Mooring apparatus for floating vessels

Claim 1

A platform-mounted apparatus for drawing in, storing, holding, and paying out a flexible load line having the properties of wire rope and having a load at an outer end thereof, said apparatus including: A. said flexible load line and its attached load; B. a power supply mounted with respect to said platform and capable of supplying hydraulic fluid under pressure; C. winch means including: (1) a winch frame mounted with respect to the platform, (2) a winch drum to which an inner end of the load line is attached, said drum being rotatably mounted on said frame, (3) braking means operably connected between the drum and the winch frame, (4) hydraulic drum drive means operable to rotate the drum to move the load line in a first direction as it winds on the drum, the drum drive means being operable selectively to power the drum (a) in a slow speed/high torque range, or (b) in a high speed/low torque range, and (5) fluid operable brake control means to cause the braking means selectively to (a) let the winch drum run free, (b) to retard rotation of the winch drum, or (c) to stop it and to hold it against rotation with respect to the winch frame; D. a hydraulically operable linear load line pull machine mounted with respect to the platform and encompassing a straight run of the load line between said winch drum and said line load, said linear load line pull machine including: (1) a linear line pull machine frame mounted with respect to the platform, (2) wedge shape gripper jaws slidably mounted on said pull machine frame and adapted to releasably grasp the encompassed portion of the load line to hold it against movement in a second direction opposite the first direction of movement of the load line when it is wound on the winch drum, (3) hydraulic linear pull drive means operable when applied with hydraulic fluid under pressure to move said jaw means reciprocally with respect to said pull machine frame (a) to cause the load line when grasped by the jaw means to move in the first load line direction and (b) to move in the jaws in a second direction, and (4) hydraulic gripper motor means operable in a disengaging direction to disengage said jaw means from said load line and in an engaging direction to cause said jaw means to grasp said load line; and E. control means selectively operable to: (1) supply hydraulic fluid under pressure from the power supply to the drum drive means and actuate the drum drive means into its high speed/low torque range, actuate the gripper motor means in the disengaged direction, and actuate the brake control means to release the braking means, or (2) supply hydraulic fluid under pressure from the power supply to the drum drive means and actuate the drum drive means into its low speed/high torque range, actuate the gripper motor means in the disengaged direction, and actuate the brake control means to release the braking means, or (3) actuate the gripper motor means in the engaged direction to position the gripper jaws to grasp the load line, supply hydraulic fluid under pressure from the power supply to the drum drive means and actuate the drum drive means into its high speed/low torque range, supply hydraulic fluid under pressure from said power supply to said linear line pull drive means, and actuate said brake control means to release the braking means.