A coring hand-held drill device suitable for deep sea environments

Abstract

The application relates to a coring handheld drill device suitable for a deep sea environment, which comprises a frame, a drill rod, a transmission box movably arranged on the frame along the axial direction of the drill rod, a motor arranged on the transmission box, a worm, a worm wheel and a gear, and a rack fixedly arranged on the frame along the axial direction of the drill rod; the motor output shaft, the worm and the drill rod are coaxially and transmissionally connected, the gear is coaxially and fixedly connected with the worm wheel and is engaged with the rack, so that the motor drives the drill rod to rotate and drives the transmission box and the drill rod to move along the axial direction of the drill rod at the same time. The application adopts integrated design of single motor homologous driving, simultaneously outputs the rotary motion and the axial feeding motion of the drill rod through the cooperation of the worm wheel and worm speed reducer pair and the gear and rack feeding pair, the transmission ratios of the two are fixedly matched, and the synchronization error of the independent driving system is eliminated from the structural root; and the worm wheel and worm transmission pair has a natural reverse self-locking function, can only drive the worm wheel to rotate by the worm, and the axial load cannot reversely drive the worm wheel to drive the worm to rotate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of deep-sea resource exploration and underwater equipment technology, specifically to a core-taking handheld drilling rig suitable for deep-sea environments. Background Technology

[0002] In deep-sea cobalt-rich crust, seabed rock, and mineral resource exploration operations, core drilling is the core technology for obtaining in-situ geological samples. Currently, deep-sea core drilling equipment is mainly divided into two categories: one is large-scale rope coring equipment that relies on the mother ship's winch system. This type of equipment has strong drilling capabilities, but it is large in size and weight, has a complex deployment process, and high operating costs, making it difficult to adapt to the flexible and precise sampling needs of complex seabed topography; the other is small handheld drilling rigs that can be mounted on remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) or manned submersibles. These rigs are mobile, flexible, and easy to deploy, and represent an important development direction for current deep-sea near-bottom precision sampling.

[0003] Existing small handheld deep-sea drilling rigs still have many shortcomings in practical applications: First, the transmission matching is poor. Existing devices mostly adopt a design where the rotary drive and feed mechanism are independent of each other. The asynchronous control of the two systems can easily lead to a mismatch between the feed speed and the drilling speed. Under the working conditions of high pressure in the deep sea and uneven seabed geology, equipment vibration, drilling jamming, or even drill bit jamming and rod breakage are very likely to occur, which will not only affect the core quality, but also shorten the service life of the equipment.

[0004] Secondly, the operational stability is insufficient. Due to the weight limitations of ROVs, small drilling rigs have limited overall weight. When operating on turbulent ocean currents or uneven seabed surfaces, slippage and tilting are prone to occur in the initial drilling and tripping stages, making it difficult to guarantee the success rate of sampling.

[0005] Third, the structure has low redundancy and reliability. Some feeding mechanisms require additional locking devices to maintain position, increasing the risk of underwater seal failure and making it difficult to adapt to the harsh environment of high pressure and high corrosion in the deep sea for a long time. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a handheld coring drilling rig suitable for deep-sea environments, which addresses the shortcomings of existing technologies. This rig has a compact structure, coordinated transmission, and stable operation, thereby solving the aforementioned problems of existing technologies.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A handheld coring drill suitable for deep-sea environments includes a frame and a drill rod mounted on the frame. One axial end of the drill rod is the penetration end, and the other end is the connection end. The drill rod also includes a transmission box movably mounted on the frame along the drill rod's axial direction, a motor, a worm gear and a worm wheel mounted on the transmission box, and a rack fixedly mounted on the frame along the drill rod's axial direction. The motor's output shaft, the worm gear, and the drill rod are coaxially connected. The teeth on the worm gear mesh with the teeth on the worm wheel. The worm wheel and the gear's axle are coaxially fixedly connected. The teeth on the gear mesh with the teeth on the rack. This allows the motor to drive the drill rod to rotate while simultaneously driving the transmission box, motor, worm gear, and drill rod to move synchronously along the drill rod's axial direction via the worm wheel, gear, and rack. The transmission box is an open structure connected to the outside. The transmission box, worm wheel, worm gear, gear, and rack are all made of corrosion-resistant materials. The motor has an internal oil-filled structure and is connected to a pressure compensator. The motor is electrically connected to the ROV's control system.

[0008] Furthermore, the worm gear, worm wheel, and gear are all housed inside the transmission box, while the motor is fixedly mounted on the outside of the transmission box.

[0009] Furthermore, the upper and lower walls of the transmission box are respectively provided with upper and lower through holes for the rack to pass through.

[0010] Furthermore, the frame includes an upper plate, a lower plate, and a bracket located between the upper plate and the lower plate for connecting the upper plate and the lower plate. The upper end of the rack is fixedly connected to the upper plate, and the lower end of the rack is fixedly connected to the lower plate.

[0011] Furthermore, the upper plate has an upper groove through which the motor can pass, and the lower plate has a lower groove through which the drill rod can pass.

[0012] Furthermore, the lower plate is provided with multiple tapered feet.

[0013] Furthermore, a handle is fixedly connected to the upper plate.

[0014] Furthermore, the two ends of the worm gear shaft are rotatably connected to the front and rear side walls of the transmission box via bearings, respectively.

[0015] Furthermore, the upper and lower ends of the worm are rotatably connected to the upper and lower walls of the transmission box via bearings, respectively. The output shaft of the motor is connected to the upper end of the worm via an upper coupling, and the connecting end of the drill rod is connected to the lower end of the worm via a lower coupling.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. Integrated rotary feed transmission significantly improves drilling stability and operational efficiency. This invention employs an integrated design with a single motor and homogeneous drive. Through the cooperation of a worm gear reduction pair and a rack and pinion feed pair, it simultaneously outputs the drill rod's rotary motion and axial feed motion. The transmission ratios of the two are fixed and matched, eliminating synchronization errors of independent drive systems at the structural root. Compared to traditional small drilling rigs with separate rotary and feed functions, this effectively avoids faults such as stuck drill bits, broken drill rods, and machine vibration caused by speed mismatch during drilling. Experimental verification shows that at a rated drilling speed of 600 r / min, this device can stably achieve a drilling speed of 9 mm / min in granite strata and 26 mm / min in softer rock strata. The drilling process is smooth with no significant vibration, and the sampling success rate and single-rod operation efficiency are significantly improved.

[0017] 2. The worm gear's reverse self-locking characteristic simplifies the structure and improves the safety of deep-sea operations. The worm gear transmission pair of this invention possesses a natural reverse self-locking function, meaning that only the worm can actively drive the worm wheel to rotate; axial loads cannot reverse the rotation by driving the worm wheel to rotate the worm. Based on this characteristic, the device eliminates the need for additional braking or electromagnetic locking mechanisms, enabling stable suspension of the drill pipe at any stroke position. This simplifies the structural complexity of underwater equipment, reduces the risk of dynamic seal failure, and effectively avoids the safety hazard of the drill pipe accidentally sliding down during shutdown or power outages, significantly improving operational reliability in high-pressure and highly corrosive deep-sea environments.

[0018] 3. Conical anchors combined with robotic arms provide auxiliary pressure, adapting to complex seabed operating conditions. The device of this invention is equipped with multiple sets of conical anchors at the bottom, which can embed into the seabed surface rock and soil to form mechanical anchors when in place, effectively offsetting drilling reaction forces and ocean current disturbance forces; at the same time, in conjunction with the ROV robotic arm applying vertical auxiliary pressure through the top handle, it can effectively overcome the shortcomings of insufficient self-weight of lightweight equipment, and maintain the stability of the machine body in complex terrain conditions such as uneven seabed and sloping rock surfaces, significantly reducing the risk of slippage and tilting in the initial drilling and tripping stages, and improving the sampling adaptability in complex seabed environments.

[0019] 4. Highly integrated and lightweight design, adaptable to ROV for flexible operation. The entire machine adopts a highly integrated layout, integrating functional modules such as drive, deceleration, feed, guidance, and support into the frame. The structure is compact and the size is small. In addition, the transmission box adopts an open structure that is connected to seawater. The weight of the whole machine can be controlled within 35kg, which is compatible with the payload and operating range of conventional ROVs. It can be deployed and operated without relying on large drilling vessels and winch systems. It can be flexibly transported to multiple stations to carry out fine sampling, which significantly reduces the threshold and overall cost of deep-sea coring operations. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the transmission box in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the transmission box in this invention from a frontal view. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the drilling device of the present invention connected to the ROV body via a handle.

[0021] The attached figures are labeled as follows: 1. Drill rod; 2. Upper plate; 21. Upper groove; 3. Lower plate; 31. Lower groove; 4. Bracket; 5. Foot; 6. Motor; 7. Transmission box; 71. Worm gear; 72. Worm; 73. Gear; 74. Rack; 75. Upper coupling; 76. Lower coupling; 77. Upper through hole; 78. Lower through hole; 8. Handle; 9. Pressure compensator; 10. ROV body; 101. Robotic arm. Detailed Implementation

[0022] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0023] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component.

[0024] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0025] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature.

[0026] For easier understanding, please refer to Figures 1 to 4 This embodiment provides a handheld coring drilling rig suitable for deep-sea environments, including a frame, drill rod 1, drive mechanism, transmission system, and support structure. The rig adopts a vertical coaxial layout and can be mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to perform in-situ coring operations on the seabed. The frame serves as the main load-bearing structure. The drill rod 1 is vertically mounted inside the frame, with its lower axial end serving as the drilling end for penetrating the seabed rock layer and its upper axial end serving as the power transmission connection end. Specifically, the upper end of the drill rod 1 is the connection end, which connects to the lower coupling 76 via a threaded connection. A keyway structure is used to transmit circumferential torque, and a fastening screw is added for axial locking, forming a multi-fixing structure of thread, keyway, and fastening screw. This effectively prevents the drill rod 1 from loosening or falling off under high-torque drilling conditions, improving operational reliability. The lower end of the drill rod 1 is the penetration end, equipped with a coring drill bit structure for drilling into the rock layer and collecting core samples. A handle 8 is fixedly connected to the top of the frame, which allows the robotic arm 101 of the ROV body 10 to grip the entire assembly and apply vertical auxiliary pressure.

[0027] Specifically, the frame includes a horizontally parallel upper plate 2, a lower plate 3, and multiple vertical supports 4 fixedly connected between the upper plate 2 and the lower plate 3. The upper plate 2, lower plate 3, and supports 4 together enclose the installation space for the transmission components. The lower plate 3 has a recessed groove 31 for the drill rod 1 to pass through, and the upper plate 2 has a recessed groove 21 for the motor 6 to pass through, providing clearance for the vertical movement of the power components. The bottom surface of the lower plate 3 has multiple tapered vertical feet 5 evenly arranged circumferentially, with the tips of the feet 5 facing downwards. During drilling, the feet can embed into the seabed surface rock and soil to form anchor support, which is used to counteract the reaction force and ocean current disturbance force during drilling, suppress horizontal slippage and tilting of the machine body, and improve operational stability.

[0028] The drive mechanism includes a motor 6, which is vertically positioned on top of the transmission box 7 with a box-type waterproof and sealed design. Its output shaft faces downwards. The motor 6 has an internal silicone oil-filled structure and is externally connected to a rubber pressure compensator 9, which is also filled with silicone oil. The motor 6 and the pressure compensator 9 are connected via a PU hose (not shown in the figure). As the device descends deeper, when the external pressure on the motor 6 exceeds the internal pressure, the surrounding seawater compresses the pressure compensator 9, forcing the silicone oil from the compensator 9 into the motor 6. This utilizes the incompressibility of the liquid silicone oil to compensate for the pressure. Specifically, the motor 6 is electrically connected to the control system on the ROV body 101 via an underwater communication cable (not shown in the figure). The control system includes a battery compartment and a control compartment. The battery compartment powers the motor 6, while the control compartment communicates with the motor using an RS485 communication interface. Control commands are transmitted from the host computer to the control cabin of the ROV body. The control cabin then transmits the control signals to motor 6 via an underwater communication line, thereby driving the motor to rotate in both directions. More specifically, motor 6 is started in a timely manner according to the location of the drilling rig and the status of the manipulator 101 pressing the drilling rig. The operator controls the running speed and rotation direction of motor 6 through the host computer software to realize the drilling and jacking operations of the drilling rig. The drive board of the ROV body 10 control cabin uses an ADM2587 with a built-in isolated communication chip and communicates via RS485 serial port with a baud rate of 38400, which can fully meet the timeliness and functional requirements of motor 6.

[0029] The transmission system is housed within a 5mm thick transmission housing 7, which is movably mounted within the frame's installation space, allowing it to slide vertically relative to the frame. The transmission system comprises a worm gear 71 and a worm shaft 72 mechanism, as well as a gear 73 and a rack and pinion 74 mechanism. Both share the same power source, enabling coordinated driving of the drill rod 1's rotation and axial feed. The transmission housing 7 is an open structure connected to the external seawater; multiple through-holes on its side wall allow seawater to directly enter the housing, achieving pressure balance between the inside and outside. The transmission box 7, worm gear 71, worm 72, gear 73, and rack 74 are all made of corrosion-resistant materials. Preferably, the housing of the transmission box 7 is made of 6061T6 material with a black hard anodized anti-corrosion surface; the worm gear 71 is made of aluminum bronze; the worm 72, gear 73, rack 74, and the axle connecting the worm gear 71 and gear 73 are all made of 316 corrosion-resistant material. The transmission system made of the above materials can work normally in the deep sea environment. At the same time, the open structure of the transmission box 7 can reduce the overall weight of the device, eliminating the need to consider the bulkiness of the pressure tank. Furthermore, both the transmission box 7 and the motor 6 can achieve a state of internal and external pressure balance, thereby reducing the load on the motor 6.

[0030] Specifically, for the worm gear 71 and worm 72 mechanism, the upper and lower ends of the worm 72 are rotatably connected to the upper and lower walls of the transmission box 7 via bearings, respectively. The output shaft of the motor 6 is connected to the upper end of the worm 72 via an upper coupling 75, and the connecting end of the drill rod 1 is connected to the lower end of the worm 72 via a lower coupling 76. The output shaft of the motor 6, the worm 72, and the drill rod 1 are all coaxially arranged, so that the drill rod 1 rotates synchronously with the worm 72. The worm 72 is vertically arranged inside the transmission box 7, and the rotational motion output by the motor 6 is directly transmitted to the drill rod 1 via the worm 72, driving the drill rod 1 to rotate at high speed around its own axis to achieve the rock cutting function. The worm gear 71 is horizontally arranged on one side of the worm 72. The two ends of the axle in the middle of the worm gear 71 extend outward and are rotatably connected to the front and rear horizontal side walls of the transmission box 7 via bearings. The helical teeth of the worm 72 mesh with the teeth of the worm wheel 71 to form a speed reduction transmission pair, which can convert the high-speed rotation of the motor 6 into low-speed, high-torque output and act on the worm wheel 71 and the gear 73 and rack 74 mechanism.

[0031] For the gear 73 and rack 74 mechanism, a gear 73 is coaxially fixedly connected to the axle of the worm gear 71, and the gear 73 rotates synchronously with the worm gear 71. The rack 74 is vertically fixedly mounted on the frame, with its upper end fixedly connected to the bottom of the upper plate 2 and its lower end fixedly connected to the top of the lower plate 3. Correspondingly, the upper and lower walls of the transmission box 7 are provided with an upper through hole 77 and a lower through hole 78, respectively, and the middle rod of the rack 74 passes through the upper through hole 77 and the lower through hole 78. The teeth of the gear 73 mesh with the teeth of the rack 74. When the motor 6 drives the worm gear 71 and the gear 73 to rotate synchronously, the gear 73 rolls up and down along the fixed rack 74, thereby driving the entire transmission box 7, the motor 6, and the drill rod 1 to move synchronously vertically, realizing the downward drilling and lifting actions of the drill rod 1.

[0032] Through the aforementioned transmission system, the power output from motor 6 drives drill rod 1 to rotate at high speed for cutting via worm gear 72, and also drives worm wheel 71 to decelerate and rotate via worm gear 72, before being converted into low-speed axial feed of drill rod 1 via gear 73-rack 74. Even while motor 6 drives drill rod 1 to rotate, the transmission box 7 and drill rod 1 move axially via worm wheel 71, gear 73, and rack 74. Rotation and feed are driven by the same power source, the transmission relationship is fixed, and speed matching is naturally maintained, effectively avoiding the problem of stuck drill due to asynchronous feed and drilling. The worm wheel 71 and worm gear 72 transmission pair has a reverse self-locking characteristic: when motor 6 stops outputting power, the axial load of drill rod 1 and transmission box 7 cannot drive worm wheel 71 to rotate in the reverse direction. Therefore, the device can automatically maintain a locked state at any drilling position without the need for an additional braking mechanism, simplifying underwater structural design and improving operational safety.

[0033] The following describes the operation of the device in this embodiment, along with the complete workflow: In the positioning and standby phase: The robotic arm 101 on the ROV body 10 grasps the handle 8 on top of the device, lowering the entire drilling rig to the target sampling point on the seabed, so that the conical foot 5 contacts the seabed and embeds into the surface rock and soil, forming initial anchoring support; the ROV body 10 can apply vertical auxiliary pressure to the device through the handle 8 to further counteract the drilling reaction force and improve the stability of the machine. At this time, the motor 6 is not started. Since the worm gear 71 and worm 72 transmission pair have reverse self-locking characteristics, the axial load cannot drive the worm gear 71 to rotate in the opposite direction. Therefore, the transmission box 7 and the drill rod 1 can remain fixed in their current positions and will not slide down unexpectedly due to their own weight or external forces, ensuring the safety of the positioning process.

[0034] During the core drilling stage: The start-up motor 6 rotates in the forward direction, and the power is transmitted to the worm gear 72 via the upper coupling 75. One path of power is transmitted directly downward along the worm gear 72 to the drill pipe 1, driving the drill pipe 1 to rotate at high speed and cut the rock strata. The other path of power is reduced in speed by the meshing of the worm gear 72 and the worm wheel 71, driving the coaxial gear 73 to rotate at a low speed. The gear 73 rolls downward along the fixed rack 74, driving the transmission box 7 and the drill pipe 1 to feed downward at a uniform speed. Since the rotational motion and axial feed motion of the drill pipe 1 are driven by the same motor 6, and their transmission ratios are fixed and matched, the structure ensures the coordinated adaptation of the feed speed and the drilling speed. This effectively avoids the problems of stuck drills and broken drill pipes caused by excessively fast feed or ineffective grinding caused by excessively slow feed in traditional separate drives. Experiments have verified that, under a drilling speed of approximately 600 r / min, this device can maintain a stable drilling speed of approximately 9 mm / min for granite formations and approximately 26 mm / min for softer rock formations. There is no significant vibration or shaking throughout the drilling process, and the operational stability is significantly improved.

[0035] During the tripping and retrieval phase: After core drilling is completed on a single drill rod 1, the control motor 6 reverses its rotation, causing the worm gear 72 to drive the worm wheel 71 to rotate in the opposite direction. The gear 73 then rolls upwards along the rack 74, lifting the drill rod 1 at a uniform speed and detaching it from the rock formation. During tripping, the reverse self-locking characteristics of the worm wheel 71 and worm gear 72 remain effective, allowing for stable hovering at any stroke position. This facilitates handling unexpected seabed conditions and improves the controllability and safety of the operation.

[0036] Although the present invention has been described using the above preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A handheld coring drilling rig suitable for deep-sea environments, comprising a frame and a drill rod (1) mounted on the frame, wherein one axial end of the drill rod (1) is a penetration end and the other end is a connecting end, characterized in that, It also includes a transmission box (7) movably mounted on the frame along the axial direction of the drill rod (1), a motor (6) mounted on the transmission box (7), a worm (72) and a worm wheel (71), and a rack (74) fixedly mounted on the frame along the axial direction of the drill rod (1). The output shaft of the motor (6), the worm (72), and the drill rod (1) are coaxially connected. The teeth on the worm (72) mesh with the teeth on the worm wheel (71). The worm wheel (71) and the gear (73) are coaxially fixedly connected. The teeth on the gear (73) mesh with the teeth on the rack (74), so that the motor (6)... While driving the drill rod (1) to rotate, the transmission box (7), motor (6), worm (72) and drill rod (1) are driven to move synchronously along the axial direction of the drill rod (1) through the worm wheel (71), gear (73) and rack (74). The transmission box (7) is an open structure that is connected to the outside world. The transmission box (7), worm wheel (71), worm (72), gear (73) and rack (74) are all made of corrosion-resistant materials. The motor (6) is an internal oil-filled structure and is connected to a pressure compensator (9). The motor (6) is electrically connected to the control system of the ROV body (10).

2. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 1, characterized in that, The worm (72), worm wheel (71), and gear (73) are all located inside the transmission box (7), and the motor (6) is fixedly located outside the transmission box (7).

3. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 2, characterized in that, The transmission box (7) has an upper through hole (77) and a lower through hole (78) on its upper and lower walls, respectively, through which the rack (74) can pass.

4. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 3, characterized in that, The frame includes an upper plate (2), a lower plate (3), and a bracket (4) located between the upper plate (2) and the lower plate (3) for connecting the upper plate (2) and the lower plate (3). The upper end of the rack (74) is fixedly connected to the upper plate (2), and the lower end of the rack (74) is fixedly connected to the lower plate (3).

5. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper plate (2) has an upper groove (21) through which the motor (6) can pass, and the lower plate (3) has a lower groove (31) through which the drill rod (1) can pass.

6. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 4, characterized in that, The lower plate (3) is provided with multiple tapered feet (5).

7. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 4, characterized in that, A handle (8) is fixedly connected to the upper plate (2).

8. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 2, characterized in that, The two ends of the worm gear (71) axle are rotatably connected to the front and rear side walls of the transmission box (7) through bearings.

9. The handheld coring drilling rig device suitable for deep-sea environments according to claim 2, characterized in that, The upper and lower ends of the worm (72) are rotatably connected to the upper and lower walls of the transmission box (7) via bearings, respectively. The output shaft of the motor (6) is connected to the upper end of the worm (72) via an upper coupling (75), and the connecting end of the drill rod (1) is connected to the lower end of the worm (72) via a lower coupling (76).

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