A scouring and tensile protection system for submarine cables

Abstract

The present invention relates to an anti-scouring and anti-tensile protection system for submarine cables in the field of submarine cable protection devices. In the present application, an auxiliary protection module is used to effectively protect the cable body. When a submarine organism impacts a local protective cover, the specific position of the impact is determined according to the vibration intensity collected by a vibration sensor, and the protection work of the nearest auxiliary protection module is triggered. The anti-tensile module that receives the start information will immediately start the electromagnetic block and the luring unit closest to the impact position. The luring unit will swing under the action of a compression spring to attract marine organisms that attack the protective cover not far away, and migrate the attack objects of the marine organisms, thereby protecting the cable body and the protective cover. At the same time, by further refining the structure of the luring unit, it is achieved that the marine organisms are driven away on the basis of luring the marine organisms, thereby reducing the damage caused by the marine organisms.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an anti-scouring and anti-tensile protection system for a submarine cable, and in particular to an anti-scouring and anti-tensile protection system for a submarine cable applied in the field of submarine cable protection devices. Background Art

[0002] Submarine cables are cables wrapped in insulating materials, laid on the seabed, and used for telecommunication transmission. Submarine cables are divided into submarine communication cables and submarine power cables. Modern submarine cables use optical fiber as material to transmit telephone and Internet signals. The scouring received by submarine computers mainly comes from the submarine currents in the area and the turbulence formed by the irregular seabed, while the tensile damage mainly comes from the impact of submarine organisms.

[0003] The invention patent CN202310571310.8 specification discloses an integrated system for submarine cable scour protection and control based on waste tires. This application adds another circle of waste tire protection outside the bend limiter, utilizes the flexibility of waste tires to neutralize the brittleness of the bend limiter, and waste tires have strong corrosion resistance and wear resistance. It can greatly improve the submarine cable's ability to resist impact damage from external forces such as anchor damage and trawling, while preventing the evolution of scouring the seabed, avoiding exposure of the submarine cable and long-term fatigue movement under the action of ocean currents, as well as friction with the scour protection layer, making the submarine cable suitable for deeper water depths and more complex marine environments.

[0004] The above application is mainly used in shallow seas to protect submarine cables from damage caused by external forces such as anchor damage and trawling. However, in local deep sea areas, the working environment of submarine cables will be more complicated, especially the impact of large-sized submarine organisms. Existing submarine cable protection devices are difficult to adapt to the needs of deep sea areas. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is that the existing submarine cable protection device is difficult to adapt to the needs of deep sea areas.

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an anti-scouring and anti-tensile protection system for submarine cables, comprising a cable body and a protective sleeve sleeved on the outer wall of the cable body, a plurality of auxiliary protection modules sleeved on the outer wall of the protective sleeve, the plurality of auxiliary protection modules each comprising a curved portion, a pair of flat portions fixedly connected to the outer wall of the curved portion, the outer walls of the curved portion and the flat portion being smooth outer walls, a fixing groove being excavated on both flat portions, and an anti-tensile module matching the two fixed grooves being plugged into both fixed grooves;

[0007] The protective cover comprises an elastic rubber cover, in which a plurality of vibration sensors are fixedly connected, four vibration sensors form a group and are fixedly connected to a vertical section of the protective cover, the anti-stretching module comprises a fixing part, on which a plurality of mounting grooves are bored, the openings of the plurality of mounting grooves are fixedly connected to sealing lenses matching the plurality of mounting grooves, the lower ends of the sealing lenses are bored with prefabricated grooves, the plurality of mounting grooves are each provided with an attracting unit, a compression spring is fixedly connected between the attracting unit and the floor of the mounting groove, the floor of the mounting groove is fixedly connected with an electromagnetic block, the attracting unit is doped with magnetic material, and the vibration sensor is connected with the electromagnetic block signal.

[0008] In the above-mentioned anti-scour and anti-tensile protection system of the submarine cable, the attack objects of marine organisms can be migrated, thereby playing the effect of protecting the cable body and the protective cover.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present application, the inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve is mixed with multiple filling units, and the multiple filling units are all three-dimensional spiral-shaped. The two ends of the filling units are respectively fixedly connected to the inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve, which can effectively reduce the range of impact propagation and filter out certain small impacts to avoid accidental touching of the anti-stretching module.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present application, multiple auxiliary protection modules are distributed in areas where turbulence is likely to form through the cable body and the protective sheath, and the distance between two adjacent auxiliary protection modules does not exceed 10 meters, thereby increasing the protective effect of the auxiliary protection modules and making it less likely that the auxiliary protection modules will be too far apart to cause the luring effect to fail.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present application, an inlay matching the bent portion is inserted into the bent portion, and the inlay is made of a high-strength elastic material, so that the bent portion can more easily fit the surface of the protective cover and is not easy to slide under the scouring of ocean currents.

[0012] As another improvement of the present application, a handle groove is formed at one end of the two flat parts away from the curved part, and the handle groove runs through the curved part to facilitate pulling the curved part and installation and removal of the auxiliary protection module.

[0013] As another improvement supplement of the present application, there is an interference fit between the fixing part and the auxiliary protection module, and a disassembly groove is formed at the upper end of the fixing part, so that the anti-stretching module is not easy to fall off under the action of external force and is convenient for the overall installation of the anti-stretching module.

[0014] As another improved supplement of the present application, the luring unit includes a light-emitting part, the outer side of the light-emitting part is covered with a transparent rubber part, and a plurality of repelling units are mixed in the transparent rubber part. When marine organisms attack and destroy the transparent rubber part, the repelling units will be released to repel the marine organisms and avoid excessive damage to the auxiliary protection module.

[0015] As another improvement of the present application, the driving unit includes a driving ball, an elastic shell is provided on the outer side of the driving ball, a plurality of through holes are drilled on the elastic shell, a plurality of slow-release units are fixedly connected between the driving ball and the elastic shell, and adjacent slow-release units are overlapped with each other to form a three-dimensional structure, wherein the driving ball is made of water-soluble irritating objects that are disliked by local marine organisms, and the presence of the slow-release units can play a slow-release role, forming a long-term driving layer near the cable body and the auxiliary protection module, thereby reducing the damage caused by marine organisms.

[0016] To sum up, in the present application, the auxiliary protection module is used to effectively protect the cable body. When the seabed organisms impact the local protective cover, the specific location of the impact is determined according to the vibration intensity collected by the vibration sensor, and the protection work of the nearest auxiliary protection module is triggered. The anti-stretching module that receives the start information will immediately start the electromagnetic block and the lure unit closest to the impact position. The lure unit will swing under the action of the compression spring, attracting marine organisms attacking the protective cover not far away, and migrating the attack targets of the marine organisms, thereby protecting the cable body and the protective cover.

[0017] At the same time, by further refining the structure of the attracting unit, it is achieved that the marine organisms are driven away on the basis of attracting them, and a repelling layer that can exist for a long time is formed near the cable body and the auxiliary protection module, thereby reducing the damage caused by the marine organisms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a submarine cable and its associated protection module according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 A partial side cross-sectional view of a submarine cable according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a front cross-sectional view of a submarine cable according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic structural diagram of an auxiliary protection module according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an anti-stretching module according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 6 A side cross-sectional view of the anti-stretching module according to the first embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the local structural changes of the anti-stretching module of the first embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic structural diagram of an attracting unit according to a second embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Fig. 9 This is a schematic structural diagram of a driving unit according to a second embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Fig.10 This is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of a driving unit according to a second embodiment of the present application.

[0028] Description of the numbers in the figure:

[0029] 1 cable body, 2 protective sleeve, 201 elastic rubber sleeve, 202 vibration sensor, 203 filling unit, 3 auxiliary protection module, 301 bending part, 302 flat part, 303 handle groove, 304 inlay, 4 anti-stretching module, 401 fixing part, 402 installation groove, 403 sealing lens, 404 prefabricated groove, 405 electromagnetic block, 406 compression spring, 407 disassembly groove, 5 lure unit, 501 light-emitting part, 502 transparent rubber part, 6 driving unit, 601 driving ball, 602 elastic shell, 603 through hole, 604 slow-release unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Two implementation modes of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] The first implementation method:

[0032] Figure 1-6 The illustrated embodiment shows an anti-scouring and anti-tensile protection system for a submarine cable, comprising a cable body 1 and a protective sleeve 2 sleeved on the outer wall of the cable body 1, wherein a plurality of auxiliary protection modules 3 are sleeved on the outer wall of the protective sleeve 2, wherein the plurality of auxiliary protection modules 3 each comprise a curved portion 301, wherein a pair of flattened portions 302 are fixedly connected to the outer wall of the curved portion 301, wherein the outer walls of the curved portion 301 and the flattened portions 302 are smooth, wherein the two flattened portions 302 are both provided with fixing grooves, wherein the two fixing grooves are both plugged with anti-tensile modules 4 matching the two flattened portions;

[0033] The protective cover 2 includes an elastic rubber cover 201, in which a plurality of vibration sensors 202 are fixedly connected, four vibration sensors 202 form a group, and are fixedly connected to a vertical section of the protective cover 2, the anti-stretching module 4 includes a fixing portion 401, on which a plurality of mounting grooves 402 are bored, a sealing lens 403 matching the fixing portion 402 is fixedly connected at its opening, a prefabricated groove 404 is bored at the lower end of the sealing lens 403, an attracting unit 5 is placed in each of the plurality of mounting grooves 402, a compression spring 406 is fixedly connected between the attracting unit 5 and the floor of the mounting groove 402, an electromagnetic block 405 is fixedly connected to the floor of the mounting groove 402, the attracting unit 5 is doped with magnetic material, the vibration sensor 202 is signal-connected to the electromagnetic block 405, and when the electromagnetic block 405 is powered on and in working state, the attracting unit 5 will overcome the elastic force generated by the compression spring 406 and move toward the electromagnetic block 405.

[0034] In this application, the auxiliary protection module 3 is used to effectively protect the cable body 1, so as to prevent the erosion of the cable body 1 and the protective cover 2 by the seabed turbulence. When the seabed organisms impact the local protective cover 2, the vibration generated by the impact will be collected by the vibration sensor 202. The specific location of the impact is determined according to the vibration intensity collected by the vibration sensor 202, and the protection work of the nearest auxiliary protection module 3 is triggered. At this time, please refer to Figure 7 The anti-stretching module 4 that receives the start information will immediately start the electromagnetic block 405 and the attracting unit 5 that are closest to the impact position, so that the attracting unit 5 itself emits light and moves toward the electromagnetic block 405 to store energy. After that, the electromagnetic block 405 is powered off, and under the action of the compression spring 406 in a compressed state, the attracting unit 5 will be broken and extended to the outside of the installation slot 402. At this time, the attracting unit 5 will swing under the action of the compression spring 406, attracting marine life attacking the protective cover 2 not far away, migrating the attacking objects of the marine life, and protecting the cable body 1 and the protective cover 2.

[0035] In particular, the various structures in the present application are not drawn strictly in proportion. Those skilled in the art can reasonably design the dimensions of each structure according to actual conditions to meet usage requirements. This is a common technology among those skilled in the art and is therefore not disclosed in detail in the present application.

[0036] See also Figure 2-3 The inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve 201 is mixed with multiple filling units 203, and the multiple filling units 203 are all three-dimensional spirals. The two ends of the filling units 203 are fixedly connected to the inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve 201, which can effectively reduce the range of impact propagation and filter out certain small impacts to avoid accidental touching of the anti-stretching module 4.

[0037] See also Figure 4 A plurality of auxiliary protection modules 3 are distributed in the area where the cable body 1 and the protective cover 2 pass through which turbulence is likely to form. The spacing between two adjacent auxiliary protection modules 3 does not exceed 10 meters, which increases the protection effect of the auxiliary protection modules 3 and makes it difficult for the auxiliary protection modules 3 to be too far apart and cause the luring effect to fail. An embedded body 304 matching the bent portion 301 is inserted in the bent portion 301. The embedded body 304 is made of high-strength elastic material, so that the bent portion 301 is easier to fit the surface of the protective cover 2 and is not easy to slide under the scouring of ocean currents. A handle groove 303 is chiseled at one end of the two flat portions 302 away from the bent portion 301. The handle groove 303 runs through the bent portion 301, which is convenient for pulling the bent portion 301 and facilitating the installation and removal of the auxiliary protection module 3.

[0038] See also Figure 5-6 The fixing part 401 and the auxiliary protection module 3 are in interference fit, and a disassembly groove 407 is formed at the upper end of the fixing part 401, so that the anti-stretching module 4 is not easy to fall off under the action of external force, and the overall installation of the anti-stretching module 4 is facilitated.

[0039] The second implementation method:

[0040] Figure 8 The lure unit 5 shown includes a light-emitting portion 501, the outer side of the light-emitting portion 501 is covered with a transparent rubber portion 502, and a plurality of repelling units 6 are mixed in the transparent rubber portion 502. When marine organisms attack and destroy the transparent rubber portion 502, the repelling units 6 will be released to repel the marine organisms and avoid excessive damage to the auxiliary protection module 3.

[0041] The light emitting portion 501 is a spherical structure having a functional device and a light emitting device.

[0042] See also Figure 9-10 The driving unit 6 includes a driving ball 601, an elastic shell 602 is sleeved on the outer side of the driving ball 601, and a plurality of through holes 603 are drilled on the elastic shell 602. A plurality of slow-release units 604 are fixedly connected between the driving ball 601 and the elastic shell 602. Adjacent slow-release units 604 overlap each other to form a three-dimensional structure. The driving ball 601 is made of water-soluble irritating objects that are disliked by local marine organisms, and the presence of the slow-release units 604 can play a slow-release role, forming a long-term driving layer near the cable body 1 and the auxiliary protection module 3, thereby reducing the damage caused by marine organisms.

[0043] Compared with the first embodiment, in this embodiment, by further refining the structure of the luring unit 5, it is achieved to drive away the marine organisms on the basis of luring them, and form a repellent layer that can exist for a long time near the cable body 1 and the auxiliary protection module 3, thereby reducing the damage caused by the marine organisms.

[0044] In view of current practical needs, the above-mentioned implementation mode adopted in this application is not limited to the scope of protection. Various changes made within the knowledge scope of technical personnel in this field without departing from the concept of this application still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables, characterized in that: The invention comprises a cable body (1) and a protective sleeve (2) sleeved on the outer wall of the cable body (1), a plurality of auxiliary protection modules (3) sleeved on the outer wall of the protective sleeve (2), the plurality of auxiliary protection modules (3) each comprising a curved portion (301), a pair of flattened portions (302) fixedly connected to the outer wall of the curved portion (301), the outer walls of the curved portion (301) and the flattened portions (302) being smooth, a fixing groove being cut on both of the two flattened portions (302), and a tensile strength module (4) matching the two fixing grooves being inserted into both of the two fixing grooves; The protective sleeve (2) comprises an elastic rubber sleeve (201), a plurality of vibration sensors (202) are fixedly connected inside the elastic rubber sleeve (201), four of the vibration sensors (202) form a group and are fixedly connected to a vertical section of the protective sleeve (2), the anti-stretching module (4) comprises a fixing portion (401), a plurality of mounting grooves (402) are bored on the fixing portion (401), a sealing lens (403) matching the fixing portion (402) is fixedly connected at the openings of the plurality of mounting grooves (402), a prefabricated groove (404) is bored at the lower end of the sealing lens (403), an attracting unit (5) is placed in each of the plurality of mounting grooves (402), a compression spring (406) is fixedly connected between the attracting unit (5) and the floor of the mounting groove (402), an electromagnetic block (405) is fixedly connected to the floor of the mounting groove (402), the attracting unit (5) is doped with magnetic material, and the vibration sensor (202) is signal-connected to the electromagnetic block (405); When a seabed creature impacts a local protective cover (2), the vibration generated by the impact will be collected by the vibration sensor (202), and the specific location of the impact will be determined based on the vibration intensity collected by the vibration sensor (202), and the protection work of the nearest auxiliary protection module (3) will be triggered. The anti-stretching module (4) that receives the start information will immediately start the electromagnetic block (405) and the attracting unit (5) closest to the impact location, so that the attracting unit (5) will emit light while moving toward the electromagnetic block (405) to store energy. After that, the electromagnetic block (405) is powered off, and under the action of the compression spring (406) in a compressed state, the attracting unit (5) will be broken and extended to the outside of the installation slot (402). At this time, the attracting unit (5) will swing under the action of the compression spring (406), attracting the marine creatures that are not far away and attacking the protective cover (2), and the attacking objects of the marine creatures will be moved, thereby protecting the cable body 1 and the protective cover (2).

2. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve (201) is mixed with a plurality of filling units (203), the plurality of filling units (203) are all in a three-dimensional spiral shape, and the two ends of the filling units (203) are respectively fixedly connected to the inner wall of the elastic rubber sleeve (201).

3. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of auxiliary protection modules (3) are distributed in an area where the cable body (1) and the protective sleeve (2) pass through and where turbulence is likely to form, and the distance between two adjacent auxiliary protection modules (3) does not exceed 10 meters.

4. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: An inlay (304) matching the bent portion (301) is inserted into the bent portion (301), and the inlay (304) is made of a high-strength elastic material.

5. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: A handle groove (303) is formed at one end of the two flattened portions (302) away from the curved portion (301), and the handle groove (303) passes through the curved portion (301).

6. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is an interference fit between the fixing portion (401) and the auxiliary protection module (3), and a disassembly groove (407) is bored at the upper end of the fixing portion (401).

7. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 1, characterized in that: The attracting unit (5) comprises a light-emitting portion (501), the outer side of the light-emitting portion (501) is covered with a transparent rubber portion (502), and a plurality of repelling units (6) are mixed in the transparent rubber portion (502).

8. The anti-scour and anti-tension protection system for submarine cables according to claim 7, characterized in that: The driving unit (6) comprises a driving ball (601), an elastic shell (602) is sleeved on the outer side of the driving ball (601), a plurality of through holes (603) are drilled on the elastic shell (602), a plurality of slow-release units (604) are fixedly connected between the driving ball (601) and the elastic shell (602), and adjacent slow-release units (604) are overlapped to form a three-dimensional structure.

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