JPH11117658A - Sea bottom excavating device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device capable of efficiently excavating the seabottom. SOLUTION: This device includes an excavating part 11 and a bucket part 12 separably joined to the excavating part 11, and is remotely controlled from a mother ship so that it excavates the seabottom by loading earth and sand at the seabottom into the bucket part 12 and carrying the earth and sand up to the mother ship.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seabed excavation apparatus and a seabed excavation method, and more particularly, to a seabed excavation apparatus and a seabed excavation method capable of performing open digging on the seabed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, various marine veins are buried on the sea floor. For example, metal resources such as manganese nodules, submarine hydrothermal deposits, and cobalt-rich crust are abundantly buried in the deep seabed, and such submarine mineral resources are expected to further supplement land resources in the future. Will be.

[0003] Such undersea mineral resources are conventionally drilled by various undersea drilling vessels, and such undersea drilling vessels are often used by remodeling oil drilling vessels. That is, when the oceanographic research vessel first searches for and identifies the seabed vein, the seabed drilling vessel excavates the seabed vein. In this case, for example, a conventional submarine drilling vessel is configured so that a drilling pipe is installed from the ship to the seabed, and muddy water is circulated therein to enhance the drilling effect.

However, in such a conventional method of excavating the seabed, since the seafloor is constructed so that the seafloor is excavated from the sea, the excavation work can be performed efficiently as in the case of excavation on the ground. It was not possible to excavate a large amount of submarine resources within a certain time. Therefore, it has been desired to improve the excavation efficiency even when excavating a mine or the like on the seabed.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of efficiently excavating the seabed. The technical problem of the invention described in claim 3 is, in addition to the technical problem of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, to provide a submarine excavation device that can excavate excavated seabed more efficiently. is there.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a submarine drilling apparatus capable of continuously excavating the seabed, in addition to the technical problem of the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention. Is to do. The technical problem of the invention described in claim 5 is, in addition to the technical problem of the invention described in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, when the vehicle reaches the seabed and moves by itself while moving on the seabed. The present invention is to provide a seabed excavation device capable of excavating a sea bottom by drilling.

The technical problem of the invention described in claim 6 is, in addition to the technical problem of the invention described in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, a buoyancy can be given in water and the sea floor can be stabilized. It is an object of the present invention to provide a submarine drilling device capable of drilling in a state in which the underwater is drilled. The technical problem of the invention described in claims 7 and 8 is that in addition to the technical problems of the inventions described in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, excavation work can be performed against a tidal current. An object of the present invention is to provide a submarine drilling rig.

The technical problem of the ninth aspect of the present invention is that, in addition to the technical problems of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth aspects, a transport for efficiently transporting excavated minerals is provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a submarine drilling rig with means. Another technical object of the present invention is to provide a method of excavating a seabed capable of performing open-air digging on the seabed.

[0009]

In order to solve such a technical problem, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an excavating part and one
1. The excavating part 11 is provided with a bucket part 12 that is detachably joined to the excavating part 11, and is formed so that the seabed 29 can be excavated. Therefore, in the invention according to claim 1, the earth and sand 3 containing the seabed minerals excavated by the excavation unit 11.
7 is loaded into the bucket portion 12, and when the bucket portion 12 is full of earth and sand 37, the bucket portion 12 is moved to the excavation portion 1.
Then, the sediment 37 is transported by the bucket portion 12 and the seabed 29 is excavated.

As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus capable of efficiently excavating the seabed 29. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the digging unit 11 is provided with a digging device 14 capable of digging the seabed 29, and a transport device 15 is provided behind the digging device 14. And

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention,
The earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29 excavated by the excavating equipment 14
It is transported by a transport device 15 provided behind the excavating device 14 and transported to the bucket section 12. as a result,
According to the second aspect of the invention, the excavated earth and sand 37 is transported to the bucket portion 12 by the transport device 15, and the excavation work can be performed efficiently.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the excavator includes a bucket wheel 14. Therefore, according to the third aspect of the invention, the seabed 29 is excavated while the bucket wheel 14 rotates. As a result, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the seabed excavator 1 capable of efficiently excavating the earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29 is provided.
0 is provided.

According to the present invention, the bucket wheel 14 includes a cylindrical wheel 16 and a plurality of shovel portions 17 provided on a peripheral surface of the cylindrical wheel 16. It is characterized by. Therefore, in the invention according to claim 4, a plurality of shovels 17 provided on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical wheel 14 are continuously provided on the seabed 2.
Excavate 9.

As a result, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the seabed excavator 10 capable of efficiently excavating the earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29. According to the fifth aspect, an endless track device 22 is provided on a lower surface portion of the excavation portion 11, and is configured to be able to travel on the seabed 29 by the endless track device 22 when it reaches the seabed 29. It is characterized by having.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 5,
After landing on the seabed 29, the seabed 29 can be self-propelled by the endless track device 22 provided on the lower surface of the excavation unit 11. As a result, according to the invention as set forth in claim 5, when it has landed on the seabed 29, it moves on its own and moves underwater.
Bottom Drilling Apparatus 1 that can excavate rocks by field drilling
0 can be provided.

In the invention according to claim 6, the excavating part 11 and the bucket part 12 are each provided with a water-injectable float 2.
6, 28 are provided. Therefore,
In the invention according to claim 6, the excavating portion 11 and the bucket portion 12 can impart buoyancy in the underwater 34 when the float portions 26, 28 are drained, and the floats 26, 28 Can be landed on the seabed 29.

As a result, the invention according to claim 6 can provide the seabed excavator 10 which can impart buoyancy in the sea 34 and can firmly land on the seabed 29. The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that a propulsion device 25 is provided on the lower surface of the excavation unit 11.

Therefore, in the invention according to claim 7,
The excavation unit 1 is driven by the propulsion device 25 provided on the lower surface of the excavation unit.
1 can be propelled. As a result, claim 7
In the described invention, when the seabed excavator 10 has landed on the seabed 29, the propulsion device 25 is operated to continue the excavation work against the tide of the tide flowing to the seabed 29. Can be.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the propulsion device 25 is a jet propulsion device. Therefore, in the invention according to claim 8, the jet propulsion force can be given to the excavation unit 11 by the propulsion device 25 provided on the lower surface portion of the excavation unit. As a result, claim 7
According to the described invention, when the seabed excavator lands on the 10 seabed 29, the jet propulsion device 25 is operated to continue the excavation work against the momentum of the tide flowing to the seabed 29. be able to.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the transfer device 15 is a belt conveyor. Therefore, according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29 excavated by the excavating equipment is not conveyed by the belt conveyor 1.
5 to the bucket 12.

As a result, according to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide the seabed excavating apparatus 10 provided with a conveying means capable of efficiently conveying the excavated earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29. In the invention according to claim 10,
A submarine excavator 10 including an excavation unit 11 and a bucket unit 12 detachably joined to the excavation unit 11, the submarine excavator 10 being formed so as to excavate the ocean floor 29;
And a mother ship 31 that can remotely control the sea bottom 29 from the sea surface. The earth and sand 37 of the sea bottom 29 excavated by the excavation unit 11 are loaded into the bucket unit 12 and transported to the mother ship 31 to excavate the sea bottom 29. And

Therefore, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to excavate a vein or the like on the seabed 29 by operating the seabed excavator 10 by remote control from the mother ship 31.
As a result, in the invention according to claim 10, the seabed excavator 10 is loaded on the mother ship 31 which is a research ship,
If a seabed vein is found as appropriate, the seabed excavator 10 is lowered to the seabed and operated by remote control to operate the seabed 2
9 excavations can be performed.

As a result, in the invention according to claim 10, it is not necessary to prepare a research vessel and a submarine drilling vessel to perform the drilling work on the seabed 29 as in the prior art, and the mother ship also serves as the research vessel. When the seabed excavation device 10 is loaded on the seabed and the investigation of the seabed ore veins is performed, if the seafloor veins or the like are found, the excavation work can be performed immediately without the intervention of another work boat or the like. .

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, a seabed excavation apparatus and a seabed excavation method according to the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a submarine drilling apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment,
And a bucket portion 12 detachably joined to the excavation portion 11.

The excavating portion 11 includes a frame portion 13 formed in a flat box shape, a bucket wheel 14 provided at the front end of the frame portion 13 as an excavating device capable of excavating the seabed, and a bucket wheel 14. And a belt conveyor 15 as a transport device capable of transporting the earth and sand excavated in the bucket section 12. The bucket wheel 14 includes a cylindrical wheel 16 and a plurality of shovel portions 17 provided on a peripheral surface of the cylindrical wheel 16. A claw portion 18 protrudes from the outer end of the shovel portion 17 along the width direction of the wheel 16 so as to easily excavate the earth and sand 37 on the seabed 29.

The bucket wheel 14 is fixed to a support arm 35 by a shaft 19, and the support arm 35 is fixed to the frame 13 by a shaft 42. Therefore, the support arm 35 is configured to be rotatable up and down around the shaft 42.
The support arm 35 is rotatably fixed to a mast 38 projecting from both sides of the frame 13 by a bending arm 36. The bent arm 36 includes a base side arm 39 and a front end side arm 43 fixed to the front end of the base side arm 39.
9, a drive arm 40 is fixed to the shaft.
Is configured to be driven to extend and retract by a hydraulic cylinder 41. As a result, the bucket wheel 14
At the time of excavation, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive arm 40 is in a retracted state, and the base arm 39 of the bent arm 36 supports the support arm 35 substantially horizontally.

Therefore, the lower half of the bucket wheel 14 provided at the distal end of the support arm 35 projects forward and downward of the excavation section 11 from the frame section 13, and excavates the seabed below the excavation section 11. It becomes possible to do this. On the other hand, when the seabed 29 moves, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the drive arm 40 is in the extended state, and the base end side arm 39 of the bent arm 36 is inclined upward. The support arm 35 is tilted upward with the upper shaft 42 as the center of rotation, the bucket wheel 14 is also lifted above the frame 13, and the seabed excavator 10 is moved by the endless track device 22. It is configured to be in a possible state.

The bucket wheel 14 is a wheel 16
It is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor housed in the vehicle. The shovel unit 17 is formed in an elongated rectangular shape, a box shape having a substantially semicircular cross section, and a large number of the shovel portions 17 are provided at predetermined intervals. A belt conveyor 15 is provided behind the bucket wheel 14, and the belt conveyor 15 is provided slightly inclined forward. The front end of the belt conveyor 15 is provided such that when the bucket wheel 14 rotates at a predetermined speed, the earth and sand in each shovel falls down in a parabolic manner. The rear end of the belt conveyor 15 is arranged at the rear end of the frame 13.

The belt conveyor 15 is fixed to the frame portion 13 by shaft portions 20 and 21, respectively, and is configured to be driven by a built-in motor.
An endless track device 22 is provided on the lower surface side of the frame portion 13 forming the excavation portion 11. The endless track device 22 includes a sprocket drive housing 23, a wide caterpillar 24 wrapped around the sprocket drive housing 23, and a built-in motor, and moves when the excavation unit 11 reaches the seabed. It is configured as possible.

As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of jet propulsion devices 25, 25 are provided inside the endless track device 22 along the width direction of the frame 13 on the lower surface side of the frame portion 13. These jet propulsion devices 25 are configured to draw in water from the front, accelerate it, and jet it backward. Therefore, in the seabed excavation device 10 according to the present embodiment, the jet propulsion device 25 discharges the jet water stream toward the rear of the excavation unit 11 so that a forward propulsion force can be obtained. Is formed.

On both sides of the frame portion 13, water-injectable floats 26 are provided, respectively.
These water-injectable floats 26, 26 are formed in the shape of a whole spindle, and are configured so that water can be injected into the floats 26, 26 to fill the floats 26, 26 with seawater. It is configured to completely drain the seawater.

At the four corners of the frame 13 forming the excavation part 11, wire fixing parts 30 for electromagnetically fixing the wire of the crane of the work boat at sea are provided. On the other hand, a bucket portion 12 is joined to the back of the excavation portion 11 via an appropriate engaging portion so as to be separable from the excavation portion 11. The bucket portion 12 includes a rear frame portion 27 in which the frame 13 of the excavating portion 11 extends rearward.
It is designed to have sufficient strength so that it can be sufficiently supported and stored even when earth and sand 37 excavated from the seabed are placed on the bucket portion 12 and excavated from the sea floor.

The bucket portion 12 is substantially box-shaped in its entirety, has an open upper surface, and has a storage portion for soil therein. Floats 28, 28 are fixed to both sides of the bucket portion 12, similarly to the excavation portion 11. At four corners of the bucket 12, similarly to the excavating part 11, wire fixing parts 30 for electromagnetically fixing the wires 33 of the crane 32 of the work boat at sea are provided.

Therefore, the bucket section 12 is provided with the excavating section 1
During excavation, 1 is fixed to the rear end of the excavation unit 11 to store the seabed sediment 37 conveyed by the belt conveyor 15 of the excavation unit 11, and when the sediment 37 reaches a predetermined amount. It is configured to be detached from the excavation unit 11 by remote control and lifted up to the sea via a wire rope by a crane.

Hereinafter, the seabed excavator 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
The operation of 0 will be described. When excavating a metal vein or the like on the seabed using the seabed digging device 10 according to the present embodiment, the seabed digging device 10 is loaded on the work boat 31 as a mother ship, and the work area 31 has a sea area with the seabed vein. Go to. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the seabed excavator 10 is suspended by the wire rope 33 using the crane 32 and lowered into the sea 34. In this case, the bucket wheel 14 is in a state of being lifted above the frame portion 13.

Then, the submarine digging device 10 can
9, when the submarine excavator 10 is released from the electric connection with the wire rope fixing portion 30 of the electromagnetic engagement device provided at the tip of the crane 32, Remove. When excavation is performed, the drive units of the respective units are operated on the work boat 31 by wireless remote control. That is, first, the endless track device 22 is operated and the submarine drilling device 10 is moved to the drilling site specified by the work boat 31.
Is moved on the seabed 29. In this case, the confirmation of the movement to the specified excavation site is performed while monitoring on the work boat 31 by a television camera appropriately provided in the seabed excavation device 10.

Thereafter, the hydraulic cylinder 41 is operated to retract the drive arm 40, and the bending arm 3
By rotating the support arm 35 about the shaft portion 42 through 6, the bucket wheel 14 is arranged at the excavation position in front of the frame portion 13, and then the motor mounted in the bucket wheel 14 is driven. , Bucket wheel 1
4 is rotated. Further, the belt conveyor 15 is operated at the same time.

That is, the motor mounted in the belt conveyor 15 is rotated by rotating the bucket wheel 14 by remotely driving the motor mounted in the bucket wheel 14, and the belt conveyor 15 is rotated by operating the motor mounted in the belt conveyor 15. . When the bucket wheel 14 rotates, as shown in FIG. 5, a large number of shovel portions 17 fixed to the peripheral surface of the wheel 16 continuously dig up the seabed 29 by the claw portions 18 to raise the inside of the shovel portion 17. Earth and sand 37
And the earth and sand is dumped onto the belt conveyor 15 by the rotation of the wheel 16. The dumped soil 37 is transported on the belt conveyor 15, and
After that, it is discarded into the bucket section 12.

Accordingly, the seabed 29 is excavated by repeating the above operation while moving forward at a very low speed by the endless track device 22, and the excavated earth and sand 37 is conveyed by the belt conveyor 15 to the bucket section 12. Is loaded inside. When the excavation position needs to be changed, the endless track device 22 can be operated to move the excavation position on the seabed 29 to a desired position.

When the excavation work is performed, since the floats 26 and 28 are filled with water, the floats 26 and 28 serve as weights to perform excavation work on the seabed 29. Work can be performed stably. Further, when performing excavation work at a location where a large tidal current is generated on the seabed 29, the jet propulsion device 25 is operated by directing the tip of the submarine digging device 10 toward the upstream side of the tidal current. When the jet propulsion device 25 is operated, the propulsion force of the jet jet acts toward the rear of the seabed excavation device 10, and the excavation can be performed in a state where the propulsion is stopped at a predetermined portion against the tide.

When the submarine excavator 10 is accommodated in the suspended work boat 31 by the crane 32, the seawater in the floats 26 and 28 is drained, so that it can be easily lifted and transported. . Thereafter, when the amount of the earth and sand 37 reaches a predetermined amount, as shown in FIG.
The wire-33 is lowered from the work boat 31 by the crane 32, and is electromagnetically fixed to the wire rope fixing section 30 of the bucket section 12 by appropriate means. Thereafter, the connection between the excavation unit 11 and the bucket unit 12 is released, the wire rope 33 is hoisted by the crane 32, only the bucket unit 12 is lifted, and the work unit 31 is lifted.
Process seabed sediment.

After that, the emptied bucket portion 12 is suspended by the crane 32 again by the wire rope 33 and lowered into the sea 34, and is settled on the seabed and joined to the excavation portion 11 to resume the excavation work. Therefore, when the seabed 29 is excavated by the seabed excavation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, so-called open digging of the seabed 29 can be continuously performed, and the excavation of the seabed resources such as the seabed veins can be efficiently performed in a short time. Can do well.

The submarine drilling apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
In the case of No. 0, since the floats 26 and 28 are provided in the excavating part 11 and the bucket part 12, when the ship reaches the seabed 29, water is injected into the floats 26 and 28. Thereby, the floats 26 and 285 function as weights of the seabed excavation device 10, and the work of excavating the seabed 29 can be stably performed.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which an excavator having a form similar to a bucket wheel excavator used when performing open-pit drilling on the ground is used. The present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and may be any device configured so as to substantially excavate the seabed. Further, in the submarine excavator 10 according to the above-described embodiment, the case where the endless track device 22 is mounted has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
It may be equipped with a balloon tire.

[0045]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention,
An apparatus capable of efficiently excavating the seabed can be provided. According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a submarine excavator capable of excavating the excavated submarine soil more efficiently.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first, second, or third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a submarine excavator capable of continuously excavating the ocean floor. it can. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first, second, third or fourth aspect of the present invention, in the case of landing on the seabed, the seafloor moves on the seabed while traveling by itself. It is possible to provide a seabed excavator capable of excavating by means of a drill.

According to the invention of claim 6, in addition to the effects of the invention of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5,
It is possible to provide a submarine excavator that can give buoyancy in water and can stably land on the seabed. Further, in the inventions according to claims 7 and 8, in addition to the effects of the inventions according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to 6, a submarine excavation apparatus capable of performing excavation work against a tidal current. Can be provided.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth aspects, the seabed provided with a transporting means for transporting excavated minerals is provided. A drilling rig can be provided. Further, according to the invention as set forth in claim 10, it is possible to provide a seabed excavation method capable of performing opencasting on the seabed and excavating efficiently in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a submarine excavator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of the seabed excavator according to the present invention, and showing a state where the seabed excavator is moving on the seabed.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing an embodiment of the seabed excavator according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing one embodiment of a submarine excavator according to the present invention, and shows a state where the submarine excavator is suspended underwater by a work boat.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an embodiment of the seabed excavator according to the present invention, and showing a state where the seabed excavator is excavating while moving on the seabed.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of the seabed excavation device according to the present invention, in which the seabed excavation device excavates the seabed, loads excavated earth and sand on a bucket portion, and conveys it to the sea surface. is there.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Submarine excavation apparatus 11 Excavation part 12 Bucket part 13 Frame part 14 Bucket wheel (excavation equipment) 15 Belt conveyor (conveyance equipment) 16 Wheel 17 Excavator part 18 Claw part 19 Shaft part 20 Shaft part 21 Shaft part 22 Endless track device 23 Sprocket Drive housing 24 Caterpillar 25 Jet propulsion device (propulsion device) 26 Float 27 Rear frame portion 28 Float 29 Sea bottom 30 Wire rope fixing portion 31 Work boat (mother ship) 32 Crane 33 Wire rope 34 Underwater 35 Support arm 36 Bending arm 37 Earth and sand 38 Mast section 39 Base side arm 40 Drive arm 41 Hydraulic cylinder 42 Shaft section 43 Tip side arm

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A submarine excavator, comprising: an excavation unit; and a bucket unit detachably joined to the excavation unit, the excavation unit being formed so as to excavate the seabed. 2. The excavating unit is provided with excavating equipment capable of excavating the seabed, and a transporting equipment capable of transporting earth and sand excavated in the bucket is provided behind the excavating equipment. The undersea drilling rig according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The undersea excavator according to claim 1, wherein the excavator comprises a bucket wheel. 4. The undersea excavation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bucket wheel includes a cylindrical wheel and a plurality of shovels provided on a peripheral surface of the cylindrical wheel. 5. An endless track device is provided on a lower surface portion of the excavation section, and is configured to be able to travel on the seabed by the endless track device when it has landed on the seabed. Item 5. A submarine excavator according to any one of Items 1, 2, 3, and 4. 6. The undersea excavator according to claim 1, wherein a water injection type float is provided in the excavating part and the bucket part. 7. A propulsion device is provided on a lower surface of the excavation part.
The seabed excavator according to 5 or 6. 8. The undersea excavator according to claim 7, wherein the propulsion device is a jet propulsion device. 9. The undersea excavator according to claim 2, wherein the conveyor is a belt conveyor. 10. A submarine excavation device including an excavation portion and a bucket portion detachably joined to the excavation portion, the submarine excavation device being formed so as to be able to excavate the ocean floor, and the submarine excavation device being remotely located on the sea surface. A operable mother ship, and loading the seabed sediment excavated by the excavation unit into the bucket unit and transporting the sediment to the mother ship to excavate the seabed.