Ice penetrating buoy
AssigneeThe United Stated of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsBruce W. Travor, Ronald D. DiGirolamo
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A submarine-launched, ice-penetrating sonobuoy is disclosed. The buoy is pedo-shaped with a collapsible obturator tail-fin section removably attached at the tail-end, standard electronics in a mid-section and an explosive nose cone at the front. Immediately after launch, the tail-fin section expands to exert a drag on the buoy to halt any forward motion. The tail-fin section is discarded and the nose cone and mid-section portion rise until the nose impacts the underside of the ice. Upon impact, a pre-selected "shape" charge ruptures the ice and an a spring-antenna, connected to the mid-section, is raised through the hole.
Claims9
A submarine-launched buoy capable of decelerating immediately after launch, ascending beneath an ice flow, rupturing an opening in said flow and erecting an antenna in said opening, comprising:
- a slender, buoy body having a front end and a rear end and with expandable tail-fin means to resist launch pressure and to decelerate the buoy removably attached to the rear end;
- and
- wherein said body has at least one rearward-most section and at least one forward-most section for holding detection and communication means, said rearward-most section and said forward-most section being substantially in the shape of right circular cylinders separatable at a common, joined surface, and
- a nose cone section having explosive means therein joined to the forward-most section.
A submarine-launched buoy capable of decelerating immediately after launch, ascending beneath an ice flow, rupturing an opening in said flow and erecting an antenna in said opening, comprising:
- a slender, buoy body having a front end and a rear end, holding upper and lower electronics sections therebetween, and with a tail fin section removeably fixed to the rear end, said tail-fin section comprised of a plurality of individual, arcuate sections of a circle, each being fixed at a base thereof into a ring and tapering to a thin, tip end;
- a nose cone section containing a high explosive and having a piezoelectric element at the tip end thereof connected to a detonating fuze at the base thereof;
- and
- a spring antenna contained in said upper electronics section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.