A sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of sediment cleanup technology for deep-sea equipment and facilities, specifically to a sediment monitoring and cleanup system for deep-sea equipment, comprising a data center, a 3D scanning module, a vision module, and an underwater cleaning module. The data center stores a standard 3D model of the deep-sea equipment. The 3D scanning module is used to perform 3D scanning on the deep-sea equipment to obtain a scanned model. The data center is used to determine the 3D model of sediment on the deep-sea equipment based on the differences between the scanned model and the standard 3D model. The vision module is used to acquire image data of the deep-sea equipment. The data center performs image analysis on the image data of the location of the sediment 3D model. If the image data shows that sediment does indeed exist at the location of the sediment 3D model, the sediment 3D model is considered correct, and the corresponding sediment 3D model is designated as the object to be cleaned. This system enables automatic monitoring and cleanup of sediment, reducing the difficulty and cost of cleanup.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of sediment cleaning of deep-sea equipment and facilities, and in particular to a sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment. Background Art

[0002] There are various types and models of deep-sea equipment, including but not limited to deep-sea facilities, submersibles, etc. As the working time increases, sediments are easily formed on the surface of deep-sea equipment. The sediments attached / deposited on the outside of deep-sea equipment will not only accelerate the electrochemical reaction on the surface of the deep-sea equipment and cause damage to the equipment, but also increase the weight of the equipment, directly affecting the service life of the deep-sea equipment and the overall performance of the equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the sediments on the deep-sea equipment regularly.

[0003] There are various types and models of deep-sea equipment. For different types of equipment, the areas where sediments are produced are different, and the cleaning requirements and difficulty levels are also different.

[0004] For large deep-sea equipment, cleaning is cumbersome and labor-intensive. The main cleaning method at present is to regularly transfer the relevant equipment to a dock or other designated location for cleaning. The cleaning work is mainly done manually using relevant cleaning tools, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. For some fixed deep-sea equipment (such as ocean current power generation equipment), it is more difficult to clean because it cannot be directly disassembled and transferred to a dock or other designated location.

[0005] In view of this, this application is hereby filed. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment, which can realize automatic monitoring of sediments on different types of deep-sea equipment and automatically complete the cleaning of sediments. During the cleaning process, there is no need to transfer the relevant equipment to a dock or other designated location, which greatly reduces the cleaning difficulty and cleaning cost, improves the cleaning convenience, and has positive significance for extending the service life of deep-sea equipment and ensuring the overall performance of the equipment.

[0007] The embodiment of the present invention is achieved as follows:

[0008] A sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment includes: a data center, a three-dimensional scanning module, a visual module, and an underwater cleaning module. The three-dimensional scanning module, the visual module, and the underwater cleaning module are all electrically connected to the data center.

[0009] The data center stores the standard 3D model of deep-sea equipment. The 3D scanning module is used to perform 3D scanning on the deep-sea equipment to obtain the scanned model. The data center is used to determine the 3D model of sediment on the deep-sea equipment based on the difference between the scanned model and the standard 3D model.

[0010] The visual module is used to obtain image data of deep-sea equipment. The data center is used to perform image analysis on the image data of the location of the sediment 3D model. If the image data shows that sediment does exist at the location of the sediment 3D model, the sediment 3D model is considered correct and the corresponding sediment 3D model is used as the object to be cleaned.

[0011] The data center is also used to control the underwater cleaning module to clean the object to be cleaned.

[0012] Furthermore, the data center is also used to perform image analysis on all image data to determine the deposition area where sediments exist on the surface of the deep-sea equipment.

[0013] The sedimentation area corresponding to the sedimentation three-dimensional model is identified as a high sedimentation area, and the sedimentation area not corresponding to the sedimentation three-dimensional model is identified as a low sedimentation area. The low sedimentation area is marked, and the sedimentation changes in the low sedimentation area are tracked.

[0014] Furthermore, the underwater cleaning module includes: an underwater base station and an underwater cleaning robot.

[0015] The underwater base station and the underwater cleaning robot are connected by a connecting cable, and the underwater base station limits the range of motion of the underwater cleaning robot by controlling the release length of the connecting cable. The connecting cable is used to power the underwater cleaning robot and to transmit data between the underwater cleaning robot and the underwater base station.

[0016] Furthermore, the data center is used to execute a cleaning process to control an underwater cleaning robot to clean the object to be cleaned through an underwater base station. The cleaning process includes the following steps:

[0017] S1. Determine the starting point of the underwater cleaning robot according to the relative position relationship between the underwater base station and the deep-sea equipment, and determine the initial relative position relationship between the starting point and the object to be cleaned.

[0018] S2. Planning a movement path of the underwater cleaning robot to the object to be cleaned according to the initial relative position relationship, and determining a cleaning path of the underwater cleaning robot when cleaning the object to be cleaned according to the three-dimensional configuration of the object to be cleaned.

[0019] S3. Determine a release length when the underwater base station releases the connection cable according to the movement path and the cleaning path.

[0020] S4, controlling the underwater base station to start releasing the connection cable, and synchronously controlling the underwater cleaning robot to move along the movement path to the object to be cleaned, and moving along the cleaning path to clean the object to be cleaned.

[0021] Furthermore, the connecting cable includes: a cable body and a positioning ball.

[0022] The positioning balls are evenly spaced along the length of the connecting cable. A cable body is connected between two adjacent positioning balls, and a positioning ball is connected between two adjacent cable bodies. The positioning ball has a spherical inner cavity arranged concentrically therewith. A wire passage is provided inside the spherical shell of the positioning ball for the wires of the cable body to pass through.

[0023] A matching ball is concentrically arranged inside the positioning ball, and the matching ball can be universally rotatably matched with the positioning ball. The positioning ball is fixedly connected with a needle body, and the needle body is arranged along the radial direction of the matching ball, and the tip of the needle body extends to the inner wall of the positioning ball. One end of the needle body close to its tip is coaxially fixedly connected with a counterweight. In the natural state, the needle body is vertically downward under the action of the counterweight.

[0024] The points where the positioning ball is connected to two adjacent cable bodies are respectively a first connection point and a second connection point, and the first connection point and the second connection point are respectively arranged on two opposite sides of the positioning ball.

[0025] The inner wall of the positioning ball has a conductive strip, which extends into an arc along the inner wall of the positioning ball. One end of the conductive strip is located on the side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the first connection point, and the other end of the conductive strip is located on the side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the second connection point.

[0026] The line connecting the first connection point and the second connection point is used as a reference line, and the conductive strips are arranged in a circumferential array along the reference line, and the edges of two adjacent conductive strips are in contact and insulated. The tip of the needle body can contact and electrically conduct at most one conductive strip at a time.

[0027] The needle body is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line of the cable body, and one end of the conductive tape is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line of the cable body to form a detection circuit. The positioning ball is also provided with a detection module, which is connected to the detection circuit to determine the relative position relationship between the needle body and the positioning ball according to the conduction status of the conductive tape and the current size, thereby determining the suspension posture of the positioning ball in the water.

[0028] The cleaning process also includes the following steps:

[0029] S5. Determine the real-time form of the connection cable according to the suspension posture of each positioning ball, and determine the position coordinates of the end of the connection cable connected to the underwater cleaning robot relative to the underwater base station according to the real-time form, so as to determine the real-time position information of the underwater cleaning robot.

[0030] S6. Correct the position information of the underwater cleaning robot using the real-time position information.

[0031] Furthermore, a first positioning post is provided on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball near the first connection point, and the first positioning post is coaxially arranged with the end of the cable body at the first connection point. A second positioning post is provided on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball near the second connection point, and the second positioning post is coaxially arranged with the end of the cable body at the second connection point. The first positioning post and the second positioning post are coaxially arranged, and the axis lines of the two are arranged along the radial direction of the positioning ball.

[0032] The first positioning column is fixedly connected to a first connecting rod extending along its axial direction, and the end of the first connecting rod is fixedly connected to a first matching block. The second positioning column is fixedly connected to a second connecting rod extending along its axial direction, and the end of the second connecting rod is fixedly connected to a second matching block. The matching ball is clamped between the first matching block and the second matching block to achieve universal rotation.

[0033] Furthermore, a side surface of the first matching block for contacting with the matching ball and an outer surface of the matching ball both have a conductive layer to achieve electrical connection between the first matching block and the matching ball.

[0034] The first connecting rod has a conductive inner core, one end of which extends to the first matching block and is electrically connected to the conductive layer of the first matching block, and the other end of the conductive inner core extends to the first positioning column and is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line of the cable body through the first wire.

[0035] The conductive strips extend from the first positioning post to the second positioning post, the second positioning post is made of conductive material, the second positioning post is electrically connected to the detection module, and the detection module is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line of the cable body through the second wire.

[0036] The detection module is electrically connected to the data transmission line of the cable body through the third wire, so as to send the suspension posture of the positioning ball to the data center.

[0037] Furthermore, in S2, when planning the motion path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot moves against the ocean current when approaching the object to be cleaned along the motion path.

[0038] When planning the cleaning path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot cleans the object to be cleaned from the downstream side of the object to be cleaned in the direction of the ocean current to the upstream side of the ocean current.

[0039] Furthermore, the cleaning process also includes the following steps:

[0040] S7. Determine whether there is a risk of entanglement between the connecting cable and the deep-sea equipment according to the real-time form of the connecting cable. If there is no risk of entanglement, continue to perform the cleaning task. If there is a risk of entanglement, adjust the movement path and / or cleaning path to avoid entanglement between the connecting cable and the deep-sea equipment.

[0041] Furthermore, the cleaning process also includes the following steps:

[0042] S8. In S7, if there is a risk of entanglement and the risk of entanglement cannot be eliminated by replanning the movement path and / or clearing the path, the relative position of the underwater base station and the deep-sea equipment is adjusted according to the current ocean current direction and the real-time shape of the connecting cable to overcome the risk of entanglement.

[0043] The beneficial effects of the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention include:

[0044] The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment provided by the embodiment of the present invention can determine the position, size, and shape of the sediment deposition area on the deep-sea equipment, providing guidance and basis for subsequent cleaning work.

[0045] In this solution, three-dimensional scanning and image analysis are combined to realize the supervision of the deposition of sediments on deep-sea equipment, and the sediments (objects to be cleaned) can be cleaned using an underwater cleaning module according to actual conditions, thereby combining the supervision and cleaning of sediments. Underwater cleaning can be achieved without the need to transport the deep-sea equipment to a dock or other designated location every time, greatly reducing the difficulty and cost of cleaning.

[0046] In general, the sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment provided in the embodiments of the present invention can realize automatic monitoring of sediments on different types of deep-sea equipment and automatically complete the cleaning of sediments. During the cleaning process, there is no need to transfer the relevant equipment to a dock or other designated location, which greatly reduces the cleaning difficulty and cleaning cost, improves the cleaning convenience, and has positive significance for extending the service life of deep-sea equipment and ensuring the overall performance of the equipment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show certain embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For ordinary technicians in this field, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0048] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an underwater cleaning module of a sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of the connecting cable;

[0050] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the conductive belt in the positioning ball;

[0051] Figure 4 Based on Figure 1 Schematic diagram of determining the relative position relationship between the underwater cleaning robot and the underwater base station according to the state of the connecting cables.

[0052] Description of reference numerals:

[0053] Underwater base station 100; underwater cleaning robot 200; connecting cable 300; cable body 310; power supply line 311; transmission line 312; positioning ball 320; spherical inner cavity 321; wire passage 322; first connection point 323; second connection point 324; conductive belt 325; matching ball 400; needle body 410; counterweight 411; detection module 500; second wire 510; third wire 520; first positioning column 600; first connecting rod 610; first matching block 620; conductive inner core 630; first wire 640; second positioning column 700; second connecting rod 710; second matching block 720. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0054] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0055] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the invention claimed for protection, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0056] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, further definition and explanation thereof is not required in subsequent drawings.

[0057] The terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. are only used for distinguishing descriptions and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0058] It should be understood that the "system" and / or "module" used in the present invention is a method for distinguishing different components, elements, parts, portions or assemblies at different levels. However, if other words can achieve the same purpose, the words can be replaced by other expressions.

[0059] As shown in this specification and claims, unless the context clearly provides an example, the words "a", "an", "the", etc. do not refer to the singular, but also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "include" and "comprise" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0060] The flowcharts used in this specification are used to illustrate the operations performed by the system according to the embodiments of this specification. It is understood that the operations of each step are not necessarily performed precisely in order. On the contrary, the steps can be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. At the same time, other operations can also be added to these processes, or one or more operations can be removed from these processes.

[0061] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present embodiment provides a sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment, which includes: a data center (not shown in the figure), a three-dimensional scanning module (not shown in the figure), a vision module (not shown in the figure) and an underwater cleaning module.

[0062] The three-dimensional scanning module, the visual module and the underwater cleaning module are all electrically connected to the data center.

[0063] The data center stores standard 3D models of deep-sea equipment. Standard 3D models refer to clean 3D models of deep-sea equipment, that is, 3D models without sediment.

[0064] It should be noted that the "deep-sea equipment" in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to: deep-sea equipment (for example: submersibles), deep-sea facilities (for example: ocean current power generation facilities), etc., and can also be other marine equipment and facilities.

[0065] The 3D scanning module is used to perform 3D scanning on deep-sea equipment during or after use to obtain a scanning model, so that a 3D model of the deep-sea equipment during or after use can be obtained. If there is sediment in the deep-sea equipment during or after use, the scanning model can capture relevant information about the sediment.

[0066] In order to clarify whether there is sediment, the data center is used to determine the 3D model of sediment on the deep-sea equipment based on the difference between the scanned model and the standard 3D model.

[0067] Specifically, if the scanned model is exactly the same as the standard 3D model (completely overlapped), it indicates that there is no sediment on the surface of the corresponding deep-sea equipment. If the scanned model is not exactly the same as the standard 3D model (cannot completely overlap), and the scanned model has redundant parts relative to the standard 3D model, then the redundant parts correspond to the existence of sediments, and the redundant parts of the scanned model relative to the standard 3D model are the 3D models of sediments in various sediment deposition areas.

[0068] Through the above design, the location, size, and shape of the sediment deposition area on the deep-sea equipment can be determined, providing guidance and basis for subsequent cleaning work.

[0069] The vision module is used to obtain image data of the exterior of the deep-sea equipment.

[0070] According to the three-dimensional sediment model determined in the foregoing content, the specific location of each sedimentation area on the deep-sea equipment can be determined.

[0071] The data center is used to perform image analysis on the image data of the location of each sediment 3D model and identify the sediment in the image data. If the image data shows that sediment does exist at the location of the sediment 3D model, the sediment 3D model is determined to be correct (i.e., it is determined that sediment does exist here), and the corresponding sediment 3D model that is determined to be correct is used as the object to be cleaned.

[0072] The data center is also used to control the underwater cleaning module to clean the objects to be cleaned according to the specific distribution locations of the objects to be cleaned.

[0073] In this solution, three-dimensional scanning and image analysis are combined to realize the supervision of the deposition of sediments on deep-sea equipment, and the sediments (objects to be cleaned) can be cleaned using an underwater cleaning module according to actual conditions, thereby combining the supervision and cleaning of sediments. Underwater cleaning can be achieved without the need to transport the deep-sea equipment to a dock or other designated location every time, greatly reducing the difficulty and cost of cleaning.

[0074] In general, the sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment provided in this embodiment can realize automatic monitoring of sediments on different types of deep-sea equipment and automatically complete the cleaning of sediments. During the cleaning process, there is no need to transfer the relevant equipment to a dock or other designated location, which greatly reduces the cleaning difficulty and cleaning cost, improves the cleaning convenience, and has positive significance for extending the service life of deep-sea equipment and ensuring the overall performance of the equipment.

[0075] It should be noted that for the sediments of fixed marine equipment and facilities, the underwater cleaning module can be used to clean them directly, and for the mobile marine equipment such as submersibles, they can be cleaned on the sea surface after returning to the sea surface. During the cleaning process, the corresponding deep-sea equipment can be placed just below the sea surface. In this way, in the process of cleaning the sediments, the cleaned sediments can be carried away with the help of the scouring effect of the ocean current, which improves the cleaning efficiency. At the same time, there is no need to additionally process the cleaned sediments, which is simpler and more convenient.

[0076] In this embodiment, the data center is also used to perform image analysis on all image data of the deep-sea equipment collected by the vision module to determine the deposition area where sediments exist on the surface of the deep-sea equipment.

[0077] The sedimentation area corresponding to the sedimentation three-dimensional model is identified as a multiple sedimentation area. That is, for the sedimentation area obtained by image analysis, if there is a sedimentation three-dimensional model corresponding to it, this sedimentation area is identified as a "multiple sedimentation area", which indicates that the amount of sediment in this sedimentation area is relatively large.

[0078] The sedimentary area that does not correspond to the sedimentary three-dimensional model is identified as a less-deposited area. That is, for the sedimentary area obtained by image analysis, if there is no corresponding sedimentary three-dimensional model, it means that the sedimentary amount in this sedimentary area is relatively small, the sedimentary thickness is small, and the thickness characteristics are relatively unclear. There is no obvious manifestation in three dimensions for the time being, and this sedimentary area is identified as a "less-deposited area".

[0079] Areas with less deposition can be marked and changes in deposition within the areas with less deposition can be tracked.

[0080] Through this design, only the sediments with a certain thickness can be cleaned, which can be adjusted by controlling the scanning accuracy of the 3D scanning module. In other words, the higher the scanning accuracy of the 3D scanning module, the smaller the size that can be identified, and the smaller the upper limit of the thickness of the area with less deposition; conversely, the lower the scanning accuracy of the 3D scanning module, the larger the size that can be identified, and the larger the upper limit of the thickness of the area with less deposition. In this way, the thickness range of the area with less deposition can be flexibly controlled.

[0081] With this design, the "low-deposition area" can be continuously observed according to actual needs. For the low-deposition area, there are generally two development trends: one is that the deposition continues to thicken and then develops to a thickness that can be recognized by the 3D scanning module, becoming an object to be cleaned. The other is that before reaching the thickness that can be recognized by the 3D scanning module, the deposition thickness will no longer continue to thicken, or even disappear naturally due to changes in the surrounding water environment.

[0082] Based on this, this plan can not only allocate the cleaning work more reasonably, but also continuously monitor the sedimentation process and sedimentation progress of the sediments, which has positive significance for in-depth understanding and mastering the sedimentation laws and principles of the sediments, and thus can provide guidance for the anti-sedimentation improvement of deep-sea equipment and facilities.

[0083] Furthermore, the underwater cleaning module includes: an underwater base station 100 and an underwater cleaning robot 200 .

[0084] The underwater base station 100 and the underwater cleaning robot 200 are connected by a connecting cable 300 , and the underwater base station 100 limits the activity range of the underwater cleaning robot 200 by controlling the release length of the connecting cable 300 .

[0085] The connecting cable 300 is used to supply power to the underwater cleaning robot 200 and to transmit data between the underwater cleaning robot 200 and the underwater base station 100 .

[0086] The underwater base station 100 can be designed as a "mobile" base station, that is, the layout position of the underwater base station 100 can be flexibly adjusted according to the cleaning needs. After the cleaning work begins, the relative position relationship between the underwater base station 100 and the deep-sea equipment being cleaned is temporarily fixed.

[0087] The connecting cable 300 can not only provide power and transmit data, but also effectively prevent the underwater cleaning robot 200 from being lost. Even if the intensity of the ocean current suddenly increases during the cleaning process, or the underwater cleaning robot 200 accidentally loses power, the connecting cable 300 can effectively prevent the underwater cleaning robot 200 from being carried away by the ocean current and lost.

[0088] In addition, when the underwater base station 100 begins to recover the underwater cleaning robot 200, it can not only be recovered by the underwater cleaning robot 200 moving toward the underwater base station 100 on its own, but the underwater base station 100 can also recover the connecting cable 300 to assist in pulling the underwater cleaning robot 200 toward the underwater base station 100, thereby helping the underwater cleaning robot 200 to quickly return to the underwater base station 100, thereby achieving rapid recovery of the underwater cleaning robot 200.

[0089] In this embodiment, the data center is used to execute the cleaning process so as to control the underwater cleaning robot 200 to clean the object to be cleaned through the underwater base station 100. That is to say, when executing the cleaning process, the data center can issue relevant commands to the underwater cleaning robot 200 through the underwater base station 100 to complete the relevant cleaning work.

[0090] It should be noted that the underwater cleaning robot 200 is equipped with a cleaning component, and the specific type of the cleaning component can be flexibly selected according to actual cleaning needs. The underwater cleaning robot 200 is equipped with a power system, and can use its own power system to control movement and travel according to a set path.

[0091] Specifically, the cleaning process includes the following steps:

[0092] S1. Determine the starting point of the underwater cleaning robot 200 according to the relative position relationship between the underwater base station 100 and the deep-sea equipment, and determine the initial relative position relationship between the starting point and the object to be cleaned. That is, before the cleaning work begins, the underwater base station 100 is first arranged around the deep-sea equipment. When the cleaning work is about to begin, the underwater base station 100 is arranged, and the relative position relationship between the underwater base station 100 and the deep-sea equipment is temporarily fixed. At this time, the position of the underwater base station 100 relative to the deep-sea equipment is the initial position of the underwater cleaning robot 200, that is, the starting point. With the starting point as a reference, combined with the position change of the underwater cleaning robot 200 after the cleaning work starts, the specific movement path of the underwater cleaning robot 200 can be determined.

[0093] S2. Plan the motion path of the underwater cleaning robot 200 to the object to be cleaned according to the initial relative position relationship, and determine the cleaning path of the underwater cleaning robot 200 when cleaning the object to be cleaned according to the three-dimensional configuration of the object to be cleaned. That is, plan the motion path according to the relative position relationship between the starting point and the deep-sea equipment, and the specific distribution of the object to be cleaned on the deep-sea equipment, so that the underwater cleaning robot 200 can accurately reach the location of the object to be cleaned from the starting point. And determine the cleaning path according to the specific shape, range, thickness, and size of the object to be cleaned, so that after the underwater cleaning robot 200 reaches the location of the object to be cleaned, it can smoothly clean the object to be cleaned along the cleaning path.

[0094] S3. Determine the release length of the connection cable 300 when the underwater base station 100 releases it according to the motion path and the cleaning path. On the basis of being able to meet the motion range (motion path and cleaning path) of the underwater cleaning robot 200, the release length of the connection cable 300 can be reduced as much as possible, which can avoid accidental entanglement of the connection cable 300 on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can avoid the connection cable 300 being released too long, resulting in too much motion resistance of the underwater cleaning robot 200.

[0095] S4. Control the underwater base station 100 to start releasing the connection cable 300, and synchronously control the underwater cleaning robot 200 to move along the movement path to the object to be cleaned, and move along the cleaning path to clean the object to be cleaned.

[0096] For details, please combine Figure 1-Figure 3The connecting cable 300 includes: a cable body 310 and a positioning ball 320. The cable body 310 is divided into several sections, and the positioning ball 320 is divided into several sections.

[0097] The positioning balls 320 are evenly spaced along the length direction of the connecting cable 300. A cable body 310 is connected between two adjacent positioning balls 320, and a positioning ball 320 is connected between two adjacent cable bodies 310.

[0098] The positioning ball 320 has a spherical inner cavity 321 arranged concentrically therewith. A wire passage 322 for the wires of the cable body 310 to pass through is provided inside the spherical shell of the positioning ball 320. The inner diameter and number of the wire passage 322 can be flexibly set according to the type, kind and number of the wires in the cable body 310.

[0099] The wires of the cable body 310 include but are not limited to: a power supply line 311 for power supply, and a transmission line 312 for data transmission (the transmission content includes but is not limited to: control commands, three-dimensional scanning data, image data, etc.).

[0100] Optionally, both the three-dimensional scanning module and the vision module can be arranged in the underwater cleaning robot 200. In this case, the connecting cable 300 simultaneously undertakes the tasks of power supply and data transmission for the three-dimensional scanning module and the vision module.

[0101] A matching ball 400 is concentrically arranged inside the positioning ball 320, and the matching ball 400 can be universally rotatably matched with the positioning ball 320. The positioning ball 320 is fixedly connected with a needle body 410, which is arranged along the radial direction of the matching ball 400, and the tip of the needle body 410 extends to the inner wall of the positioning ball 320. The needle body 410 is made of conductive material.

[0102] One end of the needle body 410 close to the tip thereof is coaxially fixedly connected with a counterweight 411 . In a natural state, the needle body 410 is vertically downward under the action of the counterweight 411 .

[0103] The points where the positioning ball 320 is connected to two adjacent cable bodies 310 are respectively a first connection point 323 and a second connection point 324 . The first connection point 323 and the second connection point 324 are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the positioning ball 320 .

[0104] The inner wall of the positioning ball 320 has a conductive strip 325, which extends in an arc shape along the inner wall of the positioning ball 320, one end of the conductive strip 325 is located on the inner wall of the positioning ball 320 near the first connection point 323, and the other end of the conductive strip 325 is located on the inner wall of the positioning ball 320 near the second connection point 324. The conductive strip 325 is made of a conductive material with a specific resistance.

[0105] The line connecting the first connection point 323 and the second connection point 324 is used as a reference line, and the conductive strips 325 are arranged in a circumferential array along the reference line, and the edges of two adjacent conductive strips 325 are in contact and insulated from each other. The tip of the needle body 410 is in contact with at most one conductive strip 325 at a time and is electrically connected.

[0106] The needle body 410 is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line 311 of the cable body 310 , and one end of the conductive tape 325 is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line 311 of the cable body 310 to form a detection loop.

[0107] The positioning ball 320 is also provided with a detection module 500, which is connected to a detection circuit to determine the relative position relationship between the needle body 410 and the positioning ball 320 according to the conduction status of the conductive belt 325 and the current size, thereby determining the suspension posture of the positioning ball 320 in water.

[0108] The weight of the positioning ball 320 is greater than the buoyancy of the seawater on which it is subjected, that is, the positioning ball 320 will sink autonomously in the seawater.

[0109] Based on this, when the connecting cable 300 is released, the connecting cable 300 will sink to a certain extent under the gravity of the positioning ball 320, which makes the connecting cable 300 present a U shape, so that the connecting cable 300 can be stretched out to avoid local curling, entanglement and knotting. At the same time, this also makes it easier to more accurately grasp the release length of the connecting cable 300.

[0110] In addition, the above design also increases the deadweight of the connecting cable 300 to a certain extent, reduces the influence of ocean currents on its extended state, improves the stability of the connecting cable 300, and thus reduces the influence on the stability of the underwater cleaning robot 200.

[0111] After the connecting cable 300 is released, under the action of gravity of the self-positioning ball 320, the middle part of the connecting cable 300 will sag relative to the two ends, presenting a roughly U-shape as a whole. The degree of sagging in the middle part is related to the release length of the connecting cable 300 and the distance between the underwater cleaning robot 200 and the underwater base station 100.

[0112] When the connecting cable 300 is released, the positioning balls 320 at different positions on the connecting cable 300 have different postures in the water, but the needles 410 in the positioning balls 320 can be directed vertically downward under the action of the counterweight 411. When the positioning balls 320 are in different postures, the conductive strips 325 that the needles 410 contact when they are vertically facing downward are different.

[0113] By determining which conductive tape 325 is currently in the on state and the magnitude of the current in the on state, the detection module 500 can determine which conductive tape 325 the needle body 410 is pointing to and the specific contact point between the needle body 410 and the conductive tape 325. In this way, the relative position relationship between the positioning ball 320 and the needle body 410 can be determined, and then the posture of each positioning ball 320 in the water can be determined.

[0114] Based on the posture of each positioning ball 320 in the water, as well as the connection relationship and connection point between the positioning ball 320 and the cable body 310, the specific posture and appearance of the released connecting cable 300 in the water can be determined, that is, the specific shape of the released connecting cable 300 in the water can be determined.

[0115] Based on this, the cleaning process also includes the following steps:

[0116] S5. Determine the real-time shape of the connection cable 300 according to the suspension posture of each positioning ball 320, and determine the position coordinates of the end of the connection cable 300 connected to the underwater cleaning robot 200 relative to the underwater base station 100 according to the real-time shape, so as to determine the real-time position information of the underwater cleaning robot 200. Since the specific shape of the released connection cable 300 in the water is determined, the relative position relationship between the two ends of the released part of the connection cable 300 can be determined, such as Figure 4 As shown, for example, if it is determined according to the posture of the positioning ball 320 that the released portion of the connecting cable 300 is in the water Figure 4 In the state shown, its two ends correspond to position point A and position point B respectively.

[0117] The two ends of the released portion of the connecting cable 300 correspond to the underwater base station 100 and the underwater cleaning robot 200 respectively, so that the position of the underwater cleaning robot 200 relative to the underwater base station 100 can be determined according to the specific shape of the released portion of the connecting cable 300. Figure 4 As shown, position point A corresponds to the current position of the underwater cleaning robot 200, and position point B corresponds to the current position of the underwater base station 100. The relative position relationship between position point A and position point B is determined, thereby achieving auxiliary positioning.

[0118] S6. Use the real-time position information to correct the position information of the underwater cleaning robot 200, which can be used as a reference for position correction and positioning of the power system of the underwater cleaning robot 200, which effectively improves the movement accuracy and positioning accuracy of the underwater cleaning robot 200.

[0119] Specifically in this embodiment, a first positioning column 600 is disposed on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball 320 close to the first connection point 323, and the first positioning column 600 is coaxially disposed with the end of the cable body 310 connected to the first connection point 323. A second positioning column 700 is disposed on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball 320 close to the second connection point 324, and the second positioning column 700 is coaxially disposed with the end of the cable body 310 connected to the second connection point 324. The first positioning column 600 and the second positioning column 700 are coaxially disposed, and the axis lines of the two are both disposed along the radial direction of the positioning ball 320.

[0120] The first positioning column 600 is fixedly connected to a first connecting rod 610 extending along its axial direction, and the end of the first connecting rod 610 is fixedly connected to a first matching block 620. The second positioning column 700 is fixedly connected to a second connecting rod 710 extending along its axial direction, and the end of the second connecting rod 710 is fixedly connected to a second matching block 720.

[0121] The mating ball 400 is clamped between the first mating block 620 and the second mating block 720 to achieve universal rotation.

[0122] A surface of the first mating block 620 for mating with the mating ball 400 and an outer surface of the mating ball 400 both have a conductive layer (not shown in the figure) to achieve electrical connection between the first mating block 620 and the mating ball 400 .

[0123] The first connecting rod 610 has a conductive core 630, one end of the conductive core 630 extends to the first matching block 620 and is electrically connected to the conductive layer of the first matching block 620, and the other end of the conductive core 630 extends to the first positioning column 600 and is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line 311 of the cable body 310 through the first wire 640.

[0124] The conductive strips 325 extend from the first positioning post 600 to the second positioning post 700, which is made of conductive material. The second positioning post 700 is electrically connected to the detection module 500, which is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line 311 of the cable body 310 through the second wire 510.

[0125] The detection module 500 is electrically connected to the transmission line 312 of the cable body 310 for transmitting data through the third wire 520 , so as to send data related to the suspension posture of the positioning ball 320 to the data center.

[0126] In order to improve the simplicity of data, the detection module 500 determines the posture of the positioning ball 320 where it is located according to which conductive strip 325 is turned on and the current in the turned-on state, and the posture data is directly transmitted to the data center through the transmission line 312.

[0127] Furthermore, in S2, when planning the motion path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot 200 moves against the ocean current when it approaches the object to be cleaned along the motion path, even if the moving direction of the underwater cleaning robot 200 is opposite to the direction of the ocean current.

[0128] When planning the cleaning path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot 200 cleans the object to be cleaned from the downstream side of the object to be cleaned in the direction of the ocean current to the upstream side of the ocean current. That is, when the underwater cleaning robot 200 cleans the object to be cleaned, it also cleans from the end of the object to be cleaned close to the downstream of the ocean current to the end close to the upstream of the ocean current.

[0129] In this way, the entanglement of the connecting cable 300 during the movement of the underwater cleaning robot 200 can be effectively reduced.

[0130] Furthermore, the cleaning process also includes the following steps:

[0131] S7. Determine whether there is a risk of entanglement between the connecting cable 300 and the deep-sea equipment according to the real-time form of the connecting cable 300. If there is no risk of entanglement, continue to perform the cleaning task. If there is a risk of entanglement, adjust the movement path and / or the cleaning path to avoid entanglement between the connecting cable 300 and the deep-sea equipment.

[0132] S8. In S7, if there is a risk of entanglement and it cannot be eliminated by replanning the movement path and / or clearing the path, the relative position of the underwater base station 100 and the deep-sea equipment is adjusted according to the current ocean current direction and the real-time shape of the connecting cable 300 to overcome the risk of entanglement.

[0133] This design can further reduce the entanglement between the connecting cable 300 and the deep-sea equipment during the cleaning task.

[0134] Optionally, the underwater base station 100 may also be directly set on corresponding deep-sea equipment and facilities.

[0135] In summary, the sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment provided in the embodiment of the present invention can realize automatic monitoring of sediments on different types of deep-sea equipment and automatically complete the cleaning of sediments. During the cleaning process, there is no need to transfer the relevant equipment to a dock or other designated location, which greatly reduces the cleaning difficulty and cleaning cost, improves the cleaning convenience, and has positive significance for extending the service life of deep-sea equipment and ensuring the overall performance of the equipment.

[0136] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment, characterized in that: include: Data center, 3D scanning module, vision module and underwater cleaning module; The three-dimensional scanning module, the visual module and the underwater cleaning module are all electrically connected to the data center; The data center stores a standard three-dimensional model of the deep-sea equipment; the three-dimensional scanning module is used to perform a three-dimensional scan on the deep-sea equipment to obtain a scan model; the data center is used to determine the three-dimensional model of the sediment on the deep-sea equipment according to the difference between the scan model and the standard three-dimensional model; The visual module is used to obtain image data of the deep-sea equipment; the data center is used to perform image analysis on the image data of the location of the sediment three-dimensional model. If the image data shows that sediment does exist at the location of the sediment three-dimensional model, the sediment three-dimensional model is deemed to be correct, and the corresponding sediment three-dimensional model is used as the object to be cleaned; The data center is also used to control the underwater cleaning module to clean the object to be cleaned; The underwater cleaning module includes: an underwater base station and an underwater cleaning robot; The underwater base station and the underwater cleaning robot are connected by a connecting cable, and the underwater base station limits the activity range of the underwater cleaning robot by controlling the release length of the connecting cable; the connecting cable is used to power the underwater cleaning robot and to transmit data between the underwater cleaning robot and the underwater base station; The data center is used to execute a cleaning process to control the underwater cleaning robot to clean the object to be cleaned through the underwater base station. The cleaning process includes the following steps: S1. Determine the starting point of the underwater cleaning robot according to the relative position relationship between the underwater base station and the deep-sea equipment, and determine the initial relative position relationship between the starting point and the object to be cleaned; S2, planning a movement path of the underwater cleaning robot to the object to be cleaned according to the initial relative position relationship, and determining a cleaning path of the underwater cleaning robot when cleaning the object to be cleaned according to the three-dimensional configuration of the object to be cleaned; S3. Determine a release length when the underwater base station releases the connection cable according to the movement path and the cleaning path; S4, controlling the underwater base station to start releasing the connection cable, and synchronously controlling the underwater cleaning robot to move along the movement path to the object to be cleaned, and moving along the cleaning path to clean the object to be cleaned; The connecting cable comprises: a cable body and a positioning ball; Along the length direction of the connecting cable, the positioning balls are evenly spaced; the cable body is connected between two adjacent positioning balls, and the positioning balls are connected between two adjacent cable bodies; the positioning balls have a spherical inner cavity arranged concentrically therewith; a wire passage for the wires of the cable body to pass through is provided inside the spherical shell of the positioning balls; A matching ball is concentrically arranged inside the positioning ball, and the matching ball can be universally rotatably matched with the positioning ball. The positioning ball is fixedly connected with a needle body, and the needle body is arranged along the radial direction of the matching ball, and the tip of the needle body extends to the inner wall of the positioning ball; one end of the needle body close to its tip is coaxially fixedly connected with a counterweight, and in a natural state, the needle body is vertically downward under the action of the counterweight; The points where the positioning ball is connected to the two adjacent cable bodies are respectively a first connection point and a second connection point, and the first connection point and the second connection point are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the positioning ball; The inner wall of the positioning ball has a conductive strip, and the conductive strip extends into an arc shape along the inner wall of the positioning ball, one end of the conductive strip is located on a side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the first connection point, and the other end of the conductive strip is located on a side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the second connection point; Taking the line connecting the first connection point and the second connection point as a reference line, the conductive strips are arranged in a circumferential array along the reference line, the edges of two adjacent conductive strips are in contact and insulation is performed between the two; the tip of the needle body is in contact with at most one conductive strip at a time and is electrically connected; The needle body is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line of the cable body, and one end of the conductive tape is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line of the cable body to form a detection circuit; the positioning ball is also provided with a detection module, and the detection module is connected to the detection circuit to determine the relative position relationship between the needle body and the positioning ball according to the conduction condition of the conductive tape and the current size, so as to determine the suspension posture of the positioning ball in the water; The cleaning process also includes the following steps: S5. Determine the real-time form of the connection cable according to the suspension posture of each positioning ball, and determine the position coordinates of one end of the connection cable connected to the underwater cleaning robot relative to the underwater base station according to the real-time form, so as to determine the real-time position information of the underwater cleaning robot; S6. Correct the position information of the underwater cleaning robot using the real-time position information.

2. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data center is also used to perform image analysis on all of the image data to determine the deposition area where sediment exists on the surface of the deep-sea equipment; Identify the deposition area corresponding to the deposition three-dimensional model as a high-deposition area, and identify the deposition area not corresponding to the deposition three-dimensional model as a low-deposition area; The less-deposition area is marked, and the change of the deposition situation in the less-deposition area is tracked.

3. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first positioning post is arranged on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the first connection point, and the first positioning post is coaxially arranged with the end of the cable body at the first connection point; a second positioning post is arranged on one side of the inner wall of the positioning ball close to the second connection point, and the second positioning post is coaxially arranged with the end of the cable body at the second connection point; the first positioning post and the second positioning post are coaxially arranged, and the axis lines of the two are arranged along the radial direction of the positioning ball; The first positioning column is fixedly connected to a first connecting rod extending along its axial direction, and the end of the first connecting rod is fixedly connected to a first matching block; the second positioning column is fixedly connected to a second connecting rod extending along its axial direction, and the end of the second connecting rod is fixedly connected to a second matching block; the matching ball is clamped between the first matching block and the second matching block to achieve universal rotation.

4. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 3 is characterized in that: A side surface of the first matching block used to fit with the matching ball and an outer surface of the matching ball both have a conductive layer to achieve electrical connection between the first matching block and the matching ball; The first connecting rod has a conductive inner core, one end of the conductive inner core extends to the first matching block and is electrically connected to the conductive layer of the first matching block, and the other end of the conductive inner core extends to the first positioning column and is electrically connected to one pole of the power supply line of the cable body through a first wire; The conductive strips extend from the first positioning post to the second positioning post, and the second positioning post is made of a conductive material; the second positioning post is electrically connected to the detection module, and the detection module is electrically connected to the other pole of the power supply line of the cable body by a second wire; The detection module is electrically connected to the data transmission line of the cable body through a third wire, so as to send the suspension posture of the positioning ball to the data center.

5. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: In S2, when planning the motion path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot moves against the ocean current when approaching the object to be cleaned along the motion path; When planning the cleaning path, according to the direction of the ocean current, the underwater cleaning robot cleans the object to be cleaned from the downstream side of the object to be cleaned in the direction of the ocean current to the upstream side of the ocean current.

6. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that: The cleaning process also includes the following steps: S7, judging whether there is a risk of entanglement between the connecting cable and the deep-sea equipment according to the real-time form of the connecting cable; if there is no risk of entanglement, continuing to perform the cleaning task; If there is a risk of entanglement, the movement path and / or the cleaning path are adjusted to avoid entanglement between the connecting cable and the deep-sea equipment.

7. The sediment monitoring and cleaning system for deep-sea equipment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The cleaning process also includes the following steps: S8. In S7, if there is a risk of entanglement and the risk of entanglement cannot be eliminated by replanning the movement path and / or the cleaning path, the relative position of the underwater base station and the deep-sea equipment is adjusted according to the current ocean current direction and the real-time shape of the connecting cable to overcome the risk of entanglement.

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