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:
Jun. 23, 2015
Filed:
Jan. 31, 2014
Bret R. Thomson, San Diego, CA (US);
Steve Whiteside, Jamul, CA (US);
Brandon J. Wiedemeier, San Diego, CA (US);
Steven J. Horstman, El Cajon, CA (US);
Michael Tall, San Diego, CA (US);
Ronald Allen Skala, Murrieta, CA (US);
Bret R. Thomson, San Diego, CA (US);
Steve Whiteside, Jamul, CA (US);
Brandon J. Wiedemeier, San Diego, CA (US);
Steven J. Horstman, El Cajon, CA (US);
Michael Tall, San Diego, CA (US);
Ronald Allen Skala, Murrieta, CA (US);
The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A self-stabilizing buoy and deployment methods can include a main body and a cage that can be attached to the main body. A ballast can be slidably positioned within the cage so that the ballast moves from within said cage to outside of the cage when the buoy is deployed. The cage can be formed with at least one slot. The buoy can include a locking mechanism to fix the ballast at the distal end of cage after deployment, which can include a locking head that can be fixed to the ballast and inserted into the slot, and at least one flexible cantilevered arm that can extend from the cage into the slot at its distal end. As the buoy is deployed, the weight of the ballast can be sufficient to urge the locking head past the cantilevered arm to fix and lock the ballast during buoy deployment.