JPH02231294A - Underwater surveying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the stability in straight advance propulsion with the simple constitution by arranging the right and left propulsion device parts for advance and retreat into inverted V shaped form in plane view, in the constitution in which a propulsion device part for rising and lowering, right and left propulsion device parts for advance and retreat, and an underwater photographing means are provided. CONSTITUTION:An underwater surveying machine is equipped with thrustors 11 and 12 for advance and retreat on the right and left sides in a protecting angle 15, and a thrustor 13 for rising and lowering in the front part on the center line in the protecting angle 15, and further equipped with a float 14 in the rear part. A hydrolight is installed in an acryl window 11A in the foremost part of the thrustor 11, and a video camera is accommodated in an acryl dome 12A in the foremost part of the thrustor 12. In this case, the thrustors 11 and 12 are arranged into nearly inverted V shaped form, viewed from the upper part plane direction. In other words, the separation distance WR in the rearmost part of the both thrustors 11 and 12 is set slightly longer then the separation distance WF of the foremost part. Therefore, the angle in the thrust direction can be automatically adjusted, and the straight advance thrust force can be stabilized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an underwater probe that can take pictures of underwater conditions by remote control from the ground or aboard a ship. [Prior art] Self-propelled underwater R O V (Ren+ote Open
The underwater exploration vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "Kinaka ROV") is equipped with an internal video camera, lighting system, etc., as well as a forward/reverse propulsion unit and an ascent/descent propulsion unit. It is designed to be able to carry images through the ice by remote control from a remote control device, and is widely used for underwater topography surveys. Figure 3 shows an example of a conventional underwater ROV. 1 is a main body part, and in the upper center of this main body part 1 there is a
An ascending/descending propulsion unit (hereinafter referred to as "ascending/descending thruster") IA is provided for descending operations, and the frontmost part is an acrylic dome IB with a video camera housed inside. 2 and 3 are forward and backward movements for forward and backward movement underwater.
This is a backward propulsion unit (hereinafter referred to as a forward/reverse thruster), and each forward/reverse thruster 2, 3 is arranged parallel to both side surfaces of the main body 1. Further, the frontmost portions of each of the forward and backward thrusters 2 and 3 are acrylic windows 2A and 3A, and an underwater light is housed inside. 4 is a protective angle. C is a composite cable for supplying remote control signals from a shipboard controller etc. to the underwater ROM;
-S. indicates the screw device that is the propulsion means of each thruster. In addition, the outer casing of the main body l and the forward/reverse thrusters 2,
The outer casing of No. 3 has a water pressure resistant structure.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional ice ROV configured as described above has the following problems. First, as a manufacturing problem, the main body 1 has to have a complicated shape due to the arrangement of the ascending/descending thrusters 1A, etc., and it also has to have a pressure-resistant structure, which makes it extremely difficult to manufacture. The drawback is that the manufacturing cost increases as the manufacturing process becomes more complex. Another problem is that it is not possible to improve the propulsion force unless it is allowed to increase in size to a certain extent, and as a result, it is not possible to improve the propulsion force beyond a certain level. In other words,
Thruster 2 for left and right forward/backward movement to improve propulsion.
3, the main body 1, the screener 82, and the S3
Since there is a risk that they may come into contact with each other, it is necessary to increase the distance between the forward/reverse thrusters 2, 3 and the main body 1, which results in an increase in size. However, the large size means that during manufacturing,
It is uneconomical and undesirable both during transportation and use. In addition, if the main body l is made smaller, the forward and backward thrusters 2 and 3
However, it also has to be made smaller, which has the disadvantage of being somewhat limited in terms of propulsion. (Conventional underwater ROMs are generally difficult to use in sea areas where the tidal current exceeds 2 knots.) Furthermore, as mentioned above, the left and right forward and backward thrusters 2
, 3 cannot be separated from the main body l by a large distance, and therefore it is not possible to provide a sufficient distance between each screer 82 and S. Therefore, in some cases, the interaction between both screws S2 and Ss may cause a complex vortex flow, resulting in problems such as a reduction in propulsive force and instability in straight running performance. be. Furthermore, since the ascending/descending thruster IA is inside the main body, the amount of water flowing into the screw S is limited.
Another problem is that the ascending and descending functions tend to deteriorate. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and includes forming an ascending/descending thruster and each forward/reverse thruster as independent units, and To provide an ROV in ice that is arranged in a substantially V-shape so that the distance between forward and backward thrusters arranged in pairs on the left and right sides gradually narrows from the screw side toward the front. It is. In addition to having such a configuration, as an underwater photographing means, an underwater light is housed in the forwardmost part of one of the forward and backward thrusters, and an image transporter is housed in the forwardmost part of the other forward and backward thruster. It also provides an ice ROV that houses a camera for use in the ice. Furthermore, in addition to the above configuration, a lift/lower thruster and a float are placed between the forward and reverse thrusters to balance the weight. [Function] By configuring the ascending/descending thruster and each forward/reverse thruster as independent units, it becomes a very simple form as an underwater ROM, and both forward/reverse thrusters are Because they are arranged in a roughly V-shape, the propulsion angle can be adjusted, and the forward and backward screws can be spaced apart from each other compared to when they are arranged in parallel. In addition, one side of the forward
By accommodating an underwater light at the forefront of the backward thruster and a photographic camera at the front of the other forward/backward thruster, the optical axes of the underwater light and photographic camera are positioned at a predetermined position in front, i.e., for photographing and observation. It can be adjusted to suit the area. Furthermore, weight balance can be easily achieved by installing the ascending/descending thrusters and floats in appropriate positions. [Example] Figure 1 shows an example of the present invention.
2 is a forward/reverse thruster; an underwater light is housed in an acrylic window 11A at the forefront of the forward/reverse thruster 11, and a video camera is housed within an acrylic dome 12A at the forefront of the forward/reverse thruster 12. is accommodated.
13 is a rising/lowering thruster, 14 is a float.
It is. The forward/reverse thrusters 11, 12, the ascending/descending thrusters 13, and the float 14 are installed and fixed within the protective angle 15 by the frame F. Note that C indicates a composite cable as in Fig. 3. The forward/reverse thrusters 11 and 12 are installed in a substantially V-shape when viewed from the upper plane, and both thrusters 1
The distance WR between the rearmost portions of screws 1 and 12 (the screws S2 and S) is slightly longer than the distance W between the frontmost portions (the acrylic window 11A and the acrylic dome 12A). ．． By fixing the forward and backward thrusters 11 and 12 in a substantially V-shape in this way, various effects can be obtained. That is, by attaching the casings of both thrusters 11 and 12 at a slight angle so that they converge toward the front, an effect of automatically adjusting the propulsion direction angle can be obtained.
The straight propulsion force becomes stable. Also, without increasing the size of the entire Kinaka ROV, both screws S. ．． S. This means that the positions of the screws can be further spaced apart (W, a larger separation distance W, I can be obtained), and it is possible to prevent the generation of complex vortices due to the interaction of both screws S2, S, and increase the propulsion force and straight forward movement. It also eliminates the negative effect on running performance. Furthermore, depending on the angle of the casings of both thrusters 11 and 12, the optical axes of the underwater light and video camera intersect at a predetermined position in front, making it possible to take sufficient pictures even with just one underwater light. That is, in this embodiment, each forward/reverse thruster 11
, 12 are designed to accommodate an underwater light and a video camera, respectively. However, since the forward/reverse thrusters l1 and 12 casings are fixed in a substantially V-shape as mentioned above, As shown in Figure 2, the optical axis L of the underwater light
1 and the optical axis L of the video camera coincide at a position T ahead by a predetermined distance, and one underwater light can provide a sufficient amount of light necessary for photographing.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned advantage that the housings of the forward and backward thrusters 11 and 12 are fixed in a substantially V-shape, each thruster 11, 12, l3 is By configuring it as a form, traditional underwater RO
A central unit such as the main body in V is no longer necessary (since the mounting part for the photographing means has also been solved as described above), and various advantages arise in terms of manufacturing and use: namely: The shapes of all the parts that must have a pressure-resistant structure (that is, each thruster) are extremely simple, and there are no units with particularly complex shapes (for example, the main body l in the conventional example), so the pressure-resistant structure is very simple. The design becomes much easier, the manufacturing efficiency can also be significantly improved, and above all, the manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced.

In addition, when increasing the size of the forward/reverse thrusters 11 and 12 in order to improve the propulsive force, there are serious problems (for example, there is a risk of contact between the screw and the main body as in the conventional example).
This means that high output can be obtained without necessarily increasing the size of the entire underwater ROV. Furthermore, since the ascending/descending thruster IA is also an independent unit, the amount of water flowing into the screw S1 is not limited, and the problem of reduced ascending and descending functions is also resolved. In this embodiment, the ascending/descending thruster 13 and the float 14 are replaced by a substantially V-shaped forward/retreat thruster 11.
By installing and fixing it in the middle part of 12, you can easily perform underwater R.
It is possible to balance the weight of the entire OV underwater. Normally, the forward and backward thrusters 11.12 are screws S2,
Since the center of gravity is at the rear due to the motor of S, it is sufficient to fix the raising/lowering thrust l3 to the front of the intermediate part and attach the float 14 to the rear of the intermediate part, as shown in Fig. 1. [Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the underwater ROM of the present invention has a very simple configuration in which the ascending/descending thruster and each forward/reverse thruster are independent units, and each forward/reverse thruster is configured as an independent unit. The spacing between the retreating thrusters is arranged in a roughly V-shape so that it gradually narrows from the screw side to the front, resulting in significant reductions in manufacturing costs and stable straight-line propulsion. In addition, there is an effect that the propulsion force can be improved without increasing the size of the underwater ROM.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the photographing optical axis angle, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a conventional example. l1 and l2 are forward and backward thrusters, l3 is a rising and descending thruster, l4 is a float, l5 is a protective angle,
C indicates a composite cable, F indicates a frame, and 81 to S indicate a screw. ? 1■'゛...゛1 Agent Atsuo Waki ,,, Fig. i2

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an underwater exploration vehicle equipped with an ascent/descend propulsion device section, a pair of left and right forward/reverse propulsion devices, and an underwater photographing means, the ascent/descend propulsion device section, and each of the forward/backward propulsion devices and the reverse propulsion device sections are each formed as an independent unit, and the spacing between the forward and reverse propulsion device sections disposed in pairs on the left and right sides gradually increases from the rear screw side toward the front. An underwater probe characterized by being arranged in a shape that narrows. (2) As an underwater photography means, an underwater light is housed in the forwardmost part of one forward/reverse propulsion unit, and a photographic camera is housed in the forwardmost part of the other forward/reverse propulsion unit. An underwater probe according to claim (1). (3) In the middle part of the pair of forward/reverse propulsion devices,
An underwater probe according to claim 1, characterized in that the descending propulsion device section and the float are arranged so that the overall weight balance can be maintained.