CN105324301A - Apparatus and method for recovering liquid from a submerged container - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for recovering liquid from a submerged container (5), said apparatus comprising a tool assembly comprising a processing tool for making a through hole in the submerged container (5), and a fixing arrangement (6) for fixing a valve arrangement (7) liquid tight at the site of the hole processed to the submerged container (5). To enable easy and fast mounting of the valve arrangement (7), the apparatus comprises sealing means comprising an elastic flexible member surrounding the processing tool, transfer means for transferring the processing tool two-dimensionally in a X-Y plane for processing a hole having anon-circular shape, the fixing arrangement (6) comprises a cylindrical part (18) having one or more stop surfaces to be placed beyond the hole against the inner surface of the submerged container, the cylindrical part (18) further having one or more stoppers (12a, 2c) to be positioned against a wall portion of the hole, a threaded (22) flange part (15) being associated with the valve arrangement (7), the cylindrical part (18) being attached to the flange part (15); and an actuator for rotating the flange part (15) relative to the cylindrical part (18) to position the wall of the submerged container (5) in compression between the stop surfaces and the flange part (15).

Description

Apparatus and method for recovering liquid from an underwater container

technical field

The present invention relates to a device for recovering liquid from an underwater container, more particularly to a device according to the preambles of the appended independent device claims. Such equipment is often used to recover liquids such as oil from the containers of sunken ships to reduce environmental damage caused by liquids leaking from the containers into the surrounding ocean.

The invention also relates to a method for recovering liquid from an underwater container, more particularly to a method according to the preambles of the appended independent method claims.

Background technique

Such an apparatus and method for recovering liquids is known from US Patent No. 7377226B2. A disadvantage of this known device is that it is practically difficult to attach to an underwater vessel. This is due to the fact that the fixing means used to fix the valve means of the device at the site of the bore of the submerged vessel comprises a number of specially designed DTB parts - these DTB parts include drilled holes at their ends next to the tap parts part, the bolt and the bolt head at the upper end of the DTB part, said parts of the DTB part being integrally formed with each other. It is difficult to fasten these DTB parts on the underwater vessel because the DTB parts tend to break during the fastening work. They have a tendency to break because in practice they must be small and hard in order to penetrate the walls of the container and perform the required tasks of drilling, tapping and also function as bolts. Such small and hard parts are easily overloaded during their installation and fastening, so they are prone to breakage. If they break during installation, one has to find a new location from the subsea vessel for fixing the valve means and a new drill hole location mark has to be made on the subsea vessel. Similar to the previous installation location, this new installation location of the submerged container must be cleaned before the valve arrangement can be fastened on the container. This is time consuming and laborious. Furthermore, in order for the DTB components to be drilled, tapped and bolted, they require considerable length (approximately 100mm), which in turn means that there must be a corresponding empty space (approximately 100mm) inside the underwater vessel behind its inner wall. Such empty space is not always available, which complicates finding a suitable mounting site for the equipment and thus makes installation more difficult. Since the valve device of this known device is fastened with a plurality of DTB parts located on the circumferential outside of the valve device, the valve device requires a large mounting surface.

Contents of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for recovering liquids from underwater containers which is easy to install on a wide variety of containers.

The device of the invention is characterized by what is stated in the appended independent device claim.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are set forth in the appended dependent device claims.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an easily applicable and rapid method for installing valve means for recovering liquid from underwater containers of various configurations.

The method of the invention is characterized by the features set forth in the appended method claim and a preferred embodiment of the method is set forth in the appended dependent device claim.

An important advantage of the device and method according to the invention is that it enables easy and quick installation of valve means for recovery of liquid from various types of underwater containers, thereby making liquid recovery easy and fast.

Description of drawings

Hereinafter, the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows the recovery of liquid from an underwater container using the device according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention,

Figure 3 shows the device of Figure 2 from below,

Figure 4 shows a top view of the device of Figure 2,

Figure 5 shows in perspective view the valve means of the apparatus in Figure 2 and the holes formed in the submerged container,

Figure 6 shows the hole of Figure 5 seen from below,

Figure 7 shows in perspective view the fixing means of the device according to the invention attached to the hole of the underwater container,

Figure 8 shows the fixture and holes of Figure 7 seen from below,

Figure 9 shows in section the valve arrangement of the device of the invention fastened to the hole of the submerged container, and

FIG. 10 shows, corresponding to the view in FIG. 8 , another design of the fastening means of the device according to the invention and another design of the bore from below.

detailed description

Figure 1 shows a submerged container 5 to which an apparatus 1 of the invention for recovering a liquid, such as oil, from the container 5 is attached. The device 1 is connected by a hose 27 to a remote control 28 of a boat 29 . A power source 31 for driving the basic functions of the device 1 is located on board the ship 29 . Typically, the power source 31 sends power to the device 1 via the hose 27 . Hydraulic power and/or pneumatic power may also be included in the power source 31 .

The device 1 for recovering liquid is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 to 4 .

The device 1 comprises a frame 20 for supporting the different components of the device.

In order to prevent water from entering components that could be damaged by water, the device includes a protective enclosure 24 . This enclosure 24 also prevents liquid from escaping from the container 5 to water outside the container 5 after the through hole 8 has been machined with the device 1, see FIGS. 8' in 10).

The device 1 is attached to the outer surface of the underwater container 5 by means of a plurality of clamping means 2a, 2b. In the illustrated embodiment, there are 9 gripping devices 2a, 2b. However, this number can vary. Typically, at least 3 gripping means are required to provide a good attachment of the device on the container 5 . The clamping means 2a, 2b comprise suction cups (indicated by reference number 2a) and magnetic means (indicated by reference number 2b), such as electromagnetic means to be activated electrically. It is conceivable to omit the magnetic means or the suction cups, so that the clamping means comprises, for example, only suction cups, or alternatively only magnetic means.

The apparatus comprises a working area 21 or working space, best shown in FIG. 3 , for accommodating a tool 3 a for machining the above-mentioned bore 8 to the underwater vessel 5 . The processing tool 3a can move two-dimensionally in the X-Y plane along the outer surface of the underwater container 5, so as to realize the processing of holes with any geometric shape and especially a shape deviated from a circle, for example, a hole with a geometric shape shown in FIG. 6 8 or a hole 8' having the geometry shown in FIG. 10 . In order to move the machining tool 3a two-dimensionally in the working area 21, the tool 3a is part of a tool assembly 3 comprising a transport device 9 generally indicated by reference numeral 9 for transporting the tool 3a in the X and Y directions. The transfer device 9 includes: a first motor 9a for transferring the processing tool 3a in the X direction; and a second motor 9b for transferring the processing tool 3a in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction. The machining tool 3 a is at one end of an arm at which the arm protrudes into the working area 21 , and the opposite end of the arm is located outside the working area 21 . The motors 9a, 9b are adapted to move the arms to move the processing tool 3a.

The processing tool 3 a is a high pressure nozzle suitable for spraying a liquid containing abrasive material, typically water, against the container 5 at a high pressure, eg 2000-4000 bar, to form holes in the wall of the container 5 .

Before attaching the device to the container 5, the area where the device is attached is cleaned. For example, cleaning can be performed using high-pressure water. Mechanical cleaning is conceivable as an alternative or in addition to cleaning with water. Said cleaning is carried out in preparation for sealing the device 1 relative to the container 5 using the sealing means 4 which are tightly positioned against the surface of the container 5 (watertight). The sealing means 4 is a seal in the form of a flexible elastic member (or structure) surrounding the processing tool 3 a (as shown in FIG. 3 ) and also surrounding the working area 21 . The sealing device 4 preferably has a circumferential shape and is made of rubber, for example.

After the device 1 has been attached to the container 5 and the sealing device 4 has been positioned tightly against the container, the machining tool 3a is started to machine the through-hole 8 to the container. FIG. 6 shows an example of a suitable geometry for the hole 8 .

After the hole 8 has been machined, the machining tool 3 a is moved out of the working area 21 so that the valve device 7 can be inserted into the working area and fixed in place of the hole 8 . The valve means 7 are used to empty the container 5 at desired points in time. The valve device 7 includes an openable and closable valve (not shown). When open, liquid can pass through the valve; when closed, liquid cannot pass through the valve. The valve is not described in more detail here, since its structure may be of conventional type and known to those skilled in the art. When machining the hole 8 to the container 5, the valve device 7 is located outside the working area 21, and more specifically preferably in the storage position above the working area 21 inside the housing 23, see FIG. Valve device 7.

A transfer mechanism 19 associated with the valve device 7 is arranged to transfer the valve device from the storage position shown in Figure 2 to the working area 21 below (the working area 21 is visible from below in Figure 3). The transfer mechanism 19 comprises an electric motor 19a adapted to lower the housing 23 with the valve means 7 inside along threaded guides 19b arranged around the housing. An electric motor 19a is arranged to rotate a threaded wheel (not shown) around said threaded guide 19b. When the threaded wheel (which is supported by the frame 20 of the device) is rotated by the motor 19a, the housing 23, the valve means 7 and the threaded guide 19b move in a vertical direction relative to the frame 20 of the device.

The valve arrangement 7 is shown in more detail in FIG. 9 . The valve device 7 includes a main body 14 , a flange portion 15 attached at the lower end of the main body 14 , and a cylindrical portion 18 attached on the flange portion 15 . The flange portion 15 includes a flange 15a and is attached to the main body 14 with threads. The cylindrical portion 18 includes external threads 16 that attach the cylindrical portion 18 to internal threads 22 of the flange portion 15 . The cylindrical part 18 also comprises three lugs 33a, 33b, 33c forming three stop surfaces 10a, 10b, 10c, and the flange part 15 comprises a flange 15a.

In order to fix the valve device 7 at the position of the hole 8 of the container 5, the housing 23 is lowered so that the flange 15a of the flange part 15 is in contact with the outer surface 17 of the container 5 and the stop surface 10a at the lower end of the cylindrical part 18, 10b, 10c become positioned beyond the hole 8, see Figs. 8-10. Thereafter, the housing 23 rotates together with the actuator 13 (see FIG. 2 ). A transmission element 25 in the form of a belt transmits the rotation from the actuator 13 to the housing 23 . In order to transmit the rotational movement from the electric motor 13a of the actuator 13 to the valve arrangement 7, a clamp 26 engaging the valve arrangement 7 is provided. The clip 26 may be detached from the valve arrangement 7 after the valve arrangement 7 has been secured in position on the container 5 to separate the valve arrangement 7 from the rest of the apparatus. Clamp 26 is, for example, an expandable device, the expansion and contraction of which is actuated by an actuator 30, preferably an electric motor. When the clamp 26 expands, it holds the valve device 7 and transmits rotational motion from the actuator 13 to the valve device 7, while when the clamp 26 contracts, no rotational motion is transmitted from the actuator 13 and the valve device 7 is transferred from the actuator 13 to the valve device 7. The device is also released from the housing 23.

When the housing 23 is rotated, the actuator 13 rotates the valve device 7 . However, the rotation of the cylindrical portion 18 is hindered because the stop surfaces 10 a , 10 b , 10 c are provided with protruding stops 12 a , 12 b , 12 c abutting against the walls of the holes 8 . The stops 12a, 12b, 12c are elements protruding from the stop surfaces 10a, 10b, 10c. The actuator 13 is unable to rotate the cylindrical portion 18 beyond a limited angle (eg 10 to 50 degrees) because the stops 12a, 12b, 12c hit the wall portion defining the hole 8 as shown in FIG. 8 . This is because the distance R1 from the center axis of the cylindrical portion 18 to the stops 12a, 12b, 12c is greater than the distance r1 from the center axis of the hole 8 to the wall portion defining the wall of the hole 8, see FIG. Preferably, the stops 12 a , 12 b , 12 c are keyed pins located in through holes formed in the lugs 33 a , 33 b , 33 c of the cylindrical portion 18 . In order to displace the stops 12a, 12b, 12c within said through holes, forces in the direction of the stops and in the axial direction of the cylindrical portion 18 have to be overcome. Before the housing 23 starts to rotate, the upper ends of the key pins are a relatively far distance from the upper surfaces of the lugs 32a, 32b, 32c, that is, from the stop surfaces 10a, 10b, 10c, and they (ie, the upper ends) abut against The lower surface of the flange 15a (not indicated by reference numerals in the figures), or alternatively, they are close to the lower surface.

Due to the above structure of the device, when the housing 23 rotates, the flange portion 15 rotates relative to the cylindrical portion 18, and during the rotation, the distances of the stop surfaces 10a, 10b, 10c to the flange portion 15 and the distances of the stop surfaces to the valve The distance of the body 14 of the device 7 becomes smaller, eventually causing the wall of the container 5 to be compressed between the stop surfaces 10a, 10b, 10c and the flange 15a. The shaded areas in FIG. 8 show the stop surfaces 10 a , 10 b , 10 c bearing the valve device 7 against the inner surface 11 of the container 5 . During said rotation of the housing 23, the key pins are displaced in the holes of the lugs 33a, 33b, 33c so that their upper ends are brought closer to the upper surface of the lugs. This is because, when the housing 23 and the main body 14 of the valve device 7 are rotated, the lower surface of the flange 15a is pressed against the upper end of the key pin. Due to the displaceable stops 12a, 12b, 12c, for example in the form of said key pins, it is easy to mount the valve device 7 on different containers 5 with variable wall thickness: after the flange 15a has first abutted against the outer wall of the container Positioned, the upper ends of the stops 12a, 12b, 12c will reach the wall of the hole 8 regardless of the wall thickness of the container 5 .

As can be seen from Figure 9, the valve means 7 is supported by the flange 15 against the outer surface 17 of the container 5 when installed. The flange 15 is sealed against the outer surface 17 of the container 5 by means of an annular seal 32 , see FIG. 9 .

Fig. 10 shows another shape of the hole 8' in the container 5' and also shows the cylindrical part 18' having a different design than that shown in Figs. 5 and 7-9. In Fig. 10, only two stoppers 12a', 12b' are provided. As in the embodiment of Figures 5 and 7-9, the distance R1 is greater than the distance r1. It also applies in FIG. 10 that the distance 2R1 between the stops 12a' and 12b' is greater than the smallest diameter d' of the hole 8'.

The invention has been described above by way of example only and it is therefore claimed that the invention can be embodied in many different ways within the scope of the appended claims. It is conceivable for the cylindrical part 18 to have only one stop surface. However, it is very preferred to provide at least two stop surfaces (cf. FIG. 10 ) in order to provide a good support for the installed valve device 7 . The stops 12a, 12b, 12c, 12a', 12b' need not be displaced within the holes in the lugs 33a, 33b, although this is preferred as it makes the installation of the valve arrangement 7 very easy to perform.

Claims (9)

1. An apparatus (1) for recovering liquid from an underwater container (5, 5'), said apparatus comprising - a protective enclosure (24) for externally waterproofing said device, - clamping means (2a, 2b) for attaching said device (1) to said underwater container (5, 5'), - a tool assembly (3) comprising a machining tool (3a) for forming a through-hole (8, 8') in said underwater container (5, 5'), - sealing means (4) for sealing said device relative to said underwater container (5, 5'), - Fixing means (6) for fluid-tight fixing of valve means (7) at the site of holes (8, 8') machined in said submerged vessel (5, 5'), said valve The device (7) is displaceable from an open position in which liquid can be conveyed from the submerged container (5, 5') through the valve device (7) to a closed position in which it prevents liquid is conveyed from said submerged container through said valve means (7), The device is characterized in that - said sealing device (4) comprises a flexible elastic part surrounding the working tool (3a) of said tool assembly (3), - the processing tool (3a) of said tool assembly (3) is associated with a transfer device (9) for two-dimensionally transferring said machining tool (3a) to machine a hole (8, 8') having a non-circular shape in said underwater container (5, 5'), - the fixing means (6) for fixing said valve means (7) at the machined holes (8, 8') of said submerged container (5) comprises a cylindrical part (18, 18') and a or a plurality of stoppers (12a, 12b, 12c, 12a', 12b'), said cylindrical portion comprising abutting against the inner surface (11) of said underwater container and beyond said underwater container (5, 5 ') hole (8, 8') arrangement of one or more stop surfaces (10a, 10b, 10c, 10a', 10b'), said stoppers are to abut against and define said machined holes (8, 8') wall positioning, said fixing device (6) also includes a threaded (22) flange part (15) associated with said valve device (7), said cylindrical part (18, 18') have been attached to said flange part with threads (16) corresponding to threads (22) of said flange part (15), - said valve means (7) with said one or more stop surfaces (10a, 10b, 10c, 10a', 10b') for changing said cylindrical portion (18, 18') to said flange The actuator (13) is associated with the distance (L) of the flange portion (15), said actuator (13) being adapted to rotate said flange portion (15) relative to said cylindrical portion (18, 18') to position the walls of the underwater container (5, 5') to be pressed against the stop surfaces (10a, 10b, 10c, 10a', 10b') of the cylindrical part (18) and the flange part (15) between. 2. Apparatus (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said one or more stops (12a, 12b, 12c, 12a', 12b') are formed from said cylindrical portion (18, 18 ') protruding element from the stop surface (10a, 10b, 10c). 3. The plant (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said processing tool (3a) is suitable for spraying a liquid containing abrasive material onto the outer surface of said underwater container (5, 5') ( 17) High pressure nozzles to machine said holes (8, 8') in said submerged vessel. 4. Plant (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises conveying means ( 9, 9a, 9b) and a transfer mechanism (19, 19a, 19b). 5. Apparatus (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that the valve means (7) are located inside a housing (23) which is relative to the frame (20) of the apparatus The height position can be adjusted by said transfer mechanism (19, 19a, 19b). 6. Apparatus (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that said housing (23) is adapted to rotate by means of an actuator (13) for rotating said flange portion (15). 7. Apparatus (1) according to claim 1, characterized by a transmission element (25) associated with an actuator (13) for rotating said flange part (15), said transmission element (25) adapted to enable rotation of a clamp (26) detachably fastened to said valve arrangement (7) in addition to said flange portion (15). 8. A method for recovering liquid from a submerged container (5, 5') using a device (1), said device comprising - a protective enclosure (24) for externally waterproofing said device, - clamping means (2a, 2b) for attaching said device to said underwater container (5, 5'), - a tool assembly (3) comprising a machining tool (3a) for forming a through-hole (8, 8') in said underwater container (5, 5'), - sealing means (4) for sealing said device relative to said underwater container (5, 5'), - Fixing means (6) for fluid-tight fixing of valve means (7) at the site of holes (8, 8') machined in said submerged vessel (5, 5'), said valve The device (7) is displaceable from an open position in which liquid can be conveyed from the submerged container (5, 5') through the valve device (7) to a closed position in which it prevents liquid is conveyed from said submerged container through said valve means (7); Said method comprises the step of attaching said device to said underwater vessel (5, 5') by means of said clamping means (2a, 2b), The method is also characterized by the steps of: - fastening the flexible elastic part of said sealing device (4) tightly against the outer surface of said submerged container (5, 5'), said sealing device surrounding the processing tool of said tool assembly (3) ( 3a), - machining in said underwater vessel (5, 5') a shape having a non-circular shape by two-dimensionally transporting said machining tool (3a) in the X-Y plane in the working area (21) of said apparatus holes (8, 8'), - arranging one or more stop surfaces (10a, 10b, 10c) of said fixing means (6) beyond the holes (8, 8') of said underwater container (5, 5'), - placing said one or more stops (12a, 12b, 12c, 12a', 12b') of said cylindrical portion (18, 18') against a defined hole (8, 8') machined wall-to-wall positioning of the - changing said one or more stop surfaces (10a, 10b, 10c, 10a', 10b') to correspond to The distance (L) of the associated threaded (22) flange portion (15) of the valve means (7) such that the wall of the submerged container (5, 5') becomes compressed against the stop Between the blocking surface (10a, 10b, 10c, 10a', 10b') and the flange part (15). 9. Method according to claim 8, characterized in that the distance (2R1') between the protruding stops (12a', 12b') is greater than the smallest diameter of the machined hole (8') (d').