POSITIONlNG AND RESCUE DEVICE FOR UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE

Abstract

A positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle, comprising a battery (1), a switch (2), a protective resistor (3), an electromagnetic relay (4), a master control chip (5), a GPS positioning system (6), an igniter (7), a partition (8), an air bag (9), a shell (10), and a rope (11). The battery (1), the switch (2), the protective resistor (3), the electromagnetic relay (4) and the master control chip (5) are sequentially connected by means of wires to form a series circuit, and the igniter (7) and the GPS positioning system (6) are separately connected to the master control chip (5) by means of wires; two normally open contacts of a control loop of the electromagnetic relay (4) are respectively connected to two ends of a general power supply (15).

Claims

1. A positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle, characterized in that: the positioning and rescue device comprises a battery, a switch, a protective resistor, an electromagnetic relay, a master control chip, a GPS positioning system, an igniter, a partition, an air bag, a shell, and a rope; the shell, as a hollow structure, is divided by the partition into two portions, a non-watertight cavity and a watertight cavity; the non-watertight cavity is provided inside with the rope, the air bag, and the igniter arranged on the air bag; the watertight cavity is provided inside with the battery, the switch, the protective resistor, the electromagnetic relay, the master control chip, and the GPS positioning system; the battery, the switch, the protective resistor, the electromagnetic relay and the master control chip are sequentially connected by means of wires to form a series circuit, wherein two contacts of a controlled loop of the electromagnetic relay are respectively connected to the protective resistor and the master control chip by means of wires; the igniter and the GPS positioning system are respectively connected to the master control chip by means of wires; two normally open contacts of a control loop of the electromagnetic relay are respectively connected to two ends of a general power supply, with the general power supply arranged on a tugboat or coming with the underwater vehicle; one end of the rope passes through an annular structure, and the other end of the rope passes through the annular air bag, with the two ends tied together into a knot near the annular air bag.

2. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the hollow structure is a hollow cylinder.

3. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the annular structure, made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy, is a high-strength structure on the underwater vehicle.

4. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: both ends of the shell are sealed with a lid.

5. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: a sealing hole is provided on the partition to allow the wire to connect to the igniter in the non-watertight cavity through the partition, and is subjected to watertight treatment.

6. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the GPS positioning system adopts an NEO-6M module.

7. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the master control chip is an ARM7 chip.

8. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the air bag, containing sodium azide or ammonium nitrate, is made of rubber and has a tire-like annular shape.

9. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the rope is made of polyester fiber.

10. The positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: the electromagnetic relay is a small intermediate relay 24V JZX-22F.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the structure of the positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle of the present invention;

[0030] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the components in the watertight cavity in FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the components in the non-watertight cavity in FIG. 1;

[0032] FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram after the air bag is inflated;

[0034] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a rope guiding a wire rope; and

[0035] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the wire rope pulling the underwater vehicle.

[0036] In the figures: 1. battery; 2. switch; 3. protective resistor; 4. electromagnetic relay; 5. master control chip; 6. GPS positioning system; 7. igniter; 8. partition; 9. air bag; 10. shell; 11. rope; 12. lid; 13. annular structure; 14. wire rope; and 15. general power supply.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0037] In order to better understand the present invention, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the appended drawings; however, the protection scope claimed in the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the embodiments.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 1-3, a positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle mainly comprises a battery 1, a switch 2, a protective resistor 3, an electromagnetic relay 4, a master control chip 5, a GPS positioning system 6, an igniter 7, a partition 8, an air bag 9, a shell 10, a rope 11, and a lid 12; the shell 10, as a hollow structure, is preferably a hollow cylinder with both ends sealed with the lid 12, and is divided by the partition 8 into two portions, a non-watertight cavity and a watertight cavity; the non-watertight cavity is provided inside with the rope 11, the air bag 9, and the igniter 7 arranged on the air bag 9; the watertight cavity is provided inside with the battery 1, the switch 2, the protective resistor 3, the electromagnetic relay 4, the master control chip 5, and the GPS positioning system 6.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 4, the battery 1, the switch 2, the protective resistor 3, the electromagnetic relay 4 and the master control chip 5 are sequentially connected by means of wires to form a series circuit, wherein the two contacts of the controlled loop of the electromagnetic relay 4 are respectively connected to the protective resistor 3 and the master control chip 5 by means of wires; the igniter 7 and the GPS positioning system 6 are respectively connected to the master control chip 5 by means of wires, and the master control chip 5 sends a signal to control the igniter 7 and the GPS positioning system 6; the two normally open contacts of the control loop of the electromagnetic relay 4, which are in a disconnected and non-conducting state under normal circumstances and in a connected and conducting state after being powered, are respectively connected to the two ends of the general power supply 15, with the general power supply 15 arranged on a tugboat or coming with the underwater vehicle.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, one end of the rope 11 passes through the annular structure 13, and the other end of the rope 11 passes through the annular air bag 9, with the two ends tied together into a knot near the annular air bag 9; preferably, the annular structure 13 is a high-strength structure made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy on the underwater vehicle.

[0041] After the air bag 9 is inflated to rise, the connected rope 11 rises to the water surface. As shown in FIG. 6, a searcher finds the air bag 9 by positioning, and unties the knot near the air bag 9; the searcher ties one end of the rope 11 to the wire rope 14 so as to pull the other end of the rope 11; and the wire rope 14, guided by the rope 11, passes through the high-strength annular structure 13. As shown in FIG. 7, when the wire rope returns to the water surface under the guidance of the rope 11, the searcher can fix both ends of the wire rope on a winch of the rescue ship, and drives the annular structure 13 by pulling the wire rope 14 so as to pull the underwater vehicle up from the bottom of the water, thereby rescuing the underwater vehicle.

[0042] In order to ensure the watertightness of the watertight cavity, a sealing hole is provided on the partition 8 to allow the wire of the igniter 7 to pass through, and is subjected to watertight treatment. The wire is connected to the igniter 7 in the non-watertight cavity through the partition; the position where the igniter 7 is installed on the air bag 9 must be airtight.

[0043] When the unmanned underwater vehicle encounters dangers such as breakage of the towing rope, stranding or collision, and exhaustion of power, the general power supply 15 on the tugboat or the underwater vehicle cannot continue to supply power to the underwater vehicle; this converts the state of the control loop of the electromagnetic relay 4 from non-conduction to conduction, so that the two normally open contacts of the control loop of the electromagnetic relay 4 are closed to get connected; thus, the series circuit formed by the battery 1, the switch 2, the protective resistor 3, the electromagnetic relay 4 and the master control chip 5 is turned on. The battery 1 supplies power to the master control chip 5, so that the master control chip 5 generates a current signal, which is transmitted to the igniter 7 and the GPS positioning system 6 through wires. The GPS positioning system 6 sends the positioning information to the searcher; the igniter 7 ignites to make the chemical substances in the air bag react and produce a large amount of gas, so that the air bag 9 expands to eject the lid 12; under the action of buoyancy, the igniter 7 is disconnected from the wire and starts to rise until it reaches the water surface. This process does not need to be performed manually. After the underwater vehicle fails, the positioning and rescue device can be automatically turned on, so that the underwater vehicle can be positioned and rescued.

[0044] The battery 1 is mainly used to provide power for the master control chip 5, so its voltage can be kept at 12 V; it is preferably a Puxun PXE-3S1P1 lithium battery, which is small in size (18 mm×54 mm×67 mm) and light in weight (<100 g).

[0045] Preferably, the GPS positioning system 6 adopts the NEO-6M module of UBLOX Company, having 50 channels and a tracking sensitivity as high as −161 dBm.

[0046] Preferably, the master control chip 5 is an ARM7 chip, which has low power consumption and fast running speed.

[0047] Considering the requirements for lightness, softness and easy folding, the rope 11 is preferably made of polyester fiber; the rope can be appropriately lengthened according to the water depth of the working area of the underwater vehicle, so as to ensure that the air bag 9 can still surface even when the underwater vehicle sinks to the bottom.

[0048] The air bag 9, containing substances such as sodium azide (NaN.sub.3) or ammonium nitrate (NH.sub.4NO.sub.3), is preferably made of rubber, and has a tire-like annular shape. After ignition, these substances rapidly decompose and produce a large amount of gas to fill the air bag. Sodium azide decomposes to produce nitrogen gas and solid sodium, and ammonium nitrate decomposes to produce a large amount of nitrous oxide (N.sub.2O) gas and water vapor.

[0049] For the sake of safety, the igniter 7 is an electrode plug airbag igniter, which is installed on the air bag in a position where the air tightness must be guaranteed.

[0050] The electromagnetic relay 4 is a Chint small intermediate relay 24V JZX-22F, which is connected to normally open contacts (i.e. these contacts are in a disconnected and non-conducting state under normal circumstances and in a connected and conducting state after being powered).

[0051] The specific working process of the positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle of the present invention is as follows:

[0052] When the unmanned underwater vehicle is about to navigate, the switch 2 is closed, and then the underwater vehicle is immersed in the water for detection and other work.

[0053] When the unmanned underwater vehicle encounters dangers such as breakage of the towing rope, stranding or collision, and exhaustion of power during its navigation, the general power supply 15 on the tugboat or the underwater vehicle cannot continue to supply power to the underwater vehicle; this results in that the wire connected to the normally open contacts of the electromagnetic relay 4 cannot supply power, that is, an action from power on for conduction to power off for non-conduction is performed on the normally open contacts; this action causes the controlled loop of the electromagnetic relay 4 to be in a conducting state, thereby turning on the series circuit formed by the battery 1, the switch 2, the protective resistor 3, the two contacts of the controlled loop of the electromagnetic relay 4, and the master control chip 5. Then the battery 1 supplies power to the master control chip 5, the current signal is transmitted to the GPS positioning system 6 and the igniter 7 through wires, and the GPS positioning system 6 sends the real-time position of the underwater vehicle to the searcher; the igniter 7 ignites to make the chemical substances in the air bag 9 react and produce a large amount of gas, so that the air bag 9 expands to generate buoyancy and eject the lid 12 and starts to rise together with the rope 11 to the water surface. During the rise of the air bag 9, the igniter 7 is disconnected from the wire, the watertight structure remains on the underwater vehicle, and the air bag 9, the igniter 7, and the rope 11 connected to the air bag 9 in the non-watertight structure all begin to rise to the water surface. Then the searcher finds the air bag 9 by positioning, and ties one end of the rope 11 to the wire rope 14 so as to pull the other end of the rope 11; and the wire rope 14, guided by the rope 11, passes through the high-strength annular structure 13; thus, the searcher can rescue the underwater vehicle by pulling the wire rope 14.

[0054] When the task is completed without an accident, after the unmanned underwater vehicle is recovered, first the switch 2 is turned off to make the rescue device in a shutdown state, and then the general power supply 15 on the tugboat or the underwater vehicle is disconnected.

[0055] As described above, the functions of the positioning and rescue device for an unmanned underwater vehicle of the present invention are well realized. The present invention is not restricted by the above-mentioned embodiments; any other alteration, modification, replacement, combination and simplification not departing from the spiritual essence and principle of the present invention shall be the equivalent substitution and included in the protection scope of the present invention.