Subsea connector

Abstract

A subsea connector includes a recess arranged on an inner surface of the housing of the subsea connector. The recess is configured to receive a canted coil spring such that it provides an electrical multi-point contact between an outer shielding layer, sometimes referred to as a screen, of a subsea cable. The subsea connector further includes a link configured to releasably attach an earth link wire to the housing.

Claims

1. A subsea connector, comprising: a housing having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface forming a passage, a recess arranged on the inner surface of the housing and configured to receive a canted coil spring, a link provided on the outer surface of the housing and configured to releasably attach an earth link wire to the housing, wherein when a subsea cable is arranged in the passage in the housing: the canted coil spring provides an electrical multi-point contact between an outer shielding layer of the subsea cable and the housing; and the inner surface, the recess, and the canted coil spring are configured to form an annular gap between the inner surface and the outer shielding layer of the subsea connector so that the inner surface and the outer shielding layer do not contact each other.

2. The subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the housing is formed by a circular bore defining the passage, and wherein the recess tangentially surrounds the circular bore.

3. The subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a monolithic, annular body.

4. The subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the housing is made of copper.

5. The subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the link has a threading configured to engage with a counterpart threading of the earth link wire.

6. The subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the housing are ring-shaped and coaxially aligned.

7. The subsea connector of claim 1, further comprising: a further link provided on the outer surface of the housing and configured to releasably attach a tether piece such that at least one of rotational movement and linear movement of the housing with respect to the subsea cable is suppressed.

8. A system, comprising: the subsea connector of claim 1, wherein the canted coil spring is arranged in the recess.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the canted coil spring projects inwardly from the inner surface of the housing.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the canted coil spring is made of copper.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the canted coil spring and the housing are made of the same material.

12. The system of claim 8, further comprising: the subsea cable arranged in the passage such that it is at least partly enclosed by the inner surface of the housing, wherein the subsea cable comprises a cable outer surface formed by the outer shielding layer, wherein the outer shielding layer is in contact with the canted coil spring.

13. A method, comprising: above sea, attaching an end of an earth link wire to a housing of a subsea connector, the housing having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface forming a passage, above sea, receiving a canted coil spring in a recess arranged on the inner surface of the housing, inserting a subsea cable into the passage, wherein when the subsea cable is arranged in the passage in the housing: the canted coil spring provides an electrical multi-point contact between an outer shielding layer of the subsea cable and the housing; and the inner surface, the recess, and the canted coil spring are configured to form an annular gap between the inner surface and the outer shielding layer of the subsea connector so that the inner surface and the outer shielding layer do not contact each other.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said inserting of the subsea cable into the passage is executed above sea.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: above sea, attaching a further end of the earth link wire to a ground.

16. The subsea connector of claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a circular shape and a protrusion, wherein the protrusion comprises a bore comprising the threading, and wherein an axis of the bore is parallel to an axis of the passage.

17. The subsea connector of claim 16, further comprising the earth link wire comprising an end configured to thread into the threading.

18. A subsea connector, comprising: a housing having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface forming a passage, a canted coil spring, a recess arranged on the inner surface of the housing and configured to receive the canted coil spring such that the canted coil spring provides an electrical multi-point contact between an outer shielding layer of a subsea cable arranged in the passage and the housing, and a link provided on the outer surface of the housing and configured to releasably attach an earth link wire to the housing, wherein the link has a threading configured to engage with a counterpart threading of the earth link wire, wherein the housing comprises a circular shape and a protrusion, wherein the protrusion comprises a bore comprising the threading, and wherein an axis of the bore is parallel to an axis of the passage.

19. The subsea connector of claim 18, wherein the housing comprises a monolithic, annular body.

20. The subsea connector of claim 18, wherein the canted coil spring is arranged in the recess.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing and additional features and effects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements.

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates a subsea connector according to reference implementations.

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates a subsea connector according to reference implementations.

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective partial section view of a subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective partial section view of a subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(6) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(7) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a subsea connector and a subsea cable having an outer shielding layer according to various embodiments.

(8) FIG. 7 is a front view of a subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(9) FIG. 8 is a side full section view of a subsea connector and a canted coil spring arranged in a recess of the subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(10) FIG. 9 schematically illustrates the canted coil spring.

(11) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of two subsea connectors coupled via a tether piece and of two subsea cables and of subsea equipment according to various embodiments.

(12) FIG. 11 illustrates subsea equipment connected via a subsea cable to which an earth link wire is connected employing a subsea connector according to various embodiments.

(13) FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(14) In the following, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the following description of embodiments is not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is not intended to be limited by the embodiments described hereinafter or by the drawings, which are taken to be illustrative only.

(15) The drawings are to be regarded as being schematic representations and elements illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale. Rather, the various elements are represented such that their function and general purpose become apparent to a person skilled in the art. Any connection or coupling between functional blocks, devices, components, or other physical or functional units shown in the drawings or described herein may also be implemented by an indirect connection or coupling.

(16) Hereinafter, techniques are discussed which enable to reliably establish an electrical connection between an earth link wire connected to Ground and an outer shielding layer (screen) of a subsea cable. These techniques rely on establishing an electrical multi-point contact via a canted coil spring.

(17) In FIG. 3, a perspective partial section view of the subsea connector 120 according to various embodiments is shown. The subsea connector 120 comprises a metallic housing 131. In the scenario of FIG. 3, the metallic housing 131 is made of copper and is of circular shape. Within the recess of the housing 131, a canted coil spring 171 is held captive. The housing 131 defines a passage 160 (a center axis of which is illustrated in FIG. 3 by the dashed line). It is possible to arrange a subsea cable (not shown in FIG. 3) in the passage. Then, an electrical multi-point contact between the housing 131 and the screen of the subsea cable can be established via the canted coil spring 171.

(18) As can be seen from FIG. 3, an earth link wire 121 is attached and electrically coupled to the housing 131 via a link 132. A protection sleeve 122 protects the earth link wire 121 against environmental influences in the vicinity of the link 132. The other end of the earth link wire 121 can be connected to Ground (not shown in FIG. 3).

(19) FIG. 4 is a perspective partial section view of the subsea connector 120 of FIG. 3 having a further perspective. In FIG. 4, the subsea cable 111 having the screen 112 is shown arranged inside the passage 160. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the canted coil spring 171 is in contact with the screen 112. The subsea cable 111 comprises an inner conductor 114 and an insulator 113 in-between the screen 112 and the inner conductor 114.

(20) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the subsea connector 120. The earth link wire 121 is connected to the housing 131 having circular shape with a protrusion. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the housing 131 comprises an inner surface 141 and an outer surface 142. The inner surface 141 and the outer surface 142 are ring-shaped and are coaxially aligned with respect to a center axis C of the passage 160. In FIG. 5, the inner surface 141 of the housing 131 defines the passage 160. The inner surface 141 is formed by a circular bore. The recess 150 tangentially surrounds the circular bore and the center axis C. The housing 131 is integrally formed. By such a configuration of the subsea connector 120, air entrapments can be avoided. Further, the stability and rigidity of the subsea connector 120 is comparably large.

(21) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the subsea connector 120 where the earth link wire 111 having the screen 112 forming its outer surface is arranged within the passage 160 formed by the inner surface 141 of the housing 131 of the subsea connector 120. As can be seen, the subsea cable 111 is in parallel to and aligned with the center axis C of the passage 160. The subsea cable 111 is fully enclosed by the inner surface 141 of the housing 131. Generally, it is not required that the inner surface 141 of the housing 131 fully encloses the subsea cable 111 to establish the multi-point electrical contact with the screen 112. E.g., the housing 131 can be formed as an open ring.

(22) FIG. 7 is a side view of the subsea connector 120. The link 132 is formed at the protrusion of the outer surface 142 of the housing 131; here, a wall thickness of the housing 131 is larger than in other parts more remote from the link 132. Specifically, the link 132 comprises a bore having a threading 132a, cf. FIG. 8. An axis of the bore of the link 132 is arranged in parallel to the center axis C of the passage 160. The threading 132a is configured to engage with a counterpart threading of the earth link wire 121 (not shown in FIG. 8).

(23) In FIG. 8, the canted coil spring 171 is arranged in the recess 150. As can be seen from FIG. 8, the canted coil spring 171 projects inwardly from the inner surface 141 of the housing 131. Thereby, a gap 300 is maintained between the inner surface 141 and the screen 112 of the subsea cable 111 (not shown in FIG. 8). Thereby, friction and abrasion of the screen 112 due to relative rotation and/or translational movement of the subsea cable 111 with respect to the subsea connector 120 can be reduced.

(24) In the scenario of FIG. 8, both, the housing 131 and the canted coil spring 171 are made of copper. Thus, generally, both the canted coil spring 171 and the housing 131 can be made out of the same material. Thereby, reliable and intimate electrical contact can be established between the screen 112 and the housing 131 via the canted coil spring 171. While with respect to the FIGs. examples have been explained where the material is copper, generally, the housing 131 and/or the canted coil spring 171 can be made at least partly of different materials such as steel, etc. In particular, depending on the particular requirements such as conductivity requirements, electrical current requirements and/or operating temperature requirements, a different material may be chosen.

(25) In FIG. 8, the housing 131 further comprises a further link 136 having a threading. Via the further link 136, a tether piece (not shown in FIG. 8) can be releasably attached to the housing 131. Thereby, at least one of rotational movement and linear movement of the housing 131 with respect to the subsea cable 111 can be suppressed.

(26) In FIG. 9, the canted coil spring 171 is illustrated schematically. As can be seen, windings 172 of the canted coil spring 171 are wound about a center axis 173 of the canted coil spring 171. The center axis 173 is circularly shaped. Then, the center axis 173 can be tangentially aligned with respect to the center axis C of the passage 160 when the canted coil spring 171 is held captive in the recess 150 of the subsea connector 120.

(27) The canted coil spring 171 reliably supports the electrical multi-point contact, but also provides the flexibility in order to absorb expansion and contraction of the subsea cable 111, e.g., due to changes in temperature, etc. Further, irregularities in the surface of the screen 112, e.g., local protrusions or indentations, can be compensated for.

(28) Now referring to FIG. 10, the circular shape of the housing 131 enables closely packing a plurality of subsea cables 111-1, 111-2, e.g., when connecting to subsea equipment 200 through a shared port thereof. In FIG. 10, two adjacent subsea connectors 120-1, 120-2 are attached to each other via a tether piece 134. To attach to the tether piece 134, each one of the subsea connectors 120-1, 120-2 comprises the further link 136 on the outer surface 142 of the housing 131. As can be seen from FIG. 10, the small building space required for the housing 131 of the subsea connectors 120-1, 120-2 enables to arrange the subsea cables 111-1, 111-2 in close proximity to each other. In particular, it is not required to splay the subsea cables 111-1, 111-2 with respect to each other.

(29) FIG. 11 schematically illustrates the first subsea equipment 200-1 and the second subsea equipment 200-2 arranged subsea 202. The first and second subsea equipment 200-1, 200-2 is connected via the subsea cable 111. The subsea connector 120 electrically connects the earth link wire 121 to the screen 112 (not shown in FIG. 11) of the subsea cable 111. Another end of the earth link wire 121 is connected to Ground.

(30) When assembling the connection between the first and second subsea equipment 200-1, 200-2, some steps may be executed above sea 201, while other steps may be executed subsea 202. Employing the subsea connector 120 may bring the advantage of easy assembly as some of the construction may be carried out above sea 201 prior to installation of the connector 120 on the subsea cable 111.

(31) In FIG. 12, a flowchart of a method according to various embodiments is illustrated. At A1, the earth link wire 112 is attached to the subsea connector 120. A1 is executed above sea 201. E.g., the earth link wire 112 can be attached to the housing 131 of the subsea connector 120 employing the threaded bore of the link 132 provided on the outer surface 142 of the housing.

(32) At A2, the canted coil spring 171 is arranged in the recess 150 of the subsea connector 120. A2 is executed above sea 201. The recess 150 and the canted coil spring 171 can be dimensioned such that the gap 300 (cf. FIG. 8) is maintained once the subsea cable 111 is inserted into the passage 160 of the subsea connector 120, A3. A3 can be executed subsea 202 or above sea 201.

(33) Optionally, the other end of the earth link wire 121 is attached to Ground, e.g., subsea 202. Ground connection can be established, e.g., by connecting the other end of the earth link wire 121 to the housing of subsea equipment 200, 200-1, 200-2.

(34) Thus, summarizing, above techniques have been illustrated that enable to establish reliable and flexible electrical contact in between an earth link wire and a screen of a subsea cable. A canted coil spring is arranged such that it provides an electrical multi-point contact between a housing of a subsea connector and the screen of the subsea cable.

(35) Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, equivalents and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. The present invention includes all such equivalents and modifications and is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.