An automated seabed drilling and sampling device

Abstract

This invention provides an automated seabed drilling and sampling device, relating to the field of seabed drilling technology. It includes a control unit, a drill pipe operating unit, a first clamping unit, and a motion drive unit mounted on the seabed. The drill pipe operating unit stores multiple drill pipes. The first clamping unit is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the motion drive unit, which drives the first clamping unit to rotate around a vertical axis and move vertically up and down. The control unit controls the operation of the drill pipe operating unit, the first clamping unit, and the motion drive unit. Compared to large and expensive drilling vessels, the automated seabed drilling and sampling device provided by this invention can be carried by a much smaller vessel, allowing for more flexible surveying and sampling, meeting the requirements of operations in complex underwater environments, and offering lower cost and shorter processing time.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of seabed drilling technology, and in particular to an automatic seabed drilling and sampling device. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of human economy, resource and energy shortages have become a key issue restricting the sustainable development of human society. The ocean is undoubtedly the largest treasure trove of resources, possessing resources and energy to support human development. Current methods for investigating seabed sediment resources require drilling vessels to extend long drill pipes from the sea surface into the sediment. Similarly, when exploring ancient shipwrecks, it is necessary to sample and study sediments near potential shipwreck areas to determine if ancient shipwrecks exist. However, due to the limited number of drilling operations globally, using drilling vessels to drill on the sea surface is not only time-consuming but also extremely costly. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new type of drilling and sampling device to solve these problems. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic seabed drilling and sampling device to solve the problems existing in the prior art. Compared with huge and expensive drilling ships, the automatic seabed drilling and sampling device provided by this invention can be carried by a much smaller ship, so as to conduct more flexible surveys and sampling, meet the task requirements of working in complex underwater environments, and is low in cost and short in time.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following solution:

[0005] This invention provides an automatic seabed drilling and sampling device, including a control unit, a drill rod operating unit, a first clamping unit, and a motion drive unit disposed on the seabed; the drill rod operating unit stores multiple drill rods; the first clamping unit is fixedly disposed at the drive end of the motion drive unit, and the motion drive unit can drive the first clamping unit to rotate around a vertical axis and move up and down along the vertical direction; the control unit controls the operation of the drill rod operating unit, the first clamping unit, and the motion drive unit;

[0006] When lowering the drill rod, the drill rod operation unit drives any one of the drill rods to move to a working position that coincides with the vertical axis. The first clamping unit clamps the drill rod, and the motion drive unit drives the drill rod to drill into the seabed to collect samples. Except for the first drill rod, all other drill rods need to be tightened and fixed to the top of the previous drill rod before drilling into the seabed.

[0007] When the drill rod is pulled up, the first clamping unit clamps the topmost drill rod, the motion drive unit drives the drill rod to drill outward to the working position, and the drill rod operation unit retrieves the drill rod at the working position. When the drill rod is pulled up, except for the bottommost drill rod, the remaining drill rods must be unscrewed from the top of the previous drill rod and disconnected from the connection before they can be retrieved by the drill rod operation unit.

[0008] Preferably, it further includes a second clamping unit, which is fixedly disposed directly below the working position;

[0009] When the drill rod is lowered, the second clamping unit is used to clamp and fix the drill rod below the working position so as to tighten and fix the upper drill rod to the lower drill rod;

[0010] When the drill rod is pulled up, the second clamping unit is used to clamp and fix the drill rod below the working position so as to unscrew the upper drill rod from the lower drill rod and disconnect it.

[0011] Preferably, it further includes a gripping unit and a housing, the housing being seated on the seabed, the drill rod operating unit, the first clamping unit, the second clamping unit and the motion drive unit being disposed inside the housing, and the gripping unit being disposed at the bottom of the housing and used for gripping the seabed.

[0012] Preferably, the motion drive unit includes a linear feed unit and a rotary unit. The linear feed unit is fixedly mounted on a fixed frame, which is fixedly mounted inside the housing. The rotary unit is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the linear feed unit, and the first clamping unit is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the rotary unit.

[0013] Preferably, the linear feed unit uses a set of gear rack and roller track structure to drive the rotary unit to perform linear feed motion and return motion.

[0014] Preferably, the rotating unit includes a rotary motor, which is connected to the first clamping unit via a rotating stepped shaft. An angular contact bearing and a thrust bearing are installed on the rotating stepped shaft to withstand gravity and radial vibration during operation. A rotating cylinder is connected to the bottom of the stepped shaft to accommodate the clamping motor of the first clamping unit.

[0015] Preferably, both the first clamping unit and the second clamping unit are three-jaw chuck structures.

[0016] Preferably, the drill rod operating unit includes a rotating frame and a rotating frame driving device. The rotating frame is provided with multiple clamping positions. The rotating frame driving device can drive the rotating frame to rotate to any clamping position that coincides with the working position. The drill rod is clamped by a V-shaped drill rod clamp. When the first clamping unit clamps the drill rod, driving the rotating frame to rotate can cause the drill rod to disengage from the V-shaped drill rod clamp to facilitate subsequent drilling operations.

[0017] Preferably, multiple gripping units are provided, and each is connected to the outer shell to serve as the four legs of the outer shell;

[0018] The gripping unit includes an electric actuator, a curved arm, a cylinder, a push rod head, and multiple claws. One end of the curved arm is connected to the outer casing, and the other end is connected to a connecting rod on one side of the cylinder via a cylindrical pin to form a rotating pair. A tension spring is provided between the curved arm and the connecting rod to achieve shock absorption. The cylinder is inverted, and the electric actuator is fixedly installed inside the cylinder. The end of the electric actuator is fixedly provided with the push rod head. The claws are arranged sequentially around the lower edge of the cylinder, and a connecting post is provided at the top of each claw. One end of the connecting post is fixedly connected to the claw, and the other end rests on the bottom of the push rod head. The middle part of the connecting post is hinged to the lower part of the cylinder via a pin and a torsion spring. The torsion spring provides the claw with an inward contraction force.

[0019] Preferably, the claw includes a claw shell and a plurality of gripping sheets disposed within the claw shell. The gripping sheets are stacked, and each gripping sheet is rotatably disposed within the claw shell. The portion of the connecting post near the claw is made of rubber material.

[0020] The present invention achieves the following technical effects compared to the prior art:

[0021] 1. Drilling operations can be completed without the need for a large drilling vessel, resulting in low costs;

[0022] 2. The drill pipe of this device can directly drill into the ground for drilling and sampling, which saves drilling time compared to drilling ships. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in 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.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic seabed drilling and sampling device in this invention;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall internal structure of the automatic seabed drilling and sampling device in this invention;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the linear feed unit structure;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the drill pipe operating unit structure;

[0028] Figure 5 Schematic diagrams of a drill rod with a drill bit at the bottom and a drill rod without a drill bit;

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first clamping unit and the second clamping unit;

[0030] Figure 7(a) is a schematic diagram of the gripping unit structure;

[0031] Figure 7(b) is a cross-sectional view of the gripping unit structure;

[0032] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the claw structure;

[0033] Figure 9(a) is a schematic diagram of the rotating unit structure;

[0034] Figure 9(b) is a cross-sectional view of the rotating unit structure;

[0035] In the diagram: 1-Outer shell; 2-Grip unit; 3-Linear feed unit; 4-Rotation unit; 5-First clamping unit; 6-Drill rod operating unit; 7-Fixed frame; 8-Rack; 9-Roller assembly; 10-Guide rail; 11-Feed motor; 12-Slider; 13-Gear; 14-Aluminum frame; 15-V-type drill rod clamp; 16-Drill bit; 17-Rotation shaft; 18-Drill rod; 21-Bent arm; 22-Tension spring; 23-Cylinder; 24-Claw; 25-Torsion Spring; 26-Electric Actuator; 27-Actuator Round Head; 28-Grip Plate; 29-Rubber Post; 31-Rotating Unit Motor; 32-Reducer; 33-Stepped Shaft; 34-Angular Contact Bearing; 35-Thrust Bearing; 36-Slip Ring; 37-Rotating Cylinder; 38-Jaws; 39-Toothed Slider; 40-Hollow Gear; 41-Clamping Motor and Reducer; 42-Groove. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. 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.

[0037] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic seabed drilling and sampling device to solve the problems existing in the prior art. Compared with huge and expensive drilling ships, the automatic seabed drilling and sampling device provided by this invention can be carried by a much smaller ship, so as to conduct more flexible surveys and sampling, meet the task requirements of working in complex underwater environments, and is low in cost and short in time.

[0038] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0039] This invention provides an automatic seabed drilling and sampling device, such as... Figures 1-2 As shown, it includes a housing 1, a control unit, a drill pipe operating unit 6, a first clamping unit 5, and a motion drive unit disposed on the seabed; the drill pipe operating unit 6 stores multiple drill pipes; the first clamping unit 5 is fixedly disposed on the drive end of the motion drive unit, and the motion drive unit can drive the first clamping unit 5 to rotate around a vertical axis and move up and down along the vertical direction; the control unit controls the operation of the drill pipe operating unit 6, the first clamping unit 5, and the motion drive unit.

[0040] The outer shell 1 has an opening at the bottom and sits on the seabed. The outer shell 1 has a receiving space for accommodating drilling components, such as a control unit, a drill rod operating unit 6, a first clamping unit 5, and a motion drive unit. The outer shell 1 adopts a pyramid-shaped truncated pyramid with a smaller top and a larger bottom. In waters with rapid currents, the pyramid-shaped structure of the outer shell 1 can greatly improve the stability of the drilling process. In a preferred embodiment, it also includes a gripping unit 2, which is located at the bottom of the outer shell 1 and is used to grip the seabed.

[0041] When the drill pipe is lowered, the drill pipe operation unit 6 drives any one of the drill pipes to move to the working position that coincides with the vertical axis. The first clamping unit 5 clamps the drill pipe, and the motion drive unit drives the drill pipe to drill into the seabed to collect samples. All drill pipes except the first drill pipe need to be tightened and fixed to the top of the previous drill pipe before drilling into the seabed. In order to realize drilling and sampling, a sampling drill bit is set at the bottom of the first drill pipe. The sampling drill bit is used to collect samples.

[0042] When the drill rod is pulled up, the first clamping unit 5 clamps the topmost drill rod, the motion drive unit drives the drill rod to drill outward to the working position, and the drill rod operation unit 6 retrieves the drill rod at the working position. When the drill rod is pulled up, except for the bottommost drill rod, the rest of the drill rods must be unscrewed from the top of the previous drill rod and disconnected before they can be retrieved by the drill rod operation unit 6.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, such as Figure 4As shown, the drill rod operating unit 6 is housed within the outer casing 1 and is used to store multiple drill rods and move any one of them to the working position. The drill rod operating unit 6 includes a rotating frame and a rotating frame drive device. The rotating frame has multiple clamping positions, and the rotating frame drive device can drive the rotating frame to rotate until any clamping position coincides with the working position. The drill rod is clamped by a V-shaped drill rod clamp 15. When lowering the drill rod, after the first clamping unit 5 clamps the drill rod, driving the rotating frame to rotate allows the drill rod to disengage from the V-shaped drill rod clamp 15 for subsequent drilling operations. When raising the drill rod, after the drill rod is raised to the working position, rotating the rotating frame in the opposite direction allows the drill rod at the working position to be inserted into the V-shaped drill rod clamp 15 for storage and fixation. After the drill rod is inserted into the V-shaped drill rod clamp 15, the first clamping unit 5 releases the drill rod. Additionally, a layer of soft rubber is provided on the contact surface between the V-shaped drill rod clamp 15 and the drill rod to increase the friction between the drill rod and the clamp, preventing the drill rod from slipping. In other embodiments, a drill rod clamp with an automatic snap-fit ​​structure can also be used to clamp the drill rod.

[0044] like Figure 6 As shown, the first clamping unit 5 is designed as a three-jaw chuck structure. The jaws 38 mounted on the slider 12 are driven by the rotation of the hollow gear 40 to achieve clamping and loosening actions. The clamping motor and reducer 41 are connected to the central hollow gear 40, driving three toothed sliders 39 to move along the circumferential tangential direction. These three toothed sliders 39 push the jaws 38 to move radially through some helical teeth, realizing the clamping or loosening of the drill rod. In order to increase the friction with the drill rod, some grooves 42 are engraved at the end of the jaws 38, and a cylindrical frame is set to provide guidance and limit the range of motion of the toothed sliders 39 and jaws 38. Of course, the first clamping unit 5 can also adopt any existing clamping mechanism for clamping cylindrical objects.

[0045] When drilling is required at a certain seabed location, a small vessel carrying the automatic seabed drilling and sampling device arrives at the destination and lowers it to the seabed. The gripping unit 2 then holds the seabed. The motion drive unit, drill rod operation unit 6, and first clamping unit 5 work together to perform the drilling operation. After drilling is completed, the drill rod is retracted sequentially, and the entire device is transported to the vessel where the sample is retrieved. Therefore, the solution provided by this invention eliminates the need for a large drilling vessel to complete drilling operations, resulting in low costs. Furthermore, the drill rod of this device can directly drill into the ground for sampling, saving drilling time compared to drilling vessels.

[0046] In some embodiments, to facilitate the connection and disconnection of the drill pipe, such as Figure 5 As shown, the lower and upper ends of the drill pipe have external and internal threads, respectively, for connecting with other drill pipes. A second clamping unit is also provided, which is fixedly positioned directly below the working position; the second clamping unit has the same structure as the first clamping unit, but their sizes may differ.

[0047] When the drill pipe is lowered, the second clamping unit is used to clamp and fix the drill pipe below the working position so as to tighten and fix the upper drill pipe to the lower drill pipe;

[0048] When pulling up the drill pipe, the second clamping unit is used to clamp the drill pipe below the fixed working position so that the upper drill pipe can be unscrewed from the lower drill pipe and disconnected.

[0049] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown in Figures 9(a) and 9(b), the motion drive unit includes a linear feed unit 3 and a rotary unit 4. The linear feed unit 3 is fixedly mounted on a fixed frame 7, which is fixedly mounted inside the outer casing 1. The rotary unit 4 is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the linear feed unit 3, and a first clamping unit 5 is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the rotary unit 4. The linear feed unit 3 uses a set of gears 13, racks 8, and roller track structure to drive the rotary unit 4 to perform linear feed motion and return motion. Specifically, in the outer... The shell 1 is equipped with a vertical guide rail 10. The guide rail 10 is a T-shaped guide frame and there are two of them. The two guide rails 10 are spaced apart. The slider 12 can be slidably mounted on the guide rail 10 through multiple pairs of roller groups 9. The driving structure is a gear 13 and a rack 8. The rack 8 is vertical and fixed. The linear feed motor 11 is fixedly mounted on the slider 12. The motor shaft of the linear feed motor 11 is coaxially connected to the gear 13. The gear 13 and the rack 8 mesh. The linear feed motor 11 drives forward and reverse to realize the drilling and return of the drill rod.

[0050] The rotating unit 4 includes a rotary motor, which is also fixed on the slider 12. The rotary motor is connected to the first clamping unit 5 through a rotating stepped shaft 33. An angular contact bearing 34 and a thrust bearing 35 are installed on the rotating stepped shaft 33 to withstand gravity and radial vibration during operation. A rotating cylinder 37 is connected to the bottom of the stepped shaft 33, which is used to accommodate the motor of the first clamping unit 5.

[0051] In some embodiments, such as Figure 7(a) and 7(b) As shown, multiple gripping units 2 are provided, and each is connected to the outer shell 1 to serve as the four legs of the outer shell 1;

[0052] The gripping unit 2 includes an electric actuator 26, a bent arm 21, a cylinder 23, a push rod head 27, and multiple claws 24. One end of the bent arm 21 is connected to the outer casing 1, and the other end is connected to a connecting rod on one side of the cylinder 23 via a cylindrical pin to form a rotating pair. A tension spring 22 is provided between the bent arm 21 and the connecting rod to achieve shock absorption. The cylinder 23 is inverted, and the electric actuator 26 is fixedly installed inside the cylinder 23. The end of the electric actuator 26 is fixedly provided with a push rod head 27. The claws 24 are arranged sequentially around the lower edge of the cylinder 23, and a connecting post is provided at the top of the claws 24. One end of the connecting post is fixedly connected to the claw 24, and the other end is abutted below the push rod head 27. The middle part of the connecting post is hinged to the lower part of the cylinder 23 via a pin and a torsion spring 25. The torsion spring 25 gives the claws 24 an inward contraction force. The electric actuator 26 pushes the claw 24 downward, causing the claw 24 to tend to separate outward. After the electric actuator 26 retracts, the claw 24 grips the ground under the torque of the torsion spring 25.

[0053] In some embodiments, such as Figure 8 As shown, the claw 24 includes a claw shell and multiple gripping plates 28 disposed within the claw shell. The gripping plates 28 are stacked, and each gripping plate 28 is rotatably disposed within the claw shell. Specifically, there are ten gripping plates 28 in the claw shell that can rotate independently, which can better fit and more firmly when encountering uneven seabed surfaces. The part of the connecting post near the claw 24 is made of rubber material, which can buffer and better fit the seabed surface when encountering uneven seabed surfaces.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the outer shell 1 is approximately 2m long, 1.5m wide, and 1.1m high; the drill rod diameter is 50mm, the drill hole diameter is 30mm, the drill rod length is 450mm, there are a total of 9 drill rods, and the total extension can reach approximately 4m.

[0055] Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this invention. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this invention. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

Claims

1. An automatic seabed drilling and sampling device, characterized in that: The system includes a control unit, a drill pipe operating unit, a first clamping unit, and a motion drive unit disposed on the seabed. The drill pipe operating unit stores multiple drill pipes. The first clamping unit is fixedly disposed at the drive end of the motion drive unit, and the motion drive unit can drive the first clamping unit to rotate around a vertical axis and move up and down along the vertical direction. The control unit controls the operation of the drill pipe operating unit, the first clamping unit, and the motion drive unit. When lowering the drill rod, the drill rod operation unit drives any one of the drill rods to move to a working position that coincides with the vertical axis. The first clamping unit clamps the drill rod, and the motion drive unit drives the drill rod to drill into the seabed to collect samples. Except for the first drill rod, all other drill rods need to be tightened and fixed to the top of the previous drill rod before drilling into the seabed. When the drill rod is pulled up, the first clamping unit clamps the topmost drill rod, the motion drive unit drives the drill rod to drill outward to the working position, and the drill rod operation unit retrieves the drill rod at the working position. When the drill rod is pulled up, except for the bottommost drill rod, the remaining drill rods need to be unscrewed from the top of the previous drill rod and disconnected before they can be retrieved by the drill rod operation unit. It also includes a second clamping unit, which is fixedly disposed directly below the working position. When lowering the drill pipe, the second clamping unit is used to clamp and fix the drill pipe below the working position to achieve the tightening and fixing of the upper drill pipe to the lower drill pipe. When raising the drill pipe, the second clamping unit is used to clamp and fix the drill pipe below the working position to achieve the unscrewing and disconnection of the upper drill pipe from the lower drill pipe. It also includes a gripping unit and a housing. The housing is seated on the seabed. The drill pipe operating unit, the first clamping unit, the second clamping unit, and the motion drive unit are all disposed inside the housing. The gripping unit is disposed at the bottom of the housing and is used to grip the seabed. The drill pipe operating unit includes a rotating frame and a rotating frame drive device. The rotating frame is provided with multiple clamping positions. The rotating frame drive device can drive the rotating frame to rotate to any clamping position that coincides with the working position. The drill pipe is clamped by a V-shaped drill pipe clamp. When the first clamping unit clamps the drill pipe... After the rod is driven to rotate, the rotating frame can disengage the drill rod from the V-shaped drill rod clamp to facilitate subsequent drilling operations. Multiple gripping units are provided, each connected to the outer casing as one of its four legs. Each gripping unit includes an electric actuator, a bent arm, a cylinder, a push rod head, and multiple claws. One end of the bent arm is connected to the outer casing, and the other end is connected to a connecting rod on one side of the cylinder via a cylindrical pin to form a rotating pair. A tension spring is provided between the bent arm and the connecting rod for shock absorption. The cylinder is inverted, and the electric actuator is fixedly installed inside the cylinder. The end of the electric actuator is fixedly provided with the push rod head. The claws are arranged circumferentially around the lower edge of the cylinder, and a connecting post is provided at the top of each claw. One end of the connecting post is fixedly connected to the claw, and the other end rests below the push rod head. The middle part of the connecting post is hinged to the lower part of the cylinder via a pin and a torsion spring. The torsion spring provides an inward contraction force to the claw.

2. The automatic seabed drilling and sampling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The motion drive unit includes a linear feed unit and a rotary unit. The linear feed unit is fixedly mounted on a fixed frame, which is fixedly mounted inside the housing. The rotary unit is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the linear feed unit, and the first clamping unit is fixedly mounted on the drive end of the rotary unit.

3. The automatic seabed drilling and sampling device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The linear feed unit uses a set of gear rack and roller track structure to drive the rotary unit to perform linear feed and return motion.

4. The automatic seabed drilling and sampling device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotating unit includes a rotary motor, which is connected to the first clamping unit via a rotating stepped shaft. An angular contact bearing and a thrust bearing are installed on the rotating stepped shaft to withstand gravity and radial vibration during operation. A rotating cylinder is connected to the bottom of the stepped shaft to accommodate the clamping motor of the first clamping unit.

5. The automatic seabed drilling and sampling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the first clamping unit and the second clamping unit are three-jaw chuck structures.

6. The automatic seabed drilling and sampling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The claw includes a claw shell and a plurality of gripping sheets disposed within the claw shell. The gripping sheets are stacked, and each gripping sheet is rotatably disposed within the claw shell. The portion of the connecting post near the claw is made of rubber material.

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