Autonomous marine vehicle
OwnerRichard Lawrence Ken Woodlandinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An autonomous marine vehicle is disclosed, the vehicle comprising a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery, a deck joining the rigid hull at the periphery; and a rigid mast pivotally attached to the deck, the mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle. In preferred embodiments, the vehicle further comprises various sensors and mission-specific hardware. Sensors include mast-mounted audio/video devices, radar, GPS and RF antennas, and other positioning and collision avoidance devices. Mission-specific hardware include refueling probes, fire protection systems, towing assemblies, flame thrower assemblies, liquid spray assemblies, and work pup assemblies.
Claims38
An autonomous marine vehicle comprising:
- (a) a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery;
- (b) a deck joining said rigid hull at said periphery, said deck having a recess;
- and
- (c) a rigid mast pivotally attached to said deck and moveable from a retracted position in said recess of said deck to an extended position out of said recess, said mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle.
An autonomous marine vehicle comprising:
- (a) a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery;
- (b) a deck joining said rigid hull at said periphery, said deck having a recess;
- (c) a rigid mast pivotally attached to said deck and moveable from a retracted position in said recess of said deck to an extended position out of said recess, said mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle;
- and
- wherein said vehicle has multiple-mission capability, said multiple-mission capability effected by mission-specific hardware.
An autonomous marine vehicle comprising:
- (a) a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery;
- (b) a deck joining said rigid hull at said periphery, said deck having a recess;
- (c) a rigid mast pivotally attached to said deck and moveable from a retracted position in said recess of said deck to an extended position out of said recess, said mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle;
- (d) at least one power pack powering at least one thruster assembly pivotally mounted to said rigid hull;
- (e) positioning and collision avoidance sonar;
- and
- (f) programmable control means, such that said autonomous marine vehicle may be tasked to execute mission-specific tasks.
An autonomous marine vehicle comprising:
- (a) a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery;
- (b) a deck joining said rigid hull at said periphery, said deck having a recess;
- (c) a rigid mast pivotally attached to said deck and moveable from a retracted position in said recess of said deck to an extended position out of said recess, said mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle;
- and
- wherein said vehicle is adapted to be deployed from standard weapons hard points of an aircraft.
An autonomous marine vehicle comprising:
- (a) a rigid hull having an interior and a periphery;
- (b) a deck joining said rigid hull at said periphery, said deck having a recess;
- (c) a rigid mast pivotally attached to said deck and moveable from a retracted position in said recess of said deck to an extended position out of said recess, said mast housing a plurality of sensors capable of effecting communication to and from said vehicle;
- and
- wherein said vehicle is adapted to be deployed from inside an aircraft having a rear egress door.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.