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US 12,129,822 B1Granted
Autonomous underwater beacon locator
AssigneeAJC Innovations, LLC
InventorAlmond J. Cote
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a small, inexpensive, long-lived underwater beacon locator. The beacon locator can illustratively include a housing, a communications link, a processor, a plurality of hydrophones and a motion generator.
Claims13
An autonomous underwater beacon locator, comprising:
- a housing that is hydrodynamically optimized for deep-water operations under varying water pressures;
- a communications link system including an antenna for surface and satellite communications;
- an onboard processor system comprising sub-processors and memory capable of processing sensor data, receiving and executing remote commands, generating and communicating reports, executing stored navigational and operational instructions, and monitoring and controlling locator function;
- a plurality of hydrophones;
- a power system comprising a motion-responsive generator, a solar panel and an onboard rechargeable energy storage unit;
- a navigation system enabled by movable fins and a rudder;
- and
- a suite of sensors enabling detection, location, and identification of targets of interest, and performing collision avoidance, wherein the motion-responsive generator converts locator rotation and wave-induced differential linear acceleration into electrical energy based on an orientation of a first vector component of the differential linear acceleration relative to an axis of a generator shaft of a generator pendulum and an axis of a main shaft to which the generator pendulum is mounted, the first vector component causing the generator pendulum to swing.
5 more elements
A system for underwater exploration and data collection, comprising:
- an autonomous underwater beacon locator including:
- a hydrodynamically optimized housing capable of deep-water operations under varying water pressures;
- a communications link system including an antenna for surface and satellite communications;
- an onboard processor system comprising sub-processors and memory capable of processing sensor data, receiving and executing remote commands, generating and communicating reports, executing stored navigational and operational instructions, and monitoring and controlling locator function;
- a plurality of hydrophones;
- a power system comprising a motion-responsive generator, a solar panel and an onboard rechargeable energy storage unit,
- wherein the motion-responsive generator converts locator rotation and wave-induced differential linear acceleration into electrical energy based on an orientation of a first vector component of the differential linear acceleration relative to an axis of a generator shaft of a generator pendulum and an axis of a main shaft to which the generator pendulum is mounted, the first vector component causing the generator pendulum to swing;
- a navigation system enabled by movable fins and a rudder;
- and
- a suite of sensors enabling detection, location, and identification of targets of interest, and performing collision avoidance;
- a remote server configured to receive data from and send commands to the locator;
- and
- a user interface accessible from remote locations allowing users to monitor and control operations of the locator.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.