JPH0825512B2 - Submersible Ocean Exploration Robot - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a submersible marine exploration robot for navigating in seawater for measuring temperature distribution of seawater, for example.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a self-propelled robot is known as a submersible robot that performs ocean exploration such as measuring the temperature distribution of seawater or observing sediments in the sea. This self-propelled marine exploration robot is usually mounted on a mother ship and transported, and is unloaded from the mother ship at a destination to carry out self-propelled exploration of a predetermined sea area.
When the exploration is completed, the ocean exploration robot is mounted on the mother ship again and moves to the next destination. Although such a self-propelled marine exploration robot has a low navigation speed, it can move freely in the surveyed sea area, and is therefore suitable for performing local precision exploration.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

However, when trying to measure the temperature distribution of seawater while towing a self-propelled ocean exploration robot at high speed in a wide sea area, for example, the posture of the robot becomes unstable, and accurate ocean exploration becomes difficult. This is because when towing at high speed, the influence of the vortex generated in the rear part of the robot becomes large, and the towing force of the mother ship against the robot acts on the upper part of the robot.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of providing a submersible marine exploration robot that can be towed and self-propelled, and is therefore capable of local precision exploration as well as ocean exploration in a wide sea area.

[Means for solving the problem]

A submersible marine exploration robot according to the present invention comprises a fuselage and a body having wings provided obliquely downwardly projecting from the body, and a propulsion unit provided at the end of the wings for self-propelling the body. An attitude control mechanism having a weight, which is disposed in the fuselage and is capable of advancing and retracting along the longitudinal direction of the fuselage, and a means for towing the fuselage.

〔Example〕

 The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. The fuselage 10 is equipped with a measuring device (not shown), and the tow line 50 allows the mother ship 60
Linked to The mother ship 60 tows the airframe 10, and also supplies power to the airframe 10 and the airframe 10
It is equipped with a controller that starts signals for attitude control. These power and control signals are tow lines 50
Is transmitted to the airframe 10 via. Further, various measurement signals obtained by the measuring device are also transmitted to the mother ship 60 via the tow line 50. Therefore, the towline 50 has a cable for supplying power and a cable for transmitting a control signal to the airframe 10.
And a cable for transmitting the measurement signal to the mother ship 60.

2 to 4 show the structure of the airframe 10. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the attitude control mechanism 30 and the control device 41 are arranged in the body 11, but are shown by the solid lines as appropriate.

In these figures, the machine body 10 is a substantially cylindrical body 11
And the main wing 12 which is provided so as to project outward from the fuselage 11
And a vertical stabilizer 13 extending upward. The body 11 has a pressure resistant structure so as to withstand a predetermined water pressure, and has a watertight structure. The main wing 12 has a substantially triangular shape when viewed from above, and the body 11 is provided at a position corresponding to the center line of the triangle. The main wing 12 extends obliquely downward from the upper surface of the fuselage 11, and a starboard-side propulsion unit 14 and a port-side propulsion unit 15 are provided at the starboard-side and port-side ends of the main wing 12, respectively. These propulsion units 14 and 15 are for self-propelled body 10,
Each has a ducted propeller 16 or 17. These propellers 16 and 17 are driven by motors 18 and 19, respectively.

A joint member (21) is attached to the upper surface of the main wing (12), which is located a certain distance forward of the center of the main wing (12). A towing metal fitting 22 is connected to the joint member 21, and a free end 23 of the towing metal fitting 22 is connected to a tow line 50. The towing fitting 22 is a joint member
It is rotatably supported by a plane including the vertical tail 13. As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the towing fitting 22 has a vertically elongated hexagonal shape. Therefore, when the towing metal fitting 22 tilts to the rear of the aircraft 10, the towing metal fitting 22
Since the vertical tail 13 is fitted into the hexagonal space 22a, the towing fitting 22 can be tilted backward by a predetermined angle without interfering with the vertical tail 13. Main wing 12
Lights 24 and 25 for illuminating a target place are provided on the starboard side port edge and the port side edge part, respectively.

Inside the body 11, a trim control of the machine body 10, that is, an attitude control mechanism 30 for inclining the machine body 10 forward or backward by a predetermined angle is provided. The attitude control mechanism 30 is a weight drive unit.
31, a frame 32, a ball screw 33, and a weight 34.
The weight driving unit 31 has a motor for rotating the ball screw 33 and a speed reduction mechanism. The frame 32 is fixed to the inner wall of the body 10. The ball screw 33 extends along the longitudinal direction of the body 11, and is supported by the frame body 32 so as to be rotatable around its axis.
One end of the ball screw 33 projects from the frame 32, and the weight drive unit 31
Connected to the deceleration mechanism. The weight 34 is screwed into the ball screw 33, and is supported by the frame 32 so as not to rotate. Therefore, when the ball screw 33 rotates about the axis, the weight 34 moves in the axial direction of the ball screw 33, that is, the body.
Moves back and forth in the forward and backward direction of 11. As a result, the center of gravity of the machine body 10 moves in the front-rear direction, and the trim angle of the machine body 10 changes.

Further, inside the body 11, a control device 41 and a measuring device 42 are arranged. The control unit 41 includes the propulsion units 14, 15, the lights 24, 2
5, which controls the attitude control mechanism 30 and the measuring device 42, is electrically connected to the towline 50 via the first underwater connector 43 provided on the rear outer wall of the fuselage 11, and receives power from the mother ship 60. The control signal is transmitted while being supplied. The electric power and the control signal are transmitted to the weight driving unit 31 and the measuring device 42 via the electric wirings 44 and 45. The data measured by the measuring device 42, that is, the measurement signal is transmitted to the mother ship 60 through the electric wiring 45, the control device 41, and the signal cable in the towline 50. Further, the control device 41 is electrically connected to a second underwater connector 46 provided on a rear outer wall of the body 11, and the vertical connector 46 is connected to the propulsion unit 14 via external wirings 47, 48.
Electrically connected to 15 and lights 24, 25. Therefore, the electric power supplied from the mother ship 60 is towed by the towline 50 and the control device 4.
1, and through external wiring 47, 48 to the propulsion units 14, 15 and lights 24, 25.

The measuring instrument 42 has various sensors and also has a television camera for photographing. As this sensor, an inclinometer for detecting the trim angle or heel angle of the aircraft 10
A pressure gauge for detecting the depth of 10 and an azimuth gauge for detecting the traveling direction of the body 10 are provided, and further, necessary sensors such as a water temperature gauge are provided according to the purpose of ocean exploration.
Since these sensors themselves are conventionally known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows a controller 61 mounted on the mother ship 60.
The controller 61 is connected to the signal cable of the towline 50, and launches a control signal for propulsion and attitude control of the airframe 10.

The weight position command unit 62 is provided above the controller 61 and has a rotary switch 63. When the switch 63 is rotated clockwise, the weight 35 is displaced rearward of the machine body 10, and when it is rotated counterclockwise, the weight 35 is displaced forward of the machine body 10. On the other hand, below the controller 61, a starboard propulsion machine command unit 64, a portside propulsion machine command unit 65, and a light control unit 66 are provided, and these each have a toggle switch. When the switch of the starboard propulsion machine command unit 64 is tilted to the upper side of the controller 61, the propeller 16 of the starboard propulsion machine 14 rotates in the forward direction, and thrust that advances the starboard side of the machine body 10 is generated. When the switch is tilted to the lower side of the controller 61, the propeller 16 is rotated in the reverse direction, and thrust which causes the starboard side of the body 10 to move backward is generated. Similarly, by pushing the switch of the port side propulsion unit command unit 65 to the upper side or the lower side of the controller 61, thrust force for moving the port side of the machine body 10 forward or backward is generated. The light control unit
The switch 66 turns on and off the lights 24 and 25 on the starboard and port sides.

 The operation of the present embodiment will be described below.

In the towing mode, the propulsion units 14 and 15 are stopped, and the ocean exploration is performed while towing the airframe 10 by the tow line 50. The diving depth of the airframe 10 is controlled by moving the weight 34 in the front-back direction. That is, the weight driving unit 31
When the weight 34 is moved forward by rotating the ball screw 33 by, the center of gravity of the machine body 10 is moved forward, and the machine body 10 has a negative trim angle. As a result, the downward lift force generated on the main wing 12 is increased, so that the depth of the body 10 is increased. On the other hand, when the weight driving unit 31 moves the weight 34 backward, the center of gravity of the machine body 10 moves rearward,
10 has a positive trim angle. That is, the upward lift generated on the main wing 12 is increased, and the dive depth of the airframe 10 is decreased. Thus, even if the aircraft 10 is towed at a high speed, it will stably sail at a predetermined depth, and accurate ocean exploration will be performed.

In self-propelled mode, the aircraft 10 is starboard and port propulsion 1
It sails by the propulsive force generated by 4 and 15. This propulsion machine 1
Electric power is supplied to 4 and 15 via the towing line 50, but in this case, the towing line 50 does not substantially give the towing force to the airframe 10. The diving depth of the airframe 10 is controlled by moving the weight 34 in the front-rear direction, as in the case of the towing mode. That is, when the weight driving unit 31 moves the weight 34 forward, the center of gravity of the machine body 10 moves forward, and the machine body 10 has a negative trim angle. As a result, the propulsion units 14 and 15 generate thrust that points downwards, which causes
Dive depth of 10 increases. On the other hand, when the weight drive unit 31 moves the weight 34 backward, the center of gravity of the machine body 10 moves rearward, and the machine body 10 has a positive trim angle.
15 generates thrust to point upward, and the depth of diving of the airframe 10 decreases. The turning of the fuselage 10 is performed by rotating the starboard and port propulsion units 14, 15 in mutually opposite directions.

As described above, the ocean exploration robot of the present embodiment can dive in seawater in the towing mode and the self-propelled mode. Therefore, the aircraft 10 is carried by the mother ship 60 to the destination, and is dropped into the sea from the mother ship 60 in a predetermined sea area. Then, the airframe 10 performs ocean exploration in the towing mode or the self-propelled mode while being controlled via the tow line 50.
Usually, the airframe 10 is towed at high speed by the tow line 50, and the ocean exploration in a wide sea area is efficiently performed. When the exploration target is found, the propulsion units 14 and 15 are driven to switch to the self-propelled mode, and the airframe 10 can freely move in the vicinity of the target to perform more detailed exploration.

In the ocean exploration in the towing mode, the submersible depth of the airframe 10 is controlled by changing the lift force generated by the main wing 12 by controlling the position of the weight 34. Therefore, the set depth of the airframe 10 can be changed quickly, and the depth can be kept extremely stable.

The aircraft 10 having the above-described configuration can be towed by the mother ship 60 at all times even when the ocean exploration is not performed. As a result, the mother ship of the aircraft 10 for each destination
No need to carry out unloading work for 60,
There is no need to provide a space and a device for mounting the airframe 10 on the 60.

〔The invention's effect〕

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention as described above, it is possible to tow and self-propelled, therefore, it is possible to carry out ocean exploration at high speed in a wide sea area
Moreover, a submersible ocean exploration robot capable of precise local exploration can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a machine body, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the machine body, FIG. 4 is a front view showing the machine body, and FIG. 5 is a controller. FIG. 10 …… Aircraft 11 …… Body 12 …… Main wing 13 …… Vertical tail 14,15 …… Propulsion machine 30 …… Attitude control mechanism 34 …… Weight 50 …… Towing line 60 …… Mother ship

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Tsutomu Hori 1612-388 Kubo, Koga-cho, Kasuya-gun, Fukuoka 5-33 Koga Civil servant housing (72) Inventor Osamu Kishimoto 4-21-22 Migaoka, Midori-ku, Yokohama (72) Invention Person Masanori Kobayashi 5246-90-1405 Yamaguchi, Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture Inventor Toshiyuki Miike 1297 Nakagami-cho, Akishima-shi, Tokyo 1297 Maison 305 (56) Reference Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-36095 (JP, A) Kai 61-501017 (JP, A) Actual Kaihei 2-38296 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A body having a fuselage and wings extending obliquely downward from the fuselage, a propulsion unit provided at an end of the wing for self-propelling the body, and a body arranged in the body. A submersible marine exploration robot, comprising: a posture control mechanism having a weight, which is installed and is movable back and forth along the longitudinal direction of the body, and means for towing the body.