Patent Application
20070297856
Other advantages of this invention can be cited, but those cited above already provide enough proof of the novelty and benefit of the invention. The description below and the appended drawings relate to an example of an embodiment of the invention, but are non-limiting; other embodiments are possible within the scope of this invention.
The slopes of the two inclined planes 101, 102 are preferably identical, on the order of 27 to 30°, but are capable of being up to 45°.
The boat transfer system 1 according to the invention includes a launching cradle 2 and a conveyer 5 supporting it and intended to be installed along the continuous linear profile, of which all of the portions are therefore either horizontal or inclined, of the structure 10 abutting at least one water body 11, and, as shown in the appended figures, in fact two water bodies 11 and 12, wherein water body 11 is lower than water body 12, which can be that of a “port-garage”.
Said boat transfer system 1 is capable of immersing said launching cradle 2 under the surface of each water body, removing it from the water and moving it, out of the water, over said structure 10; for this purpose, it includes:
a frame 4 intended to be attached to the upper portion 103 of this structure 10 and rotating about a vertical axis X, X′;
a set of arms 3 having a length corresponding to that of the dimension of the largest inclined plane of the structure, for example on the order of 8 m as indicated above, and connecting said frame 4 to the launching cradle 2; said arms 3 holding it in the horizontal position regardless of its position of rotation about the frame 4 and with a height corresponding to the track of the conveyor 3; according to the embodiment shown in the appended figures, four arms 3 connect, two-by-two, respectively 31s, 31i and 32s, 32i, the two longitudinal sides of the launching cradle 2 to the frame 4, which arms are pivoted at each of their ends, and each pair 31, 32 of arms arranged in a vertical plane forms a deformable parallelogram;
two rails constituting said conveyor 5, and the tracks of which follow, with close relative height adjustments, the curves of intersections between the profile of the structure of two pseudo spherical and concentric housings (of which one has a radius corresponding approximately to the length of the arms 3, adjusted by the height of the launching cradle 2) and of which the centers are located on the axis X, X′, and with each of which at least one wheel 9 secured to the launching cradle 2 is in contact; these rails are concentric, equidistant and at the same level at points offset by the distance (which can be, for example, 1.5 m for the structure size given above) between the corresponding wheel axles 9 separated from the lower portion of the cross member 82 described below, so as to allow it to pass through;
two wheels 91, 92 at least associated with two different rails being arranged in the same horizontal plane (
said launching cradle 2, which can have any known shape, and which, for example, consists of two cross members 8, for example, in a “V” shape with an angle between 120 and 126° so as, on the one hand, to best engage the shell shape of the boats, and, on the other hand, to match the slope of the structure 10, each cross member 8 being capable of having rollers and/or flexible systems such as water-filled cushions so as to gently handle the shell of the boats intended to come into contact with it; at least the cross member 81 farthest from the connecting frame 6 (which includes another cross member 82), between the launching cradle 2 and the driving arms 3, with which one end of the boat shell is intended to come into contact, either on the side of its stem or on the side of its stern, can be raised so as to lift said end of the boat; this raising movement of the cross member 81 can be produced by upper support jacks (diagrammatically shown in the appended figures) 7 of the launching cradle 2 connecting the distal end thereof to the upper portion of the frame 6 that also supports the wheels 9 under the cross member 82.
The cross-member jacks 7 enable the launching cradle to be lowered in the unloading phase, and its lifting (for example by 5°) in the loading phase thus makes it possible to successfully load the drive wheels 9 so as to support their adherence, and to prevent any backward sliding of the boat.
The conveyor 5 preferably consists of rails, of which the bearing surface receiving the support wheels 9 of the launching cradle 2 is comparable with those of said wheels 9, which are drive wheels, so that these surfaces enable the adherence and the movement of said wheels 9; said rail surfaces can be, for example, toothed or simply rough, on which said support wheels 9 of the launching cradle 2 mesh or adhere; said drive wheels 9, arranged in a staggered pattern, can be driven by hydraulic motors.
Owing to the deformability of the parallelograms formed by the support arms 3 pivoted at their end and the possibility of interrupting the rotation of the assembly, or not, when the launching cradle is brought to a level of the profile 10 of the structure compatible with that of the water body, so as to enable a boat to pass over its cross members 8, said conveyor 5 is thus capable of enabling said boat to be transferred from one water body to the other, regardless of the respective water levels; the level of the upper water body 12 can be stationary, capable of corresponding to closed, non-communicating “port-garage” water bodies, while that of the other, lower, water body 11 can be variable since it can correspond to the access channel communicating with the sea, therefore subject to variations.
To be capable of accessing the boat (not shown in the appended figures) or disembarking therefrom when it is loaded into the launching cradle 2, the boat transfer system according to the invention comprises at least one access platform 13 extending at least between a surface portion of the structure 10, such as, preferably, its upper portion 103, and the surface of the corresponding water body; this platform can comprise an access by a bridge or a stairway 131, and its lateral sides 132 are designed so that they are almost parallel to those of the launching cradle 2 when it is in the position for recovery or placement of a boat on said water body.
Said platform 13 is floating and vertically mobile so as to follow the variations in level of the water body, in particular in the example of the appended figures on the side of the lower, variable, water body 11; if the rotating launching cradle is then stopped when the support cross members 8 enable the boat to be disengaged by floating, the corresponding position of the launching cradle will be dependent on the level of the water body, and will be at a substantial distance from the platform 13; the latter can then be mounted, on the side of the access bridge 131, so as to slide over a vertical guide pole about which it can pivot so as to enable the launching cradle 2 to reach it.
The access platform 14 on the side of the upper, stationary, water body 12, can also then be stationary; this platform has a much wider surface than that on the side of the lower water body, as shown in
The entire motorization of this boat transfer system, aside from the wheels 9 themselves, as well as the lifting of the cross member 81, can be hydraulic and easily controlled by any operator, such as the owner or any seaman of the boat that is to be transferred.
To do this:
with the launching cradle 2 positioned close to one of the access platforms 13, and therefore immersed under the corresponding water body, the pilot of the boat engages it on at least the cross member 81, then that 82 of the frame 6; once the boat has been positioned and stopped, the pilot and any other passenger can disembark from the boat using the platform 13;
mounted at the apex 103 of the structure owing to the bridge 131 for accessing the platform 13, the pilot actuates the control of the boat transfer system from any case intended for this purpose, placed, for example, near the rotating frame 4;
the latter first pivots the boat by raising the cross member 81 so that it cannot slide outside of the launching cradle 2 during the movement, then drives the frame 4 in rotation by means of the drive wheels 9, which mesh with the rails of the conveyor 5 so as to rise above the structure 10;
with the arms 3 holding the launching cradle in the same position, it thus passes over the upper portion 103 of the structure, then is lowered on the other side toward the other water body until it is positioned on the side of the other platform 14, from which the pilot can re-embark when the cross member 81 has pivoted again so as to release the boat;
and so on with another boat; if the two launching cradles are arranged on the opposite side of the dyke 10 with respect to that where a boat that is to cross over it is arriving, its pilot docks the platform so as to be capable of using it to access the apex of the dyke; he can then actuate the launching cradle located, of course, on the other side of the platforms than where he docked, so that the corresponding launching cradle is positioned on the side where the boat is waiting; the pilot then re-embarks and performs the aforementioned maneuver.
It is clear that with a single launching cradle the operation would be identical; however, the production of double boat transfer systems of course makes it possible to transfer boats at a faster rate.
