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:
Apr. 18, 2006
Filed:
Jun. 30, 2004
John K. Boland, Ii, Dover, DE (US);
Hossein Eslambolchi, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
John Sinclair Huffman, Conyers, GA (US);
John K. Boland, II, Dover, DE (US);
Hossein Eslambolchi, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
John Sinclair Huffman, Conyers, GA (US);
AT&T Corp., New York, NY (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for locating a buried utility conveyance, such as an undersea cable, beneath a body of water. The apparatus generally comprises a submersible housing that contains a variable ballast system for selectively controlling the buoyancy of the apparatus, operator-controlled maneuvering apparatus, and a detector assembly for locating the conveyance. The detector assembly includes first and second signal generators and first and second signal detectors for vectoring the location of the conveyance. An operator guides the detector relative to a target search location through cables attached to the housing and the variable ballast system. A camera generates images of the target search location for use by the operator to control the apparatus through an umbilical cable connected to the housing.