58results about "Tether" patented technology

A system for automated rendezvous, docking, and capture of autonomous underwater vehicles at the conclusion of a mission comprising of comprised of a docking rod having lighted, pulsating (in both frequency and light intensity) series of LED light strips thereon, with the LEDs at a known spacing, and the autonomous underwater vehicle specially designed to detect and capture the docking rod and then be lifted structurally by a spherical end strop about which the vehicle can be pivoted and hoisted up (e.g., onto a ship). The method of recovery allows for very routine and reliable automated recovery of an unmanned underwater asset.

A flexible lifting tether system for lifting a marine vehicle or object is described which is capable of significantly improving the primary characteristics of an existing cable by enhancing load-carrying capabilities (e.g. in air), modifying the tether to have altered specific gravities in water, and relieving torsional stresses when in operation.

Apparatus for helping a person survive on a cold body of water includes a suit capable of covering at least a substantial portion of the user's body while allowing the user to move and work out of water. An inflatable raft is provided to hold and support the person on water when the raft has been inflated. The raft in a deflated state is foldable into a compact configuration and is sufficiently light in weight to be carried on a back of the person out of water. There is a raft holder adapted to hold the raft in its compact state and adapted for carrying on the suit. The raft can be tethered to the suit or the raft holder.

This invention generally relates to a winding device and more particularly to an apparatus and method to rewind the line of marker buoys, pre-strung blanks, kite string reels, and similar objects. In general the winding device comprises a turning receiver adapted to contact the outer surface of one end of the object to be rewound and, with power from a power source, to rotate the object to rewind the line. The winding device also comprises an end piece adapted to contact the outer surface of the other end of the object and to hold the object in a desired position for rewinding. A winding device of the present invention may rewind the line of a variety of sizes, shapes and configurations of such objects.

Some embodiments provide release apparatuses comprising: a body comprising a first mating section and a second mating section connected to first and second tethers; and a plurality of movable locking shoes secured with the first mating section and movable between a first position configured to lock the first mating section and the second mating section together and a second position configured to allow the first mating section and the second mating section to disconnect; wherein each of the plurality of locking shoes comprises a locking surface configured to contact an engagement surface of the second mating section and maintain a position of the first mating section with the second mating section when the plurality of locking shoes are in the first position, and wherein the locking surface of each of the plurality of locking shoes is formed at a contact angle between about 18 degrees and 24 degrees.

An inflatable ride-on water toy comprising a stylized body that is connected to a separately inflated safety ring using a variety of configurations.

The invention discloses self-adaptive water level lifting and plane constraint positioning floating equipment which comprises a floating platform floating on the water surface and further comprises a front-end mooring rope arranged at the end, facing the water flow direction, of the floating platform and a rear-end mooring rope arranged at the end, back to the water flow direction, of the floating platform. The floating platform self-positioning system further comprises a rotary drum component horizontally arranged in the water flow direction, the rotary drum component is rotatably installed on the floating platform, the front end of the rotary drum component is provided with a front end cable winding section, the upper end of the front end cable is wound on the front end cable winding section, and the rear end of the rotary drum component is provided with a rear end cable winding section. The upper end of the rear-end cable and the front-end cable are wound on the rear-end cable winding section in the same direction, a counterweight lifting rope winding section is arranged in the middle of the drum component, a lifting rope is wound on the counterweight lifting rope winding section in the direction opposite to that of the front-end cable, and a counterweight driving block is suspended below the lifting rope. Accurate positioning of the floating platform can be achieved, and the floating platform can better adapt to water level rising and falling changes.

A method for operating a winch and a winch comprising a winch drum (20) for spooling a spoolable medium (10) for mooring a vessel, and a winch drive (30, 40, 41) configured to drive the winch drum (20), wherein, during the driving of the winch drum (20), at least when a monitored tension of the spoolable medium (10) is between a second upper tension threshold and a second lower tension threshold, an absolute value of the driving speed of the winch drum is configured to have a value that is proportional to an absolute value of a difference between the monitored tension of the spoolable medium and a predetermined tension set point.

The present invention relates to a tether for connecting a moving device submerged in liquid to a support structure, e.g. a submersible power plant comprising a stream-driven vehicle provided with at least one turbine for generation of electrical energy. The tether extends in a main direction, and at least a tether portion of the tether comprises a tensile force bearing portion extending in the main direction of the tether, wherein the tether portion is arranged to strive to self-align in relation to a relative flow direction of the liquid during use.

An adjustable flotation device is a device that is utilized to support the user's body in a variety of supported positions when the user is floating in a body of water. The device features an upper support member and a lower support member that are connected by a first adjustable strap and a second adjustable strap. The lengths of the first adjustable strap and the second adjustable strap may be adjusted to allow the user to utilize the present invention in a variety of supported positions. An at least one upper flotation aid and a lower flotation aid are utilized in conjunction with the upper support member and the lower support member in order to provide buoyancy to the device when in water. The upper support member and the lower support member may be separated from the first adjustable strap and the second adjustable strap for portability and storage.

Anchor winches (10) are used to lower and haul in anchors together with the anchor chains thereof. The anchor winches (10) have a drive, by means of which at least the hauling in of the anchor together with the anchor chain occurs in a motorized manner. Under unfavorable conditions, the power of the drive may be insufficient to haul in the anchor. Then there is the risk that the anchor chain is pulled from the anchor winch (10), which in the worst case leads to the loss of the anchor. The aim of the invention is to avoid the described disadvantages. This aim is achieved by an anchor winch (10), the band brake (15) of which can be manually actuated according to a first actuation mode and, in an emergency, can be automatically actuated by means of a second actuation mode, for example by means of a hydraulic cylinder (28) that can be actuated by a control system. The hydraulic cylinder (28) operates the actuating device (21) of the band brake (15) in an emergency in order to thus virtually initiate an "emergency stop", which eliminates the risk of the anchor chain being unintentionally pulled from the anchor winch (10) under high loads.

A boomerang shaped wave rider board, specifically designed to be used by children and young adolescents in the whitewater portion of a breaking wave is disclosed. The board has a pair of elastic connectors on each side to enable two or more boards to be connected in parallel so that riders can ride in tandem. The board also has a remote signaling device so that a person on shore can signal to a rider in the water.

The invention discloses an unmanned ship detecting and releasing device for large ships. The device comprises a large mother ship and an unmanned ship body, the top face of the large mother ship is fixedly connected with a sling mechanism, a steel rope is arranged on the sling mechanism, an adjusting mechanism is arranged at the edge of the top face of the large mother ship, the adjusting mechanism comprises a rotating seat rotationally connected to the top face of the edge of the large mother ship, a notch is formed in the top face of the rotating seat, a rotating column is rotationally connected into the notch, a sliding hole is formed in the rotating column, and an adjusting arm is slidably connected into the sliding hole. The adjusting mechanism is arranged, on one hand, the adjusting mechanism can move the position of a steel rope to the outer side of the large mother ship, the situation that the unmanned ship body shakes to impact the side wall of the large mother ship in the throwing process can be avoided, the large mother ship and the unmanned ship body are prevented from being damaged, and in addition, by adjusting the guide ring of the adjusting mechanism and the steel rope, the throwing position of the unmanned ship body can be conveniently and finely adjusted.

The invention provides an emergency release method of a chain stopper, which comprises the following specific release steps: (1) a release oil cylinder retracts a piston rod to drive a release pin shaft to move; (2) the release main chain and the release auxiliary chain move along with the release pin shaft, and the distance between the hinge point of the release main chain and the main knife switch and the hinge point of the release auxiliary chain and the auxiliary knife switch changes; (3) the anchor chain descends under the action of gravity; (4) the main switch blade swings along with descending of the anchor chain with the second rotating shaft as a fulcrum; and (5) the anchor chain is separated when the main switch blade swings to a certain angle, so that the anchor chain is separated from the switch blade device.

A central floating device with a plurality of peripheral connection points and tethers. The tethers may be retractable, and are of sufficient length to allow the users some amount of spacing distance from each other. Each individual user thus maintains a separation from each other so as not to interfere with each other in the pool, lake, or body of water while remaining tethered together. The floating device may further include cup-holders, lights, storage compartments, and an anchor.