Reconfigurable subsea crawler for submarine cable repair

Abstract

The application discloses a reconfigurable submarine crawler working machine for submarine cable repair, which comprises driving wheels arranged in left-right symmetry, driven by motors and fixed on a cabin, driven wheels connected with the driving wheels through connecting rods, a piston mechanism with variable length hinged at the midpoint of the connecting rods, and swing arm wheels hinged at the other end of the piston mechanism; the swing arm wheels, the driving wheels and the driven wheels on one side of the working machine crawler are triangular and coplanar, and the swing arm wheels, the driving wheels and the driven wheels are connected into a whole through the crawler; horizontal moving mechanisms are arranged on the swing arm wheels to make the swing arm wheels close to or away from the driving wheels. The application changes the ground contact area of the crawler between the driving wheels and the swing arm wheels through the arrangement of the horizontal moving mechanisms and the crawler, so that the subsidence amount of the crawler working machine contacting the soil is controlled; meanwhile, the stability of the crawler working machine in the movement process is ensured through the arrangement of compensation rods, so that the submarine cable repair work is more efficiently carried out.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of underwater robots, and particularly relates to a reconfigurable seabed crawler for submarine cable repair. TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

[0002] The seabed optical cable is the main artery that ensures communication between global regional networks. The submarine cable is the only channel for transporting offshore new energy such as offshore wind power generation and ocean tidal energy to land for use, and the important role of the submarine cable cannot be replaced. Due to the uneven soil quality of the seabed, the washing of sea waves, the misfishing of fishing boats, biological invasion, and the aging of the cable itself, the submarine cable is damaged or even fails, and needs to be repaired in time to avoid greater losses.

[0003] When the submarine cable fails in a water depth of 30 m or less, the construction party often adopts the method of diver diving for repair, but the shortcomings are obvious: ① it can only be operated under the condition of no wind, no wave and flat tide; ② the working time of each diver is usually not more than 1 hour per day, and the efficiency is low; ③ the ocean weather is unpredictable, the danger coefficient is high, and the construction safety is affected.

[0004] In the sea area with a water depth of more than 50 m, divers cannot work, and the submarine crawler needs to be repaired in the sea area with a water depth of more than 100 m.

[0005] Due to the complexity of the seabed soil, the crawler easily contacts the uneven soil and sinks, and then causes the driving wheel to slip, fail, and provide insufficient horizontal traction.

[0006] It is necessary to provide a seabed crawler for adjusting the ground contact area of the crawler to control the sinking amount of the crawler contacting the soil and improve the repair efficiency of the crawler. SUMMARY

[0007] The application provides a reconfigurable seabed crawler for submarine cable repair, which adjusts the ground contact area of the crawler to control the sinking amount of the crawler contacting the soil and improve the repair efficiency of the crawler.

[0008] The application discloses a reconfigurable seabed crawler for submarine cable repair, which comprises driving wheels arranged in left-right symmetry and driven by motors and fixed on a cabin, driven wheels connected with the driving wheels through connecting rods, a piston mechanism with variable length hinged at the midpoint of the connecting rod, and a swing arm wheel hinged at the other end of the piston mechanism.

[0009] The swing arm wheel, the driving wheel and the driven wheel on one side of the crawler of the operation machine are triangular and coplanar, and the swing arm wheel, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are connected as a whole through the crawler.

[0010] The swing arm wheel is provided with a horizontal moving mechanism for moving it close to or away from the driving wheel.

[0011] Further, the swing arm wheel, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are all of the same size.

[0012] Further, the left and right driving wheels are connected to the corresponding bevel gear sets through wheel shafts, and the bevel gear sets are driven by motors.

[0013] Further, the piston mechanism comprises a piston rod hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel, a first sliding guide arranged inside the piston rod, a first sliding block arranged inside the first sliding guide, a spring fixed on the first sliding block, and a second sliding block connected to the other end of the spring.

[0014] Further, the piston mechanism further comprises a compensation rod hinged at one end to a connecting rod arranged close to the driven wheel, and the other end of the compensation rod is hinged to the second sliding block.

[0015] Further, the horizontal moving mechanism comprises a driving rod hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel, and the other end of the driving rod is fixed to a third sliding block arranged on a second sliding guide.

[0016] Further, a plurality of load bearing wheels are arranged between the driving wheel and the swing arm wheel for bearing load.

[0017] Further, the left and right swing arm wheels are connected through an electric push rod connecting shaft, and the electric push rod connecting shaft is powered by an electric push rod.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following advantages:

[0019] 1. By arranging the horizontal moving mechanism and the track, the ground contact area of the track between the driving wheel and the swing arm wheel is changed, so that the amount of subsidence of the track working machine contacting the soil is controlled, and the repair efficiency of the track working machine is improved.

[0020] 2. By arranging the compensation rod, the stability of the track working machine during movement is ensured, so that the submarine cable repair work is carried out more efficiently.

[0021] 3. By horizontal movement of the electric push rod, the distance between the swing arm wheel and the driving wheel is increased, which is used to increase the ground contact area of the track to increase the traction force, and to avoid excessive subsidence amount leading to shear failure of the track plate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 Figure 1 is a left view of the reconfigurable seabed track working machine for submarine cable repair according to the present application;

[0023] Figure 2A top view of the reconfigurable subsea track-type machine for submarine cable repair of the present application;

[0024] Figure 3 A front view of the reconfigurable subsea track-type machine for submarine cable repair of the present application;

[0025] Figure 4 A first state structure diagram of the reconfigurable subsea track-type machine for submarine cable repair of the present application;

[0026] Figure 5 A second state structure diagram of the reconfigurable subsea track-type machine for submarine cable repair of the present application;

[0027] Fig. 1 is a drive wheel; Fig. 2 is a driven wheel; Fig. 3 is a piston mechanism; Fig. 31 is a first sliding guide rail; Fig. 32 is a piston rod; Fig. 321 is a first sliding block; Fig. 322 is a spring; Fig. 323 is a second sliding block; Fig. 4 is a horizontal movement mechanism; Fig. 41 is a drive rod; Fig. 42 is a third sliding block; Fig. 43 is a second sliding guide rail; Fig. 5 is a compensation rod; Fig. 6 is a connecting rod; Fig. 7 is a swing arm wheel; Fig. 8 is a track; Fig. 9 is an outer plate; Fig. 10 is a machine cabin; Fig. 11 is a buoyancy module; Fig. 12 is a synchronous belt; Fig. 13 is an electric push rod connecting shaft; Fig. 14 is an inner plate; Fig. 15 is a bevel gear set; Fig. 16 is a motor; Fig. 17 is an electric push rod; Fig. 18 is a bearing wheel; and Fig. 19 is a battery. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present application will be further described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Figures 1-5 and specific embodiments.

[0029] The present application discloses a reconfigurable subsea track-type machine for submarine cable repair, comprising left and right symmetrical drive wheels 1 driven by a motor 16 and fixed on a machine cabin 10, a driven wheel 2 connected to the drive wheel 1 through a connecting rod 6, a variable-length piston mechanism 3 hinged at the midpoint of the connecting rod 6, and a swing arm wheel 7 hinged at the other end of the piston mechanism 3;

[0030] The swing arm wheel 7, the drive wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 on one side of the machine track form a triangle and are coplanar, and the swing arm wheel 7, the drive wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 are connected as a whole through a track 8;

[0031] A horizontal movement mechanism 4 is arranged on the swing arm wheel 7 to move it closer to or further away from the drive wheel 1.

[0032] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the machine cabin 10 is arranged in the center of the machine, and the drive wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 are arranged on both sides of the machine cabin 10. Figures 1-3As shown, the track working machine main cabin mainly includes cabin 10 and buoyancy module 11, wherein the buoyancy module 11 is fixed above the cabin 10. The swing arm wheel 7 always moves on an elliptical track with the driving wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 as the focus during the reconstruction process. The present application changes the ground contact area of the track between the driving wheel and the swing arm wheel through the arrangement of the horizontal moving mechanism and the track, thereby controlling the amount of subsidence of the track working machine contacting the soil and improving the repair efficiency of the track working machine.

[0033] In the embodiment, the swing arm wheel 7, the driving wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 are all the same size. This ensures the stability of the whole.

[0034] In the embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 As shown, the left and right driving wheels 1 are connected to the corresponding bevel gear sets 15 through the wheel shafts, and the bevel gear sets 15 are driven by the motors 16. The bevel gear sets 15 and the motors 16 of the present application are arranged symmetrically left and right, and the left and right motors 16 work independently of each other, which facilitates the turning operation of the track working machine.

[0035] In the embodiment, as shown in Figure 4 and 5 As shown, the piston mechanism 3 includes a piston rod 32 hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel 7, and a first sliding guide rail 31 is arranged inside the piston rod 32. The piston mechanism 3 further includes a first sliding block 321 arranged inside the first sliding guide rail 31, a spring 322 is fixed on the first sliding block 321, and a second sliding block 323 is connected to the other end of the spring 322. The piston rod 32 changes length passively according to the reconstruction and actual working conditions, which can compensate and tension the track during the mechanism reconstruction of the reconfigurable track working machine, and increase the stability of the track machine during the deformation process. The use of the tensioning action of the spring 322 makes the track 8 in a tensioned state, thereby making up for the errors caused in the actual process.

[0036] In the embodiment, the piston mechanism 3 further includes a compensation rod 5 hinged at one end to the connecting rod 6 near the driven wheel 2, and the other end of the compensation rod 5 is hinged to the second sliding block 323. The present application sets the compensation rod 5 to ensure the stability of the track working machine during the movement process due to vibration and other reasons during the vehicle movement process, thereby more efficiently carrying out the submarine cable repair work.

[0037] In the embodiment, as shown in Figures 4-5 The horizontal moving mechanism 4 includes a driving rod 41 hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel 7, and the other end of the driving rod 41 is fixed to a third sliding block 42, and the third sliding block 42 is arranged on a second sliding guide rail 43. Figure 4 It is a first state structure diagram, and at this time the third sliding block 42 is located at the leftmost end; Figure 5For the second state structure diagram, the third slider 42 is located at the right end. The driving rod 41 is powered by the battery 19.

[0038] In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a plurality of load wheels 18 for bearing weight are also provided between the driving wheel 1 and the swing arm wheel 7. The inner plate 14 and the outer plate 9 are respectively installed on both sides of the driving wheel 1 and the load wheel 18. Figure 2

[0039] In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, Figure 2 and 3 As shown in the figure, the left and right swing arm wheels 7 are connected by the electric push rod connecting shaft 13, which is powered by the electric push rod 17. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, Figure 3 Two synchronous belts 12 are provided on the left and right symmetrical electric push rod connecting shafts 13 to ensure synchronous movement of the left and right swing arm wheels 7. The number of electric push rods 17 is 2, which are symmetrically arranged to ensure the stability of the whole. During seabed operation, due to the complexity of seabed soil, it may cause insufficient traction. The crawler working machine is mainly affected by traction, working force, acceleration resistance and friction resistance in the horizontal direction during operation; through the horizontal movement of the electric push rod 17, the distance between the swing arm wheel 7 and the driving wheel 1 is increased, which is used to increase the ground contact area of the crawler belt 8 to increase the traction and avoid excessive subsidence of the crawler belt plate to cause shear failure.

[0040] In this embodiment, the left and right motors 16 transmit power to the left and right driving wheels 1 through the synchronous belts 12, the crawler belt 8 contacts with the ground, the driving wheel 1 drives the crawler belt 8 to move to generate forward thrust, so that the crawler working machine moves forward. The distance between the driving wheel 1 and the swing arm wheel 7 is adjusted by the electric push rod 17 to change the ground contact area of the crawler belt 8 and the height of the center of gravity of the crawler working machine, and the reconstruction process is completed. During the reconstruction process of the crawler working machine, the swing arm wheel 7 always moves on an elliptical trajectory with the driving wheel 1 and the driven wheel 2 as the focus, and the total length of the crawler belt 8 does not change. Due to vibration and other reasons during vehicle movement, errors may occur to cause the crawler belt 8 to be unable to be tensioned, and the compensation mechanism is used to tension the crawler belt.

[0041] The above-mentioned invention only expresses the implementation of the embodiment of the invention, and cannot be understood as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent, nor does it limit the structure of the embodiment of the invention in any form. It should be noted that for ordinary skilled persons in the art, without departing from the concept of the embodiment of the invention, a number of changes and improvements can be made, which are within the scope of protection of the embodiment of the invention.​

Claims

1. A reconfigurable subsea crawler for submarine cable repair, characterized in that: it comprises left and right symmetrical drive wheels (1) driven by motors (16) and fixed on the cabin (10), driven wheels (2) connected to the drive wheels (1) through connecting rods (6), the midpoint of the connecting rods (6) is hinged with a piston mechanism (3) with variable length, the other end of the piston mechanism (3) is hinged with a swing arm wheel (7); the swing arm wheel (7), the drive wheel (1) and the driven wheel (2) on one side of the crawler track form a triangle and are coplanar, the swing arm wheel (7), the drive wheel (1) and the driven wheel (2) are connected as a whole through the crawler track (8); the swing arm wheel (7) is provided with a horizontal moving mechanism (4) for moving it closer to or away from the drive wheel (1), the swing arm wheel (7) always moves on an elliptical trajectory with the drive wheel (1) and the driven wheel (2) as the foci during reconfiguration; the piston mechanism (3) comprises a piston rod (32) hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel (7), a first sliding guide rail (31) is arranged inside the piston rod (32), the piston mechanism (3) further comprises a first sliding block (321) arranged inside the first sliding guide rail (31), a spring (322) is fixed on the first sliding block (321), the other end of the spring (322) is connected to a second sliding block (323); the piston mechanism (3) further comprises a compensation rod (5) hinged at one end to the connecting rod (6) near the driven wheel (2), the other end of the compensation rod (5) is hinged to the second sliding block (323); the swing arm wheel (7), the drive wheel (1) and the driven wheel (2) are all the same size; the left and right drive wheels (1) are connected to corresponding bevel gear sets (15) through wheel shafts, the bevel gear sets (15) are driven by motors (16); the horizontal moving mechanism (4) comprises a drive rod (41) hinged at one end to the swing arm wheel (7), the other end of the drive rod (41) is fixed to a third sliding block (42), the third sliding block (42) is arranged on a second sliding guide rail (43); a plurality of load wheels (18) are arranged between the drive wheel (1) and the swing arm wheel (7) for bearing weight; the left and right swing arm wheels (7) are connected through an electric push rod connecting shaft (13), the electric push rod connecting shaft (13) is powered by an electric push rod (17). ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 2. A reconfigurable seabed tracklayer for submarine cable repair according to claim 1, characterized in that: ​ 3. A reconfigurable seabed tracklayer for submarine cable repair according to claim 1, characterized in that: ​ 4. The reconfigurable seabed tracklayer for submarine cable repair of claim 1, wherein, ​ 5. The reconfigurable seabed tracklayer for subsea cable repair of claim 1, wherein: ​ 6. A reconfigurable seabed tracklayer for submarine cable repair according to claim 1, characterized in that: ​

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