An underwater cathodic protection electrical joint

Abstract

The application discloses an underwater cathodic protection electric joint, wherein a male head and a female head are arranged on an ROV handle; an outer taper part is arranged on the lower part of the male head; an inner hole is arranged on the bottom of the male head; a spring base A is arranged between the bottom of the male head and the female head, and when the spring A is compressed, the spring base A enters the inner hole of the bottom of the male head; a cylindrical pin on the male head is connected with a guide groove on the female head; a spring B, a wedge block and a spring base B are arranged in a locking hole on the upper part of the female head; the cylindrical pin enters the guide groove of the female head and is in contact with a half taper part of the wedge block, so that the spring B is compressed; the wedge block enters the locking hole of the female head, so that the cylindrical pin is quickly inserted into the slot hole. Through the above mode, the underwater cathodic protection electric joint can be conveniently operated by the underwater robot, the underwater robot clamps the ROV handle, inserts the male head into the female head, and then rotates by 90 degrees to be just inserted into the locking groove, so that the operation is simple.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electronic equipment for deep-sea mining, and in particular to an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector. Background Technology

[0002] After offshore oil and gas field subsea facilities are put into production, various types of steel structure subsea facilities, in addition to coating protection, will adopt sacrificial anode and impressed current cathodic protection technology. Cathodic protection technology refers to a method that uses electrochemical methods to polarize the metal structure to be protected, causing its potential to shift negatively, so as to achieve a cathodic state in the environmental medium, i.e., a protected state. Due to the harsh underwater environment, the impact of ocean currents or other organisms on the facilities, and the fact that the depth of the subsea facilities cannot meet the diving depth of divers, in order to protect the normal and safe operation of the subsea facilities, we now need to design a cathodic protection electrical connector that is both operable and robust for deep-sea robots. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main technical problem solved by this invention is to provide a novel underwater cathodic protection electrical connector with strong versatility, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of deep water and robustness.

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector, comprising: an ROV handle, a male connector, a female connector, and a spare anode. The ROV handle is provided with a male connector and a female connector. The lower part of the male connector is provided with an outer conical portion, and the bottom of the male connector is provided with an inner hole. The bottom of the male connector and the female connector are connected by a spring base A, which enters the inner hole of the bottom of the male connector when the spring A is compressed. The female connector is provided with a guide groove. The middle part of the male connector is provided with two pin holes, and a cylindrical pin is provided in the pin holes. The cylindrical pin on the male connector is connected to the guide groove on the female connector. The upper part of the female connector is provided with a locking hole, in which a spring B, a wedge block, and a spring base B are provided. The lower part of the wedge block is provided with a semi-conical portion. The cylindrical pin enters the guide groove of the female connector and contacts the semi-conical portion of the wedge block, causing the spring B to be compressed. The wedge block enters the locking hole of the female connector, allowing the cylindrical pin to quickly enter the slot.

[0005] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the male connector on the ROV handle is connected to the spare anode via a cable.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the male end is provided with a threaded hole, and a wire threaded hexagon screw is provided in the threaded hole.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spare anode is connected to the male connector via a cable, and the cable is secured by the internal hexagonal screw in the male connector.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper part of the male connector is provided with two straight holes.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ROV handle and the male connector are connected by inserting hexagonal screws into two straight holes on the male connector.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a drainage hole is provided in the middle of the female head.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the female head is connected to the spring base A through a threaded hole.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the lower part of the female head is provided with a butt welding bevel.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spring A is sleeved around the outside of the spring base A.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this invention are: This invention provides an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector. The ROV handle adopts a standard design structure, which facilitates the operation of underwater robots. The underwater robot clamps the ROV handle, inserts the male connector into the female connector, and then rotates it 90° to enter the locking groove. The male and female connectors are locked together. The drain hole on the female connector facilitates the drainage of water inside the female connector during the connection process. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort, wherein: Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the ROV handle of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a left view of a preferred embodiment of the ROV handle of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the ROV handle of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a left-side sectional view of part B of a preferred embodiment of the ROV handle of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 6 This is a front view of part C of a preferred embodiment of the ROV handle of an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector of the present invention.

[0021] The components in the attached diagram are labeled as follows: 1. ROV handle, 2. Socket head screw, 3. Spring base A, 4. Male connector, 5. Socket head screw for wiring, 6. Spring A, 7. Female connector, 8. Cylindrical pin, 9. Spring B, 10. Wedge block, 11. Spring base B, 12. Cable, 13. Spare anode. Implementation

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] Please see Figures 1-6 This invention discloses an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector, comprising: an ROV handle 1, a male connector 4, a female connector 7, and a spare anode 13. The ROV handle 1 is provided with the male connector 4 and the female connector 7. The lower part of the male connector 4 has an outer conical portion, and the bottom of the male connector 4 has an inner hole. The bottom of the male connector 4 and the female connector 7 are connected by a spring base A3, which enters the inner hole of the bottom of the male connector 4 when the spring A6 is compressed. The female connector 7 is provided with a guide groove to facilitate connection between the female connector 7 and the male connector 4. The middle part of the male connector 4 has two pin holes, and a cylindrical pin 8 is provided in each pin hole to facilitate connection between the male connector 4 and the female connector 7. The female connector 7 has a connecting function. The cylindrical pin 8 on the male connector 4 is connected to the guide groove on the female connector 7. The upper part of the female connector 7 is provided with a locking hole. The locking hole is provided with a spring B9, a wedge 10 and a spring base B11. The lower part of the wedge 10 is provided with a semi-conical part. The wedge 10 satisfies the structural locking function between the female connector 7 and the male connector 4. The cylindrical pin 8 enters the guide groove of the female connector 7 and contacts the semi-conical part of the wedge 10, which compresses the spring B9. The wedge 10 enters the locking hole of the female connector 7, which allows the cylindrical pin 8 to quickly enter the groove, thus satisfying the spring force locking function between the female connector 7 and the male connector 4.

[0024] Preferably, after the cylindrical pin 8 quickly enters the slot, the wedge 10, under the action of the spring reset, quickly enters the guide groove of the female head 7. Since the other half of the lower part of the wedge 10 is straight, it prevents the cylindrical pin 8 from returning. The female head 7 is provided with a drain hole in the middle to facilitate the drainage of water inside the female head 7 during the connection process between the male head 4 and the female head 7. The female head 7 is provided with a threaded hole at the lower part to facilitate the installation of the spring base A3. The female head 7 is provided with a butt welding bevel at the lower part to facilitate the welding of the female head 7 to the underwater facility, so that the female head 7 can be connected to the underwater facility for cathodic protection.

[0025] Preferably, the male connector 4 on the ROV handle 1 is connected to the spare anode 13 via a cable 12. The ROV handle 1 fulfills the underwater robot's operating function. The underwater robot clamps the ROV handle 1, inserts the male connector 4 into the female connector 7, and then rotates it 90° to fit it into the locking groove.

[0026] Preferably, the male head 4 is provided with a threaded hole, and a wire threaded hexagonal screw 5 is provided in the threaded hole.

[0027] Preferably, the spare anode 13 is connected to the male connector 4 via the cable 12, and the cable 12 is tightened by the internal hex screw 5 in the male connector 4, thus satisfying the function of connecting the electrical connector to the cable 12 and the spare anode 13.

[0028] Preferably, the upper part of the male connector 4 is provided with two straight holes, and the ROV handle 1 is connected to the male connector 4 by inserting hexagon socket screws 2 into the two straight holes on the male connector 4.

[0029] Preferably, the female connector 7 has a drainage hole in the middle to facilitate drainage when the female connector 7 is connected to the male connector 4.

[0030] Preferably, the female head 7 is connected to the spring base A3 through a threaded hole.

[0031] Preferably, the lower part of the female head 7 is provided with a butt welding bevel to facilitate welding of the female head 7 to the underwater facility, so that the female head 7 can be connected to the underwater facility and provide cathodic protection for the underwater facility.

[0032] Preferably, the spring A6 is sleeved around the outside of the spring base A3.

[0033] This invention provides an underwater cathodic protection electrical connector, which solves the defects in the technical solution. The ROV handle adopts a standard design structure, which can facilitate the operation of the underwater robot. The underwater robot clamps the ROV handle, inserts the male connector into the female connector, and then rotates it 90° to enter the locking groove. The male and female connectors are locked together. The drain hole on the female connector facilitates the drainage of water inside the female connector during the connection process.

[0034] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural or procedural transformations made based on the content of the present invention's specification and drawings, or direct or indirect applications in other related technical fields, are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater cathodic protection electrical connector, characterized in that, include: The ROV assembly includes a handle, a male connector, a female connector, and a spare anode. The male connector has an outer conical portion at its lower part and an inner hole at its bottom. A spring base A connects the male and female connectors; when spring A is compressed, the spring base A enters the inner hole at the bottom of the male connector. The female connector has a guide groove. The male connector has two pin holes in its middle, each containing a cylindrical pin. The cylindrical pin on the male connector connects to the guide groove on the female connector. The female connector has a locking hole at its upper part, containing a spring B, a wedge, and a spring base B. The wedge has a semi-conical portion at its lower part. The cylindrical pin enters the guide groove of the female connector and contacts the semi-conical portion of the wedge, compressing spring B and causing the wedge to enter the locking hole of the female connector, allowing the cylindrical pin to quickly enter the slot. The male connector on the ROV handle is connected to the spare anode via a cable. The female connector has a drain hole in its middle.

2. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The male end is provided with a threaded hole, and a wire threaded screw is provided in the threaded hole.

3. An underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that, The spare anode is connected to the male connector via a cable, and the cable is secured by the internal hex screw in the male connector.

4. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The male connector has two straight holes on its upper part.

5. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ROV handle is connected to the male connector by inserting hexagonal screws into two straight holes on the male connector.

6. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The female head is connected to the spring base A through a threaded hole.

7. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower part of the female head is provided with a butt welding bevel.

8. The underwater cathodic protection electrical connector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spring A is sleeved around the outside of the spring base A.

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