USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Jeffrey V Wilson

Alan T Inouye

Leroy W Tucker

William D Briggs

Wayne R Tausig

Thorndyke Roe, Jr

James H Schaefer

Mark L Baker

Ronald L Brackett

Anthony A Glowacz

Jack Bayha

A means is provided to uniformly tension long lengths of small cables while hey are simultaneously exposed to simulated environments such as deep ocean conditions. Tension on the cable is adjustable by varying the pressure inside an elastic bladder sealed about a stress spool on which the cable is wrapped, within a pressure chamber. Spool cores can be nested so that several lengths of different cables can be tested together.

Test apparatus for uniform tensioning of long lengths of small cables in

The invention is a device for splicing submarine coaxial cable underwater the seafloor with a simple push-on operation to restore and maintain electrical and mechanical strength integrity; the splice device is mateable directly with the severed ends of a coaxial cable to be repaired. Splicing assemblies comprise a dielectric pressure compensating fluid filled guide cavity, a gelled castor oil cap and wiping seals for exclusion of seawater, electrical contacts, a cable strength restoration mechanism, and a pressure compensation system for controlled extrusion of and depletion loss prevention of dielectric seal fluid during cable splicing. A splice is made underwater by directly inserting prepared ends of coaxial cable, having no connector attachments, into splicing assemblies.

Underwater splice for submarine coaxial cable

A stiff, straight spar is allowed to pivot about an anchor on the seafloor. he location of the bottom with respect to the top is then determined by measuring the tilt of the spar and computing the offset of the bottom relative to the top. The straight member uses its internal buoyancy to remain erect and stable while the weight of the anchor keeps it in place on the seafloor. The top of the spar is tracked by shore stations while the tilt and heading of the spar is monitored by an instrumentation system. Simultaneous readings of the shore instruments and the spar's tilt and heading indicators allow direct determination of the anchor location relative to the shore. An air ballast control enables the apparatus to be easily maneuvered on the ocean bottom by divers or on the surface and an internal plumb bob system allows calibration of the overall system.

Survey spar system for precision offshore seafloor surveys

In an underwater-mateable connector system of the vented pin-and-socket t, the socket electrical contact system is composed of a contact ring cooperating with a contact band, the contact band being integrally provided with a multiplicity of resiliently deformable louvers. The pin electrical contact is composed of a rigid conductor disposed intermediate electrically insulating material and is arranged to provide electrical contact with the deformable louvers of the contact band. Electrically insulating interference seals are formed on either side of the contact area when mated due to differential diameters between the pin and socket. The preferred embodiment utilizes a Multilam.RTM. band (U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,587) as the contact band.

Underwater-mateable electrical connector

A system for operating a lifting cable over the side of a ship at sea in ch a spar buoy having an adjustable lifting capacity is coupled to the ship by a rigid linkage which is free to pivot on an axis attached to the deck. The lifting cable is suspended from a first sheave which is mounted above a central, longitudinal channel in the spar buoy. The linkage is attached to the top of the spar buoy such that the spar buoy may rotate about an axis normal to the deck axis of the linkage and pivot on an axis normal to the longitudinal axis of the spar buoy. A second sheave is mounted on the deck axis so that the distance between the sheaves does not change as the linkage rotates on its axis. The lifting cable is fed from a winch on the ship over the sheaves and falls through the longitudinal channel. The invention operates to decouple the motion of the ship from the lifting cable so that the vertical motion of the cable is controlled by the motion of the spar buoy. A topping lift technique for deck-handling the system and an emergency disconnect feature are also disclosed.

Linked-spar motion-compensated lifting system

A coaxial wet connector for connecting coaxail conductors of electromechaal ocean cables underwater either by a diver or submersible manipulator. The connector comprises a male section having a male inner conductor extending outwards from a concentric male outer conductor and a female section containing a spring biased shuttle piston for receiving the male inner conductor upon mating. An O-ring wiping seal wipes the male inner conductor clean of water as the male inner conductor drives the shuttle piston rearward within a female housing until electrical interconnection between the male and female sections is completed. A pressure compensating bladder removes water trapped adjacent an interconnection surface during mating and returns the water to the interconnection surface during decoupling thereby preventing a hydraulic lock between the male and female sections. A plurality of latch members pivotably connected to the male section and operable to engage a ridge on the feamle section is provided for transferring the mechanical forces from the female outer conductor to the female housing to the male housing and back to the male outer conductor.

Coaxial wet connector with spring operated piston

A quick disconnect intercell busbar for providing an easily removable, inidually insulated bussing system for deep submergence batteries. A bussing conductor having silver plated copper pin terminations carries battery currents with a minimal voltage drop. The busbar is insulated to provide sealing of the battery electrical circuits thereby eliminating shorts caused by electrolyte contamination or seawater intrusion. A low current conductor connected to the bussing conductor with suitable insulation provides for monitoring of intercell voltages.

Quick disconnect intercell busbar for deep submergence batteries

A quick disconnect intercell busbar for providing an easily removable, inidually insulated bussing system for deep submergence batteries. A bussing conductor having silver plated copper pin terminations carries battery currents with a minimal voltage drop. The busbar is insulated to provide sealing of the battery electrical circuits thereby eliminating shorts caused by electrolyte contamination or seawater intrusion. A low current conductor connected to the bussing conductor with suitable insulation provides for monitoring of cell voltages.

A coaxial wet connector for connecting coaxial conductors of electromechaal ocean cables underwater, either by a diver or submersible manipulator. The connector comprises a male section having a male inner conductor extending outwards from a concentric male outer conductor. A female section comprises a shuttle piston for receiving the male inner conductor. An O-ring wiping seal wipes the male inner conductor clean of water as the male inner conductor drives the shuttle piston rearward within a female housing until electrical interconnection between the male and female sections is completed. A female facing lip is disposed within the female housing to mate with a male facing such that water caught in the area adjacent the shuttle piston and the male and female facings is ejected. The space between the backside of the shuttle piston and the female inner conductor is oil-filled and is in fluidic communication with a circumferential bladder. A squeeze ring surrounds the circumferential bladder and supplies a hydraulic force to the backside of the shuttle piston such that the shuttle piston is driven to its forward position, thereby disconnecting the male and female sections. A latch is provided for transferring the mechanical forces from the cable from the female outer conductor to the female housing to the male housing and back to the male outer conductor.

Growing community of inventors

Camarillo, CA, United States of America

Jeffrey V Wilson