Submarine cable inspection system based on ROV

Abstract

The utility model relates to the field of underwater robots, in particular to a submarine cable inspection system based on an ROV, which comprises an underwater robot, a clamping mechanism and an underwater beacon, the clamping mechanism comprises a shell, a first clamping part and a second clamping part, the first clamping part and the second clamping part are oppositely arranged, the underwater beacon is installed in the shell, and the underwater beacon is installed in the shell. The first clamping part and the second clamping part are arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the shell respectively, the first clamping part is used for clamping an underwater robot, the second clamping part is used for clamping a submarine cable, the first clamping part and the second clamping part are linked with each other, when the first clamping part is closed, the second clamping part is loosened, and when the second clamping part is closed, the first clamping part is loosened. According to the embodiment of the utility model, the underwater beacon is clamped at the fault position of the submarine cable through the clamping mechanism, and the maintenance personnel or the maintenance robot is accurately guided to go to the fault position of the submarine cable by sending sound waves or RFID signals in real time.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of underwater robot, concretely relates to a seabed cable inspection system based on ROV. BACKGROUND

[0002] Seabed cable plays a vital role in modern communication, energy transmission, with the laying scale of seabed cable increasing year by year, cable failure, aging and other problems are inevitable, bring challenge to the stability of communication and energy supply, the traditional seabed cable fault detection and repair method usually relies on artificial diver or large equipment, the repair process is both time-consuming and high-risk, in order to improve the efficiency and safety of cable inspection, underwater robot technology emerges as the times require.

[0003] Underwater robot can regularly monitor cable condition, and find potential problems in real time, but it is difficult to realize accurate positioning underwater, and the fault position of seabed cable recorded by underwater robot may have large deviation from the actual position, so secondary inspection work needs to be carried out around the fault position reported by underwater robot during subsequent maintenance, so as to accurately find the fault position of seabed cable, resulting in low maintenance efficiency of seabed cable. UTILITARIAN CONTENT

[0004] The utility model aims at providing a seabed cable inspection system based on ROV to solve the problem that it is difficult to realize accurate positioning underwater and difficult to accurately guide maintenance personnel or maintenance robot to the fault position of seabed cable.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the utility model provides the following technical scheme:

[0006] A seabed cable inspection system based on ROV, comprising: underwater robot, clamping mechanism and underwater beacon, the clamping mechanism comprises a shell, and oppositely arranged first clamping part and second clamping part, the underwater beacon is installed in the interior of the shell, the first clamping part and the second clamping part are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the shell respectively, the first clamping part is used for clamping the underwater robot, the second clamping part is used for clamping seabed cable, the first clamping part and the second clamping part are linked with each other, when the first clamping part is closed, the second clamping part is loosened, when the second clamping part is closed, the first clamping part is loosened.

[0007] Further, the clamping mechanism comprises a rotary driver, a screw rod and a nut, the rotary driver is installed at the bottom of the underwater robot, the screw rod is rotatably installed inside the shell, the nut is movably sleeved on the screw rod, the execution part of the rotary driver is fixedly connected with a wrench, the wrench is in transmission connection with the screw rod, the nut is in transmission connection with the first clamping part and the second clamping part, when the nut moves in one direction, the first clamping part is closed and the second clamping part is loosened, when the nut moves in the other direction, the second clamping part is closed and the first clamping part is loosened.

[0008] Further, after the first clamping part is loosened, the wrench and the screw rod can be separated along the axial direction of the screw rod.

[0009] Further, the clamping mechanism further comprises two transmission rods, the two transmission rods are symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the nut and are constrained inside the shell, so that the two ends of the two transmission rods can swing up and down, wherein the ends of the two transmission rods close to each other are in rotation connection with the nut, and the ends of the two transmission rods away from each other are respectively connected with the first clamping part and the second clamping part, when the nut moves up and down along the axial direction of the screw rod, the ends of the two transmission rods away from each other swing up and down, and drive the first clamping part and the second clamping part to close or loosen.

[0010] Further, the shell comprises two protrusions clamped on the upper and lower sides of the middle parts of the two transmission rods, the surface of the protrusions facing the transmission rods is a circular arc surface and is in surface contact with the transmission rods, so that the two ends of the two transmission rods connected with each other can swing up and down.

[0011] Further, the two transmission rods are in rotation connection with the nut, and the connection axis of the transmission rod and the nut is perpendicular to the axial direction of the screw rod.

[0012] Further, the screw rod is an internal hexagonal bolt, the internal hexagonal bolt is installed inside the shell through a bearing and a snap spring, so that the internal hexagonal bolt can rotate but cannot move axially, the wrench is a hexagonal wrench, and the rotary driver is a motor, the output shaft of the motor is coaxially fixedly connected with the hexagonal wrench, and the motor is fixedly connected to the bottom of the underwater robot.

[0013] Further, the first clamping part comprises two first curved rods, the two first curved rods are fixedly connected to the two transmission rods respectively and extend towards the underwater robot, top portions of the two first curved rods are bent towards each other, the top portions of the first curved rods are provided with a plurality of teeth, the bottom of the underwater robot is provided with a suspension, both sides of the suspension are provided with a plurality of insertion holes, the teeth can be inserted into the insertion holes, so that the first clamping part is stably connected with the suspension.

[0014] Further, the top of the shell is provided with a permanent magnet for adsorbing and connecting the suspension.

[0015] Further, the second clamping part comprises two second curved rods, the two second curved rods are fixedly connected to the two transmission rods respectively and extend away from the underwater robot, bottom portions of the two second curved rods are bent towards each other, when the two second curved rods are closed, the two second curved rods and the shell surround an isosceles triangle shape around the submarine cable, so that the submarine cable with any diameter can be contacted by the two second curved rods and the shell at the same time, thereby completing three-point clamping.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following beneficial effects:

[0017] The submarine cable inspection system based on the ROV is provided, and the underwater beacon is clamped at the fault position of the submarine cable by the clamping mechanism, the maintenance personnel or the maintenance robot is accurately guided to the fault position of the submarine cable by sending the sound wave or the RFID signal in real time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or the prior art description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only exemplary, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from the provided drawings without creative labor.

[0019] Figure 1 It is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a front view of one working condition of the embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 3 It is a front view of another working condition of the embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 4A-A direction sectional view of the embodiment of the utility model for clamping mechanism's side view;

[0023] Figure 5 For Figure 4 A-A direction sectional view of the embodiment of the utility model for clamping mechanism's side view;

[0024] Figure 6 For Figure 4 A-A direction sectional view of the embodiment of the utility model for clamping mechanism's side view;

[0025] The reference numerals in the drawings represent the following respectively:

[0026] 1-underwater robot;11-hanging bracket;111-jack;2-casing;21-bulge;22-permanent magnet;3-clamping mechanism;31-first clamping part;311-first curved rod;312-inserted tooth;32-second clamping part;321-second curved rod;33-rotary driver;331-wrench;34-screw rod;35-nut;36-transmission rod;4-sea cable. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the utility model will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the utility model, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the utility model.

[0028] In order to locate the fault more efficiently and accurately, a kind of sea cable inspection system based on ROV is proposed below, and the scheme involves the cooperative work of underwater robot 1 and underwater beacon, and underwater robot 1 is autonomously inspected along sea cable 4, the state of cable is detected by various sensors, when detecting that cable appears fault or anomaly, inspection robot underwater beacon is fixed at fault position, and underwater beacon is activated, inspection robot subsequently returns along original route, and fault information is conveyed to maintenance personnel by uploading data, underwater beacon continuously emits sound wave signal or RFID signal, to provide navigation service for subsequent maintenance work, and maintenance personnel can accurately find fault position according to the signal emitted by underwater beacon, to greatly improve the cooperative efficiency of inspection and repair work.

[0029] Specifically, combined with Figure 1, the submarine cable inspection system comprises an underwater robot 1, a clamping mechanism 3 and an underwater beacon, the clamping mechanism 3 comprises a shell 2, and oppositely arranged first and second clamping portions 31, 32, the underwater beacon is installed inside the shell 2, the underwater beacon is not shown in the figure, the first and second clamping portions 31, 32 are arranged on the upper and lower sides of the shell 2 respectively, the first clamping portion 31 is used for clamping the underwater robot 1, and the second clamping portion 32 is used for clamping the submarine cable 4; the first and second clamping portions 31, 32 are linked with each other, when the first clamping portion 31 is closed, the second clamping portion 32 is released, and when the second clamping portion 32 is closed, the first clamping portion 31 is released.

[0030] Reference Figure 2 During the inspection process, the shell 2 and the underwater beacon are attached to the bottom of the underwater robot 1 through the first clamping portion 31 and move along the submarine cable 4 with the underwater robot 1, when the underwater robot 1 detects a fault position of the submarine cable 4, the underwater robot 1 moves directly above the submarine cable 4 and moves downward, so that the second clamping portion 32 wraps the submarine cable 4, then Figure 3 When the second clamping portion 32 is closed, the first clamping portion 31 is released, so that the shell 2 and the underwater beacon are transferred from the underwater robot 1 to the submarine cable 4, then the underwater beacon is activated, and the underwater robot 1 returns along the original route or continues to inspect.

[0031] Optionally, referring to Figure 4 、 Figure 5 and Figure 6 , the clamping mechanism 3 comprises a rotary driver 33, a screw rod 34 and a nut 35, the rotary driver 33 is installed at the bottom of the underwater robot 1, the screw rod 34 is rotatably installed inside the shell 2, the nut 35 is movably sleeved on the screw rod 34, the execution part of the rotary driver 33 is fixedly connected with a wrench 331, the wrench 331 is in transmission connection with the screw rod 34, and the nut 35 is in transmission connection with the first and second clamping portions 31, 32.

[0032] When the rotary driver 33 works, the screw rod 34 is driven to rotate by the wrench 331, and the nut 35 moves up and down along the axis of the screw rod 34, when the nut 35 moves in one direction, the first clamping portion 31 is closed and the second clamping portion 32 is released, when the nut 35 moves in the other direction, the second clamping portion 32 is closed and the first clamping portion 31 is released, when the first clamping portion 31 is released and the underwater robot 1 moves upward, the wrench 331 and the screw rod 34 can be separated without any hindrance.

[0033] Further, the clamping mechanism 3 further comprises two transmission rods 36, which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the nut 35 and are constrained inside the shell 2, so that both ends of the two transmission rods 36 can swing up and down, wherein the ends of the two transmission rods 36 close to each other are rotationally connected with the nut 35, and the ends of the two transmission rods 36 away from each other are respectively connected with the first clamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32, when the nut 35 moves up and down along the axis of the screw rod 34, the ends of the two transmission rods 36 away from each other swing up and down, and drive the first clamping part 31 and the second clamping part 32 to close or loosen.

[0034] Specifically, referring to Figure 5 , the shell 2 comprises two protrusions 21 clamped on the upper and lower sides of the middle part of the two transmission rods 36, and the side of the protrusion 21 facing the transmission rod 36 is a circular arc surface and is in surface contact with the transmission rod 36, so that the two ends of the two transmission rods 36 connected with each other can swing up and down, the two transmission rods 36 are rotationally connected with the nut 35, and the connection axis of the transmission rod 36 and the nut 35 is perpendicular to the axis of the screw rod 34.

[0035] Preferably, referring to Figure 6 , the screw rod 34 adopts an internal hexagonal bolt, which is fixed inside the shell 2 through a bearing and a circlip, so that the internal hexagonal bolt can rotate but cannot move axially, and the bearing and the circlip are not shown in the figure.

[0036] The wrench 331 adopts a hexagonal wrench, and the rotary driver 33 adopts a motor, the output shaft of the motor is coaxially fixedly connected with the hexagonal wrench, and the motor is fixedly connected to the bottom of the underwater robot 1, after the wrench 331 is separated from the screw rod 34, the motor returns with the underwater robot 1.

[0037] Preferably, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 4 , the first clamping part 31 comprises two first curved rods 311, which are respectively fixedly connected to the two transmission rods 36 and extend towards the underwater robot 1, and the top of the two first curved rods 311 bends towards each other, the top of the first curved rod 311 is provided with a plurality of splines 312, the bottom of the underwater robot 1 is provided with a suspension 11, the two sides of the suspension 11 are provided with a plurality of insertion holes 111, the splines 312 can be inserted into the insertion holes 111, so that the first clamping part 31 is stably connected with the suspension 11.

[0038] The insertion holes 111 are arranged at equal intervals along the length direction of the suspension 11, and the length of the suspension 11 is greater than the length of the shell 2, so that one underwater robot 1 can carry multiple clamping mechanisms 3 and multiple beacons, and the motor is fixedly connected to the suspension 11.

[0039] Preferably, referring to Figure 2 andFigure 3 The second clamping part 32 comprises two second curved rods 321, which are respectively fixedly connected to the two transmission rods 36 and extend towards the direction away from the underwater robot 1, and the bottom of the two second curved rods 321 is curved towards the direction close to each other. After the two second curved rods 321 are closed, the two second curved rods 321 and the shell 2 surround an isosceles triangle shape around the submarine cable 4, so that the submarine cable 4 with any diameter can be simultaneously contacted by the two second curved rods 321 and the shell 2, thereby completing the stable three-point clamping.

[0040] On the other hand, in order to safely install the clamping assembly on the bottom of the underwater robot 1 and avoid the movement of the clamping assembly from injuring the operator during the installation process, the top of the shell 2 is provided with a permanent magnet 22 for adsorbing the suspension 11. After the operator installs the shell 2 on the bottom of the suspension 11 and connects the wrench 331 with the screw rod 34, the operator can move away from the clamping assembly. By remotely controlling the underwater robot 1 to make the motor work, the first clamping part 31 is stably connected with the suspension 11, thereby eliminating the safety hazard.

[0041] The above embodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present application and are not used to limit the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is defined by the claims. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or equivalent replacements to the present application within the spirit and protection scope of the present application, and such modifications or equivalent replacements should also be regarded as falling within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A submarine cable inspection system based on ROV, characterized in that, include: The underwater robot (1), the clamping mechanism (3), and the underwater beacon are provided. The clamping mechanism (3) includes a housing (2) and a first clamping part (31) and a second clamping part (32) arranged opposite to each other. The underwater beacon is installed inside the housing (2). The first clamping part (31) and the second clamping part (32) are respectively arranged on the upper and lower sides of the housing (2). The first clamping part (31) is used to clamp the underwater robot (1), and the second clamping part (32) is used to clamp the submarine cable (4). The first clamping part (31) and the second clamping part (32) are linked together. When the first clamping part (31) is closed, the second clamping part (32) is released. When the second clamping part (32) is closed, the first clamping part (31) is released.

2. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The clamping mechanism (3) includes a rotary driver (33), a screw (34), and a nut (35). The rotary driver (33) is installed at the bottom of the underwater robot (1). The screw (34) is rotatably installed inside the housing (2). The nut (35) is mounted on the screw (34) in a lifting manner. A wrench (331) is fixedly connected to the actuator of the rotary driver (33). The wrench (331) is operatively connected to the screw (34). The nut (35) is operatively connected to the first clamping part (31) and the second clamping part (32). When the nut (35) moves in one direction, the first clamping part (31) closes and the second clamping part (32) opens. When the nut (35) moves in another direction, the second clamping part (32) closes and the first clamping part (31) opens.

3. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 2, characterized in that, After the first clamping part (31) is released, the wrench (331) and the screw (34) can be separated along the axial direction of the screw (34).

4. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The clamping mechanism (3) also includes two transmission rods (36), which are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the nut (35) and constrained inside the housing (2), so that the two ends of the two transmission rods (36) can swing up and down. The ends of the two transmission rods (36) that are close to each other are rotatably connected to the nut (35), and the ends of the two transmission rods (36) that are far apart from each other are respectively connected to the first clamping part (31) and the second clamping part (32). When the nut (35) moves up and down along the axis of the screw (34), the ends of the two transmission rods (36) that are far apart from each other swing up and down, and drive the first clamping part (31) and the second clamping part (32) to close or open.

5. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The housing (2) includes two protrusions (21) clamped on the upper and lower sides of the middle of the two transmission rods (36). The side of the protrusion (21) facing the transmission rod (36) is an arc surface and contacts the surface of the transmission rod (36), so that the two ends connected by the two transmission rods (36) can swing up and down.

6. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The two drive rods (36) are rotatably connected to the nut (35), and the connecting axis of the drive rods (36) and the nut (35) is perpendicular to the axis of the screw (34).

7. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The screw (34) is an internal hex bolt, which is installed inside the housing (2) by bearings and retaining rings, so that the internal hex bolt can rotate but cannot move axially. The wrench (331) is a hex wrench. The rotary driver (33) is a motor, and the output shaft of the motor is coaxially and fixedly connected to the hex wrench. The motor is fixedly connected to the bottom of the underwater robot (1).

8. The ROV-based submarine cable inspection system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first clamping part (31) includes two first cranks (311), which are fixedly connected to the two transmission rods (36) and extend toward the underwater robot (1). The tops of the two first cranks (311) are bent toward each other. The tops of the first cranks (311) are provided with a plurality of insert teeth (312). The bottom of the underwater robot (1) is provided with a suspension (11). The sides of the suspension (11) are provided with a plurality of insertion holes (111). The insert teeth (312) can be inserted into the insertion holes (111) so that the first clamping part (31) is stably connected to the suspension (11).

9. A submarine cable inspection system based on ROV according to claim 8, characterized in that, A permanent magnet (22) is provided on the top of the housing (2), and the permanent magnet (22) is used to attract and connect the suspension (11).

10. A submarine cable inspection system based on ROV according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second clamping part (32) includes two second cranks (321), which are fixedly connected to the two transmission rods (36) and extend away from the underwater robot (1). The bottoms of the two second cranks (321) are bent towards each other. After the two second cranks (321) are closed, the two second cranks (321) and the housing (2) form an isosceles triangle surrounding the submarine cable (4), so that the submarine cable (4) of any diameter can simultaneously contact the two second cranks (321) and the housing (2), thereby completing the three-point clamping.

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