초록 ▼

A subsurface mining vehicle and a method are used for collecting mineral deposits from a sea bed at great depths and transporting the deposits to a floating vessel. The vehicle has a load-bearing structure having an arrangement for advancing the vehicle on the sea bed, and a pick-up unit for the dep

A subsurface mining vehicle and a method are used for collecting mineral deposits from a sea bed at great depths and transporting the deposits to a floating vessel. The vehicle has a load-bearing structure having an arrangement for advancing the vehicle on the sea bed, and a pick-up unit for the deposits. A lifting frame is also provided and at one end equipped with a connector to connect to a suspension cable provided between the floating vessel and the vehicle. The lifting frame is at another end connected to the load-bearing structure by a hinged connection, that is actuated by an actuator such that the angular position of the load-bearing structure can be fixed in a number of different angular positions relative to the lifting frame while the vehicle is suspended. The lifting frame allows to launch and position the submarine vehicle in a controlled manner.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A subsurface mining vehicle for collecting mineral deposits from a sea bed at great depths and transporting said deposits to a floating vessel, comprising a load-bearing structure provided with an advancer configured for advancing the vehicle on the sea bed and with a pick-up unit for the deposit

1. A subsurface mining vehicle for collecting mineral deposits from a sea bed at great depths and transporting said deposits to a floating vessel, comprising a load-bearing structure provided with an advancer configured for advancing the vehicle on the sea bed and with a pick-up unit for the deposits, the vehicle further comprising a connector for connecting to a deposit transporting system provided between the vehicle and the floating vessel, as well as a lifting frame that is at one end provided with a suspension connector to connect to a suspender provided between the floating vessel and the vehicle, and at another end connected to the load-bearing structure by a hinged connection, that is actuated by at least one actuator such that an angular position of the load-bearing structure relative to the lifting frame can be fixed in different angular positions while the vehicle is suspended from the suspender. 2. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the at least one actuator comprise hydraulic cylinders extending between the frame and the load-bearing structure. 3. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the lifting frame is equipped with a transporter for picked-up deposits, wherein the transporter is at one end provided with the connector and at another end connects to the pick-up device. 4. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the at least one actuator comprise hydraulic cylinders extending between the frame and the load-bearing structure. 5. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a center of gravity and the hinged connection is positioned such that a pivot line between the frame and the load-bearing structure runs substantially through the center of gravity when the vehicle is totally submerged. 6. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, comprising buoyancy means. 7. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the buoyancy means comprise a plurality of buoyancy elements. 8. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the load-bearing structure and the lifting frame are substantially planar. 9. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the load-bearing structure comprises a fork-shaped frame of longitudinal beam members that join in a root of the fork-shaped frame, and transverse beam members spanning the distance between the longitudinal beam members at a distance from the root of the fork-shaped frame. 10. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 9, wherein a transverse member is pivotally connected to the root of the fork-shaped frame. 11. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, comprising at least one propeller at each side of the vehicle. 12. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 11, wherein the at least one propeller comprises a track assembly. 13. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the suspension connector is adapted to allow free rotation of the vehicle when suspended from the suspender around an axis parallel to a suspender axis. 14. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 13, wherein the suspension connector comprises a slewing ring that is attachable to the suspender and comprises a turning gland. 15. The subsurface mining vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a center of gravity and the hinged connection is positioned such that a pivot line between the frame and the load-bearing structure runs substantially through the center of gravity when the vehicle is totally submerged. 16. A method for collecting mineral deposits from a sea bed at great depths and transporting said deposits to a floating vessel comprising: providing a subsurface mining vehicle in accordance with claim 1,connecting the lifting frame of said mining vehicle to a suspension cable provided between the floating vessel and the vehicle,lowering the vehicle towards a sea bed with the load-bearing structure in a first angular position,actuating the hinged connection between the lifting frame and the load-bearing structure to fixate the load-bearing structure in a second angular position that differs from the first angular position of the load-bearing structure with respect to the lifting frame,positioning the vehicle on the sea bed, and advancing the vehicle on the sea bed to pick-up the mineral deposits, wherein the first angular position is parallel to the vertical direction. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the second angular position makes an angle of 90° or more with respect to the vertical direction. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the second angular position makes an angle of more than 90° with respect to the vertical direction, such that the vehicle contacts the sea bed first with a rear end thereof. 19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the mining vehicle is connected to a deposit transporting system provided between the vehicle and the floating vessel.