EP0071117A2 - Méthode et dispositif de touage sous-marin - Google Patents

Méthode et dispositif de touage sous-marin Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0071117A2
EP0071117A2 EP82106428A EP82106428A EP0071117A2 EP 0071117 A2 EP0071117 A2 EP 0071117A2 EP 82106428 A EP82106428 A EP 82106428A EP 82106428 A EP82106428 A EP 82106428A EP 0071117 A2 EP0071117 A2 EP 0071117A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
tow
cable
underwater
weight
vehicle
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP82106428A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0071117B1 (fr
EP0071117A3 (en
Inventor
Robert Anthony Lapetina
Ii Edward C. Brainard
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Edo Western Corp
Original Assignee
Edo Western Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Family has litigation
First worldwide family litigation filed litigation Critical https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=23109349&utm_source=***_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=EP0071117(A2) "Global patent litigation dataset” by Darts-ip is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Application filed by Edo Western Corp filed Critical Edo Western Corp
Priority to AT82106428T priority Critical patent/ATE19762T1/de
Publication of EP0071117A2 publication Critical patent/EP0071117A2/fr
Publication of EP0071117A3 publication Critical patent/EP0071117A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0071117B1 publication Critical patent/EP0071117B1/fr
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B21/00—Tying-up; Shifting, towing, or pushing equipment; Anchoring
    • B63B21/56—Towing or pushing equipment
    • B63B21/66—Equipment specially adapted for towing underwater objects or vessels, e.g. fairings for tow-cables

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a system for towing a tow vehicle underwater, and more particularly to a system for maintaining the tow vehicle at a fairly stable predetermined distance above the sea floor.
  • Information about seabed topography and sub-bottom structure is typically gathered by towing behind a ship a so-called tow vehicle containing sonar transducers and other instruments.
  • the transducers transmit sonar or acoustical signals toward the sea floor and receive reflections from the floor and from sub-floor layers.
  • This information is then transmitted to recording devices on the ship where records of the information, for example in the form of line traces on chart paper, are made.
  • the tow vehicle is connected directly via the tow cable to the ship, erratic moves of the ship or cable are transmitted directly to the tow vehicle, possibly causing it to yaw, heave or roll. Also, since controlling the ship's speed through the water is the method of maintaining the tow vehicle above the sea floor, any sudden stops of the ship may result in the tow vehicle "crashing" into the sea floor.
  • an underwater tow system which includes a buoyant tow vehicle for housing apparatus to be used underwater, apparatus for coupling the tow vehicle to a tow cable, and a weight member attached to the coupling apparatus or the tow cable.
  • the weight member has a sufficient weight to pull the tow vehicle downwardly in water until the weight member contacts the sea floor.
  • Attachment of the weight member to the coupling apparatus or tow cable also serves to isolate the tow vehicle from the effects of erratic movements of the ship or forward portion of the tow cable. Of course, any sudden stops by the ship would not cause the tow vehicle to drop to the sea floor since the tow vehicle is buoyant.
  • the coupling apparatus includes a shear element which will release in the event a certain pulling force is applied to the tow vehicle.
  • the tow vehicle also includes a signal producing device so that in the event the sheer element releases and the tow vehicle floats to the surface, the tow vehicle will produce signals to indicate its location so that it can be retrieved.
  • One especially advantageous method of using the tow system involves paying out a substantial length of tow cable so that some of the cable, as well as the weight member, drag along the sea floor. This relieves the ship's tow cable winch operator from carefully attending the winch in an attempt to maintain only the weight member in contact with the sea floor.
  • FIG. 1 there is shown an underwater tow system 4 made in accordance with the present invention and being towed by a surface vessel 8.
  • the tow system 4 is coupled by way of a tow cable 12 to a winch 16 on the vessel.
  • the tow cable 12 includes, in a conventional manner, electrical conductors for connecting electrical apparatus on board the ship 8 with underwater apparatus housed in a tow vehicle 20 of the underwater tow system.
  • the underwater tow system '4 includes the tow vehicle 20 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) formed generally in the shape of a torpedo and having an elongate cylindrical body 24 rounded on a front end 28 thereof.
  • the rear of the body 24 tapers inwardly to accommodate three fins 32 circumferentially spaced about the body.
  • the streamlined shape of the tow body 24, together with the fins 32, serve to stabilize movement of the tow vehicle through the water.
  • Eyelets 36 are attached to the top of the body 24 at spaced apart locations to provide coupling or lifting elements by which the tow vehicle 20 may be lifted from the water.
  • Illustrative parameters of the tow vehicle 20 are a body length of about 17 feet, a body diameter of 3 feet, and a weight of 1500 pounds in air (when component electrical apparatus is included).
  • the tow body 20 is constructed to be buoyant in water, with a net buoyant force of about 250 pounds. Buoyancy is achieved by including within the tow body 24 a plurality of syntactic foam cylinders, balls or blocks 42 positioned against the upper wall of the body as shown in FIG. 2, and held in place, for example, by epoxy.
  • other buoyant material might also be utilized provided such material did not interfere with operation of electrical equipment contained in the tow vehicle.
  • Syntactic foam has been found to be suitable since it does not resonate to thereby create interference with acoustical equipment which might be utilized on the tow vehicle.
  • a conventional pinger 44 which is arranged to automatically commence transmitting an acoustical signal when power to the pinger is interrupted. This would occur if, for example, the tow vehicle were detached from the tow cable.
  • a light beacon 46 is positioned on top of the tow vehicle to emit light if the tow vehicle floats to the surface. That is, the light beacon is attached to emit light when the water pressure falls below some level indicating that the vehicle is nearing the surface.
  • a fairlead assembly 40 interconnects the tow cable 12 with the tow vehicle 20 and with a chain weight 48.
  • the chain weight 48 includes a plurality of links, an end one of which is coupled to the fairlead assembly 40.
  • the chain weight is provided to pull the tow vehicle 20 and tow cable 12 downwardly in the water until the chain contacts the sea floor.
  • the chain weight 48 will drag over the sea floor and, since the tow vehicle 20 is buoyant, the tow vehicle will "fly" or move through the water at a substantially constant predetermined distance above the sea floor. This distance depends upon the towing speed and the length of the cable or coupling between the fairlead assembly 40 and the tow vehicle 20.
  • a weight for the chain 48 advantageously is about 2000 pounds. This weight, it has been found, is sufficient to dampen small erratic movements by the tow cable 12 caused either by sea currents or by small speed surges of the vessel 8. Because of this dampening effect, the tow vehicle 20 remains more stable as it is pulled through the water. That is, the yaw, heave and roll which might otherwise occur in the tow vehicle 20 by reason of erratic movements of the tow cable 12 are reduced. Also, in the event that the ship 8 comes to a halt, the tow vehicle 20, being buoyant, will continue to float above the sea floor and not "crash" into the floor or other sea floor obstacle.
  • FIG. 3 shows a more detailed perspective view of the fairlead assembly 40 of FIG. 1.
  • This assembly is swivelably coupled by an electromechanical coupler 54 to the cable 12.
  • the coupler 54 is of conventional design.
  • the assembly 40 includes a saddle 52 composed of a curved channel 56 into which the cable 12 is inserted, and a pair of skirts 60 which extend downwardly on either side of the cable 12 as shown.
  • An elongate upper extension of the channel 56 and skirts 60 is placed in a clamp 64 for clamping the fairlead assembly onto the cable 12.
  • the cable 12 thus runs through the channel 56, between the skirts 60, and generally curves with the curvature of the channel.
  • FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 3.
  • the clamp includes a top plate 68 and a bottom plate 70 held in a clamping relationship by bolts 72.
  • the channel 56 of the fairlead assembly 52 which is held between the clamp includes a friction pad 74.
  • a channel element 78 is welded to the plate 70 and includes therein a similar friction pad 76.
  • These pads are shaped to fit snuggly about the tow cable 12 to hold the tow cable in place when the clamp is tightened.
  • the friction pads 74 and 76 are made of lead to deform against the cable as the clamp is tightened.
  • the pads are held in place in the channel 56 and the channel element 78 by pressure.
  • the side walls of the two channels 56 and 78 will mate to prevent damage to the cable 12 in the event the bolts 72 are tightened too tight.
  • the fairlead assembly 52 also includes a coupling mechanism 80 interconnecting the skirts 60 to the chain weight 48.
  • the coupling mechanism 80 includes a first clevis 82, the free ends of which extends about the skirts 60 to align openings in the ends of the clevis with openings in the skirt 60 through which a clevis pin 84 is inserted.
  • a cotter pin 86 then secures the clevis pin 84 in place to thereby secure the clevis 82 on the skirts 60.
  • the base of the clevis 82 is swivelably attached by way of a bit 88 to the base of a second clevis 90, as best seen in FIG. 5.
  • a shear pin 92 extends through aligned openings in the free ends of the clevis 90 and through a sleeve 94.
  • a shackle 96 is fitted in place about the sleeve 94 and this shackle is then linked with the end link of the chain weight 48 to secure the chain weight onto the fairlead assembly.
  • the shear pin 92 is selected so as to break and release the shackle 96 from the clevis 90 when the shackle is subjected to some predetermined pulling force.
  • the shear pin 92 will release the chain to thus avoid possible damage to the fairlead assembly which might otherwise occur if the chain weight 48 were allowed to continue pulling on the assembly.
  • the breaking strength of the shear pin 92 must, of course, be greater than the weight of the chain 48 so that while being launched in the water, the chain doesn't cause the shear pin to break. For a chain weight of about 2000 pounds, the breaking strength of the shear pin 92 might illustratively be 4000 pounds.
  • FIG. 6 shows a side view of a connector mechanism by which the tow cable 12 is coupled to the underneath side of the body 24 of the tow vehicle 20.
  • This connecting apparatus includes a gripping element 100 suitable for connection to the end of the tow cable 12.
  • An exemplary gripping element might be the element known as Dyna-Grip produced by Preformed Line Products, Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio.
  • the end of the gripping element 100, opposite the end at which the element is connected to the tow cable 12, is formed into a clevis and includes a clevis pin 102 which is inserted in aligned openings in the ends of the clevis to extend through the opening in a tongue 104 inserted in the clevis.
  • the tongue 104 is attached to a yoke 106 which includes aligned openings through which a shear pin 108 extends.
  • the shear pin 108 also extends through another coupling element 110 which extends within a yoke 112 which is coupled to the underneath side of the body 24 of the tow vehicle.
  • the shear pin 108 has an illustratively breaking strength of about 10,000 pounds so that if the tow vehicle gets caught on some type of underwater obstruction, the pin will break and release the tow vehicle to allow it to float to the surface and be recovered.
  • electrical connectors 116 and 120 are pulled apart interrupting electrical power to the pinger 44 and this causes the pinger (FIG. 2) to emit acoustical signals which may be detected on the towing ship to indicate the location of the tow vehicle.
  • the beacon light 4o begins emitting light signals as the vehicle reaches the water surface.
  • the positioning of the buoyant material 42 maintains the tow vehicle 20 upright on the surface so that the beacon light 46 remains out of water.
  • the connection between the tow vehicle and the cable 12 allows pivoting in two degrees.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Laying Of Electric Cables Or Lines Outside (AREA)
  • Diaphragms For Electromechanical Transducers (AREA)
  • Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)
  • Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)
  • Electric Cable Installation (AREA)
EP82106428A 1981-07-31 1982-07-16 Méthode et dispositif de touage sous-marin Expired EP0071117B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT82106428T ATE19762T1 (de) 1981-07-31 1982-07-16 Unterwasserschleppvorrichtung und verfahren.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US28894781A 1981-07-31 1981-07-31
US288947 1981-07-31

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0071117A2 true EP0071117A2 (fr) 1983-02-09
EP0071117A3 EP0071117A3 (en) 1983-07-27
EP0071117B1 EP0071117B1 (fr) 1986-05-14

Family

ID=23109349

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82106428A Expired EP0071117B1 (fr) 1981-07-31 1982-07-16 Méthode et dispositif de touage sous-marin

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0071117B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPS5830886A (fr)
AT (1) ATE19762T1 (fr)
AU (1) AU548339B2 (fr)
CA (1) CA1217979A (fr)
DE (1) DE3271134D1 (fr)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0123648A1 (fr) * 1983-03-25 1984-10-31 Philippe Eberlin Dispositif électroacoustique d'identification subaquatique d'un objet immergé ou flottant, notamment d'un navire
WO1985003269A1 (fr) * 1984-01-17 1985-08-01 John Thomas Pado Vehicule sous-marin commande a distance
EP0909701A3 (fr) * 1997-10-15 2001-04-11 The Laitram Corporation Dispositif sous-marin avec dispositif de verrouillage sacrificiel
EP2681591A2 (fr) * 2010-12-23 2014-01-08 Go Science Limited Déploiement et récupération de dispositif de fond marin
CN109782799A (zh) * 2019-01-25 2019-05-21 上海大学 一种基于机器鱼的无人艇环境检测控制***及检测方法
US10369705B2 (en) 2016-09-20 2019-08-06 Saudi Arabian Oil Company Reusable buoyancy modules for buoyancy control of underwater vehicles
CN114212190A (zh) * 2021-11-30 2022-03-22 海鹰企业集团有限责任公司 一种双吊点拖体受阻破断保护装置

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AUPQ707600A0 (en) * 2000-04-26 2000-05-18 Total Marine Technology Pty Ltd A remotely operated underwater vehicle
CN116002068B (zh) * 2023-03-22 2023-05-26 中国空气动力研究与发展中心设备设计与测试技术研究所 水上高速拖曳***的冲击入水滑行轨道及设计、使用方法

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE334689C (de) * 1921-03-17 Wilhelm Wels Vorrichtung, um getauchte Unterwasser-Fahrzeuge in einer bestimmten Tiefe schwebend in der Ruhelage zu halten
DE1045860B (de) * 1952-03-02 1958-12-04 Atlas Werke Ag Schleppeinrichtung fuer ein Unterwasserschallgeraet
US3805730A (en) * 1973-04-09 1974-04-23 E G & G Int Inc Coupling apparatus for towed underwater vehicle
FR2270141A1 (fr) * 1974-05-08 1975-12-05 Eca
FR2274501A1 (fr) * 1974-06-14 1976-01-09 Eca Dispositif de stabilisation en altitude des vehicules sous-marins
US4055138A (en) * 1975-02-07 1977-10-25 Klein Associates, Inc. Underwater vehicle towing and recovery apparatus

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE334689C (de) * 1921-03-17 Wilhelm Wels Vorrichtung, um getauchte Unterwasser-Fahrzeuge in einer bestimmten Tiefe schwebend in der Ruhelage zu halten
DE1045860B (de) * 1952-03-02 1958-12-04 Atlas Werke Ag Schleppeinrichtung fuer ein Unterwasserschallgeraet
US3805730A (en) * 1973-04-09 1974-04-23 E G & G Int Inc Coupling apparatus for towed underwater vehicle
FR2270141A1 (fr) * 1974-05-08 1975-12-05 Eca
FR2274501A1 (fr) * 1974-06-14 1976-01-09 Eca Dispositif de stabilisation en altitude des vehicules sous-marins
US4055138A (en) * 1975-02-07 1977-10-25 Klein Associates, Inc. Underwater vehicle towing and recovery apparatus

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0123648A1 (fr) * 1983-03-25 1984-10-31 Philippe Eberlin Dispositif électroacoustique d'identification subaquatique d'un objet immergé ou flottant, notamment d'un navire
WO1985003269A1 (fr) * 1984-01-17 1985-08-01 John Thomas Pado Vehicule sous-marin commande a distance
EP0909701A3 (fr) * 1997-10-15 2001-04-11 The Laitram Corporation Dispositif sous-marin avec dispositif de verrouillage sacrificiel
EP2681591A2 (fr) * 2010-12-23 2014-01-08 Go Science Limited Déploiement et récupération de dispositif de fond marin
US10369705B2 (en) 2016-09-20 2019-08-06 Saudi Arabian Oil Company Reusable buoyancy modules for buoyancy control of underwater vehicles
CN109782799A (zh) * 2019-01-25 2019-05-21 上海大学 一种基于机器鱼的无人艇环境检测控制***及检测方法
CN114212190A (zh) * 2021-11-30 2022-03-22 海鹰企业集团有限责任公司 一种双吊点拖体受阻破断保护装置
CN114212190B (zh) * 2021-11-30 2023-08-29 海鹰企业集团有限责任公司 一种双吊点拖体受阻破断保护装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA1217979A (fr) 1987-02-17
JPS5830886A (ja) 1983-02-23
EP0071117B1 (fr) 1986-05-14
DE3271134D1 (en) 1986-06-19
EP0071117A3 (en) 1983-07-27
AU548339B2 (en) 1985-12-05
ATE19762T1 (de) 1986-05-15
AU8594282A (en) 1983-02-03

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