Deep-sea mining vehicle track system, deep-sea mining vehicle and control method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a crawler system for a deep-sea mining vehicle, a deep-sea mining vehicle and a control method. The crawler system for the deep-sea mining vehicle comprises a moving track frame and a plurality of crawler units. Each crawler unit includes a crawler device, a telescopic device and a track connection device. The crawler device is connected to the track connection device through the telescopic device. The track connection device is movably connected to the moving track frame. The track connection device includes a moving component for driving the track connection device to move and a fixing component for stopping the movement of the track connection device and fixedly connecting the track connection device to the moving track frame. The crawler system for the deep-sea mining vehicle of the present invention is installed on a deep-sea crawler mining vehicle, can adapt to the complex working environment of the deep sea, and can adjust the position of the crawler unit when the crawler encounters subsidence or jamming or when the crawler is damaged or fails, so as to ensure the normal operation of other crawlers and the smooth realization of the functions of the crawler system, and has very high flexibility and convenience in use.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of marine mineral resource exploitation equipment, and particularly relates to a crawler system for a deep-sea mining vehicle, a deep-sea mining vehicle, and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] 71% of the earth's surface is covered by the ocean, and 3 / 4 of it is deep-sea basins. The vast ocean contains extremely rich resources. And with the increasing depletion of land resources, ocean resources have become the focus of attention of countries around the world. The deep sea contains extremely rich polymetallic nodules of nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese and polymetallic sulfides rich in lead, zinc, gold, and silver. These mineral resources are mainly stored in the seabed surface soil at a water depth of 5000-6000m. The deep-sea surface soil is mostly soft clay with high water content and very small internal friction angle. In view of the special soil properties of the seabed, at present, a tracked hydraulic ore collector is generally recognized at home and abroad as a deep-sea mining equipment. During the driving process of the ore collector, the shear force provided by the soil is its main forward driving force.

[0003] The occurrence environment of polymetallic nodule resources in the deep ocean floor is extremely special: firstly, the special ultra-high pressure at the seabed of 4000-6000m, and secondly, the distribution form of nodule resources is surface distribution, and the surface enrichment degree is about 6-10 kg / m 2 , and since it is only stored in the soft surface soil of 0-25 cm on the seabed, some are in a fully buried state, some are in a semi-buried or fully exposed state, and the particle size difference is relatively large. The large ones have a diameter of nearly ten centimeters, and the small ones are only a few centimeters. Therefore, its mining method is special, which brings great difficulties to the large-scale exploitation of resources and is unprecedented in the history of human mining. How to efficiently collect these ores is an important problem faced by the ore collector.

[0004] For the collection of nodule ores, domestic and foreign scholars have proposed two methods. One is mechanical, that is, using a mechanical chain plate to insert into the sediment, pulling out the nodule ores from the sediment, and then transferring them upward to the hopper of the ore collector. The other is hydraulic, that is, using a double-row nozzle water jet to suspend the ores and sediment together, and then using the suction effect to send the ores to the hopper through the conveying channel. However, both of the above two mining methods have their own disadvantages: the hydraulic mining should fully consider the high-pressure hydraulic environment of the seabed, and the system is complex and difficult to control; the mechanical method generally uses a mining vehicle for collection, but since the walking geology of the mining vehicle is mostly composed of soft and fine bottom sediments and there is a layer of sediment on the surface, it is prone to sudden situations such as subsidence, jamming or damage during walking. Although the existing mining vehicles are equipped with multiple crawlers, the positions of each crawler are basically fixed, and it is often difficult to achieve self-rescue. Moreover, once a failure occurs, it cannot be repaired in time in the extreme deep-sea environment. Either it is abandoned and pollutes the seabed environment, or it becomes a burden to the mining device, reducing the walking efficiency of the mining device and even affecting the normal walking of the mining vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a deep-sea mining vehicle track system, a deep-sea mining vehicle and a control method, which are used to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background technology that the existing seabed mining vehicle track system has low flexibility in use, cannot escape from trouble by itself, cannot cope with emergencies such as failures, etc.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution proposed by the present invention is:

[0007] A deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system comprises a mobile track frame and a plurality of crawler units, wherein the crawler unit comprises a crawler device, a telescopic device and a track connecting device, wherein the crawler device is connected to the track connecting device via the telescopic device; the track connecting device is movably connected to the mobile track frame, and the track connecting device comprises a moving component for driving the track connecting device to move and a fixing component for stopping the track connecting device from moving and fixing the track connecting device to the mobile track frame.

[0008] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the movable track frame is provided with a track, and the movable component is a power wheel matching the track, and the power wheel rotates along the track to drive the track connecting device to move along the track.

[0009] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the moving component also includes a control system for controlling the rotation and steering of the power wheel.

[0010] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the movable track frame is provided with round rods along the track direction, and the fixing component of the track connecting device is an expandable and contractible ring, and the round rods are accommodated in the ring.

[0011] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the telescopic device includes a driving member, a telescopic rod and a telescopic chain. The telescopic rod and the telescopic chain are connected end to end and can be telescoped synchronously. One end of the telescopic device is fixedly connected to the track connecting device, and the other end is fixedly connected to the crawler device. The distance between the track connecting device and the crawler device is adjusted by the driving member.

[0012] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the track device includes a track, a supporting workpiece and a cross-plate workpiece. The supporting workpiece is arranged inside the track, and the cross-plate workpiece is fixed to the upper surface of the supporting workpiece perpendicular to the direction of the track, and both ends of the cross-plate workpiece extend out of the track; the telescopic device is fixed in the area where the cross-plate workpiece extends out of the track.

[0013] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the movable track frame has a nine-square grid structure.

[0014] As a further preferred embodiment of the above technical solution, the number of the crawler units is 4.

[0015] Based on the same technical concept, the present invention also provides a deep-sea mining vehicle, comprising a vehicle body and the deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system described in the above technical solution; the mobile track frame of the deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system is installed on the lower bottom surface of the vehicle body.

[0016] Based on the same technical concept, the present invention also provides a control method for the above-mentioned deep-sea mining vehicle: when the track unit of the deep-sea mining vehicle sinks, gets stuck or is damaged, the position of the track unit is adjusted through the deep-sea mining vehicle track system to achieve escape or ensure the normal operation of the remaining track units.

[0017] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0018] The deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system of the present invention is installed on a deep-sea crawler mining vehicle and can adapt to the complex working environment of the deep sea. When the crawler sinks or gets stuck, the corresponding crawler unit can be lifted by using the telescopic assembly, and escape can be achieved by idling or adjusting the crawler position. When the crawler is damaged or fails, the positions of all crawler units can be adjusted to ensure the normal operation of other crawlers and the smooth realization of the functions of the crawler system. The failed or damaged crawler device can be adjusted to a specific position so that it does not affect the overall function of the crawler system. It can also stabilize the center of gravity of the entire mining vehicle so that it does not become a burden, thereby improving the flexibility and convenience of the crawler system and the deep-sea mining vehicle.

[0019] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings constituting a part of this application are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The exemplary embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a single crawler unit of Example 1;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a single crawler unit of Example 1 in a side view;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the track connection device of Example 1;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the mobile track frame of Example 1;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the connection between the track connection device and the movable track frame of Example 1;

[0026] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the positions of all track units of the deep - sea mining vehicle track system of Embodiment 1;

[0027] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the positions of all track units after adjustment when a track unit of the deep - sea mining vehicle of Embodiment 1 fails;

[0028] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the positions of all track units after adjustment when two track units of the deep - sea mining vehicle of Embodiment 1 fail.

[0029] Legend:

[0030] 1. Driving runner; 2. Horizontal plate workpiece; 3. Connecting workpiece; 4. Supporting workpiece; 5. Power supply; 6. Steel protection shell; 7. Track; 8. Telescopic rod; 9. Telescopic chain; 10. Track connection device; 1001. Track connection device main body; 1002. Power runner; 1003. Ring; 11. Moving track frame; 1101. Track; 1102. Round rod. Specific implementation mode

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different ways defined and covered by the claims.

[0032] Embodiment 1:

[0033] As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2 The deep - sea mining vehicle track system of this embodiment includes a moving track frame 11 and 4 track units. The track unit is as shown in Figure 2 and includes a track device, a telescopic device and a track connection device 10. The track device is connected to the track connection device 10 through the telescopic device; the structure of the moving track frame 11 is as shown in Figure 4 and is composed of multiple tracks 1101, showing a nine - square grid structure. Its positions are numbered. The first row is numbers 1 - 3 in sequence; the second row is numbers 4 - 6; the third row is numbers 7 - 9, and round rods 1102 are arranged synchronously along the tracks 1101.

[0034] Among them, the crawler device includes a crawler track 7, a driving wheel 1, a steel protective shell 6, a cross plate workpiece 2, a supporting workpiece 4 (I-beam, height of 0.8m), and a cylindrical connecting workpiece 3, a total of 4; there are 10 driving wheels 1 arranged on the upper and lower parts of the crawler device, the wheel radius is 0.6m, and it is tightly connected with two layers of steel protective shells 6 on the upper and lower parts. The crawler track 7 is fixed on the outer surface of the outer steel protective shell 6. Each crawler track 7 is 5m long, 3m wide and 3m high; the height of the grouser is 0.8m, and the driving wheel 1 is driven to rotate by the power supply 5, and the steel protective shell 6 and the crawler track 7 are driven to move; 4 supporting workpieces 4 are evenly arranged inside the crawler track 7, and the cross plate workpiece 2 is fixed on the supporting workpiece 4. The direction of the cross plate workpiece 2 is perpendicular to the direction of the crawler track 7, and the connecting workpiece 3 is installed in the area where the cross plate workpiece 2 extends out of the coverage area of ​​the crawler track 7.

[0035] The telescopic device includes a telescopic rod 8 and a telescopic chain 9 which are connected end to end and can be telescoped synchronously. The lower ends of the telescopic rod 8 and the telescopic chain 9 are fixed to the connecting workpiece 3, and the upper ends are fixed to the track connecting device 10. The telescopic chain 9 is composed of 5 groups of rods, and a single rod can rotate up to about 80°; the telescopic chain 9 formed by 5 groups of rods can only rotate up to 60°; each rod can provide a height difference of 0.2m, and 5 rods can provide a height difference of 1m. The telescopic rod 8 has a built-in driving part as the telescopic power source of the telescopic rod 8 and the telescopic chain 9.

[0036] like Figure 3 The track connection device 10 comprises a track connection device body 1001 (2m long, 1.5m wide, 1m high), a power wheel 1002 and an expandable and contractible ring 1003. The power wheel 1002 and the expandable and contractible ring 1003 are both fixed on the track connection device body 1001. The lower end of the track connection device body 1001 is connected to a telescopic device. The track connection device body 1001 also has a built-in power device and a control system. The power device is used to provide rotational power to the power wheel 1002, and the control system is used to control the steering of the power wheel 1002. Figure 5 The round rod 1102 of the movable track frame 11 is embedded in the ring 1003. When the track connecting device 10 needs to move, the ring 1003 expands outward, the internal space of the ring 1003 increases, and the track connecting device 10 moves under the action of the power wheel 1002; when the track connecting device 10 needs to be fixed, the ring 1003 contracts inward, the internal space of the ring 1003 decreases, and stops when it is reduced to the size of the track 1101. At this time, the position of the track connecting device 10 can be fixed.

[0037] Once a traditional crawler device sinks, jams, or breaks down, it is extremely difficult to perform effective repairs due to the deep-sea environment. As a result, it is extremely difficult to extricate the mining vehicle from trouble, and thus the mining operation is difficult to continue. The present invention can greatly reduce the losses caused by such situations. Moreover, some mining devices carry multiple crawlers, but the positions of the individual crawlers are basically fixed. Once a failure occurs, the broken crawler is either discarded, polluting the seabed environment, or becomes a burden to the mining device, reducing the walking efficiency of the mining device. Dividing the entire crawler device into four parts greatly enhances the flexibility of the crawler device; the nine-square grid tracks 1101, track connection devices 10, and telescopic devices increase the diversity and adjustability of the device; it can operate normally with 2, 3, or 4 crawlers running, improving the smoothness of the mining vehicle during the mining process; and the faulty or damaged crawler device can also play a role in stabilizing the center of gravity of the entire mining vehicle. This embodiment uses the following situations as examples to illustrate the working method of the deep-sea mining vehicle and its crawler system of this embodiment:

[0038] When the deep-sea mining vehicle is walking normally and the crawler system is working properly, the position and state of the crawler units in the crawler system are as Figure 6 shown. When the 4 crawler devices are distributed at positions 1, 3, 7, and 9 of the track device, this distribution can best ensure the stable walking of the entire mining machine.

[0039] When a crawler sinks, simply use the telescopic chain device to lift the sunken crawler, let it idle alone for a period of time to get rid of the sediment in the crawler, and then use the telescopic chain device to extend it to its original position to continue moving forward.

[0040] When a crawler jams, first move the normally walking crawler in the same row to the middle position of that row (the first row is moved to position 2; the third row is moved to position 8); then use the telescopic device to lift it, and then move it to position 5 of the nine-square grid track, and the mining vehicle can continue the mining operation.

[0041] When a crawler is damaged or fails and the position of the crawler needs to be changed, first lift the crawler device to a certain height through the telescopic rod 8 and the telescopic chain 9, expand outward through the ring 1003, loosen the round rod 1102, and control the track connection device 10 to start moving. As the track connection device 10 moves to the desired position, contract the ring 1003 until the track connection device 10 is fixed on the track 1101. Taking the failure of crawler II as an example, first lift the faulty crawler device II through the telescopic device so that the crawler unit presents Figure 7In the shown state, the crawler device II is then lowered from the 3rd position via the 6th position to the 5th position by the above method, and then the crawler II is lowered to the original height and placed on the seabed to ensure the stability of the mining vehicle. Then, using the same method, the crawler device I is moved from the 1st position to the 2nd position. Finally, the respective telescopic devices are used to lower the crawler I to the ground and raise the crawler II to a certain height. Thus, when a crawler fails or is damaged, the other three crawler devices can be used to continue the mining operation.

[0042] On the premise that the crawler II fails first and then the crawler IV fails, the conversion method is the same as the above method. The crawler II is moved to the 4th position, the crawler IV is moved to the 6th position, and the crawler III is moved to the 8th position by the same method, presenting Figure 8 the shown state. However, if the second damaged crawler is the crawler device I, the situation is different. At this time, the faulty crawler device II needs to be lowered to the seabed first, and then the 4 telescopic devices are contracted from top to bottom to move the center of gravity of the entire crawler vehicle downward. Then, the positions of each crawler are changed: the crawler I is moved from the 2nd position to the 4th position; the crawler II is moved from the 5th position to the 6th position; the crawler III is moved from the 7th position to the 2nd position; the crawler IV is moved from the 9th position to the 8th position. After the movement, the telescopic rod chain structures of the two still normally operating crawler devices III and IV can be extended, and then the mining operation can continue with only two crawler devices available.

[0043] Under extreme conditions, if two crawlers are damaged or fail at the same time, the basic method remains unchanged. Then, according to whether the damaged crawlers are in the same row and while ensuring the stability of the mining vehicle, adjustments are made. As long as the above method is applied properly, the mining operation can still continue relying on the remaining two normal crawlers when two crawlers fail at the same time.

[0044] The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For those skilled in the art of this technology, the improvements and transformations obtained without departing from the technical concept of the present invention should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

[0045] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A crawler system for a deep - sea mining vehicle, characterized in that, The invention comprises a movable track frame (11) and a plurality of crawler units, wherein the crawler unit comprises a crawler device, a telescopic device and a track connecting device (10), wherein the crawler device is connected to the track connecting device (10) via the telescopic device; the track connecting device (10) is movably connected to the movable track frame (11), and the track connecting device (10) comprises a movable component for driving the track connecting device (10) to move and a fixed component for stopping the track connecting device (10) from moving and fixing the track connecting device (10) to the movable track frame (11).

2. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The movable track frame (11) is provided with a track (1101), and the movable component is a power wheel (1002) matched with the track (1101); the power wheel (1002) rotates along the track (1101), driving the track connection device (10) to move along the track (1101).

3. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 2, wherein The mobile assembly also includes a control system for controlling the rotation and steering of the power wheel (1002).

4. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that, The movable track frame (11) is provided with a round rod (1102) along the direction of the track (1101); the fixed component of the track connection device (10) is an expandable and contractible ring (1003); and the round rod (1102) is accommodated in the ring (1003).

5. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The telescopic device comprises a driving member, a telescopic rod (8) and a telescopic chain (9); the telescopic rod (8) and the telescopic chain (9) are connected end to end and can be telescoped synchronously; one end of the telescopic device is fixedly connected to the track connection device (10) and the other end is fixedly connected to the crawler device; the distance between the track connection device (10) and the crawler device is adjusted by the driving member.

6. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The crawler device comprises a crawler (7), a supporting workpiece (4) and a transverse plate workpiece (2); the supporting workpiece (4) is arranged inside the crawler (7); the transverse plate workpiece (2) is fixed to the upper surface of the supporting workpiece (4) perpendicular to the direction of the crawler (7), and both ends of the transverse plate workpiece (2) extend out of the crawler (7); and the telescopic device is fixed to the area where the transverse plate workpiece (2) extends out of the crawler (7).

7. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The movable track frame (11) is in a nine-square grid structure.

8. The crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The number of the crawler units is 4.

9. A deep-sea mining vehicle, characterized in that, It comprises a vehicle body and a deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8; a moving track frame (11) of the deep-sea mining vehicle crawler system is installed on the lower bottom surface of the vehicle body.

10. A control method for the deep-sea mining vehicle according to claim 9, characterized in that, When the crawler unit of the deep-sea mining vehicle sinks, gets stuck or is damaged, the position of the crawler unit is adjusted through the crawler system of the deep-sea mining vehicle to get out of trouble or ensure the normal operation of the remaining crawler units.

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