A method of providing a watercraft with a thruster, a thruster unit, and a watercraft
The present invention relates to a method of providing a watercraft with a thruster unit, said thruster unit comprising a thruster body, wherein said thruster body comprises
- a shell, said shell comprising an upright shell wall,
- a conduit comprising an inlet section and an outlet section,
- a propeller mounted inside the conduit for propelling water from the inlet section to the outlet section, and
- a baffle rotatably mounted at the outlet section for diverting water from the inlet section sideways;
wherein the thruster unit is mounted to a fixture of the watercraft.
A watercraft - such as a boat, a ship or a submarine - is typically provided with one or more propellers to propel the watercraft to a desired location. For steering use may be made of a rudder (for relatively small watercraft) or in case of a watercraft with multiple propellers by operating them at different speeds and/or different rotational directions. For more precise manoeuvring it is known to use one or more thrusters units. A thruster is typically located at the bow of the watercraft but an additional thruster unit may be present at the stern or in the middle of the watercraft. A thruster comprises a conduit with an inlet section and an outlet section. A propeller is located inside the conduit for moving water from the inlet section to the outlet section. The propeller is driven by a first motor. The outlet section is provided with a baffle for deflecting water from the conduit sideways (along the hull of the watercraft). The baffle can be rotated along an upright axis by a second motor (baffle motor), and as a result the direction of the thrust from the thruster depends on the orientation of the baffle.
A watercraft comprises a hull with an opening for a thruster unit, and a fixture for the thruster unit. The thruster unit comprises a shell, the conduit, the propeller and the baffle. To mount the thruster unit, its shell is welded to the fixture.
A problem is that a thruster unit is fairly expensive, for which reason it should last a long time.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a watercraft with a thruster thus that is more durablv mounted.
To this end, a method according to the preamble is characterized in that
- the thruster unit further comprises a circumferentially extending rim, said rim comprising a rim body, and
- the shell comprises a circumferentially shell flange extending outwardly transverse to said upright wall of the shell;
wherein the shell flange is sandwiched between a first rubber element and a second rubber element, said rubber elements extending in said circumferential direction of the thruster body, wherein the rubber of the first rubber element and the rubber of the second rubber element are independently chosen from rubber having a rubber hardness of 40 to 80 Shore A, and wherein the sandwich of said rubber elements and the shell flange is sandwiched by said rim;
wherein mounting the thruster unit to the fixture of the watercraft comprises fixing the rim of the thruster unit to the fixture of the watercraft.
The use of the rubber elements achieve both a reduced risk in metal fatigue due to vibrations and contact corrosion as the shell is not in contact with the hull of the ship other than through the rubber elements which are electrically insulating. Contact corrosion reduces durability even when the thruster unit is not operating.
The thruster unit will typically comprise a motor or is provided with one after mounting the thruster unit.
The thickness of each of the rubber elements is typically between 20 and 40 mm (independently chosen). The width will typically between 40 and 80 mm.
According to a favourable embodiment, the rim body comprises an inner rim body section and an circumferentially extending outer rim flange, wherein the rim further comprises a ring having an inner ring section and an outer ring section, wherein to sandwich the rubber elements and the shell flange, the outer ring section is connected to the outer rim flange .
Typically the outer ring section will be connected to the outer rim flangein a reversible manner, conveniently bolted.
According to a favourable embodiment, the rubber of the first rubber element and the rubber of the second rubber element are independently chosen from rubber having a rubber hardness of 47 to 75 Shore A.
This is a preferred range for the rubber hardness for an even better reduction of metal fatigue once the thruster unit is operated.
According to a favourable embodiment, the rim body is fixed to the fixture of the watercraft by welding.
Thus the thruster unit is mounted securely to the hull of the watercraft.
The present invention also relates to a thruster unit comprising a thruster body, wherein said thruster body comprises
- a shell, said shell comprising an upright shell wall,
- a conduit comprising an inlet section and an outlet section, ~ a propeller mounted inside the conduit for propelling water from the inlet section to the outlet section, and
- a baffle rotatably mounted at the outlet section for diverting water from the inlet section sideways;
wherein
- the thruster unit further comprises a circumferentially extending rim, said rim comprising a rim body, and
- the shell comprises a circumferentially shell flange extending outwardly transverse to said upright wall of the shell;
wherein the shell flange is sandwiched between a first rubber element and a second rubber element, said rubber elements extending in said circumferential direction of the thruster body, wherein the rubber of the first rubber element and the rubber of the second rubber element are independently chosen from rubber having a rubber hardness of 40 t 80 Shore A, and wherein the sandwich of said rubber elements and the shell flange is sandwiched by said rim.
Such a thruster unit can be used in the method according to the invention .
The thruster unit can act as a bow or a stern thruster depending on where it will mounted to the watercraft.
According to a favourable embodiment, the rim body comprises an inner rim body section and an circumferentially extending outer rim flange;
wherein the rim further comprises a ring having an inner ring section and an outer ring section;
the outer ring section being connected to the outer rim flange, sandwiching the rubber elements and the shell flange.
Typically the outer ring section is connected to the outer rim flange in a reversible manner, conveniently bolted.
According to a favourable embodiment, the rubber of the first rubber element and the rubber of the second rubber element are independently chosen from rubber having a rubber hardness of 47 to 75 Shore A.
This is a preferred range for the rubber hardness for an even better reduction of metal fatigue once the thruster unit is operated.
Finally, the present invention relates to a watercraft comprising a hull with a fixture, wherein said fixture is provided with a thruster unit, wherein the thruster unit is a thruster unit according to claim 5 to 7.
Such a watercraft allows for reliable thruster unit.
The thruster unit can act as a bow or a stern thruster depending on where it is mounted to the watercraft.
According to a favourable embodiment, wherein the rim body is welded to the fixture of the hull.
Thus the thruster unit is mounted securely to the hull of the watercraft.
The present invention will now be illustrated with reference to the drawing where
Fig. 1A shows a cross-sectional view through a thruster unit mounted to the hull of a watercraft;
Fig. IB shows a bottom view of the thruster unit of Fig. 1A;
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view on the thruster unit of Fig. 1A; and
Fig. 3 shows a detail of the thruster unit of Fig. 1A.
Fig. 1A shows a cross-sectional view through a thruster unit 100 mounted to the hull 190 (only partially shown) of a watercraft and Fig. IB shows a bottom view of the thruster unit 100 of Fig. 1A.
The thruster unit 100 comprises a thruster body 110 provided with a motor 120.
The thruster body 110 comprises
- a shell 130, said shell 130 comprising an upright shell wall 131, a conduit 140 comprising an inlet section 141 and an outlet section 142, and ~ a propeller 132 mounted inside the conduit 140 and driven by the motor 120 via axle 121 for propelling water from the inlet section 141 to the outlet section 142.
At the outlet section 142 the conduit 140 is provided with rotatably mounted baffles 152 for diverting water from the inlet section sideways, i.e. parallel to the hull 190 of the watercraft.
To reduce the risk of the propeller 132 or baffles from getting clogged or damaged by debris in water such as wood or weed, conduit 140 is provided at the inlet section 141 with a grate 151. To reduce turbulence, the conduit 140 will be provided with one or more vanes 153.
The thruster unit 100 as described above is known in the art. It is for example used as a bow thruster, facilitating manoeuvring of the watercraft.
The hull 190 is provided with a foundation 191 (fixture), which is basically an upright wall enclosing an opening in the hull 190.
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view on the thruster unit 100 according to the invention as depicted in Fig. 1A.
The thruster unit 100 comprises a baffle motor 220 for rotating the baffles 152 about a vertical axis.
The conduit 140 is connected to the shell wall 131 with reinforcement ribs 231 to make the thruster body 110 rigid.
The thruster body 110 is provided along its circumerferential edge with a rim 260, which is discussed in more detail below.
Fig. 3 shows a detail of Fig. 1A, and more specifically shows the shell wall 131 which is provided with a shell flange 260 circumferentially extending outwardly transverse to said upright wall 131.
The circumferentially extending rim 260 of the thruster unit 100 comprises a rim body 360 which will be welded to the foundation 191.
The shell flange 260 is sandwiched between a first rubber element 361 and a second rubber element 362, said rubber elements extending in said circumferential direction of the thruster body 110, wherein the rubber of the first rubber element 361 and the rubber of the second rubber element 362 both have a rubber hardness of 65 Shore A, a width of 60 mm and a thickness of 33 mm.
The sandwich of the rubber elements and the shell flange 260 is sandwiched between the rim body 360 and a closing ring 370 which is bolted at an outer ring section 373 thereof to an outer rim flange 363 extending from the rim body 360 with a bolt 371 and a nut 372. Thus the shell 130 is not in direct contact with the hull 190 but electrically insulated by the rubber elements.