KR102621085B1 - Buoyancy device and marine waste collecting method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is intended to collect marine waste abandoned in the sea using a buoyancy device. It relates to a buoyancy device that provides a standardized work flow from detection to collection of marine waste and a method of collecting marine waste using the same.
Accordingly, the present invention includes a main body 100; an expansion tube 200 that is accommodated on one side of the interior of the main body 100 and expands when gas is injected to generate buoyancy; an injector 300 connected to the expansion tube 200 and selectively injecting gas into the expansion tube 200; a cartridge 400 that supplies gas to the injector 300; It is configured to include a connection part 500 that allows the main body 100 to be mounted on marine waste.

Description

Buoyancy device and marine waste collecting method using the same}

The present invention is intended to collect marine waste such as waste fishing nets and waste fishing gear abandoned in the sea using a buoyancy device. It relates to a buoyancy device that provides a standardized work flow from detection to collection of marine waste and a method of collecting marine waste using the same. will be.

In general, the ocean occupies about 70% of the Earth's surface, and is a treasure trove of living organisms, including plankton, seaweed, fish, mammals, reptiles, and crustaceans, as well as a source of mineral resources.

These seas are having a negative impact on the marine ecosystem from the time of industrial development due to pollutants or oil pollution accidents discharged from ships, fishing boats, residential areas, factories, etc. in accordance with industrial development. In addition, waste such as plastic, vinyl, and iron are illegally disposed of in the sea. Fishing nets that are thrown away or used in fishing boats are lost or illegally disposed of, emerging as a major cause of serious marine pollution.

Meanwhile, in the case of discarded fishing nets and discarded fishing gear, which are among illegally discarded marine wastes, if they get caught in the propulsion unit of a sailing ship beyond marine pollution, they can become inoperable, damage the ship's power system, and in severe cases, cause a capsize accident. Methods and devices for collecting marine waste such as discarded fishing nets and discarded fishing gear that are discarded in the ocean are being widely developed.

In this way, existing methods for collecting marine waste include using equipment such as ship lifters and ship grammers, or direct collection by divers.

However, conventional ship salvage machines or ship gram have a limited range for collecting marine waste, and have the disadvantage of spending a long time to collect marine waste due to the limited collection range. The method using divers also has a very long work time due to the manual nature of the work. It was inefficient because it required a lot of labor costs, and not only was the scope of collection limited, but it also exposed divers to the risk of safety accidents.

Korea Registered Utility Model Publication No. 20-0230538 is presented. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0433190 is presented.

The present invention is intended to solve conventional problems, and its purpose is to provide an inflatable buoyancy device for raising marine waste to the surface.

In addition, the purpose of the present invention is to set a buoyancy point for a narrow or wide range of marine waste using an inflatable buoyancy device so that there is no limit to the range of marine waste collection.

In addition, the present invention detects marine waste using an unmanned underwater vehicle, sets a buoyancy point according to a wide or narrow range on the detected marine waste, installs a buoyancy device at the set point, and expands the mounted buoyancy device to remove the marine waste. The purpose is to provide a standardized work flow that floats to the surface and automatically collects marine waste that has risen to the surface using a fishing boat's fishing net, thereby reducing marine waste collection work time and eliminating the need for labor such as divers.

To solve this purpose, the present invention,

With the main body;

an expansion tube accommodated on one side of the interior of the main body and expanding when gas is injected to generate buoyancy;

an injector connected to the expansion tube and selectively injecting gas into the expansion tube;

a cartridge that supplies gas to the injector;

It provides a buoyancy device characterized in that it includes a connection part that allows the main body to be mounted on marine waste.

In addition, the present invention,

(S1) detecting marine waste in the ocean using an unmanned underwater vehicle and setting a buoyancy point according to a wide or narrow range of the detected marine waste;

(S2) dropping the buoyancy device to the buoyancy point and attaching the buoyancy device to marine waste using a connection part of the buoyancy device during the fall;

(S3) when a buoyancy device is mounted on the marine waste, the injector of the buoyancy device supplies gas to the expansion tube and expands the expansion tube to form buoyancy;

(S4) floating marine waste to the surface of the water using buoyancy caused by expansion of the expansion tube;

(S5) collecting the marine waste floating on the surface of the water.

According to this invention, the use of an inflatable buoyancy device is environmentally friendly, collection costs are significantly reduced, and the buoyancy device functions as a buoy for marine waste that rises to the surface, thereby improving the convenience of work through automatic collection of marine waste using a floating net. Improved, buoyancy points can be set by installing multiple buoyancy devices on a narrow or wide range of marine waste, so there is no limit to the range of marine waste collection, and the marine waste collection work time can be shortened according to the flow of the standardized marine waste collection work. This has the effect of drastically reducing the cost and eliminating the need for labor such as divers.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a buoyancy device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of the buoyancy device in the structure of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a view of the buoyancy device in the configuration of Figure 1 in an inflated state.
Figure 4 is a block diagram of the control system of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is an exemplary diagram of a connection part in the structure of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method for collecting marine waste using a buoyancy device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 7 is an exemplary diagram of the marine waste detection process in the method of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is an exemplary diagram of the marine waste collection process in the method of Figure 6.

The characteristics of the buoyancy device and the marine waste collection method using the same according to the present invention will be understood through the embodiments described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

Meanwhile, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various embodiments within the scope of the technical field to which the invention pertains, and are not particularly limited to the embodiments described herein.

In addition, in order to clearly explain the present invention, repetitive descriptions of the same or similar components are omitted throughout the specification, parts that are not relevant to the description in relation to the drawings are omitted from the drawings, and the general configuration is omitted. When describing elements, the drawing symbols for them are omitted.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

1 to 4 are diagrams for explaining a buoyancy device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The buoyancy device 1 according to this includes a main body 100; An expansion tube 200 that is accommodated on one side of the interior of the main body 100 and expands when gas is injected to generate buoyancy; An injector 300 connected to the expansion tube 200 and selectively injects gas into the expansion tube 200; A cartridge 400 that supplies gas to the injector 300; It is configured to include a connection part 500 that allows the main body 100 to be mounted on marine waste.

First, the main body 100 is manufactured in a box shape with a space inside to accommodate the expansion tube 200, the injector, and the cartridge 400. The space where the expansion tube 200 is accommodated is the expansion tube 200. It has an open shape on one side so that it can expand and expand from the main body 100, and the main body 100 protects the components of the buoyancy device 1 and connects the buoyancy device 1 and marine waste.

Meanwhile, the main body 100 is expressed in the form of a square enclosure as shown in the drawing, but can be manufactured in various shapes such as circular or polygonal.

In addition, the main body 100 further includes a control unit 110 having a sensor 111 that determines whether a buoyancy device is mounted on marine waste by detecting the state of the buoyancy device 1.

Referring to FIG. 4, the control unit 110 receives a sensor 111 for detecting the state of the buoyancy device 1 and a signal from the sensor 111, and installs the buoyancy device 1 based on the transmitted signal. It consists of a control processor 112 that determines whether or not.

The sensor 111 consists of a gyro sensor or a vibration sensor, and the buoyancy device 1 is installed on the marine waste while the buoyancy device 1 is falling to the location of the marine waste for installation of the buoyancy device 1. It detects the angular velocity generated as (1) moves or vibration transmitted through the main body 100, and transmits the detected signal to the control processor 112.

The control processor 112 can utilize control technologies such as control of the opening and closing of the injector 300, a signal from the sensor 111, and a microcontroller that can perform calculations based on preset values, and the set value for calculation is It is input and stored, and the saved settings can be used together with the signal from the sensor 111.

At this time, the control unit 110 is preferably equipped with a battery that supplies power to operate the sensor 111 and perform various controls.

In this case, the control unit 110 detects the movement that occurs when the buoyancy device 1 is mounted on the marine waste by the sensor 111 in the process of mounting the buoyancy device 1 on the marine waste, and transmits the detected signal to the control processor 112. ), and perform a calculation by comparing the signal of the transmitted sensor 111 with a preset value. According to the calculated result, it is determined whether the buoyancy device 1 is mounted on the marine waste, and the injector 300 is opened and closed. It allows automatic supply of gas while controlling the operation.

And the expansion tube 200 is folded and accommodated in a shape that is easy to expand and unfold on one side of the interior of the main body 100. The expansion tube 200 is made of a tube with a space filled with gas inside in a predetermined shape. , one side of the expansion tube 200 is connected to the injector 300 to supply gas inside, and when the gas is supplied, the expansion tube 200 expands into a predetermined shape to form buoyancy.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 3, when gas is injected, the expansion tube 200 expands to the outside of the main body 100 with a predetermined volume. In the case of the expansion tube 200, it is expressed as a square-shaped tube in the drawing. , the expansion tube 200 can be manufactured in various expanded shapes. In this case, the expansion tube 200 is preferably made of a material that allows for smooth expansion into a predetermined shape.

At this time, when the expansion tube 200 floats on the water surface due to buoyancy during the process of collecting marine waste using the buoyancy device 1, the expansion tube 200 is used to enable automatic collection using the fishing boat's fishing net. ) performs the buoy function.

And the injector 300 is connected on one side to supply gas to the expansion tube 200, and on the other side is connected to the cartridge 400 in which the gas is stored. The injector 300 supplies the gas of the cartridge 400 to the expansion tube ( It is a device that sprays and supplies gas at high pressure into the interior of the cartridge 200, forms a gas flow path for gas supply, and functions to selectively supply the gas stored in the cartridge 400 to the expansion tube 200.

Meanwhile, the injector 300 further includes an opening/closing unit 210 that selectively opens the gas flow path as determined by a signal from the control unit 110.

Referring to FIG. 4, the opening and closing unit 210 can use a solenoid valve, and is connected to the control unit 110 to control the opening and closing operation. When the buoyancy device 1 is determined to be mounted on marine waste, the control unit 110 ), the gas flow path of the injector 300 is opened, and if it is determined that the buoyancy device 1 is not mounted on the marine waste, the gas flow path of the injector 300 is kept closed.

In this case, the opening/closing unit 210 can automatically open the gas flow path of the injector 300 while being controlled by the control unit 110, and according to this control flow, the expansion of the expansion tube 200 is easily and automatically performed without external manipulation. You can do it.

And the cartridge 400 is a tank containing gas inside, and can be coupled to one side of the injector 300, and supplies the gas stored inside to the expansion tube 200 according to the operation of the injector 300. .

Meanwhile, the cartridge 400 consumes all of the gas stored inside once used, so it has a detachable structure for replacement of the cartridge 400, and the cartridge 400 is removed from the buoyancy device 1 collected together during the collection of marine waste. ) can be replaced to reuse the buoyancy device (1).

At this time, the gas stored in the cartridge 400 can store CO2 gas, but various gases that can form buoyancy or compressed air can be used in various ways.

And the connection part 500 is coupled to the main body 100 in the opposite direction in which the expansion tube 200 is expanded so that marine waste can smoothly float to the surface when the expansion tube 200 is expanded, and the connection part 500 The main body 100 can be connected to the marine waste in the form of a band or caught in the marine waste in the form of an anchor. If the anchor form is preferably applied, the buoyancy device 1 can be easily connected by dropping the buoyancy device 1 to the location of the marine waste. It can be done.

Meanwhile, the connection part 500 takes the form of an anchor having a connection body 510 with a weight to allow the buoyancy device 1 to descend vertically in the sea, and a tip 520 that penetrates and fits into the marine waste by its own weight during descent. can do.

Referring to FIG. 5, the connecting body 510 has weight below the main body 100 so that the connecting portion 500 is located on the lower side under the influence of gravity while the buoyancy device 1 is falling, and the expansion tube ( 200) is located on the upper side so that the buoyancy device (1) can freely fall smoothly to the location of marine waste,

The tip 520 allows the connection body 510 to have a sharp end so that when the buoyancy device 1 is free-falling, the tip 520 penetrates the hole of the marine waste and the connection part 500 is caught to perform the connection. .

At this time, in the case of marine waste, discarded fishing nets and discarded fishing gear are representative examples. Due to the nature of fishing nets and fishing gear, they are made in the form of a net, so that the tip 520 can penetrate the net.

Here, the connecting portion 500 is hinged to one or more outside of the connecting body 510 and rotates in the up and down right angle directions, and further includes a latch 530 that spreads outward due to the elastic force of the elastic body 531.

As shown in FIG. 5, one or more locks 530 are hinged to the outside of the connection body 510 on the side adjacent to the tip 520 at the bottom of the connection body 510 and can be rotated up and down at right angles. An elastic body 531 is provided on the hinge side of 530 to apply an elastic force to the latch 530 and maintain it in an outwardly unfolded state.

In this case, while the connecting portion 500 penetrates the marine waste through the tip 520 as the engaging portion 530 rotates up and down, the engaging portion 530 is pushed upward by the marine waste and rotates, causing the connecting portion 500 to be in contact with the marine waste. It penetrates smoothly, and when the connection part is inserted into the marine waste, the catch 530 spreads outward by elastic force and catches the marine waste, fixing the connection part 500 to the marine waste, thereby causing the buoyancy device 1 to fall freely. This makes it very easy to install on marine waste, and this structure allows it to be used without manpower such as divers.

Hereinafter, a method of collecting marine waste using a buoyancy device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

According to this, as a method of collecting marine waste using a buoyancy device,

(S1) detecting marine waste in the ocean using an unmanned underwater vehicle and setting a buoyancy point according to a wide or narrow range of the detected marine waste; (S2) dropping the buoyancy device to the buoyancy point and attaching the buoyancy device to marine waste using the connection portion 500 of the buoyancy device during the fall; (S3) When a buoyancy device is mounted on the marine waste, the injector 300 of the buoyancy device supplies gas to the expansion tube 200 and expands the expansion tube 200 to form buoyancy; (S4) floating marine waste to the surface of the water using buoyancy caused by expansion of the expansion tube 200; (S5) collecting the marine waste floating on the surface of the water.

First, in step (S1), marine waste is detected in the ocean using an unmanned underwater vehicle. The unmanned underwater vehicle is an unmanned underwater robot capable of remote control or autonomous driving. Preferably, in this step, a robot capable of autonomous driving is used to detect marine waste. It is detected.

Unmanned submarines capable of autonomous driving can use SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technology, which is a technology that allows a robot to recognize its own location and simultaneously collect information about the surrounding environment to create a map.

Meanwhile, technology for autonomous driving is not specifically limited to SLAM, and various technologies developed for autonomous driving of robots can be applied.

Here, step (S1) includes (S1-1) generating map data based on an image captured by a camera;

(S1-2) It further includes setting a buoyancy point on the detected marine waste based on the map data.

In this case, the unmanned underwater vehicle generates map data using a camera in step (S1-1) as shown in Figure 7. For this purpose, an ultrasonic camera or a low-light camera, etc. are installed on the unmanned submarine, and the installed camera is used to detect marine waste. The specific location of this abandoned seabed is photographed and mapped using the lawn mower mapping method, ultimately completing map data with marine waste identified.

Based on the map data completed in this way, it is determined whether the marine waste detected in step (S1-2) is to be collected in a wide or narrow range, and the buoyancy point (the point where the buoyancy device is dropped) is located at the location of the marine waste according to the determined range. location) is set.

At this time, it is desirable to set the buoyancy point so that the buoyancy point of each buoyancy device (1) is centered during the process of floating marine waste to the surface using the buoyancy device (1).

And in step (S2), the buoyancy device 1 is dropped to the buoyancy point set in the above-mentioned step, using a fishing boat, etc. to the buoyancy point (the location of the point where the buoyancy device is dropped) set based on map data. After transporting (1), the buoyancy device (1) is dropped from the fishing boat to that point.

At this time, the buoyancy device 1 freely falls to the location of the marine waste according to the structure of the connection part 500, and the connection part 500 is caught on the marine waste and the buoyancy device 1 is mounted.

And in step (S3), when the buoyancy device 1 is mounted on the marine waste in the above-mentioned step, the injector 300 of the buoyancy device supplies gas to the expansion tube 200 and expands the expansion tube 200 to increase buoyancy. Let it be formed.

Here, in step (S3), in the process of installing the buoyancy device on the marine waste (S3-1), the state of the buoyancy device is detected through the sensor 111, and the buoyancy device is installed on the marine waste according to the detection value of the sensor 111. A step of the control unit 110 determining whether or not is mounted;

(S3-2) A step of causing the opening/closing unit 210 to open the gas flow path of the injector 300 according to the determination result of the control unit 110.

In this case, the control unit 110 of the buoyancy device 1 determines whether the buoyancy device 1 is installed according to the signal detected by the sensor 111 in the process of mounting the buoyancy device 1 on the marine waste and operates the opening and closing operation of the injector 300. Controls the gas supply automatically.

And in step (S4), when the buoyancy device 1 is mounted on the marine waste in the above-described step and the expansion tube 200 automatically expands to form buoyancy, the buoyancy of the buoyancy device 1 is applied to the marine waste at a preset angle. Buoyancy is created at the buoyancy point to float the marine waste to the surface, and the buoyancy device (1) functions as a buoy on the surface of the water to prepare for the collection of marine waste.

And in step (S5), when the marine waste is buoyed to the surface by the buoyancy of the expansion tube 200 in the above-described step, the buoyancy device 1, which functions as a buoy on the water surface, is recovered from a fishing boat, etc. and mounted on the buoyancy device 1. Ensure that marine waste is collected.

Here, step (S5) further includes (S5-1) a step where the buoyancy device functions as a buoy for the marine waste that has risen to the surface, and the marine waste is automatically collected by the fishing boat's fishing net.

In this case, as shown in Figure 8, the buoyancy device (1) can simultaneously collect a wide range of marine waste using a fishing boat's fishing net, and is a buoyancy device that floats a plurality of marine wastes in order to collect marine waste over a wide range. With (1) connected with a line that can be wound around the floating net, the buoyancy device (1) is mounted on the marine waste to float it, and the multiple buoyancy devices (1) connected to each other serve as buoys on the water surface and can be hung from the floating net. Enables the recovery of multiple marine wastes in succession.

As described above, the present invention has been expressed through the above description and drawings of preferred embodiments, but there is no particular limitation on the terms used to describe the present invention, and the present invention is limited to the scope without departing from the technical spirit of the invention. The embodiments can be changed or modified in various ways at the level of those skilled in the art in the technical field to which the invention pertains, and the invention is not limited to the embodiments in the detailed description and claims.

One; buoyancy device 100; main body
110; control unit 111; sensor
112; control processor 200; expansion tube
300; Cartridge 400; connection
510; Connection body 520; peak
530; latch 531; elastic body

Claims (8)

a main body 100;
an expansion tube 200 that is accommodated on one side of the interior of the main body 100 and expands when gas is injected to generate buoyancy;
an injector 300 connected to the expansion tube 200 and selectively injecting gas into the expansion tube 200;
a cartridge 400 that supplies gas to the injector 300;
It is configured to include a connection part 500 that allows the main body 100 to be mounted on marine waste,
The main body 100 further includes a control unit 110 having a sensor 111 that determines whether the marine waste is equipped with a buoyancy device by detecting the state of the buoyancy device,
The sensor 111 further includes a gyro sensor or a vibration sensor,
The connection portion 500 further includes a connection body 510 having a weight to allow the buoyancy device to descend vertically in the ocean, and a tip 520 that penetrates and fits into the marine waste by its own weight during descent,
The connecting portion 500 is hinged to one or more outside of the connecting body 510 and rotates in an up and down right angle direction, and further includes a latch 530 that spreads outward by the elastic force of the elastic body 531. A buoyancy device.
delete According to paragraph 1,
The injector 300 is a buoyancy device that further includes an opening/closing unit 210 that selectively opens the gas flow path according to a result determined by a signal from the control unit 110. delete A method of collecting marine waste using a buoyancy device according to paragraph 1 or 3,
(S1) detecting marine waste in the ocean using an unmanned underwater vehicle and setting a buoyancy point according to a wide or narrow range of the detected marine waste;
(S2) dropping the buoyancy device to the buoyancy point and attaching the buoyancy device to marine waste using the connection portion 500 of the buoyancy device during the fall;
(S3) when a buoyancy device is mounted on the marine waste, the injector 300 of the buoyancy device supplies gas to the expansion tube 200 and expands the expansion tube 200 to form buoyancy;
(S4) floating marine waste to the surface of the water using buoyancy caused by expansion of the expansion tube 200;
(S5) collecting marine waste floating on the surface of the water; a marine waste collection method comprising: According to clause 5,
In the step (S1),
(S1-1) generating map data based on images captured by a camera;
(S1-2) Setting a buoyancy point on the detected marine waste based on the map data. Marine waste collection method further including. According to clause 5,
In the step (S3),
(S3-1) In the process of installing the buoyancy device on marine waste, the status of the buoyancy device is detected through the sensor 111, and the control unit ( 110) judging step;
(S3-2) a step of opening the gas flow path of the injector 300 by the opening/closing unit 210 according to the judgment result of the control unit 110. According to clause 5,
In the step (S5),
(S5-1) A method of collecting marine waste including the step of having a buoyancy device function as a buoy for marine waste that has risen to the surface of the water, and automatically collecting the marine waste with a net net of a fishing boat.