Towed cable temperature profiler
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsPeter E. Seaman, Thomas R. Stottlemyer, Timothy S. Debell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for providing a temperature profile of the ocean for a towed so array. A towing cable for the array comprises a central cable and a protective outer jacket. Thermistors are disposed at spaced positions along the outer jacket and connect to conductors embedded in the protective outer jacket. The conductors terminate onboard ship to provide continuous signals representing temperatures at various ocean depths.
Claims20
A cable assembly for being towed through an environment behind a towing vehicle, said cable assembly comprising:
- a cable of predetermined length;
- protective coating means surrounding the cable and coextensive therewith;
- a plurality of environmental sensors mounted to said protective coating and directly exposed to the environment to sense predetermined parameters in the environment;
- and
- conductor means embedded in said protective coating and extending along the length thereof to the towing vehicle, each of said environmental sensors being electrically connected thereto.
A sensor array system for being towed by a ship with analyzing means for responding to signals from a sensor array comprising:
- a tow cable;
- sensor means including an array of sensors attached to said tow cable and electrically coupled to the analyzing means;
- a protective coating surrounding the towing cable over the length thereof;
- conductor means embedded in said protective coating with a termination thereof at the ship;
- and
- a plurality of thermistors physically attached to said protective coating at spaced locations along the length thereof and directly exposed to the environment, each of said thermistors being electrically connected to other terminations of said conductor means whereby signals from said thermistors are coupled to the ship for analysis of water temperature at each spaced location.
A sensor array system for being towed by a ship with analyzing means for responding to signals from a sensor array comprising:
- a tow cable;
- sensor means including an array of sensors attached to said tow cable and electrically coupled to the analyzing means;
- a continuous coating surrounding the towing cable over the length thereof;
- a segmented coating comprising a plurality of spaced coating segments defining spaced mounting positions between such segments;
- conductor means embedded in said continuous coating with a termination thereof at the ship;
- a plurality of thermistors attached to said continuous coating at said spaced mounting positions and directly exposed to the environment, each of said thermistors being electrically connected to other terminations of said conductor means whereby signals from said thermistors are coupled to the ship for analysis of water temperature at each spaced location;
- and
- a protective band positioned at said spaced mounting position over said continuous coating and having apertures formed in said band corresponding to each of said plurality of thermistors for allowing exposure of said thermistor to the environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.