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:
Jan. 29, 2013
Filed:
Sep. 07, 2010
Steve Whiteside, San Diego, CA (US);
Robert Lee, Descanso, CA (US);
Ronald Skala, Murrieta, CA (US);
Brian Shook, San Diego, CA (US);
Paul Wade, Chula Vista, CA (US);
Bret Thomson, San Diego, CA (US);
Steve Whiteside, San Diego, CA (US);
Robert Lee, Descanso, CA (US);
Ronald Skala, Murrieta, CA (US);
Brian Shook, San Diego, CA (US);
Paul Wade, Chula Vista, CA (US);
Bret Thomson, San Diego, CA (US);
The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
An autonomous underwater plow can include a frame, a plow assembly and a propulsion assembly. The plow assembly is fixed to the one end of the frame, while the propulsion assembly is pivotably attached to the other end. The propulsion assembly includes thrusters that are rigidly coupled to a float, and that provide a propulsion force perpendicular to the float buoyancy force. The plow sinks when placed in the water, but the float provides sufficient buoyancy so that the float end floats while the plow end is in contact with the ocean floor. This establishes a rake angle of between the frame and ocean floor. The plow requires less propulsion force for motion because part of the plow is floating, and requires less force to overcome obstacles on the ocean floor because the thrusters provides a constant horizontal propulsion force while the frame tilts to overcome the obstacle.