Deep towing cable and handling system
OwnerJimmy F. Byersinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cable and reel handling system for reducing the size of deep towing deck handling equipment is provided. A single drum is used to receive the entire length of a flat tow cable, the drum having a width which is substantially limited to the width of the cable. The drum may be disposed horizontally, vertically or at intermediate angles for either over-the-stern or over-the-side deploying and reeling in. For over-the-stern deploying, the cable is passed through guide rollers and over a traction wheel.
Claims15
A deep towing cable and handling system therefor comprising:
- a towing cable having a substantially rectangular cross section whose short dimension is on the order of from 1/4 to 1/7 of the long dimension;
- a drum containing said cable,
- said drum mounted horizontally on the deck of a vessel for rotation about a vertical axis so as to present as small as possible a moment acting to decrease the stability of the vessel.
- said cable wound on said drum in a single lay per layer winding;
- means for mounting, braking and rotating said drum on a vessel;
- and
- means for deploying said cable over the sides or stern of a surface vessel in a towing attitude,
- said means for deploying including first guide means positioned aft of said drum for rotating said cable to a horizontal attitude, traction means positioned over the stern of the vessel and aligned with said first guide means for deploying said cable over the stern of the vessel, and second guide means positioned outboard of the vessel and aligned with said traction means and said first guide means for rotating said cable into a towing attitude.
A method of achieving deeper towing depths of towed submersibles and reducing the upsetting moment caused by towing equipment carried on the decks of surface vessels comprising:
- deploying internal components of a flat tow cable in a linear arrangement and presenting the narrow dimension of the cable to the environment;
- storing the cable in a horizontally disposed flat drum on the deck of the vessel so as to reduce the upsetting moment of the assembly;
- deploying the cable from the horizontally disposed drum by rotating the cable 90.degree. so as to pass over the stern in a horizontal attitude and reverse rotating the cable 90.degree. so as to enter the medium in a fore and aft towing attitude;
- and
- isolating electrical conductors in said cable from strain by strengthening the leading portion of the cable and placing the electrical conductors in the trailing portion of the cable.
A towing system for achieving deeper towing depths of towed submersibles and reducing the upsetting moment caused by towing equipment carried on the decks of surface vessels comprising:
- a substantially flat tow cable and a drum for storing said cable in a single winding with respect to cable width thereon;
- means for mounting said drum horizontally on the stern deck of a surface vessel;
- means for braking and rotating said drum;
- means including a rotatable platform for deploying said cable over the sides or stern of a surface vessel in a towing attitude and rotating said drum from a stowed position to a launch and recovery position and return to the stowed position wherein the narrow dimension of the cable is substantially parallel to a vertical ship's plane containing the centerline of the vessel;
- said cable formed of an outer resilient cover and lengthwise internal components extending across the cable from leading to trailing edge and including in succession a first low compression member for receiving stress and shock, a high compression member for maintaining cable shape, a plurality of strength members for towing, an electrical insulating member for isolating electrical conductors, a plurality of electrical conductors, and a second low compression member,
- said second low compression member occupying a substantial portion of the cable interior and containing a central void formed by walls of sufficient thickness to increase cable flexibility while substantially maintaining cable shape at all towing speeds and depths;
- an extendable arm secured to said drum for extending the release point of the cable over the side of the vessel during launch, run, and recovery;
- and
- means for tilting said drum to facilitate launch and recovery of towed submersibles,
- said drum returned to and maintained in a horizontal attitude during towing operations,
- said means for deploying including first guide means positioned aft of said drum on the towing vessel deck for rotating said cable from its stowed vertical attitude to a horizontal attitude, traction means positioned over the stern of the vessel and aligned with said first guide means for deploying said cable over the stern of the vessel, and second guide means positioned outboard of the vessel and aligned with said traction means and said first guide means for rotating said cable into a towing attitude.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.