RU2276647C1 - Submersible rescue vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: shipbuilding; submersible rescue vehicles for conducting jobs on submarines.

SUBSTANCE: proposed submersible rescue vehicle has hull with suction chamber mounted on it, motion control system, auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system, external lighting system optically connected with optical TV external observation system and TV information display. Suction chamber is provided with lighting fixtures and light markers mounted on bearing ring. TV cameras of observation system are mounted on ship's hull around suction chamber, thus making it possible to perform observation of bearing ring and forming multi-aspect stereoscopic pairs. TV information display is automated and is connected via motion control system with auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system.

EFFECT: enhanced accuracy of dynamic positioning and maneuvering in automatic mode.

6 cl, 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to underwater shipbuilding, namely, rescue underwater vehicles (SPA), equipped with positioning means and electronic monitoring equipment with underwater lighting, and can be used when conducting underwater rescue operations using landing and suction chambers.

It is known the use of underwater outdoor lighting for underwater vehicles (PA) in order to provide visual observation of the underwater environment through the windows of the apparatus, as well as other optical visual systems for television surveillance, photographing and filming, alarm. Underwater television surveillance involves the use of light sources powerful enough to create the required illumination of the cathodes of the transmitting television tubes. When conducting rescue underwater operations, their television control appears to be most effective, since the television image is obtained in real time (or with memory) and with high resolution, which allows observations in the immediate vicinity of the PA, where sonars are ineffective, and at distances at which are visible under conditions of strong scattering and fluctuations in the light intensity due to the presence in the medium of structural inhomogeneities of various origins waiting. Physical conditions in a real marine environment, such as water temperature, apparatus vibrations, overboard pressure, can significantly limit the possibilities of any optical or electron-optical observations with a small signal-to-noise ratio. Experiments show that the range of visibility when using a television installation under water depends on the reflection coefficient, the size of the observed object and for the conditions of the Atlantic Ocean (tropics) is 18-24 m (N. A. Stoptsov, M. A. Gruzdev. Underwater lighting. L., Shipbuilding, p. 18-26). However, the signal-to-noise ratio when using underwater television surveillance can be increased not only by improving the lighting characteristics of the underwater lighting sources themselves, such as the type of light source, maximum axial light intensity, light scattering and directivity of the light beam, type of reflector, but also due to the special construction of the observation scheme for correlated signal reception and interference accounting.

It is known to use a television observation system on a research submarine RH-15 (Jacques Picard, France), to ensure the operation of which an outdoor lighting system of 20 floodlights with a power of 500-1000 W each, which are located at certain points outside the robust hull of the vehicle, is installed. With sufficient illumination, the well-known optical-television system provides visual control of the outboard environment for accompanying operator actions to adjust the signals of the underwater vehicle control system, and also allows for some underwater work, for example, using a manipulator. The disadvantage of the known underwater lighting system, as well as the apparatus as a whole, is the limited functionality, namely the lack of automatic influence of the underwater lighting system on the PA control system, which does not allow for programmed actions, for example, for a given positioning of the PA.

It is known to use an optical-television surveillance system in inhabited and remotely controlled PAs, for example in PA SHINKAI-2000, "JTV-1", "Dolphin-3K" (JAMSTEC) (M. Saeki, in "Ocean-84", v.2 , p.917-920, IEEE, 1984). These underwater vehicles are equipped with an optical-television system for monitoring the outboard environment, which is composed of color and black-and-white television cameras, a broadband stereo television system, a fixed camera and its lighting sources used for visual monitoring environment and registration of the studied characteristics, as well as working bodies and an automatic system for maintaining the depth and direction of travel.However, if there is an acoustic navigation system that provides underwater vehicle movement in space, the optical-television system is used only to visually study the environment, accumulate information, select the direction of movement, control the manipulator or other devices and etc., which limits the accuracy of the dynamic positioning of the user agent.

Known search PA, including a housing in the form of an ellipsoid of revolution with vertical and horizontal propulsion and a camera, the optical axis of which is located in the diametrical plane of the apparatus and makes up with the major axis of the ellipsoid an angle equal to half the viewing angle of the camera, and the line of metacentric height of the apparatus forms with a larger axis rotation ellipsoid angle equal to the viewing angle of the camera (RF patent No. 2039678, IPC B 63 V 21/66, publ. 20.07.95). The camera, the installation of which is fixed, allows underwater observations in a wide solid angle, however, the PA has limited functional capabilities, since the information received from the camera cannot be directly used to automate the control of the PA in order to increase the accuracy of its dynamic positioning.

The well-known rescue PA LR5, developed by Slingsby (Great Britain, 1978) for search and rescue operations at depths up to 460 m, which is currently used by the British Navy to provide assistance and rescue crews of emergency submarines lying on the ground, “Dry method” with the help of a removable suction chamber designed to dock the durable hull of the rescue underwater vehicle and the emergency submarine (E.R. Agishev, M.A. Erpulev, A.A. Erpulev. Design features of the rescue underwater th LR5 apparatus. Shipbuilding, 1998, No. 3, pp. 20-22). The well-known SPA includes a robust cylindrical body, in the aggregate compartment of which propulsion control systems are located, including autopilot, hydraulic systems and energy distribution systems, an auxiliary control system for the apparatus’s movement when maneuvering near an emergency submarine, dynamically positioning above it and landing on it, consisting of four outboard swivel speakers with propellers in the nozzles, as well as a removable suction chamber with a support ring. When dynamically positioning the PA and preparing for landing on an emergency submarine lying on the ground with a roll and trim, the suction chamber is oriented relative to the coaming platform of the submarine by tilting the support ring of the suction chamber by an angle of up to 30 degrees (and in the presence of a special wedge, up to 60 degrees) , with the provision of trim SPA when landing on an emergency submarine within +/- 6.5 degrees. To observe the underwater environment, a transparent cabin made of acrylic glass is installed in the upper part of the apparatus, and in the lower part - in the area of the manipulators - a color camera type UMEL with 1334 lines, 70 mm focus mounted on a tilt-and-tilt device. For underwater lighting use five fixtures with a capacity of 1000 watts. In the well-known SPA, an optical-television system consisting of a camera and lamps (lighting elements) is used only for visual assessment of the outboard situation and the effectiveness of SPA maneuvering (dynamic positioning) using a television information display device, but it does not affect the maneuvering system and dynamic positioning , which does not allow positioning of the SPA and docking it with the submarine in automatic mode and achieve high accuracy of dynamic itsionirovaniya to improve performance SPA.

SPA, including a housing, a motion control system located therein, an auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system installed on the housing, a suction cup with a support ring, an outdoor lighting system with lighting elements, an optical-television outdoor monitoring system and a television information display device , selected as the closest analogue of the claimed invention.

The objective of the invention is to improve the operational characteristics of the SPA by providing high-precision dynamic positioning and performing maneuvering in automatic mode using an optical-television surveillance system.

The problem is solved in that in the well-known SPA, comprising a housing, a motion control system placed therein, a suction chamber with a support ring mounted on the SPA housing, as well as an auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system, an outdoor lighting system with lighting elements, optically coupled to it optically - a television surveillance system and a television information display device, in accordance with the invention, a camera whose body includes The ball sphere and the optical-television outdoor surveillance system are made in the form of a set of television cameras that are installed to provide early warning of an emergency object and are placed on the spa body around the suction chamber with the ability to observe the support ring with the formation of multi-angle stereo pairs, and the outdoor lighting system is equipped with light markers, which are mounted on the support ring of the suction chamber, while the television information display device is automated and connected through motion control system with an auxiliary maneuvering system and dynamic positioning.

In addition, the movable ball belt is segmented to provide relative movement of the segments.

In addition, halogen lamps or LEDs are selected as lighting elements.

In addition, LEDs with autonomous power supply were selected as light markers.

In addition, passive retro-reflectors or photoluminescent devices were chosen as light markers.

In addition, at least part of the light markers is installed on the support ring of the suction chamber along its perimeter equidistantly.

The technical result of the invention is to obtain images of the emergency object, mainly the emergency submarine and its coaming area, from different angles in stereo pairs formed by television cameras to provide early detection, which are set in a predetermined manner, taking into account the design of the spa suction chamber, the body of which includes a movable link - movable ball belt, which is segmented with the possibility of relative movement of segments, geometrically also representing ball belts. In this case, a comparison of the received television images allows monitoring the course of the docking of the support ring of the SPA suction chamber with the coaming area of the emergency facility (emergency submarine). During positioning and docking, the segments of the movable ball belt of the suction chamber body are rotated and the support ring is installed in the desired position in space (RF patent No. 2157776) with the calculation of the deviations of the SPA position relative to the object by the automated television information display device and the formation of control commands using the calculated data motion control system. By submitting the commands of the motion control system to the auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system, it is possible to automatically control the dynamic positioning of the SPA.

The invention is illustrated figure 1-3. Figure 1 presents a schematic diagram of the docking of a double-shell SPA with an emergency object (emergency submarine) by attaching the support ring of the SPA suction chamber, which has a movable body link (ball belt), to the coaming site of the emergency submarine. Figure 2 shows the installation diagram on a SPA with a suction camera of an optical-television system consisting of television cameras for the early detection of an emergency object that form stereo pairs and optically interact with light markers (side view in the initial position; the field of view of the television camera is highlighted with dots), figure 3 is the same, from figure 2, a bottom view.

SPA 1 comprises a robust housing 2, a light housing 3, a propulsion and steering complex 4, a maneuvering and dynamic positioning device 5 located in a light housing 3, made in the form of a system of vertical and horizontal rudders. A motion control system 6 is located in the robust housing 2, a suction chamber 7 is attached to the robust housing 2, made with a movable housing link — a segmented ball belt 8 and a support ring 9, which is configured to contact and suction to the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object (PL ) 11 (Fig. 1).

Optical television outdoor monitoring system, conventionally represented in figure 1 by two television cameras, is generally made in the form of a set of television cameras 12 (Fig.2-3) and is connected optically with lighting elements 13 and light markers 14 of the outdoor lighting system. Television cameras 12 (Fig.2-3) are designed to provide early warning of an emergency object (PL) 11 and to ensure that the suction chamber 7 is docked with it. Television cameras 12 are installed in a certain way - with the intersection of their optical axes, which ensures observation of the emergency object from different angles, i.e. with the formation of stereo pairs. Stereopairs allow you to combine two flat partial images of an object obtained from two different points of view (different angles) using two television cameras to obtain a three-dimensional image of the object. The property of a stereo image obtained when examining an object in different pairs of angles is the invariability of the position of the object in space for any position of the observer. Thus, to obtain a reliable three-dimensional image of an object, it is necessary and sufficient to observe it in at least three angles obtained from three television cameras, which can be pairwise combined and, by correlation processing of the received signals, extract information about the spatial position or change in the position of the object or its individual parts.

The layout of the television cameras 12 is selected taking into account the design of the used suction chamber camera 7 of SPA 1. When using the suction chamber 7 with a movable ball belt 8, it is technically difficult to place television receivers 12 on such a case because of the possibility of damage to flexible television cables. Therefore, television cameras 12 to ensure early detection of an emergency object are installed on the body of the SPA 1, namely on a light body 3 around the camera of the suction cup 7 symmetrically about its axis (Fig.2, 3). At the same time, television cameras 12 are selected with such a field of view and placed so that the surface of the suction chamber 7 and the support ring 9 fall into the field of view of each camera 12 simultaneously with the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object (PL) 11.

The necessary set of three television cameras 12 for providing early warning, mounted on the light body 3 of SPA 1, provides an image of the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object (PL) 11 in stereo pairs. Appropriate switching of television cameras 12 select their connection scheme for the implementation of the tasks of automated processing of television information about positioning SPA 1 and correcting the position of SPA 1 in dynamic mode, as well as for possible duplication of the used stereo pairs and increase the reliability of the connection.

The outdoor lighting system is optically coupled to television cameras 12 and includes lighting elements 13 — lamps necessary for the operation of television cameras 12, which are placed above the support ring 9, in the particular case, uniformly along its perimeter, which allows you to create the necessary illumination of all television cameras 12 and provide local uniform illumination and visibility in the area of the docking chamber of the suction cup 7.

Lighting elements 13 (luminaires) are installed in any known manner, for example, on a bar, with each television camera 12 for long-distance detection of the emergency object 11 can be equipped with an individual lamp (not marked in Fig.2-3). Depending on the magnitude of the solid angle of illumination of the television camera 12, such a lamp can be single, in particular such as a halogen lamp or LED, or composite, such as, for example, a matrix of LEDs.

At the same time, additional optical devices (elements) are installed on the suction chamber 7 along the perimeter of the support ring 9 - light markers 14 so that the light from them is their optical radiation, or passive excited glow (due to photoluminescence), or reflected light gets into the field of view the corresponding television camera 12, which determines the smallest total number of light markers - three.

As lighting elements (luminaires) 13, optical devices emitting light at wavelengths of about 5000 nm, with a sealed light source, intended for stationary installation on a PA can be used. In particular, halogen lamps and LED lighting devices that provide low attenuation of the light beam in water can serve as such lamps.

As light markers 14, both light-emitting optical devices, in particular LEDs with autonomous power supply, and passive optical radiation sources, in particular, elements based on the photoluminescence effect (labels glowing under the influence of light from lamps) or retroreflective elements (reflectors), can be selected.

The placement of at least part of the light markers 14 at equal distances from each other and from the axis of the support ring 9 (equidistant) ensures comparability of observations of the emergency object 11 in stereo pairs, which is essential when performing a roll of the moving ball belt 8 of the suction chamber 7.

Television cameras 12 monitoring with early detection are connected to an automated television display device 15 connected to the motion control system 6.

The design of the device 15 corresponds to the applied method of processing television information and includes, in particular, a mini-computer (microcomputer, personal computer) with a video processor connected to television cameras, an analog-to-digital converter other than television received signals (for example, from velocity vector sensors water flow), also connected to minicomputers, storage devices, displays, interface. The device 15 should provide arithmetic and logical operations on data sets of television signals and physical parameters, the accumulation and storage of large amounts of information, their statistical (correlation) analysis, geometric image transformations (scaling, transformation into a map projection), the generation of an information signal supplied to motion control system. In particular, if dynamic positioning is performed using the well-known method for measuring the coordinates of the center of gravity of the image of an object, which is the coaming area of an emergency object (PL), the processing of the television signal will include digitization of the television image, the selection of reference points - images of light markers - for determining the coordinates of the center of gravity of the image of the object, calculating the desired coordinates of the center of gravity of the image, comparing the signals of television stereo pairs When positioning the SPA, summing the signals according to a given algorithm to determine the time variation of the desired value and generating information error signals for linear and angular movements of the SPA taking into account the simultaneously measured environmental parameters near the emergency object (PL) 11, which are received in the motion control system 6. Signals discrepancies are used in system 6 to form control commands supplied to the thrusters and rudders of the auxiliary maneuvering device and dynamics positioning 5. To implement the positioning method described above by measuring the center of gravity of the image of the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object (PL) 11, for example, a known device (RF patent No. 2040120), its relationship with the motion control system 6 and through with an auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system 5, it provides automated real-time motion control. In the General case, the display device of the television information 15 can be performed in any known manner, allowing to perform comparative processing of images from stereo pairs.

SPA 1 is used as follows.

SPA 1, the movement of which is provided by the propulsion and steering complex 4, enters the area of the emergency facility (PL) 11, occupies a position that is possible or convenient for landing on it, for example, against the current, and hangs over the coaming area 10 with the lighting elements 13 of the system turned on outdoor lighting, after which the positioning of the suction chamber 7 begins using the reversal of segments of the movable ball belt 8, in which coaxiality and parallelism of the support ring 9 to the coaming pad 10 are achieved. Ion cameras 12 of the optical-television outdoor monitoring system are transferred to the operating mode of automatic guidance and landing of SPA 1, which is determined by the selected installation scheme of television cameras 12, as well as the processing circuit of the television image.

Television cameras 12, the angle of view of which under water is about 45 degrees, are oriented in the direction of the coaming pad 10. To illuminate each television camera 12, a lamp is used that provides the necessary intensity of the light beam to ensure early detection of an emergency object (PL) 11, for example, composite from two halogen or four LED light sources (underwater), which are placed at a distance of at least 2 m from the camera. From the image obtained from the television camera 12, determine the spatial position of the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object 11, which are suitable for hanging at a height of 1-1.5 m

At this distance, television cameras 12 can also capture a hatch in the coaming pad 10 in the field of view and provide measurements of the angle of the coaming pad 10 to the installation plane of each stereo pair. The television image of the light markers 14 determine the angles of inclination of the support ring 9 to the installation plane of each stereo pair.

The television image processing device 15, which compares the signals of stereo pairs, allows the program to calculate the relative position of the support ring 9 and the coaming pad 10, such as their parallelism and tilt angles. When coordinating the measured parameters, docking is possible. In this case, the control system 6 generates an adequate control signal supplied to the vertical and horizontal rudders of the auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system 5. As a result, the SPA 1 joins the flange of the support ring 9 of the suction chamber 7 with the coaming pad 10 of the emergency object 11.

In the case of using 14 passive retroreflective elements as reflectors, reflectors, the brightness of which is much lower than LEDs, they should be installed in an amount at least twice the number of LEDs to ensure the required measurement accuracy.

When 14 photoluminescent devices (tags) are used as light markers, they are protected from the aquatic environment by means of a coating, and the sizes, quantity, and layout of their installation are selected taking into account the possibility of recording their glow.

An experimental test of the operation of an optical-television system in underwater conditions when simulating the docking of SPA 1 with an emergency facility (PL) 10 showed that at a sampling frequency of a television channel of 5 Hz, the accuracy of measuring linear characteristics is at least 1 cm at a distance of 2 m, and angular - not below 2 degrees. In addition, it is possible to record and take into account as angular and linear velocities of the movement of foreign objects that fall into the field of view of television receivers, even with their contrast of 5%, and the accuracy of measurement of these speeds is 5 mm / s and 0.1 angles, respectively. deg / sec, which increases the noise immunity of automated control maneuvering PA.

Processing of television signals can be carried out in any known manner applicable to solve the tasks. A specific choice of the switching circuit of television cameras to obtain stereo pairs of early detection, as well as the luminaires used, can be made based on specific conditions and the duration of the work, the energy resources of the PA and hardware and software signal processing.

Claims (6)

1. A rescue underwater vehicle, comprising a housing, a motion control system located therein, a suction chamber with a support ring mounted on the housing of the rescue underwater vehicle, as well as an auxiliary maneuvering and dynamic positioning system, an outdoor lighting system with lighting elements, optically coupled to it optically outdoor surveillance television system and television information display device, characterized in that a camera, a cat body is selected as a suction camera The ory includes a movable ball belt, an optical-television outdoor surveillance system is made in the form of a set of television cameras that are installed to provide early warning of an emergency object and are placed on the body of the rescue underwater vehicle around the suction chamber with the possibility of observing the support ring with the formation of multi-angle stereo pairs, and the outdoor system the illumination is equipped with light markers that are mounted on the support ring of the suction chamber, while the television information display device tion is performed automated and connected through a motion control system with an auxiliary system of maneuvering and dynamic positioning. 2. The underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the movable ball belt is segmented to provide relative movement of the segments. 3. The underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that halogen lamps or LEDs are selected as lighting elements. 4. The underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the LEDs with autonomous power supply are selected as light markers. 5. The underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that passive retro-reflectors or photoluminescent devices are selected as light markers. 6. The underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a portion of the light markers are mounted on the support ring of the suction chamber along its perimeter equidistantly.

Images