Unmanned underwater vehicle large-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna and underwater vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses a large-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna of an unmanned underwater vehicle and the underwater vehicle, and belongs to the technical field of underwater vehicles, the antenna comprises an antenna shell, a pressure-resistant cabin body and a fin-shaped component, the pressure-resistant cabin body is a component forming a cabin body segment of the underwater vehicle, and the fin-shaped component is a fin-shaped component. The antenna shell comprises a radial supporting part fixed to the pressure-resistant cabin and a shell part fixed to the top end of the radial supporting part, the fin-shaped component is fixed to the radial supporting part, an antenna unit is installed in the shell part, and a wireless communication function unit connected with the antenna unit is arranged in the pressure-resistant cabin. The large-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna of the unmanned underwater vehicle has the advantages of being excellent in communication quality, high in pressure resistance, optimized in size, high in space utilization rate, stable and reliable for a long time and the like, and can meet operation requirements in a deep sea environment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of underwater vehicles, and in particular relates to a deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for an unmanned underwater vehicle and the underwater vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Unmanned underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot system that can operate autonomously underwater. It is widely used in scientific research, environmental monitoring, geological exploration and military fields. In recent years, it has become one of the cutting-edge technologies that scientific research and military institutions in various countries pay attention to. When working at great depths, AUV faces many technical challenges brought by the deep-sea environment. In particular, as the depth increases, the water pressure increases significantly, which places extremely high demands on its structural materials and design. AUVs usually use titanium alloys, special steels and advanced composite materials to manufacture shells, and disperse pressure through spherical and cylindrical structures. At the same time, advanced sealing technology is used to ensure the reliability of internal mechanical components. In addition, the antenna of AUV is a key component of its communication system. It needs to cope with the particularity of underwater communication and requires good sealing, pressure resistance and corrosion resistance. Since the high dielectric constant and loss tangent of metal materials are not conducive to the propagation of electromagnetic signals, high-strength non-metallic materials are generally used for antenna covers. As a high-performance engineering polymer material, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has become an ideal material for AUV antenna covers due to its good strength, low dielectric constant and loss tangent.

[0003] At present, there are many shortcomings and deficiencies in the design and application of unmanned underwater vehicle (AUV) antennas, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects: Limited communication posture: The antenna of a traditional AUV usually adopts a rod-shaped antenna installed at the tail, which needs to be exposed to the water surface to achieve communication when working. This antenna design has high requirements for the posture of the AUV, and the AUV can only expose the antenna above the water surface by tilting it at a certain angle. However, when the antenna is tilted at a small angle, especially at a low elevation angle, the antenna gain is low, causing the communication signal to weaken or even be interrupted, seriously affecting the communication effect. This posture limitation requires the AUV to frequently adjust its posture to maintain communication when performing complex tasks, which increases the difficulty of operation and energy consumption.

[0004] Poor communication signal quality: Due to the decrease in antenna gain at low elevation angles, the communication signal quality of AUVs in dynamic environments is often unstable and easily interfered by external factors. For example, when an AUV surfaces on a sea with large waves to communicate, the waves will change its posture and affect the effective angle of the antenna, thereby reducing the strength and stability of the communication signal. This problem is particularly prominent in long-distance communications, affecting the data transmission efficiency between the AUV and the control center.

[0005] The antenna has a large axial volume: The rod-shaped antenna installed at the tail has a large axial volume, and the antenna rod is usually long, which imposes certain restrictions on the overall design of the AUV. The long antenna rod increases the hydrodynamic resistance of the AUV, affecting the navigation efficiency, especially when operating in narrow spaces or complex terrain, it is easy to bump or get stuck. The size of the antenna also has an adverse effect on the maneuverability and stability of the AUV, increasing the risk of damage when performing precise operations.

[0006] In summary, the shortcomings of AUV antennas are mainly concentrated in the aspects of limited communication posture, unstable signal quality, performance restrictions of appearance design, and insufficient fragility. These shortcomings limit the communication efficiency and operational capabilities of AUVs in complex environments and high-demand tasks, and become key areas where unmanned underwater vehicle technology needs to be further optimized. Summary of the invention

[0007] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides an unmanned underwater vehicle deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna and an underwater vehicle that solves the problems of current underwater vehicle antennas in terms of limited communication posture, unstable signal quality, performance restrictions imposed by appearance design, and insufficient fragility.

[0008] The present invention is implemented as follows: a deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for an unmanned underwater vehicle, characterized in that it includes an antenna shell, a pressure-resistant cabin and a fin-shaped component, the pressure-resistant cabin is a component that forms a cabin segment of the underwater vehicle, the antenna shell includes a radial support portion fixed to the pressure-resistant cabin and a shell portion fixed to the top end of the radial support portion, the fin-shaped component is fixed to the radial support portion, an antenna unit is installed inside the shell portion, and a wireless communication functional unit connected to the antenna unit is provided in the pressure-resistant cabin.

[0009] In the above technical solution, preferably, the shell portion includes a base and a cover shell installed on the base, the cover shell and the base constitute a shell portion for accommodating and installing the antenna unit, and the radial support portion is a radially arranged column member.

[0010] In the above technical solution, preferably, the pressure-resistant cabin comprises a cylindrical cabin and an end cover fixed to the cylindrical cabin.

[0011] In the above technical solution, preferably, the fin-shaped component includes a rudder wing plate that is symmetrically arranged on the left and right, the radial support portion is clamped and fixed between the two rudder wing plates, and the two rudder wing plates are connected by fasteners.

[0012] In the above technical solution, preferably, radial grooves are formed on the inner surfaces of the two tail rudder wing plates, and the radial grooves of the two tail rudder wing plates in the clamped state form sleeve holes combined with the radial support parts, and the radial support parts are clamped and fixed in the sleeve holes.

[0013] In the above technical solution, preferably, the cover shell is cylindrical, the base is a disc fixed to the lower part of the cover shell, and the lower part of the base forms an annular rotating arc surface connected to the radial support part.

[0014] In the above technical solution, preferably, a raised pedestal is provided on the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical cabin, the lower end of the radial support portion is fixed to the pedestal, and a recess for embedding the pedestal is provided on the lower part of the tail rudder wing plate.

[0015] In the above technical solution, preferably, the end cover is provided with a cable connector.

[0016] The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles has many advantages and effects: Excellent communication quality: Traditional AUV antennas are limited by attitude changes during communication, especially at low elevation angles, where the antenna gain is low, resulting in poor communication effects. The antenna proposed in the present invention is exposed to the water surface upright, with high antenna gain, and can maintain stable communication effects at different angles. Its high-gain design enables higher data transmission rates and lower latency, ensuring that AUVs can achieve efficient data interaction when performing tasks, greatly improving the communication bottleneck of traditional antennas in complex sea conditions.

[0017] Strong pressure resistance: In response to the extremely high water pressure requirements in deep-sea environments, the antenna adopts a combination design of radial support and shell. The thickness and material of the shell can be designed according to the function selection, which can effectively adapt to the high pressure conditions in deep-sea environments and ensure that the antenna still has reliable communication performance at extreme depths. In addition, the excellent properties of the polyetheretherketone material used in the shell ensure that the antenna can withstand the strong water pressure in the deep sea without affecting signal transmission, providing a guarantee for long-term and reliable operation.

[0018] Axial volume optimization: Compared with the traditional long rod antenna, the antenna has been optimized in structural design, reducing the length and axial volume of the tail antenna, reducing the risk of collision of the AUV in complex marine environments. The combination design with the tail rudder effectively saves the internal space of the AUV, further improves its mechanical reliability and impact resistance, and ensures that the antenna can operate stably in various extreme marine conditions.

[0019] High space utilization: The present invention cleverly combines the antenna with the tail rudder structure to achieve efficient utilization of the overall space of the AUV. This integrated design not only reduces the exposed area of ​​the antenna outside the AUV, but also reduces the overall resistance of the AUV, which is beneficial to the maneuverability and stability of the vehicle underwater and improves the overall operating efficiency.

[0020] Strong long-term stability: The material and design of the antenna give it extremely high corrosion resistance and mechanical strength, and it can work in seawater for a long time without performance degradation. Through advanced sealing technology and pressure-resistant structure, the antenna has a long service life in deep-sea environments, reducing the maintenance requirements of the equipment and ensuring that the AUV can perform various deep-sea missions stably and long-term.

[0021] In summary, the unmanned underwater vehicle deep-sea pressure-resistant communication antenna can better meet the operational needs of AUV in deep-sea environments with its excellent communication quality, strong pressure-resistant performance, optimized axial volume design and efficient space utilization, ensuring that it can perform various scientific research and monitoring tasks in a complex marine environment in a long-term, stable and reliable manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; Figure 2 It is an exploded schematic diagram of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0024] In order to solve the problems of underwater vehicle antennas in terms of limited communication posture, unstable signal quality, performance restrictions of appearance design, and insufficient fragility, the present invention provides an unmanned underwater vehicle deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna and an underwater vehicle. The unmanned underwater vehicle deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna has the advantages of excellent communication quality, strong pressure-resistant performance, optimized volume, high space utilization, and long-term stability and reliability, and can meet the operation requirements in deep-sea environments. In order to further illustrate the structure of the present invention, the detailed description is as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 A deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for an unmanned underwater vehicle comprises an antenna shell 1, a pressure-resistant cabin 2 and a fin-shaped component 3.

[0025] The pressure hull is a component that forms a hull segment of an underwater vehicle. A hull segment refers to a section of the shell that is used to form a pressure hull of an underwater vehicle. In the present embodiment, specifically, the hull segment serves as the shell of the tail of the underwater vehicle, and the pressure hull includes a cylindrical hull 2-1 and an end cover 2-2 fixed to the cylindrical hull, wherein the cylindrical hull is adapted to the shell shape of the underwater vehicle. Furthermore, a raised pedestal 2-3 is provided on the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical hull, and the lower end of the radial support portion is fixed to the pedestal. A cable connector 2-4 is provided on the end cover. The end cover of the cylindrical hull is a titanium alloy component, and a waterproof cable connector for connecting a vulcanized cable is installed on the titanium alloy end cover, which is used to connect to the internal controller of the unmanned underwater vehicle.

[0026] The antenna shell includes a radial support portion 1-1 fixed to the pressure-resistant cabin and a shell portion fixed to the top of the radial support portion. In this embodiment, the shell portion includes a base 1-2 and a cover 1-3 installed on the base, the cover and the base constitute a shell portion for accommodating and installing the antenna unit, and the radial support portion is a radially arranged column rod member. The cover is cylindrical, the base is a disc fixed to the lower part of the cover, and the lower part of the base forms a circumferential rotation arc surface connected to the radial support portion. Specifically, the cover is a shell of polyetheretherketone material, the specific material model is PEEK-5600G, the tensile strength is as high as 105MPa, and the thickness is 4mm. Through static simulation verification, the cover using this model of material and structure has a maximum stress of about 73MPa at a water depth of 1100m, and a safety factor of 1.43, which meets the large-depth pressure resistance requirements of unmanned underwater vehicles. The dielectric constant of the cover is 3.2. Through electromagnetic simulation verification, the loss rate of the cover to the maximum gain of the antenna is less than 0.5%, which meets the use requirements of the antenna. The lower part of the cover is circumferentially provided with four radial key-shaped countersunk holes, which are connected to the titanium alloy base by installing countersunk screws. The radial key-shaped countersunk holes are designed to prevent the countersunk screws from being unable to be removed due to deformation of the through hole at a large depth.

[0027] The fin-shaped component is fixed to the radial support portion. In the present embodiment, specifically, the fin-shaped component includes a rudder wing plate 3-1 symmetrically arranged on the left and right, the radial support portion is clamped and fixed between the two rudder wing plates, and the two rudder wing plates are connected by fasteners. The inner surfaces of the two rudder wing plates form radial grooves, and the radial grooves of the two rudder wing plates in the clamped state form sleeve holes combined with the radial support portion, and the radial support portion is clamped and fixed in the sleeve holes. The lower part of the rudder wing plate is provided with a recess for embedding the pedestal. The recess is combined with the pedestal, and the pedestal bears the torsion of the rudder wing plate to improve the structural stability. Specifically, the rudder wing plate is a carbon fiber component, a threaded hole is provided on one rudder wing plate, and a corresponding through hole is provided on the other rudder wing plate, and the two rudder wing plates are fixed by screws to form an integral fin-shaped component that clamps the radial support portion. Unmanned underwater vehicles are often affected by ocean currents when moving underwater, which can be specifically decomposed into resistance along the chord-wise X-axis, lateral force along the span-wise Y-axis, and lift perpendicular to the Z-axis of the vehicle. The fixed tail rudder formed by the fin-shaped component can offset the lateral force of the unilateral ocean current on the unmanned underwater vehicle to a certain extent, making the underwater vehicle run more stably. The tail rudder can improve the unmanned underwater vehicle's ability to maintain navigation in the longitudinal and vertical planes.

[0028] The antenna unit 4 is installed inside the shell, and a wireless communication functional unit 5 connected to the antenna unit is provided inside the pressure-resistant cabin. Specifically, the antenna unit is fixed to the titanium alloy base 2-2 by nylon plastic screws. Two sealing ring grooves are opened on the upper and lower parts of the base. When the first sealing ring is damaged and fails, the second sealing ring can still ensure the internal waterproofing. The design of the sealing ring groove mainly refers to GB / T 3452. According to the diameter of the sealing ring 2.65 mm, the groove width is 3.6 mm, the groove depth is 2 mm, and the groove bottom diameter dimension tolerance is h9. The base is matched with the base hole system H8 / f7. The RF line of the antenna unit is connected to the wireless communication functional unit through the wiring hole set in the column-shaped radial support part, and the radial support part is connected to the titanium alloy pressure-resistant cabin by screws.

[0029] In this embodiment, the wireless communication functional unit is a communication positioning module, which is connected to the antenna unit. When the unmanned underwater vehicle floats on the water, the communication positioning module transmits the positioning data of the unmanned underwater vehicle to the antenna, and the antenna then sends the data to the satellite. The satellite sends the data to the ground control base station. The ground control base station sends command data to the unmanned underwater vehicle as needed. The satellite data is received by the antenna unit, and the antenna unit then transmits the command data to the communication positioning module for processing.

[0030] The communication and positioning module transmits the command data sent by the ground control base station to the internal controller of the unmanned underwater vehicle through the waterproof cable connector. The unmanned underwater vehicle starts the next stage of navigation mission according to the command data, completing a communication. At the same time, the underwater unmanned vehicle supplies power to the communication and positioning module through the cable connector.

[0031] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for an unmanned underwater vehicle, characterized in that: It includes an antenna shell, a pressure-resistant cabin and a fin-shaped component. The pressure-resistant cabin is a component that forms a cabin segment of an underwater vehicle. The antenna shell includes a radial support portion fixed to the pressure-resistant cabin and a shell portion fixed to the top end of the radial support portion. The fin-shaped component is fixed to the radial support portion. An antenna unit is installed inside the shell portion. A wireless communication functional unit connected to the antenna unit is provided inside the pressure-resistant cabin.

2. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell portion includes a base and a cover shell installed on the base, the cover shell and the base constitute a shell portion for accommodating and installing the antenna unit, and the radial support portion is a radially arranged column rod component.

3. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 2, characterized in that: The pressure-resistant cabin comprises a cylindrical cabin and an end cover fixed to the cylindrical cabin.

4. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fin-shaped component comprises a rudder wing plate that is symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides, the radial support portion is clamped and fixed between the two rudder wing plates, and the two rudder wing plates are connected by a fastener.

5. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner surfaces of the two tail rudder wing plates form radial grooves, and the radial grooves of the two tail rudder wing plates in a clamped state form sleeve holes combined with the radial support parts, and the radial support parts are clamped and fixed in the sleeve holes.

6. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 5, characterized in that: The cover shell is cylindrical, the base is a disc fixed to the lower part of the cover shell, and the lower part of the base forms a circumferential rotating arc surface connected to the radial support part.

7. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 6, characterized in that: A raised pedestal is arranged on the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical cabin, the lower end of the radial support portion is fixed to the pedestal, and a recess for embedding the pedestal is arranged at the lower part of the tail rudder wing plate.

8. The deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna for unmanned underwater vehicles according to claim 7, characterized in that: The end cover is provided with a cable connector.

9. An underwater vehicle, comprising a cabin composed of N cabin segments connected in sequence, characterized in that: The underwater vehicle is equipped with the unmanned underwater vehicle deep-depth pressure-resistant communication antenna as described in any one of claims 1-8.

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