USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Bret R Thomson

Ronald Allen Skala

Robert M Lee

Steve Whiteside

Brandon J Wiedemeier

Paul C Wade

Brian Daniel Shook

Steven J Horstman

Minh Vuong

Jeffrey M Lloyd

Nathan Todd Miller

Michael H Tall

Steven K Whiteside

Tyler J Browe

Kevin A Merhoff

George T Stevens, Iv

Jason S Bench

Bryan B Bui-Tuong

Daniel T Bridge

A retrofit kit retrofits a buoy to provide dynamic control of a freeboard of the retrofitted buoy. The retrofit kit includes buoyancy chambers, an air reservoir, and a valve arrangement. A method for retrofitting a buoy retrofits a buoy to provide dynamic control of a freeboard of the retrofitted buoy. The buoyancy chambers surrounding a vertical axis of the buoy with a center of mass of the buoy disposed on the vertical axis below the buoyancy chambers. The buoyancy chambers provide a variable buoyancy ranging from a minimum buoyancy to a maximum buoyancy. The air reservoir inflates of the buoyancy chambers. The valve arrangement dynamically sets the freeboard of the buoy upon inflation and deflation of the buoyancy chambers for varying the variable buoyancy between the minimum buoyancy and the maximum buoyancy.

Retrofitting a buoy to provide dynamic control of a freeboard of the buoy

A buoy, comprising a body, an inflatable bladder, a bladder cover, a pressure vessel, a variable-volume, gas-filled chamber, a controller, a compressor, and a ballast. The bladder cover surrounds the inflatable bladder. When the inflatable bladder is deflated, the bladder cover is configured to compress the inflatable bladder so as to conform to an exterior contour of the body. The variable-volume, gas-filled chamber provides passive, variable buoyancy to the buoy. The controller is configured to control a transfer of compressible gas between the inflatable bladder and the first pressure vessel. The compressor is configured to remove gas from the inflatable bladder, compress the removed gas, and introduce the compressed gas to the first pressure vessel for storage. The ballast maintains a substantially vertical orientation of the buoy when the buoy is in water.

Depth-tolerant, inflatable, variable-buoyancy buoy

A variable buoyancy buoy and method for deployment therefor can include a fixed buoyancy portion formed with a cavity and an enclosure. A pressure hull containing instrumentation can be place in the cavity, and a variable buoyancy portion that can be inserted into the enclosure. The fixed buoyancy portion can have a spar buoy configuration or a marker buoy configuration, and can further be formed with at least one opening to establish a path of fluid communication between the exterior of the buoy and the enclosure. The variable buoyancy portion can be a compressible bladder, or compressible foam, which can change form a maximum volume at the water surface to a minimum volume as the buoy descends towards stowage depth. The decrease in buoyancy facilitates retrieval of the buoy by an apparatus on the ocean floor.

Variable buoyancy buoy and deployment methods

A self-stabilizing buoy and deployment methods can include a main body and a cage that can be attached to the main body. A ballast can be slidably positioned within the cage so that the ballast moves from within said cage to outside of the cage when the buoy is deployed. The cage can be formed with at least one slot. The buoy can include a locking mechanism to fix the ballast at the distal end of cage after deployment, which can include a locking head that can be fixed to the ballast and inserted into the slot, and at least one flexible cantilevered arm that can extend from the cage into the slot at its distal end. As the buoy is deployed, the weight of the ballast can be sufficient to urge the locking head past the cantilevered arm to fix and lock the ballast during buoy deployment.

Self-stabilizing buoy and deployment methods

The present invention provides a means by which an underwater plow can avoid large obstacles that otherwise would prevent the plow from executing its desired path. The underwater plow is released into the water, drops to the sea floor, orients itself, and begins to deploy the sensor array along a pre-programmed path. If the plow encounters a sea floor obstacle, the plowautomatically maneuvers to overcome the obstacle and continues deployment of the sensor array. The buoyancy shifting apparatusallows the plow to automatically maneuver. The present invention shifts the center of buoyancy of the underwater plow, thereby allowing the plow to float over obstructions.

Buoyancy shifting apparatus for underwater plow

An autonomous underwater plow can include a frame, a plow assembly and a propulsion assembly. The plow assembly is fixed to the one end of the frame, while the propulsion assembly is pivotably attached to the other end. The propulsion assembly includes thrusters that are rigidly coupled to a float, and that provide a propulsion force perpendicular to the float buoyancy force. The plow sinks when placed in the water, but the float provides sufficient buoyancy so that the float end floats while the plow end is in contact with the ocean floor. This establishes a rake angle of between the frame and ocean floor. The plow requires less propulsion force for motion because part of the plow is floating, and requires less force to overcome obstacles on the ocean floor because the thrusters provides a constant horizontal propulsion force while the frame tilts to overcome the obstacle.

Autonomous underwater plow and method of use

An underwater plow includes a plow assembly that is attached to a frame. The plow assembly includes a blade portion, which defines a blade trough, and a sensor chute portion. The blade portion extends downwardly below a plane that is coincident with a longitudinal axis defined by the frame, while the chute portion extends upwardly above the same plane. A depressor arm is pivotably attached to the blade portion and biased to be in contact with the trough. The depressor arm has a groove that is sized to allow the cable, but not the sensors, to pass through the groove while the depressor arm is in contact with the trough. With this configuration, an array cable passes downward through the blade portion of the plow assembly and becomes buried in the ocean floor. Array sensors, however, are routed upward and pass through the chute portion of the plow assembly.

Underwater plow having an improved plow assembly

An underwater plow can include a depressor cam and a chute cam that are pivotably attached to a blade portion. The blade portion can be formed with a trough and the depressor cam can be biased in the trough. The chute cam can be formed with a groove having a minimum thickness at its attached end and an increasing taper to a maximum thickness at its distal end. A sensor passing through the plow contacts the edge of the depressor cam, causing depressor cam rotation away from the trough. The sensor passes the depressor cam and pushes against the chute cam, which causes the chute cam to contra-rotate relative to the depressor cam until the sensor passes through the chute arm at is maximum thickness. Once the sensor passes through, the cams contra-rotate back to their respective biased positions.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Bret R Thomson