Disconnectable mooring system

• US 5,240,446 A
• Filed: 12/03/1992
• Issued: 08/31/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SOFEC, Inc. (FMC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SOFEC, Inc. (FMC Corporation)
• Inventors: Boatman, L. Terry, Etheridge, Charles O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Swinehart, Edwin L.
• Application Number:
  US07/985,129
• Time in Patent Office: 271 Days
• Field of Search: 114/230, 114/293, 441/3-5, 166/350-357
• US Class Current: 441/3
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 2022/028 submerged, e.g. fitting into ship-borne counterpart with or without rotatable turret, or being releasably connected to moored vessel
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 21/508 connected to submerged buoy mooring buoys per se B63B22/02
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 22/023 submerged when not in use container type buoys submerged when not in use, not adapted for mooring a vessel B63B22/28; connected to turret B63B21/508

Abstract

An improved detachable mooring system (1) is disclosed of the kind including a rotatable turret (10) mounted on the vessel (5) and a buoyant spider buoy (20), secured by chains (22) to the sea floor, which may be selectively connected by means of a hydraulic connector (209) to the bottom of the turret (10). One improvement relates to providing a roller bearing (598) between an upper part of the turret and an interior ring (56) of a well (50) of the vessel (50) at a level higher than sea water can reach under fully loaded conditions of the vessel. Such improvement provides an elastomeric pad (584) between the bearing (598) and a support ring (56) to reduce moment loads and to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of interface surfaces of the bearing (580, 586) and the support ring (56). Alternatively one or more spring stacks (791, 793) may be used rather than an elastomeric pad. A further improvement provides support structure (102, 596, 590) which allows the bearing (598) to be removed for inspection, repair or replacement without removal of the turret (10). Another improvement relates to providing a passage through the hydraulic connector (30) and providing a chain locker (23'"'"') in the buoyant mooring element. The chain locker includes a restricted passage at its top end. A plug within the chain locker is connected at its top center to the chain. Such plug is pulled to the top of the chain locker when the chain is pulled so as to snub the top of the mooring element to the bottom of the turret. Another improvement relates to providing a female profile on the top of the mooring buoy and a cooperating male profile on the bottom of the turret to aid in the snubbing of the mooring buoy to the turret.

Claims

1. An improved detachable vessel mooring system including a vessel having a vertically aligned turret rotatably secured to its hull such that said hull and turret may rotate with respect to each other with the bottom end of said turret facing downwardly toward the sea and including a buoyant mooring element and a plurality of mooring lines extending between and connected to said mooring element and the sea floor and including a selectively operable hydraulic connector assembly having a collet flange hub mounted at the top of said mooring element and a hydraulic collet connector mounted to the bottom of said turret, wherein the improvement comprises

winch means disposed on a deck of said vessel,

a passage extending through said hydraulic connector assembly,

said buoyant mooring element including a chain locker,

said chain locker including a restricted passage at its top end,

said chain locker including a plug dimensioned to move within said chain locker from its bottom to its top, and

a chain connected to a center point of said plug and extending through said passage of said hydraulic connector assembly to said winch means,

whereby when said mooring element is being winched in via said chain, said plug is pulled to a top end of said chain locker with said chain being pulled from said center of said plug at the center of said mooring element, and when said chain is released from said winch means, said plug is free to fall to the bottom of said chain locker with said chain for storage of said chain.

2. The improved detachable vessel mooring system of claim 1 wherein the improvement further comprises,

said plug having a plate, the outside dimension of which is smaller than the inside diameter of said chain locker thereby creating an annulus between the outside of said plate of said plug,

whereby upward motion of said plug is retarded by restricted water flow through said annulus.