Remotely operated underwater vehicle

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...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is about a control system for a remotely operated winged underwater vehicle (ROV). This system allows an operator to control the speed and direction of the winged ROV through a body of water. The winged ROV can also have sensors and feedback devices that can provide information that is transmitted back to the operator or any other receiver. A ship can be coupled to the winged ROV with an optical tether, and a remotely located controller can be coupled to an optical transceiver so the operator can transmit and receive data from the winged ROV. The sensors and feedback signals produced by the winged ROV are transmitted back through the tether to the controller on the ship. The diving depth of the winged ROV can be limited by the length of the tether. 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.

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