Sea Glider

• US 20130032078A1
• Filed: 07/06/2012
• Published: 02/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Original Assignee: iRobot Corporation
• Inventors: Yahnker, Christopher R., Hughes, Robert Eugene, Hoffman, Marc Jeremy, Kardes, Amber
• Application Number:
  US13/542,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20130032078A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 114/331
• 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 8/18 by hydrofoils
• CPC Class Codes: B63G 8/22 Adjustment of buoyancy by water ballasting; Emptying equipment for ballast tanks conduits for emptying or ballasting on vessels in general B63B13/00; stabilising vessels using ballast tanks B63B43/06

Abstract

A sea glider that includes a pressure hull and fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull. At least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile.

Claims

1. A sea glider comprising:

a pressure hull; and

fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull;

wherein at least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile.

2. The sea glider of claim 1, further comprising a straight section joint connecting the fore fairing to the aft fairing.

3. The sea glider of claim 1, wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape.

4. The sea glider of claim 1, wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass.

5. The sea glider of claim 4, wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about 2 mm and about 12 mm.

6. The sea glider of claim 1, further comprising:

right and left wings disposed opposite of each other on the aft fairing;

a rudder disposed on the aft fairing; and

an antenna disposed on the aft fairing.

7. The sea glider of claim 1, further comprising a flooded payload section disposed aft of the pressure hull and at least partially enclosed by the aft fairing.

8. The sea glider of claim 7, further comprising a bladder system housed by the payload section for altering a buoyancy of the sea glider.

9. The sea glider of claim 8, further comprising a controller in communication with at least one of the bladder system, a removable rudder disposed on the aft fairing, and an antenna.

10. The sea glider of claim 9, wherein the controller executes a Kalman filter for predicting water currents.

11. The sea glider of claim 9, wherein the controller executes waypoint navigation by using a depth averaged current navigation algorithm.

12. A sea glider body comprising:

fore and aft fairings for encapsulating a pressure hull, at least one of the fore and aft fairings defines an Ogive profile;

a straight section defined between the fore and aft fairings, the straight section having a length of about 200 mm;

wherein the fore and aft fairings have a combined overall length of between about 1.8 meters and about 2.0 meters.

13. The sea glider body of claim 12, wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass.

14. The sea glider body of claim 13, wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about 2 mm and about 12 mm.

15. The sea glider body of claim 12, wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape.

16. The sea glider body of claim 12, wherein the fore fairing defines approximately 75 mm of the straight section and the aft fairing defines the remaining portion of the straight section.

17. The sea glider body of claim 12, further comprising a flooded payload section at least partially enclosed by the aft fairing.

18. A sea glider comprising:

a pressure hull;

fore and aft fairings encapsulating the pressure hull, the fore and aft fairings each defining an Ogive profile;

right and left wings disposed opposite of each other on the aft fairing;

a rudder disposed on the aft fairing;

an antenna disposed on the aft fairing;

a bladder system disposed in a flooded payload section disposed aft of the pressure hull and at least partially defined by the aft fairing, the bladder system altering a buoyancy of the sea glider; and

a controller in communication with at least one of the bladder system, the rudder, and the antenna.

19. The sea glider of claim 18, wherein the fore and aft fairings together define a straight section about a joint connecting the fairings.

20. The sea glider of claim 19, wherein the fore and aft fairings have a combined overall length of between about 1.8 meters and about 2.0 meters and the straight section has a length of about 200 mm.

21. The sea glider of claim 20, wherein the fore fairing defines approximately 75 mm of the straight section and the aft fairing defines the remaining portion of the straight section.

22. The sea glider of claim 18, wherein the aft fairing defines a convex shape.

23. The sea glider of claim 18, wherein the fore and aft fairings comprise fiberglass.

24. The sea glider of claim 23, wherein the fore and aft fairings each have a wall thickness of between about 2 mm and about 12 mm.

25. The sea glider of claim 18, wherein the controller executes a Kalman filter for predicting water currents.

26. The sea glider of claim 18, wherein the controller executes waypoint navigation by using a depth averaged current navigation algorithm.