The object of this invention is an arrangement for operating a hatch cover of a cargo ship between an open position and a closed position.

Cargo is transported in a cargo ship in a hold below hatch covers. On deck are movable hatch covers, with which the hold below is closed. The present invention relates to hatch covers.

The operation of a hatch cover occurs with hydraulic or electrical actuators. Conventionally, the energy supply to them occurs from the electrical generators or hydraulic systems of the ship. The energy supply for the actuators needed for operation of the hatch covers requires long cabling and piping from a centralized energy source, such as from an electrical generator in the engine room of the ship or from a hydraulic powerpack in its own space. Many drawbacks are associated with these prior-art energy supply solutions. Energy supply lines hundreds of meters long result in power losses, and e.g. oil leaks are possible from hydraulic pipes on the deck of the ship. The manufacture and installation of extensive cabling and piping is expensive and time-consuming in the construction phase of a ship. A separate hydraulic system made for operating hatch covers also takes up space on the ship and is an expensive investment in itself.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a new type of arrangement to produce and store energy for operating hatch covers. The arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that the arrangement comprises an apparatus, integrated into the hatch cover or hatch coaming, or installed in the immediate proximity of them, for collecting and storing energy for operation of the hatch cover. One preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that, in addition to collecting and storing energy, the control systems associated with the use of energy, and the mechanisms and actuators needed for operation of the hatch cover, are integrated into the hatch cover or hatch coaming, or are installed in the immediate proximity of them.

Another preferred embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that the energy source is the movement of the ship in a seaway, a temperature difference between different structural elements, sunlight or wind.

Yet another preferred embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that energy is stored in electrochemical accumulators or in pressure containers.

Other preferred embodiments of the arrangement according to the invention are defined in the dependent claims 5-7.

Some of the advantages of the invention that can be mentioned are that, for operation of the hatch covers, it is not necessary to arrange any external power supply from the systems of the ship. Instead, operation of the hatch covers occurs completely with free energy produced in an environmentally-friendly manner. The risk of polluting the environment is eliminated when hydraulic piping is not needed on the deck of the ship. Installation of the hatch covers in a shipyard becomes easier and faster when all the apparatuses needed for operating a hatch cover, including energy production, are integrated into the hatch cover. Furthermore, space is saved on the ship because a centralized hydraulic system for operation of the hatch covers is not needed on the ship.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of some examples of its preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein Fig. 1 presents hatch covers, in their closed position, installed on top of the hatch coaming on the deck of the ship.

Fig. 2 presents the same as Fig. 1, but now the hatch covers have now been driven to the sides of the cargo hold opening.

Fig. 1 thus presents the deck 1 of a cargo ship, on which the edge of the cargo hold, i.e. the coaming 2, is situated. The hatch covers 4, 4' are in the closed position on top of the hatch coaming 2, preventing inter alia the ingress of water into the cargo hold 3 below. Typically, there are 7 or 9 pieces of these type of hatch cover pairs

4, 4' on a ship 7.

In the situation of Fig. 2 the hatch covers 4, 4' have been driven to the sides of the opening of the cargo hold 3, in which case loading and unloading of cargo is possible. In the following, only the parts needed for moving the hatch cover 4 will be described, but corresponding parts are arranged also in the hatch cover 4'.

An energy collection device 7 has been integrated into the hatch cover 4, which device can be a generator or a pump, a solar cell, a wind generator, an element utilizing a temperature difference or a corresponding device, the device producing electrical energy or pressure from the motions of the hull of the ship in a seaway. An energy storage 8, which can be am electrochemical accumulator or e.g. a pressure container, is further installed on the hatch cover 4.

For the control and regulation of the production and storage of energy, a control unit 9 is on the hatch cover 4. For operation of the hatch cover 4, a drive unit 10 is arranged on it, the drive unit controlling actuators such as the motors 6 driving the travel wheels

5.

Typically, the hatch covers 4, 4' are operated during a port call, when cargo is loaded or unloaded. Operating times are short and on balance operation occurs, relatively, infrequently. Most of the time the ship is at sea, in which circumstances the hatch covers are not operated. In this case, an energy collection system operating on even low power is able to recover a sufficient amount of energy for the next operating session of the hatch covers.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but that it can be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. There are also other ways of collecting and storing energy than those mentioned above, and operation of the hatch covers 4, 4' can be implemented with other methods and actuators than those mentioned above.

Described above is an embodiment in which the arrangement according to the invention is situated entirely on the hatch cover. It is also possible to implement the arrangement in such a way that the apparatus is wholly or partly on the hatch coaming 2 or in the immediate proximity of the hatch covers 4, 4' and hatch coaming 2. The characteristic features possibly presented in the description in conjunction with other characteristic features can also, if necessary, be used separately to each other.