JP4046154B2 - Underwater vehicle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an underwater vehicle used for surveying the route of a submarine cable to be laid on the seabed, surveying the situation after laying the submarine cable, or surveying the seabed topography.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in order to conduct various surveys in the sea, an underwater vehicle equipped with equipment necessary for the survey is self-propelled and surveyed at a predetermined location. These underwater vehicles have a cable type and a cable type. In the cable type, the underwater vehicle and the mother ship are connected by a cable, so that the underwater vehicle can be controlled easily, but there is a problem that the survey range is limited by the cable.
[0003]
On the other hand, the unsearchable underwater vehicle is equipped with a measuring device, and performs measurement and survey by navigating a predetermined sea area by a sound wave signal transmitted from the mother ship.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in order to improve the workability, this unmanned underwater vehicle can quickly dive into the sea area where measurements and surveys are conducted, or it can quickly rise to the sea area where it is taken up, and to the mother ship. Must be safe and easy.
[0005]
The main object of the present invention is to provide an underwater vehicle capable of sufficiently meeting such demands.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a underwater vehicle to autonomous navigation, provided with a launch and recovery eye on top of the body, a buoy stored in the body and該揚yield Ai And a ballast for down trim provided in the vicinity of the bow of the main body, wherein a plurality of ballasts are detachably attached to the lower portion of the main body. In the underwater vehicle in which the other one of the ballasts is an up-trim ballast provided in the vicinity of the bow of the main body, a beam capable of swiveling in a horizontal plane is mounted on a pair of left and right reinforcing members disposed in the main body. The underwater vehicle is characterized in that the lifting eye is attached to the tip of the beam via a pin .
[0011]
According to claim 2 invention is underwater vehicle to autonomous navigation, provided with a launch and recovery eye at the top of its body, it combines the buoy stored in the body and該揚yield eye by lift acquisition rope A plurality of ballasts are detachably attached to a lower portion of the main body, and when the main body is lifted to a mother ship, the ballast is separated from the main body, and the buoy is released from the main body. In the underwater vehicle that is adapted to catch the hoisting rope that is tied to the hoisting device, the buoy is housed in a housing container provided in the main body, and the buoy is composed of a buoyant body. The buoy body and a cylindrical guard provided on the lower surface of the buoy body are provided, and a cylinder having the lifting rope attached thereto is provided in the guard, and when the buoy is released, the cylinder It is a underwater vehicle, characterized by injecting the pressurized gas in the cylinder on.
[0013]
According to the present invention, the underwater vehicle suspended from the mother ship on the sea receives the control signal from the mother ship by the LAN antenna arranged on the upper part of the main body, and self-runs to a predetermined sea area and dives. At this time, because the down-trim is applied to the main body by the ballast at the foremost part among the plurality of ballasts provided at the lower part of the main body of the underwater vehicle, diving is promptly performed to a predetermined deep sea with a small amount of power.
[0014]
On the other hand, when picking up the underwater vehicle to the mother ship, first, a plurality of ballasts are released and floated. And when the main body reaches the vicinity of the sea surface, the buoy is released from the main body. Thereafter, the underwater navigation body is taken up by the mother ship by capturing the connecting rope connecting the buoy and the main body by the cargo handling device of the mother ship.
[0015]
Therefore, it is possible to quickly rise from a predetermined deep sea area to the sea surface, and workability is improved. In particular, it is easy to unload to the mother ship even if the sea area is somewhat rough because the cargo handling device on the mother ship captures the connecting rope connecting the buoy and the main body and picks up the underwater vehicle to the mother ship. become.
[0016]
In addition, the antenna placed at the top of the main body has a pressure-resistant structure that allows radio waves to pass through, so there is no risk of damage even if the underwater vehicle is submerged in the deep sea, and the sealing performance can be improved. .
[0017]
In addition, the status indicator on the main body is equipped with a manual switch for turning on the power of the underwater vehicle, and it is turned on and off on the mother ship. To release.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view including a partial cross section of an underwater vehicle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof.
[0019]
1 and 2, A is an underwater vehicle, and a vertical tail 8 having an antenna 6 and a status indicator lamp 7 is attached to the upper part. In the figure, 2 is a horizontal wing, 3 is an elevator, and 4 is a thruster.
[0020]
The antenna 6 is used as a wireless LAN antenna and receives a radio signal from the mother ship B (see FIG. 14) when the underwater vehicle A sails on the sea surface. As shown in FIG. 3, the LAN antenna 6a is covered with an exterior 9 made of an epoxy resin and a resin mold 10 to improve the pressure resistance. In the figure, 11 is a coaxial connector.
[0021]
A coaxial cable (not shown) connected to the coaxial connector 11 is formed as shown in FIG. That is, in this coaxial cable (not shown), a cable (not shown) is covered with a tube 13, a pressure-resistant portion 14 made of a resin mold is formed, and a terminal 15 is disposed therein.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 5, the status indicator lamp 7 has a dome 17 made of transparent acrylic attached to the upper portion of the pressure vessel 16 with a bolt 18, a changeover switch 19 is disposed, and an indicator lamp 20, an LED base 21, It is the structure which arranged. Reference numeral 22 denotes a connector.
[0023]
In FIG. 2, 23 a to 23 c are ballasts provided at the lower part of the main body 1. These ballasts 23a to 23c are arranged so as to have a predetermined interval in the bow-stern direction.
[0024]
More specifically, the first ballast 23a is disposed in the vicinity of the bow as a diving ballast, and has a function of imparting a down trim to the main body 1 when the underwater vehicle A is submerged in the deep sea area. The first ballast 23a is released from the main body 1 when the underwater vehicle A reaches a predetermined depth.
[0025]
The second ballast 23b is provided just behind the first ballast 23a as a ballast for rising, and is released from the main body 1 while the underwater vehicle A ascends from the deep sea to the sea surface, and the main body 1 is trimmed up. It comes to grant.
[0026]
The third ballast 23c is provided at the center of the lower portion of the main body 1 as an adjustment ballast, and has a function of holding the buoyancy of the main body 1 in a predetermined deep sea area. And when the underwater vehicle A is going to surface, it is released from the main body 1 before the start of ascent.
[0027]
Since these ballasts 23a to 23c have the same structure, the structure of the first ballast 23a will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, an electromagnet 26 is disposed in a casing 24 attached to the main body 1 via a pressure equalizing oil 25. In the figure, 27 is an O-ring for sealing, and 28 is an underwater connector. The electromagnet 26 can be attached to and detached from the main body 1 by an on / off signal given to the underwater connector 28 from a control device (not shown).
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 2, lifting eyes 29 a and 29 b and a buoy 30 are provided on the upper portion of the main body 1. The lifting eyes 29a and 29b and the buoy 30 are coupled by a rope 31 (see FIG. 10). More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, beams 34a and 34b are provided on the support shafts 33a and 33b on the upper portions of the pair of left and right reinforcing members 32a and 32b in the stern direction disposed in the main body 1. Is mounted so as to be pivotable in a horizontal plane. A lifting eye 29a is attached to the tip of these beams 34a, 34b by a pin 35 so as to be tiltable to the left and right. The rear lifting eye 29b is attached in the same manner as the front lifting eye 29a. Reference numeral 36 denotes a pressure vessel that houses a battery or the like.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 9, the buoy 30 is configured by fixing a buoy main body 37 formed of a buoyant body and a guard 38 with bolts 39 and arranging a cylinder 40 with a rope 31 attached in the guard 38. Yes. As shown in FIG. 10, the buoy 30 is stored in a storage container 42 formed on the bow portion of the main body 1. The buoy 30 is released from the main body 1 by operating the electromagnetic valve 44 and injecting the pressure gas in the cylinder 43 from the connecting pipe 47 into the cylinder 40 via the pressure reducing valve 45.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 11, the mother ship B is provided with a cargo handling device 48. The cargo handling device 48 includes an onboard crane 49, a suspension rope 51 to which a hook 50 is attached, and a suspension tool 52 attached to the hook 50. In addition to the cargo handling device 48, the mother ship B includes a rope 54 with a four-forked hook 53 attached to the tip. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the hanger 52 includes a shackle 55, a cam cleat 56, and a hook body 57 having left and right hook portions 57 a and 57 b.
[0031]
Next, diving and lifting operations of the underwater vehicle A will be described.
[0032]
First, a switch 19 provided on the status indicator lamp 7 of the underwater vehicle A is operated to input power for a required device. At this time, if the depth of the deep sea area to be investigated is input, it is possible to control to automatically release the ballasts 23a to 23c when the underwater vehicle A dives more than a predetermined depth.
[0033]
Accordingly, the underwater vehicle A suspended from the mother ship B on the sea receives the radio signal from the mother ship B by the antenna 6 and travels on the sea surface. And when it reaches a predetermined sea area, it will be submerged (refer to position a in FIG. 14). When the underwater vehicle A starts diving, the signal from the mother ship B is controlled by switching from a radio signal to a sound wave signal. During the diving, the first ballast 23a acts to impart a down trim to the main body 1 (see position b in FIG. 14).
[0034]
When the underwater vehicle A reaches a predetermined deep sea area where measurement and investigation are performed, the first ballast 23a is separated from the main body 1, and the posture of the main body 1 is determined by the second ballast 23b and the third ballast 23c. Holds almost horizontally. Then, measurement or investigation work is performed by a measuring device mounted in the main body 1, and the investigation result is transmitted onto the mother ship B as necessary (see position c in FIG. 14). In the figure, 60 indicates the seabed and 61 indicates the seabed cable.
[0035]
When the underwater vehicle A is levitated, the third ballast 23c is released and then levitated. And the 2nd ballast 23b is released in the floating process, and an up trim is given to the main body 1 (refer the position d of FIG. 14).
[0036]
When the underwater vehicle A emerges and reaches the vicinity of the sea surface, for example, near several tens of meters below the sea surface (see position e in FIG. 14), the buoy 30 is formed by connecting the pressure gas in the cylinder 43 through the connecting pipe 47. The buoy 30 is released from the main body 1 (see FIG. 15).
[0037]
Thereafter, the rope 31 connecting the underwater vehicle body 1 and the buoy 30 is hooked by the four-fork hook 53 attached to the tip of the rope 54 and pulled to the hand, and then the buoy 30 is pulled up to the mother ship B. (See FIG. 16). Then, after the rope 31 is hung around the hooks 57a and 57b of the hanger 52 and the underwater vehicle A is drawn to the mother ship B (see FIG. 17), the onboard crane 49 is operated to bring the underwater vehicle A into the mother ship. Pick up on B (see FIG. 18).
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention provides an underwater vehicle that autonomously sails, and provides a lifting eye at the top of the main body, and combines the lifting eye and a buoy stored in the main body with a coupling rope, and A plurality of ballasts are detachably attached to the lower part of the main body, and when the main body is lifted to a mother ship, the ballast is separated from the main body, the buoy is released from the main body, and the coupling rope tied to the buoy Is captured by the cargo handling device of the mother ship.
[0039]
In the present invention, as described above, a plurality of ballasts are detachably attached to the lower part of the main body, and when diving, a down trim is imparted to the main body by ballast at the bow part, so that it is possible to diving quickly to a predetermined water depth. it can.
[0040]
In addition, the present invention releases the predetermined ballast when reaching a predetermined deep sea area and controls the posture, and at the time of ascent, all the remaining ballast is released and an up trim is applied to the main body. It becomes possible to ascend promptly.
[0041]
In addition, in the vicinity of the sea surface, the buoy is released from the main body, and the coupling rope connected to the buoy is captured and lifted by the cargo handling device provided on the mother ship, so that the lifting operation is simple, and It became easy, and even in some stormy weather, it was possible to withdraw.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view including a partial cross section of an underwater vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an underwater vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an antenna equipped in the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a coaxial connector equipped in the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view including a part of a side surface of a status indicator lamp mounted on the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a ballast equipped in the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.
8 is a view taken in the direction of arrow D in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a buoy equipped on the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the bow of the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a cargo handling apparatus for picking up an underwater vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 12 is a plan view of a lifting tool for picking up an underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a side view of the hanging tool.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a diving process for the underwater vehicle of the present invention.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram when the buoy is released.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram when the coupling rope is hooked with four forks.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for pulling the underwater vehicle to the mother ship by hanging a rope around the hook portion of the hanger.
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for operating an onboard crane to pick up an underwater vehicle on a mother ship.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Horizontal wing 4 Propeller 5 Horizontal tail 8 Vertical tail 23a-23c Ballast 29a, 29b Lifting eye 30 Buoy 31 Coupling rope 48 Cargo handling equipment A Underwater vehicle B Mother ship

Claims (2)

It is an underwater vehicle that autonomously sails, and has a lifting eye at the top of the main body, and the lifting eye and the buoy stored in the main body are coupled by a rope for lifting and at the bottom of the main body A plurality of ballasts are detachably attached , and one of the ballasts is a down trim ballast provided near the bow of the main body, and the other one of the ballasts is an up trim provided near the bow of the main body. In the underwater vehicle, which is a ballast for use, a beam capable of turning in a horizontal plane is attached to each of a pair of left and right reinforcing members disposed in the main body, and the lifting eye is attached to the tip of the beam via a pin. An underwater vehicle characterized by being attached . It is an underwater vehicle that autonomously sails, and has a lifting eye at the top of the main body, and the lifting eye and the buoy stored in the main body are coupled by a rope for lifting and at the bottom of the main body A plurality of ballasts are detachably attached, and when the main body is lifted to a mother ship, the ballast is separated from the main body, the buoy is released from the main body, and the lifting is tied to the buoy. In the underwater vehicle, the buoy body is configured to be a buoyant body, and the buoy body is configured by a buoyant body. The cylinder is provided with a cylindrical guard provided on the lower surface of the cylinder, and a cylinder with the hoisting rope attached is provided in the guard, and when the buoy is released, the pressure gas in the cylinder is placed in the cylinder. Underwater vehicle, characterized in that the injection.

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