JP2936079B2 - Underwater vehicle launcher - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an underwater vehicle launching device provided in a defense device installed in a ship below the water surface or in a defense or attack device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some underwater vehicle launchers that launch underwater vehicles from underwater are of the hydraulic piston launch type. This is because, as shown in FIG. 5 of the schematic configuration explanatory view, each of the plurality of firing tubes 1 is arranged along the firing tube 1 and slides in the longitudinal direction to open and close through a slide valve 1a. One end of the collecting tank 2 is provided on one side of a water cylinder 3 having an openable / closable lid-like water supply valve 3c at its end for putting seawater therein and blocking the inflow of seawater. Communicating. The piston 3a of the water cylinder 3
Is reciprocated by the air cylinder 4 through the piston rod 3b.

A high-pressure air is supplied to the air cylinder 4 by opening and closing a firing valve 6 from a firing air storage device 5 for storing high-pressure air supplied from a high-pressure air supply source (not shown). It has become.

Accordingly, after the underwater vehicle T is loaded into the launch tube 1, the water supply valve 3c of the water cylinder 3 is opened, and the interior of each of the water cylinder 3, the collecting tank 2, and the launch tube 1 is filled with seawater. When the air cylinder 4 is filled with
Is supplied with high-pressure air.

[0005] Then, the piston 3a of the water cylinder 3 is moved toward the inside of the ship (not shown), that is, to the left in the drawing, so that the seawater inside these is increased in pressure, and The middle cruising vehicle T is ejected. Then, when launching the underwater vehicle T, the operation of the piston 3a of the water cylinder 3 is stopped.

[0006] In addition to the above-described underwater vehicle launching apparatus of the hydraulic launching system, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-69398.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-115, there is a water cylinder in which the water cylinder is operated using both high-pressure air and high-pressure liquid.

[0007]

The underwater vehicle launching device having the above configuration is useful as such, but from the viewpoint of the generation of impact noise and the time interval of launching of the underwater vehicle, it is still described below. It has such disadvantages.

That is, since the water cylinder piston is reciprocated by introducing or discharging compressed air from both ends of the compressed air cylinder, a mechanism for stopping the piston of the water cylinder when launching the underwater vehicle is required. When the piston is stopped, a loud collision sound is generated, and the collision sound propagates in the seawater, so that the launching operation of the underwater vehicle is transmitted to the outside.

[0009] If an emergency is assumed, it is desirable that the underwater vehicle can be fired at short time intervals. However, after the launch of the underwater vehicle, the piston must be returned to the original position, and there is a disadvantage that the time interval between launches of the underwater vehicle increases.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an underwater vehicle launching apparatus which can eliminate the collision sound and can shorten the interval between launches of the underwater vehicle.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has solved the above-mentioned drawbacks by focusing on the fact that the principle of supplying pressurized water to the firing tube is based on the reciprocation of a water cylinder. What is characteristic of the underwater vehicle launcher according to the present invention, therefore, is a water supply device that communicates with a launch tube and supplies increased pressure water to a launch tube loaded with an underwater vehicle. In the underwater vehicle launch device provided, an impeller for a pump rotated by a driving device provided outside the water supply device is provided inside the water supply device.

[0012]

According to the underwater vehicle launching device of the present invention, since the impeller for the pump is provided in the water supply device, the underwater vehicle is supplied to the launch tube loaded with the underwater vehicle through the water supply device. The pressure of the generated water is increased by the rotation of the impeller due to the operation of the driving device. On the other hand, the rotation of the impeller is stopped when the underwater vehicle is launched, but no collision sound is generated by the stop of the rotation of the impeller. Further, when the next underwater vehicle is launched, the impeller is rotated again by the driving device.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This will be described below.

Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 denotes a plurality of launch tubes arranged on a ship (not shown) whose tip is immersed in the sea, and each of these launch tubes 1 is It communicates with the collecting tank 2 through a slide valve 1a that opens and closes by sliding in the longitudinal direction.

One end of the collecting tank 2 communicates with a side of a water cylinder 3 having an openable / closable lid-shaped water supply valve 3c for introducing and blocking seawater therein at its tip. I have. Inside the water cylinder 3 and at a position corresponding to the communication with the collecting tank 2, an impeller 3 a for a pump is provided therein. The impeller 3 a is
It is rotated by a high-speed air turbine 4 as a driving device.

The high-speed air turbine 4 stores a high-pressure air supplied from a high-pressure air supply source (not shown) through a pipe 7 provided with an air supply valve 7a. By opening and closing the firing valve 6 from 5, the stored high-pressure air is supplied. The muffler 8 provided on the exhaust side of the high-speed air turbine 4 is a muffler 8 for reducing the exhaust sound of the exhaust gas expanded by driving the high-speed air turbine 4.

The operation of the underwater vehicle launching apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described below. When the underwater vehicle T is mounted on each of the launch tubes 1, the water supply valve 3c of the water cylinder 3 is operated. A launch tube 1 which is opened and is loaded with an underwater vehicle T to be launched, for example, a top valve in FIG.
1a is opened to fill the inside of the collecting tank 2 and the firing tube 1 with seawater, and the door provided in front of the firing tube 1 is opened.

Next, when the firing valve 6 is opened, the high-pressure air previously stored in the firing air storage device 5 flows into the casing of the high-speed air turbine 4, and the high-pressure air that has flowed in is expanded. The high-speed air turbine 4 is driven by the energy. The driving force of the high-speed air turbine 4 is transmitted through the speed reducer 3b to rotate the impeller 3a.

Then, the seawater is sucked in from the opening of the water cylinder 3, and the seawater intensified by the impeller 3a is pumped into the launch tube 1 through the collecting tank 2, and with this force, the underwater vehicle T Will be launched from the launch port at the tip of the launch tube 1.

After the underwater vehicle T has been fired, the firing valve 6 is closed to stop driving the high-speed air turbine 4. At this time, the high-pressure air is released by the firing valve 6. Is only stopped, so that there is no collision noise due to the collision between the piston and the lock mechanism as in the conventional case. Exhaust gas discharged from the high-speed air turbine 4 is discharged through a muffler 8 as in the conventional case.

Further, at the time of launching the next underwater vehicle T, the slide valve 1a of the launch tube 1 which fired the underwater vehicle T is closed, and the launch valve of the launch tube 1 to be fired next is opened. 1a is opened and filled with seawater, the firing valve 6 is opened and the firing gas storage 5
The high-pressure air previously stored in the high-speed air turbine 4
Should be supplied. In this manner, by opening and closing the firing valve 6, the high-pressure air in the firing air storage device 5 is supplied, and the underwater vehicle T can be fired one after another simply by stopping the supply.

For example, the capacity of the firing gas accumulator 5 may be set to a capacity corresponding to the number of the firing tubes 1 provided, and the supply of the high-pressure air to the firing gas accumulator 5 is controlled by all the water. This is performed after the medium running body T is fired. Further, as shown in FIG. 2 of the schematic configuration explanatory view, the same number of firing gas accumulators 5 and firing valves 6 as the number of gates of the firing tube 1 are provided. May be supplied.

That is, during the work of loading the underwater vehicle T into each of the launch tubes 1, the charging source valve 7 a is opened with the firing valve 6 closed, and the high pressure air supply source passes through the piping 7. Since the high-pressure air is supplied and stored in the firing air accumulator 5, the supply of the high-pressure air to the firing air accumulator 5 may cause a problem that the firing interval of the underwater vehicle T is obstructed. There is nothing.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 of the schematic structural explanatory view, the number of firing gas accumulators 5 and the number of firing valves 6 are less than the number of firing tubes 1, and high-pressure air is supplied from a high-pressure air supply source. As a constant supply structure, high-pressure air stored in advance may be used sequentially from the firing air storage for firing, and then the consumed high-pressure air may be automatically replenished until the next firing. Also in this case, there is no problem that the firing interval of the underwater vehicle T is obstructed by the supply of the high-pressure air.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4 of the schematic structural explanatory view, the discharge pipe 1 and the discharge port of the water cylinder 3 can be communicated through the water pipe 9 and the gate valve 9a. In this case, the gate valve of the launch tube 1 from which the underwater vehicle T is to be launched
By opening the valve 9a, the seawater with increased pressure is supplied to the firing tube 1.

In the above description, the example in which the impeller 3a is driven by the high-speed air turbine 4 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the high-speed air turbine 4, but may be implemented by using an electric motor, a flywheel, or the like. Driving of the impeller 3a is also possible.

That is, when the impeller 3a is rotated by the electric motor, the electric power is stored in the capacitor in advance, and the electric power is discharged at a stroke to start the electric motor, and when the impeller 3a is rotated by the flywheel. In this method, a predetermined rotational energy is stored by rotating in advance, and a clutch is engaged with this.

However, when the impeller 3a is driven by a flywheel, a predetermined rotational energy is applied to the impeller 3a.
Since it takes a long time to store the underwater vehicle, there remains a technical problem that it is not possible to shorten the interval between the launches of the underwater vehicle.

The above embodiments are merely specific examples of the present invention, and therefore, the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments.

[0030]

As described above in detail, according to the underwater vehicle launch device of the present invention, the pressure of water supplied through the water supply device to the launch tube loaded with the underwater vehicle is increased by the impeller. The rotation of the impeller is stopped, and the rotation of the impeller is stopped when the underwater vehicle is launched. However, the stop does not cause a collision sound.

Further, when the next underwater vehicle is fired, the impeller is rotated again, so that compressed air is introduced or discharged from both ends of the compressed air cylinder as in a conventional underwater vehicle firing device. This eliminates the need to reciprocate the water cylinder piston, and shortens the firing interval of the underwater vehicle.

Further, since the driving device can be made relatively compact without being long, like an air cylinder, its installation space is small.
The effect that it became advantageous also came out. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize an underwater vehicle launch device capable of eliminating collision sound and shortening the interval between launches of the underwater vehicle. It works.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of an underwater vehicle launch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural explanatory view of an underwater vehicle launch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of an underwater vehicle launch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural explanatory view of the underwater vehicle launch device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural explanatory view of an underwater vehicle launch device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Launch tube, 2 ... Collecting tank, 3 ... Water cylinder, 3a ... Impeller, 3b ... Reduction gear, 3c ... Water supply valve, 4 ... High-speed air turbine, 5 ... Fired air storage, 6 ... Launch valve, 7 ... Piping, 7a ... Charging source valve, 8 ... Muffler, 9 ... Water pipe, 9a ... Partition valve, T ... Underwater vehicle.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyoshi Matsui 2-2-16-1 Kitagoyo, Kita-ku, Kobe-shi (72) Inventor Masaaki Beya 260, 1192 new resident of Hiraokacho, Kakogawa-shi (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F41F 3/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An underwater vehicle launching device including a water supply device that communicates with a launching tube and supplies increased pressure water to a launching tube loaded with an underwater vehicle, provided outside the water supply device. An underwater vehicle launcher, wherein an impeller for a pump rotated by a driving device is provided in the water supply device.