Submersible vessel having retractable wing and keel assemblies

A submersible vessel, comprising:

• a hull assembly;
• a wing assembly comprising at least one substantially rigid wing member;
• a keel assembly comprising at least one keel member;
• and
• a deployment mechanism comprising at least one actuator and a linkage interconnecting said wing assembly and said keel assembly, that in response to operation of said actuator pivots said wing assembly and said keel assembly simultaneously between the (i) a deployed configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly extend outwardly above and below said hull assembly for wind-powered surfaced operation of said vessel and (ii) retracted configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly are angled back towards said hull assembly to reduce drag for submerged operation of said vessel;
• said linkage of said deployment mechanism comprising a crank member that is supported from said hull assembly for rotation about a first substantially horizontal axis;
• and
• said actuator comprising a linear actuator pivotally connected to the crank member for rotation about a second axis that is offset below said first axis so as to form a lever arm between the first axis and second axis, so that said crank member pivots in a generally vertical plane in response to operation of said actuator.

A submersible vessel, comprising:

• a hull assembly;
• a wing assembly comprising at least one substantially rigid wing member said wing assembly comprising:
• a wing member;
• a flap member located proximate a trailing edge of said wing member;
• and
• a drive mechanism that orientates said wing member relative to said hull assembly and to wind direction to produce propulsive force when said wing assembly is in said extended configuration, said drive mechanism comprising:
• a pulley and cable assembly that rotates said flap member about first and second axes so as to lie flat against a side of said wing member when said wing assembly is in said retracted configuration;
• a motor;
• and
• a gear train that selectively applies an output of said motor to:
• (a) rotate said wing member and said flap member together when in said extended configuration such that said flap member is held at a constant angle relative to said wing member;
• and
• (b) rotate said flap member to different angles relative to said wing member with said wing member being held at a constant angle of incidence.

A submersible vessel, comprising:

• a hull assembly;
• a wing assembly comprising at least one substantially rigid wing member;
• a keel assembly comprising at least one keel member;
• and
• a deployment mechanism comprising at least one actuator and a linkage interconnecting said wing assembly and said keel assembly, that in response to operation of said actuator pivots said wing assembly and said keel assembly simultaneously between the (i) a deployed configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly extend outwardly above and below said hull assembly for wind-powered surfaced operation of said vessel and (ii) retracted configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly converge towards a stern side of said hull assembly to reduce drag for submerged operation of said vessel;
• said keel assembly further comprising:
• a keel bulb pivotally mounted to a lower portion of said keel member for rotation about a fourth horizontal axis;
• and
• a linkage that maintains the keel bulb in a generally horizontal orientation as the keel assembly is extended and retracted.

A submersible vessel, comprising:

• a hull assembly, said hull assembly comprising:
• first and second outboard pressure hulls that flank said wing assembly and said keel assembly, said first and second outboard pressure hulls each comprising:
• at least one ballastable chamber operable so as to submerge and surface said vessel;
• a pair of angled control planes located proximate an aft end of said hull assembly, said angled control planes extending outwardly and downwardly from said hull assembly so as to be immersed during both surfaced and submerged operation of said vessel;
• a pair of horizontal control planes mounted proximate a forward portion of said hull assembly so as to control an attitude of said vessel during submerged operation;
• a wing assembly comprising at least one substantially rigid wing member;
• a keel assembly comprising at least one keel member;
• and
• a deployment mechanism comprising at least one actuator and a linkage interconnecting said wing assembly and said keel assembly, that in response to operation of said actuator pivots said wing assembly and said keel assembly simultaneously between the (i) a deployed configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly extend outwardly above and below said hull assembly for wind-powered surfaced operation of said vessel and (ii) retracted configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly are angled back towards said hull assembly to reduce drag for submerged operation of said vessel.

A retractable wind-powered propulsion apparatus that is mountable in a hull assembly of a submersible vessel, said apparatus comprising:

• a deployment mechanism comprising at least one actuator and a linkage interconnecting said wing assembly and said keel assembly, that in response to operation of said actuator pivots said wing assembly and said keel assembly simultaneously between the (i) a deployed configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly extend outwardly above and below said hull assembly for wind-powered surfaced operation of said vessel and (ii) retracted configuration in which said wing assembly and said keel assembly are angled back to converge towards a stern end of said hull assembly to reduce drag for submerged operation of said vessel;
• a keel assembly comprising at least one keel member;
• and
• a linkage assembly interconnecting said wing assembly and said keel assembly, that in response to operation of said at least one actuator pivots said keel assembly simultaneously with said wing assembly to a retracted configuration where said keel assembly is angled back towards said hull assembly with said wing assembly to reduce drag for submerged operation of said vessel, said linkage of said deployment mechanism comprising:
• a crank member that is supported from said hull assembly for rotation about a first substantially horizontal axis, said actuator comprising:
• a linear actuator pivotally connected to the crank member for rotation about a second axis that is offset below said first axis so as to form a lever arm between the first axis and second axis, so that said crank member pivots in a generally vertical plane in response to operation of said actuator.