JPH0152238B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an underwater suspension device, and more particularly to an underwater suspension device for various sensors used while suspended in water.

Various sensors used underwater, such as transducers, water temperature gauges, water pressure gauges, etc., are often suspended underwater depending on the purpose of use.

For example, in the case of a transducer as an acoustic sensor, the transducer is suspended from a buoy floating on the sea at a predetermined depth using a suspension cable that also serves as a signal line, or an acoustic sensor is used. Many transducers used as acoustic sensors in transponders are suspended from buoys and the like.

Furthermore, in addition to the above-mentioned suspension method using a buoy, a suspension lifting and retrieving mechanism is installed on a carrier that can be positioned at a fixed point on the water, such as a ship or a helicopter, and a transducer and receiver are transmitted through this mechanism. A mobile hanging method is also frequently used, in which a sensor is suspended in a predetermined location in water, and after operation, it is lifted up and taken to another measurement point.

In the suspension method described above, a transducer is used as an example of a sensor, but the same applies to other sensors as well.

However, the above-mentioned conventional underwater suspension device of this type has the following drawbacks.

In other words, underwater suspension equipment that suspends sensors using a lifting and retrieving mechanism mounted on a carrier such as a ship or helicopter has high operational mobility, but conversely, during operation, the sensor is always attached to the carrier. In addition, the lifting and retrieving mechanism tends to be complicated and large-scale, and the operation is often complicated.

In addition, underwater suspension devices that use sensors by hanging from a buoy floating on the water require a complicated suspension mechanism, such as a sonobuoy, and are subject to restrictions such as size and weight. In a method in which a buoy for simple or exclusive use of suspension is provided and a sensor or the like is suspended from it, the buoy for suspension itself tends to be large and complicated, and is equipped with a suspension and retrieval mechanism.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, and to provide an underwater suspension device for suspending sensors, etc. underwater at a preset depth, by winding a suspension cable around a buoyant drum and floating the drum on the water. Seshime,
It has an extremely simple structure and basically eliminates restrictions such as size and weight by providing a means to rotate the drum and feed out the sensor etc. using the rotational torque generated by the weight of the sensor, cable, etc. The object of the present invention is to provide an easy-to-operate underwater suspension device.

The device of the present invention is an underwater suspension device that suspends a suspension cable or a sensor coupled to a suspension rope in water at a preset depth, in which the suspension cables or suspension ropes are arranged in a horizontal direction and overlapped. a closed space that has a cylindrical part that can be wound and both ends having end faces with a diameter larger than the cylindrical part, and that has a buoyancy inside that exceeds the weight of the hanging cable or rope to which the sensor is connected; A suspension cable or hanging cable connected to the sensor is wound around the drum, which is made of a synthetic resin material, and suspended from the drum by the weight of the sensor. A locking member that locks the suspension cable or the suspension cable to the drum when the lower rope descends into the water while rotating the drum and reaches a set depth; A weight coupled to the sensor is provided to apply additional weight to the sensor when the speed is not reached.

Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a drum 1, a suspension cable 2, a sensor 3, a weight 4, a marker buoy 5, a connecting rope 6, and stoppers 11A and 11 as locking members.
B, auxiliary rope 11C, etc.

In FIG. 1, a drum 1 includes a suspension cable 2,
In addition to the sensor 3 and the weight 4, it is configured to have a buoyant force having a vector B that is opposite to the gravitational direction vector W that is applied to the total weight including its own weight, and has a larger magnitude, and the sensor 3 and the weight 4 are attached at one end.
When the suspension cable 3 is connected to the drum 1 and the other end is fixed to the drum 1, it is left floating on the sea surface 100 due to buoyancy, but initially due to the weight of the sensor 3 and the weight 4 As a result, the suspension cable 2 is fed out and the sensor 3 moves so as to fall almost vertically downward in the sea.

After the sensor 3 has sunk together with the weight 4 in this way, when the suspension cable 2 is let out to the auxiliary cable 11C whose both ends are fixed to the suspension cable 2 and the drum 1 through the stoppers 11A and 11B, the suspension cable 2 is unwound. Therefore, the rotation of the drum 1 is stopped, and the sensor 3 is suspended in the water set by the auxiliary rope 11C in a state where the sensor 3 is maintained in a substantially vertical position by the weight 4.

When changing the depth, attach multiple auxiliary cables 11C to locations corresponding to the set depth of the suspension cable 2, and when the measurement of the shallowest initial depth is completed, disconnect the auxiliary cables at that depth to change the next setting. It falls to depth and stops. In this way, it is also possible to adjust the depth in the direction of increasing the depth.

The marker buoy 5 includes a buoy body 51, a weight 52, a corner reflector 53, etc., and is connected to the drum 1 via a connecting rope 6 with a rotatable coupling fitting 12, and even when the drum 1 is rotating, Even after the hanging of the sensor is completed, the position of the drum 1 in the surrounding sea is marked and recognized.

Note that the marker buoy 5 does not necessarily need to be used in combination depending on the operational purpose.

2 is a front view A and a side view B showing the structure of the drum 1 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in detail.

The drum 1 has a sealed structure with a so-called thread-wound bobbin shape, and has a winding machine shaft through hole b for passing the suspended cable through the winding shaft of the winding machine when winding up the suspended cable _. It is made of FRP (reinforced plastic material), and a foamed urethane material (a) with closed cells is adhered to the inside of the drum to prevent water from entering the drum even if a crack occurs in a portion of the FRP.

Such a drum 1 is designed to have a buoyancy that maintains the above-mentioned relationship B>W in correspondence with the weight of the sensor 3 and weight 4 to be suspended, and basically there are no restrictions on size or weight. is not required either.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the suspension cable 2 is also used as a cable for supplying power to the sensor 3 and for transmitting data obtained by the sensor 3. An electric wire cable having a core structure and a strong structure is used, and the terminal on the drum 1 side is once drawn into the drum via a watertight connector (not shown) and then connected again via the watertight connector 13. It is now possible to connect to external transmitting equipment, etc.
Such an external transmitting device is usually placed alongside the marker buoy 5 or the like, and further transmits sensor data to an observation ship, an observation station, etc. via an antenna or the like.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a suspension cable 2 is used to suspend the sensor 3 from the drum 1; It is clear that the suspension can be similarly suspended in place of a cable. In such a case, for example, the sensor 3 has a built-in power supply and operates independently, such as an acoustic transponder that sends sensor data back into the water. Naturally, the connected data transmission equipment and the like become unnecessary.

Further, the use of the weight 4, marker buoy 5, etc. in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be arbitrarily determined depending on the operational purpose of the sensor 3 suspended by the underwater suspension device, the operational environment, etc. is also clear.

Furthermore, although the drum 1 is made of FRP as shown in Figure 2, it may be made of other materials with almost similar physical and chemical properties, or it may be made of urethane foam bonded inside. It is clear that the use of the above can be arbitrarily determined as desired, and all of the above can be easily implemented without impairing the gist of the present invention.

As explained above, according to the present invention, in an underwater suspension device for suspending a suspended object such as a sensor at a predetermined depth underwater, a suspension cable or rope connected to a sensor is wound around a buoyant drum. By equipping the drum with a means of suspending the suspended object by leaving it on the flooded water and applying rotational torque generated by the weight of the suspended object to rotate the drum, no power is required, and the size and weight of the suspended object can be reduced. This has the effect of realizing an extremely simple and easy-to-operate underwater suspension device that is hardly subject to the above restrictions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of an underwater suspension device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view A and a side view B showing the structure of the drum 1 in the embodiment of FIG. 1 in detail. 1... Drum, 2... Hanging cable, 3... Sensor, 4... Weight, 5... Marker buoy, 6... Connection rope, 11A, 11B... Stopper, 11C
... Auxiliary rope, 12 ... Joining fitting, 13 ... Watertight connector, 51 ... Buoy body, 52 ... Weight, 53 ...
...corner reflector.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an underwater suspension device that suspends a suspension cable or a sensor coupled to a suspension cable in water at a preset depth, it is possible to align the suspension cable or suspension cable in the horizontal direction and wrap them in layers. A synthetic resin having a cylindrical part and both ends having end faces with a diameter larger than the cylindrical part, and an enclosed space inside which forms a buoyancy that exceeds the weight of the suspension cable or suspension cable to which the sensor is connected. A suspension cable or suspension rope connected to the sensor is wound around a spool-shaped drum made of material and suspended on the water. A locking member that locks the suspension cable or the suspension rope to the drum when it sinks into the water while rotating and reaches a set depth, and a locking member that locks the suspension cable or rope to the drum when the sensor reaches a predetermined speed when the sensor is too light to sink into the water. An underwater suspension device comprising: a weight coupled to the sensor to provide additional weight to the sensor.