JPS584584B2 - Underwater automatic painting equipment for ships and underwater structures - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic underwater coating device for ships and underwater structures for coating ships and underwater structures with underwater curable paints and the like.

In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend toward larger and larger ships, such as tankers, and an increase in the construction of offshore structures such as oil drilling rigs due to offshore development. Corrosion protection under the quartz of these offshore structures is necessary due to the problem of maintenance of the painted parts under the water surface of the ship's hull due to the extended spacing, and the inability of oil drilling rigs to be towed into the installation area and moved for maintenance after installation. Problems such as rigging, cleaning, and maintenance have arisen, and the need for maintenance at sea has become a major issue.

Conventionally, many techniques have been developed for maintenance under water, for example, in the area of cleaning ship hulls, and in terms of underwater welding for ship hull welding at sea or for skin repair, the development of welding technology using a local space formation method has improved. It has become possible to put it into practical use.

However, there is no established method for underwater painting, and in some cases, underwater curing paint is applied manually by divers, or painting is done using a pressure-feeding spatula. Both methods are inefficient and can only be applied underwater, with poor film thickness, smoothness and adhesion (e.g. compared to atmospheric application, traditional underwater painting The adhesion was 1/3 to 1/4), so it was not possible to obtain a satisfactory Fuji coating.

Therefore, we created a painting space underwater using a watertight waterproof box.
A method has previously been devised in which the surface to be coated is washed with water, dried with an ultra-far infrared heater, and then an existing solvent-based paint is applied with a roller, and a coating film is obtained by force drying with the heater. With this technology, there is a problem with the watertightness of the waterproof box, and the roller coating takes time, and since a heat source is used to dry the coated surface and the first coat, the area coated per unit time is small. Moreover, since it is a one-time coating using a general commercially available solvent-based paint, there are drawbacks such as the fact that although a smooth coating film can be obtained, it is not possible to obtain a corrosion-proofing film thickness that allows for long-term maintenance.

Therefore, the present invention is based on the above-mentioned conventional methods, from the viewpoints of painting large areas underwater, automating underwater painting, establishing coating technology that allows long-term maintenance, and emphasizing low-solvent paints that take into account pollution prevention and safety aspects of paints. It attempts to conveniently eliminate the shortcomings of the technology.

The automatic underwater painting device for ships and underwater structures of the present invention that achieves the above object has expandable and contractible drive wheels for longitudinal movement and lateral movement driven by a drive motor on both sides of the device body in the longitudinal direction. In addition to talking about electromagnets that can be freely absorbed and removed,
A floating tank and a waterproof box with an opening toward the surface to be painted are placed in the middle of the main body of the device, and an expandable sealing tube is installed around the opening of the waterproof box, and a water tank is installed at the required position for water injection. An inlet and outlet connected to the valve are provided to allow high-speed air,
It is characterized in that it is provided with a mounting part for arranging the paint spray nozzle.

The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the drawings.

The main body 1 of the underwater automatic phosphorization device includes a drive wheel 2 for vertical movement.
A drive wheel 3 for lateral movement is attached.

These drive wheels 2 and 3 are formed of inflatable members such as rubber tires, and by pumping gas into these drive wheels 2 and 3, the main body 1 is jacked up, and the pneumatic or electric type drive motor 4 is actuated. Special underwater electromagnet 5
, 6 are energized, their suction action allows the main body 1 to travel in any direction forward, backward, left, or right using the drive wheels 2 and 3 without leaving the object to be coated.

The main body 1 has electromagnets 5 and 6 to prevent falling or floating, and a valve 7 for pouring and draining.A waterproof case 8 is provided inside the main body 1, and between the main body 1 and the waterproof case 8, forms a buoyancy tank 9 that serves as a ballast tank, and a coating chamber 10 is formed inside the waterproof box 8.

The upper part of the waterproof case 8 contains washing water for washing the painted surface,
A mounting part 11 of a nozzle for spraying high-speed air for drying debris and spraying an underwater curing paint is located;
Separate holes may be used for each purpose, or they may be provided separately or may be divided into nozzles for cleaning water and high-velocity air and nozzles for painting.

The lower periphery of the waterproof case 8 is provided with an inflatable sealing tube 12 and a tube outer cylinder 13.
2, the coating chamber 10 inside the waterproof case 8 and the outside world can be sealed watertightly.

The tube 12 may be sealed by expanding it alone, but it is also possible to provide a tension-relieving outer skin made of sponge or the like on the outside of the tube and seal it by the expansion force and pressing force of both. .

The waterproof case 8 is further connected to a flexible tube 14 for venting to the atmosphere.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained based on FIG. 2.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory view of the walking state of this device as seen from the sea surface side. When air is supplied to the drive wheels 3 or 2 and an appropriate inflation pressure is reached, when the electromagnet 5 is energized, the main body 1 moves as shown in the figure. As such, it is attracted to the object 15 to be coated, such as a steel plate of a ship hull, in a state where it is floating above the object 15 to be coated.

Next, when driving force is applied to the palm drive wheels, the machine moves to the desired painting position.

After this movement, when the drive wheels are vented, the main body 1 is attracted and fixed to the object to be coated 15 by the attraction action of the electromagnet 5, and the positioning is completed.

Of course, at this time, the water in the buoyancy tank 9, which serves as a ballast tank, is drained to reduce the apparent weight of this device in water to almost zero, and the entire adsorption force of the electromagnets 5 and 6 is used to move this device onto the surface to be coated. Used as a pressing force.

Next, when air is supplied to the sealing tube 12, as shown in FIG. 2B, due to the expansion force of the tube 12 and the pressing force of the tension release outer skin, the coating chamber 10 inside the waterproof case 8 is connected to the outside world in a watertight manner. It is sealed and shut off.

In this state, from the air supply port 16 leading to the flexible tube 14,
When air is supplied into the painting chamber 10 as shown by the arrow in the figure, the seawater in the painting chamber 10 is discharged to the outside world as shown by the arrow from the drainage port 17 leading to the drainage valve 7 due to the pressure. Ru.

After completely draining the seawater, the inside of the coating chamber 10 is released to atmospheric pressure through the flexible pipe 14, and if necessary, cleaning water is sprayed from the injector nozzle of the nozzle mounting part 11 to cover the surface to be coated. After the water supply is turned off, it is dried using high-velocity air.

At this time, buoyancy is generated by draining the water in the painting chamber 10, so water is poured into the floating tank 9, which serves as the ballast tank mentioned above, to reduce the apparent weight of this device underwater to almost zero. maintain.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, an underwater curing type paint is sprayed from a coating man nozzle separately provided in the nozzle attachment part 11, so that the entire surface to be coated can be coated.

Immediately after painting is completed, while introducing seawater from the drain port 17, stop energizing the electromagnet 5 on one side (for example, the left side in Fig. 2D) and supply air to the drive wheel on the same side, as shown in Fig. 2D. As shown, one side of the magnet is lifted up, but then the electromagnetic coil 5 is energized again to make it into an attractive state.

Next, by performing the same operation on the other side, complete water injection can be obtained and the vehicle can be moved to the next painting position.

At this time, the water in the buoyancy tank 9, which serves as a ballast tank, is drained again to reduce the apparent weight of this device in water to almost zero, and the entire adsorption force of the electromagnets 5 and 6 is applied to move this device onto the surface to be coated. Used as a pressing force.

According to the present invention having the configuration and operation as described above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

(a) Since the main body 1 is jacked up during movement by inflating the inflatable drive wheels 2 for vertical movement and the drive wheels 3 for lateral movement,
The jack-up mechanism for the main body 1 can be significantly simplified, reducing weight and improving efficiency.

(b) Since the device main body 1 is provided with a buoyancy tank 9 that serves as a ballast tank, the apparent weight of the device underwater can be reduced to almost zero, and the electromagnets 5, 6
The entire adsorption force can be used as a pressing force to press the device against the surface to be coated.

Therefore, it is possible to increase the size of the device as well as the above (
The effects noted in a) can be promoted.

(c) Sealing between the painting chamber 10 inside the waterproof case 8 and the outside world;
Since the shutoff is performed by the expansion force of the expandable and contractible tube 12 and the pressing force of the electromagnets 5 and 6, it is possible to prevent the sealing performance from deteriorating due to unevenness of the surface to be coated, ensuring reliable sealing and shutoff. can be done.

(d) Since the nozzle attachment part 11 is provided on the waterproof box leakage 8, it is possible to apply an underwater curing type paint to the surface to be painted using an air spray or airless spray set painting nozzle to this nozzle attachment part 11. In addition to automating underwater coating and expanding the coating area, it also enables long-term maintainable coating with good coating film thickness, smoothness, and adhesion, and eliminates the need to purify and dry the surface to be coated. In some cases, by first spraying cleaning water from the nozzle attachment part 11 of the waterproof case 8 for cleaning, and then spraying high-speed air after the water supply is stopped for drying, the unit time is shorter than when using a heat source such as a heater. The paint area can be thickened and work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of the automatic underwater painting device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the present invention, Fig. 2A is a running state of the device, and Fig. 2B is a positioning/draining state. situation,
FIG. 2C is a simplified diagram showing a state of washing, drying, and painting, and FIG. 2D is a simplified diagram showing a state of water injection and jacking up. 1... Main body of underwater automatic painting device, 2, 3... Drive wheel, 5
... Electromagnet for traveling or adsorption, 6 ... Electromagnet for preventing falling or floating, 8 ... Waterproof box, 10 ... Painting room, 1
1...Nozzle mounting part, 12...Sealing tube, 15
...Object to be coated, 16...Air supply port, 1.7...Note/Drain port,
9...Floating tank.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Expandable drive wheels for vertical and lateral movement driven by automatic underwater painting motors for ships and underwater buildings that form a coating space in a waterproof box on the surface to be coated underwater. In addition to providing an electromagnet for the suction/extraction valve, a buoyancy tank and a waterproof box with an opening toward the surface to be painted are placed in the middle of the main body of the device, and a sealing device that can be expanded and contracted is placed around the opening of the waterproof box. An automatic underwater painting device for ships and underwater structures, characterized in that a tube is provided, an inlet and an outlet connected to an inlet and outlet valve are provided at required positions, and a mounting part for high-speed air, a paint spray nozzle, etc. is provided.