Patent Application
20160023730
The field of the invention is that of pleasure boating or recreational boating and the storage or parking of boats.
More specifically, the invention relates to a system for putting on hold boats afloat on a water body after they have been launched and/or before they are hauled out.
The invention is not limited to one particular type of water body, and can therefore be applied both to a marine water body (on the coast) and to an inland water body, on the edge of an estuary, or to inland waterways (streams, rivers, canals, lakes, etc.).
The present invention can be applied especially but not exclusively when a system for storing boats on land (dry docks or boat parks) is implemented, and when the question therefore arises of putting boats on hold when afloat, on the one hand after they are launched by the land storage system and, on the other, before they are hauled out of water towards a land storage system.
The present invention can be combined with a traditional system of storage.
More generally, it can be applied in all cases where the question arises of putting boats on hold when afloat, after they have been launched and/or before they are hauled out of water, and therefore it can be applied whatever the type of launching and hauling-out station, i.e. whatever the way in which the boats are handled (on land) until they reach the launching position or starting from the hauling-out position (with or without land storage systems, of the dry dock or boat park type).
For several years now, there has been a need for new parking places for pleasure boats or recreational boats. In the face of the unsatisfied demand for places in harbors, interest has been focused on solutions for storing boats on land, as alternative solutions complementary to floating ports, especially for the storage of small boats.
In general, there are two large classes of solutions for storing boats on land: dry docks and boat parks.
Dry docks offer pleasure-boat owners a service of storage on land and of launching of the boats when they request it, the operations being performed professionally, using specific, speedy and high-performance handling equipment (wharf fork-lift trucks, self-propelling hydraulic dolly on ramp, dock basin lift, cranes or mechanical boat lifts with removal on transporter trucks, systems with travelling cranes or carrier units, etc.). The boats are parked horizontally (for example on an open area (platform) or vertically (in metal structures in the form of racks on several levels (“boat racks”), outdoors or in shelters).
Boat parks are terrestrial spaces allocated permanently or seasonally to the parking of small boats launched by light handling means (tugs or trucks) most usually by the user himself, if the launching is done by using a ramp, or by means of heavier handling machines (jib cranes, power lift trucks or boat lifts) available on self-service or handled by the park manager if the launching is done from a wharf or quay.
We shall strive more particularly here below in the document to describe the problems and issues that the inventors of the present patent application have confronted and that exist when a dry dock type storage system for storing boats on land is implemented. As already mentioned further above, the invention is naturally not limited to this particular context of application but is of value in all cases where boats afloat have to be put on hold after they have been launched and/or before they are hauled out of water.
In a dry dock, a holding area for boats while afloat must imperatively be planned in proximity to the handling wharf (the wharf in which the handling machines used for launching boats or hauling them out of water are placed).
This place for keeping boats on hold when afloat has two symmetrical functions for the dry dock operator:
In other words, the area for keeping boats on hold when afloat is aimed at reducing the bottlenecks constituted by the launching/hauling-out stations for boats and therefore at minimizing the waiting time of the pleasure-boat owners and meeting demand and the requirements of busy periods as efficiently as possible. It also enables secure removal or return of boats that is independent of the handling and storage areas.
Classically, the holding area comprises a holding wharf or a holding pontoon or floating dock. Its size depends for example on the capacity of the dry dock, the rate at which the boats exit during peak times and the speed of the handling operations.
The presently used technique for placing boats on hold (the holding wharf or holding pontoon) is not optimal and has several drawbacks, especially:
One particular embodiment of the invention proposes a system for putting boats on hold when they are afloat on a water body after they have been launched and/or before they are hauled out of the water, this system comprising:
Thus, this particular embodiment of the invention relies on a wholly novel and inventive approach consisting in making a “floating carousel for boats” in making the reception places and the boats that are positioned therein rotate about a central floating element. This increases the capacity for the putting boats on hold without restricting the possibilities of access to the water body. This also fulfills a buffer function to program the operations for making available, thus very significantly reducing the waiting time for pleasure-boat owners. The waiting time is also reduced when the boat is returned.
According to one particular characteristic, the first system for moving is adapted to moving the secondary elements in a closed-loop trajectory around the central floating element.
In this way, the first system for moving is simplified.
According to one particular characteristic, the system for putting on hold comprises at least one passageway connecting the central floating element to a wharf or to a bank of the water body.
In this way, the pleasure-boat owners can easily access boats situated in the reception places.
According to one particular characteristic, the first system for moving is adapted to moving of the secondary elements at a speed of 1 to 25 m/min and preferably 1 to 5 m/min for operation in the presence of members of the public and 5 to 25 m/min for operation without the presence of members of the public.
Thus, in the case of operations in the presence of members of the public, the movements of the boats are not inconvenient and they are even imperceptible to the pleasure-boat owners. In the case of operation without the presence of members of the public, the speed is higher, increasing the number of entries/exits of boats.
According to one particular characteristic, the secondary elements are floating elements and belong to the group comprising finger pontoons or gangways, adapted to pedestrian access, and floating piers, not adapted to pedestrian access.
The application with the gangways is optimal for pleasure-boat owners who can easily board their boats situated in reception places. The implementation with floating piers is simpler to implement.
According to one particular characteristic, the secondary elements extend appreciably perpendicularly from the central floating element, two successive secondary elements demarcating a longitudinal reception place adapted so that a boat is positioned therein perpendicularly to the central floating element.
In this way, the capacity for putting the boats on hold is further increased.
According to one particular characteristic, the first system of movement is adapted to working according to at least one of the modes belonging to the group comprising:
The first mode is simpler to implement. The second mode enables adaptation to different uses, in permitting different changes (which may or may not be temporary) in the topology of the reception places around the central floating element, and especially enables a modification of the width of certain places (in modifying the spacing between two successive secondary elements) and/or enables an elimination of certain reception places (in making two successive secondary elements adjoin each other).
According to one particular characteristic, said floating device is adapted so that, during the movement of the secondary floating elements along the closed-looped trajectory around the central floating element, each reception place passes through at least one position of entry/exit facing a position associated with the launching of the boat and/or the hauling of the boat out of the water.
In this way, the length of the movements of the boats between the reception places and/or the launching positions and/or the hauling-out positions is limited.
According to one particular characteristic, the system for putting the boats on hold comprises means for transferring a boat between said at least one entry/exit position and the associated launching and/or hauling-out position.
In this way, the maneuvers for moving the boats between the reception places and/or launching and/or hauling-out positions are automated. This minimizes or even eliminates human action (and therefore the associated risks) during these maneuvers.
According to one particular characteristic, the means of transfer comprise:
According to one particular characteristic, for a given reception place demarcated by two secondary elements, the two side rails are each fixedly attached to one of the two secondary floating elements.
In this case, the at least one mooring device is fixedly attached to the cross-member which itself moves between the two side rails, which themselves are fixedly attached to two secondary elements. Thus, the driving of these two secondary elements (demarcating a reception place) prompts (via the side rails, the cross-member and the at least one mooring device), the driving of at least one mooring device, and therefore the driving of the boat that may possibly be moored in this reception place.
In one variant, the two side rails are fixedly attached to the central floating element.
In a first implementation of this variant, the system for putting on hold comprises a second system for moving adapted to moving the two side rails around the central floating element.
The second system for moving either coincides with the first system for moving or is distinct from this first system for moving.
In a second implementation of this variant, the system for putting on hold comprises a system of deployment adapted so that the means of transfer successively take the following positions:
According to one particular characteristic, said at least one mooring device comprises an arm possessing a first end fixed to the cross-member and an electromagnet that is fixed to a second end of the arm and is intended, when it is powered, to attract a metal plate fixed to the boat.
In this way, any boat to which a metal plate is fixed in an appropriate position can automatically be moored and transferred to a reception place and a launching and/or hauling-out position.
According to one particular characteristic, the means of transfer comprise at least one trajectory-maintaining device adapted to artificially creating a current in the sense of a trajectory to be given to the boat.
In this way, the movement of the boat between the reception places and the launching and/or hauling-out position or positions is facilitated.
Another embodiment of the invention proposes a method for putting a boat on hold when afloat on a water body after it has been launched, with a system for putting on hold according to any one of the above-mentioned embodiments. This method comprises the following steps:
Another embodiment of the invention proposes a method for putting on hold a boat afloat on a water body before it is hauled out, with a system for putting on hold according to any one of the above-mentioned embodiments. This method comprises the following steps:
Other features and advantages of the invention shall appear from the following description, given by way of an indicative and non-exhaustive example and from the appended figures, of which:
a and 2b illustrate an example of operation of the system for putting on hold of
In all the figures of the present document, the identical elements and steps are designated by a same numerical reference.
Referring now to
In this example, it is assumed that the launching as well as the hauling out of the boats 40 are done in two launching/hauling-out stations 12 and 13 (the number of station is given by way of an example, the number of stations for launching is sized on the basis of the maximum flow of boats desired) each situated at a fixed point on a wharf 100, overhanging the water body or on the edge of the water body (for example in the form of a boat launching pad). The launching/hauling-out stations 12 and 13 can be of any nature whatsoever: they may be light means (tugs or trucks) or heavier means (cranes, jib cranes, lift trucks, boat lifts, etc.). The launching/hauling-out stations 12 and 13 can for example be included in a system for the storage of boats on land (dry docks or boat parks) not shown in
It is also assumed that each launching/hauling-out station 12 or 13 is associated with a launching/hauling-out position 22 or 23. In the example illustrated, a first boat (shown in solid, unbroken lines) is present in the launching/hauling-out position referenced 22; it has for example just been launched by the launching/hauling-out station referenced 12 and will shortly come to a reception place referenced 20/1 and situated in an entry/exit position referenced 2 (see first boat shown in dashes). Secondly, a second boat (in solid lines) is present in a reception place referenced 20/2 and situated in an entry/exit position referenced 3; it will for example shortly reach the launching/hauling-out position referenced 23 (see second boat shown in dashes) in order to be hauled out by the launching/hauling-out station referenced 13.
In this embodiment, the system for putting on hold comprises:
In this embodiment, according to the sense of movement about the central floating element, one of the two secondary floating elements 220 demarcating a reception place drives the boat (contained in this reception place) by thrusts applied at one or more driving points (corresponding to one or more points of contact between the secondary floating element and the boat). In addition or instead, the other of the two secondary floating elements 220 can drive the boat by traction at one or more driving points (corresponding to one or more mooring points (manually or automatically) of the boat with this secondary floating element.
In one variant, a reception place is associated with a single secondary floating element (the one which will make it possible, by thrusts or by traction, to move the boat about the central floating element 20).
In another variant, the system for putting on hold furthermore comprises at least one complementary driving device that comprises at least one driving point, working by thrust or traction, and which too moves about the central floating element (through the above-mentioned system for moving 21 or else another system for moving included in the system for putting on hold). Each complementary driving device comprises for example a mooring element (manual or automatic) fixedly attached to the central floating element and capable of moving about it.
Two floating and secured zones, called channels 112 and 113, each links one of the launching/hauling-out stations 12 and 13 (and therefore one of the associated launching/hauling-out positions 22 and 23) to one of the entry/exit positions 2 and 3 (through each of which pass the reception places 20/1, 20/2, 20/3, etc.).
The floating device 1 is mounted on piles, which are anchored or provided with any other device to prevent drift and to manage tidal fluctuations, this device being adapted to the configuration of the water body, its geology and compliance with the ecosystem.
In one particular implementation, the reception places are sized to receive motorboats having a maximum length of about 8.5 meters and a maximum width of about 3 meters.
The speed of movement of the secondary floating elements 220 (and therefore of the boats 40) is reduced to enable secure maneuvers by the pleasure boat. The system could work in continuous movement mode or in “step by step” mode with a predetermined speed. In one particular implementation, the speed is of the order of 3 m/min (for example ranging from 1 to 5 m/min). In one variant, a first speed is distinguished, for example ranging from 1 to 5 m/min, for an operation in the presence of members of the public and a second speed (for example from 5 to 25 m/min) for operation without a presence of members of the public.
The central floating element 20 can be elliptical or rectangular with rounded corners as drawn in
In one particular implementation, the secondary floating elements 220 are gangways or finger pontoons (narrow pontoons enabling pedestrian access) laid out perpendicularly to the central floating element 20 in order to demarcate the reception places and to facilitate access to the boats (lateral access). They are, if necessary, equipped with fenders and bow shielding type protection devices in order to protect the boats against the motions of the water and possible impacts.
In one variant, the secondary floating elements 220 are floating piers. In this case, unlike in the gangways, the floating piers do not have pedestrian access.
In another variant, the secondary elements are not floating. These are for example poles or cross-members (extending from the central floating element 20) situated beneath water (and in this case if possible marked out with beacons so as to be visible to the users) or above water.
Depending on the uses, the driving system 21 enables the moving of all or part of the secondary floating elements 220 (and therefore all or part of the moored boats 40).
In a first embodiment, the driving system 21 drives all the secondary floating elements 220 (and therefore all the boats which are positioned therein) at the same time.
In a second embodiment, the driving system 21 selectively drives only certain of the secondary floating elements 220 at a first speed while the others are not driven or are driven at a second speed distinct from the first speed. Thus, it is possible to modify the width of certain reception places or to eliminate certain reception places that attach two successive secondary floating elements together.
The
Principle of a Launch Followed by an Operation for Putting on Hold
In anticipation of a launch, upon manual activation or entirely automated activation, the system for moving 21 moves all or part of the secondary floating elements 220 and therefore all or part of the reception places and boats that are positioned therein in order to position a vacant place (referenced 20/n in the example considered) in one of the entry/exit positions (referenced 2 in the example considered) facing one of the launching/hauling-out stations (referenced 12 in the example considered) and therefore facing one of the launching/hauling-out positions (referenced 22 in the example considered).
The launching/hauling-out station 12 carries out the launching of the boat 40, and then positions it in the launching/hauling-out position 22 which faces the channel referenced 112 as illustrated in
Then, the boat is automatically moored and transferred to the floating device 1 (or more specifically the vacant reception place 20/n in the example considered), in order to be put on hold therein (until a pleasure-boat owner retrieves it) as illustrated in
Once the boat has been moored and transferred, the system for moving 21 can be activated in order to move the boat and, depending on need, either bring a new vacant place to face the launching/hauling-out station 12 in order to carry out a new launch or bring a place containing another boat to face the launching/hauling-out station 12 with the prospect of a hauling out of this other boat.
Principle of Putting on Hold Followed by a Gauling Out
It is assumed that a pleasure-boat owner has placed and moored a boat 40 in one of the reception places (referenced 20/n in the example considered).
In anticipation of a hauling-out operation, upon manual activation or entirely automated activation, the system for moving 21 moves all or part of the secondary floating elements 220 and therefore all or part of the reception places and boats that are positioned therein in order to position the above-mentioned boat (and therefore the reception place 20/n) in one of the entry/exit positions (referenced 2 in the example considered) facing one of the launching/hauling-out stations (referenced 12 in the example considered) and therefore facing one of the launching/hauling-out positions (referenced 22 in the example considered).
The boat is automatically unmoored and transferred up to the launching/hauling-out position 22.
The launching/hauling-out station 12 hauls the boat out of the water.
As soon as the boat has left the reception place 20/n, the system for moving 21 can, if necessary, be activated for example to bring a new boat into the entry/exit position 2 with the prospect of another hauling-out operation, or else to position a vacant reception place in the entry/exit position 2, in order to carry out a launch. Another possibility is to use the reception place 20/n, which is now unoccupied, to carry out a launching operation.
Means for Transferring the Boat
These means for transferring enable the transfer of a boat from one of the launching positions 22 and 23 to the floating device 1 (and more precisely to one of the entry/exit positions 2 and 3 successively occupied by each of the reception places 20/n) or vice versa.
In one particular implementation, said means for transferring comprise the following (see
The moving of the cross-member 222 thus enables the boat to be moved towards the floating device 1 (when it is put on hold after being launched) or towards the wharf 100 when the boat is placed on hold before being hauled out of the water.
In one alternative embodiment, the two side rails 221 are not fixedly attached to one of the secondary floating elements 220 but are fixedly attached to the central floating element 20. Two implementations of this variant are proposed:
The automatic mooring of the boat is provided by an electromagnetic system comprising:
When the electromagnet 52 is powered and placed in proximity to the plate 51, the plate is attracted by the electromagnet thus providing for the mooring of the boat. Conversely, when the electromagnet is no longer powered, the mooring point is eliminated.
In order to facilitate the translation of the boat and maintain its trajectory, during the transfer from one of the entry/exit positions 2 and 3 to one of the launching/hauling-out positions 22 and 23 (or vice versa), the system comprises at least one device for maintaining trajectory 60. This device enables the artificial creation of a current in the sense of a trajectory to be conveyed to the boat (axis x, from right to left in the example of
The trajectory-maintaining device 60 comprises for example one or more apparatuses of the pumping system type or pressurizing system type connected to nozzles, fans or the like enabling the shifting of a mass of water or air 61 and also thereby enabling the desired trajectory to be conveyed to the boat. These nozzle, fan or similar type apparatuses make it possible to convey the desired trajectory to the boat. These apparatuses which are of the nozzle, fan or other similar types 60 are if necessary placed at different points of the trajectory.
An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a technique for putting boats on hold when afloat on a water body (after they have been launched and/or before they have been hauled out of water), increasing the capacity for putting boats on hold without restricting the possibilities of access to the water body (for example without increasing the occupancy of the seafront in the case of a maritime water body).
An exemplary embodiment provides such a technique making it possible to minimize or even eliminate human action during operations for moving the boat to or from the holding area.
An exemplary embodiment provides a technique of this kind that can be used to secure boats during maneuvers for moving the boat to or from the holding area, as well as during periods when the boat is afloat.
An exemplary embodiment provides a technique of this kind that is compatible with the use of a system for storing boats on land (dry docks or boat parks) with a high density (i.e. with low consumption of surface area for a large number of boats stored) with secured access, whatever the type of handling means used: light means (tugs or trucks) or heavier means (cranes, jib cranes, lift trucks, boat lifts, etc.).
Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more examples, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the disclosure and/or the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1457175 | Jul 2014 | FR | national |
| 1457241 | Jul 2014 | FR | national |
