JPH0244992B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a robotic device suitable for conducting investigations and operations at great depths or in dangerous underwater or seabed locations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, the development of seabed oil has been gradually extending to deeper sea areas, and there is an increasing need to develop seabed mineral resources such as manganese nodules and hydrothermal deposits.
Investigations and operations in such dangerous places such as the deep sea/sea floor or the outbursts of submarine oil wells can be carried out using, for example, the satellite station of the seabed sampling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1983-31401. This work is impossible or extremely difficult with manned submersible work machines such as manned submersible work vessels for transferring people and maintaining equipment.

The development of unmanned underwater vehicles has been remarkable in recent years for the purpose of conducting investigations and operations under the sea and the seabed under such high water pressure or where it is difficult for manned working machines to approach. simple tasks are being replaced by unmanned underwater vehicles.
These unmanned underwater vehicles have been improved year by year, with high performance and
Products for use at deep depths are being developed one after another and are appearing on the market. However, many of the unmanned underwater vehicles that have been developed so far are connected to the mother ship by umbilical cables including power transmission cables, information transmission cables, and lifting cables from the viewpoint of power transmission, information transmission, and hoisting from and to the mother ship. It is a tethered type.

However, tethered unmanned underwater vehicles have the following drawbacks, and it cannot be said that they are sufficiently adaptable to underwater and undersea operations.

Namely, (1) the umbilical cable becomes tangled, making it impossible to enter the inside of structures such as jackets of submarine oil wells; Also, the radius of action is restricted.

(2) The underwater resistance of the umbilical cable impedes free movement. The effect is especially severe when there is a current.

For example, when investigating an oil explosion or fire accident inside a structure such as a jacket of an undersea oil well under tidal currents, manned diving research equipment or divers cannot approach due to the danger, and tethered unmanned diving The umbilical cable of the aircraft may become entangled with the structure, so it is impossible to enter the structure, and the tidal currents make delicate work difficult.

To overcome the above-mentioned difficulties of tethered submersibles, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 53-90102 discloses a self-propelled unmanned working device operated by remote control. The system collects manganese nodules by dropping them down to the seabed from a platform set up on the sea surface, returns to the platform on the sea, discharges the collected nodules, and replenishes energy.

However, as in this example, the platform floats on the sea surface, descends to the deep seabed several thousand meters deep where manganese nodules are present, moves there under remote control, performs work, and then rises to the sea again. However, there are enormous difficulties when it comes to collecting on the same platform as described below.

(b) It takes several hours to dive to a depth of several thousand meters and surface from there, and the ratio of round trip time to operating time is extremely large, lengthening the operating cycle of the submersible and reducing its operating rate. Not only do
Energy consumption increases, leading to larger equipment. This is a major disadvantage for submersibles for underwater and bottom survey work, which are strongly required to improve operational performance and the ability to enter narrow spaces by downsizing the aircraft.

(b) When a submersible dives from an offshore platform to the seabed, water pressure increases as the diving depth does not increase, and the submersible is compressed by the water pressure, causing its buoyancy to gradually decrease. Therefore, in order to balance gravity and buoyancy,
As described in the above publication, it becomes necessary to dump ballast or pour ballast water, and equipment and controls for this purpose are required.

(c) In the case of untethered submersibles, control and other information is transmitted only through acoustics, but when the distance to the sea surface is long, the acoustic propagation characteristics of seawater, which is the medium of sound propagation, change variously along the way. However, the propagation accuracy and efficiency are poor, especially near the sea surface, where there are large changes in water temperature and seawater specific gravity, and there is a lot of noise from the mother ship's engine and the sound of the propulsion path, requiring a high-output transmitting and receiving device. Submersibles become larger, leading to higher costs.
In addition, there may be a jumping layer in the middle layer of seawater due to changes in water temperature, in which case sound waves may be reflected and information may not be transmitted.

(d) Under the sea, there is no influence of wind, waves, or currents, and the sea is quiet; however, near the sea surface, seawater moves violently due to wind, waves, and currents, making it difficult to launch and land small unmanned unmanned submersibles to and from the mother ship. There are concerns that submersibles returning from several thousand meters below the seabed may not be able to be recovered by the mother ship, or worse, may collide and sink.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention The present invention is directed to a tether-type unmanned submarine connected to a mother ship at sea by an umbilical cable, in which work by conventional manned submersibles or divers is impossible or dangerous. Undersea research allows for safe and accurate underwater exploration and work, which is extremely inefficient and difficult to do with unmanned underwater vehicles that take off and land from mother ships at sea. Our goal is to provide submarine work robot equipment.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the underwater/bottom work robot device according to the present invention includes a mother ship floating on the sea, and an umbilical cable on the mother ship that includes an information transmission cable, a power conveyance cable, and a lifting and lifting cable. It comprises a launcher connected by a cable and capable of landing on the seabed, and a ropeless robot that departs from and arrives at the launcher, and the mother ship is memorized by the ropeless robot and transmitted via the launcher and the information transmission cable. a display means for displaying stored information including ultrasonic detection information and video image information of underwater/bottom targets transmitted through the information transmission cable and the launcher; The launcher has information detecting means for detecting the approximate location of underwater/bottom targets, and the launcher transmits the electric power carried from the mother ship via the power transmission cable to the target object underwater. means for supplying power to the rope-type robot; means for providing information regarding the command signal and detection information regarding the underwater/bottom target detected by the information detection means to the cordless robot; means for receiving information from the untethered robot, and the untethered robot receives information regarding the command signal and detection information regarding the underwater/bottom target from the launcher; a means for receiving electric power, a propulsion device driven by the electric power, a means for detecting an underwater/bottom target object, and an underwater/bottom target in which information detected by the means is stored in advance. a means for recognizing a target underwater/bottom target object by comparing the information; a storage means for storing information such as ultrasonic detection information and video image information detected by the underwater/bottom target detection means; and the memory. means for receiving the stored information of the launcher when the untethered robot returns to the launcher, and transmitting means for transmitting the information stored in the means to the mother ship via the information transmission cable;
The apparatus is characterized by comprising a working means for performing simple mechanical operations on the underwater/bottom target object.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entirety of an embodiment of an underwater working robot apparatus according to the present invention.

This device consists of a mother ship 1 floating on the sea, a launcher 4 connected to the mother ship by an umbilical cable 2 including an information cable, a power transmission cable, and a lifting cable and capable of landing on a seabed surface 3; It comprises a rope-less underwater/submarine working robot 5 which starts and returns to the launcher 4.

The above-mentioned untethered robot 5 is equipped with an internal storage battery as a power source for propulsion and information equipment, etc., and can be charged underwater into the storage battery within the launcher 4 using electric power conveyed from the mother ship 1 via the power transmission cable. Has a connector. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the robot 5 has a main body 6 constructed as a spindle-shaped submersible with low underwater resistance, and a propeller at the stern that is rotated by an electric motor driven by the above-mentioned charged storage battery. 7 is provided, propeller 7
A nozzle type rudder 8 is provided surrounding the. or,
Propulsion devices 9 such as rotary water jets or propellers are installed at four locations on the top, bottom, left and right along the periphery of the central transverse plane of the hull 6, and by changing the jet jet direction, the centerline of the hull can be adjusted. It is now possible to change direction.

The untethered robot 6 is equipped with a means for receiving and storing information regarding command signals and detection information regarding the rough location and characteristics of underwater/bottom targets from the launcher 4, and a means for receiving and storing information regarding command signals from the launcher 4. - A high-performance sonar that detects the position and shape of bottom objects, and various sensors 10 for temperature, magnetic field, radioactivity, etc. are provided, and the detection signals are processed and received from the launcher 4 and stored in advance. A computing device is provided which compares the detected object with information regarding the underwater/bottom target to identify the detected object as the target of interest. The untethered robot 5 further includes a video camera capable of photographing objects outside the machine, information such as ultrasonic detection information regarding underwater/bottom targets detected by each of the sensors 10, and videos photographed by the video camera. It is equipped with a memory for storing image information, and a transmitting device for transmitting the stored information stored in the memory to the mother ship 1 via the launcher's connector and the information transmission cable when returning to the launcher. Furthermore, a gripping means 11 is provided at the front end of the bow for performing simple mechanical operations such as collecting a sample from an underwater target object.

In addition to the high-performance sonar and various sensors 10 equipped on the untethered robot 5, the launcher 4 is equipped with a high-output sonar and a high-output sonar that detects information about the approximate location of the underwater/bottom target and other characteristics as needed. In addition to being equipped with various sensors 12 such as hydrophones, the power transmitted from the mother ship 1 via the power transmission cable of the umbilical cable 2 is used to charge the battery of the untethered robot that has returned to the launcher 4 on the seabed 3. a transmitter/untethered robot 5 for providing the untethered robot 5 with information regarding command signals from the mother ship 1 and detection information regarding underwater/bottom targets detected by the high-output sonar, etc. The umbilical cable 2 is provided with a connector for transmitting stored information stored in the memory to the mother ship 1 via the information transmission cable of the umbilical cable 2.

The mother ship 1 is equipped with various sensors 10 for the untethered robot 5.
A CRT, etc. that displays stored information including ultrasonic detection information and video image information of underwater/bottom targets detected by a camera, captured by a video camera, stored in memory, and transmitted via an umbilical cable information transmission cable. In addition, a transmitter for transmitting information regarding a command signal to the untethered robot 5 via the information transmission cable of the umbilical cable 2 and the launcher 4 is provided.

Since this device is configured as described above, when conducting surveys or work in the sea or on the seabed, the launcher 4, which is connected by an umbilical cable 2 from the mother ship 1 and holds the ropeless robot 5 inside, is moved to the seabed. It is lowered to the surface and seated on the seabed surface 3. First, the sensor 1 is installed on the launcher 4.
2, the rough position and other characteristics of the target underwater/bottom target are detected, or the rough location and other characteristics of the underwater/bottom target are detected by the untethered robot 5 from separately stored information. Gives information about other characteristics. Based on this information, the untethered robot 5 moves in the direction of the target using a propeller 7 and rudder 8 driven by its own storage battery, discovers the target object using its own high-performance sonar and sensor 10, and determines the approximate shape, etc. It also detects the characteristics of the object, identifies it as a target by a calculation processing device installed in the hull 6, and approaches it autonomously. As a method of identifying it as a target, launcher 4 is used in advance.
The characteristics of the given target are stored in the memory of the calculation processing device, and the information detected by the sensor 10 of the untethered robot 5 is compared with this to recognize the target underwater/bottom target. The method will be adopted. In the example shown in FIG.
A case is shown in which a blowout accident investigation is carried out using the above-mentioned underwater submarine working robot device. The target may be identified by comparing the shape detected by the high-performance sonar of the robot 5 with this.

If it recognizes the target object as an underwater/bottom target, it approaches it further, detects its detailed shape using high-performance sonar, detects and memorizes the shape, nature, cracks, etc. of damaged parts of the target object as ultrasonic information, and Recording will be done using a video camera, and still photographs will be taken if necessary. Also, by touching a specific part of the object, simple operations such as opening and closing of valves are performed.

Then, the ultrasonic detection information and video image information stored in the memory of the untethered robot 5 are transferred from the untethered robot 5 to the launcher 4 upon returning to the launcher 4.
from the launcher 4 to the mother ship 1 via the umbilical cable 2 and projected on a display device such as a CRT on the mother ship 1. Based on this, the required command signal is transmitted via the information transmission cable and the launcher to the unrope-free type. Give it to the robot. By doing this, the amount of information transmitted and
It is possible to overcome the poor quality of the ropeless robot, and without having to send the ropeless robot back and forth to the mother ship, it can give instructions sequentially from the mother ship, replenish energy to the ropeless robot, and continue investigating and working underwater and on the bottom. This allows for efficient investigation and work.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the situation when the underwater/bottom working robot device of the present invention is used for exploration and sample collection of hydrothermal ore deposits.

Hydrothermal deposits are formed by minerals dissolved in hot water ejected from the ocean floor into seawater, deposited in a tower shape as shown at 15 around a hydrothermal vent, as shown in Figure 3. It is firmly attached to the ocean floor with its roots descending below the ocean floor. The ores of hydrothermal deposits include gold,
It contains useful metals such as silver, copper, and lead, and it is necessary to collect samples for research and development.

To do this, it is first necessary to search for hydrothermal deposits. Therefore, the launcher 4 is brought to the bottom from the mother ship 1 in a sea area where hydrothermal deposits exist, and the sensor 12 such as a hydrophone is used to detect the rough position and shape of the hydrothermal deposit, and the detected information is retrieved without searching. The untethered robot 5 is then launched toward the position. Since the temperature of the seawater above the hydrothermal deposit is rising due to the hot water, detection can be carried out by running the ropeless robot 5 at an appropriate distance from the seabed and detecting the seawater temperature with a temperature sensor. Can be done. Furthermore, the shape of the protrusion is detected by the high-performance sonar equipped on the ropeless robot 5,
Confirm that it is the desired shape by comparing it with the shape of the hydrothermal deposit stored in advance. When a hydrothermal deposit is confirmed, a gripping device 11 installed at the bow of the ropeless robot 5 grasps a part of the hydrothermal deposit as shown in the figure, and a rotary water jet or propeller 9 is used to remove the hydrothermal deposit. By tilting the ejection direction with respect to the hull centerline, the ropeless robot 5 is swung around the gripping point by the gripping device 11, and the gripping is performed using the inertia of the operation of the ropeless robot 5. A part of the hydrothermal deposit is separated from the rest and collected as a sample.

The launcher is used to enter the jacket of an undersea oil well as mentioned above, or to travel around ore deposits protruding from the seabed, such as hydrothermal deposits, to bite into a part of the deposit, and to collect samples by rocking the hull. Since there is no umbilical cable connected to the seabed, there is no chance of getting entangled in jackets or protruding ore deposits, or being affected by tidal currents, etc., making it easier to approach the target underwater or bottom target. Undersea investigation/
Be effective in your work.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, if the launcher is installed near the work area, the range of movement of the ropeless robot is limited to the vicinity of the launcher, which is necessary for the long round trip between the sea surface and the seabed. Not only can it save a great deal of time and energy, improve operating efficiency, and downsize submersibles, it can also transmit a large amount of highly accurate information in a short period of time, and it can also improve robots and launchers. This enables safe recovery to the mother ship at sea.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the underwater submarine working robot device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the ropeless robot, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the operation of collecting hydrothermal ore deposit samples by the robot device. It is a perspective view showing a state. 1... Mother ship, 2... Umbilical cable, 3
... Seabed surface, 4 ... Launcher, 5 ... Ropeless robot, 6 ... Robot hull, 7, 9 ... Propeller (propulsion device), 10 ... Various sensors (undersea/bottom target detection means), 11... Working means, 12...
Sensor (information detection means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A mother ship floating on the sea, a launcher connected to the mother ship by an umbilical cable including an information transmission cable, a power transmission cable, and an unloading towing line and capable of landing on the seabed, and launching and landing from the launcher. and an untethered robot, wherein the mother ship receives ultrasonic detection information and video images of underwater/bottom targets stored by the untethered robot and transmitted via the launcher and the information transmission cable. display means for displaying stored information including information; and means for transmitting information regarding a command signal to the untethered robot via the information transmission cable and the launcher, the launcher being an underwater/bottom target. information detecting means for detecting the approximate position of the robot; means for supplying electric power conveyed from the mother ship via the power transmission cable to the untethered robot underwater; and information regarding the command signal and the The ropeless robot comprises means for providing detection information regarding the underwater/bottom target detected by the information detection means to the ropeless robot, and means for receiving the stored information from the ropeless robot. means for receiving information regarding the command signal and detection information regarding the underwater/bottom target from the launcher; means for receiving electric power conveyed via the power transmission cable; and a propulsion device driven by the electric power. , means for detecting an underwater/bottom target object, and means for comparing the information detected by the means with pre-stored information regarding the underwater/bottom target object to recognize the intended underwater/bottom target object; a storage means for storing information such as ultrasonic detection information and video image information detected by the underwater/bottom target object detection means; and a storage means for storing information stored in the storage means, and the cordless robot returns the information stored in the storage means to the launcher. means for receiving the stored information of the time launcher and transmitting means for transmitting it to the mother ship via the information transmission cable;
An underwater/bottom working robot device characterized by having a working means for performing simple mechanical operations on the underwater/bottom target object.