USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Ralph David Hooper

William A Chambers

Jeffery Towns Gilchrist

James Benjamin Penney

Jia-Chi Samuel Chieh

Christopher Joseph Meagher

Terry Lance Silas

Bradley Joseph Easterwood

Marc Ludwig Roth

Harry Lynn Barker

Brett Paul Lassus

Steven Dustin Bennett

Paul Michael Collins

Jeffrey T Gilchrist

Samuel Thomas Edwards

Taylor R Doolittle

An apparatus and method transports, launches, and recovers an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) on a boat. A pair of support rails secures the UUV to the boat during the transport across a body of water on the boat. The support rails support the UUV in sliding movement along the support rails during the launch from the boat into the body of water and during the recovery from the body of water onto the boat. A ramp is deployed that extends the support rails into the body of water through a stern of the boat. The ramp includes a pair of alignment rails for aligning the UUV with the support rails during the recovery. A winch pulls the UUV out of the body of water during the recovery, with the winch pulling the UUV into the alignment rails and then onto the support rails in the boat.

Portable UUV launch and recovery assembly

An apparatus for removing and/or installing a side guide of a trailer-mounted boat capture system for guiding a boat onto the trailer, the apparatus comprising: an outboard post pivotally attached to an upper support rail of the side guide; two inboard posts, each pivotally attached to the side guide proximal to where the side guide is attached to the trailer via first pins, wherein each inboard post includes a manual leveling jack; an attachment point on the side guide suitable for attaching a winch cable from a boat held in the boat capture system; and second pins attaching the side guide to the trailer such that when the first pins are removed the side guide is free to pivot around the second pins from an upright position towards a support surface.

Removal/installation apparatus for boat capture system

A snap-hook, including a hook and a dual-direction latch pivotally attached to the hook by a latch pin. The dual-direction latch blocks an opening to the hook's throat when held in a neutral position by a latch spring having a first spring force and a lever-return spring having a second spring force. The dual-direction latch is configured to move into the throat by overcoming the first spring force and to move out of the throat by overcoming the second spring force. The dual-direction latch comprises a spring guard attached to the dual-direction latch so as to shield the lever-return spring from coming into contact with one or both of an object disposed within a throat of the hook and an inner edge of the hook throat.

Reinforced snap-hook with dual-direction spring latch

A vehicle charging station comprising: a container comprising an upper portion having an air duct, and a lower portion comprising a support structure, a smoke detector, a fire-suppressant inlet, and a charging/communications junction, wherein the upper portion is configured to mate with the lower portion to form a weather-tight enclosure around a vehicle, and wherein removal of the upper portion allows for loading/unloading of the vehicle into/out of the lower portion; and a resource control unit (RCU) comprising a processor, an environmental control unit (ECU), a fire-suppressant control manifold, and a charger, wherein the ECU is operatively coupled to the air duct, the fire-suppressant control manifold is operatively coupled to the fire-suppressant inlet, the charger is electrically coupled to the charging/communications junction, and the processor is communicatively coupled to the smoke detector, the charging/communications junction, the ECU, the charger, and the fire-suppressant control manifold.

Vehicle storage and charging station

A system comprising a clamp assembly configured to capture an unmanned underwater vehicle, wherein the clamp assembly comprises a first arm, a second arm, and an extending rod assembly, wherein the first arm and second arm have a first end and a second end and are configured to form a hollow chamber when connected on both ends, wherein first arm and second arm are connected at the first end with the extending rod assembly, wherein the extending rod assembly comprises an extending rod that is configured to project downward when first arm and second arm are in an open position and is configured to retreat inside the extending rod assembly when the first arm and second arm are in a closed position, wherein a spring-loaded latch and a pin on the second end of the first arm and second arm are configured to automatically catch and lock upon closure.

System and method for closing and locking an unmanned underwater vehicle and torpedo clamp

An unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) transport cart comprising: a wheeled frame including vertical posts, a front end, and a rear end; a UUV cradle adjustably clamped to the vertical posts such that the UUV cradle is vertically adjustable with respect to the frame; a U-shaped handle pivotally attached to the front end of the frame such that the U-shaped handle pivots up and down around a first axis, wherein the U-shaped handle includes a handle spring that acts between the U-shaped handle and the frame so as to bias the U-shaped handle toward an upward orientation; side handles pivotally attached to the UUV cradle such that the side handles pivot up and down around side axes that are perpendicular to the first axis; and a hand brake affixed to the U-shaped handle and configured to provide active brake control of the wheeled frame.

Unmanned underwater vehicle transport cart

An open water transport system for payloads and a method for transporting payloads. The system includes two sponsons substantially parallel to the other. The sponsons are spaced apart from each other and extending in a forward direction. A deck plate module is detachably mounted on top of each sponson. A superstructure may be detachably mounted to the deck plate modules. The superstructure may bear a weight of one or more payloads. The carriage assembly couples to the payload(s). The carriage assembly has an adjustment mechanism that permits an operator to redistribute the weight of a payload. The open water transport system is towed by another vehicle.

Open water transport system

A constrained diameter phased array antenna system involving at least one dielectric superstrate, a generally cylindrical arrangement of antennas in a generally circular array, the arrangement proximate to the at least one dielectric superstrate, and at least one phase shifter coupled with the arrangement in an orientation corresponding to at least one scanning plane, whereby a communication range is increasable.

Constrained diameter phased array antenna system and methods

A snap-hook comprising: a hook-shaped body having a throat opening and a shank end, wherein the hook-shaped body includes a primary aperture located at the shank end suitable for attaching a primary line and a secondary aperture located approximately opposite the throat opening suitable for attaching a secondary line; and a dual-direction latch pivotally attached to the hook-shaped body such that the dual-direction latch spans the throat opening when in a neutral position and is capable of pivoting into and out of the throat of the hook-shaped body, wherein the dual-direction latch comprises a bent wire having two free ends, each end inserted in a different hole of two holes in the hook-shaped body that are non-axially-aligned resulting in a spring force that biases the dual-direction latch toward the neutral position and resists pivotal movement of the dual-direction latch both into and out of the throat.

Growing community of inventors

Lemon Grove, CA, United States of America

Ralph David Hooper