JPS5894596A - Apparatus for collecting manganese nodule - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention enables nodules such as manganese nodules to be transferred to the seabed surface from a suction head provided at the tip of the ore collecting duct C while moving on the seabed surface, using a water flow generated in the ore collection duct C. Aspirate and collect ore! Concerning the ore collector K in Ngan Danboom.

The case of manganese nodules will be explained below, but this method can also be applied to ore collectors similar to manganese nodules.

Manganese nodules, which are attracting attention as an inexhaustible source of minerals such as nickel, cobalt, steel, and manganese, are deposited flatly on the seabed sediments of the deep ocean floor, as if they were cobblestones. Therefore, it is necessary to collect the nodules distributed on the bottom of the K-S where the ore is mined, and then lift the ore onto the S.

As for the mining operation of Man-on, it turned brown in 111. The so-called fluid drainage system is superior because it has a simple mechanism and fewer failures.

Now, the ocean floor where manganese lumps are deposited is not necessarily flat, but has ups and downs, upslopes and downslopes, and the places where they change are arc-shaped or at certain angles.
In some cases, this is done.

1 for designing a manganese nodule collector! i1! The maximum is
People are saying that it is necessary to place it at a height of 1m1, given the seabed slope of 71,001km.

In addition, seafloor sediments are generally soft, but their axillary properties are not uniform, and the soil bearing capacity is between 200 and 700 kg/-, so the ore collector is installed on a large ski next to the ground tooth. It is common to support the ski on the seabed with a carp, but the amount of sinking of the ski changes depending on the difference in the softness of the seabed, and the difference can reach about 50 ns K. Furthermore, when the ski rides on the ridgeline of the above-mentioned seabed slope, a part of the ski sinks in toward the seabed or separates from the bottom surface of the S.

As a result, if the saxilon head is too far away from IllIm(2), it will suck in only seawater, and if the saxilon head sinks in from the bottom of the S, it will suck in a large amount of seafloor sediment like a dredge.

The condition of the seabed elevation of the man-on nodules is quite good, ranging from the ground (K) to the thin, whole, or exposed parts of the earth.
There are many things that have been improved, and many that have sunk to the bottom of the ocean like icebergs.

Also, the size of manganese nodules is similar to that of woodcutter.

Due to the m-diameter of the lifting pipe and the balance between peak-adjacent necks, it is necessary to sort and divide t# in order to prevent people from entering the suction head when the endowment rate is small, for example, 8□0~100&# or more. be.

The above-mentioned seabed topography, soil quality % Ingan nodule shape K irrigation, ore collection W &1tf') The suction head was examined relative to the seabed and the #l slope, and the particle size range of the lifted ore nodules was determined. It is necessary to operate while sorting out and eliminating extremely large diameter groups.

Conventional suction head 11. As a tilting @ts hand boat, an ore collection duct, a saxilon head, and a base are installed at the θ barrier, and their extension changes the depth and slope of the seabed.K11
One stick that makes lllll is Yuto, but about Sr: Je
The length of the bellows must be extremely long in order to follow the change in the bottom height over sK, and since the bellows has a thin wall, it is rapidly worn out by the nodules passing through the inside, resulting in a shortened curvature. Additionally, there are other problems such as the inability to reliably transmit the towing force from the mother ship to the suction head.

If we increase the length of the bellows in order to increase its strength, the bottom will follow the slope and K<L.

In addition, as a so-called primary nodule sorting means for sorting and eliminating ambassador nodules with a lifted ore grain size exceeding #l, conventionally, a suction head is used to screen vertically across the top and bottom of the seabed in a diagonal direction with respect to the direction of travel. A method has been proposed in which a grid is provided and the nodules to be excluded are pushed out to the outside.However, in this sorting 1i11, the K to push out the large diameter nodules outward is due to the operation of the ore collecting device of the sorting grid. It is necessary to form a fairly acute angle with respect to the direction of travel, and as the width of the suction head increases, this separation device becomes very large.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks associated with the square head of ore collectors proposed since IE. It is possible to reliably track the Naxite head to an underwater island or tilted @ with a simple configuration without using a base, and it also allows for smooth selection and removal of large diameter nodules using a much smaller member than before. The purpose is to provide a possible Ingan baby boom collection location.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to one example showing its embodiment.

The embodiment θ ore collector of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is as follows:
A hopper 1 essentially configured as a sealed container, a plurality of ore collection ducts 2 (four in the figure) extending forward from the hopper 1, and a saxilon head attached to the electrically constructed leading edge of the hopper 1. 5, a muddy water outlet pipe 4 extending rearward from the hopper 1 and opening to the open sea, an ore collecting pump 5 cut in the middle and its drive motor 6, and a hot spring (-Ij!E).
A lump discharge port 1aK is connected to the ore lifting pipe 7, which is towed by a mother ship on the sea (not shown) and tows the w1 ore building equipment, and at the same time, connects the ore lifting pipe 7 which transports the nodules to the mother ship by a lifting pump (not shown) installed on the way. These 1kfl
11 is mounted on one frame 9. In addition, song 2
In order to avoid complication, there are 8 and 7 reams of continuation pipes for mining in 1.
is omitted. A bumper 10 is attached to the front end of the frame 9 via a spring 11 to protect against acid when the AM device collides with an obstacle while being towed.

The part of the frame 9 that fixes the ore collection duct 2 θm1k
At the position tl, that is, the position directly above the suction head 5, one end of the arm 12 is placed between the four suction heads and at five locations inside and outside the lead i! The arm 12 is rotatably supported within the darkness, and the arm 120 is rotatably mounted around a horizontal axis in the lateral direction.
3 is pivoted. The sales wheel 13 is moxibusted to an extent slightly larger than the incomparable seawater by filling the interior with a # member, so that when the mining equipment moves forward, it does not sink in from the side of the seabed. Also, it is now possible to transfer to a new job in a K11ll bottom-Km ugly job without having to jump up and down in a reactionary town.

A plurality of guide tubes 14 are arranged in four rows on the bottom 11 of the 7 frame 90, and correspondingly, the lower end is connected to the ski 15.
A pillar 16 pivotally supported on the upper surface of the pillar 16 is floating in the above-mentioned Kinai dollar 14. A compression spring 17 is provided around the pillar 160, and the frame 9 and the device θ shogun mounted on the frame 9 are supported by the ski 15 via the spring 17. ski 1
5 is made of a flexible copper plate, etc., and it bends to follow the topography of the ocean floor, so the ski does not partially sink into the ocean floor sediment or come loose from the ocean floor. It is also prevented that an ordinary force is applied to the reframe 9 due to expansion and contraction.

Next, the suction head t? The details will be explained with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 4. The tip of each suction head 5 was widened in the lateral direction, as shown in the diagram 4-. An angular range of 791 feet (i.e., an angular range corresponding to the above-mentioned seabed slope of 8/100) 1 on a support shaft 20 provided in the front and back center tightening direction KM & direction at the lower end of the ore collecting duct 2 with a rectangular section 1 It is movably supported on the shaft. This Qin Junhan H is limited by a stopper 20' attached to each of the ore collection ducts.

The rad 3 includes a rectangular frame-shaped suction head neck member 21 that is pivotally supported on the support shaft 20 and surrounds the end of the ore collecting duct 2 via a false play, and a suction head neck member 21 of the member. Suction head 1 Rear blade 2 is supported by the suction head @ plate so as to be able to move in one direction so as to connect continuously to the lower ends of the front and rear walls of the lower material 21, respectively.
It has 3°24. A pair of suction heads l# above
The four head openings surrounded by the white picture of the rear blade 22 and the front and rear blades 25.24 correspond to the plowing position of the rear blade 25°24.
The angle relative to frame 9 changes according to the following. Front and rear blades 25.24 edges and suction head @
There is a slight play between it and @22.

As shown in FIG. 5, the suction head @@22 extends over the upper and lower K of the lower and lower seabed 11tiBL, IIL' as shown in FIG. The lower part extends around the front end of the Fll.
It descends rearward from a point on ll at an angle #I of about 50' angle with the horizontal line, and extends in a direction of Km horizontally from just below the neck member 21.

111m @ In the darkness of the plate 22, parallel to the lower edge of the plate 22, flat pars 25 are arranged with the maximum diameter of the lifted ore nodules at intervals, and the Vtt of the two forming a grid for distant nodule separation. is structured as above.

This is lowered to the seabed, and the ore collection pump 5 is towed by the mother ship.
When the hopper is operated, the pressure inside the hopper 1 is lower than the pressure in the open sea, and seawater flows into the vicinity from the opening formed by the suction head 501114g4 plate 22 and the tip 11am of the front and rear blades 25 and 24. K15 in the ore collection duct 2 is filled with manganese nodules and seabed sediment, and the hopper 1 is
As the flow rate increases, the nodules flow down to the bottom of the hopper 1 and accumulate, and the seafloor sediments are suspended in seawater and discharged into the sea from the muddy water pipe 4. The nodules accumulated at the bottom of the hopper are sequentially supplied to the working pot continuation pipe 8 through the lower opening 1 & the nodule slurry is turned into a slurry together with seawater flowing in from the AM valve 19, and flows inside the Lun mining pipe 7 to the mother hole K on the sea.
m ore is mined.

The height of the seabed at the cliff of the suction head 30 (relative height to the 7th frame 9) and the shape of the surface in the left and right direction are %. The included angle I allows for simple detection with practical accuracy of a light minute. In addition, in this case.

IIIiE^ When the sensor wheel 15 passes over the nodule, the wheel rises by m-, so it is preferable to exclude the fluctuation of the angle θ for <m time from the measurement.

For example, as shown in the stripe diagram 5, if the sea dWIIT Yamagata Butsu in the width direction of the Sakshi Soun Head has a slope in the shape of a ``he'' in the entire sweep width of the Sakshi Soun Head, then the seabed l of 5@
Since the Illb11 spray wheels 15 each have a different pitch, the amount and lateral position of the Illll pot bottom can be easily detected from the respective detection signals.

Based on this detection signal, a hydraulic drive device (not shown) moves the neck member 21 of each naction head 3 around the support shaft 20 by Kt according to a predetermined program.
By letting glgll.

As shown in Figure 5, each succinct head can be adapted to the seabed slope of that part.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, the rear blades 25 and 24 of the suction head are moved around the upper end of each shaft by the hydraulic section kjj device (also not shown) in accordance with the detection signal from the seabed height detection wheel. By positioning the suction head at an appropriate position Kf between the two devices indicated by the broken line and the solid line, the suction head opening position can be adapted to the seabed height.

As shown in FIG. Suction head Kf
The tip of the bale blade 24 is brought down to a point far below the ocean floor, which makes it easier for people to handle the seafloor sediments.
There are not only nodules lying on the ground, but also nodules that are partially buried in the sediment, and nodules that are almost completely buried in the sediment.

It can be dug up and collected into the suction head, just like potatoes are collected in a strainer.

In addition, depending on the quality of the subsoil and the state of manganese nodules, the rear blade 24 may be lifted at a single point in FIG.
It is also possible to increase the area of the suction port by about tKf.

The eye that sucks seawater and nodules from the suction head, due to the difference in output between the inside and outside of the suction head.

Outward direction of ore collection duct 2 and saccade head neck member 21
External water flows into the suction head or the ore collecting duct through the play between the front and rear blades 25.24 of the suction head and the inward direction of the suction head. - is small and there is also viscous resistance, so not only can the amount of inflow be ignored, but when water flows through the gap between You can wash it and change the operation to Nissin.

A lattice in which a plurality of flat pars 25 are arranged in parallel at intervals of a predetermined particle diameter is provided at the lower edge of the inner saccharging head 1t22 as a step for sorting out baby lumps. Nodules within the size of the rice grains pass through this grid and are sucked into the suction head, but grains larger than this are blocked by the grid and cannot enter the suction head, so they are collected. Along with the M road of Mine G&O.

The sloped lattice is pushed down through the seafloor sediments. Since the displacement required to push down the nodules is on the order of several dozen at most, this sorting grid can be made much smaller than the conventional primary transport means that pushes out several rings in the lateral direction.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the suction head ly) inclination f
Adjustment of the volume of l+ and its opening is automatically performed via a hydraulic system based on a detection signal from a seabed height detection wheel5.
However, other means for detecting the seabed height can be used, such as various methods known to those skilled in the art. Further, if the condition of the seabed soil etc. is known in advance, the height 111III of the suction head opening may be set in advance at a position that corresponds to the condition of the seabed soil, etc.

This can also be done remotely from a mother ship at sea.

As described above, according to the present invention, the 111I
Since the height and inclination of the suction head can be adjusted according to the bottom topography and soil quality to perform the primary sorting of nodules, a remarkable effect can be obtained in improving the lifting efficiency of manganese nodules.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Summary Figure 1 is a front view of the ore-feeding device of the θ dormitory embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a plan view with some members omitted. Figure wJ5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the suction head, Figure 4 is a front view of the sled, and Figure 5 is an example of the soft traces of each suction head tilted in accordance with the slope of the sea. It is a diagram. 2... Ore collection duct 5... Suction head 9
... Frame 12 ... Arm 15 ... Seabed height detection wheel 20 ... Suction head support shaft 21 ... Rad neck member to suction 22 ... Suction head @ plate 23 ... Suction head flap 24...Suction head rear blade 25...Flat bar (keywood forming the sorting grid) 3rd quotient j 51,1 Figure 4 Procedural amendment February 1980 μl Haruki Yo, Director of the Patent Office l Indication of the case 1982 Patent application No. 190807 Straddle 2 Name of the invention Ore collecting device for manganese nodules, etc.; 3 Person making the amendment/Relationship with the IG case Patent Applicant f★
Praise! 1 [i Company Name (Name + (097) Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. 4 Agent 6, Drawing subject to amendment 7, Contents of amendment as attached)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) While moving on the seabed, the water flow generated in the ore collection duct causes the suction head installed at the tip of the ore collection duct to suck in and collect nodules such as manganese nodules deposited on the seabed. In a device for collecting ore such as manganese nodules that are mined, from a position at a suitable height above the seabed in front of the suction port of the suction head mentioned above to a position below the seabed directly below the suction port y. In the meantime, a lattice consisting of a plurality of parallel rods arranged at intervals of the maximum particle size range of the manganese nodules to be collected is set at an appropriate inclination angle at least within the width of the suction head. - A device for collecting manganese nodules, etc., characterized by having a means for sorting out nodules.