Remotely operated underwater vehicle

a remote-operated, underwater technology, applied in underwater equipment, special-purpose vessels, tethers, etc., can solve the problem of more drag forces, and achieve the effect of more drag forces and sufficient room

Inactive Publication Date: 2010-08-26
BLUEFIN ROBOTICS
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  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
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AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The diving depth of the winged ROV can be limited by the length of the tether. The tether can have various lengths and diameters. A larger diameter tether will be stronger but will also result in more drag forces as the winged ROV moves through the water. A ⅜ inch tether cable can have sufficient room for a conductive wire cable and may be suitable for tether lengths up to 500 feet. A ⅛ inch diameter cable can have a length of up to about 1,000 feet and can have sufficient room in the cable cross section for an optical data fiber. The system solves the problem of remotely controlling winged ROVs in a manner that allows the winged ROV to travel through any body of water while being in full high speed data communications with a controller.

Problems solved by technology

A larger diameter tether will be stronger but will also result in more drag forces as the winged ROV moves through the water.

Method used

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Embodiment Construction

[0011]In order to drive the winged ROV, an alternate means for power is required. Various energy systems can be employed to provide on board power for the ROV. In a preferred embodiment, the invention's power is provided by lithium ion batteries as used on Hawkes designed manned submersibles. In addition to the power supply, an optical communications system is also required. The data transfer rate for high bandwidth communications sufficient to support a closed circuit television may require data transfer rate of about 1-12 Mega Bytes per second (MBps).

[0012]With reference to FIG. 2, the present invention includes an ROV 201 that is permanently attached to a communications tether 205 that enables high bandwidth communications between the winged ROV 201 and the support ship 221. The communications tether 205 includes an optical fiber and / or an electrically conductive wire. The communications between the optical fiber require an optical transmitter that transmits data signals in the f...

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Abstract

A system for communicating with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) includes a winged ROV coupled to a surface buoy by a tether. A controller on a support ship is coupled to the tether and the control signals are then transmitted through the tether to the ROV. Feedback and sensor signals are transmitted from the ROV through the wireless transceivers to the controller. The wings of the ROV produce negative lift which is greater than the buoyant force of the ROV and the vertical tension forces on the tether.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 712,082, REMOTELY OPERATED UNDERWATER VEHICLE filed Feb. 24, 2010 which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 155,658, REMOTELY OPERATED UNDERWATER VEHICLE, filed on Feb. 26, 2009. U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12 / 712,082 and 61 / 155,658 are both hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND[0002]With reference to FIG. 1, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV's) 101 are, widely used by industry and science for unmanned undersea work tasks. The ROV 101 requires an electromechanical cable connection (tether) 105 to the surface for communications and power which are typically located on a boat 109. The tether cable 105 presents serious constraints and difficulties in use. For example, the tether 105 can restrict the mobility of the ROV 101 due to its short length. Therefore it would be an advantage to be able to d...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): B63G8/14B63G8/00
CPCB63B21/663B63B2203/00B63C11/42B63B2205/06B63B2205/04
Inventor HAWKES, GRAHAMCHIAU, CHARLES S.
Owner BLUEFIN ROBOTICS
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