Underwater mooring system using an underwater traction winch
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsGerald M. Santos, Robert A. Connerney
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Abstract
An underwater mooring system using an underwater traction winch for adjusg an underwater sensor array is provided. A main mooring buoy, moored to the sea bed by a plurality of mooring cables, serves as the mounting point for an underwater traction winch as well as the mooring point for a sensor array maintained afloat above the main mooring buoy. In one embodiment, depth adjustment is achieved by using the traction winch to alter the length of the mooring cable connecting the sensor array to the main mooring buoy. In another embodiment, depth adjustment is achieved by using the traction winch to alter the length of one of the mooring cables fixed to the sea bed.
Claims16
A system for mooring an object underwater and for adjusting a depth of said underwater object, said system comprising:
- a plurality of mooring pads fixed to a sea bed;
- a main mooring buoy located underwater;
- a plurality of mooring cables in mechanical communication with said main mooring buoy wherein a first of said mooring cables is in mechanical communication with said underwater object and a remainder of said mooring cables are fixed to said mooring pads;
- a floatation buoy attached to said underwater object for maintaining said underwater object afloat above said main mooring buoy
- means for adjusting the depth of said underwater object said adjusting means including a traction winch wrapped with said first mooring cable in mechanical communication with said underwater object, and located at said main mooring buoy and in mechanical communication with one of said plurality of mooring cables;
- and
- a counterweight attached to said first mooring cable for applying tension throughout said first mooring cable.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.