JPS5911256Y2 - Buoyant buoy disconnection device for submarine pipelines - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a buoyant buoy disconnection device for an undersea pipeline, which is used when it is necessary to disconnect the buoy after installation, such as a construction buoy used when laying an undersea pipeline.

Construction buoyancy buoys are often used when laying submarine pipelines, and these buoyancy construction buoys must be separated and recovered after being laid.

The separation work in this case is usually carried out by a diver because it is underwater work, but the work is dangerous because the load equivalent to the buoyancy of the buoyancy buoy is high during the separation process.

For this reason, it is well known that an underwater automatic cutting device has been developed that is operated from a remote location using wired or ultrasonic signals.

However, it is necessary that this disconnection can be easily performed with one touch, and it is desirable that the installation to the submarine pipeline be simplified so that it can be done underwater. It must not be able to detach or move from the submarine pipeline.

As the object supported by the buoyancy buoy is an undersea pipeline, it is often not allowed to weld hanging fittings etc. to the pipeline itself, and when the pipeline is buried, There was a problem that if hanging fittings, wires, etc. remained on the line or on the seabed nearby, it would get in the way of the burying machine.

The simplest apparatus conventionally used is shown in Figures 1a and 1b.

A steel band 23 was used to attach and tighten the undersea pipeline 3 to the buoyant buoy 1.

The disadvantage of this device is that the steel band 23 cannot be tightened with great force (the steel band will break).
, the buoyancy buoy 1 slips from the submarine pipeline 3,
The submarine pipeline 3 may shift in the length direction.

Furthermore, due to the strength limitations of the steel band 23, it is not possible to install a large buoyancy buoy 1, and the buoyancy buoy 1 was separated by a diver cutting the steel band with a cutter, which is dangerous. There was a problem.

In addition, as a substitute for the above-mentioned steel band 23, Fig. 2a
As shown in Fig. 2, there is a wire 24 with a small diameter and high tensile strength that can be used for the buoyant buoy 1 with a large buoyancy, but it is generally not easy to tighten the wire with tension, and cutting with a cutter is necessary. However, wire is not as easy to use as steel band.

Therefore, some devices are equipped with a separation hook 25 so that they can be operated remotely or manually.

On the other hand, buoyancy buoys are often cylindrical buoys due to ease of production and cost.
must be fixed.

Therefore, two separation hooks 25 are also required, and two separation hooks 25 are required.
5 is expensive, so there is a problem that it costs too much.

Furthermore, in the device shown in FIG. 2b, only one detachment hook 25 is required because the floating buoy 1 is rigid, but when the buoyancy buoy 1 and the pipeline 3 are as shown in FIG. Unlike, they do not become one.

Therefore, if the pipeline 3 is towed at high speed or near the sea surface where it is affected by waves, there is a risk that the buoyancy buoy 1 will shake and come off.

Further, there is a drawback that a part of the hanging piece and wire remains on the pipeline 3 side after the cutting.

Although the device shown in FIG. 2C solves the above-mentioned drawback b, there is a risk that the buoyancy buoy 1 will shift in the length direction of the pipeline 3.

In addition to this, various devices with slight improvements have been proposed, but all of them still have the problems described above, such as parts of the components remaining on the pipeline side or the buoyancy buoy shifting. The current situation is that there is no solution to all of these problems.

The present invention was devised in order to improve all of these problems in view of the above problems, and as a disconnection device, wired,
It is assumed that an underwater automatic cutting device operated by ultrasonic signals is used.

That is, the feature of the buoyant buoy separation device for submarine pipelines of the present invention is that a longitudinal saddle is fixed to the buoyant buoy, and the buoyant buoy is stably seated on the submarine pipeline via this saddle. A wire having an end fixed on one side of the saddle is used to wrap around the undersea pipeline being laid at the front and back of the saddle in the longitudinal direction, and the wrapped ends of the wire are tied together on the other side of the saddle. By remotely unlocking the disconnection hook, the connected end of the wire is separated, and the wire and the hook remain attached to the saddle and are released on the seabed together with the buoyant buoy. The point is that it is separated from the pipeline and floated.

Next, the buoyant buoy separation device for submarine pipelines of the present invention will be explained based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

1 is a buoyancy buoy, and 2 is a saddle, which is fixed in the longitudinal direction of the buoyancy buoy 1 by welding.

3 is an undersea pipeline under construction that should be supported.

A pair of guide rollers 5, 5 are installed on both sides of the saddle 2 at a distance in the longitudinal direction, and the submarine pipeline 3 is wound around the submarine pipeline 3 while being guided by the pair of guide rollers 5, 5 on both sides. One end of the two wires 7, 7 is coupled to the turnbuckle 6, and the other end of each wire 7, 7 is separably fixed to the separation hook 4.

Note that in this case, only one turnbuckle 6 is required.

Further, instead of the turnbuckle 6, one fixed end of the wires 7, 7 may be coupled to a fixing device 6' provided with a wire length fine adjustment mechanism at the position of the guide roller on one side of the saddle 2.

In the figure, 5' is a guide fitting for the turnbuckle 6, 8 is a rubber liner, and 9 is a rubber coating.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
An underwater automatic unlocking mechanism 15 is rotatably supported on the hook support plate 13 by a hook support shaft 14, and has a mechanism for locking the head of either the right eye hook 10 or the left eye hook 11. It is provided on the machine stand 12.

In addition, 16 is a gas generator charged with propellant and gunpowder for unlocking by wired and ultrasonic signals, 17 is a locking piston, and 18 is a release lever. Although the device is well known, the manual unlocking device described below utilizes a manual disconnecting device filed separately by the applicant of the present invention on the same date as this application.

That is, reference numeral 20 denotes a manual release lever, which is rotatably supported on the hook support plate 13 by a support shaft 19.

21 is a drawstring, and 22 is a safety pin fixing the drawstring 21.

The buoyant buoy disconnection device for submarine pipelines of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure has the following advantages: When fixing the buoyant buoy 1 to the submarine pipeline 3 that is being laid via the saddle 2, the buoyant buoy disconnection device for submarine pipelines of the present invention has the structure described above. The other ends of the two pipeline winding wires 7, 7, each end of which is connected by a turnpuckle 6, are guided by guide rollers 5, 5 and wound around the undersea pipeline 3, and then cut. Right hook 10 with 4 off hooks
Locking is performed by engaging the left hook 11 and the left hook 11.

A turnbuckle 6 is provided for tightening the wires 7, 7.

In this case, rubber liner 8, saddle 2 and pipeline 3
Moreover, since the wires 7 and 7 are coated with rubber coating 9, the two are in a tight state, so that the buoyancy buoy 1 is completely connected to the pipeline 3.
There is no fear of it slipping away or leaving.

According to the results of practical tests, the turnbuckle 6 or the fixing device 6' with a fine adjustment mechanism was installed using a 1 m long torque wrench.
When you turn the wire 7, 7 with a force of at most 10 kg,
A tension of 2 tons was applied to the buoy, confirming that buoyancy buoy 1 and pipeline 3 were integrated.

Next, when performing a disconnection operation, a wired or ultrasonic signal is sent to the underwater automatic unlocking mechanism 15 of the disconnection hook 4, and when the gas generator 16 is ignited, the locking piston 17 moves back upward in FIG. 4, and the lock by the release lever 18 is released, so that the right loft 10 and the left loft 11 are also released from the wires 7, 7, and the buoyancy buoy 1 and the pipeline 3 are released. The buoyant buoy 1 separates from the buoy and floats up, but no wires or other members remain on the pipeline 3 side.

If the gas generator 16 fails to ignite for some reason, the safety pin 22 should be removed by a diver.
When the pull string 21 is pulled out and the manual release lever 20 is pulled counterclockwise in FIG. The lock is released by dropping the tip.

The buoyant buoy disconnection device for undersea pipelines of this invention can disconnect the buoyant buoy by a signal from a remote location, and can recover not only the buoyant buoy but also the entire disconnection device. The buoyancy buoy can be attached to the submarine pipeline underwater with a small force using a turnbuckle, the equipment is simplified by using both lofts for the disconnection hook, and the construction is simple. This has the effect that there is no fear that the medium buoyancy buoy will shift or come loose.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a conventional structure for fixing a buoyancy buoy and a submarine pipeline using steel bands, in which a is a vertical sectional view and b is an elevational view. Figure 2 shows examples of conventional wire-based fixing structures for buoyancy puys and submarine pipelines, and a, l), and c are longitudinal cross-sectional views, respectively. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is an elevational view, b is a vertical cross-sectional view, C is a cross-sectional view taken along line C-C in figure b, and d is a view taken along line B-B in figure b. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway elevational view of the detachment hook used in the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Buoyancy buoy, 2... Saddle, 3... Submarine pipeline, 4... Separation hook, 5... Guide roller, 6... Turnbuckle, 7... Pipeline winding Wearing wire, 8... Rubber liner, 9... Rubber coating, 10... Right loft hook, 11... Left loft hook, 12... Machine stand, 13... Hook support plate, 14
...Hook support shaft, 15...Underwater automatic unlocking mechanism, 1
6... Gas generator, 17... Locking piston, 1
8...Release lever, 19...Support shaft, 20...
・Manual release lever, 21... Drawstring, 22... Safety pin.

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] (1) A buoyant buoy is provided with a longitudinal saddle, and a submarine pipeline being laid is wrapped around two wires having one end fixed at a distance in the longitudinal direction on one side of the saddle, and the undersea pipeline being laid is wrapped around the saddle. A buoyant buoy disconnection device for a submarine pipeline, wherein each end of the wire is fixed to a disconnection hook via a guide roller fixed to the other side. (2) One end of each fixed side of the wire is connected by a turnbuckle via a pair of guide rollers fixed to one side of the saddle at a distance in the longitudinal direction. Buoyant buoy disconnection device for submarine pipelines as described in . (3) The scope of the utility model registration claim, in which one end of each fixed side of the wire is coupled to a fixing device having a wire length fine adjustment mechanism fixed to one side of the saddle at a distance in the longitudinal direction. The buoyant buoy disconnection device for submarine pipelines according to item 1.