A submarine cable laying device and equipment

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of submarine cable laying, specifically to a submarine cable laying device and equipment, including a mobile trolley, a drill bit, and a laying plow; it also includes a mud suction unit, a mud discharge unit, and a collection shell; the mud suction unit is located at the front end of the drill bit; two mud discharge units are provided, both located inside the mobile trolley, symmetrically arranged about the drill bit, and both mud discharge units are connected to the mud suction unit; the collection shell is located at the rear of the mobile trolley. When laying cables, the laying device leaves a laying groove on the seabed. The end of the collection shell away from the mobile trolley has a conical structure, and the projection of the tip of the conical structure in the vertical direction always coincides with the laying groove. This invention solves the problems of insufficient capacity of existing excavators to handle large rocks, low crushing efficiency of a single drill bit, and poor precision of manual adjustment, ensuring continuous operation and reducing the additional load on the mobile trolley.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of submarine cable laying, specifically to a submarine cable laying device and equipment. Background Technology

[0002] When laying submarine cables, it is necessary to first use equipment to cut trenches in the seabed to form laying trenches. However, due to the influence of waves and seabed currents, a large amount of mud and sand will flow into the laying trenches, affecting the subsequent laying.

[0003] Chinese invention patent publication number CN112103851B discloses a submarine cable laying device, including a device body. A connecting rod is welded to the top of the device body, and a connecting chain is fixed to the connecting rod. A first guide frame is provided on one side of the connecting rod, and a propeller motor is provided on the other side of the connecting rod. A propeller motor is provided on the propeller motor. Track brake motors are provided on both sides of the device body, and tracks are provided on the track brake motors. First guide plates are welded to both sides of one end of the device body, and a second guide frame is welded between the two first guide plates. A motor mounting plate is welded to the bottom of one end of the frame. A drill bit brake motor is mounted on the motor mounting plate. A rotating rod is fixed to the drill bit brake motor via a coupling. A fixing steel plate is evenly welded to the middle of the rotating rod. A bucket is welded to the bottom of the motor mounting plate. A cable protection plate is fixed to the other end of the device body. A second mud guide plate is welded to both sides of the cable protection plate. Roller mounting frames are welded to the four corners of the device body. Rollers are fixed to the bottom of the roller mounting frames. A roller shaft is mounted in the middle of the roller. A roller brake motor is connected to one end of the roller shaft.

[0004] Because the seabed contains rocks, the above-mentioned solution uses a bucket to handle these rocks. During the laying process, when the front of the device encounters a rock, it needs to stop moving and then excavate the rock using the bucket. However, due to the limited size of the device, the size of the bucket is restricted, making it unable to handle excessively large rocks. Although the device is equipped with a single drill bit, the single drill bit has limited capacity for handling rocks, and manual intervention is required to adjust the angle of the drill bit, resulting in low overall laying efficiency. In addition, when breaking up seabed rocks, some rocks may be buried under the seabed sediment, easily creating blind spots for clearing. The burial plow used for laying cables is prone to collisions with these rocks, easily damaging the burial plow. To improve efficiency and avoid the above situations, a row of drill bits can be used, and the drill bits must always be inserted under the seabed sediment. However, due to the resistance of the seabed soil, the moving load of the device is large. Although it can break up rocks while moving, the energy consumption is high. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned problems, a submarine cable laying device and equipment are provided. By installing a mud suction unit with a detection rod, an angle sensor, and a lifting mechanism at the front end of the drill bit, and combining it with multiple sets of crushing components arranged along the width of the moving trolley and along its length, with the drilling depth increasing step by step, the mud suction unit first removes mud and sand to reveal hidden rocks, while reducing the resistance of seabed mud and sand to the drill bit. The detection rod and angle sensor can also accurately avoid collisions between protruding rocks and the mud suction head, and the multiple sets of drill bits achieve step-by-step crushing of rocks.

[0006] To address the problems of existing technologies, the present invention provides a submarine cable laying device, including a mobile trolley, a drill bit, and a laying plow;

[0007] It also includes a sludge suction unit, a sludge discharge unit, and a collection shell;

[0008] The mud suction unit is located at the front end of the drill bit;

[0009] There are two mud removal units, both located inside the mobile trolley. The two mud removal units are symmetrically arranged about the drill bit, and both mud removal units are connected to the mud suction unit.

[0010] The collecting shell is located at the rear of the mobile trolley. When the laying device lays the cable, it leaves a laying groove on the seabed. The end of the collecting shell away from the mobile trolley is a conical structure, and the projection of the tip of the conical structure in the vertical direction always coincides with the laying groove.

[0011] Preferably, multiple drill bits are arranged along the width direction of the moving trolley to form a crushing component, and multiple sets of crushing components are distributed along the length direction of the moving trolley. The closer the crushing component is to the mud suction unit, the shallower its drilling depth.

[0012] Preferably, the sludge suction unit includes a sludge suction head and a lifting mechanism;

[0013] The suction head is horizontally positioned in the moving trolley and located at the front end of the drill bit;

[0014] The lifting mechanism is located on one side of the suction head and is used to drive the suction head to rise and fall.

[0015] Preferably, the suction unit also includes a probe and a rotation sensor;

[0016] The probe rod is vertically installed at the front end of the sludge suction unit, and multiple probe rods are installed along the width direction of the moving trolley;

[0017] An angle sensor is installed at one end of the probe.

[0018] Preferably, the sludge removal unit includes a filter cylinder, a sludge removal pipe, a water pumping shell, and a water pump;

[0019] The filter cartridge is vertically rotated and mounted in a moving trolley;

[0020] The two ends of the sludge discharge pipe are connected to the upper part of the filter cylinder and the sludge suction unit, respectively.

[0021] The water suction shell is fitted around the filter cylinder, and a drainage cavity is formed between the inner wall of the water suction shell and the outer wall of the filter cylinder.

[0022] The water pump is installed on the side wall of the pump casing and is connected to the drainage chamber.

[0023] Preferably, the drain end of the water pump is located on the side of the mobile trolley.

[0024] Preferably, an anti-surge plate is horizontally installed in the filter cylinder, and the anti-surge plate is located directly below the connection between the sludge discharge pipe and the filter cylinder.

[0025] Preferably, the sludge removal unit also includes a scraper and a drive unit;

[0026] The scraper is mounted on the inner wall of the filter cylinder and rotates around the axis of the filter cylinder.

[0027] The drive unit is mounted on the filter cartridge and is used to drive the scraper to rotate.

[0028] Preferably, a discharge shell is provided at the bottom of the filter cylinder. The discharge shell has a funnel-shaped structure, and the mud and sand intercepted by the filter cylinder are discharged through the discharge shell.

[0029] The present invention also relates to a submarine cable laying device, including a submarine cable laying apparatus and a cable laying apparatus.

[0030] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are:

[0031] 1. This invention, by setting a mud suction unit with a detection rod, an angle sensor and a lifting mechanism at the front end of the drill bit, and combining it with multiple sets of crushing components arranged along the width of the moving trolley and along its length, with the drilling depth increasing step by step, the mud suction unit first removes mud and sand to reveal hidden rocks, while reducing the resistance of seabed mud and sand to the drill bit. The detection rod and angle sensor can also accurately avoid collisions between protruding rocks and the mud suction head. Multiple sets of drill bits realize the step-by-step crushing of rocks, completely solving the problems of insufficient capacity of existing buckets to handle large rocks, low crushing efficiency of a single drill bit and poor precision of manual adjustment, ensuring continuous operation.

[0032] 2. By forming a preliminary laying groove in advance through the mud suction unit, the friction and adhesion resistance of mud and sand during drill bit operation and the plowing resistance of the burial plow are reduced. In conjunction with the mud discharge unit, the mud and water are efficiently separated and the mud and sand are orderly piled up through the anti-surge plate, scraper and funnel-shaped discharge shell. This greatly reduces the extra load on the mobile trolley, solves the dilemma of high energy consumption and fast wear of multi-drill bit schemes, and reduces the heat dissipation and endurance pressure of the drive system, thus achieving a balance between economy and practicality.

[0033] 3. The anti-shovel plate and scraper structure of the mud discharge unit prevent mud and sand from flying, and the funnel-shaped discharge shell ensures that mud and sand are concentrated and accumulated. Combined with the conical collection shell at the tail, it can accurately backfill. At the same time, the mud suction unit can actively avoid collision with stones through the lifting mechanism, which effectively avoids the risks of blade damage, structural deformation, and cable scratches and breaks caused by rigid collision between the buried plow and hidden stones, significantly improving the safety and reliability of construction. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a submarine cable laying device according to the present invention. Figure 1 .

[0035] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a submarine cable laying device according to the present invention. Figure 2 .

[0036] Figure 3 This invention relates to a submarine cable laying device. Figure 2 A magnified view of a portion of point A in the middle.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional perspective view of a submarine cable laying device according to the present invention. Figure 1 .

[0038] Figure 5 This invention relates to a submarine cable laying device. Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of point B in the middle.

[0039] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional perspective view of a submarine cable laying device according to the present invention. Figure 2 .

[0040] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional three-dimensional schematic diagram of a submarine cable laying device of the present invention after removing the moving trolley. Figure 1 .

[0041] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional three-dimensional schematic diagram of a submarine cable laying device of the present invention after removing the moving trolley. Figure 2 .

[0042] Figure 9 This invention relates to a submarine cable laying device. Figure 8 A magnified view of a portion of point C.

[0043] The following are the labels in the diagram: 1. Moving trolley; 11. Drill bit; 12. Burying plow; 13. Collection shell; 2. Mud suction unit; 21. Mud suction head; 22. Lifting mechanism; 23. Detector rod; 24. Angle sensor; 25. Mud suction pipe; 3. Mud discharge unit; 31. Filter cartridge; 32. Mud discharge pipe; 33. Water pump shell; 34. Water pump; 35. Anti-surge plate; 36. Scraper; 37. Drive unit; 371. Gear ring; 372. Gear; 373. Rotary drive; 38. Discharge shell; 4. Cable. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To further understand the features, technical means, and specific objectives and functions achieved by the present invention, the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0045] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 A submarine cable laying device includes a mobile trolley 1, a drill bit 11, and a laying plow 12;

[0046] It also includes a sludge suction unit 2, a sludge discharge unit 3, and a collection shell 13;

[0047] The mud suction unit 2 is located at the front end of the drill bit 11;

[0048] Two mud removal units 3 are provided, both located inside the moving trolley 1. The two mud removal units 3 are symmetrically arranged about the drill bit 11, and both mud removal units 3 are connected to the mud suction unit 2.

[0049] The collecting shell 13 is located at the rear of the mobile trolley 1. When the laying device lays the cable 4, it leaves a laying groove on the seabed. The end of the collecting shell 13 away from the mobile trolley 1 is a conical structure, and the projection of the tip of the conical structure in the vertical direction always coincides with the laying groove.

[0050] In the scenario of laying submarine cable 4, the seabed topography is complex and diverse, with a wide variety of obstacles such as rocks and reefs of different sizes. These obstacles are key constraints affecting laying efficiency and equipment safety. To address this issue, the existing laying scheme has specifically incorporated a bucket structure. Its design logic is as follows: during the forward laying process, when the front detection system identifies a rock obstacle, the device immediately triggers a shutdown procedure, pauses movement, and then starts the bucket to remove the rock through mechanical digging, thus clearing a path for the subsequent laying of the plow 12.

[0051] However, due to the stringent size limitations of the overall underwater operating equipment, which must be compatible with the mother ship's lifting and deployment space while also meeting the passage requirements of complex seabed terrain, the design size of the bucket has been forced to be compressed. This limitation directly results in a significant restriction on the effective working volume and digging force of the bucket. For large rocks with a diameter exceeding the bucket opening size or a weight exceeding the load-bearing limit, the bucket simply cannot effectively grab and remove them, requiring subsequent manual assistance and severely disrupting the operation process.

[0052] Meanwhile, although the existing device is equipped with a single drill bit 11 as a supplementary means of rock crushing, this design also has significant drawbacks. On the one hand, the crushing range and impact energy of a single drill bit 11 are limited. For larger or harder rocks, multiple repeated operations are often required to complete the crushing, resulting in extremely low processing efficiency. On the other hand, the working angle adjustment of the drill bit 11 relies entirely on manual remote control. Operators need to judge the position and shape of the rock through the blurry images transmitted by the underwater camera, and then manually adjust the attitude of the drill bit 11. This process is not only time-consuming, but also difficult to guarantee the accuracy of angle control, which can easily lead to incomplete crushing and further reduce the efficiency of the operation.

[0053] More concerning is that the distribution of seabed rocks is not simply a matter of exposed rocks. Some rocks are partially or completely buried under seabed sediment due to long-term erosion by ocean currents and sediment deposition. Existing detection systems primarily focus on the area above the water-sediment interface, making it difficult to effectively detect rocks buried deeper than the detection threshold, creating significant blind spots. When the burying plow 12, carrying the cable 4, travels along the preset path, it is highly susceptible to rigid collisions with these hidden rocks. This can result in minor damage such as chipping of the plow 12's cutting edge and structural deformation, or even serious damage such as scratches or breakage of the cable 4's sheath, causing severe equipment damage and economic losses.

[0054] To overcome the above-mentioned problems, existing technologies have adopted a method of arranging multiple drill bits 11 in a row, ensuring that the head of each drill bit 11 remains at a certain depth below the seabed sediment while the trolley 1 moves. This expands the crushing range and removes hidden rocks in advance, enabling a continuous "crushing while moving" operation mode, thereby improving efficiency and eliminating blind spots. However, this optimization solution immediately faces new technical challenges: as the drill bit 11 continues to penetrate deeper into the sediment, it is subjected to the combined effects of soil friction resistance, adhesion resistance, and lateral pressure. These resistances directly translate into additional loads on the device's movement, requiring the drive system to output greater power to maintain normal travel speed. Although this solution can achieve the goal of continuous crushing operations, it significantly increases equipment energy consumption and accelerates drill bit 11 wear, not only greatly increasing operating costs but also placing higher demands on the heat dissipation and endurance of the drive system, making it difficult to achieve a balance between economy and practicality in actual operations.

[0055] To avoid the aforementioned situation, the existing cable 4 laying device was optimized so that the cable 4 laying device of the present invention can first remove the seabed sediment and, after collection, discharge the sediment to both sides of the laying trench. The drill bits 11 are arranged in rows and extend below the seabed surface. If there are no rocks, the seabed sediment at the front end of the drill bits 11 will not cause wear or obstruction to the drill bits 11 because it has been removed in advance. If there are rocks in front of the drill bits 11, the drill bits 11 will break the rocks. The broken rocks are pushed to both sides by the burying plow 12 and collected by the collecting shell 13 located at the rear of the moving trolley 1, and the sediment and gravel are refilled into the laying trench where the cable 4 is buried. The specific structure and working process of the present invention are as follows:

[0056] The mobile trolley 1 is also equipped with a burying plow 12. When the mobile trolley 1 starts working, the lower part of the burying plow 12 extends into the lower part of the seabed mud and sand, and the burying plow 12 is equipped with a cable transmission trough in the middle. The cable 4 is output through the cable transmission trough. When the burying plow 12 moves with the mobile trolley 1, it forms a laying trough on the seabed. The cable 4 output from the burying trough is placed in the laying trough.

[0057] During the laying of submarine cable 4, the mobile trolley 1 travels along a preset route. The mud suction unit 2 first removes the mud and sand from the seabed. Under the action of the mud suction unit 2, the mud and sand located under the mobile trolley 1 are sucked away and a laying trench is initially formed. At this time, the rocks buried under the mud and sand become visible. Because the laying trench is initially formed, the end of the drill bit 11 will not be blocked by a large amount of mud and sand when it extends into the seabed, and the resistance encountered by the mobile trolley 1 when it moves is reduced. Since a mud discharge unit 3 is also set up, the mud suction unit 2 removes the mud and sand and discharges it into the mud discharge unit 3. The mud discharge unit 3 can separate the mud and sand from the seawater. The two mud discharge units 3 discharge the mud and sand to both sides of the drill bit 11, so that the mud and sand accumulate on both sides of the drill bit 11. When the drill bit 11 contacts the rock, the rock is broken by the drill bit 11. The burying plow 12 moves along the extension direction of the initially formed laying trench and pushes the broken stones and silt to both sides. The silt and stones pushed to both sides by the burying plow 12 merge with the silt deposits discharged by the two silt removal units 3. At this time, the laying trench is completely formed, and the burying plow 12 transports the cable 4 into the laying trench. In addition, since the silt suction unit 2 can initially form the laying trench after suctioning the silt, the resistance encountered by the burying plow 12 when plowing the seabed is also reduced, further reducing the load on the moving trolley 1 and reducing energy consumption. As the moving trolley 1 continues to move, the collecting shell 13 set at the rear of the moving trolley 1 collects the silt accumulated on both sides of the laying trench, so that the accumulated silt is collected into the upper part of the laying trench, thereby realizing the effect of automatically backfilling the silt after the cable 4 is placed in the laying trench by the collecting shell 13.

[0058] Reference Figures 1-9Multiple drill bits 11 are arranged laterally along the width of the moving trolley 1, forming a crushing assembly. Multiple sets of crushing assemblies are distributed along the length of the moving trolley 1, with the closer the crushing assembly is to the suction unit 2, the shallower its drilling depth. Depending on the laying requirements, multiple sets of crushing assemblies can be installed along the length of the moving trolley 1, each set containing multiple drill bits 11 that move along the width of the moving trolley 1. The drilling depth of the drill bits 11 in different sets of crushing assemblies varies, with the closer to the suction unit 2 having a shallower drilling depth. By setting multiple sets of crushing assemblies, the stones along the path of the moving trolley 1 are crushed step by step. Simultaneously, multiple drill bits 11 in each set crush the stones, improving the crushing efficiency and avoiding damage to the drill bits 11 due to excessive drilling depth when using a single set of crushing assemblies.

[0059] Reference Figure 4 The sludge suction unit 2 includes a sludge suction head 21 and a lifting mechanism 22;

[0060] The suction head 21 is horizontally positioned in the moving trolley 1 and located at the front end of the drill bit 11;

[0061] The lifting mechanism 22 is located on one side of the suction head 21 and is used to drive the suction head 21 to lift.

[0062] When the suction head 21 is sucking up seabed sediment, the closer it is to the seabed, the greater the amount of sediment it can suck up. Therefore, the suction head 21 should be as close to the ground as possible during suction operations. However, the moving trolley 1 will not always be in a horizontal position along its path. Therefore, to avoid contact friction between the suction head 21 and the seabed or collision with rocks left on the seabed, a lifting mechanism 22 is installed on one side of the suction head 21. The lifting mechanism 22 drives the suction head 21 to move up and down in the vertical direction, ensuring that the suction head 21 can move vertically when moving with the moving trolley 1, thereby avoiding friction between the suction head 21 and the seabed or collision with seabed rocks. Since the lifting mechanism 22 is existing technology and there are various types, it will not be described in detail here.

[0063] Reference Figure 3 The suction unit 2 also includes a detection rod 23 and a rotation sensor 24;

[0064] The detection rod 23 is vertically installed at the front end of the sludge suction unit 2, and multiple detection rods 23 are installed along the width direction of the moving trolley 1;

[0065] An angle sensor 24 is installed at one end of the probe rod 23.

[0066] When the mobile trolley 1 moves, if there is a protruding rock at the front end of the trolley 1, the detection rod 23 will first come into contact with the protruding rock. The rock will push the detection rod 23 to tilt. The angle sensor 24 set on one side of the detection rod 23 can detect the change in the angle of the detection rod 23. The mobile trolley 1 is equipped with a processor that can calculate the angle detected by the angle sensor 24 to determine the height of the lower end of the detection rod 23, that is, the actual height of the protruding rock on the seabed. At this time, the lifting mechanism 22 drives the suction head 21 to lift, which can avoid the suction head 21 from colliding with the protruding rock. When the lifting height of the lower end of the detection rod 23 gradually decreases, the protruding height of the seabed rock also gradually decreases. At this time, the lifting mechanism 22 drives the suction head 21 to lower. It is worth noting that the vertical straight distance between the suction head 21 and the upper surface of the seabed needs to be preset so that the lower part of the suction unit 2 always maintains a fixed distance from the upper surface of the seabed. This ensures that when the suction head 21 is lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism 22, it can not only have a good suction effect on the seabed mud and sand, but also avoid the suction head 21 from colliding with protruding rocks.

[0067] Reference Figures 5-9 The sludge discharge unit 3 includes a filter cylinder 31, a sludge discharge pipe 32, a water pump shell 33, and a water pump 34.

[0068] The filter cartridge 31 is vertically rotated and positioned in the moving trolley 1;

[0069] The two ends of the sludge discharge pipe 32 are connected to the upper part of the filter cylinder 31 and the sludge suction unit 2, respectively.

[0070] The water suction shell 33 is sleeved around the filter cylinder 31, and a drainage cavity is formed between the inner wall of the water suction shell 33 and the outer wall of the filter cylinder 31.

[0071] The water pump 34 is installed on the side wall of the pumping shell 33 and is connected to the drainage chamber.

[0072] A suction pipe 25 is installed at the upper part of the suction head 21. The upper end of the suction pipe 25 is connected to the discharge pipe 32. The discharge pipe 32 is connected to the suction head 21 through the suction pipe 25. After the suction head 21 removes the seabed sediment, it is discharged into the suction pipe 25 and then into the discharge pipe 32, from which the sediment is discharged into the filter cylinder 31. Since the suction head 21 can move freely up and down under the drive of the lifting mechanism 22, the suction pipe 25 ensures smooth communication between the suction head 21 and the discharge pipe 32. At the same time, the water pump 34 pumps water out of the drainage chamber. The ratio of the water pumping capacity of the water pump 34 to the sediment pumping capacity of the suction head 21 is 3:4. Therefore, although the filter cylinder 31 has an opening at the bottom, the pump 34 generates a unidirectional suction force from the inside out at the filter cylinder 31. This causes the seawater discharged into the filter cylinder 31 to be drawn into the drainage chamber, while the sediment is intercepted on the inner wall of the filter cylinder 31. The sediment is discharged from the bottom of the filter cylinder 31 under its own gravity, preventing the water flow from impacting the settled sediment when it exits through the opening at the bottom of the filter cylinder 31, thus avoiding the sediment from flying everywhere. This ensures that the collecting shell 13 can push a sufficient amount of sediment into the laying trough.

[0073] Reference Figure 7 The drain end of the water pump 34 is located on the side of the mobile trolley 1.

[0074] The drain end of the water pump 34 is set on the side of the mobile trolley 1, so that the seawater filtered by the filter cylinder 31 enters the drain chamber and is discharged by the water pump 34. The discharged water flow will not impact the mud and sand accumulated on both sides of the laying trench, thus avoiding the mud and sand from being lifted up by the water flow.

[0075] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 9 An anti-surge plate 35 is horizontally installed in the filter cylinder 31, and the anti-surge plate 35 is located directly below the connection between the sludge discharge pipe 32 and the filter cylinder 31.

[0076] By setting up the anti-surge plate 35, the mud-water mixture discharged from the mud discharge pipe 32 can be intercepted and the flow direction of the mud-water mixture can be changed. After the mud-water comes into contact with the anti-surge plate 35, it flows towards the inner wall of the filter cylinder 31. This can guide the mud-water mixture to flow towards the side wall of the filter cylinder 31 and prevent the mud-water mixture discharged into the filter cylinder 31 from being discharged directly from the bottom of the filter cylinder 31 and affecting the accumulation of seabed sediment.

[0077] Reference Figure 8 and Figure 9 The sludge removal unit 3 also includes a scraper 36 and a drive unit 37;

[0078] The scraper 36 is rotatably mounted on the inner wall of the filter cylinder 31 around the axis of the filter cylinder 31.

[0079] The drive unit 37 is mounted on the filter cylinder 31 and is used to drive the scraper 36 to rotate.

[0080] When the filter cartridge 31 filters silt and seawater, the scraper 36 rotates in real time within the filter cartridge 31, scraping away the silt adhering to the inner wall of the filter cartridge 31, allowing the silt to be discharged from the bottom of the filter cartridge 31. The drive unit 37 includes a gear ring 371, a gear 372, and a rotary actuator 373. The gear ring 371 is rotatably mounted on the upper part of the filter cartridge 31, and the scraper 36 is vertically mounted on the lower part of the gear ring 371, rotating synchronously with the gear ring 371. The gear 372 is rotatably mounted on one side of the gear ring 371 and meshes with the gear ring 371. The rotary actuator 373 is located at the end of the gear 372 and is used to drive the gear 372 to rotate. The rotary actuator 373 is preferably a waterproof motor.

[0081] Reference Figure 5 A discharge shell 38 is provided at the lower part of the filter cylinder 31. The discharge shell 38 has a funnel-shaped structure, and the mud and sand intercepted by the filter cylinder 31 are discharged through the discharge shell 38.

[0082] The structure of the discharge shell 38 with a large opening at the top and a small opening at the bottom can avoid the impact of seabed water flow disturbance on the filtration of mud and sand, making the filter cylinder 31 more effective at filtering mud and sand. It also reduces the amount of external water flowing back into the filter cylinder 31 through the discharge shell 38. At the same time, the mud and sand discharged through the discharge shell 38 can be more orderly piled up in one place and are less likely to be scattered everywhere.

[0083] Reference Figures 1-9 The present invention also relates to a submarine cable laying device, including a submarine cable laying apparatus and a cable laying apparatus.

[0084] Cable 4 is stored on the cable laying device. One end of cable 4 is pulled to the submarine cable 4 laying device, which then lays the cable. The cable laying device performs real-time cable laying operations.

[0085] Working principle: During the laying of submarine cable 4, the equipment equipped with the cable laying device starts according to the preset route. One end of the cable 4 stored in the cable laying device is pulled to the laying device and laid synchronously with the moving trolley 1. At the beginning of the operation, the mud suction unit 2 located at the front end of the drill bit 11 starts first. Its mud suction head 21, driven by the lifting mechanism 22, always maintains a preset fixed distance from the seabed surface. Multiple detection rods 23 distributed along the width of the trolley at the front end of the mud suction unit 2 will contact the protruding rocks on the path before the mud suction head 21. When the rocks push the detection rods 23 to tilt, the angle sensor 24 transmits the signal to the processor to accurately determine the height of the protruding rocks, and then controls the lifting mechanism 22 to adjust the height of the mud suction head 21, avoiding collisions while ensuring the mud suction effect.

[0086] The suction head 21 is connected to the discharge pipe 32 of the discharge unit 3 via the suction pipe 25. After sucking in the mud and sand from the bottom of the trolley, it is transported through the discharge pipe 32 to the two symmetrically arranged filter cylinders 31 inside the mobile trolley 1. When the mud-water mixture enters the filter cylinder 31, it is first intercepted and guided by the anti-impact plate 35 below the discharge pipe 32, flowing downwards along the wall of the filter cylinder 31. At the same time, the water pump 34 starts, drawing out the seawater from the drainage chamber formed by the water extraction shell 33 around the filter cylinder 31. The water extraction rate and the mud suction rate are kept in a 3:4 ratio, so that a unidirectional suction force is generated from the inside to the outside at the side wall of the filter cylinder 31. The seawater passes through the cylinder wall into the drainage chamber and is discharged from the side of the trolley, avoiding impact on the mud and sand on both sides. During the filtration process, the drive unit 37 drives the scraper 36 to rotate along the inner wall of the filter cylinder 31, scraping off the attached mud and sand. Under the action of gravity, the mud and sand are discharged through the lower funnel-shaped discharge shell 38 and accumulate on both sides of the drill bit 11.

[0087] At this point, multiple sets of crushing components, arranged along the width of the trolley and distributed along its length, begin operation. The closer the components are to the mud suction unit 2, the shallower their drilling depth, achieving staged crushing. Because the mud suction unit 2 has already removed the mud and sand, the drill bit 11 can smoothly extend into the seabed without being obstructed by a large amount of mud and sand, and can also reveal the rocks buried in the mud and sand. When the drill bit 11 encounters rocks, it can directly crush them; when there are no rocks, it can avoid the wear and resistance caused by mud and sand to the drill bit 11, greatly reducing the load on the trolley.

[0088] As the trolley advances, the burying plow 12, extending into the silt, moves along the laying trench initially formed by the sludge suction unit 2, pushing the crushed gravel and silt towards the side of the trench and merging with the accumulated material discharged by the sludge discharge unit 3, thus fully forming the laying trench. Simultaneously, the cable 4 is transported into the laying trench via the cable delivery trough in the middle of the burying plow 12. When the collecting shell 13 at the rear of the trolley passes over the cable 4, the projection of the tip of the conical structure of the collecting shell 13 always coincides with the laying trench, collecting the silt and gravel accumulated on both sides of the trench and automatically backfilling it onto the upper part of the laying trench where the cable 4 has been laid, completing the entire laying process.

[0089] The above embodiments only illustrate one or more implementations of the present invention, and their descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, but they should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A submarine cable laying device, comprising a moving trolley (1), a drill bit (11) and a burying plough (12); characterized in that further comprising a suction unit (2), a discharge unit (3) and a collecting shell (13); the suction unit (2) is arranged at the front end of the drill bit (11); the discharge unit (3) is arranged in two and both are located in the moving trolley (1), the two discharge units (3) are symmetrically arranged about the drill bit (11), and both of the discharge units (3) are in communication with the suction unit (2); the collecting shell (13) is arranged at the tail of the moving trolley (1), the laying device leaves a laying groove on the seabed when laying the cable (4), the end of the collecting shell (13) away from the moving trolley (1) is a tapered structure, and the projection of the tip of the tapered structure in the vertical direction always coincides with the laying groove; the suction unit (2) comprises a suction head (21) and a lifting mechanism (22); the suction head (21) is horizontally arranged in the moving trolley (1) and located at the front end of the drill bit (11); the lifting mechanism (22) is arranged on one side of the suction head (21) and used to drive the suction head (21) to lift; the suction unit (2) further comprises a detection rod (23) and a corner sensor (24); the detection rod (23) is vertically arranged at the front end of the suction unit (2), and a plurality of detection rods (23) are arranged along the width direction of the moving trolley (1); a corner sensor (24) is arranged at one end of the detection rod (23).

2. A submarine cable laying apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that, The drill bit (11) is arranged in multiple along the width direction of the moving trolley (1) and constitutes a crushing assembly, multiple crushing assemblies are distributed along the length direction of the moving trolley (1) in the moving trolley (1), and the deeper the crushing assembly is, the shallower the drilling depth is.

3. A submarine cable laying apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that, The discharge unit (3) comprises a filter cylinder (31), a discharge pipe (32), a water pumping shell (33) and a water pump (34); the filter cylinder (31) is vertically rotatably arranged in the moving trolley (1); the two ends of the discharge pipe (32) are respectively in communication with the upper part of the filter cylinder (31) and the suction unit (2); the water pumping shell (33) is sleeved on the periphery of the filter cylinder (31), and a drainage cavity is formed between the inner wall of the water pumping shell (33) and the outer wall of the filter cylinder (31); the water pump (34) is arranged on the side wall of the water pumping shell (33) and in communication with the drainage cavity.

4. A submarine cable laying apparatus according to claim 3, characterised in that, The drainage end of the water pump (34) is located at the side of the moving trolley (1).

5. A submarine cable laying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that, A baffle (35) is horizontally arranged in the filter cylinder (31), and the baffle (35) is located directly below the connection between the discharge pipe (32) and the filter cylinder (31).

6. A submarine cable laying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that, The discharge unit (3) further comprises a scraper (36) and a driving unit (37); the scraper (36) is rotatably arranged on the inner wall of the filter cylinder (31) around the axis of the filter cylinder (31); the driving unit (37) is arranged on the filter cylinder (31) and used to drive the scraper (36) to rotate.

7. A submarine cable laying apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that, A discharge shell (38) is arranged at the lower part of the filter cylinder (31), the discharge shell (38) is in a funnel structure, and the silt intercepted by the filter cylinder (31) is discharged through the discharge shell (38).

8. A submarine cable laying apparatus characterised in that, The submarine cable laying device and the pay-off device of any one of claims 1-7 are comprised.

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