Steerable Gravity Anchor for Deep Water Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gravity-embedment techniques for anchoring vessels in the sea require complex and time-consuming rigging processes, often necessitating multiple vessels and prolonged deployment times, especially in deep water, due to the passive stabilization of anchors and lack of control over their descent path.
Innovation Solution
The development of actively steerable gravity-embedded anchor systems equipped with movable control surfaces, thrusters, and on-board navigation systems that allow real-time control of the anchor's descent path to target locations on the seafloor, enabling autonomous and precise placement without the need for extensive pre-deployment rigging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional gravity-embedment techniques with passive stabilization are used, then anchor deployment is simpler in structure, but deployment time increases significantly and placement accuracy decreases in deep water
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from passive, fixed stabilization fins to active, controllable steering surfaces. The anchor system incorporates movable control surfaces that can be dynamically adjusted during descent, allowing real-time steering corrections to compensate for currents and achieve precise placement. This dynamic control mechanism resolves the contradiction by accepting increased system complexity in exchange for dramatically reduced deployment time and improved accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through onboard navigation systems (GPS, inertial sensors, depth sensors) that continuously monitor the anchor's position and orientation during descent. This feedback is processed by a control system that adjusts the steering surfaces in real-time to correct deviations from the target trajectory. The feedback loop enables the system to overcome environmental disturbances efficiently, reducing deployment time while maintaining manageable complexity through automated control.
2Measurement precision
If passive stabilization with fixed fins is used, then the anchor system is easier to operate, but placement accuracy deteriorates due to inability to account for sub-surface currents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the anchor system to autonomously navigate and correct its own trajectory without requiring external intervention. The onboard control system automatically processes sensor data and adjusts steering surfaces based on real-time conditions, allowing the system to compensate for currents and achieve precise placement independently. This autonomy improves placement accuracy while maintaining ease of operation, as the system handles complex control tasks automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical passive stabilization with an integrated system combining electronic sensors, navigation algorithms, and active control surfaces. This substitution of mechanical simplicity with electronic intelligence enables the system to dynamically adapt to environmental conditions, significantly improving placement accuracy while the automated control maintains operational simplicity through reduced manual intervention requirements.
3Reliability
If multiple vessels and prolonged rigging are used for deep water anchoring, then anchor embedding depth is sufficient, but operational complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by equipping the anchor with onboard navigation and control systems before deployment. These systems are pre-configured to autonomously manage the descent and steering, eliminating the need for complex multi-vessel rigging operations during deployment. The preliminary preparation of the anchor's self-navigation capability ensures reliable embedding while dramatically simplifying the deployment operation to a single-vessel process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex rigging and coordination functions from the deployment operation and transfers them to the anchor's onboard control system. By taking out the need for multiple vessels and elaborate surface operations, the system achieves reliable anchor embedding through the anchor's autonomous capabilities, thereby reducing operational complexity while maintaining embedding reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution significantly reduces deployment time and complexity, allowing for direct deployment from a single vessel and improving anchor placement accuracy by accounting for sub-surface currents and anomalies, thereby offering an economic advantage, especially in deep water environments.
Implementation Method 1
movable control surfaces (e.g., such as rudders, elevators, ailerons, etc.) that may be manipulated in real time between different positions
Implementation Method 2
thrusters (i.e., water jets) that may be selectably activated in different directions and/or manipulated to vector thrust in different directions
Implementation Method 3
Current gravity-embedment techniques deploy a free-fall anchor from a pre-determined height above the seafloor and use the momentum of the falling anchor
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for a self-directed (i.e., autonomous), steerable gravity-embedded anchor. This anchor free-falls through the water column, accelerates due to gravity and uses its kinetic energy to embed itself into the seafloor so as to function as an anchor for mooring of both floating vessels and other underwater structures. Unlike existing gravity-embedded plate anchors, this device can steer itself to its intended target location on the seafloor, enhancing placement accuracy and allowing release directly from an installation vessel on the water surface, thereby greatly simplifying installation.