This invention relates to the fabrication of large aluminium vessels and tanks for marine or other purposes.
Ship and boat construction industry has a history of thousands of years that has generally involved much manual labour to create the uneven, compound surfaces that are required of the aerodynamic/hydrodynamic hull forms. From wood, to steel, fibreglass and aluminium alloys, large groups of people have been required to assemble large vessels from many custom-formed individual sheets that are attached to frames that must be built in a bespoke manner for each vessel. Although fiberglass boat-building methods have made mass production possible, this is for smaller boats, and not as cost effective for large ships or offshore structures.
Although there have been innovations in shipbuilding such as the Sandwich Plate System (SPS) that improves the strength of hull and deck forms, and reduces their weight, these methods do not incorporate the automation that eliminates much of the manual forming and cutting normally required for ship and tank building.
The prior art includes patents on boat fabrication technologies, one of which is:
In A. Kazunari, S. Nobuo; Y. Shingo, I. Hiroshi, and U Norimasa in JP7125681, the inventors disclose an aluminium boat fabrication technology for honeycomb panels connection, but this is not competitive with the present invention.
The present invention provides the process, method and devices by which the automated production of large vessels, walls and tanks can be accomplished, providing a practical means by which the labour costs of the shipbuilding, tank and wall construction enterprises can be significantly reduced, thus ultimately reducing overall costs and production time and improving manufacturing tolerances.
The invention includes a novel use of the new technology to make a hull or wall form that is significantly more resistant to damage and incorporates watertight pockets that also improve a vessel's buoyancy when damaged. Such a hull form is also substantially stiffer than other methods of hull or vessel construction.
One aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a process and method whereby aluminium in ingot form enters an assembly line, is converted to molten form, forced into a vacuum casting machine, exits the machine to a heat treatment oven, proceeds to a robotic assembly line where it is then placed at high temperature in proximity to other, similar parts, and robotically welded to form a large vessel wall, with minimal involvement of manual labour.
A second aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide an aluminum-alloy, die-cast-able vessel wall piece that incorporates Transverse Frames and Longitudinal Members required for structural support under the high pressure that vessels must be designed for, whether they be floating vessels or vessels holding liquids or small solid particles.
A third aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide a means and device of part holding that allows automated welding on the part production line, such part holding devices being removable by mechanical impact.
A fourth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to provide beveled edges on a cast vessel part so that human intervention is not required prior to welding.
A fifth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention is to automatically and inexpensively form water-tight enclosures within the walls of ship vessels or tanks so that they may be more resistant to damage and sinking
The devices can be fabricated from any of the various alloys of aluminium or even of plastic, concrete or composites as is known in the art.
The invention is herein described, as through example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Thus the reader can see the invention provides a means of creating shapes of metal, especially for large vessels, by casting from metal, such as aluminium alloy, magnesium or other castable metal, which can be welded by one of many welding processes, such as friction stir weld, GMAW or GTAW, as is known in the art, using robotic welding machines, affected by offline programming for instance.
These shapes and welded sections can incorporate through vacuum-casting in advance, framing of any shape or thickness, as well as features such as ribs, fillets, bevels, and holes, and be combined with one another to provide buoyancy, sound proofing or greater structural rigidity, in facing pairs or multiple-faced place of any curvature.
While the above description contains specific details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope, but rather as an exemplification of one or several embodiments thereof. Other variations are possible.
Accordingly, the scope should be determined not be the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/968,387, filed on Mar. 21, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/968,389, filed on Mar. 21, 2014 by the same inventor, which are incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61968387 | Mar 2014 | US | |
61968389 | Mar 2014 | US |