Charging system for autonomous underwater vehicle and method of lifting and recovering autonomous underwater vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11586198-B2
Application number	US-201816644419-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 3, 2018
Priority date	Sep 4, 2017
Publication date	Feb 21, 2023
Grant date	Feb 21, 2023

Abstract

A charging system includes a charging station having: a base underwater; a pole extending in an upper-lower direction; and a power supplying portion. An AUV includes: an underwater main body; a power receiving portion; a holding device including a pair of guide and holding portions, the pair of guide portions guides the pole to a holding position after the pole contacts the guide portions from a proceeding-direction, the holding portion holds the pole to be rotatable relative to the pole; a thrust generating apparatus generates in a horizontal direction; and a control device controls the thrust generating apparatus. A light emitter at one of the base and the underwater main body, and a light receiver is provided at the other. The control device controls the thrust so the underwater main body reaches a rotational position where the light receiver receives light emitted, the rotational position set relative to the pole.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A charging system for an autonomous underwater vehicle, the charging system comprising:
a charging station including
a base located under water,
a pole provided at the base and extending in an upper-lower direction, and
a power supplying portion provided at a position that is located at the base and is away from the pole in a horizontal direction; and

an autonomous underwater vehicle including:
an underwater vehicle main body,
a power receiving portion provided at the underwater vehicle main body and supplied with electric power from the power supplying portion,
a holding device including a pair of guide portions and a holding portion, the pair of guide portions being configured such that an interval between the guide portions widens in a proceeding direction from the underwater vehicle main body, and the guide portions guide the pole to a holding position after the pole contacts the guide portions from a proceeding-direction side, the holding portion being configured to hold the pole at the holding position so as to be rotatable relative to the pole,
a thrust generating apparatus configured to generate, in at least the horizontal direction, thrust which makes the underwater vehicle main body rotate about the pole with the holding device holding the pole, and
a control device configured to control the thrust generating apparatus, wherein:

one of a light emitter and a light receiver is provided at a position that is located at the base and is away from the pole in the horizontal direction;
the other of the light emitter and the light receiver is provided at a position that is located at the underwater vehicle main body and is away from the holding position in the horizontal direction;
when the underwater vehicle main body has reached a predetermined rotational position relative to the pole with the holding device holding the pole, the light receiver receives light emitted from the light emitter; and
the control device controls the thrust generating apparatus, by using a determination result regarding whether or not the light receiver receives the light emitted from the light emitter, such that with the holding device holding the pole, the underwater vehicle main body reaches the predetermined rotational position where the light receiver receives the light emitted from the light emitter, the predetermined rotational position being set relative to the pole.

2. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the light emitter is an underwater vehicle-side optical transmitter configured to emit the light as an optical signal;
the light receiver is a station-side optical receiver configured to receive the optical signal from the underwater vehicle-side optical transmitter;
the charging station includes a station-side optical transmitter configured to emit light as an optical signal; and
the autonomous underwater vehicle includes an underwater vehicle-side optical receiver configured to receive the optical signal from the station-side optical transmitter.

3. The charging system according to claim 2 , wherein:
the thrust generating apparatus generates the thrust which makes the underwater vehicle main body move in the proceeding direction and the upper-lower direction;
the station-side optical transmitter is provided so as to emit the light radially about the pole as the optical signal;
the autonomous underwater vehicle includes a direction detector configured to detect a coming direction of the light emitted from the station-side optical transmitter; and
the control device controls the thrust generating apparatus based on the coming direction detected by the direction detector such that the autonomous underwater vehicle proceeds, and the guide portions contact the pole.

4. The charging system according to claim 1 , further comprising a water floating body floating on water, wherein:
the charging station is suspended under water by a cord extending from the water floating body; and
the pole extends downward from the base.

5. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein:
one of the autonomous underwater vehicle and the charging station includes a locking device;
the other of the autonomous underwater vehicle and the charging station includes a locked portion locked by the locking device; and
in a state where the locking device locks the locked portion, and the power receiving portion is arranged at such a position as to be supplied with electric power from the power supplying portion, the autonomous underwater vehicle docks with the charging station.

6. The charging system according to claim 5 , wherein:
the thrust generating apparatus generates the thrust which makes the underwater vehicle main body move along the pole with the holding device holding the pole; and
when the underwater vehicle main body located at the predetermined rotational position moves along the pole such that the power supplying portion and the power receiving portion approach each other, the locked portion is arranged at such a locking position as to be locked by the locking device.

7. The charging system according to claim 6 , wherein:
the locked portion is a locked pin extending upward or downward from the underwater vehicle main body;
the charging station includes the locking device; and
the locking device includes
a guide surface which is contacted by the locked pin and guides the locked pin to the locking position when the underwater vehicle main body moves along the pole such that the power supplying portion and the power receiving portion approach each other, and
a locking portion configured to lock the locked pin guided to the locking position.

8. The charging system according to claim 6 , wherein the charging station includes a rotation restricting portion configured to, when the underwater vehicle main body is in the middle of moving along the pole, contact the underwater vehicle main body or the guide portion to mechanically restrict a rotation range of the underwater vehicle main body relative to the pole.

9. The charging system according to claim 5 , further comprising a water floating body floating on water, wherein:
the charging station is suspended under water by a cord extending from the water floating body;
the pole extends downward from the base; and
the water floating body includes a load lifting facility configured to pull the cord to lift up in the air the charging station with which the autonomous underwater vehicle has docked.

10. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein the charging station includes a thrust generating apparatus configured to maintain at least one of a posture of the charging station under water and a direction of the charging station under water.

11. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein a distance from the pole at the base to one of the light emitter and the light receiver is equal to a distance from the holding position at the underwater vehicle main body to the other of the light emitter and the light receiver.

12. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the predetermined rotational position is within a predetermined angular range about the pole; and
the charging system includes a light blocking portion which stands around the light receiver and blocks light coming from outside the predetermined angular range such that the light does not enter the light receiver.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Mukaida Minehiko
• Okaya Noriyuki
• Matsui Manabu
• Hayashi Toshiya
• Masuda Kosuke
• Kashiwagi Seiji
• Okada Takashi
• Tachinami Fumitaka

Classifications

• Y02T90/12

  Electric charging stations · CPC title

• Y02T90/14

  Plug-in electric vehicles · CPC title

• Y02T10/7072

  Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors · CPC title

• Y02T10/70

  Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries · CPC title

• B63G2008/005

  remotely controlled · CPC title