Unmanned underwater vehicle
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsBenjamin Gordon, Jennifer Nunes, Isaac Downey, Joseph Buto, John Phillips
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Example embodiments provide a propulsion system apparatus, an underwater apparatus comprising a propulsion system, and a method for propelling underwater. According to an example embodiment, a propulsion system may comprise a movable weight unit configured to control pitch by shifting weight along a first axis to move center of gravity along the first axis, and a thruster unit fixed at a non-zero angle relative to the first axis and configured to provide thrust along the first axis and further control the pitch alongside the movable weight unit. The thruster unit may be further configured to provide differential thrust to control yaw along a second axis.
Claims16
A propulsion system comprising:
- a movable weight unit comprising a weight within an internal body, the movable weight unit configured to control pitch by shifting the weight along a first axis, which is across a distance of the internal body, in order to move center of gravity along the first axis;
- and
- a thruster unit fixed at a non-zero angle relative to the first axis and configured to provide thrust along the first axis and further control the pitch alongside the movable weight unit,
- wherein the thruster unit is further configured to provide differential thrust to control yaw along a second axis,
- wherein the thruster unit does not have any appendages and is entirely within the diameter of a vehicle body.
An underwater apparatus comprising:
- a nose cone at a bow of the underwater apparatus;
- an apparatus body with a length along a first axis and configured to house a plurality of units;
- a propulsion system connected to the apparatus body at a stern of the underwater vehicle and configured to control thrust, pitch, and yaw of the underwater apparatus;
- and
- a controller configured to control the propulsion system and the plurality of units,
- wherein the propulsion system comprises
- a movable weight unit comprising a weight within an internal body, the movable weight unit configured to control the pitch by shifting the weight along a first axis, which is across a distance of the internal body, in order to move center of gravity along the first axis;
- a thruster unit fixed at a non-zero angle relative to the first axis and configured to provide the thrust along the first axis and further control the pitch alongside the movable weight unit, wherein the thruster unit is further configured to provide differential thrust to control the yaw along a second axis, and
- wherein the thruster unit does not have any appendages and is entirely within the diameter of the underwater apparatus.
A method for propelling underwater comprising:
- controlling pitch of an underwater vehicle by a movable weight unit, the movable weight unit comprising a weight within an internal body, the movable weight unit shifting the weight along a first axis, which is across a distance of the internal body, in order to move center of gravity along the first axis;
- providing thrust along the first axis and further controlling the pitch alongside the movable weight unit, and
- providing differential thrust to control yaw along a second axis,
- wherein the controlling pitch step, the providing thrust step, and the providing differential thrust step are performed by a thruster unit, the thruster unit lacking appendages and being entirely within the diameter of the underwater vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.