US1959370A - Submarine salvage and recovery apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 22, 1934. s. LAKE SUBMARINE SALVAGE AND RECOVERY APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 27, 1931 VENTOR May 22, 1934.

s. LAKE SUBMARINE SALVAGE AND RECOVERY APPARATUS Filed Oct. 27, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 22, 1934. K

sUBuARINE SALVAGE AND RECOVERY APPARATUS Filed 001;. 27, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet 5 v VENTOR $1- l atented May 22 UNlT TES PA ri-r Fries? SUBMARINE SALVAGE AND RECOVERY APPARATUS 10 Claims.

This invention relates to a submarine salvage and recovery apparatus and embodies certain improvements over my previous inventions of a similar nature, especially that of my pending application Serial No. 320,318 filed November 19,

The present improvements will permit of still greater safety and more rapid recovery of material due to greater flexibility of the apparatus and will also permit of conducting salvage operations in rougher seas than in the previous designs, and will increase the efficiency of deepsea submarine operations in general, as will be more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a partial deck plan of a surface vessel showing the forward part of a vessel with a portion of the deck removed and submarine salvaging apparatus attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the bow portion of a surface vessel with the salvage apparatus of the invention applied thereto.

Figure 2a is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional View illustrating the mode of operating the salvage apparatus in connection with a sunken vessel.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the cushioning wheels in position on fender.

Figure 4 shows an attachment for cutting through the bottom plates of a sunken ship.

Figure 5 shows the same attachment cutting through the side plates of a ship.

One of the particular objects to be attained in this invention is to enable an operator in an observation compartment to direct the end of a large suction pipe down into the hold of a sunken vessel and control and direct its movement into all parts of the hold without the operator being subject to hydrostatic pressure, or in danger of being drawn by the suction of a pump against or into the open end of the pipe, which has-happened when divers have attempted to control the end of large suction pipes in pumping materials out of the holds of sunken vessels.

The preferred construction, to accomplish this purpose, comprises'a pair of tubular arms 1 and 2 pivoted to the hull of the vessel 'A at points 3 and 4, thus permitting the outer or free ends of the tubular arms to rise and fall vertically with the waves of the sea, but holding them against horizontal movement and in alignment with the keel of the surface vessel so that the surface vessel can be steered by the rudder at its stern in accordance withcommon practice.

The arms are joined at their outer ends by a hollow tubular section 5 which forms a water ballast compartment; and means, not shown, are provided for filling this compartment when it is desired to submerge the arms, and for forcing the water out when it is desired to have the arms in a floating position.

Cross members 6 and 7 are bolted together and held in position by watertight swivel jointed connections, which permit of partial rotation of the members 6 and '7 in a vertical plane.

The cross member 6 is in the form of a T, which is open to arm 1, but blanked off to member 7, and the side outlet from the T is connected to a hollow ball-and-socket joint 10, through which access is had to tubular section 11 which, in turn, gives access to the observation and control chamber 12. Various bulkheads and doors in the tubular sections form air locks and decompression chambers, whichare not shown, as a some what similar arrangement is shown and described in 'more detail in my co-pending appli-' cation Serial No. 320,318.

Cross member '7 is in the shape of a modified T, with the side outlet curved to give a free flow of the materials being pumped through it. This cross member is connected to a hollow ball-andsocket joint '12 which carries one portion 13 of the suction pipe, with which the other portion 14 is in telescoping engagement. Any suitable means, not shown, may be used to extend or contract this extensible suction pipe. A bend, as .at 15, may be usedfto hold the suction pipe in close proximity to the observation chamber if desired to facilitate its control.

Arm 2 is utilized as a suction pipe through which the materials are delivered after passing up through the ball joint 12 and cross member '7, then through the bend 15 into the arm 2; and, if desired, I may surround arm 2 by a larger diameter tubular section as. at 16, the space formed between the two tubes being utilized to provide water ballast compartments to thus augment the positive or negative buoyancy of the arms, which is essential to suit the various conditions of tidal currents, condition of sea, etc. I use the usual'valves for admitting water and air to the compartment to fill and empty the same, as has been fully described in my previous submarine patents and as is now well known in the art, sohave not considered it necessary to show these means in detail. A similar outer tube 16 on arm 1 may be provided for the same purpose.

Arm 1 is made large enough for an operator to pass to and from the observation and control chamber while the same is submerged, so as to prevent the possibility of the operator being trapped in case the observation compartment should become entangled in the sunken vessel, although normally, access to the observation chamber would be through the trap door 17, which projects above the surface of the sea, when the arms are floating on the surface, as shown in Figure 2.

I also provide a water ballast compartment 18 around tube 11 for the purpose of submerging the observation chamber by means independent of the water ballast compartment around arms 1 and 2 and tubular section 5, as in shallow work it is not necessary to submerge the side arms 1 and 2. With the chamber 12 submerged as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2a, the diver may pass in and out through the trap door 19, the water beingprevented fro'm'entering by the air pressure maintained in the chamber, When the observation chamber is lowered'into'avertical position, as'shown in section in Figure 2a, trap door 20 is thenu'sed to permit passage of divers.

21 is "a centrifugal pump,preferably located in the'hold of the surface vessel, and arm 2 is connected with this pump through the side of the vessel by a watertight swivel 'oint, asindi'cated.

Conducting salvage operations in rough weather, in theopen sea, is usually considered very'h'azardous work, more especially so where it is necessary to have vesselslying side by'side, as is the practice when coal or other bulky cargoes are being'reclaimedfrom sunken wrecks; this hazard being due to' the rolling'and crashing together of the surface vessels. Therefore, one'of theimportant functions of 'my'present invention is'to prevent the rolling of the surfacevessel carrying the submersible equipment and to provide'it with suitable cushioning means to prevent'the attendant ves'sel'from injuring the'salvagingvessel due to its rolling. In my ejXperiI-nental work I have found all rolling ceases when the observation chamber is well under water, due, probably, to the fact that the wave motion is only on or' near the surface, while the submarine currentflows only inonedirectionduringfloodtide and in another direction during'ebbtide. The accesstub'e and observation chamber, being projected down into. the quiet under sea,'the"momentary rise and fall of the turbulent surface waters cannot move the observation chamber sidewayaand as itis securely attached to the sides of the surface vessel the surface vessel cannot roll. I also findthe pitching of the surface vessel'is .very"m,aterially reduced, due to the damping'e'lfect of'the submerged access tube and observation chamber. The surface vessel therefore becomes a very stable platform and enables a derrick'to be operated in hoisting out cargo, when it would be impossible were it not for-the stabilizing effect of the attached submarine apparatus. This greatstability also enables me to apply fendersand cushion: ing means to'the sides of the surface vessel so that cargo-receiving ships canbe safely brought alongside and moored, even inrough weather, when otherwise it would'beimpossible'.

22,23, 24 and 25 are fenders extending outboard of the surface vessel a suilicient distance toiprevent a vessel alongside contacting with arms land 2. These fenders are brackete'darrd-tied to heavy athWartShip'sup'p rts-ZG and' 2'7, and are also well braced otherwise tohold them'in their proper positions;

28 and 29 are pneumatic cushioned wheels which are permitted to revolve and also to slide up and down the tubular side fenders, see particularly Figure 8 which shows more in detail the method of construction and attachment, and in which 28 is the pneumatic-tired wheel and 28a the flanged hub on which the tire 28 is mountedand held in position by flanged ring 28b. A circular cross head 39 is mounted on a piston rod 31 secured to piston 32 which plays up and down in cylinder 83 carried by a casting 34 which is secured to the inside of the tubular fender 22, An air pipe 35 led to any suitable airsupply on the vessel admits air through port 36 to the underside of the piston 32. The cross head 30 is connected to a ring outside the tubular fender by bolts extending through vertical slots cut in the fender as shown, and sufiicient air pressure is maintained to counterbalance the weight of the cushioning wheel 28, or if two wheels are used, as shown in Figure 2, the piston rod is extended upward and through the means of an additionalcrossheadand ring, not shown in Figure '3, and sufficient air pressure is introduced to supporttheweight of both wheels.

37 represents a portion of the side of an attending vessel moored alongside, which vessel may be rolling or pitching and moving forward and backward in'relation to the salvaging vessel which is not rolling or pitching to the same extent. As the attendant vessel bears against the cushioned wheels she can readily be hauled into such position forward or aft "in relation to the salvaging vessel, as is necessary for properly loading the recovered cargo, and at the same time the cushioned wheels may slide up and down'on the tubular fenders to accommodate'the roll of the attendant-vessel, the said'vessel being held in close contactto the salvaging'vessel, thus preventing the pounding of the vessels together.

In Figure 211, B represents a coal barge sunk in shallow water. I will now describe the method of mooring the salvaging vessel over such a wreck and rapidly recovering its cargo of coal.

The salvaging vessel is first moored over the sunken vessel with four mooring lines, two of which lineslead'forward of the bow, as-indicated at 38, and are so connected to the anchor windlass or other winches on the deck of the'vessel that they may be taken in or paid out as desired, and two similar mooring lines lead aft in approximately the same manner. All 'of these mooring lines are attached to anchors. The vessel may now 'be moved "forward or aft or sidewise as desired. It will be noticed that these mooringlineslead through fair leads 39 secured at thebottom ofthe tubular fenders "22and 24. Thestern mooring lines lead from the stern fenders (not shown) in a similarimanner, and this isimportant, as it places'the mooring lines below the keel of the "attending cargo-receiving vessels and tug boats, so there is nodangerof foul-ingtheir propellers, etc., when coming alongside the salvagingvessel. I have arranged the lower ends of theiforward and afterfenders-by which the mooring lines are carried so they can be swung up above the water line when not in use, as shown by dotted lines atf22a.

To place the salvaging vessellthei master diver .now goes into the observation chamber 12 through hatch l'l'an'd admits water into the ballast compartment surrounding access tube 1 1, which causes the compartment-to-sink to any 'desired angle in relation to the side arms 1 and '2, the depthtowhich it-will sink being controlled by lines 40 and 41', the inboard ends of in Figure 2a; and the divers door 20 maythen be opened to permit a diver to leave the vessel if desired, as is common practice and has been fully described in my pending application Serial No. 320,318, but if the cargo is coal, cereals, phosphate rock, brick or other kinds of materials that can be more rapidly recovered by the pumping process, the suction pipe 14 is lowered to the proper distance above the cargo and the pump started. Heretofore it has been necessary to use a diver to move theend of the suction.

pipe about to collect the coal, and this has limited the size of pump and suction pipe to the size a diver could handle and control. In the design I contemplate using, however, a large size pump and a suction pipe capable of handling large objects, e. g. 20 or more-in diameter may be used and, obviously, it would be unsafe for a diver to be anywhere near the end of such a suction pipe, as the velocity of the water would be sufficient to draw him into it. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to control the position of the end of the pipe by means of power, controlled from a safe distance. I have provided for this purpose side lines 42 which passup through blocks or fair leads 43 and 44 attached to the side arms 1 and 2,v and from the fair leads, these lines run to electrically operated winches on the deck of the salvage vessel. By means of electric control switches placed in the observation and control compartment, this compartment, and the suction pipe 14 with it, may be caused to swing fore and aft or athwartships at the will of the operator, within certain limits determined by the swivel joints 8 and 9 and ball-and- socket joints 10 and 12, and by lowering the control compartment or the portion 14 of the suction pipe the entire contents of the hold of a sunken vessel may rapidly be delivered to the surface vessel provided to receive it.

In greater dephths than that shown in Figure 2a it will be necessary to use additional water to submerge the side arms 1 and 2 to reach the sunken vessel, and this is readily accomplished by admitting water to the ballast compartments in the space surrounding arms 1 and 2 and in section 5, the depths of submergence being controlled by lines 45 and 46 which are carried on drums 4'7 and 48. I prefer to have these drums also electrically operated so that the arms and attached observation and control compartment may also be under the direct control of the master diver in the control compartment.

In Figure 4 I have diagrammatically shown a ship bottom up which makes it necessary to cut through the bottom or side plating of the ship to gain access to her cargo. To accomplish this I install an attachment consisting of a revolving head 49 large enough to contain an operator and an electric motor to drive the various tools needed to cut through the plating of a ship.

Figure 5 shows the attachment with a circular saw in the act of sawing through the side plating of a ship lying on the-bottom'of the sea at a considerable angle. The revolving head 49 is mounted on a telescopic arm 50 extending out from the T shaped casting 51, from which T shaped casting a pipe 52 affords a passageway to aball joint 53, the flanges of which may be bolted to the observation and control chamber 12 over the divers exit door 19, as shown in Figure 5 or over door opening 20, as shown in Figure 4. 54 indicates a metal circular saw, which is driven by the motor and suitable gearing in the revolvable head 49. I provide suction discs 55 and 56-which may be brought in contact with the metal plates and the water pumped out from inside the discs, when they will hold the attachment in a rigid position while the revolvable head with its saw is being traversed back and forth, as indicated by the dotted positions in Figure4. The head 49 shown in full andin dottecl'lines in Figure 5 illustrates the flexibility of the attachment which, by co-operative movement of the guide arms 1 and 2, enable tubularsection 11.

to'be brought to bear upon and cut through the plating of a sunken ship, no matter in what position the ship may lie. 7

Many difierent kinds of tools may be projected through watertight stuffing boxes extending around'the shell of the revolvable head. A drill is indicated'at 5'7, opposite the saw 54, and electric cutting torches, reciprocating saws and other devices may be added as desired, as disclosed in more detail in my copending application Serial No.'583,047, filed Dec. 24, 1931, patented Mar. 27, 1934, No. 1,952,080.

In pumping coal in muddy waters it is difiicult to judge the proper distance to maintain the end of the suction pipe above the coal; if it is too far away too little coal is pumped, if too close, the suction pipe is choked or the pump clogged and stopped with too much coal. I may attach an auxiliary observation and control chamber direct to the end of the suction pipe as shown by dotted lines 58 in Figure 2a. This'observation and control chamber may be simplyin the form of a cage in which a diver may go so as not to be drawn into the pipe by the suction, or it may be a small pressure resisting compartment in which the attendant may,by having circulating air lines and suitable control switches, d rect and control the movement'of the end of the suction pipe to place it in its most advantageous position. The use of aquascopes or sounding rods extending'out through a stufling box, will give the attendant knowledge of the proper distance to maintain the end of the pipe above the bed of coal for efficient pumping.

It is obvious that many modifications may be made in the design of apparatus shown herein and in the method of procedure in operating on sunken ships and recovering their cargoes, and yet be within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims. For example, in operating in shallow water the observation chamber could be placed at the end of one of the side arms instead of at the end of tube 11, or a small submarine such as is shown in my Patent #1,356,773 could be inserted in place of the cross member 5.

What I claim is:-

1. In a submarine salvage and recovery apparatus, a surface vessel provided with two semisubmersible hollow arms, one of said arms arranged at each side of said vessel and each arm having one of its ends attached to said vessel, the opposite ends of said arms interconnected, one of said arms" providing a passageway ffQfjthB .descent of operatives "beneath :the surface of the sea, and the other .arm providing a duct :for the recov ry of objects from the bottom ofthe sea, and means for raising and lovveri-ngsaidarms as .aunit. .2. In .a submarine salvage and recovery apparatus, asunface vessel provided withtwo semisubmersible' hollow .;arms, g,one of said arms arranged. ateachside :of :said vessel and each arm pivotally attached at :one of its endsto said vessel, the opposite ends of saidrarms rigidly secured together, means associated with said arms for the'reception of :water ballast, a ,combined diverfs compartment :and observation chamber adjust ablysupported between saidarms, means including one of said arms providing a passageway for operatives between said vessel and chamber, means :for raising and lowering said arms, and means for adjusting said chamber with respect to saidarms.

3. In :a submarine salvage and recovery apparatusa surface vessel, ;a pairof arms pivotally attached at their @inboardends to opposite sides of said vessel, ;a cross :member rigidly connecting said arms at their outboard ends, anadditional crosszmember arranged between said;arms,a submersible tube :pivotally, supported .by said lastnamed cross-member, means for ,lowering and raising said arms, :and :means for ;lowering and raising said -.tube ;relative1y to said arms.

=4. In :a submarine salvage and recovery apparatus, -a;-surfaee vesseLeemi-submersible tubular arms pivotally attached at-theirinboardends to opposite sides of said vessel, cross members connecting the outboard endsofsaid arms, .-one of said cross .members including tubular portions so-arranged asito be capable ofrelative swivelling movement, a combined observation and divers compartment, -a tubular member flexibly connected withone portion of said crossmemberwand with'said compartment andprOVidinga passageway ;,including said portion and one of said arms whereby operatives may pass-between-said vessel and compartment, a suction pipe carried bythe other :portion of saidcross member, meansfor raising and lowering said arms,-and means for raising andlowering-said compartment-and suction pipe independently of each: other.-

5. A submarine salvage.- andirecovery alqparatus as claimed in claim 4, provided with .meanslto swing the combined-observationand diveflscompartment in any direction idesired within the limits ofitsswivellingand-fiexible connections.

6. A submarine. salvageand recovery apparatus as claimed .in claim 4, provided with means to pla e the combined observatio and divers ,eonv partment in any suitabl pos t on withi th limits ,of ,its connections with the surface vessel,

and doors t enabl d vers :t l av o e te com ined observati n and divers comp men .In a submarine salvage and c ve epparatussa surfac vessel, s m ubmer b ar having their inboard en 'Di Qtally atta he to pposit sides of said vessel. mean fo l ri and raising said arms, and fenders extending above and outboard from said :vessel beyond the inboard ends ofsaid arms to r ote themrrom injury and to permit their being raised or lowered with other ves el lyin alon ide sai .s face vessel.

:8. In a submarine salva e and r cove y anparatus. a surface vessel, semi-subme s bl ape peratus having its inboard portion attached t said vessel, means for raising and l we in sa semi=submersible apparatus, f nd carri d .by

said vess l and e t ndin utboard of said anparatus, said .fenders provided with ioufihioning means to prevent injury {to-said apparatus from other vessels .movedalongside said surface vessel. I :9. In a submarine salvage and recovery apparatus, .a surface vessel. .semiesubmers l apparatus attached ,thereto, structural frame members arranged ,-at vthe sides of {said vessel, said frame members extending below the Water line, fair .leads carried bysaid frame members, moor-- ing lines passed throughsaid fair-leads andheld thereby well belowqthenormal draft of thekeels of vessels which may come alongside of the said surfacevessel, said mooring lines due to their submergence .by said fair leads adapted to counterbalance the pullof water currents, ;to prevent excessive inclinationof the apparatus when the semi-submersible apparatus is submerged.

i 10. aIn asubmarine salvage and recoveryapparatus, a surface vessel, semi submersible apparatus carried .by said vessel, structural ;-frame members carried atoppositesides ,of the surface vessel and adjustable relatively thereto, said frame members :normally extending below the water line, fair-leads fitted :to the-lQwer-ends of said frame members, mooring lines passed throughsaid -fair leads and held ,thereby 'below the-surfaceof the water, the submergenceof said lines serving :to prevent tippingof the surface vessel in strongiside currentswhen the 1 submersible apparatus is submerged,.andqmeansdor raising said frame members above the water line when-notainiuse.

SIMON LAKE.

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