Submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on overall framework locking

Abstract

This invention relates to a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking mechanism. The system includes a rotating cable carrier and an integral frame locking system. The rotating cable carrier is equipped with a cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism, support rollers, and column-mounted sockets. The integral frame locking system includes a ring-shaped support frame, a through-type locking base, and an integral lifting device. The ring-shaped support frame and the load-bearing base are locked together by rack-and-pinion shear pins, transferring the entire load of the cable carrier to the pressure deck of the hull, thus avoiding overload damage to traditional hydraulic support rollers. This system allows for rapid switching of operating states: providing rigid support protection during transportation and releasing the lock to restore the turntable's rotating function during laying operations. This invention significantly improves the safety and efficiency of transporting and constructing 10,000-ton submarine cables in deep-sea environments.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of marine engineering equipment technology, specifically relating to a submarine cable carrying turntable suitable for large construction vessels that can be lifted and locked using an integral frame, particularly for the transportation and laying of submarine cables weighing tens of thousands of tons or more under harsh deep-sea conditions. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of marine engineering, the ocean transport and laying of ultra-large submarine cables with a tonnage of 10,000 tons or more faces numerous technical challenges. The submarine cable turntables equipped on traditional construction vessels are mainly designed for low sea state conditions, and their structure poses significant safety hazards in high sea state transportation environments.

[0003] In existing technologies, submarine cable turntables typically employ a central rotating shaft coupled with a ring-shaped distribution of hydraulically supported rollers to distribute the load. However, during severe shipboard rocking, the multi-directional dynamic load generated by a fully loaded turntable (weighing up to tens of thousands of tons) can lead to the following problems:

[0004] 1. Overload pressure on some hydraulic support rollers caused structural damage;

[0005] 2. After a damaged support roller fails, its load will be redistributed to adjacent rollers, creating a chain reaction of damage.

[0006] 3. In extreme cases, it may damage the entire structure of the turntable, or even endanger the central rotating shaft.

[0007] Currently, the industry commonly uses channel steel welding to fix the cable reel to the deck. This method has the following drawbacks:

[0008] 1. The operation is time-consuming and labor-intensive, affecting construction efficiency;

[0009] 2. Welding heat-affected zone may damage the cable reel structure;

[0010] 3. The locking / unlocking process is cumbersome and cannot quickly switch the operation status.

[0011] Existing related technologies, such as patent document (CN204917431U), disclose a cable reel laying bracket, including a base, columns, and cable reel supports. While this avoids the use of cranes and improves installation efficiency and safety, this bracket is mainly used for cable reel laying and installation on land or in simple working conditions. It cannot cope with transportation and laying operations in harsh sea conditions in deep waters, lacks an overall frame locking function, cannot achieve overall load transfer, and has insufficient stability. Patent document (CN219018312U) discloses an auxiliary device for long-distance cable laying, including a support base and annular support rails, mainly used to prevent cable slippage and damage during laying. Its structure and function are different from the submarine cable turntable system used on deep-sea construction vessels. It does not involve overall turntable locking and load transfer, and cannot meet the transportation and construction needs of 10,000-ton submarine cables in harsh environments.

[0012] Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an overall frame locking system. This system should have the following characteristics:

[0013] 1. It can reliably lock during the transportation phase, transferring the entire load to the locking device;

[0014] 2. The lock can be quickly released during the construction phase, restoring the working state;

[0015] 3. The process of changing states should avoid damaging the turntable structure. Summary of the Invention

[0016] This invention provides a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking system. Through an innovative integral frame locking system, the system can safely transfer the entire load of the turntable to the pressure deck of the hull under harsh sea conditions, effectively avoiding the overload damage problem of traditional hydraulic support rollers. At the same time, the locking system can quickly switch operating states, providing rigid support protection during the transportation phase, and quickly releasing the lock to restore the turntable's rotation function during the laying operation, significantly improving the safety and operational efficiency of transporting and constructing 10,000-ton submarine cables in deep-sea environments.

[0017] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0018] A submarine cable swivel system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking mechanism includes a rotary cable carrier and an integral frame locking system. The rotary cable carrier comprises a cable carrier, a cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism, roller guides, support rollers, an outer cable ring, an inner cable ring, and a column-mounted socket. The outer and inner cable rings are arranged on the upper surface of the cable carrier; the outer cable ring constrains the submarine cable, and the inner cable ring controls the minimum coiling bending radius of the submarine cable. The roller guides are located on the lower surface of the cable carrier, and the support rollers are arranged circumferentially along the roller guides to support the cable carrier under normal conditions. The weight; the cable reel lifting and slewing mechanism includes a slewing bearing base fixed to the pressure deck of the construction vessel, a load-bearing main shaft installed in the base, and a lifting bushing nested above the load-bearing main shaft, the lifting bushing being connected to the bottom of the cable bearing reel; the overall frame locking system consists of an annular support frame, a through-type locking base, and an overall lifting device; the annular support frame is provided with support columns, each support column has a pin-connected support at its bottom, and each pin-connected support has an overall lifting device at its bottom, the overall lifting device relying on its hydraulic lifting platform to support the annular support frame and control its up and down movement.

[0019] Furthermore, the lifting bushing can move up and down along the load-bearing main shaft, so that the cable bearing reel is disengaged from the supporting roller when it is lifted.

[0020] Furthermore, the pin support has a through pin hole.

[0021] Furthermore, the lower surface of the cable carrier tray is provided with a column socket for nesting the support column on the annular support frame of the overall frame locking system.

[0022] Furthermore, each support column corresponds to a through-type locking base, which consists of a pair of spaced load-bearing bases. Each load-bearing base has a through-type load-bearing pin hole, and the annular support frame can be embedded in the gap between the pair of load-bearing bases. The load-bearing base on the outer side is provided with a pin support.

[0023] Furthermore, a rack-and-pinion shear pin is provided on the pin support platform; the rack-and-pinion shear pin is driven by a rack-and-pinion drive mechanism and can move forward and backward along the axial direction, so that it can be inserted into the load-bearing pin holes of two load-bearing bases and the pin hole of the pin-connecting support at the bottom of the annular support frame at the same time, connecting the annular support frame and the through-type locking base into a whole.

[0024] Furthermore, when the through-type locking base locks the annular support frame, the overall lifting device can disengage from the pin support.

[0025] Furthermore, when the overall lifting device lifts the annular support frame, causing the support column to rise and embed into the column socket to lift the cable carrier plate, the support rollers and load-bearing main shaft are completely unloaded. After the through-type locking base locks the annular support frame, the overall frame locking system completes the locking of the rotary cable carrier plate. All the load of the upper rotary cable carrier plate is transferred to the pressure deck at the bottom through the overall frame locking system.

[0026] A locking method for a submarine cable turntable system on a deep-sea construction vessel based on overall frame locking includes the following steps:

[0027] (a) Drive the rotary cable carrier to rotate so that the column socket on the cable carrier is aligned with the support column of the overall frame locking system;

[0028] (b) Start the overall lifting device to lift the ring support frame so that the support column passes through the corresponding column lifting channel and is inserted into the column socket;

[0029] (c) The ring support frame continues to rise, causing the lifting bushing to move upward and the load-bearing main shaft to be unloaded. At the same time, the cable bearing plate is raised, causing the support roller to disengage from the roller guide rail.

[0030] (d) Start the rack drive mechanism to drive the rack shear pin to pass through the load-bearing pin hole of the load-bearing base on one side, the pin hole of the pin-connecting support, and until it is inserted into the load-bearing pin hole of the load-bearing base on the other side, thereby locking the ring support frame with the through-type locking base.

[0031] (e) The overall jacking device retracts its hydraulic jacking platform to unload.

[0032] Furthermore, during unlocking, reverse the operation steps (e)-(a) to allow the load to be borne again by the load-bearing spindle and support rollers.

[0033] The beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0034] The submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking provided by this invention has the following significant advantages:

[0035] 1. Through the overall frame locking system, the entire load of the rotating cable bearing plate can be directly transferred to the pressure deck of the hull, avoiding damage to the traditional support rollers due to overload under the impact of wind and waves, and greatly improving the stability and reliability of the system in the harsh environment of deep sea.

[0036] 2. The locking / unlocking operation of the cable carrier can be completed in a short time, while the traditional overall welding fixation takes more than 8 hours, which significantly shortens the state change time of the construction vessel and improves the utilization rate of the deep-sea operation window.

[0037] 3. The overall lifting device is completely unloaded after locking, avoiding the sealing failure and stiffness degradation of the hydraulic system caused by long-term static load, thus extending the service life of the equipment; the support rollers are under zero load during transportation, eliminating fatigue damage.

[0038] 4. Reduce wear and failure rate of hydraulic support rollers, lower maintenance frequency and repair costs, and reduce downtime losses caused by roller damage; eliminate the thermal impact damage to cable reels caused by welding locks. Attached Figure Description

[0039] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall assembly of a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an overall framework lock on the construction vessel.

[0040] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an overall framework lock-in;

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cable carrier reel structure;

[0042] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall framework locking system;

[0043] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a ring-shaped support frame structure;

[0044] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a through-type locking base structure;

[0045] Figure 7 This is a half-section schematic diagram of the through-type locking base structure;

[0046] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the overall framework locking system;

[0047] Figure 9 This is a diagram showing the overall frame locking system in an unlocked state;

[0048] Figures 10-15 This is a schematic diagram of the locking process of the overall frame locking system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0049] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the submarine cable turntable system 001 for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking is mounted on a large construction vessel hull 500, and in different states, the weight of the rotating cable carrier 100 and the submarine cable 400 is supported by each pressure deck 300.

[0051] like Figure 2 ,3 As shown, the rotary cable carrier 100 carries the submarine cable 400 and is constrained by the outer cable ring 150. The inner cable ring 160 controls the minimum bending radius of the submarine cable 400. The entire cable carrier 110 rotates by the cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism 120 and transmits the pressure to each supporting roller 140 through the roller guide rail 130. The column socket 170 is located at the bottom of the cable carrier 110.

[0052] like Figure 4 As shown, the overall frame locking system 200 consists of a ring support frame 210, a through-type locking base 220, and an overall lifting device 230, with each load-bearing component arranged on the pressure deck 300.

[0053] like Figure 5 As shown, the annular support frame 210 consists of an annular frame 211, support columns 212, and pin joints 213. The support columns 212 are evenly distributed around the annular frame 211, and each support column 212 corresponds to a pin joint 213. The pin joint 213 has a pin hole 214.

[0054] like Figure 6 , 7 As shown, the through-type locking base 220 consists of a pair of spaced-apart load-bearing bases 221. Each load-bearing base 221 has a through-type load-bearing pin hole 223. The gap between the load-bearing bases 221 allows the annular support frame 210 to be embedded. The outer load-bearing base 221 is provided with a pin support 224, and a rack-and-pinion shear pin 222 is provided on the pin support 224. The rack-and-pinion shear pin 222 is driven by a rack-and-pinion drive mechanism 225 and can move forward and backward along the axial direction, so that it can be inserted into the load-bearing pin holes 223 of the two load-bearing bases 221 and the pin hole 214 of the bottom pin-connecting support 213 of the annular support frame 210 at the same time, connecting the annular support frame 210 and the through-type locking base 220 into a whole.

[0055] like Figure 8 As shown, in the unlocked state of the overall frame locking system 200, the lifting bushing 123 of the cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism 120 is in contact with the load-bearing main shaft 122. At this time, the cable bearing plate 110 of the rotating cable bearing plate 100 transmits the load to the slewing bearing base 121 and the support roller 140 through the load-bearing main shaft 122 and the roller guide rail 130, and finally acts on the first pressure deck 300. Figure 9 As shown, at this time, the overall frame locking system 200 is in the unlocked state, the overall lifting device 230 is in the retracted state, and the support column 212 of the ring support frame 210 does not contact or nest with the column socket 170, so it does not affect the rotation operation of the rotary cable carrier 100.

[0056] When performing the locking operation, the first step is to align the column socket 170 with the support column 212. This is done by rotating the rotary cable carrier 100 to ensure that the support column 212 and the column socket 170 are on the same axis. Figure 10 , 11 As shown, the hydraulic lifting platform 231 of the bottom overall lifting device 230 is driven, at which time the annular support frame 210 is lifted as a whole, the support column 212 is inserted into the column socket 170, and the entire rotary cable carrier 100 is lifted.

[0057] After the annular support frame 210 is lifted to the predetermined position, as Figure 12 , 13 As shown, the rack and pinion drive mechanism 225 is activated, driving the rack and pinion shear pin 222 to pass sequentially through the load-bearing pin hole 223 of one side load-bearing base 221, the pin hole 214 of the bottom pin-connecting support 213 of the annular support frame 210, and finally insert into the load-bearing pin hole 223 of the opposite side load-bearing base 221, thereby rigidly connecting and locking the annular support frame 210 to the through-type locking base 220. At this time, the rotary cable carrier 100 is fully lifted, and the lifting bushing 123 in the cable carrier lifting and rotating mechanism 120 disengages from contact with the load-bearing main shaft 122. As the roller guide rail 130 at the bottom of the cable carrier 110 is raised, the entire cable carrier 110 also disengages from contact with the supporting roller 140.

[0058] like Figure 14 As shown in Figure 15, after the through-type locking base 220 locks the annular support frame 210, the overall lifting device 230 retracts, causing the hydraulic lifting platform 231 to disengage from the pin support 213 and complete unloading. At this time, the entire load of the rotary cable carrier 100 is transferred to the pressure deck 300 of the construction vessel 500 via the overall frame locking system 200 support column 212 -> annular support frame 210 -> pin support 213 -> rack and pinion shear pin 222 -> load-bearing base 221. Since the cable carrier 110 of the entire rotary cable carrier 100 is rigidly connected to the bottom pressure deck 300, the load-bearing main shaft 122 and the support roller 140 are not subjected to external forces, so they will not be damaged by load impact during high sea state transportation. Meanwhile, since the bottom overall lifting device 230 is also out of contact with the annular support frame 210 after the overall frame locking system 200 is locked, the sealing failure and stiffness degradation caused by long-term pressure are avoided.

[0059] By reversing the steps described above, the unlocking operation of the rotary cable carrier 100 can be completed.

[0060] In summary, this invention, through its rational structural design and innovative overall frame locking system, solves the problems of stability, efficiency, and equipment protection for submarine cable turntables used on deep-sea construction vessels during transportation and construction. Compared with existing technologies, it has significant progress and practical value.

Claims

1. A submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking system, characterized in that: The system includes a rotary cable carrier reel and an overall frame locking system. The rotary cable carrier reel comprises a cable carrier reel, a cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism, roller guides, support rollers, an outer cable ring, an inner cable ring, and column sockets. The outer and inner cable rings are arranged on the upper surface of the cable carrier reel; the outer cable ring constrains the submarine cable, and the inner cable ring controls the minimum coiling bending radius of the submarine cable. The roller guides are located on the lower surface of the cable carrier reel, and the support rollers are arranged circumferentially along the roller guides to support the weight of the cable carrier reel under normal conditions. The cable reel lifting and rotating mechanism includes a slewing bearing base fixed to the pressure deck of the construction vessel, a load-bearing main shaft installed within the base, and a lifting bushing nested above the load-bearing main shaft. The lifting bushing is connected to the bottom of the cable carrier reel. The overall frame locking system comprises a ring-shaped support frame, a through-type locking base, and an overall lifting device. Support columns are distributed on the ring-shaped support frame, each support column has a pin-connected support at its bottom, and each pin-connected support has an overall lifting device at its bottom. The device includes an overall lifting mechanism that uses a hydraulic lifting platform to support a ring-shaped support frame and control its vertical movement; a lifting bushing that can move up and down along the load-bearing main shaft, allowing the cable carrier to disengage from the supporting rollers when lifted; a through pin hole on the pin-connected support; a column socket on the lower surface of the cable carrier for nesting the support columns on the ring-shaped support frame of the overall frame locking system; each support column corresponds to a through-type locking base, and the through-type locking base consists of a pair of spaced-apart... The ring support frame is composed of load-bearing bases, each with a through-hole load-bearing pin. The ring support frame can be inserted into the gap between a pair of load-bearing bases. The outer load-bearing base is provided with a pin support platform. The pin support platform is provided with a rack and pinion shear pin. The rack and pinion shear pin is driven by a rack and pinion drive mechanism and can move forward and backward along the axial direction, so that it can be inserted into the load-bearing pin holes of the two load-bearing bases and the pin hole of the pin-connected support at the bottom of the ring support frame at the same time, connecting the ring support frame and the through-hole locking base into a whole.

2. The submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the ring support frame is locked in the through-type locking base, the overall lifting device can disengage from the pin support.

3. The submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the overall lifting device lifts the ring support frame, causing the support column to rise and embed into the column socket to lift the cable carrier plate, the support rollers and load-bearing main shaft are completely unloaded. After the through-type locking base locks the ring support frame, the overall frame locking system completes the locking of the rotary cable carrier plate. All the load of the upper rotary cable carrier plate is transferred to the pressure deck at the bottom through the overall frame locking system.

4. A locking method for a submarine cable turntable system for deep-sea construction vessels based on an integral frame locking system as described in any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: Includes the following steps: (a) Drive the rotary cable carrier to rotate so that the column socket on the cable carrier is aligned with the support column of the overall frame locking system; (b) Start the overall lifting device to lift the ring support frame so that the support column passes through the corresponding column lifting channel and is inserted into the column socket; (c) The ring support frame continues to rise, causing the lifting bushing to move upward, the load-bearing main shaft to be unloaded, and at the same time the cable bearing plate is raised to disengage the support roller from the roller guide rail. (d) Activate the rack drive mechanism to drive the rack shear pin to pass through the load-bearing pin hole of the load-bearing base on one side, the pin hole of the pin-connecting support, and until it is inserted into the load-bearing pin hole of the load-bearing base on the other side, thereby locking the ring support frame with the through-type locking base. (e) The overall jacking device retracts its hydraulic jacking platform to unload.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that: When unlocking, reverse the operation steps (e)-(a) to allow the load to be borne again by the load-bearing spindle and support rollers.

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