KR102750076B1 - Underwater glider launching and salvage platform apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider of the present invention comprises: a main body frame; a buoyancy body fixed to the upper portion of the main body frame; a platform propulsion device coupled to the main body frame and providing propulsive force underwater; a pair of guide buoyancy members coupled to both front sides of the main body frame and guiding the stern of the underwater glider; a stern recovery bracket rotatably provided on the front upper side of the main body frame and capable of moving forward and backward to recover the stern of the underwater glider; and a pair of rotation bar units rotatably provided on the lower portion of the main body frame and supporting both wing sections of the underwater glider.

Description

{Underwater glider launching and salvage platform apparatus}

The present invention relates to a platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider, and more specifically, to a platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider that can be easily recovered by being controlled from a salvage vessel.

Underwater gliders are piloted and used from salvage ships to explore the ocean. After the exploration, a recovery platform device is used to recover the underwater glider.

The conventional recovery platform device was large in size and had many restrictions on movement due to the influence of waves on the water, and had the disadvantage of not reducing the degree of freedom of the glider during recovery. In addition, there was also the problem that the platform was too heavy to be lifted directly from the salvage ship.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 5438906 (registered on December 20, 2013)

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider, which can be easily recovered by controlling it on a salvage vessel.

In order to achieve the above object, the platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider of the present invention comprises: a main body frame; a buoyancy body fixed to the upper portion of the main body frame; a platform propulsion device coupled to the main body frame and providing propulsive force underwater; a pair of guide buoyancy members coupled to both front sides of the main body frame and guiding the stern of the underwater glider; a stern recovery bracket rotatably provided on the front upper side of the main body frame and capable of moving forward and backward to recover the stern of the underwater glider; and a pair of rotation bar units rotatably provided on the lower portion of the main body frame to support both wing sections of the underwater glider.

The above pair of guide buoyancy materials are mounted by being connected to the front ends of the buoyancy material frame that is connected to the main body frame, and the facing inner surfaces can be formed in an inclined curved shape in which the gap between them gradually decreases as it goes toward the rear.

The above-described bracket for recovery may further include a bracket rotation motor that rotates the bracket, and a linear actuator that is mounted on an actuator frame in which the bracket rotation motor is mounted on the front end and coupled to one side of the main body frame.

The above-mentioned stern recovery bracket may have a bent shape to allow the tail fin provided on the stern of the underwater glider to be caught.

The above-described rotary bar unit can be rotated by a rotary actuator having front and rear ends rotatably connected to the main body frame and the above-described rotary bar unit.

According to the underwater glider launching and recovery platform device of the present invention described above, when recovering an underwater glider, a person can easily recover an underwater glider floating in the water by controlling it from a salvage vessel without directly entering the water and without a complicated process.

In addition, when recovering an underwater glider, the stern part is fixed first, thereby reducing the degree of freedom of the underwater glider, making recovery easy.

In addition, the weight of the recovery platform can be reduced to increase maneuverability, and the recovery procedure can be improved to facilitate the recovery of the underwater glider.

Additionally, the platform device is light enough to be lifted directly from the salvage ship.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing an underwater glider launching and recovery platform device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an underwater glider.
FIG. 3 is a downward perspective view showing the platform device of the present invention and the recovered underwater glider.
FIG. 4 is a partial top view showing the platform device of the present invention and the recovered underwater glider.
FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the platform device of the present invention and the underwater glider to be recovered.
Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the stern of an underwater glider being restrained by a stern recovery bracket of a platform device.
Figure 7 is a top view showing the linear actuator of the platform device being operated to move the stern of the underwater glider backwards.
Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a pair of pivot bar units in the platform device of the present invention in a state where they are pivoted downward.
Figure 9 is a top view of Figure 8.
Figure 10 is a top view showing a state in which a pair of pivot bar units in the platform device of Figure 8 are rotated upward and the underwater glider is recovered.
Figure 11 is a side view of Figure 10.

The present invention can be modified in various ways and has various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

The terminology used herein is only used to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "comprise" or "have" and the like are intended to specify that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part or combination thereof described in the specification is present, but do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. At this time, it should be noted that the same components in the attached drawings are indicated by the same symbols as much as possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted. For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically illustrated.

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view showing a platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an underwater glider, FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view showing the platform device of the present invention and a recovered underwater glider, and FIG. 4 is a partial top view showing the platform device of the present invention and a recovered underwater glider.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, the underwater glider launching and recovery platform device (100) of the present invention includes a main body frame (110), a buoyancy body (120) fixed to the upper portion of the main body frame, a platform propulsion device (130) coupled to the main body frame to provide propulsion underwater, a pair of guide buoyancy members (140) coupled to both front sides of the main body frame to guide the stern of the underwater glider (10), a stern recovery bracket (150) rotatably provided on the front upper portion of the main body frame to recover the stern of the underwater glider, and a pair of rotation bar units (180) rotatably provided on the lower portion of the main body frame to support both wing sections (14) of the underwater glider.

First, Fig. 2 illustrates an underwater glider (10) launched and recovered by the platform device (100) of the present invention. The underwater glider (10) may include a long cylindrical main body (12), a pair of wing parts (14) that are coupled to extend from both sides of the main body (12), and a tail wing part (16) that is formed to extend upward from the stern of the main body (12). Although not illustrated, the underwater glider (10) may be equipped with a propulsion device to move by itself underwater.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the main body frame (110) constitutes the skeleton of the platform device (100) and can be formed into a three-dimensional structure to which various components can be combined.

The buoyancy body (120) can be fixed by being attached to the upper surface of the main body frame (110). The buoyancy body (120) is made of a material with low density and can be formed in the shape of a rectangular solid box with a space formed inside where a control unit, a communication unit, a battery, etc. can be installed.

The platform propulsion unit (130) is attached to the lower part of the main body frame (110) and provides propulsion force so that the platform device (100) can move underwater. The platform propulsion unit (130) may include a propulsion unit mounting panel (132) attached to the lower surface of the main body frame (110) and a plurality of fan motors (134) coupled to the propulsion unit mounting panel (132). The propulsion unit mounting panel (132) may be formed in a rectangular plate shape longer than the width of the main body frame (110) and may be fastened to the lower surface of the main body frame (110) by a plurality of screws. The fan motor (134) may be formed in a structure in which a mounting shaft connected to a shroud is coupled to the lower surface side of the propulsion unit mounting panel (132) and a fan and a motor are mounted on the hub portion of the shroud. In the drawing, four fan motors (134) are shown, but two to eight fan motors (134) may be installed depending on the size and weight of the platform device (100).

A pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) are connected to both sides of the front of the main body frame (110) to provide auxiliary buoyancy and have a shape that can guide the stern of the underwater glider (10). A pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) can be connected and fixed to the front of a buoyancy material frame (142) connected to the main body frame (110).

The stern recovery bracket (150) can be provided on the front upper side of the main body frame (110) so as to be rotatable and move forward and backward. The stern recovery bracket (150) can be rotated and moved forward and backward by remote control to hook and recover the tail wing on the upper side of the stern of the underwater glider (10).

A pair of pivot bar units (180) are rotatably provided at the lower portion of the main body frame (110) to support the two wing sections (14) of the underwater glider (10). The pair of pivot bar units (180) are arranged horizontally during an upward rotation to support the two wing sections (14) of the underwater glider (10) from below, and their rotation axes can be arranged at an angle to the horizontal plane so that they rotate while spreading out during a downward rotation.

A pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) are mounted by being connected to the front ends of a buoyancy material frame (142) that is connected to the main body frame (110), and the inner surfaces facing each other can be formed in an inclined curved shape in which the gap between them gradually becomes smaller as it goes toward the rear.

The buoyancy frame (142) is formed in a “ㄷ” shape and can be fastened and combined with the main body frame (110) by a plurality of screws. A pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) can be fastened and combined with a plurality of screws at both ends extending forward from the buoyancy frame (142). The guide buoyancy material (140) can include a horizontal surface, a vertical surface, and a curved surface integrally formed on the front inner side thereof. The pair of facing curved surfaces of the pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) can be formed in an inclined curved shape in which the gap therebetween gradually decreases toward the rear. Therefore, the pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) can guide the stern of the recovered underwater glider (10) to naturally enter between the pair of curved surfaces.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the platform device of the present invention and an underwater glider to be recovered, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the stern of the underwater glider being restrained by a stern recovery bracket of the platform device, and FIG. 7 is a top view showing the stern of the underwater glider being moved backward by operating a linear actuator of the platform device.

The underwater glider launching and recovery platform device (100) of the present invention may further include a bracket rotation motor (160) that rotates a stern recovery bracket (150), and a linear actuator (170) mounted on an actuator frame (172) in which the bracket rotation motor is mounted on the front end and coupled to one side of the main body frame (110).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, first, the linear actuator (170) can be mounted on an actuator frame (172) that is coupled to extend upwardly on one side (right side) of the main body frame (110). The actuator frame (172) can include a first frame to which the rear end of the main body frame (110) is rotatably mounted, and a second frame coupled to the outer surface of the linear actuator (170).

The bracket rotation motor (160) is a motor that rotates the stern recovery bracket (150) and can be coupled to the tip of the extendable bar of the linear actuator (170). The stern recovery bracket (150) is axially coupled to the rotation axis of the bracket rotation motor (160) and can rotate in the forward and reverse rotation directions.

Accordingly, the stern recovery bracket (150) can be rotated forward and backward by the bracket rotation motor (160), and the bracket rotation motor (160) and the stern recovery bracket (150) can be moved forward and backward together by the linear actuator (170).

The stern recovery bracket (150) may have a bent shape so that the tail fin (16) provided on the stern of the underwater glider (10) is caught. The stern recovery bracket (150) is formed in a shape in which the middle portion is bent at an acute angle and other portions are bent at an obtuse angle, and one end is extended so as to be arranged in the direction of the rotation axis of the bracket rotation motor (160) and may be coupled to the rotation axis thereof. As illustrated in FIG. 5, when recovering the underwater glider (10), the stern recovery bracket (150) is rotated upward, and the platform device (100) is moved to approach the underwater glider (10), and then, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the stern recovery bracket (150) is lowered horizontally so that the stern recovery bracket (150) is caught on the tail fin (16).

Each rotary bar unit (180) can be rotated by a rotary actuator (190) having front and rear ends rotatably connected to the main body frame (110) and the rotary bar unit (180).

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the rotation bar unit (180) may include a rotation shaft mounting portion (182) that is coupled and fixed to the main body frame (110), a rotation bracket (184) that is rotatably mounted to the rotation shaft mounting portion (182), a pair of rotation bar fixing members (186) that are coupled to the rotation bracket (184), and a rotation bar (188) that is inserted and fixed into the pair of rotation bar fixing members (186).

The rotation shaft mounting part (182) can be fastened to a plate-shaped frame extended from the main body frame (110) by a plurality of screws so that its rotation shaft is arranged at an angle of 40 to 60 degrees.

The rotation bracket (184) can be equipped with a connecting portion extended to the rotation axis of the rotation axis mounting portion (182).

The pivot bar fixing member (186) can be joined by being fastened to one side of the pivot bracket (184) by two screws. A pair of pivot bar fixing members (186) are formed to surround the pivot bar (188) and can be arranged to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

The pivot bar (188) can be fixed by having one end inserted into a pair of pivot bar fixing members (186) and tightening a plurality of screws. The pivot bar (188) can be formed of a metal or carbon alloy material having good strength, and can be formed in the shape of a bar or pipe with a circular cross-section.

And, the rotation actuator (190) is rotatably mounted on an actuator mounting portion (192) whose rear end is coupled to the main body frame (110), and the front end can be rotatably connected to an actuator bracket (194) coupled to the other surface of the rotation bracket (184). The rotation actuator (190) is configured as a linear actuator, and when contracted, the rotation bar (188) can be rotated up and down horizontally as shown in FIG. 3, and when extended, the pair of rotation bars (188) can be rotated down while spreading apart.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pair of pivot bar units in the platform device of the present invention are rotated downward, FIG. 9 is a top view of FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a partial top view showing a state in which a pair of pivot bar units in the platform device of FIG. 8 are rotated upward and an underwater glider is recovered, and FIG. 11 is a side view of FIG. 10.

Hereinafter, a control method for recovering an underwater glider (10) using the platform device (100) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The underwater glider (10) is heavier at the front than at the stern, so when floating in the water, the stern is positioned above and the front is positioned below, as shown in Fig. 8.

First, the platform propulsion (130) is operated to move the platform device (100) close to the stern of the underwater glider (10).

Next, a pair of rotation actuators (190) are extended to rotate a pair of rotation bars (188) downwardly.

Next, the bracket rotation motor (160) is operated to rotate the stern recovery bracket (150) upward, and the linear actuator (170) is extended to move the stern recovery bracket (150) forward.

Next, the platform device (100) is moved closer to the stern of the underwater glider (10) so that the stern of the underwater glider (10) is placed between a pair of guide buoyancy materials (140).

Next, the bracket rotation motor (160) is rotated in reverse to rotate the stern recovery bracket (150) downward so that the tail wing (16) of the underwater glider (10) is caught on the stern recovery bracket (150).

Next, the linear actuator (170) is contracted to move the stern recovery bracket (150) rearward, thereby pulling the stern of the underwater glider (10). Accordingly, as shown in Fig. 10, the stern of the underwater glider (10) is completely brought into the pair of guide buoyancy materials (140).

Next, the rotation actuator (190) is contracted to rotate a pair of rotation bars (188) upwardly. Accordingly, the pair of rotation bars (188) lift a pair of wing parts (14), thereby placing the underwater glider (10) in a horizontal position, and the recovery of the underwater glider (10) is completed.

The procedure for launching an underwater glider (10) using the platform device (100) of the present invention can be carried out in the reverse order of the recovery procedure.

Above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described, but it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes to the present invention can be made by adding, changing, deleting or adding components, without departing from the spirit of the present invention as described in the claims, and this is also included within the scope of the present invention.

10: Underwater Glider
12: Main body
14: Wings
16: Tail wing
100: Platform device for launching and recovering underwater gliders
110: Body Frame
120: Buoyant body
130: Platform Thruster
132: Propulsion Mounting Panel
134: Fan motor
140: Guide Buoyancy Material
142: Buoyancy Frame
150: Stern recovery bracket
160: Bracket Rotation Motor
170: Linear Actuator
172: Actuator Frame
180: Rotating Bar Unit
182: Rotating shaft mounting part
184: Rotating bracket
186: Rotating bar fixing member
188: Rotation Bar
190: Rotating actuator
192: Actuator mounting part
194: Actuator Bracket

Claims (5)

Body frame (110);
A buoyancy body (120) fixed to the upper part of the main body frame;
A platform thruster (130) coupled to the above main body frame to provide propulsion underwater;
A pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) coupled to both sides of the front of the above main body frame to guide the stern of the underwater glider;
A stern recovery bracket (150) is provided on the front upper side of the above main body frame to be rotatable and move forward and backward to recover the stern of the underwater glider (10);
A linear actuator (170) mounted on an actuator frame (172) coupled to one side of the above body frame (110);
A bracket rotation motor (160) mounted on the tip of the linear actuator and rotating the stern recovery bracket (150); and
It includes a pair of rotation bar units (180) that are rotatably provided at the lower part of the above-mentioned main body frame (110) to support both wing sections of the underwater glider (10).
The above stern recovery bracket (150) has a bent shape so that the tail wing (16) provided on the stern of the underwater glider (10) is caught.
The above-mentioned rotary bar unit (180) is rotated by a rotary actuator (190) whose front and rear ends are rotatably connected to the main body frame (110) and the above-mentioned rotary bar unit (180).
An underwater glider launching and recovery platform device characterized in that the above pair of pivot bar units (180) are arranged horizontally during an upward rotation to support a pair of wing parts (14) of an underwater glider (10) from below, and their rotation axes are arranged at an angle to the horizontal plane so that they rotate while spreading apart during a downward rotation. In the first paragraph,
The above pair of guide buoyancy materials (140) are mounted by being connected to the front ends of the buoyancy material frame (142) coupled to the main body frame (110), and the facing inner surfaces are formed in an inclined curved shape in which the gap between them gradually decreases as it goes toward the rear. This is a platform device for launching and recovering an underwater glider. delete delete delete

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