Water sampler for underwater mobile body

Abstract

To provide a water sampler for an underwater mobile body which can be attached to an underwater drone with an opening / closing arm, can instantly sample large volumes of seawater or the like, and facilitates bottling.SOLUTION: A water sampler for an underwater mobile body includes: a water sampling container 1 in which closure lids 12 that are pulled by elastic bodies 13 are positioned at both ends of a cylindrical water sampling container 11, which has a gap S between the closure lids 12 and the water sampling container 11 in the locked state where the closure lids 12 are held in a state where the elastic bodies 13 are stretched, and performs water sampling by sealing both ends of the water sampling container 11 with the closure lids 12 in the time of lock release; attachment means 3 to an underwater drone 2 which has an openable and closable operation arm 21; interlocking means 4 which interlocks with opening / closing of the operation arm 21 of the underwater drone 2; and lock means 5 which releases the lock with the interlocking means 4. With the lock means 5, the closure lids 12 perform the sealing operation of sealing both ends of the water sampling container 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a water sampler for an underwater vehicle, and more particularly to a water sampler for an underwater vehicle that can be attached to an underwater drone equipped with an openable and closable working arm, and that utilizes the movement of the working arm to close a water sampling container. [Background technology]

[0002] The device described in Patent Document 1 is known as a working device for an underwater vehicle that enables sampling at any depth by utilizing the movement of the opening and closing arms of a commercially available drone that can move underwater.

[0003] As shown in Figure 1, the device comprises an attachment means for attaching to an underwater moving body 2 having an arm 1 with a curved opening and closing movement, a working means 20 having a cylinder 21 and a piston 22 with a linear working movement, and a link mechanism 30 that converts the curved opening and closing movement of the arm 1 of the underwater moving body 2 into a linear working movement of the working means 20, and by pulling out the piston 22, sampling at any water depth within the cylinder 21 is possible. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-136346 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the device described in Patent Document 1 samples inside a cylinder by using the movement of a piston that converts the opening and closing movement of the arm, so the amount of material collected is limited to the working distance of the arm, making it difficult to sample large amounts of seawater, etc. in an instant.

[0006] In addition, when sampled seawater, etc. is removed from an external container, the arm of the underwater moving body is operated to push in the piston and discharge it outside the cylinder, so in addition to the person operating the arm, another person is required to perform the removal work itself. As a result, it is not possible for a single worker to bottle the water from the water sampler into a container, making bottling difficult.

[0007] Therefore, the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a water sampler for underwater vehicles that can be attached to an underwater drone with an opening and closing arm, can sample large amounts of seawater, etc. in an instant, and can also be easily bottled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The means for solving the problems of the present invention are as follows.

[0009] First, A closing cap is located at each end of the cylindrical water sampling container, and the closing cap is pulled toward the other end by an elastic body. In a locked state in which the closing lid is held in place with the elastic body stretched, a gap is provided between the closing lid and the water sampling container, When the lock is released, the water sampling container is closed with a closing cover at both ends to sample water. A mounting means for mounting the underwater drone to the underwater drone has an operable working arm; An interlocking means for interlocking with the operation of the work arm of the underwater drone; A locking means is provided for unlocking the door by the interlocking means. A water sampler for an underwater vehicle, characterized in that a closing lid performs a closing operation to close both ends of a water sampling container by a locking means.

[0010] The elastic body used here may be a silicone tube or the like in addition to a rubber string.

[0011] Furthermore, the working arm may be of various shapes and types as long as it has an effect on the unlocking operation of the locking means. For example, a claw arm that performs opening and closing operations may be used.

[0012] Secondly, A storage cylinder having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the water sampling container is attached to each end of the water sampling container, The water sampler for an underwater vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the closing lid is located inside the storage tube.

[0013] Here, the water sampling container and the storage cylinder are preferably made of a permeable material, but this is not limited thereto.

[0014] Third, The interlocking means is The inner line body is composed of an inner line body and an outer tube that movably houses the inner line body therein. The water sampler for an underwater vehicle described in 2 above is characterized in that one end of the linear body is attached to the working arm of an underwater drone and the other end is attached to the water sampling container.

[0015] The linear body may be a brake or the like used in a bicycle, and the inner gland may be a wire or the like.

[0016] The working arm of the underwater drone is not limited as long as it can perform pinching, opening and closing operations, etc.

[0017] Fourth, The locking means is A ball chain having a hook at its tip end and the other end attached to the outside of the closing lid, the direction of which is changed by a pulley roller located behind the closing lid; The inner gland of the interlocking means is centrally mounted, and an operating plate; a right plate located to the right of the operating plate and having an inner gland extending through the center thereof; a left plate located to the left of the operating plate; A fixed guide pin penetrates the operation plate at a position symmetrical to the left and right with respect to the mounting position of the inner gland of the operation plate, and allows the operation plate to slide freely; a link pin fixed to the operation plate at each position adjacent to the fixed guide pin, the link pin being movable together with the operation plate, the left end of the link pin being protruding from the left side plate, and the right end of the link pin being protruding from the right side plate; The water sampler for an underwater moving body described in claim 3, further comprising an elastic body that engages with the fixed guide pin.

[0018] The elastic body used here may be made of a rubber material in addition to a metal spring.

[0019] As the fixed guide pins and interlocking pins, in addition to long metal bolts, bolts and rods made of various materials can be used.

[0020] The positional relationship between the fixed guide pin and the interlocking pin may be such that the interlocking pin is adjacent to the guide pin. For example, in addition to providing an interlocking pin at each position on the outside of the fixed guide pin, an interlocking pin can also be provided at each position on the inside of the fixed guide pin.

[0021] Fifth, 5. The water sampler for an underwater moving body according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that an air inlet is provided on the upper side of the water sampling container and an outlet is provided on the lower side.

[0022] The air intake functions as a cock during bottling.

[0023] The outlet is a location for taking out water from within the water collection container during bottling, and can be constructed by connecting an L-shaped pipe, for example. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

[0025] It can be attached to an underwater drone, and by moving the underwater drone's working arm, the lock is instantly released and water is collected into a water sampling container, making it possible to sample large amounts of seawater in an instant.

[0026] Here, the capacity of the water sampling container can be increased to its limit up to the weight that each underwater drone can carry, making it possible to sample large amounts of seawater, etc. from any location at once.

[0027] In addition, since there is no need to operate an underwater drone when removing sampled seawater, etc. from the water sampler into an external container, bottling can be done by a single worker, making it easy to remove the water from the water sampler and transfer it to a container.

[0028] In particular, since the closing lid is positioned inside the storage tube, the closing lid does not encounter resistance in the water when the underwater drone is operating, so it can move smoothly underwater and collect water at the desired location.

[0029] In addition, by providing the water sampling container with an air intake and an outlet on the bottom, bottling can be made smoother. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a water sampler for an underwater vehicle of the present invention, the upper figure showing the right side and the lower figure showing the left side. [Diagram 2] 1A and 1B are side views of the water sampler for an underwater vehicle of the present invention in a locked state, where (A) shows the right side and (B) shows the left side. [Diagram 3] 1A and 1B are side views of the water sampler for an underwater vehicle of the present invention in an unlocked state, (A) showing the right side and (B) showing the left side. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams of the main parts of the locking means and interlocking means of the water sampler for an underwater vehicle of the present invention, in which (A) shows the locked state and (B) shows the unlocked state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the accompanying drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations are omitted. It should be noted that the description given here is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. EXAMPLES

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, the water sampler for an underwater vehicle in this Example 1 comprises a water sampling container 1 made of a permeable material, an attachment means 3 for an underwater drone (see Figure 2) 2, an interlocking means 4, and a locking means 5.

[0033] [Water collection container]

[0034] The water sampling container 1 has a water sampling container 11 that is cylindrical as a whole.

[0035] The water sampling container 11 comprises a cylindrical central container 111 and side containers 112, each having an outer diameter smaller than that of the central container 111, connected to both ends of the central container 111.

[0036] A storage cylinder 14 having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the side container 112 of the water sampling container 111 is attached to each end of the water sampling container 11.

[0037] Inside each of these storage cylinders 14, there are positioned rubber closing lids 12 which are pulled toward each other by an elastic body 13 made of a silicon tube.

[0038] The closing lid 12 has a semi-spherical portion 121 formed on the side connected to the elastic body 13 , and a short cylindrical portion 122 having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the side container 112 is formed continuous with the semi-spherical portion 121 .

[0039] Here, the water sampling container 11 and the storage cylinder 14 are made of a transparent material.

[0040] An air intake 15 that functions as a cock during bottling is attached to the upper side of the central container 111 of the water sampling container 11.

[0041] An outlet 16 made of an L-shaped pipe is attached to the lower side of the central container 111 of the water sampling container 11 opposite the attachment position of the air inlet 15 in order to remove the water from the water sampling container 11 during bottling.

[0042] A permeable bottling tube 17 is attached to the outlet 16 as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figs. 2 and 3, and is closed by a clip (not shown) except when bottling is being performed.

[0043] [Underwater drone]

[0044] The underwater drone 2 to which the water sampler for underwater vehicles of this embodiment 1 is attached is not particularly limited, as conceptually shown by the two-dotted line in Figure 2, and various shapes and types can be adopted as long as it has a working arm that enables the operation of releasing the hook ring of the locking means described below, and one example is one having a working arm 21 that can be opened and closed freely.

[0045] The working arm 21 has two arms, a first arm 211 and a second arm 212, and as shown in FIG. 3, the ends of the arms open to the left and right to perform a scissor-like opening and closing operation.

[0046] [Attachment means]

[0047] As shown in Figure 2, the mounting means 3 for the underwater drone 2 has an openable and closable work arm 21 and is used to attach the water sampling container 1 to the upper side of the underwater drone 2, but it can also be mounted on the underside or within the frame.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting means 3 is composed of a base 31, a mounting plate 32 for holding the central container 11 in a balanced manner at two points, and a mounting ring 33 having an inner diameter the same as the outer diameter of the central container 11.

[0049] [Interlocking means]

[0050] The interlocking means 4, which is linked to the opening and closing of the work arm 21 of the underwater drone 2, is composed of a linear body 41 consisting of an inner wire body 411 and an outer tube 412 that contains the inner wire body 411 inside so that it can move freely, as shown in (A) of Figure 3.

[0051] At one end of the linear body 41 on the working arm 21 side, a container side attachment tube 42 is fixed to a first arm 211 , and a tip portion of an inner gland body 411 is attached to a second arm 212 .

[0052] On the water sampling container 1 side of the linear body 41, a container side mounting tube 42 is attached to the right side plate 53, and as shown in (A) in Figure 4, the inner gland body 411 penetrates the right side plate 53 and is attached to the operation plate 52.

[0053] [Locking method]

[0054] As shown in FIG. 1 or 4, the locking means 5, which releases the lock using the interlocking means 4, includes a ball chain 51, a pulley roller 52, an operating plate 52, a right plate 53, a left plate 54, a fixed guide pin 55, an interlocking pin 56, and an elastic body 57 made of a metal spring.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 2B, the ball chain 51 has a ring-shaped hook ring 511 attached to its tip end, and the other end is attached to the outside of the closing lid 12.

[0056] The ball chain 51 is deflected from a substantially horizontal direction to a downward direction by a pulley roller 52 located behind the closing lid 12 .

[0057] As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 4, an inner gland body 411 is fixedly attached to the center of the operating plate 52.

[0058] The right plate 53 is positioned to the right of the operating plate 52 with a gap therebetween, and the inner gland 411 passes through the center thereof so as to be able to slide freely.

[0059] Left plate 54 is positioned to the left of operating plate 52 and spaced apart.

[0060] Both ends of the left plate 54 are machined into an L shape, and the tip portion thereof is machined into an inverted L shape and is in contact with the right plate 53 .

[0061] The fixed guide pins 55 are attached at positions symmetrical on the left and right sides with respect to the attachment position of the inner gland body 411 of the operation plate 52 as a reference, so as to penetrate the operation plate 52 and allow the operation plate 52 to move slidably.

[0062] The fixed guide pin 55 is formed by fixing the tip of a bolt 551 , which penetrates the right plate 53 from the outside and the left plate 54 from the inside, with a nut 552 from the outside of the left plate 54 .

[0063] The interlocking pin 56 is fixed integrally to the operating plate 52 by penetrating the operating plate 52 and clamping it with plate fixing bolts 562 at each position outside the two fixed guide pins 55, based on the center of the operating plate 52, and is capable of sliding together with the operating plate 52.

[0064] The interlocking pin 56 is constituted by a cap bolt with an axis longer than the distance between the right side plate 53 and the left side plate 54, and its left end, which is the tip side, penetrates and protrudes from the left side plate 54, and its right end, which is the cap bolt head 561 side, penetrates and protrudes from the right side plate 53.

[0065] Elastic body 57 made of a metal spring is located on the outer periphery of fixed guide pin 55 between operation plate 52 and right plate 53 and is combined with fixed guide pin 55 .

[0066] [Effect]

[0067] Next, the operation of the water sampler for an underwater vehicle of the first embodiment will be described.

[0068] [Lock Status]

[0069] With respect to the water sampling container 1 in the unlocked state shown in Figure 3, from the state in which the gap S (see (A) in Figure 2) is closed by the closing lid 12, by pulling the ball chain 51 as shown in Figure 2, the closing lid 12, which is in a tensioned state by the elastic body 13 made of a silicone tube, is pulled outward, and a gap S is formed between the closing lid 12 and the side container 112 of the water sampling container 11.

[0070] While keeping the ball chain 51 pulled, the hook ring 511 at the end of the ball chain 51 is hooked onto the end of the interlocking pin 56 as shown in (B) of Figure 2, whereby the elastic body 13 made of a silicone tube is stretched and kept in a locked state.

[0071] In this state, as shown in FIG. 2(A), the first arm 211 and the second arm 212 of the working arm 21 are closed, and the distance between the end of the inner gland body 411 and the arm side mounting tube 43 is short.

[0072] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4A, elastic body 57 made of a metal spring stretches, so that operating plate 52 approaches left plate 54.

[0073] As a result, the tip of the interlocking pin 56 fixed to the operation plate 52 protrudes considerably from the left side plate 54, and the hook ring 511 is hooked on the protruding portion.

[0074] [Underwater drone operation]

[0075] The underwater drone 2 is operated while in the locked state, and the lock is released at a predetermined location by opening the working arm 21, as shown in Figure 3.

[0076] Here, when the underwater drone 2 moves underwater, the closing lid 12 is positioned inside the storage tube 14, so the closing lid 12 can move smoothly without encountering resistance in the water.

[0077] [Unlock]

[0078] As shown in FIG. 3, by opening the first arm 211 and the second arm 212 of the working arm 21, the distance between the tip of the first arm 211 and the tip of the second arm 212 increases, and the end of the inner gland body 411 moves away from the arm side mounting tube 43 by the distance that the working arm 21 is opened.

[0079] As a result, as shown in (B) in Figure 4, the end of the inner gland body 411 is pulled toward the container side mounting tube 42, and the operating plate 52 approaches the right side plate 53, causing the metal spring elastic body 57 to contract, and the protruding portion of the tip of the interlocking pin 56 fixed to the operating plate 52 that protrudes from the left side plate 54 is pulled in, disengaging the hook ring 511 and releasing the lock.

[0080] When the lock is released, as shown in Figure 3, each closing lid 12 instantly closes the end of each side container 112, thereby closing both ends of the water sampling container 1 and instantly completing the sampling of the required amount of water into the internal space.

[0081] [Bottling]

[0082] After the water collection is completed, the underwater drone 2 is pulled back onto the surface, the air intake 15 is opened to allow air to be taken in, and then the clip closing the bottling tube 17 connected to the outlet 16 is removed and the collected seawater etc. is transferred to another container, allowing the bottling to be completed smoothly by a single worker. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 1 Water sampling container 11 Water sampling container 111 Central Container 112 Side Container 12 Closing lid 121 Hemisphere 122 Short cylindrical section 13 Elastic Body 14 Storage tube 15 Air intake 16 Outlet 17 Bottling Tube 2. Underwater drone 21 Working Arm 211 First Arm 212 Second Arm 3 Attachment means 31 Foundation 32 Mounting plate 33 Mounting ring 4 Linkage means 41 Linear body 411 Medial gland body 412 Outer tube 42 Container side mounting pipe 43 Arm side mounting tube 5 Locking means 51 Ball Chain 511 Hook Ring 52 Pulley Roller 52 Operation Plate 53 Right side plate 54 Left side plate 55 Fixed guide pin 551 Volts 552 Nut 56 Interlocking pin 561 Cap bolt head 562 Plate fixing bolt 57 Elastic Body S Gap

Claims

1. A closing cap is located at each end of the cylindrical water sampling container, and the closing cap is pulled toward the other end by an elastic body. In a locked state in which the closing lid is held in place with the elastic body stretched, a gap is provided between the closing lid and the water sampling container, When the lock is released, the water sampling container is closed with a closing cover at both ends to sample water. An attachment means for an underwater drone having a working arm; An interlocking means for interlocking with the operation of the work arm of the underwater drone; A water sampler for an underwater moving body, comprising: a locking means for unlocking the locking means by an interlocking means.

2. A storage cylinder having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the water sampling container is attached to each end of the water sampling container, 2. The water sampler for an underwater vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the closing lid is located inside the storage tube.

3. The interlocking means is The inner line body is composed of an inner line body and an outer tube that movably houses the inner line body therein.

3. The water sampler for an underwater vehicle as described in claim 2, wherein one end of the linear body is attached to the working arm of an underwater drone and the other end is attached to the water sampling container.

4. The locking means is A ball chain having a hook at its tip end and the other end attached to the outside of the closing lid, the direction of which is changed by a pulley roller located behind the closing lid; The inner gland of the interlocking means is centrally mounted, and an operating plate; a right plate located to the right of the operating plate and having an inner gland extending through the center thereof; a left plate located to the left of the operating plate; A fixed guide pin penetrates the operation plate at a position symmetrical to the left and right with respect to the mounting position of the inner gland of the operation plate, and allows the operation plate to slide freely; a link pin fixed to the operation plate at each position adjacent to the fixed guide pin, the link pin being movable together with the operation plate, the left end of the link pin being protruding from the left side plate, and the right end of the link pin being protruding from the right side plate; 4. The water sampler for an underwater vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising an elastic body which engages with the fixed guide pin.

5. 5. A water sampler for an underwater vehicle according to claim 1, wherein an air inlet is provided on an upper side of the water sampling container and an outlet is provided on a lower side of the water sampling container.

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