Underwater velocimeter and underwater vehicle

Abstract

The utility model discloses an underwater velocimeter and an underwater vehicle, the underwater velocimeter comprises a housing and at least three sound wave transponders arranged in the housing, the transmitting ends of the at least three sound wave transponders are all exposed on the front side of the housing, and the transmitting end faces of any two adjacent sound wave transponders face different directions. According to the underwater velocimeter provided by the technical scheme of the utility model, the detection of the speed of the robot body can be completed through at least three sound wave transponders; by adopting the design that the end faces of the transmitting ends of two adjacent sound wave transponders face different directions, the problem of excessive overlapping of detection areas is effectively avoided; and the end part of each sound wave transponder is exposed on the front surface of the shell, and sound waves emitted by the sound wave transponders tend to face the horizontal direction relatively, so that the whole detection surface is kept consistent with the advancing direction of the robot body, and the underwater longitudinal speed measurement of the robot body is further met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of underwater vehicles, in particular to an underwater speed meter and an underwater vehicle. Background Art

[0002] When an underwater vehicle is moving underwater, it is necessary to obtain the speed of the vehicle relative to the seabed. At present, there are two main methods for underwater measurement: optical detection and acoustic detection. However, underwater, the propagation attenuation of light waves is very large, and the propagation and measurement distance is limited. In contrast, sound waves have better propagation performance in water. After encountering underwater targets, the reflection coefficient of sound waves is large, which is conducive to obtaining object information.

[0003] The underwater speed meter provided by the prior art is installed at the bottom of the robot body, and uses a method of emitting sound waves downward to measure the horizontal running speed of the robot body; therefore, the underwater speed meter provided by the prior art performs poorly in measuring the longitudinal running speed. Utility Model Content

[0004] The main purpose of the utility model is to provide an underwater speed meter and an underwater vehicle to enhance the detection capability of the longitudinal motion speed of a robot body.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model proposes an underwater speed meter, comprising: a shell and at least three acoustic wave transponders, the shell having a receiving space, the at least three acoustic wave transponders being arranged in the receiving space, the transmitting ends of the at least three acoustic wave transponders are all exposed on the front side of the shell, and the end faces of the transmitting ends of any two adjacent acoustic wave transponders are oriented in different directions.

[0006] Optionally, the underwater speed meter includes a first sonic wave transponder, a second sonic wave transponder and a third sonic wave transponder, the second sonic wave transponder is arranged between the first sonic wave transponder and the third sonic wave transponder, and the center points of the transmitting end faces of the first sonic wave transponder, the second sonic wave transponder and the third sonic wave transponder are collinear.

[0007] Optionally, the lines connecting the center point of the end surface of the first acoustic wave transponder, the center point of the end surface of the second acoustic wave transponder, and the center point of the transmitting end surface of the third acoustic wave transponder are arranged in a straight line.

[0008] Optionally, end faces of transmitting ends of the first acoustic wave transponder and the third acoustic wave transponder are oriented in different directions.

[0009] Optionally, the underwater speed meter includes a first sonic transponder, a second sonic transponder and a third sonic transponder, and lines connecting center points of transmitting end surfaces of the first sonic transponder, the second sonic transponder and the third sonic transponder are arranged in a triangle.

[0010] Optionally, the underwater speed meter further includes at least two laser emitters for providing reference dimensions, wherein the laser emitters are disposed in a receiving space of the shell; and the emitting ends of the laser emitters are exposed on the front side of the shell.

[0011] Optionally, the underwater speed meter includes a first laser emitter and a second laser emitter, the first laser emitter is arranged on the other side of the first acoustic wave transponder relative to the second acoustic wave transponder; the second laser emitter is arranged on the other side of the third acoustic wave transponder relative to the second acoustic wave transponder.

[0012] Optionally, the number of the laser emitters is three, and a line connecting the center points of the three laser emitters forms a triangular area, and the first sonic wave transponder, the second sonic wave transponder and the third sonic wave transponder are all within the triangular area.

[0013] Optionally, the underwater speed meter also includes a camera device for photographing the target to be measured; a first area and a second area are opened on the front of the shell; the first acoustic wave transponder, the second acoustic wave transponder and the third acoustic wave transponder are arranged in the first area; the camera device is arranged in the second area; the second area is arranged above or below the first area.

[0014] Optionally, the underwater speed meter also includes a lighting device for providing supplementary lighting; a third area is also opened on the front side of the shell; the lighting device is arranged in the third area, and the third area is arranged close to the second area.

[0015] Optionally, the underwater speed meter further includes a camera for photographing a target to be measured, two lighting devices for providing supplementary illumination, and two laser transmitters for providing reference sizes; the front of the shell has a first area in the middle and two second areas symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first area, and the camera, the first sonic transponder, the second sonic transponder, and the third sonic transponder are all arranged in the first area; the camera is arranged above or below the first sonic transponder, the second sonic transponder, and the third sonic transponder;

[0016] The number of the lighting devices and the number of the laser emitters are both set to two; one lighting device and one laser emitter are arranged in each of the second areas.

[0017] Optionally, the underwater speed meter further has a mounting structure for connecting to the robot body, and the mounting structure can be arranged at any position on the top surface, bottom surface, back surface and side surface of the shell.

[0018] The utility model also provides an underwater vehicle, comprising:

[0019] An underwater speedometer as described above; and

[0020] The robot body, the underwater speedometer is fixedly or movably mounted on the body of the robot body, the front orientation of the underwater speedometer is consistent with the front orientation of the robot body; the robot body dynamically adjusts the posture of the robot body according to the data measured by the underwater speedometer.

[0021] The underwater speed meter provided by the technical solution of the utility model, firstly, can complete the detection of the speed of the robot body with at least three acoustic wave transponders; secondly, the design of the end faces of the transmitting ends of two adjacent acoustic wave transponders facing differently effectively avoids the problem of excessive overlap of the detection area; and because the ends of the three acoustic wave transponders are exposed on the front side of the shell, the sound waves emitted by the acoustic wave transponders are not directly diffused and propagated toward the bottom direction in the underwater environment, but diffused and propagated along the horizontal or nearly horizontal direction, so that the overall detection surface is consistent with the forward direction of the robot body in the underwater environment, further meeting the measurement of the longitudinal speed of the robot body underwater, and providing high-precision speed information and distance information for the robot body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the utility model. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying creative work.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the underwater speed measuring instrument of the utility model;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the underwater speed measuring instrument of the utility model;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the underwater speed measuring instrument of the utility model;

[0026] Figure 4This is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the underwater speed measuring instrument of the utility model;

[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the product structure of an embodiment of the underwater speed meter of the utility model;

[0028] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of an underwater speed meter when it is matched with a robot body;

[0029] Figure 7 for Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure from another perspective;

[0030] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the product structure of another embodiment of the underwater speed meter of the utility model;

[0031] Fig. 9 for Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of an underwater speed meter when it is matched with a robot body.

[0032] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 100, underwater vehicle; 200, underwater speedometer; 210, shell; 211, front; 212a, first area; 213a, second area; 212b, first area; 213b, second area; 214b, third area; 221, first laser emitter; 222, second laser emitter; 223, third laser emitter; 231, first acoustic transponder; 232, second acoustic transponder; 233, third acoustic transponder; 240, camera device; 250, lighting device; 260, mounting structure; 300, robot body; 310, camera device; 320, lighting device; 330, thruster.

[0033] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the utility model will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the utility model.

[0035] It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...) are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0036] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. in the present utility model are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in this field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present utility model.

[0037] The utility model provides an underwater speedometer, which can be mounted on a robot body to enhance the ability to detect the longitudinal movement speed of the robot body. The robot body can be an autonomous robot body 300 (AUV), a remote-controlled robot body 300 (ROV), an unmanned underwater vehicle (USV), a coastal gliding device, a towing navigation device, a diver's console, a deep submersible, etc.

[0038] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 5 The underwater speedometer 200 includes a housing 210 and at least three acoustic transponders (231, 232, 233). The underwater speedometer 200 shown in the figure is provided with three acoustic transponders, the purpose of which is to show the acoustic transponders with the least number of acoustic transponders. It can be understood that the number of acoustic transponders provided on the underwater speedometers provided in other embodiments can also be four, five or other numbers. The housing 210 has a receiving space (not shown in the figure), and the internal receiving space of the housing 210 is sufficient to accommodate a data processing module (not shown in the figure) and a power module (not shown in the figure), so as to ensure that the overall structure is compact and the functions are complete.

[0039] The at least three acoustic wave transponders are arranged in the accommodating space of the shell 210, and the transmitting ends of the at least three acoustic wave transponders are exposed on the front side 211 of the shell 210. The acoustic wave transponder usually includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter generates an acoustic wave signal and transmits it into the water; the receiver receives the echo signal of the target in the water. The end face of the transmitting end here can be the end face of the transmitter that transmits the acoustic wave signal, or it can be the end face shared by the transmitter and the receiver, that is, the transmitting signal can be both sent from the end face and received from the end face.

[0040] It should be noted that the “front” can be understood as the side that the underwater speed meter 200 faces when in working condition; it can also be understood as the side that the user can directly observe when the underwater speed meter 200 is in normal working condition and reflects the detection function; it can also be understood as the side that moves in the positive direction of the underwater propulsion device when the underwater speed meter 200 cooperates with any underwater propulsion device with movement capability. Specifically, if the housing 210 of the underwater speed meter 200 presents a structure that clearly has a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface, a rear surface, and a side surface, the “front” of the underwater speed meter 200 when in normal working condition should not be understood as the top surface or the bottom surface of the underwater speed meter 200. When the shell 210 of the underwater speedometer 200 cannot directly distinguish the top surface, bottom surface, back surface and side surface, such as using an arc-shaped integrated transition between at least two surfaces such as top surface + side surface or top surface + back surface or bottom surface + side surface or bottom surface + back surface or bottom surface + side surface + top surface, the "front" should be understood as the surface with detection function on the underwater speedometer 200. In addition, the "front" can be presented in a plane or an arc surface, or it can be presented as a combination of at least two planes or at least two arc surfaces or at least one plane and at least one arc surface. Specifically, Figure 5 and Figure 8 The front side 211 shown in FIG. 1 is a combined type.

[0041] Combination Figure 6 and Fig. 9 The front side 211 of the shell 210 can be understood as the side that the underwater speedometer 200 faces when in operation, and can also be understood as the side where the transmitting end of the acoustic wave transponder is located; compared with the acoustic waves sent by the traditional speedometer to the bottom of the underwater environment, which tend to be more vertical, the front side 211 mainly faces the horizontal direction, and the acoustic waves sent outward by the acoustic wave generator are also relatively more horizontal. And because the ends of at least three acoustic wave transponders are exposed on the front side 211 of the shell 210, the main detection surface of the underwater speedometer 200 is consistent with the forward direction of the robot body 300 in the underwater environment, and can fully meet the measurement of the longitudinal speed of the robot body 300 underwater, and provide high-precision speed information and distance information for the robot body 300. In addition, the shape of the shell 210 of the underwater speed meter 220 can be changed depending on the application scenario. When the underwater speed meter 200 is specifically installed on the robot body 300, the outer shape of the shell 210 can be designed to be as streamlined as possible to effectively reduce underwater resistance, improve navigation efficiency, and reduce interference with the propagation of sound wave signals.

[0042] The setting method of setting the transmitting end faces of any two adjacent acoustic wave transponders on the shell 210 in different directions can not only maintain the comprehensiveness of the detection, but also effectively avoid the situation where the detection area overlaps excessively. In the present application, the concept of adjacent refers to two things that are relatively close in space or plane, and there is no gap between the same things. For example, the second thing is set between the first thing and the third thing. When the plane center points of these three things are connected respectively, if the overall connection is presented as a straight line, then the second thing is in an adjacent relationship with the first thing and the third thing respectively; but because there is a gap between the first thing and the third thing, the first thing and the third thing do not constitute an adjacent relationship.

[0043] A conventional speedometer is usually equipped with four or more sonar units to realize the detection function. In this application, an underwater speedometer composed of three sonic transponders will be used as an example for explanation. Figure 1 , Figures 3 to 9 The underwater speedometer 200 includes a first acoustic transponder 231, a second acoustic transponder 232 and a third acoustic transponder 233. The second acoustic transponder 232 is disposed between the first acoustic transponder 231 and the third acoustic transponder 233, and the center points of the transmitting end surfaces of the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232 and the third acoustic transponder 233 are collinear.

[0044] The center points are collinear, which means that the center points of the transmitting end faces of the three acoustic transponders are all on the same straight line. The collinear display form can be that the three acoustic transponders are arranged in a straight line, or that the three acoustic transponders are arranged in a vertical line, or that the three acoustic transponders are arranged in a diagonal line. In this embodiment, the lines between the center points of the transmitting end faces of the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232, and the third acoustic transponder 233 are arranged in a straight line, and the second acoustic transponder 232 is adjacent to the first acoustic transponder 231 and the third acoustic transponder 233, respectively. However, due to the interval between the second acoustic transponder 232, the first acoustic transponder 231 and the third acoustic transponder 233 are not adjacent to each other. This layout method not only facilitates quick installation and maintenance, but also reduces the potential failure rate caused by complex design.

[0045] Specifically, the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the first acoustic wave transponder 231 and the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 233 are respectively different from the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the second acoustic wave transponder 232. In this embodiment, in view of the fact that the first acoustic wave transponder 231 and the third acoustic wave transponder 233 are not adjacent to each other, the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the first acoustic wave transponder 231 and the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 233 can be the same or different. The plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the second acoustic wave transponder 232 is located intersects with the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the first acoustic wave transponder 231 or the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 232 is located at an angle. For example, the second acoustic wave transponder 232 can be set to be inclined from the top of the housing 210 to the bottom of the housing 210, and the first acoustic wave transponder 231 and the third acoustic wave transponder 233 can be set to be inclined from the bottom of the housing 210 to the top of the housing 210. Three acoustic transponders are installed in a specific geometric layout in the housing 210. The angle range of the planes where the end faces of the transmitting ends of two adjacent acoustic transponders intersect is 20 to 130 degrees (for example, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, etc.). By setting the adjacent acoustic transponders at different inclination angles, not only can the coverage of the sound waves emitted by the underwater speed meter 200 be fully ensured to avoid excessive overlap of the detection area, but also the detection of the target to be detected located at the front 211 of the underwater speed meter 200 can be completed according to the echo situation, and multiple types of detection information data including distance, speed, etc. can be obtained. It can also effectively capture the fluctuation of water flow and provide effective reference information for the attitude adjustment of the underwater vehicle 100, such as dynamically adjusting the attitude of the underwater vehicle through the detection information provided by the underwater speed meter 200, so as to achieve the underwater vehicle 100 in a hovering state at a specific position in a flowing underwater environment.

[0046] Reference Figure 2, which is an underwater speedometer 200 provided in another embodiment of the utility model, three acoustic wave transponders are arranged in a triangular shape on the front side 211 of the underwater speedometer 200, that is, the lines between the center points of the transmitting end faces of the first acoustic wave transponder 231, the second acoustic wave transponder 232 and the third acoustic wave transponder 233 are arranged in a triangular shape. The triangularly arranged acoustic wave transponders can provide an almost all-round detection field of view for the underwater speedometer 200, ensuring that no matter what posture the aircraft is in, at least one acoustic wave transponder can receive sufficient echo signals, thereby maintaining a stable speed measurement capability in a complex environment. The triangular layout can accurately calculate the three-dimensional position and speed of the aircraft through the principle of multilateral measurement and the time difference of the sound waves reaching different modules. This method can effectively reduce the impact of the measurement error of a single acoustic wave transponder on the overall result and improve the accuracy of positioning and speed measurement. In this embodiment, for the situation that the three acoustic wave transponders are arranged in a triangle, the first acoustic wave transponder 231 can form an adjacent relationship with the second acoustic wave transponder 232 and the third acoustic wave transponder 233, and the second acoustic wave transponder 232 can also form an adjacent relationship with the third acoustic wave transponder 233. Therefore, the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the first acoustic wave transponder 231, the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the second acoustic wave transponder 232, and the end surface orientation of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 233 are all different. Specifically, the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the first acoustic wave transponder 231 is located, the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the second acoustic wave transponder 232 is located, and the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 233 is located all intersect at an angle, and the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the second acoustic wave transponder 232 is located and the plane where the end surface of the transmitting end of the third acoustic wave transponder 233 is located intersect at an angle.

[0047] In a further solution provided in this embodiment, the underwater speedometer 200 is also provided with a laser emitter for providing a reference size. Since a single laser emitter cannot provide a reference size, the number of laser emitters provided on the underwater speedometer 200 should be at least two, and each laser emitter is also arranged in parallel in the receiving space of the housing 210, and the lasers emitted by any two laser emitters should be parallel. The display form of the laser emitter on the underwater speedometer 200 can be that the emitting end of the laser emitter is exposed on the front face 211, or that an opening is provided on the front face 211 to allow the laser emitted by the laser emitter to pass through. It should be noted that a module or device having a function of providing a reference size and composed of at least two laser emitting units is also within the protection scope of this embodiment.

[0048] Reference Figure 5The underwater speed meter 200 is equipped with a first laser emitter 221 and a second laser emitter 222. The first laser emitter 221 is arranged on the other side of the first acoustic transponder 231 relative to the second acoustic transponder 232; the second laser emitter 222 is arranged on the other side of the third acoustic transponder 233 relative to the second acoustic transponder 232.

[0049] Reference Fig. 9 In another embodiment, the underwater speed meter 200 is equipped with a first laser emitter 221, a second laser emitter 222 and a third laser emitter 223; wherein the first laser emitter 221 is arranged on the other side of the first acoustic transponder 231 relative to the second acoustic transponder 232; the second laser emitter 222 is arranged on the other side of the third acoustic transponder 233 relative to the second acoustic transponder 232; the third laser emitter 223 is arranged above the second acoustic transponder 232, and the line connecting the center points of the first laser emitter 221, the second laser emitter 222 and the third laser emitter 223 forms a triangular area. In other embodiments, the first acoustic transponder, the second acoustic transponder and the third acoustic transponder are all in the triangular area formed by the line connecting the center points of the first laser emitter, the second laser emitter and the third laser emitter.

[0050] It should be noted that the above embodiment only shows a more preferred specific arrangement scheme. In the actual product, as long as it is ensured that the lasers emitted by at least two laser emitters are parallel, the position of each laser emitter in the actual product is not limited, and it can be set on the front or at any position of the shell. For example, the two laser emitters can be installed on the side wall, top or bottom of the shell of the underwater speedometer through a bracket or in an embedded form. When the underwater speedometer is used in conjunction with the robot body 300 for collaborative operation, at least two laser emitters can also be set on the robot body 300.

[0051] See also Figure 6The present embodiment provides an underwater vehicle 100, including a robot body 300 and an underwater speedometer 200 mounted on the robot body 300, wherein the underwater speedometer 200 is detachably mounted on the robot body 300; in the present embodiment, the robot body 300 has a shooting function and a fill light function. Specifically, the robot body 300 is provided with an illumination camera device 310 and two illumination devices 320, and the two illumination devices 320 are respectively arranged on both sides of the camera device 310. The camera device 310 is used to shoot the target to be measured, and the illumination device 320 is used to provide supplementary illumination to the camera device 310. By arranging the two illumination devices 250 on both sides of the camera device 240, the visibility of the underwater environment can be improved while the light shadow can be effectively reduced, which is very important for observation and operation in a dim or deep sea environment, and helps the camera device 240 to obtain clearer and more realistic image information.

[0052] See also Figure 7 In an underwater environment, when the robot body 300 needs to measure the target to be measured, the underwater speed meter 200 emits two parallel laser beams through the first laser emitter 221 and the second laser emitter 222. Assuming that the distance between the two parallel laser beams is L, the two laser beams form two points A and B on the surface of the object to be measured. The picture taken by the camera device 310 must contain point A and point B, and the actual distance between point A and point B is L; the size of the object to be measured is D, the image of the surface of the object to be measured is a known size M, and the size of the two points AB in the image is N. After the camera device 310 takes a picture of the object to be measured, it can use the two laser modules to fix the distance L according to the proportional relationship between the measured length and the distance formed by the pixel points to achieve the measurement of the size D of the object to be measured. During the measurement process, the entire test platform is little affected by the environment, has strong stability, and can easily achieve accurate measurement of the size of underwater objects; the proportional relationship can be D / L=M / N.

[0053] Reference Figure 3Another embodiment provides an underwater speedometer, which includes a first acoustic transponder 231, a second acoustic transponder 232, and a third acoustic transponder 233, as well as a camera 240 for photographing a target to be measured and an illumination device 250 for providing supplementary illumination; a first area 212b, a second area 213b, and two third areas 214b are provided on the front 211 of the housing 210; wherein the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232, and the third acoustic transponder 233 are arranged in the first area 212b; the camera 240 is arranged in the second area 213b; and the illumination device 250 is arranged in the third area 214b. The second area 213b is arranged below the first area 212b. In other embodiments, the second area may also be displayed above the first area. In order to provide supplementary lighting for the camera device 240, the third area 214b can be arranged relatively close to the second area 213b. The underwater speedometer 200 provided in this embodiment integrates detection, shooting and fill-in lighting functions. After the underwater speedometer 200 is connected and matched with the robot body 300 without the lighting device and the camera device, it is only necessary to ensure that there is a laser transmitter that provides a reference size on the robot body 300, or to additionally set a laser transmitter that can provide a reference size on the robot body 300. Then, the various functional parts integrated on the underwater speedometer 200 can be used to measure the longitudinal speed of the robot body 300 underwater. In addition, the detection data of the underwater speedometer 200 can be combined to further stabilize the posture of the robot body 300, so that the robot body 300 can maintain a hovering state at any designated position in the underwater environment.

[0054] Reference Figure 4, is an underwater speedometer provided in another embodiment. In addition to the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232 and the third acoustic transponder 233, the underwater speedometer 200 also includes a camera 240 for photographing the target to be measured, two lighting devices 250 for providing supplementary lighting, and at least two laser emitters. Specifically, a first area 212a and two second areas 213a located on both sides of the first area 212a are provided on the front 211 of the housing 210, and the first area 212a is located in the middle of the front 211 as a whole. The camera device 240, the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232 and the third acoustic transponder 233 are all arranged in the first area 212a; the first acoustic transponder 231, the second acoustic transponder 232 and the third acoustic transponder 233 are arranged above or below the camera device 240 in a straight line with the center points connected; the number of the lighting devices 250 and the laser emitters are both set to two; one lighting device 250 and the first laser emitter 221 are arranged in one second area 213a; and one lighting device 250 and the second laser emitter 222 are arranged in another second area 213a. In other embodiments, the first acoustic transponder, the second acoustic transponder and the third acoustic transponder with the center points connected in a straight line can also be arranged below the camera device. The underwater speedometer 200 provided in this embodiment integrates the functions of detection, shooting, fill light and providing reference size. The robot body 300 connected with it only needs to ensure that it has the ability to navigate underwater, and can measure the longitudinal speed of the robot body 300 underwater through the various functional parts integrated on the underwater speedometer 200. It can also combine the detection data of the underwater speedometer 200 to further stabilize the posture of the robot body 300, so that the robot body 300 can maintain a hovering state at any specified position in the underwater environment. In this way, not only can the design requirements of the robot body 300 be greatly simplified, but also the manufacturing cost of the robot body 300 can be further reduced.

[0055] It should be noted that the first area (212a, 212b), the second area (213a, 213b) and the third area 213b are artificially divided areas on the front side 211. Such area division is for explaining different parts and functional areas that may be provided on the front side 211 of the underwater speedometer 200, and should not limit the shape or structure of the front side 211 of the underwater speedometer 200.

[0056] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Fig. 9In one embodiment of the utility model, the underwater vehicle 100 includes a robot body 300, and the robot body 300 is provided with a plurality of thrusters 330, and the plurality of thrusters 330 work together to propel the robot body 300 to complete forward or backward movement, ascent or descent; the robot body 300 has a plurality of working modes, and the plurality of working modes are: hovering mode, longitudinal flipping motion mode, circumferential flipping motion mode, lateral flipping motion mode, and linear motion mode. The arrangement of the thrusters 330 is not limited, as long as the underwater vehicle can complete the forward or backward movement and / or the ascent or descent of the underwater vehicle can be realized.

[0057] Reference Figure 5 and Figure 8 The bottom surface of the shell 210 of the underwater speed meter 200 is also provided with a mounting structure 260, and the underwater speed meter 200 can be fixedly or movably mounted on the body of the robot body 300 through the mounting structure 260; in other embodiments, the mounting structure 260 can also be set at any position on the top surface, back surface and side surface of the shell 210. Figure 6 and Fig. 9 The underwater speedometer 200 is connected to the robot body 300 through the mounting structure 260, and the front 211 of the underwater speedometer 200 is oriented in the same direction as the front 211 of the robot body 300; the robot body 300 dynamically adjusts the posture of the robot body 300 according to the data measured by the underwater speedometer 200. In one embodiment, the mounting structure 260 is plug-in-matched with the robot body 300; in other embodiments, the mounting structure 260 is snap-fitted or threadedly matched with the robot body 300; and, based on the connection of the mounting structure 260, the connection method of the housing 210 of the underwater speedometer 200 and the outer shell of the robot body 300 is not limited to screw locking, snap-fitting, gluing, etc.

[0058] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Fig. 9In one embodiment, the underwater speedometer 200 is installed on the top of the robot body 300; in other embodiments, the underwater speedometer 200 can also be installed on the bottom or side of the robot body 300; unlike the prior art in which the underwater speedometer is installed on the bottom of the robot body 300, the sound waves sent by the underwater speedometer to the bottom of the underwater environment tend to be more vertical; in this solution, the three acoustic wave transponders face the front side of the robot body 300, and the sound waves sent outward by the acoustic wave generator tend to be more horizontal, so that the main detection surface of the underwater speedometer is consistent with the forward direction of the robot body 300. And by adjusting the end faces of the transmitting ends of two adjacent acoustic wave transponders to face different designs, the problem of excessive overlap of the detection area is effectively avoided; and because the ends of the three acoustic wave transponders are exposed on the front 211 of the shell 210, it can meet the measurement of the longitudinal speed of the robot body 300 underwater, and provide high-precision speed information and distance information for the robot body 300.

[0059] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the utility model, and does not limit the patent scope of the utility model. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the utility model specification and drawings under the concept of the utility model, or directly / indirectly used in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the utility model.

Claims

1. An underwater speed meter, characterized in that: include: A shell and at least three acoustic wave transponders, wherein the shell has a receiving space, the at least three acoustic wave transponders are arranged in the receiving space, the transmitting ends of the at least three acoustic wave transponders are all exposed on the front side of the shell, and the end faces of the transmitting ends of any two adjacent acoustic wave transponders are in different directions.

2. The underwater speed meter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The underwater speedometer includes a first sonic transponder, a second sonic transponder and a third sonic transponder, wherein the second sonic transponder is arranged between the first sonic transponder and the third sonic transponder, and the center points of the transmitting end faces of the first sonic transponder, the second sonic transponder and the third sonic transponder are collinear.

3. The underwater speed meter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The connecting lines between the end face center point of the first acoustic wave transponder, the end face center point of the second acoustic wave transponder and the transmission end face center point of the third acoustic wave transponder are arranged in a straight line.

4. The underwater speed meter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The end faces of the transmitting ends of the first acoustic wave transponder and the third acoustic wave transponder are oriented in different directions.

5. The underwater speed meter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter includes a first sonic transponder, a second sonic transponder and a third sonic transponder, and the lines connecting the center points of the transmitting end surfaces of the first sonic transponder, the second sonic transponder and the third sonic transponder are arranged in a triangle.

6. The underwater speed meter according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter also includes at least two laser emitters for providing reference dimensions, wherein the laser emitters are arranged in the receiving space of the shell; and the emission ends of the laser emitters are exposed on the front side of the shell.

7. The underwater speed meter according to claim 6, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter includes a first laser transmitter and a second laser transmitter. The first laser transmitter is arranged on the other side of the first acoustic wave transponder relative to the second acoustic wave transponder; the second laser transmitter is arranged on the other side of the third acoustic wave transponder relative to the second acoustic wave transponder.

8. The underwater speed meter according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of the laser emitters is three, and a line connecting the center points of the three laser emitters forms a triangle.

9. The underwater speed measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter also includes a camera device for photographing the target to be measured; a first area and a second area are opened on the front of the shell; the first acoustic wave transponder, the second acoustic wave transponder and the third acoustic wave transponder are arranged in the first area; the camera device is arranged in the second area; the second area is arranged above or below the first area.

10. The underwater speed meter according to claim 9, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter also includes a lighting device for providing supplementary lighting; a third area is also opened on the front of the shell; the lighting device is arranged in the third area, and the third area is arranged close to the second area.

11. The underwater speed measuring device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The underwater speedometer further comprises a camera for photographing a target to be measured, two lighting devices for providing supplementary illumination, and two laser transmitters for providing reference dimensions; the front of the housing comprises a first area in the middle and two second areas symmetrically arranged on both sides of the first area, the camera, the first acoustic wave transponder, the second acoustic wave transponder, and the third acoustic wave transponder are all arranged in the first area; the camera is arranged above or below the first acoustic wave transponder, the second acoustic wave transponder, and the third acoustic wave transponder; The number of the lighting devices and the number of the laser emitters are both set to two; one lighting device and one laser emitter are arranged in each of the second areas.

12. The underwater speed meter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The underwater speed meter also has a mounting structure for connecting with the robot body, and the mounting structure can be arranged at any position on the top surface, bottom surface, back surface and side surface of the shell.

13. An underwater vehicle, characterized in that: include: An underwater speed meter as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12; and The robot body, the underwater speedometer is fixedly or movably mounted on the body of the robot body, the front orientation of the underwater speedometer is consistent with the front orientation of the robot body; the robot body dynamically adjusts the posture of the robot body according to the data measured by the underwater speedometer.

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