The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 05, 2019
Filed:
May. 13, 2016
Subsea 7 Limited, Sutton, GB;
James Andrew Jamieson, Balmedie, GB;
Subsea 7 Limited, Sutton, GB;
Abstract
A method of adjusting buoyancy of an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) includes measuring buoyancy drift of the UUV when underwater. After docking the UUV with a subsea station, a quantity of a flowable buoyancy-adjustment material held onboard the UUV is changed by transferring that material from the station to the UUV or from the UUV to the station. A buoyancy adjustment system for a UUV includes: an onboard tank for holding a variable quantity of the buoyancy-adjustment material and upwardly-opening and downwardly-opening passageways communicating with the tank for transferring the buoyancy-adjustment material to or from the UUV. The subsea station includes: a dock for docking a UUV; a holding tank for holding the buoyancy-adjustment material; and at least one upwardly-opening or downwardly-opening passageway aligned with the dock and communicating with the holding tank for transferring the buoyancy-adjustment material to or from the docked UUV.