JP7567604B2 - Underwater Sediment Collection System - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act Announced at the 2020 Online Technology Development Report Meeting on September 16, 2020

The present invention relates to an underwater sediment recovery system that recovers underwater sediments.

Conventionally, sediments in water have been collected to prevent water pollution and to remove harmful substances that have settled in the water. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sludge collection device and method as a means for collecting sediments. The sludge collection device in Patent Document 1 has a dredging device that is movable underwater and can suck up and collect sludge from the bottom of the water, a treatment device that is movable underwater and stores the collected material in a collected material receiving tank after removing water from the sludge collected by the dredging device, and an equipment vehicle that supplies electricity, compressed air, etc. to the treatment device.

JP 2014-125754 A

In the sludge collection device of Patent Document 1, the sludge collected by the dredging device is stored in the collected material receiving tank of the treatment device. With this configuration, once the sludge has been collected in the collected material receiving tank, the collection operation must be stopped and the sludge collection device (the dredging device and treatment device) must be pulled above ground. After the collected material receiving tank is emptied, the sludge collection device is returned to the water and operation is resumed. For this reason, the technology of Patent Document 1 has low operational efficiency and there is room for further improvement.

In view of these problems, the present invention aims to provide an underwater sediment recovery system that allows sediment recovery work to continue without having to return the device to land midway, thereby significantly improving work efficiency.

To solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the underwater sediment recovery system according to the present invention includes a robot body capable of traveling underwater, a container that is detachable from the robot body and recovers underwater sediment, and a crane that carries the container in and out of the water, and the robot body removes the container once the sediment has been recovered in it, and the crane removes the container with the recovered sediment.

According to the above configuration, a detachable container is used for the robot body. The container is attached to the robot body, and the robot body travels underwater to collect sediment in the container. Once the sediment has been collected in the container, the robot body lowers the container with the collected sediment, and the container is removed by a crane. An empty container (the same container or another container) is attached to the robot body. By raising only the container to the ground in this way and emptying it as appropriate, the sediment collection work can be continued without returning the device (robot body) to the ground midway. This makes it possible to significantly improve work efficiency.

The underwater sediment recovery system includes multiple containers, and an empty container is placed on the floor where the robot body performs sediment recovery work. When the sediment has been recovered in the container, the robot body removes the container and attaches another empty container. With this configuration, when sediment has been recovered in the attached container, the robot body removes that container and promptly attaches an empty container placed on the floor. This allows work to continue without waiting for an empty container to be brought in by a crane. This makes it possible to further improve work efficiency.

The present invention provides an underwater sediment recovery system that allows sediment recovery work to continue without returning the device to land midway, greatly improving work efficiency.

1 is a schematic diagram of a nuclear power plant building in which sediment is recovered by the underwater sediment recovery system of this embodiment. 1 is an overall perspective view of a sediment recovery robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the robot body of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the container of FIG. 2 . 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating another aspect of the sediment collection system of the present embodiment.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific values shown in the embodiment are merely examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid duplicated explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a nuclear power plant building 10 in which sediment is collected by the underwater sediment collection system of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the nuclear power plant building 10 is shown as an example of a facility in which sediment is collected, but this is not limiting. The underwater sediment collection system of this embodiment can also be suitably used in other facilities as long as sediment accumulates underwater.

As shown in FIG. 1, the nuclear power plant building 10 is a building with four floors above ground and two floors underground. The 1st floor is the entrance to the ground, and contaminated water is stored in the most underground B2F. To adsorb the radioactive materials in the contaminated water, sandbags 12 filled with adsorbent material (e.g., zeolite) are installed on B2F. In this embodiment, the adsorbent that has settled in the water is collected as sediment.

An underwater sediment recovery robot (hereinafter referred to as recovery robot 100) constituting the underwater sediment recovery system of this embodiment is placed on B2F of the nuclear power plant building 10. The recovery robot 100 is transported to B2F by a crane 14 installed on 4F.

When the recovery robot 100 arrives at B2F, it detaches from the hook 16 and moves underwater on its own. A float cable 102 is connected to the recovery robot 100, which supplies power and transmits camera image data and signals from various sensors to a control device (not shown).

Figure 2 is an overall perspective view of the sediment collection robot according to this embodiment. Figure 3 is an overall perspective view of the robot body of Figure 2. Figure 4 is an overall perspective view of the container of Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, the collection robot 100 of this embodiment is mainly composed of a robot body 110 and a container 150 that is detachable from the robot body 110 and in which sediment is collected.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the robot body 110 has crawlers 112 on its bottom and can move underwater along the floor of the facility (B2F of the nuclear power plant building 10). As shown clearly in Figure 3, the side of the robot body 110 where the container 150 is attached and detached is provided with a support plate 116 that supports the container 150 at an angle.

On the other hand, on the side of the robot body 110 opposite to the side where the container 150 is attached and detached, a built-in pump 120 is provided to suck water containing sediment into the container 150. A pump suction port 114 that is connected to the built-in pump 120 is provided at the bottom of the robot body 110.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, in the container 150, a hanger 154 is disposed on the upper part of the container body 152. In addition, an opening 156 is provided on the lower part of the container 150 (container body 152) for discharging sediment stored in the container 150 to the outside. In addition, an opening (not shown) is provided in the center of the lower surface of the container 150 for sucking up the sediment.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the robot body 110 is provided with a hook 132 and an arm 134. The hook 132 is a member that hooks the hanger 154 of the container 150. The arm 134 moves so as to rotate in the vertical direction. As the arm 134 rotates, the trajectory of the hook 132 describes an arc, so the arm 134 raises the hook 132, to which the hanger 154 of the container 150 is hooked, obliquely in a direction that pulls it toward the robot body 110. As a result, the container 150 abuts against the support plate 116 and tilts, and an opening 156 at the bottom of the container 150 and the pump suction port 114 at the bottom of the robot body 110 are connected.

The crane 14 shown in FIG. 1 carries the robot body 110 and the container 150 into and out of the water. In detail, in this embodiment, the robot body 110 is carried from the 4th floor to the B2F while suspended from the crane 14. At this time, it is preferable that the container 150 is not attached to the robot body 110. This is to prevent the container 150 from falling in the unlikely event that it becomes detached from the robot body 110. Meanwhile, an empty container 150 is carried into the B2F by the crane 14 around the time that the robot body 110 is carried in.

When the robot body 110 is carried into B2F by the crane 14, it uses the hook 132 to lift the empty container 150 placed there and attaches it. Then, as the robot body 110 travels underwater while using the built-in pump 120 to suck up the sediment in the water, it sucks it into the container 150. Once the sediment has been collected inside the container 150, the robot body 110 removes the container 150. The crane 14 carries out the container 150 from which the sediment has been collected. Once the container 150 has been emptied on B1F, the crane 14 carries the emptied container into B2F, and the robot body 110 attaches the empty container 150 that has been carried in.

As described above, in the sediment recovery system of this embodiment, once sediment has been recovered in the container 150, only the container 150 needs to be transported in and out. Once the robot body 110 is brought into the water, it can continue the sediment recovery work without being returned to land until the work is completed. This makes it possible to significantly improve work efficiency.

In the above embodiment, it is assumed that one container 150 is used repeatedly to carry out the work. However, it is also possible to continue the collection work by replacing multiple containers 150.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating another aspect of the sediment collection system of this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 5, multiple empty containers 150a have been carried into B2F, which is the floor where the robot body 110 performs sediment collection work. The collection robot 100 then collects the sediment while moving the robot body 110. The collection robot 100 then lowers the container 150b in which the sediment has been collected onto the B2F floor, attaches another empty container 150a, and continues the collection work.

After the sediment is collected and lowered onto the B2F floor, the container 150b is hung on the hook 16 of the crane 14 and transported away. When the container 150b is raised, it is washed with a shower 18. It is then placed on a conveyor 20 installed on B1F and transported, where it is sealed and otherwise processed in a processing device 22. It is then stored in a shielded container 24 to prevent radiation leakage, and transported to a designated storage facility.

In the above configuration, when sediment is collected in the attached container, the robot body 110 removes the container (container 150b in which the sediment has been collected) and quickly attaches an empty container 150a that has been placed on the floor in advance, allowing the robot body 110 to continue work without waiting time (interval). With this configuration, work efficiency can be dramatically improved compared to when one container 150 is reused.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the attached drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the examples described. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be used as an underwater sediment recovery system for recovering underwater sediments.

10...nuclear power plant building, 12...sandbag, 14...crane, 16...hook, 18...shower, 20...conveyor, 22...treatment device, 24...shielding container, 100...recovery robot, 110...robot body, 112...crawler, 114...pump suction port, 116...support plate, 120...built-in pump, 132...hook, 134...arm, 150...container, 150a...container, 150b...container, 152...container body, 154...hanger, 156...opening

Claims (2)

A robot body capable of moving underwater;
a container that is detachable from the robot body and that collects sediments in the water;
a crane for transporting the container into and out of the water;
When the sediment is collected in the container, the robot body removes the container;
An underwater sediment recovery system, characterized in that the crane transports the container in which the sediment has been recovered. The underwater sediment recovery system includes a plurality of containers, and an empty container is disposed on a floor where the robot body performs the sediment recovery operation,
2. The underwater sediment recovery system according to claim 1, wherein, when the sediment has been recovered in the container, the robot body removes the container and installs another empty container.

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