JPH0438634B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an underwater robot used for investigating seabed mineral resources, investigating sunken ships, and the like.

[Prior art]

Undersea robots are used to investigate seabed mineral resources and the status of sunken ships in relatively deep waters. This underwater robot is generally shown in Figures 6 and 7.
As shown in the figure, there is a pressure shell 1 that houses a television camera, a vertical thruster 2 attached to the pressure shell 1 for ascending or descending or maintaining depth and altitude, a horizontal thruster 3 for propulsion, and ballast and protector. It is composed of a skid 4 and a skid 4. A working arm (not shown) or the like is attached as necessary.

However, in an underwater robot with such a configuration, the vertical thruster 2 and the horizontal thruster 3
Since these are provided exclusively for vertical and horizontal movement of the underwater robot, the horizontal thruster 3 does not contribute to vertical movement, and the vertical thruster 2 does not make any contribution to horizontal movement. This has led to problems such as an increase in the overall weight of the underwater robot and an increase in frictional resistance during movement, resulting in a deterioration in propulsion performance or maneuverability, and an increase in costs.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to operate all of the plurality of thrusters provided on the outside of the pressure shell of the underwater robot in any direction, such as up and down, left and right, or front and back. The objective is to improve its propulsion performance and also reduce costs.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention configures a pressure shell enclosing at least three thrusters so that its center of gravity and center of buoyancy are approximately at the center, and a virtual axis is located on both sides of the pressure shell. To provide an underwater robot in which support shafts passing through the center are respectively provided, and the tips of support arms provided on skids having gravity are rotatably connected to the support shafts via magnetic brakes. .

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the underwater robot according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a front view of underwater robot A, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof.

The underwater robot A is comprised of a spherical pressure-resistant shell 11 that is equipped with a television camera, etc., and has an observation window, etc., three thrusters 12A, 12B, and 12C, and a skid 13 that serves as a ballast and protector.

Specifically, when viewed from the front, the pressure shell 11 has a thruster 12A at the bottom, and thrusters 12B and 12 located 120 degrees apart from the thruster 12A.
C are attached by attachment members 14, respectively. In this way, the pressure shell 11 to which the interior components such as the television camera and the exterior components of the thrusters 12A to 12C are attached is configured such that the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy are located approximately at the center O. Support shafts 15 are attached to both sides of the pressure shell 11 so that their virtual axis CL passes through the center O.

The skid 13 is a doughnut-shaped structure in which a pipe is filled with lead or concrete and has gravity as ballast. arrow B- to the support shaft 15 through
It is mounted so that it can rotate in the B′ direction.

In this configuration, when the magnetic brake 16 is released in the state shown in FIG. 2 and the thruster 12A and the thrusters 12B and 12C are rotated in opposite directions, the pressure shell 11 moves in the direction of arrow B or B' direction, each thruster 12A, 12B, 12
When C is positioned in the vertical direction, the magnetic brake 16 is applied to fix the thrusters 12A, 12B, and 12C, so that each thruster 12A, 12B, and 12C can be used for vertical movement.

Of course, in this case, rotation can be achieved by only activating either the thruster 12A or the thrusters 12B, 12C.

On the other hand, when the thrusters 12B and 12C are rotated in opposite directions, the underwater robot A moves toward the center axis CL in Figure 1.
It can rotate horizontally around the center and perform horizontal course changes or turns on the spot.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an underwater robot A according to another embodiment, in which four thrusters 21A to 21D are provided.

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment. In this embodiment, thrusters 31A, 31B, and 31C are attached to pressure shell 11 via frame 18. That is, the frame 18 is attached to the support shaft 15 via a magnetic brake 19.

Therefore, the magnetic brake 16 is released, one magnetic brake 19 is fixed, and
When each thruster 31A to 31C acts, the frame 18 and the pressure shell 11 move around the virtual axis CL.
It rotates as one.

When one magnetic brake 16 is fixed and the other magnetic brake 19 is released to operate each thruster 31A to 31C, only the frame 18 rotates. With this configuration, there are also effects such as being able to change the viewing angle of the television camera provided within the pressure shell 11.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, by providing the underwater robot according to the present invention, at least three or more thrusters can be effectively used when moving in the vertical direction or in the front-back direction. Therefore, the thruster itself can be made smaller, so the weight can be reduced. Reducing the phenomenon of frictional resistance becomes possible.

As a result, it is possible not only to improve propulsion performance, but also to reduce costs.
The effect is great.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the underwater robot according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front view of the underwater robot, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is an action explanatory diagram, and FIG. Figure 4 is a front view of another embodiment, and Figure 5 is a front view of another embodiment.
The figure is a front view of yet another embodiment. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams of a conventional general underwater robot, with FIG. 6 being a side view and FIG. 7 being a plan view thereof. 1, 11...Pressure shell, 2...Vertical thruster, 3...
Horizontal thruster, 4, 13... skid, 12A~
12C, 21A to 21D, 31A to 31D... Thruster, 14... Mounting material, 15... Support shaft, 16, 1
9... Magnetic brake, 17... Support arm, 18...
flame.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pressure shell enclosing at least three thrusters is configured so that its center of gravity and center of buoyancy are located approximately at the center, and support shafts are provided on both sides of the pressure shell so that their virtual axes pass through the center. In addition to providing
1. An underwater robot characterized in that a tip of a support arm provided on a skid having gravity is rotatably connected to the support shaft via a magnetic brake.