DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A SEA-TUBE MOUNTING SYSTEM AND METHOD OF ITS MOUNTING THEREOF

Applicant:
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Under Ministry of Defence,
(A Govt. of India Undertaking)
Having address:
Dockyard Road, Mazagon,
Mumbai - 400010, Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY
[001] The present application claims priority from Indian provisional application no. 201821047317 filed on 14th December 2018.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[002] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a ship sea-tube, wherein the sea-tube is a conical hollow pipe of variable thickness and more specifically the sea-tube is divided into two parts, based on their fitting.

BACKGROUND
[003] Generally, When ships are in sea for sailing, they required water for various purposes like: - For cleaning purpose, for daily work and most importantly for maintaining ship temperature as ship are made with MS-iron so it’s get heat up due to continue sailing so water is required to cool down the ship temperature) etc. To fulfil the above requirement of water in a ship, sea-tubes are fitted inside a ship for inoculation & of sea water inside a ship.
[004] Where the piping system requires water to be down from the sea, for example fire and wash deck, ballast and machinery cooling system, the inlet valves is fitted to substantial box within the line of the line of the shell plate containing the sea inlet opening. This opening is to have rounded corner and to be kept clear of the bilge strake if possible. The sea inlet box is to have the same thickness as the adjacent shell but is not to be less than 12.5 mm thick and need not exceed 25 mm. Sea inlet in tanker pump room within 40 percent of ship mid-ship length are required to have compensation generally in the form of heavier insert plate in the shell. A grill may be fitted over the opening.
[005] Now referring to figures 1 to 7, a sea-tube is a conical hollow pipe of variable thickness. It is normally used for transfer of water from or to the sea. A Sea-tube is divided in 2 parts based on their fitting: - A) Upper part: - it is a cylindrical shape hollow pipe of uniform diameter & thickness throughout the length which are fitted above tank top (Above 40 deck). B) Lower part: - it is fabricated with 3 hollow pipes of variables thickness & diameter which are welded together to give the lower part a conical shape which are fitted below tank top (Below 40 deck). Lower part is difficult to fit inside the unit due to confine space inside a unit & heavy structure. There is a difficulty in lifting & inserting of lower part of sea-tube inside a bottom shell where it has to align & fit with the unit based on the marking on the bottom shell (Ref: Figures 1 to 4). Conventionally, the sea tube was lifted through the holes provided on the bottom shell and the hole provided on the 40-deck plate through a lifting arrangement and a chain block provided on the 40-deck plate the of a ship. The sea-tube will be attached to the chain inserted below through the said holes provided on the bottom shell and the 40-deck plate. The chain will be pulled to raise the sea tube through these holes to align it properly such that the bottom end of the lower part of sea-tube will be welded to the bottom shell and the upper end of the upper part will be welded to the 40-deck plate the of a ship. Moreover, from figure 2, we can see that problem occurs during lifting & inserting of lower part of sea tube inside the bottom shell where it has to align & fit with the unit based on the marking on the bottom shell. Generally, every time a sea-tube weighing 350 kg is uplifted manually by using a temporary lifting arrangement, that is dangerous, tidy and time-consuming process. Moreover, the sea-tube is aligned by using a 40 deck, due to which only 575 * 1200 mm area is left on each side of the sea-tube with a closed space for working, in which the sea-tube is to be lifted, aligned and welded. Thus, leading to increase in fatigue and working time. This results in lots of material wastage, manpower & time wastage lifting, insertion, alignment & fitting of sea-tube.
[006] All the operatives who are involved in fitting of sea tube:- i. Rigger who are involved in lifting the lower part of sea-tube from ground to bottom shell. ii. Platters & Shipwright who are involved in alignment & fitting of sea-tube. iii. Welders who are involved in tacking & running welding of sea tube. iv. Grinder for grinding those areas where rectification to be done.
[007] The following table shows the reasons for delay in sea-tube fitting.


To find out that why these problem occurs, a WHY-WHY analysis was done:

[008] Results of Analysis:
The following reasons are affecting for delay in sea-tube fitting.
• Temporary lifting arrangement for sea-tube : Time taken due to temporary arrangement for lifting, confine space & welding delay.
• Confine space: Time Taken in sea-tube fitting due to other factors like space constraint.
• Delay in welding

Delay due to above 3 problems causes 80% of delay in inserting, aligning & fitting of sea-tube. Due to old method of aligning a sea-tube by using a 40 deck there is a closed and confines space where an uplifting arrangement has to be made on 40dk for lifting the sea-tube from ground.

OBJECTS OF INVENTION

[009] The main object of the present invention is to provide easy insertion of the sea-tube from the top in open space with help of the crane.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide easy alignment of the sea-tube with the dummy plate.
[0011] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide easy removal of the dummy plate, after completing alignment of the sea tube.
[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide open space, thereby problem of welding is eliminated.
[0013] Further object of the present invention is to provide the usage of the same dummy plate in different units for mounting of the sea-tube.
[0014] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide the safe lifting of the sea-tube from the top to the bottom.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to reduces fatigue, rework and time.

SUMMARY
[0016] Before the present system and method are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or an apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a trolley for transportation of cylinders, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.
[0017] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a sea-tube, wherein the sea-tube is a conical hollow pipe of variable thickness and specifically the sea-tube is divided into two parts, based on their fitting. A sea-tube mounting system comprising at least one sea-tube configured for mounting on the stringer; at least one crane configured for lifting of said sea-tube for mounting it from top of the stringer; and at least one dummy deck plate configured to be mounted on a stringer for aligning of sea-tube on the opening provided on the bottom shell of the ship. The dummy deck plate is configured to be removably mounted on a stringer for aligning of sea-tube. The sea-tube is configured to be inserted from the top by crane to avoid risk of accidents caused by manually upward lifting of sea tube. The dummy deck plate aligned on top of the stringer is configured to provide sufficient space to align the sea-tube with accuracy. The dummy deck plate is configured to be removed after alignment of sea-tube to create open space for a person for welding of the sea-tube to the bottom shell. The dummy deck plate is configured to be used for mounting on different units to provide it as a jig. The crane is an EOT crane.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing:
[0019] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[0020] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram to show the conventional method of installation of sea-tube.
[0021] Figure 2 illustrates photographs of various operations carried out during installation of a sea-tube by conventional method.
[0022] Figure 3 illustrates photograph of a sea-tube installation from bottom shell of the ship by conventional method.
[0023] Figure 4 illustrates photograph of a sea-tube lifting from bottom shell to the 40 deck by the chain block through the holes provided on bottom shell and 40 deck.
[0024] Figure 5 illustrates photograph of a manual sea-tube lifting for installation from bottom shell of the ship in confine space.
[0025] Figure 6 illustrates an isometric view of alignment, fitting and welding of a sea-tube by conventional method in a confine space.
[0026] Figure 7 illustrates isometric views of sea-tube lifting, inserting, alignment, fitting and welding by conventional method.
[0027] Figure 8 illustrates a dummy plate, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0028] Figure 9 illustrates installation of sea tube with the help of crane by inserting inside the unit from the top with the help of dummy plate with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0029] Figure 10 illustrates isometric views of sea-tube lifting, inserting, alignment, fitting and welding, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0030] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0032] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0033] A sea-tube is a conical hollow pipe of variable thickness. It is normally used for transfer of water from or to the sea. A Sea-tube is divided in 2 parts based on their fitting: - A) Upper part: - it is a cylindrical shape hollow pipe of uniform diameter & thickness throughout the length which are fitted above tank top (Above 40 deck). B) Lower part: - it is fabricated with 3 hollow pipes of variables thickness & diameter which are welded together to give the lower part a conical shape which are fitted below tank top (Below 40 deck). Lower part is difficult to fit inside the unit due to confine space inside a unit & heavy structure. There is a difficulty in lifting & inserting of lower part of sea-tube inside a bottom shell where it has to align & fit with the unit based on the marking on the bottom shell.
[0034] Conventionally, the sea tube was lifted through the holes provided on the bottom shell and the hole provided on the 40-deck plate through a lifting arrangement and a chain block provided on the 40-deck plate the of a ship. The sea-tube will be attached to the chain inserted below through the said holes provided on the bottom shell and the 40-deck plate. The chain will be pulled to raise the sea tube through these holes to align it properly such that the bottom end of the lower part of sea-tube will be welded to the bottom shell and the upper end of the upper part will be welded to the 40-deck plate the of a ship. Moreover, the sea-tube is aligned by using a 40 deck, due to which only 575 * 1200 mm area is left on each side of the sea-tube with a closed space for working, in which the sea-tube is to be lifted, aligned and welded. Thus, leading to increase in fatigue and working time. This results in lots of material wastage, manpower & time wastage lifting, insertion, alignment & fitting of sea-tube.
[0035] Referring now to figure 8, in one aspect of present invention, size of the stringer in which the sea-tube (102) is inserted for its mounting is determined. Based on the size of the stringer (104), a dummy plate (100) is fabricated such that it can be mounted on the top of various stringers (104) of a ship for mounting of sea-tube (102).
[0036] Referring now to figure 9, in one aspect of present invention, marking of the opening on the bottom shell (108) of the ship. Lifting of the sea-tube (102) by crane (106) and inserting it from the top of the stringer (104). The sea-tube (102) is inserted from the top by using crane to avoid risk of manually upward lifting of sea tube )102). It will be easy to insert the sea-tube (102) from the top in open space with the help of crane(106). A fabricated dummy deck plate (100) is aligned it on top of the stringer (104). After fitting dummy deck plate (100), it provides sufficient space to align the sea-tube (102), so that it will save the time and fatigue. Further, as per marking on a dummy deck plate (100) of size 600 * 1500mm, the sea-tube (102) is aligned on top of a stringer (104). After completing the alignment of sea-tube (102), the dummy deck plate (100) can remove to create open space. Because of the open space, a person can easily enter in the open space and there will no problem in welding of the sea-tube to the bottom shell (108). This dummy deck plate (100) can be used in different units so that the same dummy deck plate (100) can be used as a jig. Direction of inserting the of sea-tube (102) for mounting will be from top to bottom which will be easy & safe. It will help reduce the fatigue, rework and save the time.
[0037] Referring now to figure 10, in another aspect of present invention, the sea-tube (102) is inserted inside a unit from a top by using a crane (106). After insertion of the sea-tube (102), the sea-tube (102) is aligned with help of the dummy deck plate (100). Further, after alignment of the sea-tube (102), the dummy deck plate (100) is removed from the unit for welding.
[0038] Operating procedure or method for sea-tube fitting:
• Marking of opening in bottom shell
• SQC/WOT inspection
• Cutting of opening on bottom deck as per marking.
• Inserting of sea-tube from 40 deck to bottom shell by using crane
• Alignment of dummy plate on stringer
• Alignment of sea-tube as per dummy plate
• Locking of sea-tube after alignment
• Removal of dummy deck after locking of sea-tube
• SQC/WOT inspection
• Running welding of sea-tube
• UT inspection

After taking a follow-up & review of the installation of the sea-tube by above it was found that time taken in fitting of sea-tube is reduced.
[0039] Further, in one embodiment, the sea-tube is divided into two parts namely an upper part and a lower part. The upper part comprises a cylindrical shaped hollow pipe of uniform diameter and thickness throughout a length that are fixed above a top of a tank.
[0040] In another embodiment, the lower part of the sea-tube is fabricated with three hollow pipes of variables thickness and diameter that are welded together to give a lower part a conical shape, which are fixed below a tank.
[0041] A sea-tube mounting system comprising at least one sea-tube (102) configured for mounting on the stringer (104); at least one crane (106) configured for lifting of said sea-tube (102) for mounting it from top of the stringer (104); and at least one dummy deck plate (100) configured to be mounted on a stringer (104) for aligning of sea-tube (102) on the opening provided on the bottom shell (108) of the ship. The dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be removably mounted on a stringer (104) for aligning of sea-tube (102).
[0042] The sea-tube (102) is configured to be inserted from the top by crane (106) to avoid risk of accidents caused by manually upward lifting of sea tube (102). The dummy deck plate (100) aligned on top of the stringer (104) is configured to provide sufficient space to align the sea-tube (102) with accuracy. The dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be removed after alignment of sea-tube (102) to create open space for a person for welding of the sea-tube to the bottom shell (108). The dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be used for mounting on different units to provide it as a jig. The crane is a EOT crane.
[0043] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
[0044] Advantages of the present invention are as follows:
• All alignment, fitting is done in open space with a proper vision which will reduce the fatigue and will reduce the alignment rework.
• Tilting of sea-tube during lifting is eliminated by the arrangement made in center of sea tube for lifting.
• The manually upward lifting of sea tube which was dangerous and risky which is now replaced with the lowering of the sea tube with crane in downward movement which is safer and will reduce the fatigue.
• The designed dummy plate helps to align the sea-tube with full accuracy.
• The sea-tube is inserted from the top by using crane to avoid risk of manually upward lifting of sea tube and then fit the dummy deck plate after fitting dummy deck plate it remain sufficient space to align the sea-tube so it will save the time and fatigue.
• Due to reduction in man power and time we can save the cost in sea tube fitting.

,CLAIMS:
1. A sea-tube mounting system comprising
at least one sea-tube (102) configured for mounting on the stringer (104);
at least one crane (106) configured for lifting of said sea-tube (102) for mounting it from top of the stringer (104); and
at least one dummy deck plate (100) configured to be mounted on a stringer (104) for aligning of sea-tube (102) on the opening provided on the bottom shell (108) of the ship.
2. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be removably mounted on a stringer (104) for aligning of sea-tube (102).
3. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sea-tube (102) is configured to be inserted from the top by crane (106) to avoid risk of accidents caused by manually upward lifting of sea tube (102).
4. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dummy deck plate (100) aligned on top of the stringer (104) is configured to provide sufficient space to align the sea-tube (102) with accuracy.
5. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be removed after alignment of sea-tube (102) to create open space for a person for welding of the sea-tube to the bottom shell (108).
6. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dummy deck plate (100) is configured to be used for mounting on different units to provide it as a jig.
7. The sea-tube mounting system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said crane is a EOT crane.
8. The method of sea-tube mounting comprising the steps of:
• Marking of opening in bottom shell;
• Cutting of opening on bottom deck as per marking for mounting of sea-tube;
• Inserting of sea-tube from stringer to bottom shell by using crane;
• Alignment of dummy deck plate on stringer;
• Alignment of sea-tube as per dummy deck plate;
• Locking of sea-tube after alignment;
• Removal of dummy deck after locking of sea-tube;
• Inspection for proper mountion;
• Running welding of sea-tube.