Patent Application
20150329182
The invention relates generally to mechanisms that can be attached on a small unit riverine craft (SURC) for stowing and launching at least one unmanned surface vehicle (USV).
The United States Navy operates SURC in rivers for close-in fire support on inland waterway missions. SURC is rigid-hull, armed and armored patrol boat used by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy to maintain control of rivers and inland waterways. They are similar in size and purpose to the earlier Patrol Boat. The primary mission of the SURC is to provide tactical mobility and a limited weapons platform for the ground combat element of a Marine Air Ground Task Force in littoral and riverine environments.
The USV constitutes to any vessel that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs encompass both military and academic oceanographic applications, and offer lower cost alternatives to manned craft while minimizing potential'risks to human life. USVs are reliable, fast, highly maneuverable, enabling them to conduct a wide range of missions, including patrols of the coast, without endangering human life. The operation of USVs has been tested since the second World War and have gained in acceptance since deployment in the Afghani operations.
Conventional stowage and deployment configurations and procedures yield disadvantages addressed by various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, various exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus for stowing, launching and recovering an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) on a boat bull, such as applicable to a small unit riverine craft (SURC) in water. The apparatus includes a frame for removably attaching to the hull, a lifter, a hinge, and a boom. In various exemplary embodiments, the lifter connects to the frame for elevating the USV between upper and lower positions. The hinge connects to the lifter for pivoting the USV between vertical and horizontal orientations. The boom connects to the hinge for docking and releasing the USV.
The USV is stowed in the vertical orientation and the upper position. The USV deploys into the water in the horizontal orientation and the lower position. In various exemplary embodiments, the frame includes lateral brackets connected together by transverse braces, and attaches to the hull at cushions. In various exemplary embodiments, the lifter elevates the hinge into the upper position when said boom is in the vertical orientation.
These and various other features and aspects of various exemplary embodiments will be readily understood with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like or similar numbers are used throughout, and in which:
In the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific exemplary embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and logical, mechanical, and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
An artisan of ordinary skill will readily appreciate that alternate but functionally equivalent means of launch and recovery of an USV are available. The inclusion of additional elements may be deemed readily apparent and obvious to an artisan of ordinary skill. Specific elements disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching employment of the present invention.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale; instead, emphasis has been placed upon illustrating the principles of exemplary embodiments. In addition, in the embodiments depicted herein, like reference numerals in the various drawings refer to identical or near identical structural elements. Moreover, the terms “substantially” or “approximately” as used herein may be applied'to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to'which that quantity is related.
A prototype USV of about 75 Ibm has been tested for maneuvers, as shown in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkCBenx4OJg by video. This USV has been developed by Aerospace Development Laboratory (ASDL) at Georgia Institute of Technology and is sponsored by ONR Code 333 to explore concepts of deployment on boats such as the SURC. Maintaining the USV when not being used represents a challenge satisfied by exemplary embodiments that provide an automated launch and recovery system.
The mount 120 includes mechanisms to enable rapid deployment and recovery of multiple USVs from a single watercraft, currently in inventory and used by the Naval Expeditionary Combat Command that satisfy the following criteria:
While certain features of the embodiments of the invention have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the embodiments.
The invention described was made in the performance of official duties by one or more employees of the Department of the Navy, and thus, the invention herein may be manufactured, used or licensed by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.
