A ship-like water surface relay and a method of operating the same

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of water surface relay of ship type, relay body and control system and arrangement mechanism installed on the top of relay body, the shipboard of relay body is equipped with arrangement groove, the groove bottom surface of arrangement groove is inclined surface, the lower part of inclined surface is equipped with an arrangement port connected to the bottom side of relay body, arrangement mechanism includes electric winch, placement warehouse, slide and underwater robot, electric winch is set on relay body, slide is set on inclined surface, placement warehouse is slidably installed on slide, underwater robot is placed in placement warehouse, electric winch is drivingly connected to underwater robot, control system is signal-connected with underwater robot and electric winch respectively, to improve the situation that underwater relay is blocked, and realize the self-propulsion and self-energy supply of relay body, guarantee the stability, flexibility and controllability of ROV movement. Meanwhile provide its operating method, reduce the participation of personnel in the process of recovering ROV, improve the safety and reliability of ROV arrangement and recovery.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of ocean engineering, in particular to a ship-like water surface relay and an operating method thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] The total area of the ocean on the earth is about 360 million square kilometers, accounting for about 70.8% of the earth's surface area. Due to the influence of deep sea environment, the communication bandwidth is very limited, so it is of great significance to use unmanned relay for deep sea exploration. In particular, the relay capable of storing ROV, assisting in completing cable winding and unwinding and autonomous cruising becomes an engineering continuation. At present, most researches focus on the structural design of underwater relay, and there are few reports on water surface relay. The present application mainly focuses on the design of ship-like water surface relay, realizes self-propulsion and self-power supply of the relay, and improves the safety and reliability of ROV deployment, recovery and energy supply. SUMMARY

[0003] The purpose of the present application is to provide a ship-like water surface relay, so as to improve the situation of underwater relay being blocked, realize self-propulsion and self-power supply of the relay body, and ensure the stability, flexibility and controllability of ROV movement. At the same time, the operating method is provided, which reduces the participation of personnel in the process of recovering ROV, and improves the safety and reliability of ROV deployment and recovery.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical scheme of the present application is as follows:

[0005] A ship-like water surface relay, comprising a relay body and a control system and a deployment mechanism installed above the relay body, a deployment slot is arranged at the middle of the relay body, the bottom surface of the deployment slot is an inclined surface, the lower part of the inclined surface is provided with a deployment opening communicated to the bottom side of the relay body, the deployment mechanism comprises an electric winch, a storage library, a slide and an underwater robot, the electric winch is arranged on the relay body, the slide is arranged on the inclined surface, the storage library is slidingly installed on the slide, the underwater robot is placed in the storage library, the electric winch is drivingly connected to the underwater robot, and the control system is signal connected with the underwater robot and the electric winch respectively.

[0006] The present application is applicable to most ROVs.

[0007] In the present application, the relay body is designed based on a catamaran as a prototype. The lines of the bow and the hull are designed to greatly reduce the resistance of the relay body when moving on the water surface. The middle part of the relay body is designed as a "hollow" state, that is, the deployment opening is provided with an inclined surface with an inclined angle of 15° with the horizontal plane, that is, the deployment slot, and the deployment and recovery of ROV are carried out on the inclined surface of the middle part.

[0008] The control system is used to allocate the energy supply of the repeater body, and control the electric winch to carry out the deployment and recovery of the ROV. The control system contains positioning and communication functions, and transmits information to the workstation in real time at a high rate.

[0009] As a preferred, the electric winch includes a motor and a winch, the power output end of the motor is power transmitted to one end of the winch through a transmission belt, and a zero buoyancy cable is wound around the winch, one end of the zero buoyancy cable being connected to the underwater robot.

[0010] Wherein, the electric winch includes a motor, a winch, and a zero buoyancy cable. The electric winch is installed above the stern of the repeater body. The electric winch is powered by the motor, and the winch is rotated by the driving device to control the winding and unwinding of the cable. The zero buoyancy cable is connected to the ROV body, and the zero buoyancy cable transmits power supply and monitoring information to the ROV, and the ROV feeds back the required information to the control system of the repeater body.

[0011] As a preferred, the slide includes two parallel guide rails, the guide rails include an inclined section and a vertical section, the inclined section and the vertical section are integrally formed through an arc section, the inclined section is arranged on an inclined surface, the vertical section is arranged inside the deployment port, the guide rails are provided with slidingly connected sliding blocks, and the bottom side of the storage library is fixedly connected with the two sliding blocks. The bottom end of the vertical section is provided with a stop block.

[0012] Wherein, the guide rails are distributed in pairs and mainly include a straight section and a 90° curved section. The straight section is fixed in parallel on the inclined surface bottom plate, and the curved section extends out of the inclined surface bottom plate port and hangs downward towards the water surface. A sliding block is installed on each guide rail, and the movement stroke is the distance of the guide rail. The stop block is located at the port of the curved section of the guide rail, limiting the action trajectory of the sliding block and preventing it from derailing.

[0013] As a preferred, the storage library has a dustpan-shaped structure, and a through hole is arranged on the side of the storage library close to the electric winch for the zero buoyancy cable to pass through.

[0014] Wherein, the opening of the storage library is designed as a horn type for deploying and recovering the ROV. The bottom surface of the storage library is connected with the sliding blocks, and the running track is the distance of the slide, that is, a straight line and a curved line.

[0015] In particular, when the storage library is located on the straight section, the movement thereof is a translational movement with an angle of 15° between the bottom surface and the horizontal plane, and when the storage library is located on the curved section, the movement thereof is a turning movement with an angle of 15° to 90° between the bottom surface and the horizontal plane. When the ROV is stationary in the storage library, the repeater body supplies power to charge the ROV.

[0016] As preferred, the control opening is provided with a rotating platform, the rotating platform is installed on the bottom side of the repeater body through a telescopic device, the rotating platform comprises a platform frame, a motor, cylindrical gears and a flat supporting plate, a pair of cylindrical gears are matchedly installed on the platform frame, the motor is located below the platform frame and the power is output to one of the cylindrical gears, and the flat supporting plate is fixed above the other cylindrical gear as a temporary resting place of the underwater robot. The motor controls the rotation of the cylindrical gears to drive the rotating movement of the flat supporting plate, so that the posture adjustment of the ROV in all directions and at all angles is realized.

[0017] As preferred, the telescopic device comprises two L-shaped slot opening guide rails arranged in parallel, slot sliding shafts are slidingly connected to the L-shaped slot opening guide rails, and the rotating platform is fixedly installed on the two slot sliding shafts, and the two L-shaped slot opening guide rails are correspondingly arranged below one guide rail.

[0018] Among them, the telescopic device is installed below the bottom plate of the inclined surface of the ship-shaped repeater amidship and is suspended above the water surface. When the ROV is stationary or needs to be arranged, the rotating platform is retracted inward through the telescopic device; when the ROV needs to be recovered, the rotating platform is extended outward relying on the telescopic device, as a temporary resting place of the ROV to adjust the azimuth angle, so that it can smoothly enter the storage library.

[0019] As preferred, the upper surface of the repeater body is provided with a solar cell panel, and the repeater body is provided with a storage battery for storing electric energy and supplying power to the ship-shaped water surface repeater. The surface of the repeater body is provided with a solar cell panel, which can meet the supply of energy in an emergency state.

[0020] As preferred, the tail of the repeater body is provided with a propeller. The propeller is installed on the double stern of the repeater body to adjust the working range and angle of the repeater, and realizes self-propulsion.

[0021] The application also provides an operating method of the ship-shaped water surface repeater, which comprises the following cases:

[0022] Case one, before the ROV detection task starts, the repeater body transports the ROV to the designated area through the self-provided propeller and adjusts the azimuth to select the best water entry point of the ROV. At this time, the ROV is stationary in the storage library, the zero buoyancy cable is connected with the ROV body and the ROV is tightly bound by the cable.

[0023] Case two, the arrangement of ROV, the control system starts the electric winch, the electric motor as power, through the drive device makes the capstan rotation to adjust the speed of the cable. At the same time, the installation library on the inclined angle of 15 ° slide, by gravity drive ROV in turn straight line motion and corner motion, until the slide on the slide block is limited by the stop block. At this time, the installation library bottom surface and horizontal plane angle is 90 °, that is, the installation library opening vertical to the water surface. Subsequently, ROV relies on gravity automatic drop, into the water, carry out the detection task. The zero buoyancy cable transmits power supply, monitoring information to ROV, and the required information is fed back to the control system of the ship type water surface relay. The control system contains positioning and communication function, real-time transmission information to the workstation.

[0024] Case three, recycling ROV, the control system starts the electric winch, the electric motor as power, through the drive device makes the capstan rotation to adjust the speed of the cable. When ROV exposes the water surface, the rotating platform relies on the telescopic device to stretch out and start to run. With the recycling of zero buoyancy cable, ROV passes through the rotating platform. At this time, the electric winch stops working for a short time, and the ROV stops on the plane of the supporting plate. At the same time, the motor controls the cylindrical gear to rotate to drive the plane supporting plate to rotate, so as to realize the all-round multi-angle adjustment of ROV. After adjustment, the electric winch continues to work, and the ROV is correctly entered into the installation library with the opening vertical to the water surface and closely attached in the specified posture. This process is equivalent to adding a "transfer station", that is, the rotating platform, which avoids the shaking of ROV and the collision between the ship body and other equipment during the traction process. After the ROV smoothly enters the installation library, it is continuously pulled to the inclined surface along the slide track to complete the recycling of ROV.

[0025] The application has the following characteristics and beneficial effects:

[0026] 1. Energy saving and drag reduction, the bow part of the relay body and the ship body are designed to greatly reduce the resistance received during the movement on the water surface.

[0027] 2. Significantly improve the quality and efficiency of communication, the ship type relay floats on the water surface, which can significantly improve the communication quality and efficiency.

[0028] 3. Autonomous charging function, the solar cell panel installed on the surface of the relay body collects and stores energy, realizes the energy supply of the system. The vector thruster installed on the double stern of the relay body adjusts the working range and angle of the relay, which is convenient for the docking between the relay and the ROV.

[0029] 4. The unmanned control is adopted, the safety and reliability of ROV control and recovery are obviously improved, the ROV is temporarily stopped on the rotating platform, the adjustment of the azimuth angle of the ROV is realized, the ROV is correctly entered into the setting warehouse and the slide in the specified posture, and the shaking of the ROV in the process of launching and recovery is effectively avoided.

[0030] 5. The application has wide applicability, and the design of a ship-like water surface relay and the adjusting method thereof are provided, and the method is suitable for most ROVs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0031] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0032] Figures 1-3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present application;

[0033] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the ROV resting on the relay body;

[0034] Figures 5-6 It is a schematic diagram of the ROV when the ROV is controlled;

[0035] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the ROV when the ROV is working;

[0036] Figures 8-9 It is a schematic diagram of the ROV when the ROV is recovered.

[0037] In the drawings:

[0038] 1- relay body, 1a- solar cell panel, 1b- propeller, 1c- battery; 2- control system; 3- electric winch, 3a- electric motor, 3b- capstan, 3c- zero buoyancy cable; 4- slide, 4a- guide rail, 4b- sliding block, 4c- stop block; 5- setting warehouse; 6- rotating platform, 6a- platform frame, 6b- motor, 6c- cylindrical gear, 6d- flat supporting plate; 7- telescopic device, 7a- L-shaped slot guide rail, 7b- sliding shaft, 8- underwater robot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0040] In the description of the present application, it needs to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second" and the like are only for the purpose of description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" and the like can be explicitly or implicitly included one or more. In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "a plurality of" is two or more.

[0041] In the description of the present application, it needs to be understood that unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connection" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixed connection, or detachable connection, or integral connection; it can be mechanical connection, or electrical connection; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intermediate medium, it can be the communication inside two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood through specific circumstances.

[0042] The present application provides a kind of ship-like water relay, as shown in Figures 1-9 The surface of the relay body 1 is mounted with solar panels 1a to collect and store energy in the battery 1c, and the double stern part is mounted with propeller 1b to adjust the working range and angle of the relay. The relay body 1 is provided with a control groove in the keel, which is designed as a "cavity" state, and has an inclined surface with an inclination angle of 15° with the horizontal plane. The ROV is deployed and recovered on the inclined surface of the keel.

[0043] The control system 2 of the present application is used to allocate the energy of the relay body, and control the electric winch 3. The electric winch 3 of the present application includes motor 3a, winch 3b, zero buoyancy cable 3c. The electric winch 3 is installed above the stern of the relay body 1. The electric winch 3 takes the motor 3a as power, and controls the winding and unwinding of the cable through the driving device. The zero buoyancy cable 3c is connected with the ROV body 8, and the power supply and monitoring information are transmitted to the ROV by the zero buoyancy cable 3c, and the required information is fed back to the control system of the relay body by the ROV.

[0044] The slide 4 comprises a guide rail 4a, a sliding block 4b and a stop block 4c. The slide 4 is installed on the inclined surface of the keel of the repeater body 1. The straight section of the guide rail 4a is fixed on the inclined surface in parallel, and the curved section extends out of the bottom plate of the inclined surface and hangs downward to the water surface.

[0045] The setting pool 5 is designed as a horn-shaped opening for arranging and recovering the ROV. The bottom surface of the setting pool is connected with the sliding block 4b, and the running track is the distance of the slide 4, that is, a straight line and a curved line. In particular, when the setting pool 5 is located on the straight section, the ROV bottom surface performs a translational motion with an angle of 15° with the horizontal surface, and when the setting pool 5 is located on the curved section, the ROV bottom surface performs a rotational motion with an angle of 15° to 90° with the horizontal surface. When the ROV is placed in the setting pool 5, the repeater body 1 supplies power to charge the ROV.

[0046] The rotating platform 6 comprises a platform frame 6a, a motor 6b, a pair of cylindrical gears 6c and a flat supporting plate 6d. The rotating platform 6 takes the platform frame 6a as the main body, a pair of cylindrical gears 6c are cooperatively installed on the platform, the motor 6b is located below the platform for controlling the rotation of the cylindrical gears, and the flat supporting plate 6d is fixed above the cylindrical gears as a temporary resting place of the ROV. The motor controls the rotation of the cylindrical gears to drive the flat supporting plate to perform a 360° rotational motion, thereby adjusting the azimuth angle of the ROV.

[0047] The telescopic device 7 comprises an L-shaped slotted guide rail 7a and a slotted sliding shaft 7b. The slotted sliding shaft 7b is connected with the platform frame 6a of the rotating platform and cooperates with the L-shaped slotted guide rail 7a. Specifically, the telescopic movement of the slotted sliding shaft 7b is achieved by arranging a pneumatic cylinder at the bottom of the repeater body, and the pneumatic cylinder outputs power to drive the telescopic movement of the slotted sliding shaft 7b. The telescopic device 7 is installed below the bottom plate of the inclined surface of the keel of the repeater body 1 and hangs above the water surface. When the ROV is placed or needs to be arranged, the rotating platform 6 is retracted by the telescopic device 7; when the ROV needs to be recovered, the rotating platform 6 is extended outward relying on the telescopic device 7 as a temporary resting place of the ROV, and adjusts the azimuth and angle of the ROV to make it smoothly enter the setting pool 5.

[0048] Before the ROV detection task starts, the repeater body 1 is transported to the designated area of the ROV by the self-provided propeller 1b, and the azimuth is adjusted to select the best water entry point of the ROV. At this time, the ROV is placed in the setting pool 5, the zero buoyancy cable 3c is connected with the ROV body 8, and the ROV is pulled tight by the cable.

[0049] When the ROV is arranged, the control system 2 starts the electric winch 3, and the motor 3a is used as power to drive the capstan 3b to rotate and adjust the speed of the cable releasing. At the same time, the setting warehouse 5 on the slide with an inclination angle of 15° moves linearly and angularly by gravity, until the slider 4b on the slide 4 is blocked by the stopper 4c. At this time, the bottom surface of the setting warehouse 5 is 90° with the horizontal plane, that is, the opening of the setting warehouse 5 is vertically oriented to the water surface. Then the ROV is automatically dropped into the water by gravity and successfully enters the water to perform the detection task. The zero buoyancy cable 3c transmits power supply and monitoring information to the ROV, and the ROV feeds back the required information to the control system 2 of the repeater body. The control system 2 includes positioning and communication functions, and transmits information to the workstation in real time for the staff to monitor.

[0050] When the ROV is recovered, the control system 2 starts the electric winch 3, and the motor 3a is used as power to drive the capstan 3b to rotate and adjust the speed of the cable releasing. At this time, the bottom surface of the setting warehouse 5 is 90° with the horizontal plane, that is, the opening of the setting warehouse 5 is vertically oriented to the water surface. Then the ROV is automatically dropped into the water by gravity and successfully enters the water to perform the detection task. The zero buoyancy cable 3c transmits power supply and monitoring information to the ROV, and the ROV feeds back the required information to the control system 2 of the repeater body. The control system 2 includes positioning and communication functions, and transmits information to the workstation in real time for the staff to monitor.

[0051] The remaining matters of the present application are the known art.

[0052] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the described embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various changes, modifications, replacements and variations of the embodiments including components can be made without departing from the principles and spirits of the present application, and still fall within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A catamaran-like surface relay, characterized in that, The utility model relates to a relay device for underwater equipment, including relay body (1) and the control system (2) and the mechanism of arranging and controlling that install above relay body (1), the middle of relay body (1) is equipped with the mechanism of arranging and controlling groove, the groove bottom surface of mechanism of arranging and controlling groove is inclined plane, the lower part of inclined plane is equipped with one and is connected to the mechanism of arranging and controlling mouth of groove bottom side, the mechanism of arranging and controlling includes electric winch (3), the deposit library (5), slide (4) and underwater robot (8), electric winch (3) sets up on relay body (1), slide (4) sets up on inclined plane, the deposit library (5) sliding installation is in slide (4), underwater robot (8) places in deposit library (5), electric winch (3) transmission is connected to underwater robot (8), the control system (2) is connected with underwater robot (8) and electric winch (3) signal respectively, The electric winch (3) includes a motor (3a) and a winch (3b), the power output end of the motor (3a) is driven by a transmission belt to one end of the winch (3b), the winch (3b) is wound with a zero buoyancy cable (3c), one end of the zero buoyancy cable (3c) is connected to the underwater robot (8). The slide (4) includes two parallel guide rails (4a), the guide rail (4a) includes an inclined section and a vertical section, the inclined section and the vertical section are integrally formed through an arc section, the inclined section is arranged on the inclined surface, the vertical section is arranged inside the control port, the guide rail (4a) is provided with a sliding block (4b) connected in sliding mode, and the bottom side of the deposit library (5) is fixedly connected with the two sliding blocks (4b); a rotating platform (6) is arranged in the control port, the rotating platform (6) is installed on the bottom side of the relay body (1) through an extension device (7), the rotating platform (6) includes a platform frame (6a), a motor (6b), a cylindrical gear (6c), and a flat supporting plate (6d), a pair of intermeshing cylindrical gears (6c) are cooperatively installed on the platform frame (6a), the motor (6b) is located below the platform frame (6a) and has a power output to one of the cylindrical gears (6c), and the flat supporting plate (6d) is fixed above the other cylindrical gear (6c) as a temporary resting place for the underwater robot; the extension device (7) includes two parallel L-shaped slotted guide rails (7a), the L-shaped slotted guide rails (7a) are slidingly connected with slotted sliding shafts (7b), the rotating platform (6) is fixedly installed on the two slotted sliding shafts (7b), and the two L-shaped slotted guide rails (7a) are respectively arranged below one guide rail (4a).

2. The ship-like surface relay according to claim 1, characterized in that A stop block (4c) is arranged at the bottom end of the vertical section.

3. The ship-like surface relay of claim 1, wherein, The deposit library (5) has a dustpan-shaped structure, and a through hole is arranged on the side of the deposit library (5) close to the electric winch (3) for the zero buoyancy cable (3c) to pass through.

4. The ship-like surface relay of claim 1, wherein, A solar panel (1a) is arranged on the upper surface of the relay body (1), and a storage battery (1c) is arranged on the relay body (1) for storing electric energy and supplying power to the ship-shaped water surface relay device.

5. The ship-like surface relay of claim 1, wherein, A propeller (1b) is arranged at the tail of the relay body (1).

6. The method for operating the catamaran-like surface relay device according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Case one, before the ROV detection task starts, the relay device body transports the ROV to the designated area by the self-provided propeller, and adjusts the orientation to select the optimal water entry point of the ROV, at this time the ROV is placed in the storage library, the zero buoyancy cable is connected with the ROV body and the ROV is bound by the cable tension; Case two, the ROV is arranged, the control system starts the electric winch, takes the electric motor as the power, adjusts the cable speed of the winch through the driving device, at the same time, the storage library on the slide with an inclination angle of 15° drives the ROV to move linearly and angularly in turn through gravity, until the slide block is limited by the stop block, at this time the bottom surface of the storage library is 90° with the horizontal plane, that is, the opening of the storage library is vertically towards the water surface, then the ROV automatically falls into the water and performs the detection task, the zero buoyancy cable transmits power supply and monitoring information to the ROV, and the ROV feeds back the required information to the control system of the catamaran-like surface relay device, the control system includes positioning and communication functions, and transmits information to the workstation in real time; Case three, the ROV is recovered, the control system starts the electric winch, takes the electric motor as the power, adjusts the cable speed of the winch through the driving device, when the ROV is exposed to the water surface, the rotating platform extends outward and starts to operate relying on the telescopic device, as the zero buoyancy cable is recovered, the ROV passes through the rotating platform, at this time the electric winch temporarily stops working, the ROV stops on the plane of the supporting plate, at the same time, the motor controls the cylindrical gear to rotate to drive the rotating movement of the plane supporting plate, realizing the full-direction and multi-angle adjustment of the ROV, after adjustment, the electric winch continues to work, the ROV is correctly entered into the storage library with the opening perpendicular to the water surface in a specified posture, and is tightly attached, after the ROV smoothly enters the storage library, it is continuously pulled to the storage area along the slide track, and the ROV recovery work is completed.

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