Systems and methods for deploying autonomous underwater vehicles from a ship

• US 9,321,510 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2014
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hadal Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hadal Inc.
• Inventors: Rikoski, Richard J., Damus, Robert S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olson, Lars A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hayes, Jovon
• Application Number:
  US14/210,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20140345511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 775 Days
• Field of Search: 114259-260
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B22D 31/00 Cutting-off surplus material, e.g. gates; Cleaning and working on castings B22D17/2076 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/3415 Heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 2027/165 Deployment or recovery of underwater vehicles using lifts or hoists
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 2035/405 for carrying submarines
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 27/16 of lifts or hoists pilot lifts B63B27/146
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 27/36 Arrangement of ship-based loading or unloading equipment for floating cargo deployment or recovery of underwater vehicles using lifts of hoists B63B27/16
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 3/13 Hulls built to withstand hydrostatic pressure when fully submerged, e.g. submarine hulls
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 35/40 for transporting marine vessels load accommodation for floating barges and the like B63B25/006
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 2008/004 autonomously operating
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 2008/008 Docking stations for unmanned underwater vessels, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/00 Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted thereforsubmarine hulls B63B3/13; diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base B63C11/34; divers' sleds B63C11/46; torpedoes F42B19/00
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/001 Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations self-propelled or direction controlled diving chambers with mechanical link to a base B63C11/42
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/39 Arrangements of sonic watch equipment, e.g. low-frequency, sonar
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/84 Waterborne vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 1/00 Pressure vessels, e.g. gas cylinder, gas tank, replaceable cartridge pressurised apparatus for purposes other than storage, see the relevant subclasses such as A62C, B05B; associated with vehicles, see the appropriate subclass of classes B60 - B64; pressure vessels in general F16J12/00 ; autoclaves B01J3/04; tank vehicles B60P3/22; railway tank wagons for carrying fluent materials B61D5/00; accumulators for supplying fluid under pressure F15B1/04; liquefied gas stoves F24C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/02 using reflection of acoustic waves G01S15/66 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/104 wherein the transmitted pulses use a frequency- or phase-modulated carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/107 using frequency agility of carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/588 measuring the velocity vector
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/60 wherein the transmitter and receiver are mounted on the moving object, e.g. for determining ground speed, drift angle, ground track
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8904 : using synthetic aperture techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52004 : Means for monitoring or calibrating short-range imaging G01S7/5205
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 : Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 : Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/138 : adapted for specific cells, e.g. electrochemical cells operating at high temperature
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 70/10 : Measures concerning design or construction of watercraft hulls
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 : Conductor or circuit manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 : Assembling or joining
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49893 : Peripheral joining of opposed mirror image parts to form a hollow body
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49989 : Followed by cutting or removing material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/5176 : including machining means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1352 : Polymer or resin containing [i.e., natural or synthetic]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/1376 : Foam or porous material containing

Abstract

Systems and methods are described herein for launching, recovering, and handling a large number of vehicles on a ship to enable lower cost ocean survey. In one aspect, the system may include a shipping container based system with an oil services vessel. The vessel may include rolling systems through end to end shipping containers. One or more columns of containers may be accessed using a crane, an A-frame, or any other suitable transportation system. The system may enable the ability to launch or recover more than one vehicle using the launch and recovery system (e.g., AUVs, buoys, seaplanes, autonomous surface vessels, etc.). In one configuration, the system includes a stacking/elevator system to place the vehicles onto a second or higher layer of containers. The system may allow for modularized deployment of the vehicles, launch and recovery system, operation center, and more from self-contained shipping containers.

Claims

1. A system for deploying a vehicle from a vessel, comprising:

a plurality of shipping containers, wherein the plurality of shipping containers store at least a vehicle and a launch and recovery system configured to launch and recover the vehicle;

a vessel arranged to transport the plurality of shipping containers; and

a controller arranged to;

control the operation of the launch and recovery system; and

receive data from the vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is deployed from its respective shipping container.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is stored in at least one of the plurality of shipping containers.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the launch and recovery system and the controller are deployed from their respective shipping containers.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the launch and recovery system can access one or more columns of the plurality of shipping containers using one of a crane, a knuckleboom, or an A-frame.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of shipping containers are stacked into layers on the vessel, and wherein the vehicle is stored in one of the plurality of shipping containers on a second or higher layer.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of shipping containers are aligned end-to-end to form a corridor, and wherein the launch and recovery system is located at the outlet of the corridor.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a modular power generation unit and a modular processing and data center.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is one of the group of:

an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a buoy, a seaplane, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an autonomous surface vessel, a towed sled, a towed array, and an exploratory robot.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the vessel is one of an oil services vessel, an oil supply vessel, or a fishing boat.

11. The system of claim 1,

wherein the vessel further includes at least one additional launch and recovery system,

wherein the shipping containers are aligned end-to-end into a plurality of corridors, and

wherein the plurality of corridors outnumber the at least one additional launch and recovery system.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the vessel further comprises a transportation system for moving the vehicle around the vessel.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the transportation system is configured to move the vehicle through a corridor of shipping containers.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the transportation system comprises at least one of:

a rail system, a roller system, a horizontal shuffling system, and a cart system.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising a database for storing received data from the vehicle.

16. A method for deploying a vehicle from a vessel, comprising:

storing a vehicle in one of a plurality of shipping containers;

storing a launch and recovery system in one of the plurality of shipping containers;

arranging the plurality of shipping containers on a vessel;

retrieving the vehicle from the one of the plurality of shipping containers; and

deploying the vehicle from the vessel to a body of water using the launch and recovery system.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle is deployed from its respective shipping container.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the launch and recovery system is deployed from one of the plurality of shipping containers.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the launch and recovery system can access one or more columns of the plurality of shipping containers using one of a crane, a knuckleboom, or an A-frame.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of shipping containers are stacked into layers on the vessel, and wherein the vehicle is stored in one of the plurality of shipping containers on a second or higher layer.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of shipping containers are aligned end-to-end to form a corridor, and wherein the launch and recovery system is located at the outlet of the corridor.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing power to the vehicle or vessel using a modular power generation unit; and

processing data received from the vehicle using a modular processing and data center.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the vehicle is one of the group of:

an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), a buoy, a seaplane, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an autonomous surface vessel, a towed sled, a towed array, and an exploratory robot.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the vessel is one of an oil services vessel, an oil supply vessel, or a fishing boat.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein deploying is in response to instructions from a controller.

26. The method of claim 16 further comprising delivering the plurality of shipping containers to the vessel using at least one from the group of:

air cargo plane, rail, train, ship, and truck.