Teledyne Instruments, Inc.

Benthos, Inc.

Robert G Melvin, Ii

Douglas C Webb

Maurice D Green

Daniel Ryan

Thomas W Altshuler

Lawrence Bovie

Steven Arruda

Ernest Petzrick

Robert Correllus

David Pingal

Andrew Sealey

Andrew Elskamp

Clyde Streeter

Thomas Patterson

James Truman

Mark Belcher

Hugh E Fargher

William Wallace

John L Coughlin

Robert J Ryan

Methods and apparatus determining a position of a submersible vehicle within a body of water are provided. A method comprises determining an initial position of the vehicle while the vehicle is at or near a water surface. The method further comprises coupling the vehicle and a base node to a weight and determining a position of the base node once the base node and vehicle have reached the floor of the body of water using acoustic modems of the vehicle and a surface vessel to aid in calculating the position as they descend, and acoustically transferring the at rest position on the seafloor from the vehicle to the node. The method further comprises decoupling the vehicle from the node and weight and determining a position of the vehicle based on the position of the base node and acoustic signals exchanged between acoustic modems of the vehicle and the base node.

Determining a position of a submersible vehicle within a body of water

In various embodiments a variable buoyancy profiling float is disclosed. The variable buoyancy profiling float may comprise a spherical glass housing comprising a first hemisphere and a second hemisphere. The first and second hemispheres may be coupled by a partial vacuum within the spherical glass housing. A buoyancy system may be located at least partially within the spherical glass housing. The buoyancy system may be configured to provide variable buoyancy control to the variable buoyancy profiling float. A sensor bundle may be mounted to the spherical glass housing and may be configured to measure at least one environmental parameter.

Variable buoyancy profiling float

Variable bouyancy profiling float

Method and apparatus by which misshapen crown caps on beverage containers, such as bottles traveling along high-speed bottling lines, may be detected. Bottles are arranged to travel directly beneath a magnetic proximity sensor head placed at a station along a conveyor. A photodetector indicates when a crown cap is properly positioned with respect to the magnetic proximity sensor. In the presence of a crown cap, the sensor head generates a signal having characteristic shapes indicative of properly shaped caps or those that are misshapen. The signal is monitored via algorithms for the presence of the characteristic shapes anticipated for properly shaped and misshapen crown caps and commands are generated in response to detecting reject crown caps. The signal may also be used to detect distorted bottles and to provide height information to a pressure detection station used in conjunction with the crown detector to enhance the rate of detection for poorly sealed bottles having otherwise properly shaped crown caps.

Method and apparatus for detecting misapplied caps on containers

A method for analyzing the internal pressure of a closed container includes inducing vibration in a surface of the container; detecting sound resulting from the vibration; deriving information representing the detecting sound; and determining whether this information corresponds to a predetermined spectral frequency condition and a predetermined spectral amplitude condition. To ensure that the test results are not affected by modulating distortion which may be present in the information, the information is tested for the presence of a modulating distortion, and if so processed to compensate for the effects of this modulating distortion, prior to being tested against the predetermined spectral conditions. Alternatively or in addition, one or both of the upper and lower amplitude limits which define the spectral amplitude condition may be reset periodically to allow for slow changes in manufacturing conditions by accumulating amplitude data from a plurality of containers judged to have an acceptable internal pressure, analyzing this amplitude data to derive an average value and a deviation therefrom, and resetting one or both of the amplitude limits in dependence upon the derived average value and deviation.

Apparatus and method utilizing signal modulation detection for analyzing

A method of analyzing internal pressure of a closed container includes inducing vibration in a surface of a closed container; detecting sound resulting from the vibration; deriving information representing the detected sound; and determining whether the information corresponds to a predetermined spectral frequency condition and a predetermined spectral amplitude condition. The surface is at least partially conductive and inducing includes imposing a magnetic field on the surface. The predetermined spectral frequency condition and the predetermined spectral amplitude condition correspond to ranges of acceptable values. The detected sound is used to determine whether the closed container contains a pressure level within a predetermined range of pressure levels.

Analyzing internal pressure of a closed container

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Sandwich, MA, United States of America

Robert G Melvin, Ii