Hydraulic and earth engineering – Subterranean or submarine pipe or cable laying – retrieving,... – Submerging – raising – or manipulating line of pipe or cable...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-21
2004-01-06
Shackelford, Heather (Department: 3673)
Hydraulic and earth engineering
Subterranean or submarine pipe or cable laying, retrieving,...
Submerging, raising, or manipulating line of pipe or cable...
C405S160000, C174S068100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06672801
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a submarine apparatus and, more particularly, to a submarine apparatus provided along a submarine cable together laid on a seafloor.
The “submarine apparatus” means an apparatus laid on a seafloor, such as a submarine repeating apparatus, a submarine branching apparatus, or a gain equalizer.
A submarine cable used for communication is laid on a seafloor so as to connect land to land in the distance. Submarine apparatuses, such as a submarine repeating apparatus, a submarine branching apparatus, and a gain equalizer, are provided along the submarine cable laid on the seafloor.
For convenience' sake in explanation, a description will be given of a facility used to lay a submarine cable on a seafloor, and of an operation to lay a submarine cable on a seafloor.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, in an operation of laying a submarine cable, a submarine cable
50
and submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are loaded onto a submarine-cable laying ship
10
equipped with a linear cable engine device
20
, a sheave
30
, and a submarine-cable embedding machine
40
. Then, the laying ship
10
moves in a direction A
1
along a laying route so that the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are drawn out from the laying ship
10
in a direction A
2
so as to be laid on a seafloor
70
.
As shown in FIG.
2
A and
FIG. 2B
, the linear cable engine device
20
comprises a plurality of rubber tires
21
-
1
to
21
-
6
and
22
-
1
to
22
-
6
aligned horizontally in a direction X
2
-X
1
, and cable guides
27
and
28
opposing each other transversely in a direction Y
1
-Y
2
. The rubber tires
21
-
1
to
21
-
6
and
22
-
1
to
22
-
6
oppose each other vertically in a direction Z
1
-Z
2
, respectively. The rubber tires
21
-
1
to
21
-
6
and
22
-
1
to
22
-
6
are movable vertically, and are energized in directions nearing to each other by oil hydraulic mechanisms (conveniently represented by springy members in
FIG. 2B
)
25
and
26
. The cable guides
27
and
28
are movable transversely, are energized in directions nearing to each other by oil hydraulic mechanisms (conveniently represented by springy members in
FIG. 2B
)
23
and
24
. This linear cable engine device
20
installed inboard guides the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
drawn out from the laying ship
10
, and tenses the submarine cable
50
drawn out from the laying ship
10
.
The sheave
30
is provided on the stern of the laying ship
10
, and guides the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
drawn out from the laying ship
10
.
When the seafloor is at a shallow sea, the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
is submerged onto the seafloor, and is slid on the seafloor by being hauled by the laying ship
10
so that the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
digs a groove, leads the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
into the groove, and then fills up the groove. The submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are buried in the seafloor so that a fishing net etc. is not caught on the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
. As shown in
FIG. 3
, the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
comprises a bell mouth
41
in front, and a plurality of rollers
42
-
1
to
42
-
n
and
43
-
1
to
43
-
n
aligned horizontally from the bell mouth
41
in a direction A
2
. The rollers
42
-
1
to
42
-
n
and
43
-
1
to
43
-
n
oppose each other in vertical directions, respectively. The rollers
42
-
1
to
42
-
n
and
43
-
1
to
43
-
n
are movable vertically, and are energized in directions nearing to each other by oil hydraulic mechanisms (conveniently represented by springy members in
FIG. 2B
)
44
and
45
.
In the operation of laying a submarine cable, the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are moved as follows. First, the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are transferred in the laying ship
10
, and are guided between the rubber tires
21
and
22
of the linear cable engine device
20
, whereby the submarine cable
50
drawn out from the laying ship
10
is provided with a tension T. The submarine cable
50
provided with the tension T is guided by the sheave
30
out of the laying ship
10
into seawater down to a seafloor, and is laid on the seafloor.
In a case of a shallow sea, the submarine cable
50
drawn out from the laying ship
10
is guided along the bell mouth
41
into the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
, as shown in
FIG. 3
, and then is guided by the rollers
42
-
1
to
42
-
n
and
43
-
1
to
43
-
n
into the groove dug in the seafloor by the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
.
As described above, in the course of the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
being transferred in the laying ship
10
and being led out of the laying ship
10
into the seawater down to the seafloor to be laid thereon, the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
pass a plurality of curved portions, and also go in and through the linear cable engine device
20
, go over the sheave
30
, and finally go in and through the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
.
The submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are required to be easy to lay, i.e., to have a structure that allows a smooth operation of laying a submarine cable free from interruptions. Specifically, the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
are required to have a structure that avoids getting caught in the course of the operation of laying a submarine cable.
Additionally, when the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
get caught in the linear cable engine device
20
, it is executable to cope with the caught-up submarine repeating apparatuses
60
, because the linear cable engine device
20
is placed on the laying ship
10
. However, when the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
get caught in the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
, it is difficult to handle the caught-up submarine repeating apparatuses
60
, because the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
is undersea. Therefore, it is especially important that the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
do not get caught in the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
.
In the above-mentioned operation of laying a submarine cable, the bell mouth
41
has a function of guiding the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
along a guiding surface
41
b
on the upper part of the bell mouth
41
into the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
. The bell mouth
41
has so predetermined a shape that the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
do not get caught thereby as long as the submarine cable
50
and the submarine repeating apparatuses
60
slide on the guiding surface
41
b
of the bell mouth
41
. Additionally, a roller
41
a
is provided at a corner of the lower part of the bell mouth
41
. The roller
41
a
supports the submarine repeating apparatus
60
entering the bell mouth
41
, and revolves as the submarine repeating apparatus
60
transfers so that the submarine repeating apparatus
60
enters the submarine-cable embedding machine
40
smoothly.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4
shows a conventional submarine repeating apparatus
80
. The submarine repeating apparatus
80
comprises a cylindrical body
81
in the center incorporating electronic components and optical components, and conical boots
84
and
85
at both ends. The body
81
comprises cylindrical joint rings
82
and
83
overhanging at both ends of the body
81
. Ends of arm portions
86
extending from the boots
84
and
85
are connected with the joint rings
82
and
83
by gimbal joints
87
, respectively. A bellows
88
covers between the boot
84
and the joint ring
82
, and a bellows
89
covers between the boot
85
and the joint ring
83
. The boots
84
and
85
can be bent freely in any direction with respect to the body
81
so that the operation of laying a submarine cable can b
Hayakawa Makoto
Takeda Taiichi
Watanabe Shuichi
Fujitsu Limited
Saldano Lisa M.
Shackelford Heather
Staas & Halsey , LLP
LandOfFree
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