KR102019197B1 - Lifting system - Google Patents

Abstract

The lifting system S includes an excavator 131 for excavating minerals from the seabed, an undersea work machine 13 having a slurry pump 132 for sucking and pumping a solid mixture of minerals and seawater, and an undersea work machine 13. Generator, which supplies power to the power cable 12, the main float 20, the positive duct 21 for conveying the solid-liquid mixture to the main float 20 side, and the positive duct 21 are spaced at a predetermined distance. And a sorting unit 3 for sorting and collecting minerals from the solid-liquid mixture conveyed to the main float 20 side.

Description

Lifting system

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a lifting system and a lifting method for mining and mining mineral resources such as valuable metals on the seabed.

For example, in a shallow water of about 20 m depth, a technology of suctioning sand iron, tin, and the like contained in seabed sand together with sand and conveying it to the land has been established, and has already been put into practical use in industry. In addition, in such a shallow seabed, the grinding and subdividing of the rock including the ore is also a technique widely used in the mining field.

In recent years, however, many seabed deposits exist in Japan's territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). If iron, copper, zinc, gold, etc. contained in the deposit are mined, and these metals can be transported by sea, the original resources will be insufficient, and Japan, which has been exclusively dependent on imports, can also obtain resources in Korea. . This makes it possible to further activate the industry, especially in the country, and also contribute to the supply of global resources.

In addition, there is already a technique for crushing the ore of deep seabed, for example, a depth of 1600 ~ 5000m with a miner. However, the technology of delivering ore crushed in the deep sea to the sea is not established yet. As a conveying technique, although pump conveyance and mechanical (bucket type) conveyance can be considered, mechanical type is very low productivity, and a pump type thing is the mainstream of proposal now. As such a pump type | mold, there exists a light-emitting apparatus of patent document 1, for example.

The lifting device described in Patent Literature 1 maintains a U-shaped pipe, one of which is a descending pipe and the other of a rising pipe (equivalent to a lifting pipe), from the deep sea bottom to the sea level, from the upper opening of the rising pipe to the upper opening of the falling pipe. To transport the seawater in the U-pipe to send the lumps of minerals mined from the deep sea bottom to the bottom of the riser, and to raise the riser by utilizing the characteristics of the U-tube which maintains the same level of liquid level at the openings at both ends. It is supposed to float mineral water on the surface of the sea.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-269070

However, the above conventional photovoltaic device has the following problems.

That is, in the case of an ore treatment vessel, for example, when mounting a steel steel pipe down to the sea floor with a depth of 1600 to 5000m, the actual weight is 50 to 150 tons even if the buoyancy acts on the light pipe itself. To this. In order to support this heavy-duty light pipe, a large ore processing ship etc. which can bear the weight fully and have sufficient buoyancy are needed.

In addition, in a long double pipe formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, which are structural units connected to an ore treatment vessel or the like, the closer to the sea surface, the larger the load is applied to the connecting portion. There was a very difficult problem.

In addition, in the case of operating an extremely long and heavy parcel down as described above in the ore treatment vessel or the support vessel, the following difficulty is also expected. First, the ore-treated ship is caused to move the oscillating tube relatively by shaking the head or bending the neck due to the fluctuation of the sea surface caused by the blue, which causes the damage or destruction of the solar tube. Is the point.

In addition, when the ore treatment vessel needs to evacuate temporarily in a bad weather such as a typhoon, it may be necessary to separate the solar pipes because they hinder navigation while the solar pipes are connected. In such a case, there is a big problem such as how to separate the solar tubes or how to recover the separated solar tubes.

Also problematic next to the diversion tube is the development of a pump system that can transport seawater, including crushed ore, to offshore ore treatment vessels from deep seabeds. That is, for example, in the deep sea of 1600 to 6000m, the above conveying is beyond the capacity of only one pump, so a pump system by a combination of several or multiple pumps is required, but conventionally, sufficient measures are not taken.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has a pump system capable of transporting seawater including crushed ore to an offshore ore treatment vessel, rather than a deep seabed, and a positive pipe having deep seas is connected to the pipe at its own weight. It is not possible to fall off the back, and it is not necessary to enlarge the ore-treated vessel supporting the same or the like to secure buoyancy, and also to lift the ore-treated vessel due to the wave when the sea is getting rough due to the typhoon. It is an object of the present invention to provide a lifting system and a lifting method, in which the pipe is not broken, and at the same time, it does not have to be abandoned and withdrawn.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the lifting system of the present invention includes a drilling portion for excavating minerals from the seabed or the seabed, and a pump for sucking and pumping a solid-liquid mixture including the minerals and seawater obtained by excavation. A power supply unit having an operable undersea work machine, a power cable for supplying electric power to the undersea work machine, a main float having the necessary buoyancy and floating on the sea or the sea, the main float and the undersea work machine A pump is connected, and the solid-liquid mixture containing minerals and seawater sucked by the pump is conveyed to the main float side, and a positive pipe having a required length is arranged at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the positive pipe. In the auxiliary float to impart the buoyancy of the tube to the tube and the solid-liquid mixture conveyed to the main float side by the positive pipe It is a lifting system including a mineral sorting unit for sorting and collecting minerals.

The operation of the lifting system of the present invention will be described taking as an example a case where a valuable mineral is moved from the deep sea to the sea.

In a lifting system, the main float is floating at sea, where the subsea worker is located at a given deep seabed with deposits. In addition, a mineral sorting part, a power supply part, etc. can be attached to work lines, such as a bus bar, for example, and the power cable which comprises a power supply part is connected to the power receiving part of an undersea work machine. The running part, the excavation part, and the pump of the subsea work machine are driven by the electric power supplied.

In addition, in addition to the power cable, a signal cable for transmitting a signal for controlling the excavation portion of the subsea work machine, the control of the running portion, the control of the pump, or the like may be mounted.

The pump of the subsea work machine and the main float are connected by a long positive pipe laid in the direction perpendicular to the main float, and the solid-liquid mixture conveyed from the positive pipe is also mounted on a working ship and sent to the mineral sorting unit. .

A large number of auxiliary floats are attached to the light pipe at required locations, for example, at predetermined intervals, and a predetermined buoyancy force is applied to the light pipe. The solar tube is then floated so that it cannot fall to the sea floor. In addition, it is preferable to connect the lower end portion near the seabed of the solar pipe and the pump of the seabed working machine with a flexible pipe so as not to interfere with the movement of the seabed working machine or to prevent the disturbance even if the position of the light pipe floating in the sea is changed. Do.

In the photovoltaic system, the main float and each auxiliary float provide a buoyancy of the degree that the double glazing tube cannot fall into the seabed in response to the long glazing tube. Since the auxiliary floats are arranged at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the positive tube, the weight of the positive tube is shared and supported by such an auxiliary float.

That is, in the case where a plurality of auxiliary floats are provided at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the positive pipes, if each auxiliary float gives buoyancy by the weight of the positive pipes of the length between each auxiliary floats, theoretically, the upper part of the positive pipes It is possible to prevent the load of the long positive pipe from being applied.

In this way, if an appropriate buoyancy is applied by the auxiliary float, a large load in the direction of gravity is not biased to a part in the longitudinal direction of the light pipe, and the above-described configuration is averaged at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the light pipe. It is also effective in terms of applying load. Moreover, through this, if the positive tube breaks in the middle by its large load and the positive tube connects a plurality of tubes, the connection part of the tube is prevented from being broken, and the positive tube does not fall into the seabed. .

In addition, the total buoyancy of the main float floating in the positive pipe and each auxiliary float is appropriately set, but it does not necessarily require as much buoyancy as floating the top main float in the sea, but at least the lower end of the positive pipe does not fall to the sea floor. It is preferable that the state (the state floating on the sea without sinking) is maintained and is buoyant to float.

Moreover, even if the lower end side of a positive light tube touches the sea bottom, it is preferable that it is a buoyancy force which can maintain the state which floats perpendicularly to the sea at least above it.

In addition, since the buoyancy tube which is a heavy object is buoyant by a main float and each auxiliary float, work ships, such as a mother ship, which perform control of a lifting system, or a processing vessel do not necessarily need to support a lifting tube, There is no need to enlarge the size.

In addition, the actual weight of the positive tube becomes heavier than the empty case because during operation of the system the weight of the solid-liquid mixture to be conveyed is added. Therefore, in setting the buoyancy by each said float, it is needless to say that it is necessary to consider this point, without setting based on the weight of an empty positive pipe.

Then, while the seabed working machine is appropriately moved by remote operation, for example, a seabed with a deposit or a bottom of the seabed is excavated in the excavation section, so that mineral particles pulverized to the required particle size are obtained. These mineral particles form a solid-liquid mixture sucked by the pump together with the surrounding sand and sea water, and pass through the positive pipe, and are conveyed to the main float side of the sea. The solid-liquid mixture conveyed to the main float side is sent to the mineral sorting section, where valuable minerals are collected.

In addition, the seabed working machine is not only valuable minerals such as precious metals and rare metals (rare metals) present in the seabed or the seabed, for example, thousands of meters deep, but also methane hydrates (for example, surface-type methane hydrates) that are fossil fuels. It is used on the sea floor in areas with lots of useful resources. Lifting systems are also available as systems for raising useful resources other than minerals from deep sea to sea.

(2) The present invention can be configured such that the pump of the subsea working machine is a slurry pump.

In this case, the solid-liquid mixture including minerals and seawater can be conveyed (conveyed) without damaging the movable portion of the pump. In addition, according to the slurry pump, a solid liquid mixture containing a relatively large amount of sand and mineral particles can also be sent. According to this, even if the ratio of solids, such as sand and mineral particle, and seawater changes during operation, it can respond flexibly and flexibly, and can continue operation. In addition, the slurry pump is excellent in suction ability structurally, and can efficiently convey the solid-liquid mixture.

If the solid-liquid mixture can be conveyed with a slurry pump without damaging a movable part, the kind and structure are not specifically limited. For example, a gravel pump, a sand pump, a hose pump, etc. are mentioned.

(3) This invention can be set as the structure provided with the auxiliary pump which inject | pours the liquid flow of required pressure for assisting conveyance of a solid-liquid mixture to the required location of the said positive pipe.

In this case, for example, even if there is no pump capable of conveying the solid-liquid mixture to the sea at a depth of thousands of meters, even if there is no pump, the auxiliary pump injects the liquid flow of the required pressure in the middle of the solar tube to assist the conveyance. Thus, for example, it is possible to carry a long distance of several thousand m from the deep sea bottom to the sea.

The auxiliary pump does not need to inject the solid-liquid mixture into the positive tube for the above purpose, and only needs to inject the surrounding seawater, such as a multi-stage vortex pump and a diaphragm pump having an impeller (impeller). Pumps, such as these, can be employ | adopted.

Further, for example, a pulverized ore transfer pump for deep seas of 1600 m or more is difficult to put into practical use, and at present, it is not difficult to imagine that it is difficult to develop an ultra deep sea of 4000 to 6000 m. This solution is effective to combine a plurality or a plurality of existing pumps. When the light pipe is lengthened to several thousand meters, one underwater pump (mixture, current) cannot carry the solid-liquid mixture containing especially the crushed ore from sea level to the working ship.

However, if there is a lack of energy for transporting the solid-liquid mixture in the middle of the positive tube, this problem can be solved by injecting high pressure seawater into the middle of the positive tube with a low flow rate. Since the power (energy) that the pump delivers to the fluid is determined by the product P x Q of the pressure P and the flow rate Q, the pressure is suitable for the efficiency of the extremely low flow pump at very high pressure. In addition, it is possible to miniaturize the pump if the low flow rate.

(4) The present invention provides a configuration including a GPS receiver and a position correction device that corrects the position so as to maintain the set position by comparing the position information received by the GPS receiver with a preset position of a predetermined light-emitting system. Can be.

In this case, it is possible to maintain the position of the previously set light system using GPS (Global Positioning System). In other words, position information indicating the position of the light receiving system is acquired by a GPS receiver provided at a required location (for example, a main float) of the light receiving system.

Next, the positional information used as a reference | standard preset, and the positional information acquired by the GPS receiver are compared with a position correction apparatus. On the basis of the difference, the position of the photovoltaic system (in this case, the position of the main float) is adjusted by the position correction device so as to maintain the reference position (setting position) or to approach the reference position (to the head). ) Move it to correct it. In addition, this position correction | amendment may be performed always during operation of a system, and you may carry out every fixed time.

The position correction device is disposed at a required position of the light-lifting system floating in the sea as a whole, and can move part or all of the system. The configuration of the position correction device is not particularly limited as long as the position information obtained by the GPS receiver can be compared with the predetermined reference position information, and the position can be corrected based on the difference.

For example, a motor, a plurality of screws of different propulsion directions driven by the motor, a battery serving as a driving source of the motor, a control unit for selecting and driving the motor and the screw according to the comparison of the position information, and the result thereof, etc. to be. In addition, the position correction apparatus may be arranged in plural in the system.

Moreover, although it is more preferable to provide that the position correction apparatus is provided with the GPS receiver, it can be set suitably even if it does not necessarily. For example, both the GPS receiver and the position correction device may be provided in the main float, or the GPS receiver may be provided in the float when the power cable is supported on the float, and the position correction device may be provided in the main float. Even in the latter case, if the distance between the float, which is the support of the power cable, and the main float remains structurally constant or nearly constant, the position can be corrected substantially without changing the former.

(5) This invention can be set as the structure provided with the main drainage apparatus which fills (inject | pours) to the inner direction of the said main float, and drains to an outer direction, and adjusts the buoyancy of the same float.

In this case, the buoyancy of the main float itself can be appropriately adjusted by introducing seawater into the main float by the main drainage device or discharging the internal seawater to the outside. By adjusting the buoyancy of the main float in this way, a portion of the main float can emerge from sea level and everyone can sink below sea level. In addition, the height below sea level of the main float in the case of sinking can also be adjusted.

When the main float sinks below sea level, the main float is less likely to be affected by blue (up and down movement of the sea level). For example, if the main float floats on the surface of the sea during bad weather or when the typhoon is approaching, the up and down movements and the left and right movements are repeated under the influence of intense waves, and are connected to the main float. The installation portion of the light pipe or its periphery is more likely to be deformed or damaged. In addition, the occurrence of waves at sea level is mostly a few meters to 10 meters below sea level, and if the main float is kept deeper and deeper, it can be hardly affected by the waves during a typhoon.

The structure of the drainage device is not particularly limited, but for example, the main float has a waterproof lithium storage battery, a pump driven by the electric power, an absorption valve, and a drainage valve. It is possible to drain the seawater in the space, absorb it from the outside, and control the amount of seawater.

(6) The present invention has a working line, which has the power supply unit and the mineral sorting unit, and receives the solid-liquid mixture from the power cable constituting the power supply unit and the positive pipe forming the mineral sorting unit. The supply pipe can be configured to be detachable while the operation of the system can be restored.

In this case, at the time of operation of the system, the power cable and the supply pipe are connected and functioning respectively. And when the working ship has to leave the sea area, for example in case of bad weather due to typhoon approach or other reasons, the power cable or supply pipe can be separated.

At that time, the power cable or the supply pipe is to be fixed or connected to various supporting parts such as floats after separation so that it cannot be separated and sink into the sea or fall on the sea floor.

When the reason for leaving the work line is eliminated, the work line is restarted in the work area again by connecting the power cable or supply pipe with the work line side, and returning the lift system to its original state, thereby restarting the operation of the system. can do. Therefore, it is possible to leave and return the working vessel from the system, and the operation of the system can be made smoother, because the movement of the working vessel can be made flexible, rather than the situation of giving up and withdrawing the main float and the solar pipe, for example. This is possible.

(7) The present invention has a suspending device for supporting a positive light pipe together with a portion of the main float in which the positive light pipe is coupled, and the same positive light pipe near the suspension device is provided within a cavity passing through the positive light pipe. Vibration can be configured to the required vibration range.

In this case, in the main float through which the light pipes pass or are connected, the light pipes are supported by the suspension device, and the same light pipes near the suspension device vibrate in the range of the required vibration in the void, or Since oscillation is possible, the freedom of movement of the corresponding part of the positive pipe is high and should not be fixed.

According to this, especially when the main float floats on the sea, even if the main float repeats the vertical movement and the left and right movements, the positive and negative pipes are moved in the longitudinal direction in a state in which there is not much deformation in the vicinity of the suspension system. Since it can move freely to some extent, such as oscillation or oscillation of radial direction, it is hard to cause damage or destruction by metal fatigue etc., for example.

In addition, the structure of the suspension device is not particularly limited, but is composed of, for example, a coil spring capable of supporting a positive tube, or a link mechanism coupled with a vigor body. The suspension device is capable of supporting the actual weight of the solar tube, which is buoyant by the auxiliary float on the sea side, and has a buffering function when the solar tube is moved forward and backward in its longitudinal direction.

(8) The present invention can be configured such that the necessary buoyancy is applied to the power cable by arranging the auxiliary floats at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the power cable. In this case, as in the case of the positive pipe, the required buoyancy is applied to the power cable by the buoyancy of the auxiliary float. For this reason, it can prevent that it breaks in the middle of the longitudinal direction by the weight of the power cable itself.

(9) In the present invention, the mineral sorting unit may be configured to include a wastewater treatment device. In this case, minerals may be sorted and collected by the mineral sorting unit, and the wastewater treatment device may be used to dispose of clean water after disposing the waste liquid by ocean input (also called marine dumping). Can be.

(10) The present invention may be configured such that the mineral sorting unit is provided with a magnetizing device for attaching (selecting) minerals by magnetic force. In this case, for the problem that the seabed mud rising at the same time as the pumping water causes the environmental destruction, the metal or inorganic matter contained in the mine is collected by a magnetic attachment device such as an electric magnet installed on the ore treatment line, and then settled. Subsea mud can be removed in the same way as in general sewage treatment. That is, this can be corresponded to using an ore treatment vessel provided with a wastewater treatment apparatus.

Moreover, as a mineral which has magnetic, iron, chromium, nickel, cobalt etc. are mentioned, for example. All of these minerals are valuable metals and can be efficiently collected and collected from pumped water raised from the seabed to the sea.

(11) The present invention can be configured such that the positive light tube has a double tube structure made of steel and a light alloy, a structure in which a steel pipe is reinforced with carbon fiber, or a main wall in a hollow structure. In this case, it becomes possible to reduce the quantity of light pipes. The biggest challenge of the original light system is how to reduce the weight of the light pipe, which is several thousand meters in length. In order to reduce the weight of the solar tube, as described above, there is a method that can reduce the weight of the solar tube itself, as described above, in addition to the method of buoyancy and substantial weight reduction.

As a method of reducing the weight of the solar tube itself, there is a method of, for example, a light alloy tube having a sealed space between an inner tube and an outer tube with a light alloy or a forced double tube structure. In addition, an airtight space may be provided on the main wall, and the buoyancy may partially offset the weight of the parcel tube, and the burden of the parcel tube due to its own weight may be reduced.

In addition, another method for reducing the weight of the solar tube itself is, for example, a method in which the inner tube is forcibly manufactured, but the outer surface is a resin solar tube made of carbon fiber reinforced. In addition, the resin reinforcement pipe contributes to the protection of the metal inner pipe.

(12) The present invention is a light lifting method for imparting necessary buoyancy as a float to a light pipe to transport a solid-liquid mixture including a mineral and seawater excavated and crushed from the seabed or the seabed to the sea. According to this method, if the support pipe is supported using a main float floated on the sea surface so as not to sink to the sea floor, the necessary buoyancy can be given to the light pipe. Thus, for example, the weight of the light pipe minus the buoyancy force. With the same weight, the main float supporting the positive tube can be made substantially free of weight. In addition, the buoyancy due to the float can be made slightly smaller than the above, so that the positive pipe can be kept in balance with the vertical direction.

Moreover, this invention supports a positive pipe and a communication / power cable with a float, and reduces the gravity of a positive pipe. In addition, the present invention provides a seawater discharge for buoyancy control in order to cope with the weight of a large metal float having a cavity inside floating on the sea surface, and a light pipe supported by the float, and a light pipe including communication and power cables. And a large float having a seawater intake valve.

In addition, by discharging the seawater to the cavity of the lower part of the large float driving the pump and the waterproof battery (mounted) mounted on the large float, it is possible to give the large float a diving function.

Further, in order to reduce the weight of the positive pipe supported by the large float, a small float group mounted in the middle of the positive pipe in the sea may be provided. It may also be provided with a resin positive electrode tube reinforced with carbon fibers for weight reduction and strength maintenance.

In order to reduce the weight, it may be provided with a positive pipe having a hole in the gap of the double pipe. In the event of bad weather, offshore ore handling vessels can be constructed so that the lifting pipes, telecommunications and power cables supported by large floats can be removed from the ore treatment vessels.

The pump for ore transfer can be mounted (mounted) on a subsea ore mining machine, and the system can be shortened. In the middle of the solar tube, a pump system for injecting pressure water may be provided to supply fluid energy.

In addition, in seawater including crushed ore (segmented ore) sent from a positive pipe to an offshore ore processing vessel, an electrical or permanent magnet magnet device may be provided to collect the ore. It is also possible to provide an apparatus for treating wastewater after ore extraction on the ore treatment line.

The present invention is provided with a pump system that can transport seawater including crushed ore to the ore treatment vessel at sea rather than deep sea, so that the lower pipe can not be detached from the joint of the pipe at its own weight, and at the same time, Do not oversize the supporting ore processing vessels, etc. to secure the buoyancy. Also, when the sea is getting rough due to a typhoon or the like, the ore processing vessels are not damaged due to the wave shaking by the waves. At the same time, it is possible to provide a lifting system and a lifting method in which the lifting pipe does not have to be abandoned and withdrawn.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing which shows one Embodiment of the light lifting system which concerns on this invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram in which a part of the positive pipe hanging structure is omitted by a main float and an auxiliary float.
3 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of the main float and its vicinity.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the wastewater treatment apparatus with which the working ship used for a photovoltaic system is equipped.
5 is an explanatory view showing a pipe structure constituting a light pipe used in a light lifting system.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing another structure of the tube constituting the positive pipe used in the positive light system. FIG.
7 shows another structure of the auxiliary float, (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional explanatory diagram, and (b) is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram corresponding to AA.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

The lifting system S includes a mining unit 1 for mining minerals from the seabed, a lifting unit 2 for raising the mined minerals and seawater to the sea, and a valuable liquid from the solid-liquid mixture raised from the lifting unit 2. It is comprised by the sorting unit 3 which is a mineral sorting part to sort.

(Mining unit (1))

The mining unit 1 has a subsea work machine 13 which can be moved from the outside. The subsea work machine 13 has a crawler traveling device 130, an excavator 131 mounted on the upper portion thereof, and a slurry pump 132 for suctioning and pumping a solid-liquid mixture including minerals and seawater obtained by excavation. The subsea work machine 13 has a structure capable of working under high pressure in a deep sea bottom, such as making each part high watertight. The slurry pump 132 comprises a pump system with each pressure injection pump 24 mentioned later.

The excavator 131 is capable of crushing and drilling mineral deposits by the rotation or vibration of the drill at the tip. In addition, the excavator can employ | adopt another structure. The slurry pump 132 can convey a mixture (solid-liquid mixture) of excavated and crushed minerals and seawater, and for example, quadruple type or mixed type can be adopted.

In addition, although the pressure-feeding capacity of the slurry pump 132 is not specifically limited, it cooperates with the pressure injection pump 24 which is an auxiliary pump mentioned later, at least, and the ability to raise the solid-liquid mixture of seawater and a grinding mineral to the sea level. Good to have In this case, for example, the transport energy from the slurry pump 132 to the lower end of the positive pipe 21 described later supplies the slurry pump 132, and the transport energy in the positive pipe 21 above is a positive pipe ( 21 may be driven by a pressure injection pump 24 which is a plurality of auxiliary pumps described later.

In the subsea work machine 13, a power cable 12 for supplying electric power to power the crawler traveling device 130, the excavator 131, and the slurry pump 132 is connected to the power receiving portion (not shown). The end of the sea side of the power cable 12 is connected to a float 11 floating on the sea surface at one end thereof, so that the weight of the power cable 12 is supported by the float 11. In addition, in order to reduce the weight of the power cable 120 applied to the float 11, an auxiliary float for imparting buoyancy may be mounted, such as the positive pipe 21 described later.

The electric power cable 120 connected to the float 11 is supplied with electric power through the electric power cable 120 from a generator (not shown) which is an electric power supply unit mounted on the gathered work line 10. In addition, in the form attached to the power cables 120 and 120, signal switching for control of the subsea work machine 13 and the excavator 131, control of the crawler traveling device 130, control of the slurry pump 132, and the like. A signal cable (not shown) is mounted between the control portions provided by the work line 10.

(Light lifting unit 2)

The light lifting unit 2 has a light pipe 21. The positive light tube 21 connects many tubular bodies 210 of a required length, respond | corresponds to the depth of the target sea area of a positive light work, and is formed in length of 5000 m, for example. In addition, the structure of the tubular body 210 is demonstrated in detail later. And this long positive pipe 21 is substantially connected so that the upper end side may be caught by the main float 20 which rises on the surface of the sea. In addition, the positive light tube 21 is substantially connected so that it may be caught by the auxiliary float 22 for every required space | interval (in this embodiment, for every tubular body 210) from the underwater side.

First, with reference to FIG. 3, the structure of the main float 20 and the connection structure of the positive pipe 21 with respect to the main float 20 are demonstrated.

The main float 20 has a watertight and hollow sealed case 200. The outer shape of the sealing case 200 is what is called a donut shape, and the space part 201 is formed in the inside so that it may be circular in plan view. Moreover, the through-hole 202 of the circular hole shape isolate | separated from the space part 201 and the wall part penetrates and is provided in the center part of the sealing case 200.

The space part 201 of the sealing case 200 is divided | segmented up and down in the liquid-tight state by the isolation member 203 fixed to the substantially intermediate position of the up-down direction over all directions. The upper space portion 201a is provided with a main drain pump 204 fixed to the isolation member 203 to constitute a main drain device. Similarly, the battery 205 is fixedly arranged on the isolation member 203. As for the battery 205, a waterproof lithium battery is employed in this embodiment, and supplies electric power corresponding to the main drain pump 204.

The battery 205 is connected to the control panel 206, and a power cable 26 is externally connected to the control panel 206. The electric power cable 26 is connected to the generator (not shown) which is a power supply part mounted in the mineral processing ship 30 mentioned later, and the battery 205 stores the electric power supplied from a generator.

The lower space portion 201b divided by the isolation member 203 in the sealed case 200 has a water storage tank, and the main drain pump 204 controls the amount of water inside the lower space portion 201b (the amount of air required). It can be adjusted. By adjusting this quantity, the buoyancy of the main float 20 itself is enlarged to float on the sea surface, or the buoyancy can be made small and submerged as needed. In addition, the diving may be performed only by the main float 20, may be performed as a whole including the positive pipe 21, and can be appropriately selected.

The GPS receiver 207 which receives the signal of the GPS satellites 27 is provided in the upper surface of the sealing case 200. The GPS receiver 207 is also configured to supply power via the power cable 26. Moreover, the some thruster 208 which comprises a position correction apparatus is provided in the lower surface of the sealing case 200. As shown in FIG. The propeller 208 is a structure which acquires thrust by rotating a motor screw.

In addition, the configuration of the position correction device, the control panel that is a control unit that can compare the position information obtained from the GPS receiver and the predetermined reference position information, and operate the respective propellers 208 to correct the position based on the difference ( 206). Each thruster 208 is supplied with electric power from the battery 205. The thrusters 208 are driven by a combination of the thrusters 208 according to the automatic control by the GPS. You can move it.

The tubular body 210 of the upper end part of the positive pipe 21 has passed through the through-hole 202 of the sealing case 200. Many of the tube bodies 210 constituting the positive tube 21 have a structure shown in FIG. 5. The pipe body 210 has flanges 211 and 212 for connection at both ends in the longitudinal direction (long life direction), and the pipe portion has a double pipe structure composed of an inner pipe 213 and an outer pipe 214. Between the inner tube 213 and the outer tube 214, a space portion 215, that is, a circular tubular shape, which generates buoyancy for weight reduction, is formed.

Moreover, the outer diameter of the outer pipe 214 of the tubular body 210 is formed smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 202 of the sealing case 200, and the space | gap (between the tubular body 210 and the through hole 202) is formed. 209 is provided. In addition, the flange 211 of the uppermost tubular body 210 (it is at the end after being inserted into the through hole 202) is located above the sealing case 200, and the upper surface of the sealing case 200 and the flange ( Between 211, the compression coil spring 28 in which the upper side becomes small gradually is arrange | positioned.

Due to this structure, the tubular body 210 and many other tubular bodies 210 connected to the lower part thereof are cushioned by the elastic force of the compression coil spring 28 even during the up and down motion, and the impact applied to the main float 20 Large loads can be reduced. In addition, the tubular body 210 can flow or oscillate in a predetermined range within the through hole 202 by the action of the void 209. Moreover, the flexible supply pipe 25 is connected to the upper end of the pipe body 210 of an upper end part, and the front end side of the supply pipe 25 is introduce | transduced into the sorting unit 3 mentioned later.

The positive pipe 21 is a watertight connection of many tubular bodies 210 as mentioned above, and one end of the flexible relay tube 23 of a required length is connected to the lower end of the lowermost tubular body 210. The other end of the relay pipe 23 is connected to the discharge port (not shown) of the slurry pump 132. In addition, the suction port (not shown) of the slurry pump 132 is disposed near the drill of the excavator 131, and is capable of sucking the excavated and crushed mineral together with the seawater.

As described above, the long positive pipe 21 is connected to the auxiliary float 22 by the flange 211 on the upper side of the tubular body 210 in the longitudinal direction on the sea side. . The auxiliary float 22 has a watertight and sealed case 220 of a hollow structure. The outer shape of the sealing case 220 is what is called a donut shape, and the space part 221 which draws a circular shape in planar view is formed inside. In the center of the sealed case 220, a through hole 222 having a circular hole shape is separated from the space portion 221 by a wall portion.

The outer diameter of the outer pipe 214 of the tubular body 210 is formed smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole 222 of the sealing case 220, and the space | gap 229 is between the tubular body 210 and the through-hole 222. Is installed. In addition, although the specific structure is not shown in figure, the auxiliary float 22 is a structure (notice structure) which can be attached and detached together in the transverse direction to the pipe part of the tubular body 210, and is removable.

With this structure, the plurality of auxiliary floats 22 can be slid relatively to the respective tubular bodies 210 even when the respective tubular bodies 210 are moved up and down, and the auxiliary floats 22 are formed of the tubular bodies 210. The mutual slide stops when it hits the flange 211 or the injection pipe 241 of the lower pressure injection pump 24. Since the auxiliary float 22 and each tubular body 210 easily escape from each other, an impact and a large load are hard to act. In addition, the tubular body 210 can flow or oscillate in a predetermined range within the through hole 202 by the action of the void 229.

In addition, each auxiliary float 22 can give a required buoyancy in response to the positive pipe 21. The setting of this buoyancy force is made to be the same as the weight of the light pipe 21, for example, so that the weight of the light pipe 21 may be hardly carried on the main float 20. In addition, the buoyancy can be made slightly smaller than the weight of the light pipe 21 so that the weight of the light pipe 21 is moderately applied to the main float 20, and the light pipe 21 can be more stabilized at sea. have. In addition, the auxiliary float 22 in the deep sea is provided with a reinforcing rib structure inside, similarly to the auxiliary float 22a described later, so as to withstand high water pressure.

And, in the pipe part of the pipe body 210 located in a required space | interval of the pipe body 210 which comprises the positive pipe 21, the injection pipe connected to the discharge port (not shown) of the pressure injection pump 24, respectively ( 241 is connected. Each pressure injection pump 24 inhales the surrounding sea water and injects it into the interior of the light pipe 21, and assists the conveyance (pressure feeding) of the pumped water (solid-liquid mixture) passing through the light pipe 21. .

In addition, each pressure injection pump 24 receives the buoyancy force of the float 242 connected by the string wire 243, and maintains a required depth. In addition, electric power is supplied to each pressure injection pump 24 through the power cable 240 connected to the generator of the mineral processing vessel 30 which is a working ship. In addition, the power cable 240 is also provided with a float in order to give buoyancy.

The power cable 120 connecting the work line 10 and the float 11 has a structure that can be separated from the float 11. The mineral treatment vessel 30 has a structure in which the supply pipe 25 and the power cable 26 can be separated from the main float 20. According to this, for example, when porting the work ship 10 and the mineral processing ship 30, it can leave from a work area in a state which can return later.

(Selection unit (3))

 The sorting unit 3 is mounted on the mineral processing vessel 30. The mineral processing vessel 30 is equipped with a generator (not shown), which supplies electric power to the main float 20 and the respective pressure injection pumps 24. The sorting unit 3 sorts valuable minerals from the solid-liquid mixture of the seawater and the crushed minerals raised in the lifting unit 2.

See Figure 4. The processing method of the solid-liquid mixture containing the crushed mineral 50 which reached the marine ore treatment ship 30 through the supply pipe 25 which raised the inside of the positive pipe 21 is demonstrated.

The sorting apparatus 3 is equipped with the sorting tank 31, the settling tank 32, the water storage tank 33, and the accumulation tank 34 in order of process. In addition, the sedimentation tank 32, the water storage tank 33, and the accumulation tank 34 constitute a wastewater treatment apparatus.

The solid-liquid mixture containing the mineral 50 grind | pulverized by the said supply pipe 25 is sent to the sorting tank 31. The crushed mineral 50, which is a magnetic body, is self-assembled and collected by an electromagnet (not shown) provided at the arm tip of the rotating body 311. In addition, minerals and valuable minerals which are not magnetic bodies are collected by various known means, such as using a sieve.

In addition, the seawater including the sludge passing through the sorting tank 31 is sent to the settling tank 32 through the screen 320, the sludge is sedimented and separated at the bottom of the tank. The seawater from which the sludge has been removed is sent to the water storage tank 33 through the screen 331, and is sent to the next accumulation tank 34 by the pump 330. In the accumulation tank 34, more delicate sludge is precipitated and removed by chemical treatment or the like, and the treated clean and clean seawater passes through the drain pipe 35 by the aberration 340 and is discharged to the outside (sea).

(Action)

The operation of the lifting system S of the present invention will be described by taking an example in which the operation of raising valuable minerals to the sea in the deep sea.

The lifting system S is arrange | positioned in the predetermined | prescribed deep sea bottom 4 in which the seabed working machine 13 is an optical deposit 5 like FIG. 1, and the main float 20 floats in the sea.

By the signal from the control part of the work line 10, the subsea work machine 13 is operated using the electric power supplied through the electric power cable 120, and by the excavator 131 moving to the traveling device 130 Excavation proceeds. A mixture of the crushed mineral 50 (shown in Figure 4) and seawater (solid-liquid mixture) passes upwards past the bright tube 21 in the relay tube 23, which is sucked by the slurry pump 132 in parallel with the excavation. Is sent to. At this time, in the vertical direction of the positive pipe 21, energy by water flow is injected by the plurality of pressure injection pumps 24, and the solid-liquid mixture is supplied to the sorting unit 3 of the mineral processing vessel 30 on the upper side. Raised and treated, only clear and clean treated water is dumped to the sea.

In addition, a large number of auxiliary floats 22 are connected to the positive pipe 21, and a predetermined buoyancy force is applied to the positive pipe 21. The photovoltaic system S corresponds to the thousands of meters and the long photoconductor 21, and is the extent to which the photoconductor 21 cannot fall into the seabed 4 by the main float 20 and each auxiliary float 22. Is giving buoyancy. Since the auxiliary floats 22 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the positive pipes 21 in large numbers, the weight of the positive pipes 21 is shared and supported for each tube 210 in the auxiliary floats 22. .

That is, when a large number of auxiliary floats 22 are provided at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the positive light tube 21, each auxiliary float 22 has a length of the positive light tube 21 between the respective auxiliary floats 22. By providing not only the weight but also the buoyancy, it is theoretically possible to prevent the load of the long light pipe 21 from acting on the top of the light pipe 21.

Thus, if the appropriate buoyancy is given by the auxiliary float 22, it will be biased to one part in the longitudinal direction of the positive beam 21, and it will not act as a large load in the gravity direction. Therefore, the above structure is effective also in the sense that an average load is applied at required intervals in the longitudinal direction of the light pipe 21. In addition, through this, the bright tube 21 can be broken in the middle by its large load, and the connection of the tubular body 210 can be prevented from being broken, and the inconvenience that the bright tube 21 falls on the sea floor occurs. I never do that.

In addition, although the total buoyancy of the main float 20 and each auxiliary float 22 which floats the positive pipe 21 is set suitably, it is necessary that the buoyancy as much as floating the main float 20 of the uppermost part on the surface is always required. Instead, it is preferable that at least the lower end of the positive pipe 21 does not fall to the seabed, that is, the state of floating on the sea without being held and floating is buoyant. Moreover, even if the lower end side of the positive pipe 21 touches the sea bottom, it is preferable that it is a buoyancy force capable of maintaining a state in which the upper side at least above that is perpendicular to the sea.

In addition, the heavy lifting pipe 21 is buoyant by a main float and each auxiliary float, and the working ship 10 or the ore processing ship 30 which will control a lifting system will always have a lifting pipe 21. ), There is no need to enlarge the ship.

In addition, the substantial weight of the bright tube 21 becomes heavier because, during operation of the system, the weight of the solid-liquid mixture conveyed through the interior is added. Therefore, in setting the buoyancy by the said floats 2 and 22, it is necessary to consider this point, without making the setting based on the weight of the empty positive pipe 21.

In addition, the main float 20 can adjust the buoyancy by adjusting the amount of water inside by the main drain pump 204. Thus, for example, a portion of the main float 20 may come out of sea level, such as a submarine, and all of it may sink below sea level. In addition, when sinking, the height (depth) below the sea level of the main float 20 can be adjusted.

When the main float 20 sinks below sea level, the main float 20 is less likely to be affected by blue. For example, in a typhoon or in bad weather when the typhoon approaches, in a state where the main float 20 floats on the surface of the sea, the vertical float and the left and right movements are repeated under the influence of intense waves, and the main float 20 The mounting portion of the light pipe 21, or its periphery, connected to the edge is likely to be deformed or damaged.

In addition, most of the occurrence of waves in the sea level is a few meters to 10 meters below the sea level, while maintaining the float float deeper with the upper portion of the positive pipe 21 by remote operation. By enabling the floating of the main float 20 afterwards, it is possible to hardly be affected by the blue wave even in a typhoon.

Moreover, the main float 20 is equipped with the GPS receiver 207 and the propeller 208, and can hold the position of the light-receiving system S preset using GPS. In other words, the GPS receiver 207 provided in the main float 20 acquires the position information indicating the position of the photovoltaic system, and the position information which is set in advance as a reference and the position information acquired by the GPS receiver 207. Is compared with the position correction device.

And based on the difference, each propeller 208 so that the position of the main float 20 may maintain the position (setting position) which becomes a reference | standard by a position correction apparatus, or to approach (facing) the position which becomes a reference | standard. ) To perform position correction. In addition, this position correction can be performed at all times during the operation of the photovoltaic system S, and can be performed every fixed time (intermittently).

The subsea work machine 13 is not only valuable minerals such as precious metals and rare metals (rare metals) present in the seabed 4 or a seabed having a depth of several thousand m, but also methane hydrate (eg, surface layer type). Methane hydrates) can be placed on the seabed in areas with high resources. The lifting system S can also be used as a system for transferring useful resources other than these minerals from the deep sea to the sea.

See FIG. 6. Fig. 6 shows another structure of the tube body constituting the light pipe used for the light lifting system.

The tubular body 210a is a double tube structure in which the steel inner tube 213a and the exterior 214a are integrally formed with the acrylic resin reinforced with carbon fiber. Therefore, while reducing the weight of the tube body 210a, the tensile strength is increased. In addition, flanges 211a and 212a are provided at both ends of the tubular body 210a. By combining the inner tube 213a having a sufficient strength and the light and strong appearance 214a, it is possible to reduce the weight equivalent to the tube body 210 while maintaining a predetermined strength.

See FIG. 7. The auxiliary float 22a shown in FIG. 7 has the sealing case 220a of the cylindrical shape formed by watertightness. As for the internal space part 221a of the sealing case 220a, the reinforcement rib 225 which squeezed the rib longitudinally and horizontally is fixed to the inner surface of the sealing case 220a. And the auxiliary float 22a is attached to the positive pipe 21 through the connection member 226. As shown in FIG. Then, a predetermined buoyancy force is applied to the positive pipe 21.

In addition, by providing the reinforcing rib 225 therein, the auxiliary float 22a can secure a space part so that it cannot collapse even under deep sea pressure, and can maintain a predetermined buoyancy force.

The terms and expressions used in the present specification and claims are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting, and the intention to exclude the terms and expressions equivalent to the features and parts thereof described in the present specification and claims is not limited. none. In addition, it goes without saying that various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention.

S lifting system 1 mining unit
10 working vessels 11 float
12 power cable 120 power cable
13 Subsea Machine 130 Crawler Riding
131 excavator 132 slurry pump
2 lifting units 20 main float
200 Sealed Case 201 Space
201a Upper compartment 201b Lower compartment
202 Through Hole 203 Isolation Member
204 main drain pump 205 battery
206 Control Panel 207 GPS Receiver
208 Propeller 209 Void
21 pipe 210 pipe
211, 212 flange 213 inner tube
214 Exterior 215 Space
210a tubular 211a, 212a flange
213a inner tube 214a exterior
22 secondary float 220 sealed case
221 Space part 222 Through hole
22a auxiliary float 220a sealed case
221a Space 225 Reinforcement Rib
226 connection member 229 air gap
23 relay 24 pressure infusion pump
240 power cable 241 injection tube
242 float 243 row wire
25 supply line 26 power cable
27 GPS satellites 28 Compression coil springs
3 sorting device 30 mineral treatment vessel
31 Sorting Tank 311 Rotating Body
32 sedimentation tank 320 screen
33 reservoir 330 pump
331 screen 34 accumulator
340 aberration 35 drain pipe
5 Deposits 50 Crushing Minerals

Claims (15)

A mobile subsea working machine having an excavation part for excavating minerals from the sea bottom or the sea bottom, and a pump for sucking and pumping a solid-liquid mixture including the mineral and sea water obtained by the excavation;
A power supply unit having a power cable for supplying electric power as a power source to the subsea work machine;
Main float having buoyancy and floating at sea or at sea,
A positive light tube having a predetermined length connected to the main float, connecting the main float and the pump of the subsea working machine, and conveying a solid-liquid mixture including minerals and seawater sucked from the pump to the main float side;
A plurality of auxiliary floats arranged at regular intervals in a longitudinal direction on the snow parcels stacked in the longitudinal direction, and corresponding to the parcels, providing a buoyancy force on the sea side so that the parcels cannot be dropped or destroyed by their weight; ,
And a mineral sorting section for sorting and collecting minerals from the solid-liquid mixture conveyed to the main float side by the ammonium tube. The method according to claim 1,
The pump having said subsea worker is a slurry pump. The method according to claim 1,
And an auxiliary pump for injecting a liquid flow of a constant pressure to assist in conveying the solid-liquid mixture to a required portion of the barrel. The method according to claim 1,
With GPS receiver,
And a position correction device for correcting the position to maintain the set position by comparing the position information received by the GPS receiver with a preset position of the predetermined light system. The method according to claim 1,
And a main drainage device for draining water into and out of the main float and adjusting the buoyancy of the main float. The method according to claim 1,
The work line is provided with a work line, and the work line has the power supply and the mineral sorting unit, and at the same time, the supply pipe receiving the solid-liquid mixture from the power cable constituting the power supply and the positive pipe constituting the mineral sorting unit is operated. Demountable solar system with recoverability. The method according to claim 1,
And a suspension device for supporting the light pipe with a portion of the main pipe of the main float coupled thereto, wherein the light pipe near the suspension device has a vibration in a range of constant vibration in the gap passing through the light pipe. 2 available solar systems. The method according to claim 1,
A photovoltaic system, wherein the mineral sorting unit includes a wastewater treatment device. The method according to claim 8,
The wastewater treatment system includes a magnetizing device for attaching and sorting minerals by magnets. The method according to claim 1,
A photovoltaic system in which a solar pipe is a double pipe structure made of steel and light alloy, a structure in which steel pipe is reinforced with carbon fiber, or a structure in which the main wall is hollow. The method according to claim 1,
A lifting system in which an auxiliary float is slidable relative to the tubular body of a parcel tube and is adapted to stop the mutual slide when hitting under the flange of the tubular body. delete delete delete delete

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