A radial ballast roll adjustment mechanism for an underwater vehicle

Abstract

This invention discloses a radial counterweight-type roll adjustment mechanism for an underwater vehicle, comprising a support body, a guide assembly, a mass block, and a drive assembly. The guide assembly is mounted on the support body, and the mass block moves in conjunction with the guide assembly. The drive assembly is mounted on the support body and is drively connected to the mass block. The guide direction of the guide assembly is arranged radially along the underwater vehicle, and the mass block moves relative to the support body along the guide direction. This invention adjusts the internal mass distribution by driving the mass block to move radially and guidedly along the underwater vehicle, eliminating the need for the overall rotation of large mass chamber components as the roll adjustment load, thus reducing the moment of inertia and mechanical vibration and self-noise during the adjustment process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of underwater vehicle technology, and particularly relates to a radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater submersibles. Background Technology

[0002] In missions such as ocean observation, target detection, and underwater environmental monitoring, underwater vehicles (UVs) need to adjust their attitude according to their navigation status and external hydrodynamic conditions. Radial roll control is a crucial component of UV attitude control. Existing UVs typically generate roll torque by altering the mass distribution within the submersible to achieve roll attitude adjustment. For example, a motor can drive a heavier component, such as a battery pack, via a reduction gear and gear transmission mechanism to deflect or rotate, thereby changing the position of the UV's center of gravity relative to its longitudinal axis and inducing a corresponding roll motion. To meet the requirements of propulsion, deceleration, and attitude maintenance, such mechanisms typically include multi-stage reduction, reversing, and gear meshing transmission components.

[0003] However, in existing structures that use the overall rotation of large components such as battery packs to achieve roll adjustment, the moving components have large masses and high moments of inertia, which easily generate significant inertial impacts and mechanical vibrations during start-up, stopping, and adjustment. Simultaneously, the motor power must be transmitted to the moving load through multiple stages of reduction and gear meshing, resulting in a long transmission path. This not only increases mechanical friction losses but also allows the gaps, impacts, and vibrations generated by multiple meshing stages to accumulate and be transmitted to the submersible body, leading to high operating noise and potentially interfering with the acoustic detection equipment carried by the submersible. Therefore, it is necessary to address the problems of high moments of inertia, mechanical vibration, and operating noise caused by the overall rotation of large mass components and complex transmission links during radial roll adjustment of underwater submersibles. The goal is to obtain a roll adjustment structure that allows an independent counterweight load to move radially in a guided manner within the submersible and whose position relative to the supporting body is adjusted by a drive mechanism. Summary of the Invention To address the problems of large moment of inertia, significant inertial impact, and high mechanical vibration and operating noise when using the overall movement of large-mass internal components to adjust the roll of an underwater vehicle in existing technologies, this invention provides a radial counterweight type roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles.

[0004] This invention is implemented as follows: a radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for an underwater vehicle, characterized in that it includes a support body, a guide assembly, a mass block, and a drive assembly; the guide assembly is disposed on the support body, and the mass block is movably engaged with the guide assembly; the drive assembly is disposed on the support body and is drively connected to the mass block; the guide direction of the guide assembly is arranged radially along the underwater vehicle, and the mass block moves relative to the support body along the guide direction of the guide assembly.

[0005] The advantages and effects of this invention are: This invention utilizes a guide assembly mounted on a support body to guide the underwater vehicle radially. An independently positioned mass block moves in coordination with the guide assembly, while a drive assembly moves the mass block radially relative to the support body. This allows the underwater vehicle to adjust its internal mass distribution by changing the mass block's position, eliminating the need for the overall rotation of large internal components like the battery pack as the motion load for roll adjustment. Compared to methods that drive the overall deflection of large components, this structure reduces the load mass and corresponding inertia involved in roll adjustment, minimizing inertial impacts caused by starting, stopping, and reversing during mass adjustment. Furthermore, the guide assembly constrains the mass block's direction of movement, ensuring it moves along a predetermined radial path, reducing unintended swaying and resulting mechanical vibrations during adjustment. The drive assembly establishes a dedicated transmission relationship with the independent mass block for adjusting the counterweight position, avoiding the need to drive the battery pack and its related large-mass mounting components to move as a whole in order to achieve center of gravity adjustment. This reduces the transmission of vibration and mechanical noise caused by the large-inertia moving components and their related transmission movements to the main body of the submersible. While achieving radial roll adjustment of the underwater submersible, it also helps to reduce mechanical vibration and self-noise during the operation of the mechanism, and reduces the interference of roll attitude adjustment on the acoustic detection operation of the submersible.

[0006] In the above technical solution, preferably, the drive assembly includes a motor, a reducer, and a lead screw drive assembly. The motor is driven by the input end of the reducer, the output end of the reducer is driven by the lead screw drive assembly, and the lead screw drive assembly is driven by the mass block.

[0007] In the above technical solution, preferably, the lead screw transmission assembly includes a ball screw and a lead screw nut that cooperates with the ball screw. The ball screw is connected to the output end of the reducer, the lead screw nut is connected to the mass block, and the axis of the ball screw is parallel to the guiding direction of the guide assembly.

[0008] In the above technical solution, preferably, the reducer is a worm gear reducer, and the ball screw is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the worm gear reducer.

[0009] In the above technical solution, preferably, the motor is a brushless motor, and the output end of the brushless motor is connected to the input shaft of the worm gear reducer.

[0010] In the above technical solution, preferably, the guiding component includes two parallel guide rails and sliders that slide with the two guide rails respectively, and the two guide rails are fixed to the supporting body; it also includes a fixing plate, which spans the two guide rails and is connected to the sliders on the two guide rails respectively, and the mass block is fixed to the fixing plate.

[0011] In the above technical solution, preferably, the two guide rails are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the ball screw; a fixed frame is fixed on the support body between the two guide rails, and the reducer is mounted on the fixed frame.

[0012] In the above technical solution, preferably, the support body includes a support plate with an L-shaped disc structure, and the support plate is provided with a plurality of positioning holes.

[0013] In the above technical solution, preferably, the mass block is blade-shaped in a cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction of the underwater vehicle, the end of the mass block away from the guide assembly forms a tapered end, and the two sides of the mass block respectively form outwardly protruding arc-shaped side edges.

[0014] In the above technical solution, preferably, the mass block has a groove on the side facing the worm gear reducer, the groove is arranged opposite to the worm gear reducer along the moving direction of the mass block, and the groove has a notch on the side facing the motor; when the mass block moves to the end of its stroke near the worm gear reducer, the worm gear reducer is at least partially located in the groove.

[0015] In summary, by using a motor, reducer, and ball screw to form the transmission path of the mass block, and connecting the ball screw to the output end of the reducer, the intermediate transmission links required by traditional multi-stage gear transmission can be reduced, mechanical friction loss and the accumulation of multi-stage meshing clearance can be decreased, which is beneficial to improving power transmission efficiency and the accuracy of mass block position adjustment. When using a worm gear reducer, its continuous meshing transmission helps to reduce impact and vibration during transmission, and the reverse self-locking characteristic can be used to restrict the reverse movement of the mass block after it is adjusted to the correct position, reducing the power input required for continuous drive. Using a ball screw to convert sliding friction into rolling friction can further reduce transmission resistance and creep and mechanical disturbance caused by uneven friction during movement. By symmetrically arranging the two guide rails about the axis of the ball screw, and having the fixed plate and mass block jointly supported by sliders on both sides, the driving force of the mass block and the relationship between the guide support can be more balanced, reducing lateral sway and additional vibration caused by off-center loading. Furthermore, the mass block adopts a blade-shaped structure adapted to the internal space of the submersible, with a groove and corresponding notch formed on the side facing the worm gear reducer. This allows the mass block to form a partial spatial nesting with the drive assembly when it moves to the corresponding stroke end, thereby improving the utilization of the limited internal space and providing structural conditions for the mass block to obtain the required movement stroke. These structures collectively help reduce transmission links, lower motion resistance, meshing impact and mechanism vibration, and reduce mechanical noise during roll adjustment. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for the underwater vehicle of the present invention. Figure 2 This is a side view of the radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for the underwater vehicle of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a noise comparison diagram between the present invention and the prior art. Detailed Implementation

[0017] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0018] This invention provides a radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles. To further illustrate the structure of this invention, a detailed description is provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: like Figures 1 to 2As shown, this embodiment provides a radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for an underwater vehicle, which is installed inside a section of the underwater vehicle to achieve radial roll adjustment by changing the mass distribution inside the vehicle. The mechanism includes a support body, a guide assembly, a mass block, and a drive assembly. The support body includes an L-shaped disc-shaped support plate 1, which forms the mounting and load-bearing foundation for the various components of the mechanism. Its shape is adapted to the installation space of the circular section inside the underwater vehicle, allowing for the arrangement of the guide assembly, drive assembly, and mass block within the limited space. The support plate has multiple positioning holes, which allow it to be positioned and connected to corresponding installation parts of the underwater vehicle, ensuring the mechanism maintains a predetermined spatial position after installation.

[0019] A guide assembly is mounted on the support body, and the mass block 10 moves in conjunction with the guide assembly. A drive assembly is mounted on the support body and is connected to the mass block for transmission. The guide direction of the guide assembly is set radially along the underwater vehicle, allowing the mass block to move linearly relative to the support body along the guide direction of the guide assembly. Here, radial refers to the radial direction relative to the cross-section of the section containing the longitudinal axis of the underwater vehicle. Therefore, when the mass block moves along this direction, its position relative to the longitudinal axis of the underwater vehicle changes, causing a change in the mass distribution inside the underwater vehicle.

[0020] The guiding assembly specifically includes two parallel guide rails 2 and sliders 3 that slide with the two guide rails respectively. The two guide rails are fixed to the support body and extend along the direction of movement of the mass block. The two guide rails remain parallel, allowing the sliders mounted on them to move synchronously in the same direction. The mechanism also includes a fixed plate 4, which spans the two guide rails and is connected to the sliders on the two guide rails respectively, thus forming a mobile support platform that can reciprocate along the two guide rails. The mass block is fixed to the fixed plate, so the fixed plate can synchronously drive the mass block to move when it moves along the guide rails. The two parallel guide rails jointly guide and support the fixed plate and the mass block, so that the mass block is subjected to stable double-sided guiding constraints during movement.

[0021] The two guide rails are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the ball screw, meaning the ball screw is located in the middle region between the two guide rails, which are situated on either side of the ball screw axis. This arrangement allows the driving force output from the screw drive assembly to act on the mass block from between the two guide rails, while the guide rails on both sides provide support and guidance for the moving parts, reducing lateral swaying caused by offset forces during the movement of the mass block.

[0022] The drive assembly includes a motor 6, a reducer 7, and a lead screw drive assembly. The motor is connected to the input end of the reducer, the output end of the reducer is connected to the lead screw drive assembly, and the lead screw drive assembly is further connected to the mass block. Therefore, the rotational power generated by the motor is transmitted to the mass block sequentially through the reducer and the lead screw drive assembly, and is ultimately converted into linear movement of the mass block along the guide assembly.

[0023] The motor used in this embodiment is a brushless motor. The brushless motor serves as the power input for the entire drive assembly, and its output is connected to the input shaft of the reducer. Using a brushless motor avoids frictional contact between mechanical brushes and provides a smoother torque output. It also reduces mechanical disturbances and electromagnetic interference caused by brush contact, making it suitable for applications inside underwater vehicles where mechanical vibration and acoustic environments are critical.

[0024] The reducer is a worm gear reducer. A mounting bracket 5 is fixed on the support body between two guide rails, and the worm gear reducer is mounted on the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket supports the worm gear reducer and maintains the predetermined installation position and axial relationship between the output shaft of the worm gear reducer and the subsequent lead screw drive assembly. The worm gear reducer receives the rotational motion output from the brushless motor, reduces it, and outputs it from the output end, transmitting the power to the lead screw drive assembly. During the worm gear drive process, a continuous meshing motion is formed between the worm and the worm wheel. Compared with the transmission form with more obvious inter-tooth alternating meshing impact, its power transmission process is relatively smooth. At the same time, this embodiment uses a worm gear reducer with reverse self-locking capability, so that the mass block can be held in the corresponding position after reaching the set position.

[0025] The lead screw drive assembly includes a ball screw 8 and a lead screw nut 9 that mates with the ball screw. The ball screw is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the worm gear reducer, allowing the rotational motion output by the worm gear reducer to be directly transmitted to the ball screw. The axis of the ball screw is parallel to the guiding direction of the guide assembly, and the lead screw nut is screwed onto the ball screw and connected to the mass block. Therefore, when the ball screw rotates, the lead screw nut can move along the axial direction of the ball screw, further driving the mass block to move along the guiding direction parallel to the axis of the ball screw. The ball screw achieves helical transmission through rolling contact, which reduces friction between the screw and the nut compared to a conventional sliding lead screw, making the movement of the mass block more continuous and smooth.

[0026] The ball screw nut is fixedly connected to the mass block, which in turn is fixed to a fixed plate. The fixed plate is linearly guided and constrained by sliders mounted on two guide rails. Therefore, the ball screw nut, along with the mass block, is subject to circumferential rotational constraint. When the ball screw is driven to rotate by a worm gear reducer, the ball screw nut cannot rotate synchronously with the ball screw; it can only produce linear displacement along the axial direction of the ball screw. This converts the rotational motion of the ball screw into linear motion of the fixed plate and the mass block along the guide rails. Thus, the ball screw, ball screw nut, fixed plate, sliders, and guide rails together form a complete rotational-linear motion conversion and constraint relationship.

[0027] The mass block, serving as a movable load for adjusting the internal mass distribution of the underwater vehicle, is fixedly mounted on a fixed plate and can reciprocate along two guide rails with the fixed plate. In a cross-section perpendicular to the underwater vehicle's axis, the mass block is blade-shaped. The end of the mass block furthest from the guide assembly forms a tapered tip similar to the tip of a blade, while the end closer to the guide assembly forms an end face for connection with the fixed plate. Outwardly protruding arc-shaped side edges are formed on both sides of the mass block between the tapered end and the end face. The overall contour of the mass block conforms to the spatial form of the circular compartment of the underwater vehicle, allowing the mass block to form a relatively concentrated counterweight structure within the compartment's cross-section.

[0028] The mass block adopts a blade-shaped structure in a cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction of the underwater vehicle. Its end, away from the guide assembly, narrows into a conical end, and its two sides form outwardly convex arc-shaped side edges. This allows the outer contour of the mass block to fit more fully into the internal space of the circular compartment of the underwater vehicle. Compared with rectangular or equal-width block counterweights, more mass can be arranged in the area near the bulkhead without increasing the radial installation space or affecting the movement stroke. This makes the center of gravity of the mass block more biased away from the guide assembly, thereby achieving a larger overall center of gravity offset under the same mass block movement stroke, or reducing the required mass block mass or movement stroke while achieving the same roll adjustment capability. At the same time, its arc-shaped contours on both sides can also reduce the spatial interference between the mass block and the circular bulkhead during the radial movement of the mass block.

[0029] The mass block has a groove on the side facing the worm gear reducer. This groove is positioned opposite the worm gear reducer along the mass block's movement direction, and a notch is provided on the side of the groove facing the motor. As the mass block moves along the guide rail towards the worm gear reducer, the groove on the mass block gradually approaches the worm gear reducer. When the mass block reaches the end of its stroke near the worm gear reducer, the worm gear reducer is at least partially located within the groove, while the notch provides corresponding spatial clearance to the side where the motor is located. Therefore, when the mass block reaches the end of its stroke on this side, the fixed drive assembly and the moving mass block can partially nest in space, without needing to be completely offset along the mass block's movement direction.

[0030] The specific mass of the mass block and its effective travel along the guide rail can be determined based on the overall mass of the underwater vehicle being used, its original internal center of gravity position, the relative relationship between the center of buoyancy and the center of gravity, and the required roll adjustment capability. During the design phase, the mass block should be designed to generate the center of gravity offset required for the underwater vehicle's roll adjustment within its effective travel, without using large components such as the entire battery pack as a moving load. For underwater vehicles of different specifications, the mass of the mass block and its effective travel can be adapted and selected while maintaining the structural and transmission relationships between the aforementioned support structure, guide assembly, mass block, and drive assembly.

[0031] When the underwater vehicle needs to adjust its radial roll attitude, the control system sends a drive command to the brushless motor. The brushless motor starts and outputs rotational torque. This rotational torque is first input to the worm gear reducer, and after being reduced in speed by the worm gear reducer, it drives the ball screw, which is coaxially connected to its output shaft, to rotate. During the rotation of the ball screw, the screw nut that mates with the ball screw moves along the axial direction of the ball screw. Since the screw nut is connected to the mass block, the screw nut synchronously pushes the moving part, consisting of the mass block, the fixed plate, and the slider, to move linearly along two parallel guide rails.

[0032] After the mass block moves radially along the underwater vehicle, its position relative to the longitudinal axis of the underwater vehicle changes, thereby altering the weight distribution inside the vehicle and causing a corresponding roll adjustment. By changing the rotation direction of the brushless motor, the rotation direction of the ball screw can be changed, which in turn changes the movement direction of the screw nut and the mass block, allowing the mass block to adjust its position along the guide rail between two opposite radial directions. Once the mass block reaches a position corresponding to the desired underwater vehicle attitude, the brushless motor stops driving.

[0033] In this embodiment, the worm gear reducer adopts a structure with reverse self-locking capability. Its specific reduction ratio and the geometric parameters of the worm gear pair can be matched according to the mass block load and the required moving speed. The self-locking selection condition is that the output end of the worm gear reducer cannot be reverse-driven via the lead screw transmission assembly after the mass block stops moving. Therefore, after the mass block position adjustment is completed and the brushless motor is stopped, the reverse self-locking effect of the worm gear reducer can be used to prevent the ball screw from being reverse-driven by the load on the mass block side, keeping the mass block in the position at which the adjustment is completed, without requiring the brushless motor to continuously output holding torque.

[0034] Compared to methods that drive the overall deflection of a large battery pack through multi-stage transmission mechanisms, this embodiment sets the motion load for changing the submersible's center of gravity position as an independent mass block. This mass block is driven radially and linearly by a worm gear reducer and a ball screw, concentrating the load involved in attitude adjustment motion on the mass block while reducing transmission links. Dual guide rails provide stable guidance for the mass block, the ball screw converts rotational motion to linear motion, and the worm gear reducer performs the reduction transmission and maintains the mass block's position after adjustment. This constitutes a complete radial counterweight-based roll adjustment mechanism.

[0035] like Figure 3 As shown, a comparative test was conducted on the noise generated during the movement of the structure using this embodiment and the original structure. Under the test conditions illustrated, the noise level of the new structure at 10Hz is approximately 51dB, while that of the original structure is approximately 74dB; at 100Hz, the new structure is approximately 64dB, while that of the original structure is approximately 72dB; and at 500Hz, the new structure is approximately 46dB, while that of the original structure is approximately 83dB. The noise levels at the corresponding frequency positions are reduced by approximately 23dB, 8dB, and 37dB, respectively. These test results demonstrate that, under the test conditions shown, the radially moving mass block and the corresponding transmission structure of this embodiment can reduce the mechanical vibration noise generated during the operation of the mechanism.

[0036] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A radial counterweight type roll adjustment mechanism for an underwater submersible, characterized in that, It includes a support body, a guide component, a mass block, and a drive component; the guide component is disposed on the support body, and the mass block is movable and engaged with the guide component; the drive component is disposed on the support body and is pulsatorically connected to the mass block; the guide component is arranged radially along the guide direction of the underwater vehicle, and the mass block moves relative to the support body along the guide direction of the guide component.

2. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive assembly includes a motor, a reducer, and a lead screw drive assembly. The motor is connected to the input end of the reducer, the output end of the reducer is connected to the lead screw drive assembly, and the lead screw drive assembly is connected to the mass block.

3. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 2, characterized in that, The lead screw drive assembly includes a ball screw and a lead screw nut that mates with the ball screw. The ball screw is connected to the output end of the reducer, and the lead screw nut is connected to the mass block. The axis of the ball screw is parallel to the guiding direction of the guide assembly.

4. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 3, characterized in that, The reducer is a worm gear reducer, and the ball screw is coaxially connected to the output shaft of the worm gear reducer.

5. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 4, characterized in that, The motor is a brushless motor, and the output end of the brushless motor is connected to the input shaft of the worm gear reducer.

6. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 3, characterized in that, The guiding assembly includes two parallel guide rails and sliders that slide with the two guide rails respectively. The two guide rails are fixed to the support body. It also includes a fixing plate that spans the two guide rails and is connected to the sliders on the two guide rails respectively. The mass block is fixed to the fixing plate.

7. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 6, characterized in that, The two guide rails are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the ball screw; a fixed frame is fixed on the support body between the two guide rails, and the reducer is mounted on the fixed frame.

8. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support body includes a support plate with an L-shaped disc structure, and the support plate is provided with multiple positioning holes.

9. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mass block is blade-shaped in a cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction of the underwater vehicle. The end of the mass block away from the guide assembly forms a tapered end, and the two sides of the mass block each form an outwardly protruding arc-shaped side edge.

10. The radial counterweight roll adjustment mechanism for underwater vehicles according to claim 4, characterized in that, The mass block has a groove on one side facing the worm gear reducer. The groove is positioned opposite to the worm gear reducer along the moving direction of the mass block. The groove has a notch on the side facing the motor. When the mass block moves to the end of its stroke near the worm gear reducer, the worm gear reducer is at least partially located within the groove.

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