Buoyancy adjusting device and underwater glider
By designing a buoyancy adjustment device, the expansion bag is stored and folded by the sliding rod and connecting plate structure of the expansion mechanism, which solves the problem that the expansion bag of traditional underwater gliders cannot be stored, and achieves the effects of volume reduction, portability and safety improvement, and buoyancy controllability.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421912965.3
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-08-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-13
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-08-08
AI Technical Summary
When traditional underwater gliders do not require additional buoyancy, the expansion bag cannot be effectively stored, resulting in the overall volume not being reduced, it is prone to collision with the ship, inconvenient storage and transportation, and poor buoyancy regulation.
A buoyancy adjustment device is designed, including a mounting frame, an infusion mechanism and an expansion mechanism. The expansion mechanism can accommodate and fold the expansion bladder by spring resetting after the buoyancy liquid is discharged, thereby significantly reducing the volume.
The effective storage of the expansion bag is achieved, which significantly reduces the overall volume, enhances portability and safety, improves the controllability of buoyancy adjustment, and reduces the risk of collision with the ship.
Smart Images
Figure CN222859706U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of underwater gliders, in particular to a buoyancy regulating device and an underwater glider. Background Art
[0002] As an important ocean observation tool, underwater gliders have played an increasingly critical role in marine scientific research in recent years. They are capable of long-term and long-distance autonomous navigation and collecting marine environmental data such as temperature, salinity, depth, etc., which is crucial for understanding global climate change, marine ecology and ocean dynamics. Traditional underwater gliders mainly achieve gliding motion by changing their own buoyancy and counterweight, and combine rudder control to perform horizontal steering, thereby achieving maneuverable navigation in three-dimensional space.
[0003] In recent years, some underwater glider designs have emerged that use inflation bladder technology. These inflation bladders are filled with buoyancy fluid when the glider needs to increase buoyancy, thereby helping the glider rise to the water surface. When additional buoyancy is not needed, the buoyancy fluid in the inflation bladder is retracted, but the inflation bladder only becomes flat and cannot be stored, so the overall volume is not reduced much. If the volume is not reduced, it is easy to collide with passing ships, and it is inconvenient to store and transport, and the buoyancy is not reduced well. Utility Model Content
[0004] Based on this, the purpose of the utility model is to provide a buoyancy regulating device and underwater glider that can fold and retract the inflation bladder when not in use, significantly reducing the overall volume, enhancing its portability and safety as well as the controllability of buoyancy regulation.
[0005] The utility model provides the following technical solutions:
[0006] A buoyancy regulating device is used in an underwater glider, the buoyancy regulating device comprises a mounting frame, a liquid infusion mechanism arranged in the mounting frame, and a plurality of expansion mechanisms arranged on the mounting frame, the liquid infusion mechanism is used to convey buoyancy liquid into the expansion mechanism or convey the buoyancy liquid in the expansion mechanism back;
[0007] The expansion mechanism includes a fixed plate fixedly connected to the mounting frame, a plurality of sliding rods slidably connected to the mounting frame, a connecting plate fixedly connected to the sliding rods, an expansion bag arranged between the fixed plate and the connecting plate, and an elastic member arranged between the sliding rods and the mounting frame, wherein the expansion bag is connected to the infusion mechanism.
[0008] Furthermore, the installation frame is a hollow structure with a partition disposed inside, and the inner cavity of the installation frame is divided into a first cavity and a second cavity by the partition, the expansion mechanism is located in the second cavity, and the infusion mechanism is located in the first cavity.
[0009] Furthermore, the infusion mechanism includes a liquid storage cylinder arranged in the mounting frame, a piston rod slidably connected to the liquid storage cylinder, an infusion tube arranged on the liquid storage cylinder, and a driving assembly for driving the piston rod to move, and the infusion tube is connected to the expansion bag.
[0010] Furthermore, the driving assembly includes a motor arranged in the installation frame, a screw rod arranged on the output shaft of the motor, and a threaded sleeve threadably connected to the screw rod, and the threaded sleeve is fixedly connected to the piston rod.
[0011] Furthermore, a support is provided in the installation frame, and the support is rotatably connected to an end of the screw rod away from the motor.
[0012] Furthermore, the buoyancy regulating device also includes a plurality of buoyancy-increasing mechanisms, which include a plurality of brackets arranged on the mounting frame, a rotating plate rotatably connected to the brackets, a torsion spring connected between the rotating plate and the brackets, and the rotating plate cooperates with the connecting plate.
[0013] An underwater glider comprises the above-mentioned buoyancy regulating device.
[0014] The beneficial effect of the utility model is that after the oil is discharged from the expansion bag, the spring is reset to move the connecting plate toward the inside of the installation frame, and the connecting plate stores and folds the expansion bag, thereby significantly reducing the volume of the expansion bag, which is convenient for transportation and storage, and the area in contact with water is also reduced, thereby significantly reducing the buoyancy, achieving good buoyancy controllability, and by storing the expansion bag, passing ships are not likely to collide with the expansion bag, thereby increasing safety performance, and in addition, when the expansion bag expands and drives the connecting plate to move toward the outside of the installation frame, the connecting plate will push the rotating plate to rotate and unfold, the torsion spring will deform, and the rotating plate will unfold to contact water with a larger area, thereby increasing buoyancy and further increasing buoyancy controllability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the utility model.
[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal three-dimensional structure of the installation frame of the utility model.
[0017] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the infusion mechanism of the utility model.
[0018] Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the expansion mechanism of the utility model.
[0019] Figure 5 It is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the buoyancy-increasing mechanism of the utility model.
[0020] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the first cavity and the second cavity of the utility model.
[0021] The marks in the accompanying drawings are: 1-glider body, 2-installation frame, 21-first cavity, 22-second cavity, 3-infusion mechanism, 31-liquid storage cylinder, 32-piston rod, 33-motor, 34-screw, 35-threaded sleeve, 36-support, 37-infusion tube, 4-expansion mechanism, 41-fixed plate, 42-expansion bag, 43-connecting plate, 44-sliding rod, 45-spring, 5-floatation mechanism, 51-bracket, 52-rotating plate, 53-torsion spring, 6-partition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the present invention will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. Several embodiments of the present invention are given in the drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present invention more thorough and comprehensive.
[0023] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only.
[0024] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art in the technical field of the present invention. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items.
[0025] A buoyancy regulating device is used in an underwater glider, such as Figure 1-Figure 2As shown, the buoyancy regulating device comprises a mounting frame 2, a liquid infusion mechanism 3 arranged in the mounting frame 2, and a plurality of expansion mechanisms 4 arranged on the mounting frame 2. In this embodiment, two expansion mechanisms 4 are arranged, which are distributed on both sides of the mounting frame 2. The liquid infusion mechanism 3 is used to transport the buoyancy liquid into the expansion mechanism 4 or to transport the buoyancy liquid in the expansion mechanism 4 back;
[0026] It can be understood that the buoyancy regulating device is installed on the glider body 1, and the mounting frame 2 is used to install the infusion mechanism 3 and the expansion mechanism 4. The infusion mechanism 3 stores oil, that is, buoyancy liquid, and the expansion mechanism 4 is used to adjust the buoyancy. However, when the infusion mechanism 3 inputs the oil into the expansion mechanism 4, the buoyancy of the buoyancy regulating device will increase. At this time, the buoyancy is greater than the gravity, and the buoyancy regulating device will drive the glider body 1 to move toward the water surface. When the infusion mechanism 3 inputs the oil back from the expansion mechanism 4, the gravity is greater than the buoyancy, and the glider body 1 will move underwater.
[0027] like Figure 4 As shown, the expansion mechanism 4 includes a fixed plate 41 fixedly connected to the mounting frame 2, a plurality of slide rods 44 slidably connected to the mounting frame 2, in this embodiment, the number of the slide rods 44 is two, a connecting plate 43 fixedly connected between the two slide rods 44, an expansion bag 42 arranged between the fixed plate 41 and the connecting plate 43, and an elastic member arranged between the slide rod 44 and the mounting frame 2, the expansion bag 42 is connected to the infusion mechanism 3, and the elastic member is a spring 45.
[0028] It can be understood that when the infusion mechanism 3 inputs oil into the expansion mechanism 4, the oil will first enter the expansion bag 42 through the infusion tube 37. At this time, the expansion bag 42 expands, and the expansion of the expansion bag 42 will push the connecting plate 43 to move to the outside of the installation frame 2. The connecting plate 43 drives the slide bar 44 to slide, and the spring 45 is compressed. At this time, the expansion drainage area of the expansion bag 42 will increase, and the buoyancy will be greater than the gravity. At this time, the glider body 1 will glide toward the water surface. When the glider body 1 needs to dive underwater, the operator re-operates the infusion mechanism 3, and the infusion mechanism 3 sucks back the oil in the expansion bag 42. The oil will enter the infusion tube 37 from the expansion bag 42 and then return to the infusion mechanism 3. At this time, the spring 45 will reset, and the reset of the spring 45 drives the slide bar 44 to the inside of the installation frame 2. The glider body 1 will glide underwater. At the same time, after the expansion bag 42 discharges the oil, it is reset by the spring 45, so that the connecting plate 43 moves to the inside of the installation frame 2. The connecting plate 43 stores and folds the expansion bag 42, thereby significantly reducing the volume of the expansion bag 42, which is convenient for transportation and storage, and the area in contact with water will also be reduced, thereby significantly reducing the buoyancy, achieving good buoyancy controllability, and by storing the expansion bag 42, it is not easy for passing ships to collide with the expansion bag 42, thereby increasing safety performance.
[0029] like Figure 6 As shown, the mounting frame 2 is a hollow structure with a partition 6 disposed inside. The inner cavity of the mounting frame 2 is divided into a first cavity 21 and a second cavity 22 by the partition 6. The expansion mechanism 4 is located in the second cavity 22, and the infusion mechanism 3 is located in the first cavity 21.
[0030] It can be understood that the first cavity 21 is a sealed cavity, which can prevent water from entering the first cavity 21 and causing damage to the infusion mechanism 3.
[0031] like Figure 3 As shown, the infusion mechanism 3 includes a liquid storage cylinder 31 arranged in the mounting frame 2, a piston rod 32 slidably connected to the liquid storage cylinder 31, an infusion tube 37 arranged on the liquid storage cylinder 31, and a driving assembly for driving the piston rod 32 to move, and the infusion tube 37 is connected to the expansion bag 42.
[0032] It can be understood that when the operator needs to inject oil into the expansion bag 42, the operator can start the driving assembly, and the driving assembly will drive the piston rod 32 to move in the direction close to the expansion mechanism 4. The piston rod 32 injects the oil in the liquid storage cylinder 31 into the expansion bag 42 through the infusion tube 37. When the oil in the expansion bag 42 needs to be returned, the operator can start the driving assembly, and the driving assembly will drive the piston rod 32 to move away from the expansion mechanism 4. When the piston rod 32 moves away from the expansion mechanism 4, negative pressure will be generated, and the oil in the expansion bag 42 will be sucked back into the liquid storage cylinder 31 through the infusion tube 37.
[0033] The driving assembly includes a motor 33 disposed in the mounting frame 2 , a screw rod 34 disposed on the output shaft of the motor 33 , and a threaded sleeve 35 threadedly connected to the screw rod 34 , wherein the threaded sleeve 35 is fixedly connected to the piston rod 32 .
[0034] It can be understood that by the operator remotely starting the motor 33, the output shaft of the motor 33 rotates forward to drive the screw 34 to rotate forward, and the forward rotation of the screw 34 will drive the threaded sleeve 35 to drive the piston rod 32 to move in the direction close to the expansion mechanism 4 to inject oil into the expansion bag 42. The operator can also remotely control the motor 33 to reverse the output shaft of the motor 33. The reversal of the output shaft of the motor 33 will drive the screw 34 to reverse, and the reversal of the screw 34 will drive the threaded sleeve 35 to move in the direction away from the expansion mechanism 4. At this time, the piston rod 32 sucks the oil in the expansion bag 42 back.
[0035] A support 36 is further disposed in the installation frame 2 , and the support 36 is rotatably connected to an end of the screw rod 34 away from the motor 33 .
[0036] Among them, through the setting of the support 36, when the motor 33 drives the screw 34 to rotate, the rotation of the screw 34 will be more stable, and the radial shaking of the screw 34 during rotation can be prevented.
[0037] like Figure 5 As shown, the buoyancy regulating device also includes a plurality of flotation-increasing mechanisms 5, which correspond to the expansion mechanisms 4. The flotation-increasing mechanisms 5 include a plurality of brackets 51 arranged on the mounting frame 2, a rotating plate 52 rotatably connected to the brackets 51, a torsion spring 53 connected between the rotating plate 52 and the brackets 51, and the rotating plate 52 cooperates with the connecting plate 43.
[0038] It can be understood that when the expansion bag 42 expands and drives the connecting plate 43 to move toward the outside of the installation frame 2, the connecting plate 43 will push the rotating plate 52 to rotate and expand, and the torsion spring 53 will deform. The rotating plate 52 will expand to contact the water with a larger area, thereby increasing the buoyancy. When the expansion bag 42 retracts the connecting plate 43 to move toward the inside of the installation frame 2, the torsion spring 53 will be reset from the deformed state. The reset of the torsion spring 53 will drive the rotating plate 52 to retract from the expanded state, thereby reducing the buoyancy.
[0039] An underwater glider comprises the buoyancy regulating device as described above.
[0040] To sum up, after the oil is discharged through the expansion bag 42, the spring 45 is reset, so that the connecting plate 43 moves toward the inside of the installation frame 2, and the connecting plate 43 stores and folds the expansion bag 42, so that the volume of the expansion bag 42 will be significantly reduced, which is convenient for transportation and storage, and the area in contact with water will also be reduced, so that the buoyancy is significantly reduced, and the buoyancy controllability is good. By storing the expansion bag 42, passing ships are not likely to collide with the expansion bag 42, thereby increasing safety performance. In addition, when the expansion bag 42 expands and drives the connecting plate 43 to move toward the outside of the installation frame 2, the connecting plate 43 will push the rotating plate 52 to rotate and unfold, and the torsion spring 53 is deformed. The rotating plate 52 unfolds to contact water with a larger area, thereby increasing the buoyancy and further increasing the buoyancy controllability.
[0041] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.
[0042] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the utility model, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the patent of the utility model. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this field, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the utility model, and these all belong to the protection scope of the utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of the utility model patent shall be based on the attached claims.
Claims
1. A buoyancy regulating device, used in an underwater glider, characterized in that: The buoyancy regulating device comprises a mounting frame, a liquid infusion mechanism arranged in the mounting frame, and a plurality of expansion mechanisms arranged on the mounting frame, wherein the liquid infusion mechanism is used to convey the buoyancy liquid into the expansion mechanism or to convey the buoyancy liquid in the expansion mechanism back; The expansion mechanism includes a fixed plate fixedly connected to the mounting frame, a plurality of sliding rods slidably connected to the mounting frame, a connecting plate fixedly connected to the sliding rods, an expansion bag arranged between the fixed plate and the connecting plate, and an elastic member arranged between the sliding rods and the mounting frame, wherein the expansion bag is connected to the infusion mechanism.
2. The buoyancy regulating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The installation frame is a hollow structure with a partition disposed inside. The inner cavity of the installation frame is divided into a first cavity and a second cavity by the partition. The expansion mechanism is located in the second cavity, and the infusion mechanism is located in the first cavity.
3. The buoyancy regulating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The infusion mechanism includes a liquid storage cylinder arranged in the installation frame, a piston rod slidably connected to the liquid storage cylinder, an infusion tube arranged on the liquid storage cylinder, and a driving component for driving the piston rod to move, and the infusion tube is connected to the expansion bag.
4. The buoyancy regulating device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The driving assembly includes a motor arranged in the installation frame, a screw rod arranged on the output shaft of the motor, and a threaded sleeve threadably connected to the screw rod, wherein the threaded sleeve is fixedly connected to the piston rod.
5. The buoyancy regulating device according to claim 4, characterized in that: A support is also provided in the installation frame, and the support is rotatably connected to an end of the screw rod away from the motor.
6. The buoyancy regulating device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The buoyancy regulating device also includes a plurality of buoyancy-increasing mechanisms, which include a plurality of brackets arranged on the mounting frame, a rotating plate rotatably connected to the brackets, a torsion spring connected between the rotating plate and the brackets, and the rotating plate cooperates with the connecting plate.
7. An underwater glider, characterized in that: The underwater glider comprises a buoyancy regulating device as described in any one of claims 1-6.