AU2021101540A4

AU2021101540A4 - Buoy structure applicable to estuaries

Info

Publication number: AU2021101540A4
Application number: AU2021101540A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Chunxia GAO; Weizhao Meng; Siquan TIAN; Jianfeng TONG; Xuefang WANG; Weidong Zhu
Original assignee: Shanghai Ocean University
Current assignee: Shanghai Ocean University
Priority date: 2020-03-26
Filing date: 2021-03-25
Publication date: 2021-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 2029-03-25
Also published as: CN111391978B; CN111391978A

Abstract

Disclosed is a buoy structure applicable to estuaries, including a buoy body and a base. The base and the buoy body are movably connected by three slide rods which are distributed in a Y shape. An angle between adjacent slide rods is 120°. One end of the slide rod is rotatably connected to a bottom of the buoy body through a revolute pair, and the other end of the slide rod is fixedly connected with a ball head. The base includes three support arms which are integrally formed, and an angle of adjacent support arms is 120°. When the tide is in, the buoy body floats up under the buoyancy of the sea water, and the slide rod is driven to stand upward. When the tide is out, a mud flat is exposed, and the buoy body falls due to the absence of the buoyancy of the sea water. At the same time, one end of the slide rod slides outward. However, the end of the slide rod will stop moving when arrived at the top of the groove, so that a gap is formed between the probe and the mud flat. 1/3 210 300 400 500 Fig. 1 14.600 Fig. 2

Description

1/3

210 300 400

500

Fig. 1

14.600

Fig. 2

BUOY STRUCTURE APPLICABLE TO ESTUARIES TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to marine environment monitoring, in particular to a

buoy structure applicable to estuaries.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, marine environment pollution is becoming more serious due to

overfishing, offshore aquaculture, operations of ships and yachts, offshore oil drilling

and marine disposal of land pollutants. For example, red tides and coastal erosion

caused by marine pollution occur more and more frequently. If the marine

environment can be monitored in time, effective measures will be taken to prevent the

marine environment pollution and mitigate damages. On the other hand, the

monitoring of the marine environment is helpful to the prediction of climate disasters

such as El Nino phenomenon, sea level rise, and tsunamis, reducing the loss caused by

these disasters. Therefore, the marine environment monitoring technology is of great

significance.

Mud flats in many waters of Yangtze Estuary are exposed when the tide is out.

Substrates of these waters are muddy, and many monitoring buoys will be trapped by

mud, which will cause a failure of the probe.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure aims to provide a buoy structure applicable to estuaries to

overcome the above problems.

To achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides the following

technical solutions.

Provided is a buoy structure applicable to estuaries, comprising:

a buoy body; and

a base; characterized in that the base and the buoy body are movably connected by three slide rods; the three slide rods are distributed in a Y shape, and an angle between adjacent slide rods is 120°; one end of each of the three slide rods is rotatably connected to a bottom of the buoy body through a revolute pair; the other end of each of the three slide rods is fixedly connected with a ball head; the revolute pair is a pin; the base comprises three support arms which are integrally formed, and an angle of adjacent support arms is 120°; a cross section of each of the three support arms is a right-angled trapezoid, and a sliding groove horizontally arranged provided on a top of each of the three support arms; one part of the sliding groove is located at an upper surface of an inner end of each of the three support arms, and the other part of the sliding groove is located at a waist of each of the three support arms; an arc of a sectorial cross section of the sliding groove at the waist of each of the three support arms is a minor arc; and the ball head is located in the sliding groove and fits with the sliding groove.

In some embodiments, an arc of a sectorial cross section of the sliding groove at

the upper surface of the inner end of each of the three support arms is a superior arc. In some embodiments, the buoy body is hollow, and comprises a cylindrical

portion and a truncated pyramid-like portion; the cylindrical portion is a flat cylinder,

and a plurality of probes are arranged at a bottom of the cylindrical portion. In some embodiments, a length of each of the probes protruding from the

cylindrical portion is less than a height of the base. In some embodiments, the truncated pyramid-like portion has a shape similar to

truncated pyramid, wherein a bottom surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion is

octagonal, and a top surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion is square; side surfaces of the truncated pyramid-like portion comprise four rectangular surfaces and

four triangular surfaces; and a solar panel is fixedly mounted on the side surfaces of

the truncated pyramid-like portion.

In some embodiments, a fixed platform is provided on a top of the buoy body;

the fixed platform comprises a fixed disc and three connecting vertical poles; upper

and lower ends of each of the three connecting vertical poles are fixedly connected to a bottom of the fixed disc and the top of the buoy body, respectively; and a cup anemometer and a camera are fixedly mounted at a top of the fixed disc.

In some embodiments, the fixed connection and the fixed mounting comprise welding and bolt connection.

Compared to the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial

effects. When the tide is in, the buoy body floats up under the buoyancy of the sea water, and the probes under the buoy body carry out measurements in water. When the tide is

out, a mud flat is exposed, and the buoy body falls due to the absence of the buoyancy

of the sea water. At the same time, one end of the slide rod slides outward. However, the end of the slide rod will stop moving when arrived at the top of the groove, so that a gap is formed between the probe and the mud flat, and the probes will not fall into

the mud flat and be damaged. The base is fixed to the beach. The buoy structure of the present invention allows multi-purpose monitoring buoy structures to continuously

operate in estuary and intertidal zones.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a buoy structure applicable to estuaries

according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a side view of the buoy structure applicable to estuaries according to an

embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is a top view of the buoy structure applicable to estuaries according to an

embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a base according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the base according to an embodiment of the present

disclosure. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the base according to an embodiment of the

present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Technical solutions of this present disclosure will be further described in detail

below in conjunction with the embodiments.

As shown in Figs. 1-6, illustrated is a buoy structure applicable to estuaries,

including a buoy body 100 and a base 500.

The buoy body 100 is hollow, and the buoy body 100 includes a cylindrical

portion 110 and a truncated pyramid-like portion 120. The cylindrical portion 110 has

a flat cylinder, and the truncated pyramid-like portion 120 has a shape similar to

truncated pyramid. A bottom surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion 120 is

octagonal; a top surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion 120 is square; and side

surfaces of the truncated pyramid-like portion 120 include four rectangular surfaces

and four triangular surfaces. A solar panel 130 is fixedly mounted on the side surfaces

of the truncated pyramid-like portion 120, and a plurality of probes 140 are provided

on a bottom of the cylindrical portion 110.

A fixed platform 200 is provided on a top of the buoy body 100, and the fixed

platform 200 includes a fixed disc 210 and a connecting vertical pole 220. There are

three connecting vertical poles 220 configured to connect the top of the buoy body

100 and a bottom of the fixed disc 210. Specifically, an upper end of the connecting

vertical pole 220 is fixed at the bottom of the disc 210, and a lower end of the

connecting vertical pole 220 is fixedly connected to the top of the buoy body 100. A

cup anemometer 300 and a camera 400 are respectively fixedly mounted at a top of

the fixed disc 210. The fixed connection method and the fixed mounting include but

are not limited to welding and bolt connection.

The base 500 and the buoy body 100 are movably connected by a slide rod 600.

There are three slide rods 600 which are distributed in a Y shape, and an angle

between adjacent slide rods 600 is 120°. One end of the slide rod 600 is rotatably

connected to the bottom of the buoy body 100 through a revolute pair, and the other

end of the slide rod 600 is fixedly connected with a ball head 601. Specifically, the

revolute pair is a pin.

The base 500 includes three support arms 510 which are integrally formed. An angle between adjacent support arms 600 is 120°. A cross section of the support arm 510 is a right-angled trapezoid, and a sliding groove 520 is horizontally arranged provided on a top of the support arm 510. One part of the sliding groove 520 is located at an upper surface 511 of an inner end of the support arm 510, and the other part of the sliding groove 520 is located at a waist 512 of the support arm 510. The sliding groove 520 has a sectorial cross section. An arc of the sectorial cross section of the sliding groove 520 at the upper surface 511 of an inner end of the support arm is a superior arc, and an arc of the sectorial cross section of the sliding groove 520 at the waist 512 is a minor arc. The ball head 601 is located in the sliding groove 520 and fits with the sliding groove 520.

When the tide is in, the buoy body 100 floats up under the buoyancy of the sea water, and the slide rod 600 is driven to stand upward, and the ball head 601 moves

from the sliding groove 520 at the waist 512 to the sliding groove 520 at the upper surface 511 of the inner end of the support arm. The probes under the buoy body 100

carry out measurements in water. When the tide is out, a mud flat is exposed, and the

buoy body 100 falls due to the absence of the buoyancy of the sea water. At the same time, one end of the slide rod slides outward. However, the end of the slide rod will

stop moving when arrived at the top of the sliding groove, so that a gap is formed

between the probe and the mud flat. As long as the extension length of the probe is less than a height of the base 500, the probes will not fall into the mud flat and be

damaged. The base is fixed to a beach, and specifically, the base 500 may be fixed to the beach by anchor bolts. A platform can be poured by concrete on the beach, and

then the base 500 can be fixed on the platform by anchor bolts.

The present disclosure provides an improved connection method for the buoy body 100 and the base 500. The present disclosure only provides a simple description

of the structure of the buoy body 100, and the specific structure, circuit connection

mode and method, etc., are omitted herein. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are

not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any changes, equivalent modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A buoy structure applicable to estuaries, comprising:

a buoy body; and a base;

characterized in that the base and the buoy body are movably connected by three

slide rods; the three slide rods are distributed in a Y shape, and an angle between adjacent slide rods is 120°; one end of each of the three slide rods is rotatably

connected to a bottom of the buoy body through a revolute pair; the other end of each

of the three slide rods is fixedly connected with a ball head; the revolute pair is a pin; the base comprises three support arms which are integrally formed, and an angle

of adjacent support arms is 120°; a cross section of each of the three support arms is a

right-angled trapezoid, and a sliding groove is horizontally provided on a top of each of the three support arms; one part of the sliding groove is located at an upper surface

of an inner end of each of the three support arms, and the other part of the sliding

groove is located at a waist of each of the three support arms; an arc of a sectorial cross section of the sliding groove at the waist of each of the three support arms is a

minor arc; and the ball head is located in the sliding groove and fits with the sliding

groove.

2. The buoy structure according to claim 1, characterized in that an arc of a sectorial cross section of the sliding groove at the upper surface of the inner end of

each of the three support arms is a superior arc.

3. The buoy structure according to claim 1, characterized in that the buoy body is

hollow, and comprises a cylindrical portion and a truncated pyramid-like portion; the

cylindrical portion is a flat cylinder, and a plurality of probes are arranged at a bottom of the cylindrical portion.

4. The buoy structure according to claim 3, characterized in that a length of each of the plurality of probes protruding from the cylindrical portion is less than a height

of the base.

5. The buoy structure according to claim 3, characterized in that the truncated

pyramid-like portion has a shape similar to a truncated pyramid, wherein a bottom

surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion is octagonal, and a top surface of the truncated pyramid-like portion is square; side surfaces of the truncated pyramid-like

portion comprise four rectangular surfaces and four triangular surfaces; and a solar

panel is fixedly mounted on the side surfaces of the truncated pyramid-like portion.

6. The buoy structure according to claim 1, characterized in that a fixed platform

is provided on a top of the buoy body; the fixed platform comprises a fixed disc and three connecting vertical poles; upper and lower ends of each of the three connecting

vertical poles are fixedly connected to a bottom of the fixed disc and the top of the

buoy body, respectively; and a cup anemometer and a camera are fixedly mounted at a top of the fixed disc.

7. The buoy structure according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that the fixed connection and the fixed mounting comprise welding and bolt connection.