Pipeline Module Manipulator Jaws for Full-Coverage Offshore Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing laying vessels face challenges in applying bulky elements around pipelines due to limited workspace, reduced coverage, and safety risks for workers, with prior systems limiting the length of bulky elements applied and requiring manual intervention.
Innovation Solution
A manipulator device with mobile jaws and an articulated mechanism, allowing automated application of modules around pipelines, featuring adjustable jaws and automated screwing, which can be operated outside the laying tower, enhancing safety and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual clamping of bulky elements is performed by workers in the laying tower, then the application process can be completed, but worker safety is compromised and the workspace is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the bulky element application process from the confined laying tower workspace and relocates it to an external manipulator system. The manipulator device with jaws is positioned outside the tower, allowing workers to operate from a safer location while still applying thrust modules and other bulky elements to the pipeline during laying operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator device acts as an intermediary between the workers and the pipeline. Instead of workers directly handling bulky elements in the confined tower space, the manipulator with its articulated mechanism and jaws serves as a mediator that performs the clamping and application operations remotely, improving worker safety while maintaining operational capability.
2Device complexity
If the bulky element loading station is positioned above the welding station, then the tower configuration is simplified, but the coverage of bulky elements around the pipeline is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dynamic manipulator system with multiple degrees of freedom that can adapt its position and orientation along the pipeline. Unlike the fixed loading station above the welding point, the manipulator can move to different locations and adjust its jaws to apply bulky elements at various positions, enabling complete pipeline coverage while maintaining a simplified tower structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The manipulator system adds dimensional flexibility by operating in multiple spatial dimensions along the pipeline length. Instead of being constrained to a single vertical position above the welding station, the manipulator can traverse along the pipeline and apply bulky elements at any position, effectively utilizing the longitudinal dimension to achieve full coverage.
3Productivity
If manual application of bulky elements is used, then the process can be completed, but the laying operations are slower and less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The manipulator system is designed to perform bulky element application operations autonomously without requiring continuous manual intervention. The articulated mechanism with powered jaws can automatically clamp, position, and secure thrust modules and other bulky elements to the pipeline, enabling the system to serve itself in the application process and significantly increasing laying operation speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical operations of workers with an automated manipulator system. Instead of workers manually handling and clamping bulky elements, the manipulator uses a powered articulated mechanism with jaws that can automatically perform the application operations, substituting human labor with automated mechanical systems to improve productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A manipulator device to apply modules around a pipeline during assembly has two jaws mobile between an open and a closed position and configured to house the respective portions of the module, and an articulated mechanism having a plurality of degrees of freedom to place the jaws in a loading position and in a position wherein the jaws are aligned with the pipeline during assembly.