Submersible electric thruster

Abstract

A submersible electric thruster operable to propel underwater vehicles, surface vehicles, amphibious vehicles, etc. The submersible electric thruster includes a stator assembly having a base, stator, windings, and bearings and an external rotor assembly having a cylindrical arrangement of permanent magnets with a hub that is secured to a shaft. The stator forms the center of the motor and the permanent magnets spin around the stator. A propeller hub is integrally connected to the rotor assembly with angularly spaced propeller blades extending radially from the propeller hub. An annular nozzle surrounds the propeller and motor, forming an inlet and outlet for water flow. A nose cone is connected to the stator assembly and a tail cone is integrally connected to the nozzle assembly. Supporting arms may extend from the stator assembly to support the nozzle and/or supporting arms may extend from the nozzle to the support the tail cone.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14 / 699,478 filed on Apr. 29, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 986,945 filed on May 1, 2014, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to a thruster and in particular to a submersible electric thruster.[0003]The invention is a unique design that has a low number of parts, no enclosed air or oil cavities, and requires minimal maintenance.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0004]Unmanned and robotic marine vehicles, such as remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), and autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), have become invaluable tools for marine exploration. They are commonly used for scientific, industrial, commercial, and recreational purposes. These vehicles generally use thrusters for propulsion.[0005]A thruster is a device wh...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0028]Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. To facilitate illustrating and describing some parts of the invention, corresponding portions of the drawings may be exaggerated in size, e.g., made larger in relation to other parts than in an exemplary device actually made according to the invention.

Problems solved by technology

Common thruster designs are generally very large compared to an electric motor of equivalent power that is not sealed from the water.

Electric thrusters are generally limited to depths of around 300-3,000 feet because they have air- or oil-filled cavities that are affected by the very high pressures experienced at depth.

Most ROVs have between three to six thrusters, making maintenance a laborious task.

Additionally, for long en

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