One-way pulling lock catch device for unmanned underwater vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a one-way pulling lock catch device for an unmanned underwater vehicle, and relates to the technical field of unmanned underwater vehicles, the one-way pulling lock catch device comprises a lock catch connecting rod assembly, a variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism and a cable underwater operation device lock disc; the lock catch connecting rod assembly is connected with the ratchet mandrel through a spring. The tail end of the lock catch connecting rod is provided with a buckle structure. The radius-variable one-way ratchet mechanism comprises a radius-variable one-way ratchet, a ratchet mandrel, a driving pawl, a driving pawl spring and a driving sliding block; the locking disc of the cable underwater operation device is composed of a locking disc body and a traction cable, the locking disc body is a part of the cable underwater operation device, and the purpose that only the cable is pulled to control releasing and locking of a lock catch mechanism is achieved. The overall structure is simple, electric components are not needed, the reliability is high in the severe underwater environment, the cost is low, and energy, controllers and underwater cable resources are saved for the underwater vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of unmanned underwater vehicles, and more specifically, particularly relates to a one-way pulling lock device. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous deepening of the development and utilization of marine resources, underwater working vehicles play an important role in the fields of marine exploration, mining, and rescue. Most traditional underwater working vehicles rely on manual operation on ships for deployment and recovery. When the working device needs to operate in waters that are difficult for cables to reach (such as deep water), it is necessary to use an unmanned underwater vehicle to carry it to the operating waters and release it. After the operation is completed, it will be recovered and continue other tasks or return. Most of the current solutions require the use of multiple electric drive devices to control the deployment, recovery and fixation of the working device, which not only consumes the energy of the vehicle, but also requires the use of waterproof electric drive devices and waterproof cables, which greatly increases the research and development costs. The present invention aims to solve the problems of deployment, recovery and fixation of the working device through a simple and reliable structure. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a one-way pull lock device to solve the above problems.

[0004] A one-way pulling lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle comprises a variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism, a lock connecting rod assembly, a lock plate of a cable underwater operation device and a frame. Among them, the variable radius one-way ratchet is connected to the frame through the ratchet spindle, the driving pawl is connected to the active slider through the driving pawl spring and slides along the active slider slot, the active slider slides along the frame slot and is pressed down to the limit position by the active slider spring; in addition to being connected to the frame through the rotating shaft, the lock link assembly is also in contact with the ratchet and tightened by the lock spring. When the ratchet is driven to rotate by the pawl, the lock link will be pushed outward and enter the bottom of the next tooth of the ratchet. Since the distance between the bottom of the pawl and the axis of the ratchet is arranged in a staggered manner of large and small, the lock link will be in an open state when it is stuck in the bottom of the next tooth, that is, the unlocked state; the lock disk of the cable-carrying underwater operation device is a structural member for fixing the underwater operation device, which is fixed to the cable controlling the operation device and bears the weight of the operation device. When the operation device needs to be released, the lock disk will be pulled up while the control cable is pulled up, pushing the active slider to overcome the elastic force of the active slider spring and slide up, so that the pawl drives the ratchet to rotate to unlock. At this time, the cable has been pulled up to the limit position, and the release of the operation device can be completed by releasing the cable.

[0005] The frame described in the patent of this invention has no requirements, and its structure and appearance can be customized according to actual usage.

[0006] The locking disc described in the present invention can be of any structure and shape suitable for the underwater operating device.

[0007] The locking structure of the locking link described in the present invention can be any structure and shape suitable for the locking disc structure of the underwater operator.

[0008] The locking link described in the patent of the present invention can be directly connected to the frame, and can also be connected to the frame through other components.

[0009] The variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism and the locking connecting rod described in the patent of the present invention require at least two pairs, and they work in pairs to ensure the stability of the locking structure.

[0010] The variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism described in the present invention can be directly connected to the frame, and can also be connected to the frame through other components.

[0011] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0012] Simple structure: It abandons the complex design of multiple electric drive devices in the traditional solution and only consists of a lock drive component, a variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism and a lock plate component of the cable underwater operation device. These components work together to control the connection and release of the equipment and the vehicle by the retraction and release of the cable underwater operation equipment, avoiding complex electric control structures and reducing the complexity of the overall design and manufacturing.

[0013] High reliability: The device does not require electric components, reducing the risk of failure of electric components in harsh underwater environments (such as high pressure, corrosion, etc.). The stability of the mechanical structure enables the deployment, recovery and fixing of the operator to be reliably achieved in complex underwater environments, ensuring the smooth progress of underwater operations.

[0014] Low cost: On the one hand, the waterproof electric drive device and waterproof cables are eliminated. The research and development and manufacturing costs of these components are high, and removing them directly reduces the hardware cost; on the other hand, the simple structural design also reduces the production and maintenance costs, making the entire device more economically advantageous.

[0015] Saving resources: For underwater vehicles, there is no need to provide energy for multiple electric drive devices, which saves energy consumption; at the same time, it reduces the use of controllers and underwater cables, optimizes resource allocation, improves the overall utilization efficiency of the vehicle, and facilitates it to perform more tasks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the one-way pull lock device of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 It is the process state of the one-way pull lock device of the present invention when the cable is pulled upward to unlock;

[0018] Figure 3It is the state in which the one-way pull lock device of the present invention releases the cable after unlocking is completed.

[0019] In the figure, the correspondence between the component names and the figure numbers is: 1. Lock connecting rod assembly; 1-1. Driving pawl; 1-2. Driving pawl spring; 1-3. Active slider; 1-4. Active slider spring; 2. Variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism; 2-1. Variable radius one-way ratchet; 2-2. Ratchet spindle; 2-3. Lock spring; 2-4. Lock connecting rod; 3. Lock disk assembly of cable underwater working device; 3-1. Traction cable; 3-2. Lock disk. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following embodiments of the present invention are described in further detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0021] See also Figure 1-Figure 3 The present invention provides a one-way pulling lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle, comprising a lock link assembly (1), a variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) and a lock disk assembly (3) for a cable-carrying underwater working device, wherein the lock link assembly (1) is composed of a driving pawl (1-1), a driving pawl spring (1-2), an active slider (1-3) and an active slider spring (1-4); the variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) is composed of a variable radius one-way ratchet (2-1), a ratchet spindle (2-2), a lock spring (2-3) and a lock link (2-4); the lock disk assembly (3) for the cable-carrying underwater working device is composed of a traction cable (3-1) and a lock disk (3-2), and the two are rigidly connected, the lock disk assembly (3) for the cable-carrying underwater working device is a movable body fixed to the underwater working device, and the lock link assembly (1) and the variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) are fixed bodies fixed to the underwater unmanned underwater vehicle.

[0022] The initial state of the device is Figure 1 As shown, it is locked.

[0023] Before the underwater working equipment is released, the lock plate is clamped by the buckle of the lock link; when the underwater working equipment needs to be released, the cable is first pulled upward, and the pulled lock plate pushes the active slider and the driving pawl to slide upward to drive the ratchet to rotate. The lock link rotates outward under the action of the ratchet rotation to become an unfastened state and always maintains this state until the ratchet rotates again. At this time, the underwater working equipment can be released by controlling the cable release. When the operation is completed and needs to be recovered, the cable is recovered until the lock plate pushes the active slider and the driving pawl to slide upward again to drive the ratchet to rotate. The lock link rotates inward under the combined action of the ratchet rotation and the spring tension to become a locked state to lock the lock plate. At this time, the cable can be loosened and the working equipment will not be separated from the underwater vehicle, thereby achieving the release and locking of the lock mechanism controlled by only pulling the cable. The advantage of this mechanism is that it only uses the retraction and extension action of the cable of the cabled underwater working equipment to control the connection and release between the equipment and the vehicle. The overall structure is simple, no electric components are required, it has high reliability and low cost in harsh underwater environments, and it saves energy and controllers as well as underwater cable resources for underwater vehicles.

[0024] In summary, the device can complete the unlocking and locking actions only by pulling and releasing the cable, and has a simple structure and low use cost.

[0025] The embodiments of the present invention are given for the purpose of illustration and description, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the disclosed forms. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments are selected and described in order to better illustrate the principles and practical applications of the present invention and to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the present invention and thereby design various embodiments with various modifications suitable for specific uses.

Claims

1. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle, characterized in that: It comprises a locking link assembly (1), a variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) and a locking disc assembly (3) for a cable-carrying underwater operation device; The locking link assembly (1) comprises: a driving pawl (1-1), a driving pawl spring (1-2), an active slider (1-3) and an active slider spring (1-4); The variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) comprises: a variable radius one-way ratchet (2-1), a ratchet spindle (2-2), a locking spring (2-3) and a locking connecting rod (2-4); The locking disc assembly (3) of the cable-carrying underwater working device comprises: a traction cable (3-1) and a locking disc (3-2), and the two are rigidly connected.

2. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The locking link assembly (1) and the variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) are fixed bodies used to fix the unmanned underwater vehicle.

3. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The locking disc assembly (3) of the cable underwater working device is a movable body used for fixing the underwater working device.

4. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The locking link assembly (1) and the variable-radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) can be fixed on a separate frame.

5. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The cable-belted underwater working device locking disc (3) is fixed to the corresponding cable-belted underwater working device and bears its weight.

6. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: The shape and size of the locking disc (3) of the cable underwater working device can be adjusted according to the usage conditions.

7. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Parameters such as the appearance and size of the locking link assembly (1), the variable radius one-way ratchet mechanism (2) and the locking disk (3) of the cable-carrying underwater operation device can be adjusted according to usage conditions.

8. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between each pawl of the variable-radius one-way ratchet (2-1) and the ratchet axis is arranged in a staggered manner, with one pawl being larger than the other.

9. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The locking link assembly (1) is installed above the locking disk (3) of the cable underwater working device, and the two variable radius one-way ratchet mechanisms (2) are installed on both sides of the locking link assembly (1) and the locking disk (3) of the cable underwater working device, respectively.

10. A one-way pull lock device for an unmanned underwater vehicle as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The active slider (1-3) is installed outside the traction cable (3-1), the active slider spring (1-4) is installed above the active slider (1-3), the driving pawl (1-1) is installed on both sides of the active slider (1-3), the two variable radius one-way ratchets (2-1) are respectively installed outside the two driving pawls (1-1), and the two locking links (2-4) are installed on the sides of the two variable radius one-way ratchets (2-1), and each locking link (2-4) and the variable radius one-way ratchet (2-1) are connected through a locking spring (2-3), and the end of each locking spring (2-3) is buckled outside the ratchet spindle (2-2).

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