RU2237594C2 - Position station for sounding water medium - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: marine technology; measurement of hydrological, physico-chemical, biological and other parameters.

SUBSTANCE: proposed station has underwater buoy, container with measurement equipment and anchor connected with buoy by means of flexible coupling. Buoy is provided with spherical weights for motion of said container towards ground, ballast and water inlet valve for compensation of buoy mass at release of spherical weights. Anchor body is provided with drum with flexible coupling and hydrodynamic brake. Said container is movably placed on flexible coupling and bushes setting measurement levels are secured. Container is provided with equipment switch and passing unit which are engageable with bushes; Mounted on the outside of container is receiving throwing unit (chute in articulation) which is engageable with buoy and anchor at reception and release of spherical weights.

EFFECT: reduced power requirements; extended field of application; facilitated procedure of measurements; repeated usage.

3 cl, 5 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the field of marine engineering and is intended for daily, monthly, seasonal measurements at given horizons of the aquatic environment of the following parameters: hydrological (flow velocity, flow direction, temperature, salinity), physico-chemical (quantities of ingredients in sea water), hydroacoustic, biological , (hydrogen indicator, the content of chlorophyll, phenol, oil products), as well as radiation.

The measurement of these parameters is the most important task for the study of oceans and seas in order to identify promising areas for oil and fish production, identify seismically dangerous areas, as well as environmental control.

Since these measurements are carried out in the open ocean, the stations must be reliable in operation, have high operational characteristics, not interfere with navigation, be weatherproof and work under ice.

A number of buoy stations are known for measuring hydrological parameters.

These are anchor buoy stations described in the book by A.F. Maklakov, et al., “Oceanographic Instruments”. L., Gidrometeoizdat, 1975, pp. 78-84, 306-308, 318-325; in the “Guide to hydrological work in the oceans and seas”, L., Gidrometeoizdat, 1977, pp. 493-501, fig. 20.3, 20.5, pp. 573-539, 542, 543, fig. 11/21; in the book of G. O. Berto, “Oceanographic buoys”, L., Shipbuilding, 1977, pp. 113-121, Fig. 4.1-4.9.

The closest technical solution is the buoy station of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in the book of G.O. Berto p. 120, Fig. 4.8. The buoy station contains an underwater buoy connected by a flexible connection to the anchor. On flexible communication at specified horizons containers with sensors are designed to measure the parameters of the aquatic environment.

Both analogs and prototypes in the above literature have high measurement accuracy, but are complex, have large dimensions, and require specially equipped ships and bulky current sources to be built.

Existing stations with electric drives have a large electricity consumption, significant dimensions, masses and cannot provide measurements for a long time.

Anchor buoy stations of oceanographic observation do not have the technical capabilities of year-round monitoring of currents at depths of more than 2000 m at one geographical point. Therefore, among the large package of records of sea currents that the Hydrographic Administration of the Russian Federation has at its disposal, there is no record of currents lasting 0.5 years at depths of more than 1,500 m, and the majority of records refer to depths of up to 500 m with a short duration.

In marine technology, there are many methods of sounding the oceans using winches, ships, platforms or hanging garlands from instrument containers, i.e. buoy stations. All of them require huge costs and powerful sources of current, and the measurement efficiency is negligible.

The well-known buoy station of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has a number of significant drawbacks:

- since each measuring horizon is equipped with an autonomous container with measuring equipment, then at the extreme depths of the ocean with a large number of horizons a large number of equipment is required, namely: sensors, processors, converting, recording devices and power sources, i.e. hardware redundancy occurs;

- recharge, i.e. the installation of new equipment requires a sampling of the station, which is impossible without the inclusion of a hydroacoustic separator and loss of anchor;

- the inability to use the station for a long time, since power sources must have a large capacity, and, consequently, dimensions.

The aim of the present invention is to increase the range of the studied depths, and, consequently, the number of horizons, the minimum power consumption of the functional and recording equipment, the simplification and acceleration of work when setting up and reloading stations, the possibility of reusable use.

This goal is achieved by the fact that in the station containing an underwater buoy with positive buoyancy, a container with equipment for measuring and recording parameters of the aquatic environment, an anchor device consisting of the main and additional anchors, and a drum with a flexible connection is installed in the main armature body, which passes through an additional anchor connected by a chain to the main anchor, the length of which is slightly greater than the recess of the underwater buoy, equipped with ball weights with a device for their placement and release, ballast To ensure the ascent of the underwater buoy with an additional anchor and the water inlet valve for compensating the weight of the ball discharged cargo.

The container is equipped with an equipment start switch, a lever electromagnetic transmitter and a receiving and dumping device for ball loads.

The installation of a flexible coupling drum in the anchor body made it possible to lighten the underwater buoy and increase the holding force of the anchor.

The underwater buoy is connected to the anchor device by a flexible connection, on which bushings that define the measuring horizons are fixed. The upper part of the sleeve has a spherical surface, and the bottom is conical.

These signs are absent in the prototype and analogues of the claimed invention, which confirms its compliance with the criteria of “novelty” and “significant differences”.

The invention is illustrated by drawings. Figure 1 shows the station in working condition at the position. Figure 2, 3 shows the process of setting the station in positional position. Figure 4 presents the kinematic diagram of the main devices of the station, and figure 5 is a lifting process for recharging the station.

The positioning station for sensing the aquatic environment in depth (Fig. 1) contains an underwater buoy 1 mounted on a predetermined recess from the surface. The buoy 1 is connected by a flexible connection 2 (synthetic or steel rope) with an additional anchor 3, which is connected by a chain 4 to the main anchor 5. On the flexible connection 2, sleeves 16 are mounted rigidly, which determine the measuring horizons, and a container 6 is movably mounted with equipment consisting of sensors of measured parameters of the aquatic environment, the control processor algorithm of the station, converting devices, “solid” memory, power sources and functional devices: start-up switch equipment, electromagnetic lever starter and receiving-reset device.

The mover of the container 6 to the ground is a ball load 7, located on the receiving and dropping device 8, which is pivotally connected to the container 6, and the ascent is provided by the positive buoyancy of the container after dumping the cargo when the container reaches the anchor.

For a stable position in the water and flow orientation, the container 6 is equipped with a plate stabilizer 9, and the buoy 1 is equipped with a stabilizer 10. After the next cargo 7 leaves the buoy 1, there is a water inlet valve 11 to compensate for its weight. To float to the surface of the buoy 1 with the container 6 and an additional anchor 3 is a ballast 12, which is discharged by a sonar separator 13.

On the drum with a flexible connection fixed blades of the hydrodynamic brake 14. At an additional anchor 3 mounted ejector 15 to ensure the discharge of cargo 7 to the bottom.

The algorithm for setting the station is presented in figure 2,3. At the selected geographical point, the positioning buoy 17 is discarded from the staging vessel, which is connected by a sling 18 through a temporary lock 19 to buoy 1.

The positive buoyancy of the buoy 17 should be greater than the negative buoyancy of the station, and the length of the sling 18 is equal to the value of the specified deepening of the buoy 1.

Then buoy 1 is lowered into the water together with container 6. After uncoiling 50-100 m of flexible connection, the vessel makes a small turn so that buoys 1 and 17 extend in one line, then anchors 3, 5 are dropped. Anchor 5 unwinds flexible connection 2 with its weight. located on the drum until it reaches the ground. When unwinding a flexible connection 2 blades 14, mounted on the axis of the drum, slow down the winding speed, and when they reach the ground they crash into the ground and winding stops. An additional anchor 3 is separated from the main anchor 5 and releases the chain 4. After a predetermined time, the lock 19 is activated, the sling 18 is separated from the buoy 1, and the buoy 17 is selected on the ship. The station is in positional position.

To explain the algorithm of the station after setting, we use the kinematic diagram of the main devices of the station, presented in figure 4.

In buoy 1, a device for accommodating cargo 7 is installed, which represents a hopper with a lever electromagnetic lock-shutter 21. Ball weights 7 are located in the trench with a slight inclination towards the outlet. The horizontal arrangement of goods 7 made it possible to reduce the effort on the fingers of the lock-cutter, to increase the reliability of operation, to reduce the dimensions of the electromagnet EM-1.

The command for the lock-cutter 21 comes after the container 6 by the tray of the device 8 rests against the case of the buoy 1. When the electromagnet EM-1 of the lock-cutter 21 is activated, one end of the lever of the latter releases the load 7, and the other controls the valve for letting water into the case of the buoy 1 in order to compensate for changes in buoyancy upon cargo exit 7.

The receiving and dropping device consists of a tray 8, mounted on the container 6 by means of a movable hinge and a pusher 20. The container 6, when approaching the next sleeve 16, which determines the measuring horizons, will be stopped by the levers of the electromagnetic transmitter 22, controlled by the EM-2 electromagnet. On the spherical surface of the sleeve 16, the container, in the presence of a stabilizer 9, is deployed and installed with the flow. The EM-2 electromagnet is turned on by tilting the lever 23 connected to the permanent magnet 24, which ensures the closure of the magnetically controlled contact (reed switch) 25, and, therefore, the launch of the equipment of the container 6, namely: turning on the sensors, recording parameters from these sensors and then turning them off. After the actuation of the passer 22, the container is immersed to the next sleeve.

After the container 6 comes to the anchor 3, the pusher 20 interacts with the ring of the ejector 15 and capsizes the tray 8. The container 6 acquires positive buoyancy and pops up in contact with the body of the buoy 1. When the container 6 emerges, the levers of the electromagnetic transmitter 22 move apart under the action of a conical force the surface of the lower part of the sleeve 16.

After the next load falls into the tray 8 of the container, the process is repeated. When dumping the last cargo, reloading of the station is necessary.

To sample the station (Fig. 5), the ship arrives at a given geographical point and delivers a hydroacoustic encoded signal. The sonar separator 13 is activated, located in the buoy 1 body, which provides power to the pyrozamock 26, which gives the cover 27, which leads to the separation of the ballast 12. The buoy with the additional anchor 3 floats and is held at one point by the main anchor 5.

A module with recording equipment is removed from the container b and replaced with a new one. From the body of the buoy 1 is removed the water taken during the release of goods as ballast. A new set of ball weights 7 and ballast 12 are installed, then buoy 1 is lowered into the water. Since buoy 1 together with ballast 12 has less buoyancy than an additional anchor 3, the latter sinks to the ground, and buoy 1 - to a given recess.

New features make it possible to measure and record the parameters of the aquatic environment, as well as record the astronomical time and ball number at maximum depths and, therefore, at a greater number of horizons with minimal power consumption, provide reusability, simplify and speed up work when setting up and reloading the station.

Compared with the prototype of the inventive station allows measurements at a selected geographical point of the ocean at extreme depths for a long time.

Measurements are taken at each horizon with one set of equipment, which requires low power sources of electric current, and this significantly reduces the mass and dimensions of the station. Measuring and recording equipment can be made both in the form of separate modules, or as a single unit.

Claims (3)

1. A positioning station for sensing the aquatic environment, containing an underwater buoy, a container with equipment for measuring the parameters of the aquatic environment, an anchor connected by a flexible connection with the buoy, characterized in that the underwater buoy is equipped with ball weights to ensure the movement of the specified container to the ground, the device for their placement and release, ballast, water inlet valve to compensate for the weight of the buoy during the release of ball cargo and an anchor with a drum mounted in its body with a flexible coupling, on which the specified container is movably mounted and closed slivers sleeve, wherein the container is provided with a switch cooperating with bushings propuskatelem startup apparatus and providing a stop on the container sleeves and its movement through the sleeve, and the receiving-reset device for spherical cargo. 2. The positioning station according to claim 1, characterized in that said bushings on flexible connection determine the position of the measuring horizons for the container with the equipment, the upper part of the bushings made in the form of a spherical surface interacting with a carrier to stop the container on the bushings when it is immersed, and the lower part of the sleeves is made in the form of a conical surface interacting with the carrier to ensure the movement of the container through the sleeves when it emerges. 3. The positioning station according to claim 1, characterized in that between the underwater buoy and the main anchor an additional anchor is installed.

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