Patent Application
20230399193
The invention relates to a cable carousel comprising a support grid and upstanding supports on the support grid that confine a region in which a heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical can be received and supported by the support grid, wherein the upstanding supports are placeable on the support grid at preselected positions defining both an inner barrier and an outer barrier so as to tailor the cable carousel to a dimension between said inner and outer barriers which is necessary and sufficient to store a predetermined length of said cable. The cable carousel is provided with shores connecting the inner barrier to the support grid.
A cable carousel is disclosed in EP 3 260 751 and is used when a heavy-duty electric cable is to be provided between an offshore windmill installation and an intermediate electrical transfer station, as well as when such a heavy-duty electric cable is to be provided between such an electrical transfer station and an onshore connection to the electric grid.
The cable carousel of EP 3 260 751 can be tailored with dimensions to suit the particular heavy-duty electric cable that has to be supported and stored in or on the cable carousel. The costs of an offshore windmill park are for the larger part attributable to the costs of the heavy-duty electric cables to be installed and the cable carousels to be used for transport, the cost of shipping the cable carousel with the cable, and the labour costs of putting the heavy-duty electric cables in place.
When a heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical is to be collected from a manufacturing site overseas, a ship with an empty cable carousel has to travel to the manufacturing site, upon arrival at the manufacturing site the electric cable or umbilical must be wound onto the cable carousel and embarked on the ship, and the ship can then travel back with the carousel provided with the electric cable or umbilical to the intended destination where the heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical is intended to be used. All in all this is an expensive routine since it involves much time to embark the cable carousel with the electric cable or umbilical on the ship, the traveling time of the ship, and in general the idle time of the ship. This idle time not only relates to the time required for embarking the cable carousel with the cable, but also for disembarking the cable carousel with the cable after having arrived at the destination where the heavy electric cable or umbilical must be put to use.
It is an object of the invention to make embarking and disembarking of the cable carousel with the cable an easier task which can be accomplished quicker.
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to a cable carousel in accordance with one or more of the appended claims.
In a first aspect of the invention, the shores are connectable to the inner barrier at one of a series of preselected positions above the support grid. This enables, next to a course adjustment of the length of the shores themselves, a finetuning to the required dimensions of the cable carousel. This enables tailoring of the cable carousel to the length of the cable to be transported. Moreover, the footprint area that is required for placing the carousel with the cable on the vessel remains limited to the very least that is required for this purpose.
In another aspect of the invention which can be applied independently or in combination with the feature mentioned in the previous paragraph, reinforcement beams are provided within the support grid, which beams are regularly distributed in a star pattern and are connected to a central connecting point within the support grid, which is positioned on a virtual vertical axis which is encircled by the inner and outer barriers. This construction is particularly suitable for transport of very heavy cables due to their extended lengths, and which are accordingly more heavy than normal.
It is preferred that the shores are regularly distributed in a region confined by the inner barrier. This provides a more or less uniform security provision that fixes the cable carousel with the cable in all directions, so that transport the vessel motions of pitch, jaw and heave will not adversely affect the security of mounting of the cable carousel with the cable on the vessel.
It is further preferred that the shores are extendable and fixable at a preselected length. This enables, again with limited means, that the cable carousel to be used for transporting a cable can have different dimensions tailored to the length of the cable at hand.
In another aspect of the invention which can be applied in combination with the preamble of claim 1, and wherein the shores connect to a connecting organ which is centrally provided within the cable carousel, and wherein the connecting organ is connectable or connected to the support grid, it is preferred that the connecting organ and the support grid are each provided with an aperture, wherein the aperture of the connecting organ and the aperture of the support grid are alignable, and said apertures are equipped to receive a locking pile. By applying this feature, the cable carousel with the cable stored in the carousel can be easily secured.
In still another aspect of the invention which can be applied in combination with the preamble of claim 1, the support grid is equipped to cooperate with a yoke of a transport vessel, which is arranged to receive the locking pile that is provided through the aligned apertures of the connecting organ and the support grid. This promotes the robustness of the construction. All horizontal forces that occur during sea transport are absorbed by the relatively flexible construction with the inner barrier and the shores. These forces are eventually discharged through the locking pile in the middle to the pontoon or transport vessel on which the support grid is provided. Accordingly, the invention is also embodied in a vessel provided with a yoke which is equipped to receive the locking pile that is provided through the aligned apertures of the connecting organ and the support grid.
As already mentioned above, in a particular aspect of the invention reinforcement beams are provided within the support grid that are regularly distributed in a star pattern, and said star-pattern-beams are connected to a central connecting point within the support grid positioned on a virtual vertical axis which is encircled by the inner and outer barriers. This construction is particularly suitable for heavy cables due to their extensive lengths. It is then preferable that the central connecting point is positioned in line with and below the connecting organ which is provided on the support grid.
To promote the sturdiness and the robustness of the construction it is further preferable that the inner barrier is connected with horizontal beams to the connecting organ immediately above the support grid.
Advantageously the horizontal beams are provided in a star pattern above the support grid, corresponding to the star pattern of the reinforcement beams within the support grid.
It is further preferred that the horizontal beams have a preselected length and that their connection with the inner barrier and the connecting organ is dismountable. This supports that the dimensions of the cable carousel can be accommodated to different dimensions of cables.
Preferably the inner barrier is provided with horizontal bars that are parallel to and distant from the support grid, and connected to the locking pile mounted fixed or removably in the connecting organ. This further promotes the sturdiness and the robustness of the construction.
It is also preferred that the horizontal bars are extendable and fixable at a preselected length. This also supports the adjustment of the cable carousel to different dimensions of the cable to be transported.
Preferably the support grid is assembled from bottom supports, wherein said bottom supports and/or the upstanding supports may be assembled together with dimensions not exceeding the dimensions of a standard sea container. This enables that the respective parts of the cable carousel can be easily shipped at low costs, without need to reserve a particular ship for this purpose wherein unused space is occupied by the cable carousel as is the case in the prior art. Only when the parts of the cable carousel of the invention has arrived at the manufacturing site of the heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical, the cable carousel can be assembled and the electric cable or umbilical can be provided thereon, and only after that time it is necessary to avail of a standard cargo vessel or transportation barge for transporting the cable carousel with the electric cable or umbilical to its destination.
Preferably the support grid is embodied by a series of load carrying movable vehicles, preferably self-propelled modular trailers. This makes winding and unwinding of the heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical a relatively easy task by the movable vehicles appropriately driving around in circles.
Objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Any reference to a “first” or other “aspects” or “embodiments” of the present invention are not intended to give preference to any particular embodiment as a best mode or best version of the invention.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:
Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.
In
Upstanding supports 2, 2′ that are provided on support grid 1—also see
Upstanding supports 2, 2′ are removably mounted on support grid 1. It will thus be clear that upstanding supports 2, 2′ are placeable on support grid 1 at preselected positions so as to tailor the cable carousel of the invention to a dimension which is necessary and sufficient to store a predetermined length of the heavy-duty electric cable or umbilical.
The adaptability of the cable carousel of the invention to different dimensions and lengths of the electrical cable to be transported, while the cable carousel of the invention still provides a reliable and robust storage facility will be explained hereinafter with reference to
Horizontal beams 17 are also provided in a star pattern and are placed correspondingly above the star pattern of reinforcement beams 16 within support grid 1.
Horizontal beams 17 have a preselected length and their connection with inner barrier 7 and connecting organ 12 is dismountable.
In one aspect, a cable carousel of the invention may be provided with shores 9 connecting inner barrier 7 to support grid 1.
It is most clearly shown in
In another aspect of the invention, preferably support grid 1 is assembled from separable bottom supports 1′, and bottom supports 1′ and/or upstanding side supports 2 may be assembled together with dimensions not exceeding the dimensions of a standard sea container. An example thereof is shown in
Embodiments of the present invention can include every combination of features that are disclosed herein independently from each other. Although the invention has been discussed in the foregoing with reference to an exemplary embodiment of the cable carousel of the invention, the invention is not restricted to this particular embodiment which can be varied in many ways without departing from the invention. The discussed exemplary embodiment shall therefore not be used to construe the appended claims strictly in accordance therewith. On the contrary the embodiment is merely intended to explain the wording of the appended claims without intent to limit the claims to this exemplary embodiment. The scope of protection of the invention shall therefore be construed in accordance with the appended claims only, wherein a possible ambiguity in the wording of the claims shall be resolved using this exemplary embodiment. The terms, “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” mean “one or more” unless context explicitly dictates otherwise.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027729 | Mar 2021 | NL | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/NL2022/050124, entitled “CABLE CAROUSEL FOR HEAVY-DUTY ELECTRIC CABLE OR UMBILICAL”, filed Mar. 7, 2022, which claims priority to Netherlands Patent Application No. 2027729, entitled “CABLE CAROUSEL FOR HEAVY-DUTY ELECTRIC CABLE OR UMBILICAL”, filed Mar. 9, 2021, and the specifications and claims thereof are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/NL2022/050124 | Mar 2022 | US |
| Child | 18453083 | US |
