JP3605408B1 - Undersea excavator with improved operability - Google Patents

Abstract

[Purpose] An underwater diver can directly operate an excavator, excavating operation can be performed flexibly and with high precision, and excavation efficiency can be greatly improved as compared with conventional ones. Provided is a submarine excavator that can be buried in a straight line parallel to the sea surface.
[MEANS FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS] A high-pressure water flow for digging the seabed is provided along the moving direction of the seabed excavator, and is directed to the seabed direction or between the direction opposite to the moving direction of the seabed excavator and the seabed direction. A nozzle for jetting in the direction, and a support portion configured to be movable in a direction close to the sea bottom or away from the sea bottom with respect to the body of the sea floor excavator, the movement of the body of the sea floor excavator. A support portion comprising a plurality of nozzles provided at the lower end thereof, and a shipboard operation panel provided on a ship, wherein an occupant on the ship remotely controls the submarine excavator. A marine operation panel provided to be operable, and a submarine operation panel provided at a position near the support portion, wherein the submarine operation panel allows an underwater diver to directly operate a submarine excavator. I have.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a submarine excavator with improved excavation efficiency, which is used for, for example, burying a pipe or a cable in a submarine.

Conventionally, in order to bury a pipe such as an intake pipe, a water supply pipe or an oil supply pipe, or a cable such as a communication cable or a power cable on the seabed, a groove for burying the pipe or cable by ejecting high-pressure water from a number of nozzles. 2. Description of the Related Art A water-jet type seabed excavation and burial machine that excavates is known (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-6-141430 JP 2001-112136 A

  However, the conventional water-jet type submarine excavation and burial machine has an operation panel for performing operations such as digging operation only on board the ship, and the video from the video camera attached to the submarine digging and burial machine can be viewed. However, since the operation was performed only on the ship, there was a problem that the diver in the sea could not directly operate the submarine excavation / burial machine.

  Also, in the conventional water-jet type submarine excavation and burial machine, hydraulic pressure is sent from the ship with a hose to drive the submarine excavation and burial machine. There was a problem that can not be.

  Further, in a conventional water-jet type submarine excavation / burial machine, a gap is formed between the large number of nozzles and the ocean floor, and a part of the high-pressure water flow discharged from the nozzles is used for excavation of the ocean floor. There is a problem that the excavation efficiency is deteriorated because the water flows into the seawater without being used.

  Furthermore, in a conventional water-jet type seabed excavation / burial machine, the high-pressure water from the large number of nozzles is always discharged from a fixed height position. The pipe or cable is buried at a certain depth from the undulating seabed, resulting in the pipe or cable being buried in the vertical direction corresponding to the undulation of the seabed. There was a problem that would be done.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, a submerged diver can directly operate the excavator, and can perform the excavation operation flexibly and with high accuracy, An object of the present invention is to provide a submarine excavator capable of greatly improving excavation efficiency as compared with a conventional one, and in which a pipe or a cable can be buried in a straight line parallel to the sea surface.

  The undersea excavator according to the present invention for solving such problems of the prior art includes a method of gradually forming a groove on a sea bottom for embedding a pipe or a cable in a sea bottom in a predetermined direction. Submersible excavator used for the drilling of a submarine excavator, wherein the high-pressure water flow for excavating the submarine is directed toward the submarine or opposite to the direction of travel of the submarine excavator. And a flat plate arranged along the moving direction of the body of the submarine excavator, and a plurality of the nozzles are provided at the lower end thereof. A support portion, a shipboard operation panel provided on the ship, wherein the shipboard operation panel that allows an occupant on the ship to remotely operate the seabed excavator, and a seabed operation panel provided at a position near the support portion Oh, underwater divers are under the sea A submarine control panel that can operate the cutting machine directly, is characterized in that it comprises a.

  Further, in the submarine excavator with improved operability according to the present invention, the support provided with the nozzle is movable with respect to the main body of the submarine excavator in a direction approaching the sea bottom or away from the sea bottom. When a high-pressure water flow for excavating the sea bottom from the nozzle is being ejected, a press-down unit for pressing down the support unit by a predetermined distance from a predetermined height position toward the sea bottom, It is preferable that the submarine operation panel is configured so that a diver under the sea can directly operate the depressing section.

  Further, in the submarine excavator with improved operability according to the present invention, the undersea excavator includes a depression adjusting means for adjusting a distance of the depression of the support part in the direction of the ocean floor by the depression part. Desirably, the adjustment means is configured to be directly operable by an underwater diver.

  In addition, the submarine excavator having improved operability according to the present invention includes a submersible pump for sending seawater to the nozzle, and the submarine operation panel allows a submerged diver to directly operate the submersible pump. It is desirable that it is constituted as follows.

  Further, in the undersea excavator with improved operability according to the present invention, a hydraulic motor and a hydraulic tank are arranged near the support section, and power and control signals are transmitted from the ship at sea to the hydraulic motor via a cable. It is desirable to have.

  As described above, in the present invention, not only the conventional hydraulic unit of the submarine excavator and the onboard operation panel for operating the submersible pump etc. are provided on the shipboard side as in the related art, but also the hydraulic unit is provided on the submarine excavator side. A submarine operation panel (see reference numeral 27 in FIG. 7) for operating the submersible pump and the like is provided, so that the crew not only operates the hydraulic unit and the submersible pump from the ship, but also the underwater diver. Can directly operate a submarine excavator (e.g., a hydraulic unit including the push-down unit, the push-down adjusting means, the submersible pump, and a hydraulic motor for driving them).

  Also, in the present invention, the submarine excavator is provided with a hydraulic unit (including a hydraulic tank, a hydraulic motor, a hydraulic pump, etc.), and the hydraulic unit is controlled and driven by power and control signals from the ship, Compared with the conventional case where hydraulic pressure is supplied from the hydraulic tank on the ship to the seabed with a hydraulic hose, the transfer distance of the hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic tank to the hydraulic motor is significantly shorter, and the drive device for the hydraulic motor It is possible to improve the starting speed and the operation accuracy of the device.

  Further, in the present invention, the supporting portion provided with the nozzle is configured to be movable in a vertical direction (a direction approaching or separating from the sea bottom), and further, a high-pressure water flow for excavating the sea bottom from the nozzle. Is ejected (that is, during excavation work on the seabed), a press-down unit (FIG. 5) for pushing down the support provided with the plurality of nozzles by a predetermined distance from a predetermined height position toward the seabed. Press cylinder 9). Therefore, according to the present invention, a part of the high-pressure water ejected from the nozzle does not escape to the sea from the gap between the nozzle and the sea bottom without being used for excavation as in the related art, The special effect that the drilling efficiency can be greatly improved can be obtained.

  Further, in the present invention, a push-down control unit (press-down adjusting unit) for controlling the push-down unit so that the push-down distance of the support unit by the push-down unit toward the seabed can be adjusted to an arbitrary distance. I have to. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an extraordinary effect that the excavation depth from the sea bottom can be finely adjusted according to the situation such as the undulation of the sea bottom.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention is as described in the first embodiment below.

  Hereinafter, a seabed excavation / burial machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a submarine excavation / burial machine of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, illustration of the traveling wheels (see reference numeral 5 in FIG. 3) and the like is omitted. In FIG. 1, 1 is a sled portion for preventing a submarine excavation / burial machine from sinking into soft ground on the seabed, 2 is a submersible pump, and 3 is a cable or pipe for taking in a cable or a pipe placed on the seabed. It is a capture unit.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the capturing unit 3. The take-in section 3 first surrounds the cable or pipe 4 placed on the sea bottom from both sides thereof (see FIG. 2A), and then scoops the cable or pipe 4 from both sides thereof. And take it into itself (see FIG. 2B). In this state, the seabed excavation / burial machine travels and moves on the seabed at a predetermined speed while performing a seabed excavation operation described later.

  Next, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the submarine excavation / burial machine of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 5 denotes a traveling wheel of the submarine excavation / burial machine of the first embodiment, and reference numeral 6 denotes a hydraulic unit for driving the submersible pump 2 and the like. The undersea excavation and burying machine of this embodiment travels at a predetermined speed by the wheels 5 while excavating the seabed and burying a cable or a pipe.

  Next, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the submarine excavation / burial machine of this embodiment. The seabed excavation / burial machine shown in FIG. 4 is moved by the wheels 5 in the direction of the arrow α in the figure. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 7 denotes a support portion made of a stainless steel flat plate (two pieces) having a substantially trapezoidal (substantially fan-shaped) side surface provided in parallel with the moving direction of the seabed excavation / burial machine. A large number of nozzles 9 arranged at the lower end of each flat plate along the moving direction (the direction of the arrow α), and a pressing cylinder (the hydraulic unit) for pushing down the support portion 7 in the direction of the seabed (the direction of the arrow β in the figure) Reference numeral 10 denotes a frame for fixing the wheels 5, the hydraulic unit 6, the support 7, the pressing cylinder 9, and the like.

  In FIG. 4, the right end (the lower end of the portion where the height of the substantially trapezoidal side surface of the support portion is the highest) A of the lower end portion (the portion provided with the nozzle 8) of the support portion 7 and the wheel 5 Of the sea bottom (ground surface).

  In FIG. 4, the support portion 7 is connected to the frame 10 by a connection portion (hinge portion) 11. The support portion 7 is connected to the frame 10 so as to be rotatable in the arrow γ direction with the connection portion 11 as a fulcrum (see also FIG. 5). An underwater television camera 12 is provided at the left end portion 10a of the frame 10 for capturing surrounding images and sending the images to a monitor device of a ship at sea.

  In FIG. 4, the hydraulic unit 6 includes a hydraulic motor, a hydraulic pump, a hydraulic tank, and the like, which are controlled and driven by power and control signals transmitted from a ship via a cable. The hydraulic unit 6 drives the submersible pump 2 fixed to the frame 10, the wheels 5, the pressing cylinder 9, and the like. Although not shown, a submarine operation panel is provided at a position on the frame 10 near the hydraulic unit 6 so that a submersible diver can directly operate the hydraulic unit 6.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the support section 7 of FIG. 4 in more detail. FIG. 6A is a diagram of the support portion 7 as viewed from the back side of the present embodiment, FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a side surface of the support portion 7, and FIG. It is a figure when it sees from the front (running direction) of the example. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C, the support portion 7 is formed of two substantially trapezoidal (substantially fan-shaped) stainless steel flat plates. The two flat plates are arranged so as to be opposed to each other at a predetermined distance (a distance slightly larger than the diameter (for example, 50 cm) of the cable or pipe to be embedded).

  In FIG. 6, reference numeral 13 denotes a water pipe attached to the support part 7 while being connected to the submersible pump 2 (see FIG. 3) by a bellows-type hose (not shown) or the like. This is a water distribution branch pipe attached to the support part 7 to connect the nozzle 8 with the nozzle 8 (to be described in detail later).

  The two support portions 7 support the water distribution pipe 13, the water distribution branch pipe 14, the nozzle 8, and the like. As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C, the two support portions 7 are formed in a substantially inverted U shape including the water distribution pipe 13 and the water distribution branch pipe 14. The broken line indicated by reference numeral 7 in FIG. 1 indicates the approximate position of the substantially inverted U-shaped support portion 7.

  Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining a part of the electrical configuration of the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 21 denotes a GPS (global positioning system) receiver provided on a ship, and reference numeral 22 denotes a terrain database for recording terrain data including undulations on the sea floor at a site where cables or pipes are to be buried. A terrain database 23 composed of a hard disk provided on the ship is used to control a below-mentioned hydraulic motor 6b (and a pressing cylinder 9) on the seabed based on data from the GPS receiver 21 and the terrain database 22. A personal computer (provided on board) having a push-down control function for outputting a control signal, 25 is an onboard control panel (provided near the personal computer 23 on board the ship for operating the hydraulic motor 6b and the like ( Onboard control panel for the crew onboard to operate while watching the image from the underwater television camera 12 in FIG. , 25 is provided on board, a control signal transmitting unit, for a control signal from the personal computer 23 or onboard control panel 24 transmits through the control signal cable 26 to the seabed excavation and buried machine side.

  The terrain database 22 includes a cable or a cable obtained using a side scan sonar for collecting terrain data such as undulations on the sea floor and a GPS receiver 21 on board before burying cables or pipes. Topographic data including the undulation of the sea floor at the site where the pipe is to be buried is recorded in association with the position coordinate data.

  Next, a depressing control function as a part of the function of the personal computer 23 will be described. In this function, when the current position data of the ship is received from the GPS receiver 21, the current position of the ship is estimated as the current position of the seabed excavation / burial machine on the sea floor. The terrain data of the seabed corresponding to the estimated current position of the digging / burying machine is called from the terrain database 22. Then, based on the terrain data corresponding to the current position called from the terrain database 22, a "desired excavation depth" when the seabed excavation / burial machine excavates the seabed is obtained by a predetermined program, and the obtained " It generates a required pressing distance of the support portion 7 of the pressing cylinder 9 for realizing the "excavation depth to be expected" and a control signal to the hydraulic motor 6b for realizing the pressing distance. The generated control signal is transmitted from the control signal transmitting unit 25 to the hydraulic motor 6b of the seabed excavation / burial machine on the seabed via the control signal cable 26.

  In FIG. 7, 6a is a hydraulic tank built in the hydraulic unit 6 of the seabed excavation / burial machine, 6b is a hydraulic motor built in the hydraulic unit 6 of the seabed excavation / burial machine, and 9 is driven by the hydraulic motor 6b. A pressing cylinder 27 for pushing down the support portion 7 by a predetermined distance in the direction of the seabed is provided near the hydraulic unit 6 of the seabed excavation and burial machine (frame) so that a diver underwater can directly operate the hydraulic motor 6b and the like. This is the submarine operation panel provided on (10) above. The illustration of the submarine operation panel 27 and the like in FIG. 7 is omitted in FIG.

  The submarine operation panel 27 and the onboard operation panel 24 in FIG. 7 operate not only to operate the hydraulic motor 6b for driving the pressing cylinder 9 in FIG. 7 but also to operate the hydraulic pump 6 for driving the submersible pump 2 in FIG. It is configured so that it can be used to operate a motor (not shown in FIG. 7) and the like. As described above, the submarine operation panel 27 shown in FIG. 7 is configured so that a diver underwater can use the hydraulic motor 6b, the submersible pump 2, and the like by directly operating the submarine operation panel 27.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. As described above with reference to FIG. 7, when the present embodiment is used, the buried route is determined in advance by using the GPS receiver 21 and the side scan sonar while cruising the sea on the buried route of the cable or the pipe in advance. Is recorded in the terrain database 22 in association with the position coordinate data.

  Thereafter, when actually burying the cable or pipe, first, the cable or pipe is placed on the seabed by a ship. Then, the towing and burying machine according to the present embodiment is placed on a cable or a pipe while being towed by a ship, and the cable or pipe is taken in by a take-in unit 3 as shown in FIG.

  Next, the submersible pump 2 is driven to send seawater to the plurality of nozzles 8 via the water distribution pipe 13 and the water distribution branch pipe 14 at a predetermined pressure. From each nozzle 8, high-pressure water is spouted in a direction intermediate to the direction (rearward direction) opposite to the running direction of the seabed excavation / burial machine by the wheels 5 and the seabed direction. The jetting is performed in parallel with the traveling of the seabed excavation / burial machine by the wheels 5. At the same time, the pressing cylinder 9 pushes down the upper end of the support 7 in the direction toward the sea floor (the direction of arrow β) as shown in FIG. Due to this depression, when high-pressure water is discharged from the nozzle 8 to the sea bottom, a portion of the high-pressure water from the nozzle 8 cannot escape from the gap between the nozzle and the sea bottom, so that the high-pressure water Excavation can be performed very efficiently.

  At the same time as the excavation of the sea bottom is performed by the ejection of the high-pressure water, the cable or pipe taken in by the take-in section 3 (see FIG. As the vehicle travels, it is placed in the groove formed by the excavation. Further, since the seabed excavation / burial machine travels at a predetermined speed in parallel with such an operation, the seabed sediment excavated by the high-pressure water from the nozzle 8 is moved in the traveling direction of the seabed excavation / burying machine. Is wound in the opposite direction (rearward direction), and the unwound sediment deposits on the cable or pipe placed in the groove, thereby continuously burying the cable or pipe. Will be done.

  As described above, in this embodiment, not only the onboard operation panel for operating the hydraulic unit 6 and the submersible pump 2 on the ship, but also the hydraulic unit 6 and the submersible pump 2 The submarine operation panel 27 (see FIG. 7) is provided so that the crew not only operates the hydraulic unit 6 and the submersible pump 2 from the boat, but also allows the underwater diver to directly operate. A hydraulic motor 6b (see FIG. 7) of the hydraulic unit 6 for driving the pressing cylinder 9 (a press-down unit for pressing down the support unit 7; see FIG. 4) and a hydraulic motor for driving the submersible pump 2 are operated. It becomes possible.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, the submarine excavation / burial machine is provided with the hydraulic unit 6 (including the hydraulic tank 6a, the hydraulic pump, the hydraulic motor 6b, and the like). Since the hydraulic unit 6 is controlled and driven, the hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic tank to the hydraulic motor and the like is compared with the conventional case where the hydraulic pressure is supplied from the hydraulic tank on the ship to the seabed by a hydraulic hose. The transfer distance is greatly shortened, and the starting speed and operation accuracy of a driving device such as a hydraulic motor can be improved accordingly.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when high-pressure water is jetted from the nozzle 8, the pressing cylinder 9 pushes down the support portion 7 in the direction of the seabed (β direction in FIG. 5). When there is no such “pressing down of the support portion 7 by the pressing cylinder 9”, even if high-pressure water is jetted from the nozzle 8, a part of the high-pressure water is not used for excavation and the nozzle 8 and the sea floor are not used. Escapes into the sea through the gap between the surface and the digging efficiency. In order to prevent such inconvenience, in the present embodiment, the support portion 7 is pushed down by the pressing cylinder 9 as described above, so that no gap is formed between the nozzle 8 and the sea bottom. Therefore, in this embodiment, the excavation efficiency can be greatly improved as compared with the related art.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, the personal computer 23 on the ship estimates the current position of the seabed excavation / burial machine based on the data from the GPS receiver 21 on the ship. Based on the corresponding seafloor terrain data, "drilling depth from the sea floor" to be drilled by a seafloor drilling and burying machine (for example, for burying a cable or pipe at a certain depth from the sea surface, (A depth of excavation from the sea bottom), and further, a distance for depressing the support part 7 by the pressing cylinder 9 for realizing the obtained depth of excavation, and for driving the pressing cylinder 9 by this depressing distance. The control signal is transmitted to the hydraulic motor 6b on the sea floor via the control signal transmission unit 25.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the depth of depression of the support portion 7 by the pressing cylinder 9 can be arbitrarily changed and adjusted, and the depth of excavation from the sea bottom by high-pressure water from the nozzle can be arbitrarily adjusted. Become like For example, in the present embodiment, by adjusting the pushing distance of the pushing cylinder 9, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower right end of the supporting portion 7 is pushed down from the position A in FIG. It is possible to excavate to the position of A ', and it is also possible to extrude to the position of A2 "by pushing down the support portion 7 to the position of A".

  That is, in the present embodiment, it is possible to bury a cable or a pipe at a depth position at a certain distance from the sea surface (a depth position parallel to the sea surface), which was difficult in the past. That is, it is impossible to dig according to the terrain including the undulation of the sea bottom with the conventional sea bottom digging and burying machine, and as shown in FIG. 8A, a fixed distance from the sea bottom M (not the sea surface H). The cable or pipe had to be buried at the depth position L (depth position parallel to the sea bottom M). However, since the actual sea bottom has various undulations, when a cable or a pipe is buried in parallel with the sea bottom M, the cable or the pipe is greatly curved like the undulation of the sea bottom M (FIG. 8A). (See L in FIG. 2). On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as described above, the depth position (depth position parallel to the sea surface H) L ′ at a fixed distance from the sea surface H (see FIG. 8 (b)), a cable or a pipe can be embedded. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8B, even if the sea bottom M has undulations, the cable or the pipe is irrespective of a straight line parallel to the sea surface H (see FIG. 8B). (See L ').

1 is a front view showing a submarine excavation / burial machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the capturing unit in FIG. 1. The top view of the seabed excavation and burial machine by this example. The side view of the seabed excavation and burial machine by this example. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the seabed excavation and burial machine by a present Example. The figure for demonstrating the structure of the support part of the seabed excavation / burial machine by this Example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a part of an electric configuration of the submarine excavation / burial machine according to the embodiment. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the seabed excavation and burial machine by a present Example.

Explanation of reference numerals

2 Submersible pump 4 Pipe 5 Wheel 6 Hydraulic unit 6b Hydraulic motor 7 Support section 7a Left end of support section 7b Right end of support section 8 Nozzle 9 Press cylinder 10 Frame 11 Connection section 12 Underwater television camera 13 Water pipe 14 Water pipe 21 GPS Receiver 22 Terrain database 23 Personal computer 24 Onboard operation panel 25 Control signal transmission unit 26 Control signal cable 27 Submarine operation panel H Sea level L Buried position M Sea bottom

Claims (5)

A submarine excavator used for, for example, gradually forming a groove on a seabed for burying a pipe or a cable in a seabed in a predetermined direction,
Provided along the direction of movement of the undersea excavator and directing the high-pressure water flow for excavating the seabed in the direction of the seabed or in a direction between the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the undersea excavator and the seabed. A nozzle for spouting
A support portion comprising a flat plate arranged along the moving direction of the submarine excavator body, and a plurality of nozzles provided at a lower end thereof,
An onboard operation panel provided onboard, wherein the onboard operation panel allows a crew onboard to remotely control the submarine excavator;
A submarine operation panel provided at a position near the support portion, wherein the submarine operation panel allows an underwater diver to directly operate a submarine excavator,
A submarine excavator with improved operability, characterized by comprising: In claim 1,
The support unit having the nozzle is configured to be movable in a direction approaching the sea bottom or in a direction away from the sea bottom with respect to the submarine excavator body,
When a high-pressure water flow for excavating the sea bottom from the nozzle is being ejected, a press-down unit for pressing down the support unit from the predetermined height position toward the sea bottom by a predetermined distance,
A submarine excavator with improved operability, wherein the submarine operation panel is configured so that a diver underwater can directly operate the push-down section. In claim 2,
A push-down adjusting unit for adjusting a push-down distance of the support unit toward the seabed by the push-down unit,
A submarine excavator with improved operability, wherein the submarine operation panel is configured so that a diver underwater can directly operate the push-down adjusting means. In claim 1, 2, or 3,
Equipped with a submersible pump for sending seawater to the nozzle,
A submarine excavator with improved operability, wherein the submarine operation panel is configured so that a submerged diver can directly operate the submersible pump. The hydraulic motor and the hydraulic tank according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the hydraulic motor and the hydraulic tank are arranged in the vicinity of the support portion, and power and a control signal are transmitted from the ship on the sea to the hydraulic motor via a cable. A submarine excavator with improved operability characterized by the following characteristics.

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