JPS6225912B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a burying machine for submarine pipelines and the like.

Conventional technology Conventionally, a plow has been used as a burying machine for laying pipelines, etc. on the seabed, by towing it by a ship, and while excavating the seabed with the plow, laying the pipeline, etc., and simultaneously removing the pipeline, etc. things to bury;
There is a crawler-type traveling body equipped with excavation means, which excavates the seabed and buries the pipeline or the like while traveling along the pipeline or the like.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the former method is difficult to control because the plow is towed by a ship during work.
Moreover, it has the problem that it can only be applied to shallow water depths.

In the latter case, in order to avoid crushing the pipeline etc. by the crawler, it is necessary to lower the traveling body from the sea surface so that the crawler straddles the pipeline etc., which is not only difficult, but also causes damage to the seabed. It has problems such as being unable to travel on rocky or soft ground, or making it difficult to control the direction of travel, leading to the risk of crushing the pipeline.

In other words, to bury a pipeline, the pipeline is laid out in advance on the seabed in a predetermined direction, and a burying machine is run along the pipeline to excavate a trench below the pipeline. The latter uses a pair of left and right crawler-type vehicles that are grounded on the seabed, and in order to bury the pipeline with this burying machine, it must be suspended from a work boat and placed on the seabed. It is necessary to straddle the existing pipeline, which has been laid out in advance, so that the left and right crawler-type traveling bodies straddle it. It becomes difficult to straddle and control the pipeline at a predetermined position on the pipeline, and there is a risk that the crawler type vehicle will ride on the pipeline and crush it, causing damage. One of the reasons for this is that the distance between the pair of left and right crawler-type traveling bodies cannot be made very large due to the structure.

After the burying machine straddles the pipeline as described above, a trench is excavated below the pipeline, but in this case, the burying machine needs to perform follow-up travel control along the pipeline. This is because the pipeline installation direction, the direction of the burying machine body, and the relative position of the pipeline and the crawler type traveling body must always be kept constant while traveling. However, in order to correct and control the running direction of a burial machine equipped with a pair of left and right crawler-type traveling bodies, the crawler-type traveling body in the direction to be corrected is fixed (braked), and the remaining crawler-type traveling bodies are rotated to control the left and right crawlers. This is done by utilizing the slippage with the ground due to the difference in rotational speed of the type traveling body, but the amount of control (rotational speed difference) at this time varies greatly depending on the soil quality and topography.
Control becomes difficult, and sometimes the crawler-type traveling body of the burying machine collides with the pipeline, causing crushing damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a burying machine for undersea pipelines, etc., which is capable of burying a pipeline in the seabed without crushing the pipeline and damaging it.

Means and operation for solving the problem An outer machine frame and an inner machine frame each having three or more legs are arranged so as to be relatively movable and pivotable in at least one horizontal direction, and A submarine walking device is constructed by telescopically arranging the legs of the machine frame or the inner machine frame, and a pair of excavation cutters are directed diagonally downward on either the outer machine frame or the inner machine frame of the submarine walking device. The undersea walking device is placed on the pipeline, etc. while the pair of cutters are positioned so as to hug the pipeline, etc. from both sides of the pipeline, etc. laid on the seabed. The system allows the user to walk along the pipeline, remove the earth and sand from beneath the pipeline, and then deposit the pipeline or the like there.

Embodiments The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. 1 to 3 are a front view, a plan view, and a side view showing the entire burying machine according to the present invention. The illustrated burying machine connects an outer machine frame 2 with four legs 1 and an inner machine frame 4 with four legs 3 to each other via a moving mechanism, and also connects each of the legs 1, 3 are telescopically arranged to constitute a submarine walking device, and a pair of excavating rotary cutters 5a and 5b facing diagonally downward and facing each other in a substantially downward triangular shape is further provided below the walking device. This is what I did.

The moving mechanism of the submarine walking device moves the inner machine frame 4 in the front and back direction (vertical direction in Fig. 2) with respect to the outer machine frame 2.
The inner machine frame 4 is fixed to the rotating member of the rotating unit 6, and the fixed side member of the rotating unit 6 is slid along the frame of the outer machine frame 2. In addition to movably disposed, a drive means such as a rack and a pinion is disposed between them, and a drive source such as a motor is operated to rotate the pinion, thereby moving the swing unit 6 to the outer engine frame 2. Move along the frame.
Of course, a driving means consisting of a driving gear and a driven gear rotated by a motor or the like is also disposed between the turning member and the stationary member of the turning unit 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the legs 1 and 3 are composed of a base cylinder 7a and an extendable cylinder 7b that is slidably inserted into the base cylinder.
A hydraulic cylinder 8 is housed inside. The tip of the piston rod 8a of this hydraulic cylinder 8 is connected to the inside of the tip of the telescopic cylinder 7b, and is configured so that the telescopic cylinder 7b can freely extend and contract with respect to the base cylinder 7a. Ground plate 9
is installed. In addition, the outer engine frame 2 shown in the embodiment is further provided with a thruster 10 at the upper corner, and floating tanks 11 are provided at the front, rear, left and right sides of the upper part.

This walking device is suspended in the sea by a support ship, is seated at an appropriate position on the seabed, and is controlled as follows to walk on the seabed.

When moving the walking device in the front-back direction, first reduce the legs 3 of the inner machine frame 4 as shown in Fig. 5a, move the inner machine frame 4 in this state (Fig. 5b), and then Extend the leg 3 and bring the leg 3 into contact with the ground (Fig. 5c), then contract the leg 1 of the outer engine frame 2,
In this state, the outer engine frame 2 is moved (Fig. 5d), and the legs 1 are grounded there. By repeating such operations, the walking device can be moved forward and backward by a desired distance.

When moving the walking device in the left-right direction, similarly to the above, move the aircraft frame 4 as shown in Figures 6a to 6d.
By alternately moving the outer machine frame 2 and the outer frame 2, the walking device can be moved in the left-right direction.

In addition, when turning the walking device, first, as shown in FIG. 7a, the legs 3 of the inner machine frame 4 are reduced,
In this state, the inner machine frame 4 is rotated by an arbitrary angle θ (Fig. 7b), then the legs 3 are extended and the legs 3 are brought into contact with the ground (Fig. 7c), and then the legs of the outer machine frame 2 are 1 is contracted, and in this state, the outer engine frame 2 is rotated by an angle θ (FIG. 7d), and the legs 1 are extended and touched on the ground.

Such control of the walking device is appropriately performed onboard the ship based on information obtained by monitoring means such as a television camera installed on the device.

The burying machine for submarine cable lines and the like shown in the embodiment has excavation cutters 5a and 5b disposed in the inner machine frame 4, as shown in detail in FIGS. 8 and 9.
These cutters 5a, 5b have comb blades around them, have a suction port inside, and the upper part is connected to a motor 12.
It is rotatably supported by a and 12b.
Furthermore, the motors 12a and 12b have one end connected to the cutter 5.
L-shaped pipe 13a connected to the suction port of a, 5b,
13b, the pipes 13a, 13b are connected to the pumps 14a, 14b at the swivel joint 15.
a, 15b, by which the cutters 5a, 5b can change their posture from the state shown in FIG. 8 to the retracted state shown in FIG. 9, and are supported by L-shaped pipes 13a, 13b. The posture is controlled by cylinders 16a and 16b interposed between the frame of the inner machine frame 4. Note that 17a and 17b are earth and sand discharge pipes having one end connected to the pumps 14a and 14b and the other end opening to the outside of the inner machine frame 4.

The cutter 5 arranged in the inner machine frame 4 in this way
a and 5b are set from the stored state shown in FIG. 9 to the state shown in FIG. 8 by controlling the cylinders 16a and 16b, that is, to hold the pipeline 18, etc., and further drive the motors 12a and 12b. It rotates and excavates the earth and sand below the pipeline 18, etc.
At the same time, the pumps 14a and 14b are operated to discharge the excavated earth and sand to the outside of the inner machine frame 4 through the L-shaped pipes 13a and 13b and the earth and sand discharge pipes 17a and 17b. This movement is transferred to pipeline 1 by a walking device.
This will be carried out continuously along the 8th grade, and the pipeline 18th etc. will be sunk into the seabed.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments, the present invention basically consists of a submarine walking device that walks along a pipeline, etc., and a submarine walking device that is installed in the device and excavates the earth and sand beneath it while holding the pipeline, etc. It is a requirement to have a cutter for eliminating, and various aspects may be adopted within the scope of the claims, such as, for example, crawlers may be provided in place of the ground plates of the extendable legs.

Effects of the invention An intermittent traveling submarine walking system in which the legs of the inner machine frame and the legs of the outer machine frame are alternately expanded and contracted, and the inner machine frame and the outer machine frame travel while performing at least one of back and forth or left and right or turning movements. Since the device has a structure with a pair of cutters, there is no need to directly suspend and straddle the pipeline when landing on the seabed, unlike conventional burial machines equipped with crawler-type running bodies. It is possible to land near the pipeline, move from there to a predetermined position, and sit as if straddling the pipeline.Even in deep water or in bad sea conditions or weather conditions, the user can ride on the pipeline and reach the seabed without trampling on it. Can be seated.

In addition, by touching one of the legs of the outer machine frame or the inner machine frame and rotating the other leg that is not in contact with the ground, the running direction can be corrected and controlled, making it easy to correct the running direction. In addition, there is no possibility of accidentally crushing the pipeline and damaging it, and it can also run reliably even on rocks and soft ground on the seabed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a burying machine for submarine pipelines, etc. according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG.
The figure is a side view, FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the structure of the legs, FIGS. ,b,
c and d are diagrams explaining the left and right movement of the burial machine,
Figures 7a, b, c, and d are diagrams explaining the turning of the burying machine, Figure 8 is a front view showing the cutter according to the present invention, and Figure 9 is a plan view showing the cutter in the retracted state. It is a diagram. 1...Leg, 2...Outer machine frame, 3...Leg, 4...Inner machine frame, 5a, 5b...Cut, 6...Swivel unit, 8...Cylinder, 12a, 12b...Motor, 13a , 13b... L-shaped pipe, 17a, 1
7b...Sediment discharge pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An outer machine frame and an inner machine frame each having three or more legs are arranged so as to be relatively movable and pivotable in at least one horizontal direction, and at least the legs of the outer machine frame or the inner machine frame are A pair of excavation cutters are arranged to be extendable and retractable to constitute a submarine walking device, and a pair of excavating cutters are arranged diagonally downward and facing each other on either the outer frame or the inner frame of the submarine walking device so as to form a substantially downward triangle. A burying machine for submarine pipelines, etc., which is characterized by being arranged in a shape.