Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
  • B63C11/00—Equipment for dwelling or working underwater; Means for searching for underwater objects
  • B63C11/34—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base
  • B63C11/36—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base of closed type
  • B63C11/42—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base of closed type with independent propulsion or direction control

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a manned autonomous underwater vessel, having at least one external manipulator.
• mini submarines manned or unmanned, provided with suitable manipu- lators for performing work on the underwater instal ⁇ lation. It has also been suggested to design an underwater installation having an integrated control and service central in the form of a diving chamber, to which personnel can gain access via a diving bell.
• a disadvantage of the known systems is that one is not entirely independent of a surface vessel. Divers and diving chambers require contact with the surface by means of a so-called umbilical, and the same is true for unmanned mini submarines. Also a manned mini submarine is dependent on a surface base nearby in form of a suitable vessel because such mini sub ⁇ marines only have limited operating reach and time.
• the underwater operating system includes the use of a underwater vessel which is load carrying, manned and autono ⁇ mous.
• a manned, autonomous underwater vessel having at least one external manipulator, said vessel being characterized in that it is load carrying and has at least one external rail track where the mani-
• 30 pulator is mounted so that it can move relative to the vessel.
• Autonomous underwater vessel is here supposed to mean an underwater vessel which is self-suffi ⁇ cient, i.e. it is a true underwater vessel without
• Such an underwater vessel will have the advantage that one will be entirely independent of the weather conditions on the surface when performing necessary operations and work on an underwater installation, since the underwater vessel may be operational at any time and quickly may be brought to the place of employment, carrying the necessary load, i.e. equipment units and components for the underwater installation.
• Said rail track permitting travelling of the manipulator or manipulators, pro ⁇ vides a desired, larger work area for the manipulator while the underwater vessel is at rest, and this facilitates carrying our the necessary work.
• the advantages are even greater if it is possible to dock the underwater vessel as shown and described in the above mentioned Norwegian patent application No. 84 2544.
• Such a manned autonomous underwater vessel will also be able to reduce the long term demands on the equipment in an underwater installation, without reducing safety, particularly since one at the de ⁇ sired time quickly may gain access for performing the necessary work, replacements etc.
• the need for complete shut-off of an installation e.g. a cluster of production threes with corresponding manifold equipment, will also be reduced or possibly be elimi ⁇ nated because one can perform any necessary repairs or replacements, e.g. in a manifold part or in a production three, without the necessity of closing down the other sections of the installation.
• the underwater vessel can work at very large depths, well outside the reach of divers, and a par ⁇ ticular advantage is that the underwater vessel also may be used in arctic waters (below ice) .
• the vessel may advantageously have a vertical rail track at the front of the vessel.
• a verti ⁇ cal rail track is particularly advantageous for a mainpulator which is to perform work on a tower-like structure, e.g. a production three.
• the rail track may advantageously be movably supported on the vessel, and a particularly advan ⁇ tageous form is one wherein the vertical rail track is movable horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the vessel. Then the rail track may be moved with respect to the front part of the vessel, and the rail track with the appurtenant manipulator may, if needed, be pulled all the way up to the front part of the vessel, to a stored position or an inoperative position during transport.
• the pressure hull of the vessel may advantage ⁇ ously be provided with wall sections which may be opened and which limit a forward space where the manipulator is located when it is in said stored position.
• a rail track may be arranged along the bottom or the belly of the vessel, inside a loading area below or outside the pressure hull of the vessel.
• This rail track may also be designed for a lifting yoke, but preferably a separate rail track is arranged for one (or more) lifting yokes in the loading area, and particularly advantageously the belly, manipulator and the lifting yoke and their rail tracks are designed so that the belly manipu- lator and the lifting yoke can pass each other.
• the belly manipulator may comprise a U-shaped frame running in two rails forming the rail track of the belly manipu ⁇ lator, while the lifting yoke concurrently comprises a trolley carriage dimensioned for movement in the space between the U-shaped frame and the vessel, the rail track of the lifting yoke extending inside the rails of the belly manipulator.
• supports are arranged in its loading area for equipment units in a upper loading level and in a lower parking level, in which parking level the equipment units will hang out of the way of longitudinal transport of an equipment unit in the loading area by means of the lifting yoke.
• the belly manipulator which can travel in the loading area, can be retracted to a position within the cross-section of the loading area and preferably above the parking level.
• the belly manipulator may thus be driven passed the parked equipment units.
• the vessel is designed so that the loading area is defined by the pressure hull of the vessel and cargo room walls suspended from the hull.
• the walls may be opened, e.g. by being pivotable, or for instance foldable.
• the equipment units, the belly manipulator and the lifting yoke may be protected inside a cargo room, simultaneously obtaining a more streamlined outer skin for the underwater vessel during transit.
• the underwater vessel is provided with telescopic or lowerable supporting legs, and these supporting legs may advantageously be provided with supporting wheels which may be intended for cooperation with and locking to a rail track on the or those underwater installations or underwater platforms serviced by the underwater vessel.
• the underwater vessel may be docked on the supporting legs and may be moved on the rail track to the desired position and locked in this position.
• the underwater vessel is pro ⁇ vided with windows known per se, preferably large acrylic windows located in the areas where the work is to be performed.
• windows known per se preferably large acrylic windows located in the areas where the work is to be performed.
• one or more operators in the underwater vessel can obtain direct vision, enabling direct (visual) control and also observation possibilities when conditions are such that televi ⁇ sion screen, CAD system control or the like are used.
• the underwater vessel may preferably carry a tool storage unit (tool box) in its cargo room.
• the manipulators can fetch tools for working on the equipment units.
• the tool box may be designed like a carrousel supported in a frame, which in turn may be connected to the lifting yoke.
• FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an under ⁇ water installation with an underwater vessel accor ⁇ ding to the invention
• Fig. 2 shows a schematic side view of a under ⁇ water vessel according to the invention, the rear part of the vessel being deleted
• Fig. 3 shows a schematic front view on a some- waht larger scale of the underwater vessel in Fig. 2
• Fig. 4 shows a schematic partial view of the front part of the underwater vessel during the per ⁇ formance of work on a production three
• Figs. 5 and 6 show a schematic end view and a schematic plan view of -the vessel and the produc- tion three in Fig. 4, and x.
• Fig. 7 shows a schematic side view of an under ⁇ water vessel with a tool storing unit.
• FIG. 1 an underwater installation 1 is schematically shown, here in the form of an under- water production platform having four well areas 2,
• Fig. 1 3, 4, 5 and appurtenant manifold equipment, represen ⁇ ted by the framework 6. Only one production three 7 is shown.
• a rail track is arranged, generally consisting of two rails 8 and 9, and on this rail track an underwater vessel 10 is shown.
• the underwater vessel 10, which is shown schematically, is about to approach the underwater installation for docking on the rails 8, 9 in a man ⁇ ner to be described more closely below in connection with Figs. 2 and 3.
• the under ⁇ water vessel 10 in Fig. 1 has a cargo room 11 and a front room 12. Both these rooms are shown in closed condition, i.e. the bow doors are closed and the same is true for the belly doors limiting the cargo room 11 outwards .
• the underwater vessel 10 has a pressure hull 13. This pressure hull 13 is surrounded by an outer hull 14. On the belly side of the pressure hull 13 a loading area or cargo room 15 is arranged, where cargo may be placed in a manner not shown in further detail, here suggested by dash-dot lines indicating the contour of modules or equipment units 17.
• the cargo room 15 is provided with attachment supporting devices 46 enabling positioning of the equipment units 17 inside the cargo room, as shown to the right in Fig. 2. In this parked position the side walls of the cargo room is of course swung outwards, as indi ⁇ cated by dash-dot lines in Fig. 3, where side walls 16, 18 are shown swung outwards and folded, respec- tively.
• the various equipment units 17 may be handled in the cargo room by means of a lifting yoke 19, which is supported to be raised and lowered in a trolley carriage 20.
• This trolley carriage 20 can run in two rails 21, 22 mounted under the belly of the pressure hull 13. These rails 21, 22 extend parallel to each other and to the longitudinal axis of the vessel.
• Fig. 3 show a possible working position of the belly manipulator 26.
• a front verti ⁇ cal rail track 31 is supported horizontally movable by means of horizontal beams 32, 33 (Fig. 2) .
• the vertical rail track 31 is in fact designed as a double vertical rail track having two vertical ' rails 34, 35, and on each of these rails a bow mani ⁇ pulator 36, 37 is movably supported (see also Figs. 4, 5 and 6).
• Fig. 3 only one of the bow manipu ⁇ lators is indicated and given reference numeral 36, while Fig. 2 shows the other bow manipulator 37, in fact only its rail track part.
• Fig. 2 the vertical rail track 31 is shown extended. Dash-dot lines show a retracted position for the rail track 31 inside a front room 38, which may be closed by means of bow doors not shown.
• the underwater vessel 10 is provided with four telescopic legs 39. At the top these telescopic legs are attached to the pressure hull 13, and at the bottom they are each provided with a set of running wheels 40, by means of which the underwater vessel may rest on the rails 8 and 9 indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, see also Fig. 1.
• the underwater vessel may be locked to the rail track by means not shown, such as pivotable claws or the like.
• the underwater vessel may be provided with equipment known per se and not shown, such as light projectors, TV cameras etc., but primarily the intension is that an operator inside the pressure hull 13 shall have direct visual control over the manipulators.
• a large acrylic window 41 is arranged in the nose of the pressure vessel, see also Figs. 4 - 6. Further- more, several large acrylic windows 42 are provided on the belly side (shown by broken lines) .
• a hydraulic, foldable crane is shown at 43. Furthermore, the submarine also has side thrusters 44.
• any suit ⁇ able motor may be used.
• a suitable hoist may be arranged in the trolley carriage 20.
• the lifting yoke 19 may be a magnetic yoke or it may be provided with hooks or other attachment means known per se suitable for cooperation with the equipment units 17.
• the frame 25 for the belly manipulator 26 is provided with a suitable drive means for moving along the rails 23, 24.
• the manipulators may be electrically or hydraulically driven in a manner known per se.
• the bow ports and the cargo room ports may be opened and closed by means known per se, e.g.
• FIGs. 4, 5 and 6 it is shown how the bow manipulators 36, 37 may be used for performing work on a valve three 45.
• the vertical rails 34, 35 may be moved horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the vessel, as mentioned above.
• the manipulators 36, 37 themselves may be moved vertically along their rails 34, 35.
• the manipulators 36, 37 are shown in different working positions, and their respective working areas are indicated by the curved dash-dot lines.
• Fig. 7 shows how the underwater vessel 10 is provided with a "tool box” 48, which from a position in the cargo room 15 may be “parked” in the front position, the lifting yoke 19 being used for this relocation.
• the bow manipulator 37, and also the belly manipulator 26 can fetch/place tools in this unit 48.
• the unit 48 may preferably be designed as a carrousel (not shown).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Manipulator (AREA)
• Underground Or Underwater Handling Of Building Materials (AREA)
• Earth Drilling (AREA)
• Warehouses Or Storage Devices (AREA)
• Removal Of Floating Material (AREA)

Priority Applications (5)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19887728

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (5)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (9)

Family Cites Families (2)

• 1984
  • 1984-06-22 NO NO842543A patent/NO154662C/no unknown
• 1985
  • 1985-06-21 WO PCT/NO1985/000040 patent/WO1986000273A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1985-06-21 GB GB08604270A patent/GB2177351A/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1985-06-21 DE DE8585903073T patent/DE3564928D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1985-06-21 JP JP60502714A patent/JPS62500113A/ja active Pending
  • 1985-06-21 DE DE19853590305 patent/DE3590305T1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1985-06-21 EP EP85903073A patent/EP0188459B1/de not_active Expired
• 1986
  • 1986-02-18 SE SE8600720A patent/SE8600720D0/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1986-02-19 FI FI860740A patent/FI860740A0/fi not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1986-02-21 DK DK82286A patent/DK82286A/da not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (9)

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