US 4,800,831 AGranted

Ice breaker

AssigneeThyssen Nordseewerke GmbH

InventorsJens H. Hellmann, Karl-Heinz Rupp, Gunter Varges

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Abstract

Broken ice floes move laterally by the prow of an ice breaker into a position below the unbroken ice cover laterally limit the fairway channel formed and surround the stern of the ship, so that as a result of the increased water speed produced by the propeller thrust deduction the ice is drawn into the propeller, which chops it up, so that increased propeller power is necessary. In addition, the propeller can be damaged by ice floes moved back into the fairway channel. To avoid this, the horizontal propulsion of the ice breaker takes place in propeller-independent manner by jet or rocket engines or by instantaneous or constant propulsion energy-producing force closure of the hull with a mechanical apparatus located on the ocean bed, such as a chain, cable or lowered travelling piles, and a mechanical pushing off or hauling in apparatus being provided on the hull side.

Claims8

Dependent claims

An ice breaker, wherein the horizontal propulsion of the ice breaker is independent of a ship screw, the ice breaker including a hull, and wherein the horizontal propulsion of the ice breaker takes place by instantaneous force engagement of the hull with means located on the ocean bed constituted by lowered or lowerable, vertical or sloping travelling piles, mechanical pushing-off or hauling-in means being provided on the hull side, wherein the forward propulsion takes place by hauling-in on the travelling pile using said mechanical means, such as a cable, wherein on the deck of the hull is provided at least one device for driving-in, drawing-out and for position-variable transportation of the travelling piles and which comprises a hydraulic operating cylinder, wherein the drawing-out of the driven-in travelling piles takes place on the hull side by raising the piles by means of a pressurized medium, and wherein in the interior of each travelling pile is provided at least one supply line for the pressurized medium, which is connected to outlets located in the lower region of the outer wall of the pile.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.