CN121165267A - Pressure-resistant branch compartment, underwater cable assembly and underwater observation system - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of optical transmission, providing a pressure-resistant branching chamber, an underwater cable assembly, and an underwater observation system. The pressure-resistant branching chamber includes an end cap; a cavity, the top of which is sealed to the end cap, and at least two connection ports connected to the bottom of the cavity; the interior of the cavity is filled with insulating oil for pressure balancing and heat dissipation; a circuit board disposed within the cavity; a fiber coil structure disposed within the cavity and used for coiling optical fibers; and a connecting tube connected to the connection ports for cable connection and sealing. This pressure-resistant branching chamber is small in size and lightweight, reducing costs and facilitating construction; it can be applied to deep-sea cavities without corrosion; and it has a simple structure and high reliability.

Description

Pressure-resistant branch cabin, underwater cable assembly and underwater observation system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of optical transmission, and provides a pressure-resistant branching cabin, an underwater cable assembly and an underwater observation system.

Background

In the fields of deep sea exploration and ocean engineering, an underwater connection box is an essential key component, and is responsible for transmitting signals, power supplies and data so as to ensure that communication and data exchange can be stably carried out between underwater equipment and water surface equipment. With the development of deep sea exploration technology, higher demands are placed on the weight and volume of deep sea equipment, as the weight of the equipment directly affects its stability and performance under water, while the increase in volume also increases the complexity and cost of use of the equipment. The traditional deep sea connection box has the defects that the material structure is thick, the communication often depends on a complex connector, so that the reliability of the connector is affected, and the heat dissipation structure mostly depends on an adherence or oil filling mode, so that the method can not realize effective heat dissipation, or oil expansion and leakage are easily caused in a high-temperature environment, and the working difficulty and risk of equipment are further increased.

To address these issues, existing connector designs are often deployed around weight savings, simplified construction, enhanced tightness and heat dissipation. Common sealing means include sealing between the end caps by radial and axial O-ring seals, and V-ring seals to prevent water leakage where the cable contacts the end caps. In terms of heat dissipation, the traditional scheme comprises two modes of adherence and oil filling, and although a certain cooling requirement can be met, the traditional scheme is complicated in structure and low in reliability due to the fact that external media are excessively relied on. Therefore, the conventional connection box faces remarkable limitation in practical application, and a novel equipment branching cabin capable of reliably working in deep sea for a long time needs to be designed to replace the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a pressure-resistant branch cabin which is used for solving the defects of high complexity, heavy weight and high installation difficulty in the related technology.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an underwater cable assembly.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an underwater observation system.

An embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention provides a pressure-resistant branching cabin, including:

An end cap;

The top end of the cavity is connected with the end cover in a sealing way, the bottom end of the cavity is connected with at least two connecting ports, and the inside of the cavity is used for filling insulating oil for realizing pressure balance and heat dissipation;

The circuit board is arranged in the cavity;

the fiber coiling structure is arranged in the cavity and is used for coiling the optical fiber;

and the connecting pipe is connected to the connecting port and used for connecting and sealing the cable.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the end cover is mounted to the cavity through a first locking assembly, and a sealing element is arranged at the joint of the end cover and the cavity.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the side edge of the end cap is provided with a sealing groove, and the sealing element is arranged in the sealing groove.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the end cover is provided with an oil filling hole, and the oil filling hole is used for filling the insulating oil into the cavity.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a positioning piece is arranged in the cavity, and the circuit board and the disc fiber structure are fixed on the positioning piece;

the circuit board is installed in the locating piece through the second locking assembly.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the fiber coiling structure comprises a plurality of fiber coiling columns used for coiling the optical fibers, and the fiber coiling structure is separated from the circuit board by a spacer, and the spacer is screwed on the positioning piece.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the connecting pipe is connected with the dynamic cable through an oil filling pipe, an optical fiber core wire which is connected with the dynamic cable core wire and the optical fiber core wire is arranged in the oil filling pipe, and a buckling ring is arranged between the oil filling pipe and the outgoing shell of the cavity;

the socket comprises a socket shell, a photoelectric contact component, an external sealing gasket group, a third locking component and an internal sealing gasket group, wherein the socket shell penetrates through the outer wall of a detection unit glass sphere, the photoelectric contact component is arranged in the socket shell in a sealing mode, the external sealing gasket group is sleeved on the socket shell, the third locking component is arranged inside the detection unit glass sphere and used for locking the socket shell, and the internal sealing gasket group is arranged between the third locking component and the inner wall of the detection unit glass sphere.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the external sealing gasket set comprises a transition gasket adapted to the outer wall of the detection unit glass sphere;

The inner gasket set comprises an arc gasket, a flat gasket and a butterfly gasket which are sleeved on the socket shell, wherein the arc gasket is matched with the inner wall of the glass sphere of the detection unit, the butterfly gasket is in tensioning contact with the third locking assembly, and the flat gasket is located between the arc gasket and the butterfly gasket.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the connecting port further comprises a plastic oil pipe which is in sealing connection with the connecting port in a manner of being pressed by a hose clamp.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the insulating oil is used for radiating heat of the circuit board under the condition that the inside of the cavity is filled with the insulating oil.

An embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention provides an underwater cable assembly comprising an electric wire, an optical fiber, a plurality of connection pipes, and at least two pressure-resistant branching cabins as described above;

The electric wires and the optical fibers are arranged in the connecting pipes in a penetrating mode, and two adjacent pressure-resistant branch cabins are connected through the connecting pipes.

An embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention provides an underwater observation system comprising a detection apparatus, and an underwater cable assembly as described above;

The pressure-resistant branching cabin in the underwater cable assembly is used for providing power, communication and data branch transmission for the detection equipment.

According to the pressure-resistant branch cabin provided by the embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the integrally formed cavity structure is combined with the sealing design of the end cover, so that the pressure-resistant branch cabin can bear deep sea high pressure, the sealing element forms stable radial sealing under the action of locking force, and is matched with the throat hoop of the connecting pipe to compress and seal, so that no seawater is permeated, and the pressure balance effect of insulating oil liquid further reduces the stress of the cavity structure and reduces the cracking risk. The high thermal conductivity of the insulating oil liquid enables heat generated by the circuit board during operation to be quickly transferred to the cavity wall and dissipated into seawater, so that electronic elements are prevented from being invalid due to high temperature, the optical fiber coiling structure standardizes optical fiber paths, bending loss is reduced, and stable optical signal transmission is ensured by matching with insulation protection of the oil liquid. The modularized internal structure is convenient for later maintenance, and the replacement of the parts can be completed through the disassembly and assembly of the end cover without integral disassembly.

According to the underwater cable assembly provided by the embodiment of the second aspect of the invention, the plurality of pressure-resistant branch cabins are connected in series through the connecting pipes to form the main line, and meanwhile, each branch cabin can be connected into a plurality of detection devices in an expanding mode, so that the electric power and communication continuity of the main line are guaranteed, branch collection and transmission of data are realized, and the requirement of a deep sea observation system on multi-point monitoring is met. The sealing connection of the connecting pipe and the pressure-resistant branch cabin ensures the water tightness of the whole structure, can work for a long time in a high-pressure and high-salt deep sea environment, and the branch cabin made of PEEK material and the corrosion-resistant connecting pipe cooperatively resist seawater corrosion and biological adhesion, so that the influence of structural degradation on the transmission performance is reduced. The isolation layout of the optical fibers and the wires in the connecting pipe reduces electromagnetic interference, the fiber coiling structure in the branching cabin avoids excessive bending of the optical fibers, ensures low loss of data transmission, and the power distribution design of the circuit board stabilizes the power supply of each branch device and avoids influencing the whole circuit due to single-point faults. The modular serial structure is convenient for adjusting the number of the branching cabins according to the observation range, the detachable design of the connecting pipe ensures that the whole system is not required to be disassembled for replacement or maintenance of a single-section line, and the lightweight branching cabins and the connecting pipe reduce the difficulty of underwater deployment, thereby being suitable for the construction of a large-scale deep sea observation network.

According to the underwater observation system provided by the embodiment of the third aspect of the invention, the multi-branch structure of the underwater cable assembly can be connected with a plurality of detection devices, the monitoring range is expanded through the series pressure-resistant branch cabins, the underwater cable assembly is suitable for three-dimensional observation of complex terrains such as deep strait, hydrothermal areas and the like, and the problem of one-sided traditional single-point monitoring data is solved. The PEEK material and the sealing design of the pressure-resistant branch cabin enable the pressure-resistant branch cabin to work for a long time in a deep sea high-pressure and high-corrosion environment, and the system can realize unmanned continuous monitoring and reduce maintenance cost by matching with the weather-resistant shell of the detection equipment. The optical fiber transmission link has strong electromagnetic interference resistance, ensures low loss and small delay of data in long-distance transmission by matching with the fiber coiling structure of the pressure-resistant branch cabin, and has the power distribution function of avoiding integral power failure caused by single equipment failure and improving the fault tolerance of the system. The modular component design enables the system to flexibly increase and decrease the number of the detection equipment and the pressure-resistant branch cabins according to the monitoring task, the rapid docking characteristic of the connecting pipe is convenient for on-site deployment or adjustment under water, and the system is suitable for the operation requirements of different scientific investigation ships or underwater robots. The preprocessing function of the branching cabin reduces the calculation load of the water surface terminal, and the real-time summarization and fusion analysis of multi-equipment data can quickly generate an environment change trend report, thereby providing accurate data support for deep sea resource exploration, marine climate change research and the like.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the following description will briefly explain the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the invention, and other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a pressure-resistant branching cabin provided by the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pressure-resistant branching chamber provided by the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an end cap provided by the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a fiber-coiling structure provided by the invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a connection pipe provided by the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the oil filler tube, the optical fiber core wire and the buckling ring provided by the invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a detection unit glass sphere and a cabin penetrating socket connector provided by the invention.

Reference numerals:

100. End cap, 102, cavity, 104, connection port, 106, circuit board, 108, fiber-coiling structure, 110, connection pipe, 112, sealing element, 114, sealing groove, 116, oil filler hole, 118, positioning element, 120, fiber-coiling column, 122, oil filling pipe, 124, fiber core, 126, buckling ring, 128, cabin-penetrating socket connector, 130, detecting unit glass sphere, 132, socket shell, 134, photoelectric contact element assembly, 136, external sealing gasket group, 138, internal sealing gasket group, 140, transition gasket, 142, arc gasket, 144, flat gasket, 146 and butterfly gasket.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are illustrative of the invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

As shown in fig. 1 to 7, an embodiment of a first aspect of the present invention provides a pressure-resistant branching cabin, including:

An end cap 100;

the cavity 102, the top of the cavity 102 is connected with the end cover 100 in a sealing way, the bottom of the cavity 102 is connected with at least two connecting ports 104, and the interior of the cavity 102 is filled with insulating oil for realizing pressure balance and heat dissipation;

a circuit board 106 disposed within the cavity 102;

A coiled fiber structure 108 disposed within the cavity 102 and configured to coil an optical fiber;

a connection tube 110 connected to the connection port 104 and used for connection and sealing of the cable.

According to the pressure-resistant branching cabin provided by the embodiment of the first aspect of the invention, the integrally formed cavity 102 is combined with the sealing design of the end cover 100, so that deep sea high pressure can be borne, the sealing piece 112 forms stable radial sealing under the action of locking force, the sealing piece is tightly pressed by the hose clamp matched with the connecting pipe 110, no seawater is ensured to be permeated, and the stress of the cavity 102 is further reduced due to the pressure balance effect of insulating oil, so that the cracking risk is reduced. The high thermal conductivity of the insulating oil liquid enables heat generated by the circuit board 106 during operation to be quickly transferred to the wall of the cavity 102 and emitted into seawater, so that failure of electronic elements due to high temperature is avoided, the fiber coiling structure 108 standardizes fiber paths, bending loss is reduced, and stable optical signal transmission is ensured in cooperation with insulation protection of the oil liquid. The lightweight design reduces the load requirement of underwater installation, at least two connecting ports 104 can realize branch access of multipath equipment, the modularized internal structure is convenient for later maintenance, the replacement of parts can be completed through the disassembly and the assembly of the end cover 100, and the whole disassembly is not needed.

With continued reference to fig. 1 to 7, the pressure-resistant nacelle provided in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention is designed for a deep sea monitoring environment, and realizes the coordination of light weight, corrosion resistance and high pressure adaptability through material innovation and structural optimization.

The end cap 100 is injection molded from a Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) material and is disc-shaped with a diameter matching the top of the cavity 102. The edge of the end cover 100 is uniformly provided with mounting holes along the circumferential direction for realizing fixation by a locking piece, the inner side is provided with an annular sealing groove 114, and a fluororubber sealing piece 112 is assembled in the groove to ensure the tightness of the connection with the cavity 102.

The cavity 102 is integrally formed with a hollow columnar structure made of PEEK material, and has an opening at the top end matched with the end cover 100, and at least two connecting ports 104 are radially distributed at the bottom end. The inner wall of the connection port 104 is provided with a stepped sealing surface for matching with the sealing structure of the connection pipe 110, and the inside of the cavity 102 is provided with an integrated positioning protrusion along the axial direction for fixing the circuit board 106 and the fiber coiling structure 108.

The inside of the cavity 102 is filled with insulating oil for realizing pressure balance and heat dissipation, and the insulating oil can be synthetic oil with high dielectric constant and low viscosity, has good heat conductivity and chemical stability and does not react with PEEK materials and electronic elements. The oil completely fills the cavity 102 without air bubble residue, and is sealed by a sealing plug after filling through the oil filling hole 116.

The circuit board 106 is in waterproof and moistureproof design, the surface of the circuit board is covered with a protective layer, the circuit board is fixed on a positioning protrusion inside the cavity 102 through a plastic fastener, and a power distribution module, a signal processing module and an optical fiber interface module are integrated on the circuit board and used for realizing branch transmission of electric power and data.

The plurality of columnar bulges integrally formed by the fiber coiling structure 108 and the cavity 102 are distributed along a circular track to form a fiber encircling space, the height of the fiber coiling column 120 is slightly higher than the bending radius of the fiber, the fiber is prevented from being excessively bent, and two ends of the fiber are respectively connected with the interface of the circuit board 106 and the main cable in the connecting pipe 110 to form a communication path.

The connecting pipe 110 is made of corrosion-resistant plastic materials, one end of the connecting pipe is inserted into the connecting port 104 and is radially pressed and sealed through a clamping structure such as a hose clamp, a pressing sleeve and the like, the other end of the connecting pipe is used for penetrating an external cable, and sealing glue is filled in the pipe to further strengthen the waterproof effect. Because the fastening structure is adopted, the problem of leakage of liquid and gas is effectively solved, the structure is simple, the manufacture and the replacement are easy, the cost is relatively low, and the device is widely used for marine observation arrays, buoy monitoring, diving equipment and the like. And the high-pressure waterproof self-adhesive tape is sleeved outside the clamp, so that the bending degree of the oil pipe is reasonably limited, and the fastening seal between the connecting pipe 110 and the connecting port 104 is effectively protected.

The insulating oil in the cavity 102 is in indirect contact with external seawater through the wall of the cavity 102, the oil can generate volume compression along with the change of external pressure, the pressure inside and outside the cavity 102 is balanced, and the deformation of the cavity 102 caused by overlarge pressure difference is avoided. The PEEK cavity 102 has excellent material compatibility with the fluororubber sealing member 112 and the plastic connecting pipe 110, and has no swelling and cracking phenomena after being soaked in seawater or insulating oil liquid for a long time, so that the structural stability is ensured.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the end cap 100 is mounted to the cavity 102 by a first locking assembly, and a seal 112 is provided at the junction of the end cap 100 and the cavity 102.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the end cap 100 is a disk-shaped structure made of the same polyetheretherketone material as the cavity 102 and is connected to the top edge of the cavity 102 by a plurality of first locking components. The first locking components are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the end cover 100, penetrate through the mounting hole of the end cover 100 and then are matched with the threaded hole at the top end of the cavity 102, and the end cover 100 and the cavity 102 are rigidly fixed by screwing. An annular seal 112 is disposed between the abutting surfaces of the end cap 100 and the cavity 102, the seal 112 being compressed therebetween to form an initial sealing pressure.

The uniform distribution of the first locking components enables the sealing piece 112 to be stressed uniformly, ensures no clearance of the joint surface in a deep sea high-pressure environment, effectively prevents seawater from penetrating into the cavity 102, and protects circuits and optical fibers from corrosion. The rigid connection of the end cover 100 and the cavity 102 is matched with the high strength of PEEK material, so that deformation caused by deep sea high pressure can be resisted, sealing failure caused by structural deformation is avoided, and long-term stable operation of equipment is ensured. The detachable locking structure enables the end cover 100 to be quickly opened, so that the maintenance or replacement of the circuit board 106, the optical fiber and other components in the cavity 102 is facilitated, and the maintenance difficulty is reduced.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first locking assembly may be a stainless steel countersunk screw that mates with a threaded hole in the sidewall of the cavity 102. Of course, in other embodiments, the first locking assembly may be a combination of a cylindrical head bolt and a flange face nut, a combination of a countersunk head bolt and an embedded metal threaded sleeve, or a combination of a quick-release buckle and an auxiliary screw, and through different locking structures, the locking structure form of the deep sea environment can be adapted, so as to meet the requirements of light weight, sealing performance, corrosion resistance and high pressure adaptability.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the side of the end cap 100 is provided with a seal groove 114 and the seal 112 is disposed within the seal groove 114.

In one embodiment of the invention, the side edges of the end cap 100 are provided with annular sealing grooves 114, the depth and width of which match the dimensions of the seal 112, and the seal 112 is slightly above the surface of the end cap 100 after being inserted into the grooves and compressed by the top edge of the cavity 102 to form a seal during assembly.

The part of the first locking component penetrating through the side wall of the cavity 102 adopts a stepped hole design, and the inner diameter of the part is larger than the wall thickness of other areas of the cavity 102, so that the nut part of the locking component can sink into the hole, and the collision risk formed by protruding out of the surface of the cavity 102 is avoided.

The seal groove 114 limits the sealing element 112, prevents the sealing element 112 from displacement or extrusion under deep sea pressure, ensures that the sealing position is always accurate, and improves the long-term sealing effect. The counter bore design of first locking subassembly makes the nut not expose, reduces the outside protruding structure of cavity 102, reduces the probability of colliding with other equipment, makes whole appearance more regular simultaneously, is convenient for install and arranges. The contact area between the locking assembly and the cavity 102 is increased by the stepped hole structure, local stress concentration is reduced, cracking of the side wall of the cavity 102 caused by overlarge locking force is avoided, and structural integrity of the PEEK material is protected.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the end cap 100 is provided with an oil injection hole 116, and the oil injection hole 116 is used to fill the interior of the cavity 102 with insulating oil.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the oil hole 116 is formed in the center or edge area of the end cap 100, penetrates through the thickness direction of the end cap 100, and has internal threads therein for use with a plug with a gasket. When insulating oil is filled, the plug is opened, oil is injected into the cavity 102 through the oil injection hole 116 until the oil completely fills the cavity 102, and then the plug is screwed to realize sealing. The aperture of the oil filling hole 116 is adapted to the joint of the common oil filling equipment, so that the operation is convenient.

The special oil filling hole 116 makes the filling of insulating oil unnecessary to detach the end cover 100, reduces operation steps, and simultaneously avoids abrasion of the sealing element 112 caused by repeated detachment and installation, and protects initial sealing performance. The oil filling quantity can be accurately controlled through the oil filling hole 116, the cavity 102 is ensured to be completely filled, the insulating oil can effectively transfer external pressure, the pressure inside and outside the cavity 102 is balanced, and the deformation of the cavity 102 due to overlarge pressure difference is avoided. In the later period, if the insulating oil liquid needs to be replaced, old oil can be rapidly discharged through the oil filling hole 116 and new oil can be filled, so that the maintenance cost is reduced, and the service life of equipment is prolonged.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the interior of the cavity 102 is provided with a positioning member 118, and the circuit board 106 and the fiber optic structure 108 are secured to the positioning member 118;

the circuit board 106 is mounted to the positioning member 118 by a second locking assembly.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the positioning member 118 is a columnar or plate-shaped protrusion integrally formed inside the cavity 102, and is made of the same material as the cavity 102 and axially distributed along the cavity 102. The positioning member 118 is provided with a threaded hole, the circuit board 106 is fixed on one side of the positioning member 118 through the second locking assembly, the fiber coiling structure 108 is fixed on the other side or adjacent positions of the positioning member 118, and the two components are rigidly fixed with the positioning member 118 without relative shaking. The material of the second locking assembly is compatible with the positioning member 118 to avoid electrochemical corrosion caused by metal contact.

The positioning member 118 provides a uniform mounting reference for the circuit board 106 and the fiber coiling structure 108, ensures that the circuit board and the fiber coiling structure are fixed in position under deep sea pressure or vibration environment, and avoids cable falling or fiber breakage caused by displacement. The layered design of the positioning members 118 enables the circuit board 106 and the fiber-coiling structure 108 to be distributed orderly, reduces mutual interference, and simultaneously makes full use of the internal space of the cavity 102 to realize compact integration of components. The rigid fixation forms the internal components integral with the cavity 102, and resists external impact, reduces secondary damage caused by component wobble, and protects the integrity of the circuit and optical fibers.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the second locking component may be a plastic or stainless steel nut that is externally threaded with the cavity 102. Of course, in other embodiments, the second locking component may be a combination of a thumb screw and a locating pin or a combination of an elastic clip and a stepped stand, and by using different locking structures, the purposes of quick assembly and disassembly and simplified maintenance procedures may be achieved.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the fiber structure 108 includes a plurality of fiber winding posts 120 for winding the optical fibers, and the fiber structure 108 is spaced from the circuit board 106 by spacers that are screwed onto the positioning members 118.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the fiber-coiling structure 108 is composed of a plurality of cylindrical fiber-coiling columns 120, wherein the fiber-coiling columns 120 are perpendicular to the surface of the positioning member 118, are integrally formed with the positioning member 118, and are distributed along a circular track to form a fiber-surrounding space. The height of the fiber winding post 120 is slightly higher than the winding radius of the optical fiber, preventing the optical fiber from falling off. The spacer is a tubular or cylindrical structure, with threads at both ends, one end screwed to the positioning member 118, and the other end supporting the fiber-coiling structure 108, so that a predetermined distance is maintained between the fiber-coiling structure 108 and the circuit board 106.

The surrounding space formed by the fiber winding post 120 can normalize the winding path of the optical fiber, avoid the excessive bending or extrusion of the optical fiber, reduce the signal transmission loss, and simultaneously prevent the optical fiber from directly contacting the circuit board 106, and avoid abrasion or electrical interference. The gap formed by the spacers enables the insulating oil to flow freely between the circuit board 106 and the coiled fiber structure 108, enhances the convective heat dissipation effect of the oil, and avoids local heat accumulation. The independent mounting design of the fiber optic structure 108 and the circuit board 106 facilitates individual replacement or maintenance, enhancing serviceability and versatility of the device.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the connecting pipe 110 is connected with the dynamic cable through the oil filling pipe 122, an optical fiber core wire 124 for connecting the dynamic cable core wire and the optical fiber core wire is arranged in the oil filling pipe 122, and a buckling ring 126 is arranged between the oil filling pipe 122 and the outgoing shell of the cavity 102;

The connection port 104 connected with the bottom end of the cavity 102 is provided with a cabin penetrating socket connector 128, the cabin penetrating socket connector 128 comprises a socket shell 132 penetrating through the outer wall of the detection unit glass sphere 130, a photoelectric contact component 134 arranged in the socket shell 132 in a sealing mode, an external sealing gasket group 136 sleeved on the socket shell 132, a third locking component arranged in the detection unit glass sphere 130 and used for locking the socket shell 132, and an internal sealing gasket group 138 arranged between the third locking component and the inner wall of the detection unit glass sphere 130.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the oil filling pipe 122 is made of a high pressure resistant flexible material, one end of which is connected to the end of the connecting pipe 110 by screw threads, and the other end of which is fixed to the leading-out end of the dynamic cable by a buckling ring 126. The buckling ring 126 is made of metal, and the oil filling pipe 122 is tightly attached to the leading-out shell of the cavity 102 by radial extrusion, so that a mechanical seal is formed. The switching assembly inside the oil filling pipe 122 comprises a conductive terminal and an optical fiber adapter, which are respectively and correspondingly connected with an electric core wire and an optical fiber core wire 124 in the dynamic cable, and the switching position is isolated by an insulating sleeve, so that electric interference is avoided.

The cabin penetrating socket connector 128 is made of stainless steel, penetrates through a preset hole site on the outer wall of the glass sphere 130 of the detection unit, and is sleeved with an external sealing gasket set 136 in sequence on the outer wall so as to ensure external sealing with the glass sphere. The optoelectrical contact assembly 134 is sealingly embedded within the receptacle housing 132 and includes electrical contacts and fiber optic contacts that are separated by an insulating spacer. The third locking assembly is of a nut structure and is matched with the internal thread of the socket shell 132 to tightly fix the socket shell 132 on the glass sphere, and the inner sealing gasket group 138 between the third locking assembly and the inner wall of the glass sphere further strengthens the inner sealing to form double sealing guarantee.

The radial compression design of the buckling ring 126 enables the connection of the connecting pipe 110 and the dynamic cable to have rigid fixing and flexible buffering capacity, can adapt to vibration and displacement in a deep sea environment, is matched with the accurate butt joint of the switching assembly to ensure stable electric power and signal transmission, and realizes absolute sealing of the penetrating part of the glass sphere under the pretightening force of the third locking assembly by the inner and outer double sealing gasket groups of the cabin penetrating socket connector 128 to completely block the sea water penetrating path. The switching component in the oil filling pipe 122 reduces the connection loss of the electric core wire and the optical fiber core wire 124 through insulation isolation and accurate alignment, signal interference is avoided, the photoelectric contact component 134 of the cabin penetrating socket connector 128 adopts a high-precision structure, the low contact resistance of the electric contact ensures the electric power transmission efficiency, the concentricity control of the optical fiber contact reduces the optical signal attenuation, and the transmission stability is maintained. The flexible characteristic of the oil filling pipe 122 is adapted to the swing of a dynamic cable, the standardized design of the buckling ring 126 is convenient for adapting to the leading-out shells of the cavities 102 with different specifications, the stainless steel shell of the cabin penetrating socket connector 128 has excellent compatibility with the materials of glass spheres and sealing gasket groups, and the cabin penetrating socket connector is free from corrosion and swelling phenomena after being soaked in seawater or insulating oil liquid in the cavities 102 for a long time, so that the cabin penetrating socket connector is suitable for extreme environments in deep sea. The buckled connection of the oil filling pipe 122 and the nut locking structure of the cabin penetrating socket connector 128 can be assembled and disassembled quickly without complex tools, and the modular design of the switching assembly and the photoelectric contact assembly 134 is convenient for replacing damaged parts independently and reduces maintenance cost.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the third locking assembly may be a stainless steel lock nut that mates with the external threads of the receptacle housing 132. Of course, in other embodiments, the third locking assembly may be a combination of a stud and a locknut, a hydraulic expansion bolt, or a combination of a metal compression ring and uniformly distributed screws, and through different locking structures, looseness caused by deep sea pressure fluctuation may be avoided, so that sealing reliability is improved.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the outer sealing gasket set 136 includes a transition gasket 140 that fits with the outer wall of the detection cell glass sphere 130;

the inner gasket set comprises an arc gasket 142, a flat gasket 144 and a butterfly gasket 146 which are sleeved on the socket shell 132, wherein the arc gasket 142 is matched with the inner wall of the glass sphere 130 of the detection unit, the butterfly gasket 146 is in tensioning contact with the third locking assembly, and the flat gasket 144 is positioned between the arc gasket 142 and the butterfly gasket 146.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the transition gasket 140 in the outer sealing gasket set 136 is made of fluororubber, and is generally annular, and one side of the transition gasket facing the outer wall of the glass sphere is an arc-shaped curved surface, the curvature of the transition gasket is completely matched with that of the outer wall of the glass sphere, and the other side of the transition gasket is a plane which is attached to the flange surface of the socket housing 132. The thickness of the transition gasket 140 is designed according to the sealing pressure requirement, and is compressed by the pre-tightening force between the socket housing 132 and the glass sphere during assembly to form a radial seal.

The arc gasket 142 in the inner gasket set is made of oil-resistant rubber, the inner ring is tightly matched with the outer wall of the socket shell 132, the outer ring is of an arc-shaped curved surface, the curvature is consistent with the inner wall of the glass sphere, and the inner wall is guaranteed to be completely attached without gaps.

The flat gasket 144 is made of metal, is of an annular structure and is uniform in thickness, and is positioned between the arc-shaped gasket 142 and the butterfly-shaped gasket 146 to play a role in force transmission and buffering.

The butterfly gasket 146 is made of elastic metal, is a dish-shaped curved surface, is sleeved on the socket shell 132, and is in tensioning contact with the end face of the third locking assembly, and is elastically deformed under the action of locking force to provide continuous pretightening force for the whole inner gasket group.

The three are sleeved in turn along the axial direction of the socket housing 132, and compressed by the tightening force of the third locking assembly, forming a stepped sealing structure.

The arc curved surface of the transition gasket 140 is precisely attached to the outer wall of the glass sphere, so that the problem that gaps are easy to generate when the plane gasket is sealed with the arc surface is solved, the sealing area can be covered comprehensively under the action of pretightening force, and seawater is effectively prevented from penetrating into the cabin penetrating part from the outside of the glass sphere. The curvature adaptation of the arc-shaped gasket 142 and the inner wall of the glass sphere ensures that the sealing at one side of the inner wall is free from dead angles, and the elastic deformation characteristic of the butterfly-shaped gasket 146 can compensate the dimension error in the locking process, provide continuous and stable pretightening force, avoid gasket looseness caused by long-term use and maintain internal sealing pressure. The flat gasket 144 plays a role in uniformly distributing force between the arc gasket 142 and the butterfly gasket 146, the elastic force of the butterfly gasket 146 is uniformly transmitted to the arc gasket 142, the damage to the glass sphere caused by overlarge local pressure is avoided, and meanwhile, the displacement of the arc gasket 142 due to uneven stress is prevented. The combined design of the outer transition gasket 140 and the inner butterfly gasket 146 can generate self-adaptive deformation along with the change of the deep sea pressure, namely, when the external sea water pressure is increased, the transition gasket 140 is further compressed to strengthen the external seal, and the elastic reserve of the inner butterfly gasket 146 can offset the internal pressure fluctuation to ensure that the sealing performance is not influenced by the pressure impact.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plastic oil pipe is further included, and the plastic oil pipe is in sealing connection with the connection port 104 through a mode of clamping by a hose clamp.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the plastic tubing is made of a seawater corrosion resistant polymer material, one end of which is sleeved into the outer wall of the connection port 104, and the other end of which is used for threading the cable. The hose clamp is made of stainless steel, surrounds the joint of the plastic oil pipe and the connecting port 104, and enables the inner wall of the oil pipe to be tightly attached to the connecting port 104 by tightening bolts of the hose clamp, so that radial sealing is formed. The outer wall of the connecting port 104 is provided with an annular bulge which is matched with a groove on the inner wall of the plastic oil pipe, so that the anti-drop effect is enhanced.

The radial pressing force of the hose clamp enables the plastic oil pipe to deform and be tightly attached to the connecting port 104, so that seawater is effectively prevented from penetrating from the gaps, and simultaneously, the hose clamp is suitable for micro deformation under deep sea pressure and maintains sealing performance. The flexible nature of the plastic tubing can relieve the stress transfer of cable pulling or vibration to the connection port 104, protect the interface of the optical fiber and the wire, and reduce the risk of breakage. The hose clamp connection does not need complex tools or processes, can quickly fix the plastic oil pipe and the connection port 104, improves the installation efficiency, and is convenient for later disassembly and replacement.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating oil is used to dissipate heat from the circuit board 106 when the interior of the cavity 102 is filled with insulating oil.

In one embodiment of the present invention, after the circuit board 106 is installed inside the cavity 102, after the cavity 102 is filled with the insulating oil, the surface and components of the circuit board 106 are completely covered by the insulating oil, and the oil fills all the gaps between the circuit board 106 and the cavity 102 and between the circuit board and the fiber winding structure 108, so that no air bubbles remain. The insulating oil is special oil with high insulativity and low viscosity, has good heat conduction performance and chemical stability, is compatible with components of the circuit board 106 and materials of the cavity 102, and does not generate corrosion or dissolution reaction.

The circuit board 106 is fully soaked, so that heat can be quickly transferred to the cavity 102 through oil liquid and then dissipated into seawater, and compared with the local contact heat dissipation, the circuit board is more uniform and efficient, and the high-temperature failure of components is avoided. The insulating oil fills the gaps of the circuit board 106, blocks the leakage path in the wet environment, and can stably maintain the insulation resistance of the circuit especially under deep sea high pressure, thereby protecting the circuit safety. The fluidity of the oil ensures that the internal pressure of the cavity 102 and the external seawater pressure are balanced in real time, so that the circuit board 106 is prevented from being damaged due to extrusion caused by pressure difference, and the service life of the electronic element is prolonged.

A second aspect of the present invention provides an underwater cable assembly comprising an electrical wire, an optical fiber, a plurality of connection pipes 110 and at least two pressure resistant pods as described above;

The electric wires and the optical fibers are penetrated in the connection pipe 110, and two adjacent pressure-resistant branching cabins are connected through the connection pipe 110.

According to the underwater cable assembly provided by the embodiment of the second aspect of the invention, the plurality of pressure-resistant branch cabins are connected in series through the connecting pipe 110 to form a main line, and meanwhile, each branch cabin can be connected into a plurality of detection devices in an expanding mode, so that the electric power and communication continuity of the main line are guaranteed, branch collection and transmission of data are realized, and the requirement of a deep sea observation system on multi-point monitoring is met. The sealing connection of the connecting pipe 110 and the pressure-resistant branch cabin ensures the water tightness of the whole structure, can work in a high-pressure and high-salt deep sea environment for a long time, and the branch cabin made of PEEK material and the corrosion-resistant connecting pipe 110 cooperatively resist seawater corrosion and biological adhesion, so that the influence of structural degradation on the transmission performance is reduced. The isolation layout of the optical fibers and the wires in the connecting pipe 110 reduces electromagnetic interference, the fiber coiling structure 108 in the branching cabin prevents the optical fibers from being excessively bent, ensures low loss of data transmission, and the power distribution design of the circuit board 106 stabilizes the power supply of each branch device and prevents the whole circuit from being influenced by single-point faults. The modularized serial structure is convenient for adjusting the number of the branching cabins according to the observation range, the detachable design of the connecting pipe 110 ensures that the whole system is not required to be disassembled for replacement or maintenance of a single-section line, and the lightweight branching cabins and the connecting pipe 110 reduce the difficulty of underwater deployment, thereby being suitable for the construction of a large-range deep sea observation network.

According to the underwater cable assembly provided by the embodiment of the second aspect of the invention, the multi-path transmission of power, communication and data in the deep sea environment is realized through the cooperative design of the pressure-resistant branch cabin and the connecting pipe 110.

The electric wire adopts a high-voltage resistant insulating cable for transmitting electric power, the optical fiber is a single-mode or multi-mode optical fiber, and is sheathed with a stainless steel corrugated pipe for protection and is used for signal and data transmission. The electric wire and the optical fiber bundle are jointly penetrated in the connecting pipe 110, and the electric wire and the optical fiber bundle are separated through the insulating spacer bush, so that signal interference is avoided.

The connecting pipe 110 is made of a seawater corrosion resistant plastic material or a composite pipe, the inner diameter of the connecting pipe is suitable for the total diameter of the electric wire and the optical fiber bundle, and the length of the connecting pipe is designed according to the distance between the two pressure-resistant branch cabins. The two ends of the connecting pipe 110 are respectively inserted into the connecting ports 104 of the adjacent branching cabins, the sealing is realized through radial compression of the hose clamps, waterproof sealant is filled in the pipe, and the seawater infiltration path is further blocked.

The pressure-resistant pods are constructed as described in the above embodiments, and the bottom end of each pod is provided with at least two connection ports 104, two of which are used to connect other pods through the connection pipe 110, and the remaining ports are used to access the probe apparatus. Circuit boards 106 within the branching cabinet perform power distribution and data exchange, and fiber optic structures 108 are used to organize the branch fibers.

At least two pressure-resistant branch cabins of the series structure are sequentially connected through a connecting pipe 110 to form a chain structure, and electric wires and optical fibers of a main circuit penetrate through all branch cabins to ensure the continuity of electric power and a main communication link. The redundant connection port 104 of each nacelle can be connected to other branch line equipment through an additional connection pipe 110, the electric wires of the branch line are powered from the nacelle circuit board 106, and the branch line optical fibers are connected with a fiber coiling structure 108 in the nacelle to collect and forward data.

An embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention provides an underwater observation system comprising a detection apparatus, and an underwater cable assembly as described above;

Pressure resistant pods in subsea cable assemblies are used to provide power, communications and data branch transmissions for the detection equipment.

According to the underwater observation system provided by the embodiment of the third aspect of the invention, the multi-branch structure of the underwater cable assembly can be connected with a plurality of detection devices, the monitoring range is expanded through the series pressure-resistant branch cabins, the underwater cable assembly is suitable for three-dimensional observation of complex terrains such as deep strait, hydrothermal areas and the like, and the problem of one-sided traditional single-point monitoring data is solved. The PEEK material and the sealing design of the pressure-resistant branch cabin enable the pressure-resistant branch cabin to work for a long time in a deep sea high-pressure and high-corrosion environment, and the system can realize unmanned continuous monitoring and reduce maintenance cost by matching with the weather-resistant shell of the detection equipment. The optical fiber transmission link has strong electromagnetic interference resistance, ensures low loss and small delay of data in long-distance transmission by being matched with the fiber coiling structure 108 of the pressure-resistant branch cabin, and has the power distribution function of avoiding integral power failure caused by single equipment failure and improving the fault tolerance of the system. The modular component design enables the system to flexibly increase and decrease the number of detection equipment and pressure-resistant branching cabins according to monitoring tasks, and the rapid docking characteristic of the connecting pipe 110 is convenient for on-site deployment or adjustment under water, so that the system is suitable for the operation requirements of different scientific investigation ships or underwater robots. The preprocessing function of the branching cabin reduces the calculation load of the water surface terminal, and the real-time summarization and fusion analysis of multi-equipment data can quickly generate an environment change trend report, thereby providing accurate data support for deep sea resource exploration, marine climate change research and the like.

According to the underwater observation system provided by the embodiment of the third aspect of the invention, the multi-dimensional monitoring and data transmission of the deep sea environment are realized through the cooperation of the detection equipment and the underwater cable assembly.

The detection equipment comprises a plurality of underwater sensors which are deployed in different deep sea areas according to the monitoring requirements. The equipment shell adopts high-pressure resistant and corrosion resistant materials, is internally provided with a signal processing module, is connected with a branch port of the underwater cable assembly through a special interface, and can convert collected original data into standard electric signals or optical signals.

The underwater cable assembly adopts the structure described in the above embodiment, and is composed of at least two pressure-resistant branching cabins, a multi-section connecting pipe 110, electric wires and optical fibers. The main line is connected in series with a plurality of pressure-resistant branch cabins through connecting pipes 110 to form a transmission network covering a monitoring area, and the redundant connecting port 104 of each pressure-resistant branch cabin is in butt joint with detection equipment through branch connecting pipes 110 to realize power supply and data interaction.

The electric wires are responsible for transmitting power from the water surface power supply system to each detection device, the circuit board 106 in the pressure-resistant branch cabin realizes power distribution, the optical fibers serve as a main communication link, data of each detection device are collected by the branch cabin and then transmitted to the water surface receiving terminal, and meanwhile, the remote control command of the water surface to the devices is supported to be issued.

The connection interface of the detection equipment is matched with the branch line port of the pressure-resistant branch cabin, quick butt joint is realized through a standardized plug and socket, and double sealing is adopted at the interface to ensure water tightness. The circuit board 106 in the pressure-resistant branch cabin integrates a simple data preprocessing function, reduces the transmission quantity of original data, and the water surface terminal performs fusion analysis on multi-equipment data through a special algorithm to generate a complete monitoring report.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and not for limiting the same, and although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above-mentioned embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution described in the above-mentioned embodiments may be modified or some technical features may be equivalently replaced, and these modifications or substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solution deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims (12)

1. A pressure resistant branching capsule, comprising:

an end cap (100);

The cavity (102), the top of the cavity (102) is connected with the end cover (100) in a sealing way, the bottom of the cavity (102) is connected with at least two connecting ports (104), and the inside of the cavity (102) is used for filling insulating oil for realizing pressure balance and heat dissipation;

a circuit board (106) disposed within the cavity (102);

a fiber coiling structure (108) arranged in the cavity (102) and used for coiling optical fibers;

And a connection pipe (110) connected to the connection port (104) and used for connection and sealing of the cable.

2. Pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 1, characterized in that the end cap (100) is mounted to the cavity (102) by means of a first locking assembly, and that the junction of the end cap (100) and the cavity (102) is provided with a seal (112).

3. Pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 2, characterized in that the side edge of the end cap (100) is provided with a sealing groove (114), the seal (112) being arranged in the sealing groove (114).

4. Pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 1, characterized in that the end cap (100) is provided with an oil filler hole (116), the oil filler hole (116) being used for filling the interior of the cavity (102) with the insulating oil.

5. The pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 1, wherein a positioning member (118) is provided inside the cavity (102), the circuit board (106) and the fiber-coiling structure (108) being fixed to the positioning member (118);

The circuit board (106) is mounted to the positioning member (118) by a second locking assembly.

6. The pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 5, wherein the fiber coiling structure (108) comprises a plurality of fiber coiling columns (120) for coiling optical fibers, and wherein the fiber coiling structure (108) is spaced from the circuit board (106) by a spacer that is screwed onto the positioning member (118).

7. The pressure-resistant branching capsule as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the connection pipe (110) is connected to a dynamic cable through an oil filling pipe (122), an optical fiber core wire (124) connecting the dynamic cable core wire and the optical fiber core wire is provided in the oil filling pipe (122), and a buckling ring (126) is provided between the oil filling pipe (122) and an outgoing housing of the cavity (102);

The socket comprises a socket body (132) penetrating through the outer wall of a detection unit glass sphere (130), a photoelectric contact component (134) arranged in the socket body (132) in a sealing mode, an external sealing gasket group (136) sleeved on the socket body (132), a third locking component arranged in the detection unit glass sphere (130) and used for locking the socket body (132), and an internal sealing gasket group (138) arranged between the third locking component and the inner wall of the detection unit glass sphere (130).

8. The pressure resistant nacelle according to claim 7, wherein the outer sealing gasket set (136) comprises a transition gasket (140) adapted to an outer wall of the detection unit glass sphere (130);

The inner gasket set comprises an arc gasket (142), a flat gasket (144) and a butterfly gasket (146) which are sleeved on the socket shell (132), wherein the arc gasket (142) is matched with the inner wall of the glass sphere (130) of the detection unit, the butterfly gasket (146) is in tensioning contact with the third locking assembly, and the flat gasket (144) is located between the arc gasket (142) and the butterfly gasket (146).

9. Pressure resistant nacelle according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a plastic tubing sealingly connected to the connection port (104) by means of a hose clamp.

10. Pressure resistant nacelle according to any of claims 1-6, characterized in that the insulating oil is used for heat dissipation of the circuit board (106) in case the interior of the cavity (102) is filled with the insulating oil.

11. An underwater cable assembly comprising an electric wire, an optical fiber, a plurality of connection pipes (110) and at least two pressure resistant pods according to any one of claims 1 to 10;

the electric wires and the optical fibers are arranged in the connecting pipe (110) in a penetrating mode, and two adjacent pressure-resistant branch cabins are connected through the connecting pipe (110).

12. An underwater observation system comprising a detection apparatus, and the underwater cable assembly of claim 11;

The pressure-resistant branching cabin in the underwater cable assembly is used for providing power, communication and data branch transmission for the detection equipment.