Semi-floating type mineral collecting device and application

Abstract

The invention provides a semi-floating type mineral collecting device, and belongs to the technical field of ocean mining. Comprising a semi-floating type carrier, an ore collecting device arranged at the abdomen of the semi-floating type carrier and a supporting structure arranged below the semi-floating type carrier, and buoyancy blocks used for adjusting buoyancy are detachably arranged above and inside the semi-floating type carrier. The weight of the mining vehicle in water is slightly larger than the buoyancy of the mining vehicle, and the difference value between the gravity and the buoyancy is determined by the maximum interference load of the hose (connecting the mining vehicle with the relay station) on the mining vehicle in the operation process and is not smaller than the maximum interference load of the hose. The difference may be achieved by a buoyancy block configuration of the semi-floating carrier.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a semi-floating mineral collection device and application thereof, belonging to the technical field of marine mining. Background Art

[0002] Seabed mineral resources are mainly concentrated in the seabed of international waters in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and in the exclusive economic zones of coastal countries. The deep-sea mineral resources that are currently receiving the most attention are polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulfides, cobalt-rich crusts and rare earths. In the 1970s, four major international consortiums led by the United States carried out a large number of offshore in-situ mining experiments with polymetallic nodules as the mining target, verifying the feasibility of the seabed collection + pipeline fluid lifting mining scheme. Among them, the seabed mining vehicle is mainly used to collect and concentrate seabed minerals, and the pipeline fluid lifting system is mainly used to lift the minerals collected by the seabed collection machine to the surface platform.

[0003] At present, there are two main types of seabed mining vehicles for polymetallic nodules: crawler type and floating type. The main problems of crawler type mining vehicles are that the crawler driving causes great disturbance to the seabed sediments, the crawler is easy to slip, and the driving speed is limited, and the crawler is heavy, which makes the device large in scale and has poor economic efficiency. Although floating mining vehicles are green and efficient, and have good commercial application prospects, because the mining vehicles are in a suspended state, the traveling process is easily disturbed by the hose between the vehicle and the relay station, which affects the tracking accuracy and collection operation of the mining vehicles.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a green, safe, reliable and economical seabed mining device. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems in the prior art that mining is prone to slippage and causes great disturbance to the seabed, and that the floating collection device is easily disturbed by the hose.

[0006] In order to achieve the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a semi-floating mineral collection device and application.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a semi-floating mineral collection device is provided, comprising a semi-floating carrier, a mineral collecting device arranged on the belly of the semi-floating carrier, and a supporting structure arranged below the semi-floating carrier, and buoyancy blocks for adjusting the buoyancy are detachably provided above and inside the semi-floating carrier.

[0008] Preferably, main propulsion devices for propelling the mining vehicle forward and steering the mining vehicle are provided on both sides of the semi-floating carrier.

[0009] Preferably, the bow of the semi-floating carrier is provided with a lateral propulsion device for steering and assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body.

[0010] Preferably, the semi-floating carrier is provided with vertical propulsion devices at the four corners for assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body and fine-tuning buoyancy or gravity.

[0011] Preferably, the supporting structure comprises a structural frame and a wheeled walking device arranged below the structural frame.

[0012] Preferably, the wheeled walking device is three or four groups, and the diameter and width of the walking wheels are determined according to the weight of the collection device in water and the bearing capacity of the seabed sediment.

[0013] Preferably, the buoyancy block is fixed on the semi-floating carrier by snap-fitting or screws.

[0014] The second aspect of the present invention provides the application of the above-mentioned semi-floating mineral collection device in mining, by adjusting the volume and number of buoyancy blocks, the overall gravity of the semi-floating mineral collection device in water is made slightly greater than its buoyancy.

[0015] Preferably, the difference between gravity and buoyancy is determined by the maximum interference load of the hose (connecting the mining vehicle and the relay station) on the mining vehicle during operation, and the difference should not be less than the maximum interference load of the hose. The difference can be achieved by configuring the buoyancy blocks of the semi-buoyant carrier.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] 1. The present invention uses a propeller as a driving force (main propulsion devices are provided on both sides of the semi-floating carrier to propel the mining vehicle forward and turn the mining vehicle (the main propulsion devices on both sides are forward and reverse). The semi-floating carrier is laterally provided with a lateral propeller for steering and assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body. The semi-floating carrier is vertically provided with a vertical propeller for assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body), and a semi-floating solution with a wheeled walking device as a traveling support, which solves the problem that the floating mining vehicle is easily disturbed by the conveying hose.

[0018] 2. The invention uses the underwater deadweight of the mining vehicle to offset the interference load of the conveying hose. It is not necessary to frequently start the vertical and lateral thrusters to dynamically adjust the interference load of the hose like a floating mining vehicle, which reduces energy consumption and has higher vehicle directional stability accuracy. In addition, the wheeled walking wheel has better support stability and better obstacle crossing performance.

[0019] 3. The present invention uses circular running wheels to contact the seabed and provide bearing capacity, but the running wheels do not provide driving force (the propeller provides the driving force). Compared with the crawler device of the crawler mining vehicle, the disturbance to the seabed sediment is small, and the problem of the crawler mining vehicle's easy slipping and limited travel speed can be effectively solved.

[0020] 4. The present invention is a new type of seabed mining device which is green, efficient, economical and has good commercial application prospects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a side view of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 A top view of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a rear view of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a front view of the present invention;

[0025] Figure numerals: 1. semi-floating carrier; 2. main propulsion device; 3. lateral propulsion device; 4. vertical propulsion device; 5. wheeled walking device; 6. ore collecting device; 7. buoyancy block; 8. structural frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to make the present invention more clearly understood, a preferred embodiment is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows:

[0027] like Figure 1-4 As shown, the present invention provides a semi-floating mineral collection device, including a semi-floating carrier 1, a mineral collection device 6 arranged on the belly of the semi-floating carrier, and a support structure arranged below the semi-floating carrier, and a buoyancy block 7 for adjusting the buoyancy is detachably arranged above and inside the semi-floating carrier 1. The support structure includes a structural frame 8 and a wheeled walking device 5 arranged below the structural frame 8.

[0028] The buoyancy block 7 is arranged on the upper part and inside of the semi-floating carrier 1. By setting a suitable total volume of the buoyancy block 7, the gravity of the semi-floating mineral collection device in the water is slightly greater than its buoyancy. The difference between the gravity and the buoyancy is determined by the maximum interference load of the hose (connecting the mining vehicle and the relay station) on the semi-floating mineral collection device during operation, and the difference should not be less than the maximum interference load of the hose. The difference can be achieved by configuring the buoyancy block of the semi-floating carrier. The buoyancy block 7 is fixed to the semi-floating carrier 1 by snap-on or screws.

[0029] The main propulsion device 2 is arranged on both sides of the semi-floating carrier 1, and is used to propel the present invention forward and turn (the main propulsion devices on both sides rotate forward and reverse). The lateral propulsion device 3 is arranged at the bow of the semi-floating carrier 1, and is used for steering and assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body. The vertical propulsion device 4 is arranged at the four corners of the structural frame 8 and is provided with vertical thrust, which is used to assist in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body and fine-tune buoyancy or gravity.

[0030] Three or four sets of wheeled walking devices 5 are arranged at the lower part of the structural frame to support the collection device on the seabed. The diameter and width of the walking wheels are determined according to the weight of the collection device in water and the bearing capacity of the seabed sediment.

[0031] The collecting device 6 is arranged on the belly of the semi-floating carrier 1 and is used for collecting minerals.

[0032] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not any formal or substantial limitation of the present invention. It should be pointed out that ordinary technicians in this technical field can make several improvements and supplements without departing from the present invention, and these improvements and supplements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention. Any technician familiar with this profession, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, can make some changes, modifications and equivalent changes made by using the technical content disclosed above, which are equivalent embodiments of the present invention; at the same time, any changes, modifications and evolutions of any equivalent changes made to the above embodiments based on the essential technology of the present invention are still within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A semi-floating mineral collection device, characterized in that: It comprises a semi-floating carrier, a mineral collecting device arranged on the belly of the semi-floating carrier and a supporting structure arranged below the semi-floating carrier. Buoyancy blocks for adjusting the buoyancy are detachably arranged above and inside the semi-floating carrier.

2. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Main propulsion devices for propelling the mining vehicle forward and steering the mining vehicle are arranged on both sides of the semi-floating carrier.

3. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The bow of the semi-floating carrier is provided with a lateral propulsion device for steering and assisting in maintaining the stability of the vehicle body.

4. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The four corners of the semi-floating carrier are provided with vertical propulsion devices for providing vertical thrust.

5. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting structure comprises a structural frame and a wheeled walking device arranged below the structural frame.

6. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The wheeled walking device consists of three or four groups, and the diameter and width of the walking wheels are determined according to the weight of the collection device in water and the bearing capacity of the seabed sediment.

7. The semi-floating mineral collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The buoyancy block is fixed on the semi-floating carrier by means of snap connection or screws.

8. An application of the semi-floating mineral collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: By adjusting the volume and number of the buoyancy blocks, the overall gravity of the semi-floating mineral collection device in water is made slightly greater than its buoyancy.

9. The use of the semi-floating mineral collection device as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that: The difference between gravity and buoyancy is determined by the maximum interference load of the hose on the collection device during operation. The difference should not be less than the maximum interference load of the hose, which can be achieved by configuring the buoyancy blocks of the semi-buoyant carrier.

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