KR20110046133A - Autonomous Pressure Compensation Optical Cable Junction Box - Google Patents

Abstract

An autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body having a space for accommodating insulating oil therein; A cover disposed on an upper portion of the main body and formed of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body in a high pressure environment; A cover fixing device disposed on an upper portion of the cover and tightly fixed to the main body with the cover interposed therebetween; And first and second cable fixing devices respectively fastened to holes formed at both ends of the main body, and fixing cables inserted into the main body through hollow holes therein.

Description

Autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box {SELF PRESSURE COMPENSATING OPTICAL CABLE JUNCTION BOX}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an optical cable junction box that autonomously compensates for pressure without a separate pressure compensation device.

In order to connect the deep sea exploration equipment with the marine exploration bus, the low specification deep sea exploration equipment that does not use the optical communication method is required to connect the cable directly without a separate junction box for waterproof molding to the outside. There is a way.

However, the latest deep sea exploration equipment has required high communication bandwidth as the technology is advanced, and the optical communication method has been introduced to satisfy this. The connection of the optical cable does not endure the high external pressure of the deep sea bottom by the conventional molding method and causes communication failure. As a solution, there is a method of specially manufacturing and using a dedicated connector that can stand the external pressure.

However, the use of a special connector is considered to be the best to use a junction box when considering the connectivity to a variety of deep sea exploration equipment, as it cannot be used outside for a single piece of equipment.

In the deep sea environment, the external pressure increases with depth. For example, in a deep sea environment of 6000 m, the external pressure is high at 600 bar. Accordingly, in order to overcome the difference between the pressure inside the junction box and the external pressure, conventionally, the junction box is manufactured to be able to withstand such external pressure, or filled with insulating oil in the junction box, and a separate pressure compensation device is used.

To manufacture the junction box withstands external pressure, the cost is tens of times, and the weight and volume are increased. Therefore, the normal junction box is filled with insulating oil and uses a separate pressure compensation device. However, even pressure compensators are expensive and difficult to install, and their volume is large, making it difficult to mount them separately in deep sea exploration equipment.

Accordingly, there is an urgent need for the development of a junction box that does not need a separate pressure compensation device and can perform pressure compensation itself.

One embodiment of the present invention provides an autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box capable of compensating autonomously without a separate pressure compensation device in the high pressure environment of the deep seabed.

One embodiment of the present invention by implementing the cover of the body made of a flexible material, such as urethane, autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box that can easily solve the effect of the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the junction box in the high pressure environment of deep seabed To provide.

One embodiment of the present invention by using a soft material such as urethane as the cover of the body, it is possible to significantly lower the manufacturing cost than using a hard material or to employ a separate pressure compensation device, as well as maintenance and repair Provides autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box to simplify the operation.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problem, another task (s) not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

An autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body having a space for accommodating insulating oil therein; A cover disposed on an upper portion of the main body and formed of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body in a high pressure environment of a deep sea; A cover fixing device disposed on an upper portion of the cover to be in close contact with the main body with the cover interposed so that the seawater does not flow into the main body without leaking the insulating oil out of the main body; And first and second cable fixing devices respectively fastened to holes formed at both ends of the main body, and fixing cables inserted into the main body through hollow holes therein.

An autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an insulating oil injection valve connected to a first valve hole formed on one surface of the main body so as to inject the insulating oil into the main body; And an air discharge valve connected to a second valve hole formed on one surface of the main body so as to discharge the air filled in the main body to the outside.

Deep sea exploration system according to an embodiment of the present invention is located on the sea to provide power or to transmit the device operation signal marine exploration bus; A deep sea exploration apparatus positioned at a deep sea bottom to receive the power from the marine exploration bus bar and perform an operation according to the device operation signal to transmit data related to the exploration of the deep sea bottom to the marine exploration bus bar; And a cable connected from the marine exploration busbar and the deep sea exploration equipment, respectively, to be connected to each other, and having a cover made of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside in the high pressure environment of the deep sea bottom. Contains a junction box.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Advantages and / or features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but will be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, pressure can be compensated autonomously without a separate pressure compensation device in the high pressure environment of the deep seabed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by implementing the cover of the body made of a flexible material such as urethane, it is possible to structurally simply solve the effect of the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the junction box in the high pressure environment of the deep seabed.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, by using a soft material such as urethane as the cover of the main body, it is possible to significantly lower the manufacturing cost than using a hard material or to employ a separate pressure compensation device, And maintenance can be simplified.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described embodiments of the present invention;

The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention can autonomously compensate pressure without a separate pressure compensation device in a high pressure environment of a deep sea bottom, and for this, a cover may be implemented with a flexible material such as urethane.

Thus, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the effect of the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the junction box due to the deep sea environment can be easily solved structurally, using a hard material or employing a separate pressure compensation device In addition, manufacturing costs can be significantly lowered, and maintenance and repair can be simplified.

The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention is applicable in a high pressure environment of the sea bed, in particular, a pressure of less than 600 bar (bar).

1 is an exploded perspective view of the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an assembled perspective view of the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 110, a cover 120, a cover fixing device 130, and a first cable fixing device ( 140, the second cable fixing device 150, the insulating oil injection valve 160, and the air discharge valve 170 may be included.

The body 110 is provided with a space for accommodating the insulating oil. Here, the insulating oil is for electrical insulation between the cables connected inside the main body 110.

Holes 111 and 112 for fastening with the first and second cable fixing devices 140 and 150 are formed at both ends of the main body 110. At this time, the first and second cable fixing device (140, 150) is fitted in close contact with the holes (111, 112), seawater into the body 110 through the gap between the holes (111, 112). Is prevented from flowing in or out of the insulating oil inside the main body 110 to the outside.

A plurality of corresponding holes 113 for fastening with the cover 120 and the cover fixing device 130 are formed in the upper edge of the main body 110. Here, the corresponding hole 113 is formed at a position corresponding to the fixing hole 131 of the cover fixing device 130 formed on the uppermost portion of the main body 110.

First and second valve holes 114 and 115 for connecting the insulating oil injection valve 160 and the air discharge valve 170 are formed on one surface of the main body 110. Here, the first valve hole 114 is preferably formed at a lower position than the second valve hole 115.

The cover 120 is disposed above the main body 110. A plurality of corresponding holes 121 are formed at the edge of the cover 120 at positions corresponding to the fixing holes 131 of the cover fixing device 130. The cover 120 is fastened to the main body 110 and the cover fixing device 130 through the corresponding hole 121.

The cover 120 is formed of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body 110 in a high pressure environment of the deep seabed. For example, the cover 120 may be formed of a urethane material.

The cover fixing device 130 is disposed above the cover 120. In this case, the cover fixing device 130 does not leak the insulating oil accommodated in the main body 110 to the outside so that the external material (eg, seawater) does not flow into the main body 110, the cover 120. It is fixed in close contact with the main body 110 through the ().

To this end, a fixing hole 131 is provided at the edge of the cover fixing device 130. The cover fixing device 130 is fastened to the main body 110 and the cover 120 through the fixing hole 131. In this case, the cover fixing device 130 may be fastened by bolts or rivets.

A part of the first cable fixing device 140 is fastened to a hole 111 formed at one end of the main body 110. At this time, the first cable fixing device 140 may be fastened to be in close contact with the hole 111 so that no gap is formed between the holes 111.

The first cable fixing device 140 has a hollow hole 141 therein and fixes the first cable 180 inserted into the main body 110 through the hollow hole 141.

A part of the second cable fixing device 150 is fastened to a hole 112 formed at the other end of the main body 110. In this case, like the first cable fixing device 150, the second cable fixing device 150 may be fastened to be in close contact with the hole 112 so that no gap is formed between the holes 112.

The second cable fixing device 150 has a hollow hole 151 therein, similar to the first cable fixing device 140, and is inserted into the main body 110 through the hollow hole 151. 2 Secure the cable 190.

Here, the first cable 180 is a cable connected from the marine exploration bus bar, for example, may be implemented as an umbilical cable capable of carrying gas or water in addition to power and communication.

In addition, the second cable 190 is a cable connected from the deep sea exploration equipment, and generally has a different cable end for each of the deep sea exploration equipment.

The first cable 180 and the second cable 190 are electrically insulated from each other by the insulating oil inside the main body 110 for power supply and data communication between the marine exploration bus and the subsea exploration equipment. Connected.

The insulating oil injection valve 160 may be connected to the first valve hole 114 formed on one surface of the main body 110 to inject the insulating oil into the main body 110.

The air discharge valve 170 may be connected to the second valve hole 115 formed on one surface of the main body 110 to discharge the air filled in the inside of the main body 110 to the outside.

In this case, the first valve hole 114 may be formed at a position lower than the second valve hole 115 on one surface of the main body 110. Accordingly, the insulating oil injection valve 160 is disposed at a position lower than the air discharge valve 170.

This is to inject the insulating oil into the main body 110 through the insulating oil injection valve 160, and at the same time to discharge the air inside the main body 110 through the air discharge valve 170 to the outside For sake.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, but described as limited to the high pressure environment of the deep seabed, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this, it can be applied to other high-pressure environment other than the deep seabed.

3 and 4 are diagrams showing an example of autonomous pressure compensation without a separate pressure compensation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4, in order to more easily describe an example of autonomous pressure compensation, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention of the main body 110 and the cover 120 Only the composition was briefly expressed.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 100 is in a state where an external pressure and an internal pressure are balanced in an atmospheric pressure state. Therefore, a pressure difference does not occur between the inside and the outside of the main body 110 so that deformation is not applied to the cover 120.

However, as shown in FIG. 4, in the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 100, a pressure difference occurs between the inside and the outside of the main body 110 due to the difference in density between seawater and insulating oil in a high pressure environment of a deep sea bottom. . Therefore, while the deformation occurs in the cover 120 of the urethane material, the pressure between the inside and the outside of the main body 110 can maintain the equilibrium state.

If the cover 120 is formed of hard glass or metal that is not deformable, such as urethane, the structural strength must be maintained to maintain the balance of the force due to the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body 110. Otherwise, seawater may be introduced into the main body 110 while deformation or fracture occurs in the cover 120 or the main body 110.

When seawater flows into the main body 110 by breaking, a short circuit may occur at a power connection part inside the main body 110, and may cause a fatal failure in the deep sea exploration equipment.

Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, by utilizing the cover 120 made of a flexible urethane material, it is possible to structurally simply solve the influence of the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body 110 in a deep seabed environment. In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention structurally significantly lower the manufacturing cost and at the same time maintenance and repair than using a rigid material to structurally overcome the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the main body 110 can do.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a deep sea exploration system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, a deep sea exploration system 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a marine exploration busbar 510, an autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520, and a deep sea exploration equipment 530.

The marine exploration bus 510 is located at sea to supply power to the deep sea exploration equipment 530 or to transmit device operation signals.

The deep sea exploration equipment 530 is located at a deep sea bottom, for example, a depth of 6,000 m (600 bar) or less, and receives the power from the marine exploration bus 510 and performs an operation according to the device operation signal to perform the exploration of the deep sea bottom. The relevant data (photographed image, etc.) is transmitted to the marine exploration mothership 510.

The deep sea exploration equipment 530 is a large electronic device dropped and used on the deep sea bottom, and may include, for example, a deep tow imaging system, a deep tow sidescan sonar, and the like.

The deep sea exploration equipment 530 has a different cable end for each equipment. Thus, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520 is required to connect the cable end (second cable) to the cable (first cable) from the marine exploration busbar 510.

The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520 allows the first cable connected from the marine exploration bus 510 and the second cable connected from the deep sea exploration equipment 530 to be connected to each other. In this case, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520 may maintain the electrical insulation state between the first cable and the second cable by the insulating oil filled therein.

The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520 is provided with a cover of a soft material (eg, urethane) to facilitate deformation due to pressure difference between the inside and the outside in a high pressure environment of the deep sea bottom.

Since the configuration of the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box 520 has been described in detail in the embodiment with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof will be omitted in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box is used according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows that the cables are connected to each other inside the main body of the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first cable 180 connected from the marine exploration busbar is inserted into and fixed inside the main body 110 through the first cable fixing device 140, and the second cable connected from the deep sea exploration equipment ( 190 is inserted into and fixed inside the main body 110 through the second cable fixing device 150.

The first cable 180 and the second cable 190 may each include a power cable and an optical cable, and each of the cables is connected to each other inside the main body 110.

That is, the power cable of the first cable 180 is connected to the power cable of the second cable 190, and the optical cable of the first cable 180 is connected to the optical cable of the second cable 190.

At this time, since the optical cable of the second cable 190, that is, the optical cable of the second cable 190 connected from the deep sea exploration equipment has different ends for each equipment, the optical cable of the first cable 180 and The connection can be made via an optical cable connection terminal.

While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

As described above, the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

1 is an exploded perspective view of an autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is an assembled perspective view of the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 and 4 are diagrams showing an example of autonomous pressure compensation without a separate pressure compensation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a deep sea exploration system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a state diagram used in the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: body

120: cover

130: cover fixing device

140: first cable anchor

150: second cable anchor

160: insulating oil injection valve

170: air discharge valve

Claims (16)

A main body having a space for accommodating insulating oil therein; A cover disposed on an upper portion of the main body and formed of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body in a high pressure environment; A cover fixing device disposed on an upper portion of the cover and tightly fixed to the main body with the cover interposed therebetween; And First and second cable fixing devices respectively fastened to holes formed at both ends of the main body, and fixing cables inserted into the main body through hollow holes therein; Autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box comprising a. The method of claim 1, An insulating oil injection valve connected to a first valve hole formed in one surface of the main body to inject the insulating oil into the main body; And An air discharge valve connected to a second valve hole formed on one surface of the main body to discharge the air filled in the main body to the outside; The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box further comprising. The method of claim 2, The first valve hole is On one side of the main body, the autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box, characterized in that formed in a lower position than the second valve hole. The method of claim 1, The cover is Autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box, characterized in that formed of urethane material. The method of claim 1, The cover fixing device The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box is provided with a fixing hole at an edge, and fastened to the main body and the cover by a bolt or rivet through the fixing hole. The method of claim 5, In the border of the main body and the cover Autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box, characterized in that the corresponding hole is formed in a position corresponding to the fixing hole so that the cover fixing device and the bolt or the rivet can be fastened. A marine exploration mothership positioned at sea to supply power or transmit device operation signals; A deep sea exploration apparatus positioned at a deep sea bottom to receive the power from the marine exploration bus bar and perform an operation according to the device operation signal to transmit data related to the exploration of the deep sea bottom to the marine exploration bus bar; And Autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction having a cable connected to each other from the marine exploration busbar and the deep sea exploration equipment is connected to each other inside, and is easy to be modified by the pressure difference between the inside and the outside in the high pressure environment of the deep seabed box Deep sea exploration system comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box A main body having a space for accommodating insulating oil therein; A cover disposed on an upper portion of the main body and formed of a soft material to facilitate deformation due to a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the main body in a high pressure environment of a deep seabed; A cover fixing device disposed on an upper portion of the cover to be in close contact with the main body with the cover interposed so that the seawater does not flow into the main body without leaking the insulating oil out of the main body; And First and second cable fixing devices respectively fastened to holes formed at both ends of the main body, and fixing cables inserted into the main body through hollow holes therein; Deep sea exploration system comprising a. The method of claim 8, The autonomous pressure compensation optical cable junction box An insulating oil injection valve connected to a first valve hole formed in one surface of the main body to inject the insulating oil into the main body; And An air discharge valve connected to a second valve hole formed on one surface of the main body to discharge the air filled in the main body to the outside; Deep sea exploration system characterized in that it further comprises. 10. The method of claim 9, The first valve hole is Deep sea exploration system, characterized in that formed on one surface of the main body, lower than the second valve hole. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, The cover is Deep sea exploration system, characterized in that formed of urethane material. The method of claim 8, The cover fixing device A deep sea bottom exploration system having a fixing hole at an edge and fastened to the main body and the cover by a bolt or rivet through the fixing hole. The method of claim 12, In the border of the main body and the cover And a corresponding hole is formed at a position corresponding to the fixing hole so that the cover fixing device and the bolt or the rivet can be fastened. The method of claim 8, The cable is A first cable connected from said marine exploration busbar, and a second cable connected from said deep sea exploration equipment, The first and second cables are Deep sea exploration system, characterized in that connected to each other by the insulating oil inside the main body for power supply and data communication between the marine exploration mother ship and the deep sea exploration equipment. The method of claim 14, The first cable is Deep sea exploration system, characterized in that the umbilical cable. The method of claim 14, The second cable is Deep sea exploration system, characterized in that having a different cable end for each deep sea exploration equipment.

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