Hydraulic and earth engineering – Subterranean or submarine pipe or cable laying – retrieving,... – Submerging – raising – or manipulating line of pipe or cable...
Patent
1993-09-17
1995-08-22
Corbin, David H.
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Subterranean or submarine pipe or cable laying, retrieving,...
Submerging, raising, or manipulating line of pipe or cable...
405191, H01R 1300, F16L 126
Patent
active
054433282
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention relates to apparatus for connecting first and second connector parts of an under water connector for transmission of electrical, hydraulic, air, optical or other services.
It is known in the oil industry to connect up services at under water sites such as a well head installed on the sea bed. It is known from GB-A-2 192 316 to provide an under water electrical connector having a first part provided with a mating socket surrounding a set of electrical contact pins and a second part provided with a mating plug which houses a corresponding set of electrical contact terminals. The plug has a cylindrical outer surface designed to fit precisely in the socket which is also cylindrical, there being a pin and keyway arrangement to ensure correct circumferential alignment between the parts. In use, the first part of the connector is normally secured to a sea bed installation and the second part is mated with the first part by a diver who inserts the plug into the socket, whereby the contact pins make electrical contact with the contact terminals.
In some circumstances, for example in deep water, it may be preferred to use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) rather than a diver to make the connection and problems then arise in achieving the precise alignment of the two connector parts necessary to mate them together. The major problem in this respect is angular misalignment in the axial direction. The tolerance for another known connector having cylindrical mating portions is a maximum angular misalignment in the axial direction of 1.75.degree.. It can be very difficult to control the manipulator claw of a ROV with sufficient precision to fall within this tolerance. A further problem is circumferential misalignment; this is not overcome by a simple pin and keyway arrangement since if there is initial misalignment the pin will not engage in the slot. Thus it is usual for the ROV to make several attempts at effecting the connection with the operator at a remote location making adjustments after each attempt, sometimes aided by a television camera.
Viewed from one aspect the invention provides apparatus for connecting first and second parts of an under water connector, comprising a first carrier adapted to receive the first connector part and having an axial guide socket, and a second carrier adapted to receive the second connector part and having a plug arranged to engage axially in the guide socket for connection of the first and second connector parts, wherein the plug has a nose portion which tapers forwardly to a front end having a lateral dimension less than that of the guide socket, and a waisted portion rearwardly of the nose portion with a lateral dimension less than that of the guide socket.
With such an arrangement, the tapered nose portion enables the plug to enter the socket even if the first and second carriers are brought together with an angular misalignment in the axial direction. As the plug moves further into the socket, the waisted portion of the plug engages the edge of the socket at its open end and this engagement, with continued forward movement of the plug into the socket, tends to bring the first and second carriers into axial alignment. Thus the connecting apparatus is particularly suitable for operation by a ROV since a relatively large amount of angular axial misalignment, which commonly arises when using a ROV to engage one connector part with another, is tolerated and automatically corrected. For example, the axes of the first and second carriers may be at an initial angle to each other of 30.degree. which is reduced to zero as alignment is achieved.
The socket and the plug will normally be of circular cross-section. The plug preferably has to the rear of the waisted portion a shank portion of diameter D which fits closely within the socket to achieve final axial alignment during connection. The tapering nose portion may be rounded, for example part-spherical, or it may be of frustoconical form, having a straight chamfer as viewed in axial section. Thus there may be a non-linea
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patent: 4906136 (1990-03-01), Norbom et al.
Alcock John M.
Myers Fred D.
Nicholson Joseph A.
Thistlethwaite Trevor J.
Corbin David H.
Tronic Electronic Services Limited
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