically complementary to an arrangement of electrical connectors supported by the connector head 18, so that the connectors of both arrangements may be axially plugged together to create a temporary electrical connection. It remains to be noted that the plug and socket connectors 74, 94 shown in
Reference numbers 961 and 962 identify two guide pins, which are symmetrically arranged with regard to the electrical connector 94 and complementary to the guide tubes 801 and 802 on the connector head 18. A sliding door, a hatch or a rolling shutter (not shown) can be provided to close the inlet funnel 82 or, alternatively, the front opening of the connector chamber 88, when the connection facility 20 is not used.
For establishing a connection to the vehicle 12, the connector head 18 must be brought by an axial forward movement of the support beam 22 in the direction of reference axis Z into the inlet opening 84 of the inlet funnel 82. If, when it penetrates into the inlet funnel 82, the connector head 18 is not perfectly aligned with the inlet funnel 82, a first of the guide roll 78i will contact one of the two inclined walls 86i that are parallel to reference axis X (respectively parallel to reference axis Y). When the connector head 18 penetrates deeper into the inlet funnel 82, the inclined wall 86i, which is in contact with this first guide roll 78i, will push the connector head 18 in the direction of reference axis Y (respectively of reference axis X) towards the centre of the inlet funnel 82, wherein the support beam 22 will follow this translation movement, due to its translational degree of freedom along reference axis Y (respectively along reference axis X), and hereby remain parallel to itself. As the connector head 18 further penetrates into the inlet funnel 82, a second of the guide rolls 78i will contact one of the two inclined walls 86i that are parallel to reference axis Y (respectively parallel to reference axis X). When the connector head 18 still further progresses into the inlet funnel 82, the inclined wall 86i, which is in contact with this second guide roll 78i, will push the connector head 18 in the direction of reference axis X (respectively of reference axis Y) towards the centre of the inlet funnel 82, wherein the support beam 22 will follow this translation movement, due to its translational degree of freedom along reference axis X (respectively along reference axis Y), and hereby remain parallel to itself. Thus the connector head 18 will be urged by the inclined walls 86i into the connector chamber 88. The dimensions of the cross-section of this connector chamber 88 are only slightly bigger than the dimensions of a rectangle exactly circumscribing the four guide rolls 78i in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 24 (or the reference axis Z), to ensure that the connector head 18 enters without problem into the connector chamber 88 but is nevertheless sufficiently centred therein to achieve a swift connection progress. In particular, the centring of the connector head 18 in the connector chamber 88 has to be sufficient to ensure that the guide pins 961, 962 penetrate with their cone-shaped ends into the guide tubes 801, 802, as the connector head 18 penetrates into the connector chamber 88. The cone-shaped ends of the guide pins 961, 962 will then provide a fine-tuning of the centring of the connector head 18 in the connector chamber 88, before the electrical connector 74 comes into mechanical contact with the electrical connector 94.
The three rotational degrees of freedom of the articulation 52 allow to compensate angular misalignments between the mating parts on the connector head 18 and in the connector chamber 88. Due to the three rotational degrees of freedom of the articulation 52, all initial angular misalignments between parts on the connector head 18 mating with parts in the connector chamber 88 will indeed disappear as soon as the guide pins 961, 962 sufficiently penetrate into the guide tubes 801, 802. Once, the guide pins 961, 962 have fully engaged the guide tubes 801, 802, the connector head 18 will be firmly blocked in the connector chamber 88 in the direction of reference axes X and Y. If the vehicle 12, for example in case of a ship, is subjected to small vertical and/or horizontal movements during its connection to the connection device 10, the support beam 22 can easily follow these movements, due its two translational degrees of freedom that are perpendicular to its longitudinal axis 24. Small angular movements of the vehicle 12 (i.e. a rolling, pitching and yawing), during its connection to the connection device 10, will be absorbed in the articulation 52, so that they will not affect the support beam 22.
It will be noted that instead of having two guide tubes 80i on the connector head 18 and two guide pins 96i in the connector chamber 88, one may also have two guide pins on the connector head 18 and two guide tubes in the connector chamber 88 or one guide tube and one guide pin on the connector head 18 and in the connector chamber 88. Furthermore, while the guide tubes 80i are the preferred solution for cooperating with the guide pins 96i, it is not excluded to replace such a guide tube 80i simply with a bore in a structural element of the connector head 18 or the connector chamber 88. Finally, instead of or in addition to having cone-shaped ends on the guide pins, one may also have guide tubes 80i with funnel-shaped inlet sections.
Referring again to
To be able to compensate for bigger differences of the height of the connection facility 20 with regard to water level 108 (for example, in case of different ship sizes or the same ship size with a different ballasted condition), the connection device 10 may be supported on the floating body 104 by means of an auxiliary support structure 110 that is adjustable in height. Alternatively or additionally, the floating body 104 may also be equipped with ballast tanks (not shown) that can be filled with more or less water and pumped empty to adjust the height of the connection device 10 above water level 108. Furthermore, instead of being fixed to the dock 102, the articulated link mechanism 106 can of course be fixed to a vehicle (not shown), in particular a rail-guided vehicle, that moves along the dock 102. Finally, if the ship, in particular a ferry, is connected to the dock 102 by means of a ramp with a king-pin, or similar, for holding the ferry in position, the connection device 10 may of course be directly supported on this ramp.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 93297 | Nov 2016 | LU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2017/076813 | 10/20/2017 | WO | 00 |
