Accurate positioning of devices suspended underwater from a floating body
First Claim
1. Apparatus for accurately determining the position of a device suspended underwater from a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, the apparatus comprising:
- a first navigation antenna disposed on a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water;
a second navigation antenna disposed on the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water;
an underwater device suspended from the floating platform at a third position below the surface of the water;
wherein the first, second, and third positions are collinear.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining the position of a device attached to a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water. The system includes first and second navigation antennas mounted on the platform. A device is mounted to the platform in a position collinear with the positions of the two antennas. The position of the device can be computed from the ranges of the two antennas relative to the base station, the known distance between the two antennas, and the known distance from one of the antennas to the device. In a typical deployment, the device is an underwater device.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. Apparatus for accurately determining the position of a device suspended underwater from a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, the apparatus comprising:
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a first navigation antenna disposed on a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water; a second navigation antenna disposed on the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water; an underwater device suspended from the floating platform at a third position below the surface of the water; wherein the first, second, and third positions are collinear. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A differential GPS system for accurately determining the position of a device suspended underwater from a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, the system comprising:
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a first GPS antenna disposed on a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water; a second GPS antenna disposed on the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water; an underwater device suspended from the floating platform at a third position below the surface of the water collinear with the first and second positions; a base station including a GPS base antenna and receiver for receiving GPS signals, the base station located at a base position spaced from the floating platform; at least one GPS receiver on the floating platform coupled to the first and second GPS antennas for receiving GPS signals and in communication with the GPS base receiver to operate in a differential GPS mode for determining first and second coordinates corresponding to the first and second positions relative to the base position; means for determining third coordinates corresponding to the third position relative to the base position from the first and second coordinates. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A differential navigation system for accurately determining the position of a device suspended underwater from a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, the system comprising:
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a first antenna disposed on a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water; a second antenna disposed on the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water; an underwater device suspended from the floating platform at a third position below the surface of the water collinear with the first and second positions; a base station including a base antenna and receiver for receiving ranging signals, the base station located at a base position spaced from the floating platform; at least one receiver on the floating platform coupled to the first and second antennas for receiving ranging signals and in communication with the base receiver to operate in a differential navigation mode for determining first and second coordinates corresponding to the first and second positions relative to the base position; means for determining third coordinates corresponding to the third position relative to the base position from the first and second coordinates. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. Apparatus for determining the position of a device attached to a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, the apparatus comprising:
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a first navigation antenna disposed on a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water; a second navigation antenna disposed on the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water; a device attached to the floating platform at a third position collinear with the first and second positions; at least one receiver on the floating platform coupled to the first and second antennas for receiving ranging signals for determining first and second coordinates corresponding to the first and second positions; means for determining third coordinates corresponding to the third position from the first and second coordinates. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. Method for accurately determining the position of a device suspended underwater from a floating platform floating at the surface of a body of water, comprising:
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mounting a first navigation antenna to a floating platform at a first position above the surface of the water; mounting a second navigation antenna to the floating platform at a second position above the surface of the water and below the first navigation antenna; suspending a device from the floating platform at a third position below the surface of the water; maintaining a collinear relationship between the first, second, and third positions. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification