Commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,080,032; 5,129,343 and 5,231,946 disclose a monohull fast ship able to transport up to ten thousand tons of cargo at an average speed of 37 to 45 knots across the Atlantic Ocean in about three to four days in sea states up to 5, with a 10% reserve fuel capacity. The disclosures of these commonly owned U.S. patents are hereby incorporated by reference. While the high speed of these ships reduces the time for crossing the ocean, the efficiencies of transport of cargo by sea are effected not only by the speed of a ship but also the time to unload and load a ship in port before the ship can begin another transit. Prior art loading systems requiring cargo to be loaded from the top of the ship can require a time in port of one and a half days for loading and unloading.
Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,856, also hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a monohull fast ship with improved loading mechanism wherein a train of self-propelled trolleys are conveyed along one of rail pairs on the cargo carrying deck of the ship to decrease loading time in port from one and a half days down to six hours. However, the loading mechanism necessitates the use of docking facilities with rails to accommodate the trolleys moving to and from the ships and makes no allowance for meeting porushipper security requirements. Additional time in port can be required for container inspection etc. to meet security requirements at the port and onboard the ship before putting to sea. There is a need for an improved system for rapid, secure transport of cargo by sea which allows the time in port for unloading and loading the ship and meeting security requirements to be further reduced and which permits the ship to be loaded and unloaded at docking facilities without rails. The present invention addresses this need.
A system of the invention for rapid, secure transport of cargo by sea comprises, in combination, an improved ship of the invention and an improved arrangement of the invention for loading and unloading cargo from the ship. Like the ship of Assignee's aforementioned patents, the ship of the present invention includes a hull producing a high pressure area at a bottom portion of a stern which rises from a point of maximum depth forward of a longitudinal center of the hull to a point of minimum draft at a transom which produces hydrodynamic lifting of the stern at a threshold speed above a length Froude Number of 0.40; sides of the hull at the datum waterline are non-convex in plan view with reference to a centerline of the ship; a length-to-beam ratio at the datum waterline is between 5 and 7.5 and a displacement to length ratio equal to a displacement of the hull divided by a cube of the length divided by 100 during operation of the hull in carrying fuel and payload is between 60 and 150 and a maximum operating Froude Number is between 0.42 and 0.9; a weather deck enclosing a top of the hull, at least one cargo carrying deck disposed below the weather deck and having a driving surface for self propelled, automatically guided vehicles transporting cargo to and from the ship through an opening in the stern of the ship and at least one lower deck disposed below the at least one cargo carrying deck; at least one water jet disposed within the hull with each water jet having an inlet in a bottom portion of the stern which produces high pressure during motion of the ship; and at least one power unit disposed on one of the at least one lower deck coupled to the at least one water jet for powering the at least one water jet to cause water to be drawn into the inlet of the at least one water jet to produce forward motion of the hull.
The improved arrangement of the invention for loading and unloading cargo through the opening in the stern of the ship and along the driving surface of the at least one cargo carrying deck includes at least one self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle for carrying cargo to be transported during loading and unloading of the ship, and a self-contained security scanning system on the at least one vehicle for maintaining control and surveillance of cargo in transit on the vehicle. Thus, the system is able to meet the recent substantial increase in the need for accurate security and tracking of containers and monitoring of their contents and of other cargo units at all times that the containers or cargo units are in transit on the vehicle during loading and unloading. This increase in security and tracking can reduce the time taken in port to load and unload containers/cargo units and process them through port security systems which necessarily depend upon random checks. The use of at least one self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle for carrying the cargo also eliminates the need for the use of rail pairs on the dock and in the ship. Because the vehicles in the disclosed embodiment move on rubber-tired wheels, without the need for rails, the ship can be loaded and unloaded at any normal roll on/roll off port. This reduces the effect of having to change port in the event of port closure by strikes or malfunctions of port facilities. It increases the flexibility of operations between different ports, rather than being restricted to those with specially installed rail systems of the prior art. These and other features of the invention make possible reduced in port time as discussed below, and provide an improved system and method for rapid, secure transport of cargo by sea.
The self-contained security scanning system on the at least one self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle of the arrangement for loading and unloading cargo according to a disclosed embodiment of the invention includes a reader and a field unit on the vehicle. The reader is capable of reading identification means, such as a tag unit, on a container/cargo carried by the vehicle and in turn communicates with the field unit. The field unit communicates with at least one of a ship server, a dockside server and a global data center.
The improved ship of the invention in the disclosed embodiment includes a reader grid having a plurality of readers in different, spaced locations along the at least one cargo carrying deck for reading the identification means on the cargo on the deck and for communicating readings of the individual cargo identification means to a ship communication system. Thus, once cargo with identification means is loaded on the deck of the ship by the automatically guided vehicle, surveillance of the cargo can be handed off from the automatically guided vehicle to the reader grid of the ship and the vehicle returned to the port dock. In the disclosed embodiment the ship communication system includes a ship server which communicates with global and local information centers, a super base on each cargo carrying deck which is linked to the ship server, and a plurality of a base stations on each cargo carrying deck communicating with respective ones of a plurality of groups of readers of the reader grid on the cargo carrying deck.
Guidance means are provided on the at least one cargo carrying deck of the ship for cooperating with guidance equipment of the at least one self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle carrying cargo for guiding the vehicle during loading and unloading the ship. The guidance means includes at least one of guide rails, electrical cable in grooves in the at least one deck in which different frequency signals are induced, and optical guidance means such as laser reflectors which cooperate with laser and optical scanning equipment on the vehicle.
The improved method for rapid, secure loading and unloading of cargo on a ship according to the invention comprises supporting cargo having identification means which can be remotely machine read on a self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle, transporting with the vehicle the cargo supported on the vehicle through an opening in the stern of the ship and along a driving surface of a cargo carrying deck of the ship, and reading the identification means on the cargo during the transporting with a self-contained security scanning system on the vehicle. As described above, in the disclosed embodiment the method further includes communicating the reading of the identification means from the vehicle to at least one of a ship server, a dockside server and a global data center. In addition, further reading of the identification means on the cargo is performed when the cargo is on the cargo carrying deck of the ship using a reader of a reader grid along the deck which communicates the further reading to a ship communication system thus handing off monitoring of the cargo/containers. This monitoring can continue within the ship at sea, the automatically guided vehicles being guided from the ship and remaining at port for loading and unloading the next ship in port.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of an example embodiment of the invention taken with the accompanying drawings.
The system of the invention for rapid, secure transport of cargo by sea is illustrated in
An understanding of the improved ship of the invention, is facilitated by an explanation of the ship of the aforementioned commonly owned U.S. patents illustrated in
The ship 10 has a hull 11 known as a semi-planning round-bilge type with a weather deck 12. A pilot house superstructure 13 is located aft of amidship to provide a large forward deck for cargo and/or helicopter landing, and contains accommodations, living space and the controls for the ship as well as other equipment. The superstructure 13 is positioned so as not to adversely affect the longitudinal center of gravity. A commercial vessel is depicted in the form of a cargo ship an access of 2,000 tons displacement such as but not limited to 20-30 thousand tons.
The longitudinal profile of the hull 11 is shown in
The round-bilge hull 11 thus has a “lifting” transom stern 17 which, as is shown, is produced by the hydrodynamic force resulting from the hull form which is generally characterized by straight entrance waterlines, rounded afterbody sections typically rounded at the turn of the bilge and non-convex aft buttock lines terminating sharply at the transom. This type of hull is not a planning hull. It is designed to operate at maximum speeds in the Froude Number range of 0.40 and preferably above about 0.42 and below about 0.9 by creating hydrodynamic lift at the afterbody of the hull by the action of high pressure under the stern but without excessive transom drag at moderate Froude Numbers of above about 0.42 to 0.6 within the “threshold” speed range, as characterizes known hulls which are intended for higher Froude Numbers.
The combination of bow sections which are fine at and below the waterline, with a deep forefoot (or forward keel) and full sections above the bow knuckleline are a major factor in reducing slamming accelerations and spray generation at the bow in high sea states. The high pressure at the stern also acts to dampen out excessive pitching, thus reducing longitudinal stress on the hull girder.
The hull 11 is also provided with an access ramp 18 amidship on the starboard side and stern roll-on/roll-off ramp 19 so that cargo stored at the three internal decks 21, 22, 23 below the weather deck 12, as illustrated on the midship section shown in
Because of the shorter hull design, the hull will achieve required structural strength with greater ease than a long, slender ship for a given displacement. The shape which produces hydrodynamic lift in the hull 11 is well known and its dimensions can be determined by requirements of payload, speed, available power and propulsor configuration. A three-dimensional hull modeling computer program of a commercially available type can generate the basic monohull fast ship form with the foregoing requirements as inputs. Once the basic hull parameters are determined, an estimate of the displacement can be made using, for example, two-digit analysis with weight coding from the standard Shipwork Breakdown Structure Reference 0900-Lp-039-9010.
In addition, the shorter hull produces a higher natural frequency which makes the hull stiffer and less prone to failure due to dynamic stress caused by waves, while allowing, in combination with the propulsion system hereinafter described, achievement of speeds in the 40-50 knot range.
Water jet propulsors utilizing existing mixed flow, low pressure, high volume pump technology to produce very high thrust of the order of 200 tons are incorporated in the ship. The waterjet propulsors are driven by conventional marine gas turbines sized to obtain the higher power required. The waterjet propulsor presently contemplated for use is a single stage design which is uncomplicated in construction, and produces both high efficiency and low underwater noise at propulsion power in excess of 100,000 horsepower.
The two outermost waterjets 26, 27 and wing waterjets for maneuvering and ahead thrust. Each of the wing waterjets 26, 27 is provided with a horizontally pivoting nozzle 34, 35, respectively, which provides angled thrust for steering. A deflector plate (not shown) directs the jet thrust forward to provide for stopping, slowing control and reversing in a known manner. Steering and reversing mechanisms are operated by hydraulic cylinders (not shown) or the like positioned on the jet units behind the transom. The hydraulic cylinders can be powered by electrical power packs provided elsewhere in the ship. The waterjet propulsion and steering system allows the vessel to be maneuvered at a standstill and also to be decelerated very rapidly.
Marine gas turbines of the type exemplified by General Electric's LM 5000 require no more than two turbines, each rated at 51,440 horsepower in 80° F. ambient conditions, per shaft line through a conventional combining gearing installation.
Eight paired conventional marine gas turbines 36/37, 38/39, 40/41, 42/43, power the waterjet propulsion units 26, 28, 29, 27, respectively, through combined gear boxes 44, 45, 46, 47 and cardan shafts 48, 49, 50, 51. Four air intakes (only two of which 52, 53 are shown in
The ship of the present invention illustrated in
The lanes 222 for the vehicles 207 extend along at least one of the cargo carrying decks 100 from the stern 124 to the bow 126. Stacked containers 130 are shown on the at least one cargo carrying deck 100 in
The self-propelled, automatically guided vehicle 207 is capable of being driven between designated parking places for the purpose of transporting the cargo 130 on platform 219 between a dock, not shown, and the driving surface 222 of the at least one cargo carrying deck 100 of the ship of
The guidance means 309 for the vehicle one of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,247 which is hereby incorporated by reference. The guidance means are arranged as to act in a transverse sense 327 viewed in relation to the intended direction of travel 326 of the vehicles,
Data collected in respect of the relative lateral 327 position of the vehicles 207 is utilized by a unit such as a programmed computer included in the arrangement for the purpose of determining the relative positions of the vehicles in the driving line I, II in order to permit determination of the speed at which the vehicle must be driven in order to arrive at the right destination. The vehicles incorporate a unit 317, from which data from the vehicles that is first in the intended train of vehicles is transmitted to other vehicles concerning the speed, distance and positions of the vehicles.
Position sensors 233,
Laser sensors 331,
The arrangement of the invention for loading and unloading cargo through the opening in the stern of the ship and along the driving surface of the at least one cargo carrying deck further includes a self-contained security scanning system on the at least one self-propelled automatically guided vehicle as shown schematically at 210 and 211 of
The identification means on the cargo in the example embodiment is a tag unit 237 on a container which is read by the reader 210, see
During normal loading, the plurality of longitudinally extending lanes 222 on a deck 100 of the ship may be loaded simultaneously with trains of the vehicles 207 conveying groups of cargo containers 130 longitudinally along the individual vehicle lanes for final positioning on the floor of the deck. The location of the air intakes and air exhaust 118 and 120 outboard of the plurality of longitudinally extending lanes 222 makes possible the efficient use of the floor space of the deck which is not blocked by air intakes and air exhaust.
The ship communication system illustrated in
The use of the automatically guided vehicles 207 of the invention as compared with the self-propelled trolleys driven on rail pairs of the prior art greatly facilitates the process of loading, since the individual vehicles do not have to be marshaled before being assembled as was necessary with trains of the trolleys, but can be loaded randomly or in trains which can be assembled more rapidly and expediently from more widely dispersed areas of the port. The fact that the vehicles move on rubber-tired wheels, without the need for rails, means that the vessel can load and unload at any normal roll-on/roll-off port. This reduces the effect of having to change port in the event of port closure by strikes or malfunction of port facilities; and it increases the flexibilities of different ports, rather than being restricted to those with specially installed rail systems.
Furthermore, the recent substantial increase in the need for accurate security and tracking of containers and other cargo units and monitoring of their contents, has occasioned a corresponding increase in the time taken to load to unload containers and process them through port security systems which necessarily depend upon random checks. The vessel of the present invention, which carries all its cargo below decks, can therefore benefit from an on-board security scanning and tracking system applied to all containers or cargo units carried, since the various system components must be protected from the effects of corrosion, humidity, sea water immersion, extreme temperature variation and other factors which would be experienced by normal ocean-going container vessels carrying their cargo, and therefore any security scanning system, in the open air. All security and monitoring procedures can therefore be conducted while the vessel is at the sea, greatly reducing the time of taking up such measures at the dockside or in container yards in qualifying all containers or cargo carried for “green lane” security priority.
While the present invention has been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, it should be understood that numerous modifications may be made thereby without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that all such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of provisional application Ser. No. 60/903,297 filed Feb. 26, 2007. The disclosure of the provisional application is hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60903297 | Feb 2007 | US |