RU2618583C2 - System for weighing and trimming underwater cargo container - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: hydraulic engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to diving equipment, in particular to a system for weighing and trimming underwater cargo containers. System for weighing and trimming underwater cargo container consists of two identical independent weighing systems, installed in fore and aft ends of container and comprise equalising tanks, storage batteries, gas cylinders with electric solenoid valves, ventilation electric valve and electric valve of sea inlets, and automation units. System comprises top and bottom micro switches, which trigger when resting in upper or bottom guide tracks TA, or turned on by manual pressing and feed signal to automation unit to receive or remove water from equalising tank.

EFFECT: preventing trimming of container.

1 cl, 1 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

The invention relates to diving equipment, and in particular to a signage and trim system for submarine cargo containers produced from torpedo tubes (TA) of submarines and intended for transporting goods by divers using divers towers.

If the cargo container is poorly hung or undifferentiated, then when towing it under water, forces arise that deflect the container up or down and the “diver-tow-container” system moves unstably, unevenly, poorly maintains depth and reduces towing speed.

Analogs are known - domestic submarine cargo containers KT-2 (Zarembovsky V.L., Kolesnikov Yu.I. // “Marine Special Forces”, Publishing House “Halley Print”, St. Petersburg, 2001) and “Rinadon- 2 ”, with a system of signs and trim.

The sign and trim of the KT-2 containers is carried out manually by divers at the pier. Divers lay lead loads in special niches in the bow and stern of the container until it is completely hidden under water. Then the container is trimmed by transferring goods from the bow to the stern or back, until the container is horizontal under water. The system is simple, but, as practice has shown, it takes a lot of time. In addition, with a change in the density of water (and it is different in different areas of the seas and oceans due to different temperatures and salinity), the container sign in the area of release from the submarine is violated.

The Rinadon-2 submarine cargo container (prototype of the invention) manufactured by the Proletarsky Zavod Production Association (produced before 1985) had an automatic signage and trim system. It was made in the dimensions of the container KT-2, but consisted of two cargo compartments - bow and stern. Between them was a solid instrument compartment. An automation unit, an equalization tank, a power supply unit, a pump for receiving and pumping water, and a cylinder of VVD were placed in the instrument compartment. Two trim tanks were placed on the sides of the instrument compartment.

The Rinadon-2 container had a number of disadvantages, namely: due to the presence of a very voluminous instrument compartment, the volume of cargo compartments and their length decreased; the presence of two short cargo compartments complicated the operation of the container; it was necessary to load the container through the bow and stern covers, some long loads did not fit at all.

The principle of operation of the Rinadon-2 container signage system was based on the automatic stabilization of the container at the depth of the release of the submarine torpedo tube from the pipe. After the divers turned on the power of the automation system, it received data on the depth of the container from the depth sensor. The depth of release was remembered and then the depth of immersion of the container was compared with it at a time interval t, and the speed of immersion or ascent was also taken into account. Depending on this, a pump for pumping or receiving water into the equalization and trim tanks was turned on. The trim sensor generated a signal that allows you to determine which tank (bow or stern) to fill with water and which to drain. However, the close arrangement of the differential tanks to the center of gravity of the container (to the instrument compartment) made it difficult to trim.

After a series of oscillatory movements up and down with an amplitude of up to ± 5 m, the container stabilized at a depth of release and continued to oscillate with an amplitude of ± 1 m until the divers turned off the automation system. Signing time took from 15 to 20 minutes. The residual (negative or positive) buoyancy of the container was ± 0.5 kgf.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a system for automatic signage and trim the underwater cargo container directly in the tube of the torpedo submarine before release.

The problem is solved by installing two independent signage systems in the container - in the bow and stern ends. Both systems are identical in their structure and allow you to separately hang the fore and aft ends. With a zero (or close to zero) sign of the bow and stern ends of the container, the angle of the trim of the container will be close to zero. The sensors of zero buoyancy of the container are microswitches installed in the bow and stern ends and abutting in the lower and upper guide tracks of the TA.

In FIG. 1 shows a cargo container with bow and stern sign systems, located in the TA submarine.

The sign and trim system includes: a submarine torpedo hull body having upper and lower guide tracks - 1; cargo container - 2; front cover of the cargo compartment - 3; feed fairing - 4; feed equalization tank - 5; bow equalization tank - 6; water availability sensors in TA PL - 7 (bow and stern); upper microswitches - 8; lower microswitches - 9; equalization tank ventilation electrovalve - 10; Kingston electrovalve - 11; automation unit - 12; gas bottle - 13; gas cylinder solenoid valve - 14; power supply unit (rechargeable batteries) - 15.

The automatic sign and trim system works as follows.

The cargo container is loaded into a dry SL from the submarine compartment through the back cover of the SL using a torpedo fast-loading device. The container has a caliber of 528 mm and a TA inner diameter of 536 mm. As a result, the gap between the container and the SLT is about 8 mm. The upper microswitches 8 are free and in the off state. The lower microswitches 9 are turned on because they are pressed by the weight of the container to the lower guide track TA. However, while the SLT is not filled with water, the automation units 12 of the container are disabled by the sensors for the presence of water 7.

After closing the back cover, the TA is filled with water. When water reaches the upper level of the TA, the sensors 7 include automation units 12.

Further, depending on the position of the upper 8 and lower 9 microswitches, the automation unit in the fore or aft ends implements the algorithm of actions shown in the table:

When loading a container ashore, the cargo is weighed by maintenance personnel. In this case, the mass of the cargo should not exceed a certain value with an accuracy of ± N kg, which depends on the volume of the equalization tanks of the container. If the container is underloaded or overloaded in the range of 0 ± N kg, then the signage system will automatically hang out and differentiate the container.

After loading the container in the TA submarine, during filling the TA with water and equalizing the pressure in the TA with the outboard, the container automatically signs the bow and stern ends. At the end of the sign, a sound signal is possible. Now the container can be pulled out of the TA and towed to the desired point.

If necessary, divers themselves can hang out and differentiate the container by pressing the microswitches 8 or 9 with their finger. It is also advisable to provide for divers to shut off the power supply of the sign and trim system by installing a switch in the bow of the container.

Claims (1)

The signage and trim system of the underwater cargo container, consisting of two identical independent signage systems installed in the bow and stern ends of the container, containing equalization tanks, batteries, gas cylinders with solenoid valves, a solenoid valve for ventilation and a kingston solenoid valve, automation units, characterized in that it contains the upper and lower microswitches that are triggered by an emphasis on the upper or lower guide tracks of the TA, or which are activated when manually pressed and give a signal al automation unit on the reception or removal of water from the equalizing tank.

Images