Subsea contactless connector system and method with extremely high data transfer rate
First Claim
1. A pinless connector for subsea data communications, comprising:
- a. a contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler, comprising;
i. a first environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the first environmentally sealed housing comprising a first material suitable for use subsea; and
ii. a first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter at least partially disposed within the first environmentally sealed housing, the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter configured to be operative at a low power level of less than around 50 milliwatts at an extremely high data transfer rate of at least around 5 Gbits/second; and
b. a contactless connectivity data receiver coupler, comprising;
i. a second environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the second environmentally sealed housing comprising a second material suitable for use subsea; and
ii. a first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver disposed at least partially within the second environmentally sealed housing, the first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver configured to be operative at the low power level and at the extremely high data transfer rate when the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter is disposed proximate the first housing disposed at a distance of no more than around 1 meter from the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pinless connector for subsea data communications comprises contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler, comprising one or more first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters, and contactless connectivity data receiver coupler, comprising one or more first solid state contactless connectivity data receivers, which can allow for rapid collection and/or download data from subsea vehicles or sensors without having to plug in an external connector or physically remove the data recorder from the unit. Typically, these are operative at a low power level, e.g. less than or around 50 milliwatts, at an extremely high data transfer rate or around 5 GBits/second. The connectors may be incorporated into a subsea system comprising two subsea devices. A slip ring system may similarly comprise one or more first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters and one or more first solid state contactless connectivity data receivers.
46 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A pinless connector for subsea data communications, comprising:
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a. a contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler, comprising; i. a first environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the first environmentally sealed housing comprising a first material suitable for use subsea; and ii. a first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter at least partially disposed within the first environmentally sealed housing, the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter configured to be operative at a low power level of less than around 50 milliwatts at an extremely high data transfer rate of at least around 5 Gbits/second; and b. a contactless connectivity data receiver coupler, comprising; i. a second environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the second environmentally sealed housing comprising a second material suitable for use subsea; and ii. a first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver disposed at least partially within the second environmentally sealed housing, the first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver configured to be operative at the low power level and at the extremely high data transfer rate when the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter is disposed proximate the first housing disposed at a distance of no more than around 1 meter from the first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A subsea system, comprising:
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a. a first subsea device comprising; i. a first data collector; and ii. a contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler, comprising; 1. a first environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the first environmentally sealed housing comprising a first material suitable for use subsea; and 2. a plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters at least partially disposed within the first environmentally sealed housing, each first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter configured to be operative at a low power level of less than around 50 milliwatts and at an extremely high data transfer rate of at least around 5 Gbits/second; and b. a second subsea device, comprising a contactless connectivity data receiver coupler, the contactless connectivity data receiver coupler comprising; i. a second environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal, the first environmentally sealed housing comprising a second material suitable for use subsea; and ii. a plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data receivers disposed at least partially within the second environmentally sealed housing, each first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver operatively coupled to a corresponding first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter of the the plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters without requiring critical alignment between the plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters and the first solid state contactless connectivity receivers, each first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver configured to be operative at the low power level and at the extremely high data transfer rate when its corresponding first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter is disposed at a distance of no more than one meter from that first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of obtaining data from a subsea data collector, comprising:
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a. disposing a first subsea device subsea, the first subsea device comprising; iii. a first data collector; and iv. a contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler, comprising; 1. a first environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal; 2. a plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters, each first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter at least partially disposed within the first environmentally sealed housing and operatively in communication with the first data collector, each first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitter configured to be operative at a low power level of less than around 50 milliwatts using an extremely high frequency data transfer rate of at least around 5 Gbits/second; b. disposing a second subsea device subsea, the second subsea device comprising; v. a second data collector; and vi. a contactless connectivity data receiver coupler, comprising; 1. a second environmentally sealed housing with no exposed metal; and 2. a plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data receivers disposed at least partially within the second environmentally sealed housing and operatively coupled to corresponding ones of the plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters, each first solid state contactless connectivity data receiver configured to be operative at the low power level using the extremely high data transfer rate when disposed proximate to the contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler at a distance of no more than around one meter; c. positioning at least one of the first subsea device and the second subsea device into a position closely proximate each other subsea; d. positioning the contactless connectivity data transmitter coupler proximate the contactless connectivity data receiver coupler at a separation distance of not more than around one meter sub sea; and e. using the first solid state contactless connectivity transmitter and the first solid state contactless connectivity receiver to communicate and exchange data at the extremely high data transfer rate using a point to point data communication pathway without a need for critically aligning the plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity data transmitters and the plurality of first solid state contactless connectivity receivers. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification