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US 11,530,017 B1Granted
Scuttle module for field configurable vehicle
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorEric Seeley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A field configurable autonomous vehicle includes modular elements and attachable components. The vehicle can be assembled from these modular elements and components to meet desired mission and performance characteristics without the need to purchase specially designed vehicles for each mission. The vehicle can include a module that enables the vehicle to be scuttled or destroyed.
Claims11
A scuttle module for a field configurable vehicle, comprising:
- a flood chamber having an opening fluidly coupled to a body of water located exterior to the vehicle;
- a mechanism for allowing water to enter said flood chamber;
- a data bus, coupled to said mechanism, for conveying instructions to said mechanism to control operation of said mechanism;
- a door having a closed position covering said opening and an open position;
- and,
- a dc motor, coupled to said door and to said data bus, for positioning said door from said closed position to said open position.
3 more elements
A method for scuttling a configurable autonomous vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- issuing a command from a vehicle control logic to scuttle the vehicle;
- receiving said command at a scuttle module of said vehicle;
- and,
- flooding said scuttle module in response to said command wherein the step of flooding said scuttle module comprises the step of opening an exterior door of said scuttle module, wherein the step of opening an exterior door comprises the step of operating a dc motor coupled to said door and coupled to receive said command, and wherein said dc motor operates to open said exterior door in response to said command.
1 more element
A configurable autonomous vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of modules;
- and,
- a central command logic device, wherein at least one of said plurality of modules includes a scuttle module having:
- a data bus coupled to receive instructions from said central command logic;
- a door covering an opening wherein said opening is fluidly connected to an exterior of said vehicle;
- and,
- a mechanism coupled to said data bus for controlling said door to uncover said opening wherein said mechanism comprises a means for breaking said door, a DC motor and a mechanical linkage coupled to said DC motor and to said door.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.