Patent Application
20250233352
Subsea connector and cable assemblies are commonly used in commercial and government applications, including in submersible underwater vehicles, moored buoys, and sensor based systems that collect data underwater. However, existing subsea connectors and cable assemblies have several problems. One exemplary problem is male and female connectors having disparate geometries. Multiple connector geometries add unnecessary complexity in machine tooling for manufacturing and increases overhead for maintaining dissimilar part designs. A second problem with subsea connector and cable assemblies is their ability to be reconfigured or reused. Cables and connectors assemblies are typically use-case dependent and designed to match requirements of an external system. Therefore, a change of an external system's design will frequently necessitate a change in connector and cable assemblies. These changes impact many of the assembly's core components such as cable pinout, sensor types, or port functionality. A complete reconfiguration is often required in these circumstances, leading to expensive redesign and labor intensive work to implement the new cabling. Accordingly, there is a need for a subsea connector and cable assembly that is readily reusable and reconfigurable.
According to illustrative embodiments, a symmetrical subsea connector apparatus, comprising: a connector, further comprising: a face comprising a plurality of female sockets embedded in the face, at least three connector sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of female sockets, and at least one alignment hole, and a female locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the face and operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with a male locking sleeve; a symmetrical connector configured to selectively couple with the connector, further comprising: a symmetrical face comprising a plurality of symmetrical female sockets embedded in the symmetrical face, at least three sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of symmetrical female sockets, and a plurality of symmetrical alignment holes, and the male locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the symmetrical face operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with the female locking sleeve; and a dual-sided cartridge configured to selectively intermediate a connection between the connector and symmetrical connector, further comprising: a printed circuit board (PCB), having a first side, a second side, and a plurality of pass through holes further comprising a plurality of interconnections, a plurality of male contact pins coupled to each of the first side and the second side of the PCB, wherein the configuration of the plurality of male contact pins is aligned to selectively mate with the plurality of female sockets on the first side and the plurality of symmetrical female sockets on the second side, and wherein each male contact pin is interconnected is a pin on the other side, at least three sealing surfaces on each side surrounding the plurality of male contact pins, at least two alignment pins protruding from each of the first side and the second side of the PCB, wherein the configuration of the alignment pins aligned to selectively mate with the alignment holes of each of the face and symmetrical face.
Additionally, a asymmetrical subsea connector apparatus, comprising: a connector, further comprising: a face comprising a plurality of female sockets embedded in the face, at least three connector sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of female sockets, and at least one alignment hole, and a female locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the face and operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with a male locking sleeve; a asymmetrical connector configured to selectively couple with the connector, further comprising: a asymmetrical face comprising a plurality of asymmetrical female sockets embedded in the asymmetrical face, at least two asymmetrical connector sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of asymmetrical female sockets, and a plurality of alignment holes, and the male locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the asymmetrical face operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with the female locking sleeve; and a dual-sided cartridge configured to selectively intermediate a connection between the connector and asymmetrical connector, further comprising: a printed circuit board (PCB), having a first side, a second side, and a plurality of pass through holes further comprising a plurality of interconnections, a plurality of male contact pins coupled to the first side and the second side of the PCB, wherein the configuration of the plurality of male contact pins is aligned to selectively mate with the plurality of female sockets on the first side and the plurality of female sockets on the second side, at least three sealing surfaces on each side surrounding the plurality of male contact pins, at least two alignment pins protruding from each of the first side and the second side of the PCH, wherein the configuration of the alignment pins aligned to selectively mate with the alignment holes of each of the face and asymmetrical face.
Additionally, a subsea connector system, comprising a first connector further comprising: a face comprising a plurality of female sockets embedded in the face, at least three connector sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of female sockets, and at least one alignment hole, and a female locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the face and operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with a male locking sleeve; a second connector configured to selectively couple with the connector, further comprising: a second face comprising a plurality of second female sockets embedded in the second face, at least three connector second sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of second female sockets, and a plurality of alignment holes, and the male locking sleeve surrounding the outer edge of the second face operable to provide a compressive seal when mated with the female locking sleeve; and a plurality of interchangeable cartridges, each configured to selectively intermediate a connection between the connector and second connector, and wherein each of the plurality of interchangeable cartridges provides a unique connection configuration, further comprising: a printed circuit board (PCB) having a first side and a second side, a plurality of male contact pins coupled to the first side and the second side of the PCB, wherein the configuration of the plurality of male contact pins is aligned to selectively mate with the plurality of female sockets on the first side and the plurality of female sockets on the second side, at least three sealing surfaces on each side surrounding the plurality of male contact pins, at least two alignment pins protruding from each of the first side and the second side of the PCB, wherein the configuration of the alignment pins aligned to selectively mate with the alignment holes of each of the face and second face.
It is an objective to provide a Reconfigurable Cartridge Based Subsea Connector Apparatus and System that offers numerous benefits, including a symmetrical cable design on both sides of the cartridge, which may reduce the overall complexity and would make a cable assembly cheaper to manufacturer and thus cheaper for consumers. Additionally, the symmetrical design greatly simplifies the sparing process and makes the assembly more reusable and easier to fix on the spot.
Furthermore, the printed-circuit-board based (PCB) cartridge provides unique advantages. For an example, an operator may quickly interchange connection configuration without having to: deconstruct each connection and repot a new one, procure new cabling and pot over the new soldered connections, or to break open pressure housings and rewire all internal electronics. The cartridge may be swapped out swiftly, providing significant advantages for the user. In some embodiments, is swapped by disconnecting the cable connectors, removing the PCB cartridge, attaching the new PCB cartridge, and reconnecting the cable connections. The PCB may be customized to the particular use case by making electrical connections (e.g. soldering or adding wire traces) meet the system requirements and then potting in a compound such as urethane to ensure waterproofing. This apparatus and system enable a process much quicker and cheaper than current methods, apparatuses, or systems.
It is an object to overcome the limitations of the prior art.
These, as well as other components, steps, features, objects, benefits, and advantages, will now become clear from a review of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, the accompanying drawings, and the claims.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate example embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Throughout the several views, like elements are referenced using like references. The elements in the figures are not drawn to scale and some dimensions are exaggerated for clarity. In the drawings:
The disclosed apparatus and system below may be described generally, as well as in terms of specific examples and/or specific embodiments. For instances where references are made to detailed examples and/or embodiments, it should be appreciated that any of the underlying principles described are not to be limited to a single embodiment, but may be expanded for use with any of the other apparatus and system described herein as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art unless otherwise stated specifically.
References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or any variation thereof, means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in some embodiments,” and “in other embodiments” in various places in the present disclosure are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment or the same set of embodiments.
As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” or any variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or.
Additionally, use of words such as “the,” “a,” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein; this is done merely for grammatical reasons and to conform to idiomatic English. This detailed description should be read to include one or at least one, and the singular also includes the plural unless it is clearly indicated otherwise.
A subsea connector apparatus and system having a reconfigurable cartridge may comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of at least one cables 100, at least two connectors 200, and a reconfigurable cartridge 300. Each of the connectors 200 may be electrically connected to a cable 100 and, additionally, may selectively be coupled to another connector 200. This includes a symmetrical or asymmetrical counterpart connector 200. This selective coupling means that the connectors may either be in a connected or disconnected configuration, the connected position enabling a proper “connection”. Furthermore, the cartridge 300 may be configured to be compressed between two connected connectors 200 and facilitate their electrical connection. The cartridge 300 is readily removable and replaceable with another cartridge 300 that may facilitate alternative connections, in some embodiments. An electrical connection is created through female sockets in the connectors 200 and male pins on each side of the cartridge 300, which is dual-sided. In some embodiments, the reconfigurable cartridge 300 may further comprise symmetrical, or asymmetrical pin arrangements.
Additionally, each of the connectors 200 may be coupled to a bulkhead connector 111, which may be located on an aquatic or sub aquatic vessel and facilitate an electrical connection to the vessel, as shown in
The subsea connector apparatus and system may be used in aquatic environments or any environment where an isolated electrical connection is advantageous. As described herein, the subsea connector apparatus and system facilitate the electrical connection of at least two systems, where the electrical connection may carry power or data. Examples of systems may include, but are not limited to, submersible underwater vehicles, moored buoys, and sensor-based systems that collect data underwater. In one embodiment, the cable 100, connectors 200, and cartridge 300 may further comprises metal shells for applications that require shielding from electromagnetic interference.
Furthermore,
Finally,
The cartridge 300 is dual-sided and responsible for forming a connection between at least two cables 100 and this can be a pass-through 323 connection in the cartridge 300 via the male pin contacts 330. For example, the connection may pass through from one pin on a first side to a second pin one pin on a second side, or pass through from a first pin to pin a different pin on the second side. The configurations of pins and electrical connections may be configured by an internal printed circuit board (PCB) 320 or connections potted inside the cartridge 300 assembly. The cartridge 300 may be readily interchangeable and reconfigurable to be replaced easily and adapt to new operation requirements. In an additional embodiment, the PCB 320 may be produced without existing connections, but provide space for a user or operator to add connections directly to the PCB 320 (e.g. by soldering) so that the cartridge is readily customizable for an application.
In some embodiments, the cartridge 300 has a diameter less than or approximately equal to the male locking sleeve, so that the locking sleeve can fully encapsulate the cartridge 300 and at least two sockets. Furthermore,
The face 220 comprises, consists of, or consists essentially of a plurality of female sockets 230 embedded in the face 220, at least two connector sealing surfaces surrounding the plurality of female sockets, and at least one alignment hole 240. The connector sealing surfaces surround and isolate the plurality of female sockets to provide sealing against environmental conditions such as water. Furthermore, connector sealing surfaces have counterparts on the cartridge 300 and provide isolation from the environment which in some embodiments, includes water. These counterparts mate together to form a seal, and are described below as sealing surfaces” and, in some embodiments, a primary sealing surface, secondary sealing surface, and tertiary sealing surface. In
The plurality of female contact sockets 220 are embedded in each connector face 220 within the compressive seal of the locking sleeve and are configured to mate with the male contact pins 330. In some embodiments, the female contact sockets 220 may be potted in urethane. Furthermore, the plurality female contact sockets 220 may comprise a variety of configurations, comprising different numbers of sockets 220 and different socket arrangements. For example, the number of contacts may range from two to sixteen. In this disclosure, uniquely, the configuration and presence of female contacts 220 may be symmetrical to those of an opposite connector 200.
As discussed previously, a plurality of male pin contacts 330 are embedded in the cartridge 300 and are configured to mate with the female contact sockets 220. The cartridge 300 is dual sided so that pins 320 on the first side are each electrically connected to at least one pin on the second side. The electrical connections may be traces or soldered, in some exemplary embodiments, via a PCB.
In the exemplary illustration of
Configurability, reuse, and adaptation of this disclosure may involve changing the pattern of pins 330 on each side of the cartridge 300 and/or changing how the pins on each side of cartridge 300 are interconnected. In some embodiments, the male pin 330 configurations are symmetrical. For example, the connection may pass through from one pin on a first side to one pin on a second side. However, in another embodiment, the connection may pass through from one pin on a first side to a different pin on the second side. The configurations of pins and electrical connect may be configured by a printed circuit board (PCB) or connections potted inside the cartridge assembly. The cartridge 300 may be readily interchangeable and reconfigurable to be replaced easily and adapt to new operation requirements.
Additionally, the PCB 320 may further comprise a splitter, wherein asymmetrical pin configurations facilitate a first cable 100 on one of the dual-sided PCB 320 to be electrically connected to a different pin configuration on another side facilitating at least two cables 100. A splitter may enable a connection from one cable 100 to two cables 100 or, in other words, the splitter may have having an additional male pin arrangement operable to connect a third cable. For example, the PCB may have a rectangular shape with one arrangement of male pins 330 on one side and two adjacent arrangements of male pin 330 configurations on the opposite side (for two cables). However the splitter may be enabled by other shapes of the PCB as well, including arrangements on multiple, non-parallel plains such as utilizing multiple sides of a cube. This embodiment may be beneficial in situations where the cables 100 have extra conductors so as to incorporate them into future use cases. The splitter utilizes either a sealing configuration identical to those previously described, simply as an additional sealed connection, or may be completely encompassed by the sealing surfaces of an adjacent connection, effectively sharing sealing surfaces.
The cartridge 300 may also have asymmetrical pin configurations in some embodiments. As an exemplary asymmetrical configuration, one side of the cable 100 and connector 200 may distribute power to multiple devices (via pins) and the other side of the cable 100 and connector 200 may be connected to a larger power source requiring a single larger conductor. Therefore, one side may have 6 pins, for example, while the other side has 4 or 5 pins. In another embodiment, various configurations could involve electrical grounding.
As another example, one single source may distribute to a multi-talker communications bus such as single pair Ethernet, or serial RS485 or 422, and/or a power to multiple loads this could be facilitated by using an asymmetrical arrangement. Moreover, an example would be using an 8-pin connector on the source side which included 3 pins for RS485, 4 pins for power (optionally at 2 different voltages) and a single shield pin connecting to a 16-pin connector on the other side where parallelization of the signals is completed in the PCB cartridge. The mating connector may be molded onto a pair of cable assemblies. This may offer benefits over a typical Y connector in terms of a more compact connection.
In one embodiment, the number of sealing surfaces on each side is three: a primary sealing surface 303, secondary sealing surface 302, and a tertiary sealing surface 303. The primary 301, secondary 302, and tertiary sealing surfaces 303 isolate the electrical connections between the connectors 200 and the cartridge. For example, the sealing surfaces enable the isolation of electrons in aquatic embodiments subject to high hydrostatic pressures. All sealing surfaces may be formed by proper tolerance manufacturing and slight oversizing of geometrical features of the cartridge assembly so mating is done with slight interference. Each sealing surface on the cartridge 300 has a counterpart sealing surface on each of the connector face 220, described previously as the connector sealing surface. Moreover, the sealing surfaces may be symmetrical on each side of the cartridge, in some embodiments.
The primary sealing surface 301 is directly adjacent to and internal to the locking sleeve, surrounding the plurality of male pins 330 on each side of the dual-sided cartridge. Multiple forces are utilized for sealing the primary sealing surface 301, including compression from the locking sleeves being all the way tight and also some help from hydrostatic pressure when the assembly goes beneath the surface of the water.
The secondary sealing surface 302 is orthogonal to the primary sealing surface 301, extending outward from each side of the dual-sided cartridge, terminating at an orthogonal tertiary sealing surface 303. As illustrated in
The tertiary sealing surface 303 is an outward face of the cartridge 300 adjacent to the base of the plurality of male pins 330 interface, comprising potting material. The tertiary sealing surface directly interfaces with the connector's 200 surface to seal the connection when tightly pressed together. The connector 200 has a potted surface with a mirrored geometry to seal against. In one embodiment, the locking sleeves may contribute to compressing the tertiary sealing surface.
In another embodiment, the male pins 330 may be partially encapsulated by rubber or urethane around the pin, and the female contact sockets 230 may have a recess for the contact pins in the cable so there is more rubber contact. Partial encapsulation of male pins is commonly utilized in subsea connectors and may be utilized however this may require more sophistication in the molding process of the cartridge.
Regarding the connections, comprising the wires 110, female socket contacts 230, and male contact pin 330, the connections may facilitate both power and communications. The pin size (i.e. diameter) is determined according to how much current is flowing through it to facilitating power. Generally the pin diameter will be at least the diameter of the gauge wiring required. However, there may be some embodiments where twisted wire pairs feeding to the pins may be desirable and/or possibly some shielding which may require more thought on how to preserve the shielding if a cartridge is utilized.
Limitations on power connections may be determined by connector voltage which is determined primarily by the insulation resistance which depends upon the specific material properties of insulators as well as the geometric density of the pins (the proximity of individual pins to each other). Current through an individual pin would be limited primarily by the heat tolerance of the materials in question as well as the availability of external cooling (i.e. seawater). Undersea connectors typically have a different current rating wet vs dry, which may be implemented herein.
From the above description of Reconfigurable Cartridge Based Subsea Connector Apparatus and System, it is manifest that various techniques may be used for implementing the concepts of symmetrical subsea connector apparatus, asymmetrical subsea connector apparatus, and symmetrical subsea connector system without departing from the scope of the claims. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The method/apparatus disclosed herein may be practiced in the absence of any element that is not specifically claimed and/or disclosed herein. It should also be understood that symmetrical subsea connector apparatus, asymmetrical subsea connector apparatus, and symmetrical subsea connector system are not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is capable of many embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims.
The United States Government has ownership rights in this invention. Licensing inquiries may be directed to Office of Research and Technical Applications Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, Code 72120, San Diego, CA, 92152; telephone (619) 553-5118; email: niwc_patent.fct@us.navy.mil, referencing Navy Case No. 113,579.
