An underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of underwater vehicle salvage and recovery, and particularly provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method, which comprises a mother ship, a salvage boat, a multi-axis moving assembly, a binding belt assembly, a first controller and a second controller. The stern of the mother ship is provided with a slide, and the mother ship is provided with a traction rope and a rope winding assembly. The first controller is used for controlling the salvage boat and the multi-axis moving assembly to move the binding belt assembly to the top of an underwater vehicle, and controlling the binding belt assembly to tightly fix a fixing belt on the underwater vehicle. The second controller is used for controlling the rope winding assembly to wind back the traction rope connected with the fixing belt tightly fixed on the underwater vehicle, so as to pull the underwater vehicle from the slide to the deck of the mother ship. The system can effectively solve the problems of high labor intensity, high risk coefficient and the fact that the prior art can only recover the underwater vehicle under limited sea state levels due to the need of assisting the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery by the salvage personnel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of underwater vehicle salvage and recovery technology, and more specifically, to an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method. Background Technology

[0002] After an underwater vehicle completes its onshore or offshore testing, it needs to be salvaged and recovered. Current technologies require underwater personnel to assist in the salvage and recovery process, leading to high labor intensity and safety risks. Furthermore, higher sea state levels result in larger wave crests on the lake or at sea, posing a greater threat to the lives of salvage personnel. Therefore, current technologies are limited to salvage and recovery operations only under specific sea state conditions.

[0003] There is currently no effective technical solution to the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method that can effectively solve the problems of high labor intensity and high risk caused by the need for salvage personnel to go underwater to assist in the salvage and recovery of underwater vehicles, as well as the fact that existing technologies can only salvage and recover underwater vehicles under limited sea state conditions.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system for salvaging and recovering underwater vehicles, the system comprising: The mother ship has a slipway at its stern and is equipped with a tow rope and a tow rope recovery assembly for retrieving the tow rope. Salvage boat; Multi-axis moving components are installed on the salvage vessel; The strapping assembly, mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly, is used to secure the fixing straps connected to the tow rope to the underwater vehicle. The first controller is electrically connected to the salvage boat, the multi-axis moving assembly, and the strapping assembly. It is used to control the salvage boat and the multi-axis moving assembly to move the strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle, and to control the strapping assembly to secure the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle. The second controller, electrically connected to the rope retrieval assembly and communicatively connected to the first controller, is used to control the rope retrieval assembly to retract the towing rope connected to the fixing straps secured to the underwater vehicle, so as to pull the underwater vehicle from the slideway onto the deck of the mother ship.

[0006] This application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system. First, a salvage boat and a multi-axis moving assembly are controlled to move a strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle. Then, the strapping assembly is controlled to secure the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle. Finally, the underwater vehicle is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship by controlling the rope-retrieving assembly to retract the tow rope. Essentially, this application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system that uses a tow rope to tow an underwater vehicle back to the mother ship. Because this application can secure the fixing straps connected to the tow rope to the underwater vehicle through the cooperation of the salvage boat, multi-axis moving assembly, and strapping assembly, and can pull the underwater vehicle to the deck of the mother ship using the rope-retrieving assembly, this application eliminates the need for salvage personnel to enter the water for assistance during underwater vehicle salvage and recovery. This effectively solves the problems of high labor intensity, high risk, and the limitation of existing technologies to underwater vehicle salvage and recovery only under limited sea state conditions, which require salvage personnel to enter the water for assistance.

[0007] Optionally, the strapping assembly includes a clamping assembly and a strapping assembly. The clamping assembly is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly, and the strapping assembly is mounted on the clamping assembly. The process by which the first controller controls the strapping assembly to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle includes: Control the clamping assembly to clamp the underwater vehicle; The control strap assembly secures the fixing straps tightly to the underwater vehicle held by the clamping assembly; Control the clamping components to release the gripping of the underwater vehicle.

[0008] Because the clamping component of this technical solution can limit the movement of the underwater vehicle, and because the fixing strap is tightly secured to the underwater vehicle held by the clamping component, this technical solution can effectively prevent the underwater vehicle from shifting relative to the fixing strap when it is being secured, thus preventing the fixing strap from being loosely secured and causing it to detach from the underwater vehicle when it is being pulled back to the deck of the mother ship, which would then prevent the underwater vehicle from being pulled back to the deck of the mother ship.

[0009] Optionally, the clamping assembly includes a robotic gripper, and both ends of the fixing strap are provided with buckles that can be interlocked. The buckles are provided with protrusions. The strap assembly includes a drive assembly and a pull rod. The drive assembly is mounted on the clamping assembly, and the pull rod is slidably connected to the clamping end of the robotic gripper and sleeved over the protrusions. The process by which the first controller controls the strap assembly to tightly fix the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle clamped by the clamping assembly includes: The control drive assembly drives the pull rod to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, so that the buckles at both ends of the fixing strap are locked and the fixing strap connected to the traction rope is tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle held by the clamping assembly.

[0010] Optionally, the drive assembly includes a linear module and a linkage push rod. There are two pull rods. The linear module is mounted on the robotic gripper and is used to drive the linkage push rod to move toward the gripping end so that the two pull rods slide synchronously along the gripping end to the end of the robotic gripper.

[0011] Optionally, the gripping assembly also includes a rotating component, with the robotic gripper rotatably mounted on the multi-axis moving component, and the rotating component used to drive the robotic gripper to rotate.

[0012] Optionally, the multi-axis moving assembly includes a boom for driving the robotic gripper to move toward or away from the underwater vehicle along the Z-axis. The boom is also used to drive the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane. The process by which the first controller controls the salvage boat to cooperate with the multi-axis moving assembly to move the strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle includes: The distance information between the salvage boat and the underwater vehicle is obtained, and the movement of the salvage boat is controlled according to the distance information so that the distance information is greater than or equal to a preset distance threshold and less than or equal to the maximum stroke of the boom. Control the boom to drive the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane, so as to move the robotic gripper directly above the underwater vehicle; The control rotating component drives the robotic gripper to rotate so that the gripper's gripping direction is perpendicular to the underwater vehicle's orientation; The control boom drives the robotic gripper to move along the Z-axis toward the underwater vehicle, so that the underwater vehicle is within the working range of the robotic gripper.

[0013] Optionally, the number of strap components can be multiple.

[0014] Each strap assembly in this technical solution is used to secure a fixing strap connected to a tow rope to the underwater vehicle. Therefore, after one strap assembly secures the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle, the remaining strap assemblies can be used to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle. In other words, the salvage vessel of this technical solution can secure the fixing strap to multiple underwater vehicles at once, and thus can salvage and recover multiple underwater vehicles at once, thereby effectively improving the salvage and recovery efficiency of underwater vehicles.

[0015] Optionally, the rope winding assembly is located at one end of the mother ship near the slipway.

[0016] Optionally, the strap assembly also includes a retaining strap restraint loop for securing the retaining strap.

[0017] Secondly, this application also provides a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle, which is applied in an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system includes a mother ship, a salvage boat, a multi-axis moving assembly, and a strapping assembly. The mother ship has a slideway at its stern and is equipped with a tow rope and a rope retrieval assembly for retrieving the tow rope. The multi-axis moving assembly is mounted on the salvage boat, and the strapping assembly is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly. The strapping assembly is used to securely fasten the fixing strap connected to the tow rope to the underwater vehicle. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method includes the following steps: The salvage boat, in coordination with the multi-axis moving components, moves the strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle. The control strap assembly secures the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle. The control rope retraction assembly retracts the tow rope connected to the anchor straps secured to the underwater vehicle, thereby pulling the underwater vehicle from the slideway onto the deck of the mother ship.

[0018] This application provides a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle. First, a salvage boat and a multi-axis moving assembly are controlled to move a strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle. Then, the strapping assembly is controlled to secure the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle. Finally, the underwater vehicle is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship by controlling the rope-retrieving assembly to retract the tow rope. Essentially, this application provides a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle by towing it back to the mother ship using a tow rope. Because this application can secure the fixing straps connected to the tow rope to the underwater vehicle through the cooperation of the salvage boat, multi-axis moving assembly, and strapping assembly, and can pull the underwater vehicle to the deck of the mother ship using the rope-retrieving assembly, this application eliminates the need for salvage personnel to enter the water for assistance during the salvage and recovery process. This effectively solves the problems of high labor intensity, high risk, and the limitation of existing technologies to salvage and recover underwater vehicles only under limited sea state conditions, which require the assistance of salvage personnel to enter the water.

[0019] As can be seen from the above, the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method provided in this application first controls the salvage boat and multi-axis moving components to move the strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle, then controls the strapping assembly to tighten and fix the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle, and finally controls the rope retraction assembly to retract the tow rope to pull the underwater vehicle from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship. In other words, this application essentially provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system that uses a tow rope to tow an underwater vehicle back to the mother ship. Because this application can utilize a salvage boat and multi-axis moving components... The cooperation of the moving component and the strapping component securely fastens the fixing strap connected to the towing rope to the underwater vehicle. Furthermore, this application can pull the underwater vehicle onto the deck of the mother ship through the rope retrieval component. Therefore, when salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle, this application does not require salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance. This effectively solves the problems of high labor intensity, high risk factor, and the fact that existing technologies can only salvage and recover underwater vehicles under limited sea state conditions, which are caused by the need for salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0021] Figure 2 This is a partially enlarged structural diagram of a strap assembly and an underwater vehicle provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the strapping assembly, underwater vehicle, and rope retrieval assembly provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a strap assembly provided in an embodiment of the present application securing a fixed strap connected to a tow rope to an underwater vehicle.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a perspective structural diagram of the clamping assembly and limiting clamp provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view of the fixing strap, buckle, and pull rod provided in the embodiments of this application along the vertical direction.

[0026] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle, as provided in this application embodiment.

[0027] Reference numerals: 1. Mother ship; 2. Towing rope; 3. Rope winding assembly; 4. Salvage boat; 5. Multi-axis moving assembly; 6. Strapping assembly; 61. Clamping assembly; 62. Strapping assembly; 621. Drive assembly; 6211. Linear module; 6212. Linkage push rod; 622. Pull rod; 623. Limiting clamp; 7. Fixing strap; 8. Buckle; 9. Protruding post; 10. Fixing strap restraint ring; 11. Limiting gripper; 12. Underwater vehicle. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. The components of the embodiments of this application described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations. Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely represents selected embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0029] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters in the following figures indicate similar items; therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures. Furthermore, in the description of this application, terms such as "first," "second," etc., are used only to distinguish descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0030] Firstly, such as Figures 1-6 As shown, this application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle 12. The system includes: Mother ship 1, with a slipway at its stern, and a towing rope 2 and a rope-retrieving assembly 3 for retrieving the towing rope 2 are provided on the mother ship 1. Salvage boat 4; Multi-axis moving assembly 5 is installed on salvage boat 4; The strapping assembly 6, mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly 5, is used to secure the fixing strap 7, which is connected to the towing rope 2, to the underwater vehicle 12. The first controller is electrically connected to the salvage boat 4, the multi-axis moving assembly 5 and the strapping assembly 6. It is used to control the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving assembly 5 to move the strapping assembly 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12, and to control the strapping assembly 6 to fasten the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. The second controller, electrically connected to the rope-retrieving assembly 3 and communicatively connected to the first controller, is used to control the rope-retrieving assembly 3 to retract the towing rope 2 connected to the fixing strap that is fastened to the underwater vehicle 12, so as to pull the underwater vehicle 12 from the slideway onto the deck of the mother ship 1.

[0031] In this embodiment, the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system is used to salvage and recover underwater vehicles 12 that have completed on-lake or at sea trials. The underwater vehicle 12 is preferably an unmanned underwater vehicle. It should be understood that, since the securing straps 7 need to be tightly fastened to the underwater vehicle 12, this embodiment requires securing straps 7 of different sizes when salvaging and recovering underwater vehicles 12 of different sizes. The mother ship 1 in this embodiment is a hull capable of accommodating several underwater vehicles 12. The mother ship 1 in this embodiment is equipped with a rope-retrieving assembly 3, which can be a marine hydraulic winch or an electric rope-retrieving machine, etc., capable of retrieving the towing rope 2. That is, the mother ship 1 in this embodiment is equipped with and connected to the towing rope 2. The stern of the mother ship 1 in this embodiment is equipped with a slideway, along which the underwater vehicle 12 can slide. Specifically… In this embodiment, when conducting on-lake or at-sea trials of the underwater vehicle 12, the underwater vehicle 12 can first be moved from the deck of the mother ship 1 to the slipway, and then released so that it can slide along the slipway into the lake or sea. This embodiment can achieve the salvage and recovery of the underwater vehicle 12 by towing it from the lake or sea to the stern of the mother ship 1 and moving it along the slipway onto the deck of the mother ship 1. The salvage boat 4 in this embodiment can be a manned salvage boat or an unmanned salvage boat. Preferably, the salvage boat 4 is an unmanned salvage boat, and its size is preferably smaller than that of the mother ship 1. The salvage boat 4 is equipped with a multi-axis moving assembly 5, which can be a robotic arm or a multi-axis linear slide, or other components capable of moving along multiple axes. The fixing strap 7 in this embodiment can be a cable tie or nylon strap, etc., which can be tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12. The fixing strap 7 in this embodiment is connected to the towing rope 2. The strapping assembly 6 in this embodiment is installed on the multi-axis moving assembly 5. The strapping assembly 6 in this embodiment can be an electric strapping machine, pneumatic strapping machine, or strapping machine, etc., which can tightly fix the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. Since the fixing strap 7 in this embodiment is connected to the towing rope 2, after the fixing strap 7 is tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12, this embodiment can move the underwater vehicle 12 toward the mother ship 1 by controlling the rope retraction assembly 3 to retract the towing rope 2.The specific process for salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle 12 after completing a lake or sea navigation test in this embodiment can be as follows: The first controller controls the salvage boat 4 to move to the vicinity of the underwater vehicle 12; the first controller controls the multi-axis moving component 5 to drive the strapping component 6 to move so that the strapping component 6 is directly above the underwater vehicle 12; the first controller controls the strapping component 6 to tie and fix the fixing strap 7 connected to the towing rope 2 to the underwater vehicle 12; after the fixing strap 7 is tied and fixed to the underwater vehicle 12, the first controller generates and sends a tying and fixing signal; the second controller controls the rope retraction component 3 to retract the towing rope 2 according to the received tying and fixing signal so as to pull the underwater vehicle 12 to the stern of the mother ship 1 and pull it onto the deck of the mother ship 1 by the slipway. It should be understood that since the underwater vehicle 12 is typically equipped with a positioning module, this embodiment can obtain the position of the underwater vehicle 12. Therefore, this embodiment can salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 based on its position. This embodiment can also install components capable of acquiring images, such as cameras, visual sensors, or high-definition cameras, on the salvage boat 4. This embodiment can then salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 based on the acquired images. It should also be understood that the rope retrieval assembly 3 of this embodiment is preferably also capable of releasing the tow rope 2. Specifically, when the salvage boat 4 moves towards the underwater vehicle 12, the rope retrieval assembly 3 of this embodiment releases the tow rope 2. It should also be understood that if multiple underwater vehicles need to be salvaged and recovered, this embodiment needs to be equipped with multiple tow ropes 2, each tow rope 2 corresponding to one underwater vehicle 12.

[0032] This application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system. First, the salvage boat 4, in coordination with the multi-axis moving assembly 5, moves the strapping assembly 6 to directly above the underwater vehicle 12. Then, the strapping assembly 6 secures the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. Finally, the underwater vehicle 12 is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship 1 by controlling the rope retraction assembly 3 to retract the tow rope 2. In essence, this application provides an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system that uses the tow rope 2 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1. Because this application can use the cooperation of the salvage boat 4, the multi-axis moving assembly 5, and the strapping assembly 6 to secure the fixing strap 7 connected to the tow rope 2... The underwater vehicle 12 is securely attached to the underwater vehicle 12, and the underwater vehicle 12 can be pulled onto the deck of the mother ship 1 by the rope retrieval assembly 3. Therefore, when salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle 12, the present application does not require salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance. This effectively solves the problems of high labor intensity and high risk caused by the need for salvage personnel to go into the water to assist in the salvage and recovery of the underwater vehicle 12, as well as the fact that the existing technology can only salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 in limited sea state levels. In other words, the present application can reduce the salvage and recovery cost of the underwater vehicle 12 and increase the sea state levels in which the underwater vehicle 12 can be salvaged and recovered.

[0033] In some embodiments, the strapping assembly 6 includes a clamping assembly 61 and a strapping assembly 62. The clamping assembly 61 is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly 5, and the strapping assembly 62 is mounted on the clamping assembly 61. The process by which the first controller controls the strapping assembly 6 to secure the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12 includes: The clamping assembly 61 controls the underwater vehicle 12 to be clamped; The control strap assembly 62 secures the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12 held by the clamping assembly 61; Control clamping assembly 61 to release clamping from underwater vehicle 12.

[0034] The strapping assembly 6 in this embodiment includes a clamping assembly 61 and a strapping assembly 62. The clamping assembly 61 can be a pneumatic gripper or an electric gripper, etc., capable of clamping the underwater vehicle 12. In this embodiment, the clamping assembly 61 is mounted on a multi-axis moving assembly 5, that is, the multi-axis moving assembly 5 in this embodiment can drive the clamping assembly 61 to move along multiple axes. The strapping assembly 62 in this embodiment can be an electric strapping machine, a pneumatic strapping machine, or a strapping machine, etc., capable of tightly securing the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. Since the clamping component 61 of this embodiment can limit the underwater vehicle 12, and the fixing strap 7 is tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12 clamped by the clamping component 61, this embodiment can effectively avoid the situation where the underwater vehicle 12 shifts relative to the fixing strap 7 when it is being tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12, causing the fixing strap 7 to be unable to be tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12 (i.e., the fixing strap 7 can move relative to the underwater vehicle 12), which would result in the fixing strap 7 falling off the underwater vehicle 12 when it is pulled back to the deck of the mother ship 1, thus making it impossible to pull the underwater vehicle 12 back to the deck of the mother ship 1. It should be understood that existing technology can use the cooperation of the multi-axis moving assembly 5 and the clamping assembly 61 to transfer the underwater vehicle 12 from the lake or sea to the salvage boat 4. However, during the transfer of the underwater vehicle 12 from the lake or sea to the salvage boat 4, the centers of gravity of the multi-axis moving assembly 5 and the salvage boat 4 will shift. Therefore, the existing technology may result in the salvage boat 4 capsizing due to the shift in the centers of gravity of the multi-axis moving assembly 5 and the salvage boat 4 during the transfer of the underwater vehicle 12 from the lake or sea to the salvage boat 4. Furthermore, this embodiment is suitable for use in lakes or... In this embodiment, the underwater vehicle 12 is clamped in the sea and the fixing strap 7 is tightly secured to the underwater vehicle 12. After the fixing strap 7 is secured to the underwater vehicle 12, the clamping component 61 is released from the underwater vehicle 12. That is, this application does not transfer the underwater vehicle 12 from the lake or sea to the salvage boat 4. Therefore, this embodiment can effectively avoid the situation where the salvage boat 4 capsizes due to the shift of the center of gravity of the multi-axis moving component 5 and the salvage boat 4 during the process of transferring the underwater vehicle 12 from the lake or sea to the salvage boat 4. It should also be understood that the prior art can also use the cooperation of the multi-axis moving component 5, the clamping component 61 and the salvage boat 4 to directly tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1. Since the underwater vehicle 12 is towed back to the mother ship 1 by retracting the towing rope 2 through the rope retraction component 3 after the fixing strap 7 is tightly fixed to the underwater vehicle 12, this embodiment can effectively reduce the load on the clamping component 61 and the propulsion power of the salvage boat 4.

[0035] In some embodiments, the clamping assembly 61 includes a robotic gripper, and both ends of the fixing strap 7 are provided with buckles 8 that can engage with each other. The buckles 8 are provided with protrusions 9. The strap assembly 62 includes a drive assembly 621 and a pull rod 622. The drive assembly 621 is mounted on the clamping assembly 61, and the pull rod 622 is slidably connected to the clamping end of the robotic gripper and sleeved on the protrusions 9. The process by which the first controller controls the strap assembly 62 to tightly fix the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12 clamped by the clamping assembly 61 includes: The control drive assembly 621 drives the pull rod 622 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, so that the buckles 8 at both ends of the fixing strap 7 are locked and fixed, and the fixing strap 7 connected to the traction rope 2 is tied and fixed to the underwater vehicle 12 held by the clamping assembly 61.

[0036] The clamping assembly 61 of this embodiment includes a robotic gripper. This embodiment can clamp the underwater vehicle 12 by controlling the robotic gripper to close, and can release the underwater vehicle 12 by controlling the robotic gripper to open. Both ends of the fixing strap 7 of this embodiment are provided with buckles 8. Specifically, the buckle 8 at one end of the fixing strap 7 is a buckle head, and the buckle 8 at the other end of the fixing strap 7 is a buckle hole. The buckle head can engage with the buckle hole. The robotic gripper of this embodiment includes two clamping ends, with the buckle head and buckle hole corresponding to different clamping ends. This embodiment can lock and fix the buckles 8 at both ends of the fixing strap 7 by engaging the buckle head with the buckle hole. The strap assembly 62 of this embodiment includes a drive assembly 621 and a pull rod 622. The drive assembly 621 of this embodiment can be an electric cylinder, pneumatic cylinder, hydraulic cylinder or linear slide, etc., which can drive the pull rod 622 to move along the gripping end of the robotic gripper toward the end of the robotic gripper (equivalent to the end of the gripping end). Preferably, the strap assembly 62 of this embodiment also includes a limiting clamp 623 for defining the initial placement position of the buckle 8. The limiting clamp 623 is fixed on the gripping end. When the drive assembly 621 drives the pull rod 622 to slide along the gripping end to the end of the robotic gripper, the buckle 8 disengages from the limiting clamp 623. Since the buckle 8 in this embodiment has a protrusion 9, and the pull rod 622 in this embodiment is sleeved on the protrusion 9, that is, the pull rod 622 in this embodiment abuts against the protrusion 9, this embodiment can control the drive assembly 621 to drive the pull rod 622 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, so that the buckles 8 at both ends of the fixing strap 7 can slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, thereby locking and fixing the buckles 8 at both ends of the fixing strap 7 and binding and fixing the fixing strap 7 connected to the traction rope 2 to the underwater vehicle 12 held by the clamping assembly 61. Preferably, this embodiment provides an elastic element (preferably a spring) between the robotic gripper and the pull rod 622, that is, the two ends of the elastic element in this embodiment are fixedly connected to the robotic gripper and the pull rod 622 respectively. When the drive assembly 621 drives the pull rod 622 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, the elastic element deforms. When the drive assembly 621 drives the pull rod 622 to reset, the elastic force provided by the elastic element can drive the pull rod 622 to reset. It should be understood that after the fixing strap 7 is tightly secured to the underwater vehicle 12 held by the clamping assembly 61, the control drive assembly 621 drives the pull rod 622 to reset and controls the opening of the robotic gripper. Since the buckles 8 at both ends of the fixing strap 7 are locked, the pull rod 622 disengages from the protrusion 9 when the robotic gripper opens.It should also be understood that this embodiment can drive only one buckle 8 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper (equivalent to driving only one lever 622 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper). This embodiment can also drive two buckles 8 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper simultaneously (equivalent to driving two levers 622 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper simultaneously). Specifically, if this embodiment drives only one buckle 8 to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, the other buckle 8 in this embodiment is fixed at the end of the robotic gripper.

[0037] In some embodiments, the drive assembly 621 includes a linear module 6211 and a linkage push rod 6212. There are two pull rods 622. The linear module 6211 is mounted on the robotic gripper and drives the linkage push rod 6212 to move towards the gripping end, so that the two pull rods 622 slide synchronously along the gripping end to the end of the robotic gripper. The linear module 6211 in this embodiment can be an existing linear module 6211. The linkage push rod 6212 in this embodiment can simultaneously contact both pull rods 622. This embodiment is equivalent to synchronously driving the two latches 8 to slide synchronously along the gripping end to the end of the robotic gripper by synchronously driving the two pull rods 622 to slide synchronously along the gripping end to the end of the robotic gripper.

[0038] In some embodiments, the gripping assembly 61 further includes a rotating assembly, wherein the robotic gripper is rotatably mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly 5, and the rotating assembly is used to drive the robotic gripper to rotate. The gripping assembly 61 in this embodiment further includes a rotating assembly, which can be a servo motor or stepper motor, or other components capable of driving the robotic gripper to rotate.

[0039] In some embodiments, the multi-axis moving assembly 5 includes a boom for driving a robotic gripper to move toward or away from the underwater vehicle 12 along the Z-axis direction. The boom is also used to drive the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane. The process of the first controller controlling the salvage boat 4 to cooperate with the multi-axis moving assembly 5 to move the strapping assembly 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12 includes: The distance information between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 is obtained, and the movement of the salvage boat 4 is controlled according to the distance information so that the distance information is greater than or equal to a preset distance threshold and less than or equal to the maximum stroke of the boom. Control the boom to drive the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane, so as to move the robotic gripper directly above the underwater vehicle 12; The control rotating component drives the robotic gripper to rotate so that the gripping direction of the robotic gripper is perpendicular to the orientation of the underwater vehicle 12; The control boom drives the robotic gripper to move along the Z-axis toward the underwater vehicle 12, so that the underwater vehicle 12 is within the working range of the robotic gripper.

[0040] The boom in this embodiment can be an existing boom capable of lifting and lowering objects, swinging in the XOY plane, and moving along the X-axis or Y-axis. This embodiment can acquire distance information between the salvage vessel 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 based on the positions of the underwater vehicle 12 and the salvage boat 4, using visual recognition technology, sonar, or radar. In this embodiment, the preset distance threshold is a preset value. If the distance information is less than the preset distance threshold, it means that the distance between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 is too close. This may result in the salvage boat 4 obstructing the underwater vehicle 12, making it impossible to secure the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12, or causing a collision between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12. In this embodiment, the maximum stroke of the boom is a preset value. Before the boom leaves the factory, the factory will test and calibrate the maximum stroke of the boom. If the distance information is less than or equal to the maximum stroke of the boom, it means that the distance between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 does not exceed the working range of the boom. If the distance information is greater than the maximum stroke of the boom, it means that the distance between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 exceeds the working range of the boom. This embodiment first obtains the orientation of the underwater vehicle 12 based on parameters fed back by the underwater vehicle 12 itself or visual recognition technology, and then controls the rotating component to drive the robotic gripper to rotate based on the orientation of the underwater vehicle 12, so that the gripping direction of the robotic gripper is perpendicular to the orientation of the underwater vehicle 12 (equivalent to enabling the robotic gripper to grip the underwater vehicle 12 in a closed manner).

[0041] In some embodiments, the bow of the salvage boat 4 is provided with a limiting gripper 11 that can contact the underwater vehicle 12. When the limiting gripper 11 contacts the underwater vehicle 12, there will be no situation where the salvage boat 4 obstructs the underwater vehicle 12, preventing the fixing strap 7 from being unable to be tightly secured to the underwater vehicle 12 or causing a collision between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12. At this time, the distance between the salvage boat 4 and the underwater vehicle 12 will not exceed the working range of the boom. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is only necessary to control the salvage boat 4 to move towards the underwater vehicle 12 to ensure that the distance information is greater than or equal to a preset distance threshold and less than or equal to the maximum stroke of the boom. That is, this embodiment does not require controlling the movement of the salvage boat 4 based on the distance information.

[0042] In some embodiments, the number of strapping assemblies 62 is multiple. Preferably, there are two strapping assemblies 62 in this embodiment, both mounted on the clamping assembly 61. Each strapping assembly 62 is used to secure a fixing strap 7 connected to the tow rope 2 to the underwater vehicle 12. Therefore, after one strapping assembly 62 secures the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12, the remaining strapping assemblies 62 can be used to secure the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. This means the salvage boat 4 can secure the fixing strap 7 to multiple underwater vehicles 12 at once, effectively improving the salvage efficiency of the underwater vehicle 12.

[0043] In some embodiments, the rope retrieval assembly 3 is disposed at one end of the mother ship 1 near the slipway. Because the rope retrieval assembly 3 is disposed at one end of the mother ship 1 near the slipway, this embodiment enables the underwater vehicle 12 to move toward the slipway as the rope retrieval assembly 3 retracts the tow rope 2, thus smoothly pulling the underwater vehicle 12 from the slipway onto the deck of the mother ship 1.

[0044] In some embodiments, the strap assembly 6 further includes a retaining strap restraint ring 10 for securing the retaining strap 7. The retaining strap restraint ring 10 in this embodiment can be a component capable of securing the retaining strap 7, such as a Velcro strap or a nylon cable tie.

[0045] As can be seen from the above, the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system provided in this application first controls the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to move the strapping component 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12. Then, the strapping component 6 controls the securing strap 7 to be tightly secured to the underwater vehicle 12. Finally, the underwater vehicle 12 is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship 1 by controlling the rope retraction component 3 to retract the towing rope 2. That is, this application is equivalent to providing an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system that uses the towing rope 2 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1. Since this application can use the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1, the system is more efficient. The cooperation of the moving component 5 and the strapping component 6 secures the fixing strap 7, which is connected to the towing rope 2, to the underwater vehicle 12. Furthermore, this application can pull the underwater vehicle 12 onto the deck of the mother ship 1 through the rope reeling component 3. Therefore, when salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle 12, this application does not require salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance, thereby effectively solving the problems of high labor intensity, high risk factor, and the fact that existing technology can only salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 under limited sea state conditions due to the need for salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance.

[0046] Secondly, such as Figure 7As shown, this application also provides a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle 12. This method is applied in an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system, which includes a mother ship 1, a salvage boat 4, a multi-axis moving assembly 5, and a strapping assembly 6. The mother ship 1 has a slideway at its stern, a tow rope 2, and a rope-retrieving assembly 3 for retrieving the tow rope 2. The multi-axis moving assembly 5 is mounted on the salvage boat 4, and the strapping assembly 6 is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly 5. The strapping assembly 6 is used to securely fasten the fixing strap 7, which is connected to the tow rope 2, to the underwater vehicle 12. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method includes the following steps: Step S1: Control the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to move the strapping component 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12. Step S2: Control the strapping assembly 6 to secure the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12; Step S3: Control the rope retraction assembly 3 to retract the towing rope 2 connected to the fixing strap that is tied and fixed to the underwater vehicle 12, so as to pull the underwater vehicle 12 from the slideway onto the deck of the mother ship 1.

[0047] This application provides a method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle. This method is applied to the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system provided in the above embodiments. The principle of the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method provided in this embodiment is the same as the principle of the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system provided in the above embodiments, and will not be discussed in detail here.

[0048] As can be seen from the above, the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method provided in this application first controls the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to move the strapping component 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12. Then, the strapping component 6 is controlled to secure the fixing strap 7 to the underwater vehicle 12. Finally, the underwater vehicle 12 is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship 1 by controlling the rope retraction component 3 to retract the towing rope 2. That is, this application is equivalent to providing an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method that uses the towing rope 2 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1. Since this application can use the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to move the strapping component 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12, the method is more efficient. The cooperation of the moving component 5 and the strapping component 6 secures the fixing strap 7, which is connected to the towing rope 2, to the underwater vehicle 12. Furthermore, this application can pull the underwater vehicle 12 onto the deck of the mother ship 1 through the rope reeling component 3. Therefore, when salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle 12, this application does not require salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance, thereby effectively solving the problems of high labor intensity, high risk factor, and the fact that existing technology can only salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 under limited sea state conditions due to the need for salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance.

[0049] As can be seen from the above, the underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system and method provided in this application first controls the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to move the strapping component 6 directly above the underwater vehicle 12. Then, the strapping component 6 controls the fixing strap 7 to be tightly secured to the underwater vehicle 12. Finally, the underwater vehicle 12 is pulled from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship 1 by controlling the rope retraction component 3 to retract the towing rope 2. That is, this application is equivalent to providing an underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system that uses the towing rope 2 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1. Since this application can use the salvage boat 4 and the multi-axis moving component 5 to tow the underwater vehicle 12 back to the mother ship 1, the system is designed to be effective. The cooperation of the moving component 5 and the strapping component 6 secures the fixing strap 7, which is connected to the towing rope 2, to the underwater vehicle 12. Furthermore, this application can pull the underwater vehicle 12 onto the deck of the mother ship 1 through the rope reeling component 3. Therefore, when salvaging and recovering the underwater vehicle 12, this application does not require salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance, thereby effectively solving the problems of high labor intensity, high risk factor, and the fact that existing technology can only salvage and recover the underwater vehicle 12 under limited sea state conditions due to the need for salvage personnel to go into the water for assistance.

[0050] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that relational terms such as first and second are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations.

[0051] The above description is merely an embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Various modifications and variations can be made to this application by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. An underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system, used for salvaging and recovering underwater vehicles, characterized in that, The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system includes: The mother ship has a slipway at its stern and is equipped with a tow rope and a tow rope recovery assembly for retrieving the tow rope. Salvage boat; A multi-axis moving assembly is installed on the salvage vessel; A strapping assembly, mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly, is used to secure the fixing strap connected to the towing rope to the underwater vehicle. The first controller is electrically connected to the salvage boat, the multi-axis moving assembly, and the strapping assembly. It is used to control the salvage boat and the multi-axis moving assembly to move the strapping assembly to directly above the underwater vehicle, and to control the strapping assembly to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle. The second controller, electrically connected to the rope-retrieving assembly and communicatively connected to the first controller, is used to control the rope-retrieving assembly to retract the towing rope connected to the fixing strap that is fastened to the underwater vehicle, so as to pull the underwater vehicle from the slideway to the deck of the mother ship. The strapping assembly includes a clamping assembly and a strapping assembly. The clamping assembly is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly, and the strapping assembly is mounted on the clamping assembly. The clamping assembly includes a robotic gripper. Both ends of the fixing strap are provided with buckles that can be interlocked. Each buckle has a protruding post. The strapping assembly includes a driving assembly and a pull rod. The driving assembly is mounted on the clamping assembly. The pull rod is slidably connected to the clamping end of the robotic gripper and is sleeved on the protruding post. The driving assembly includes a linear module and a linkage push rod. There are two pull rods. The linear module is mounted on the robotic gripper. The linear module is used to drive the linkage push rod to move towards the clamping end, so that the two pull rods slide synchronously along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper.

2. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process by which the first controller controls the strap assembly to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle includes: Control the clamping assembly to clamp the underwater vehicle; The strap assembly is controlled to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle being held by the clamping assembly; Control the clamping assembly to release its grip on the underwater vehicle.

3. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The process by which the first controller controls the strap assembly to secure the fixing strap to the underwater vehicle held by the clamping assembly includes: The drive assembly is controlled to drive the pull rod to slide along the clamping end to the end of the robotic gripper, so that the buckles at both ends of the fixing strap are locked and the fixing strap connected to the traction rope is tied and fixed to the underwater vehicle held by the clamping assembly.

4. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The gripping assembly further includes a rotating assembly, on which the robotic gripper is rotatably mounted. The rotating assembly is used to drive the robotic gripper to rotate.

5. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The multi-axis moving assembly includes a boom, which drives the robotic gripper to move toward or away from the underwater vehicle along the Z-axis direction. The boom also drives the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane. The process by which the first controller controls the salvage boat to cooperate with the multi-axis moving assembly to move the strapping assembly directly above the underwater vehicle includes: The distance information between the salvage boat and the underwater vehicle is obtained, and the movement of the salvage boat is controlled according to the distance information so that the distance information is greater than or equal to a preset distance threshold and less than or equal to the maximum stroke of the boom; The boom is controlled to drive the robotic gripper to swing or move in the XOY plane, so as to move the robotic gripper directly above the underwater vehicle; The rotating assembly is controlled to drive the robotic gripper to rotate so that the gripping direction of the robotic gripper is perpendicular to the orientation of the underwater vehicle; The boom is controlled to drive the robotic gripper to move along the Z-axis toward the underwater vehicle, so that the underwater vehicle is within the working range of the robotic gripper.

6. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of strap components is multiple.

7. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rope winding assembly is located at one end of the mother ship near the slipway.

8. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The strap assembly also includes a retaining strap restraint ring for securing the retaining strap.

9. A method for salvaging and recovering an underwater vehicle, characterized in that, The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery system described in claim 1 includes a mother ship, a salvage boat, a multi-axis moving assembly, and a strapping assembly. The mother ship has a slideway at its stern, a tow rope, and a rope-retrieving assembly for retrieving the tow rope. The multi-axis moving assembly is mounted on the salvage boat, and the strapping assembly is mounted on the multi-axis moving assembly. The strapping assembly is used to securely fasten the fixing strap connected to the tow rope to the underwater vehicle. The underwater vehicle salvage and recovery method includes the following steps: The salvage boat is controlled to cooperate with the multi-axis moving assembly to move the strapping assembly to directly above the underwater vehicle; The control strap assembly secures the fixing straps to the underwater vehicle. The rope retraction assembly is controlled to retract the towing rope connected to the anchor straps secured to the underwater vehicle, thereby pulling the underwater vehicle from the slideway onto the deck of the mother ship.

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