The following disclosure relates generally to submersible devices and, more particularly, to embodiments of a submersible transport canister having a diver-adjustable buoyancy system for the underwater transport of non-marinized items, as well as to methods for utilizing such a canister.
The term “marinized” is commonly utilized to describe items that have been engineered to withstand direct and prolonged exposure to harsh marine environments during, for example, underwater transport by a military or civilian diver. Marinized versions of many different items have been developed and are commercially available, including different types of tools and electronic devices (e.g., flashlights). Although many different marinized items are commercially available, such items tend to be relatively costly as compared to their non-marinized, commercial-off-the-shelf counterparts. In addition, marinized versions of certain items are generally not available due to excessive cost or difficulties encountered in marinizing the item. As a specific example, high-energy-density batteries often have chemistries (e.g., lithium ion chemistries) that react adversely with saltwater and are consequently difficult to marinize without encasing such batteries within a watertight package, which can add undesirable cost, bulk, and weight to the marinized battery.
Relatively simple, submersible containers have long been commercially available that can be carried on a diver's person and utilized to store non-marinized items, such as mobile phones or other electronic devices, during recreational dives. Such submersible containers are generally capable of providing a watertight seal to moderate depths and, in a general sense, can be utilized for the underwater transport of one or more non-marinized items. However, when closed, such submersible containers typically do not allow the passage of gas into or out of the container's storage cavity. As a result, such conventional submersible containers are generally unsuitable for the transport of combustible items, such as lithium ion batteries, which may burn in a failure state. Furthermore, such conventional submersible containers typically do not provide a means for allowing the diver to adjust the container's buoyancy to compensate for the items or items carried by the container. Consequently, when submerged and carrying one or more items, a conventional submersible container may be either lighter or heavier than the volume of water displaced by the container. The submerged container consequently exerts a net upward force or downward force on the diver, which the diver must overcome to maintain a desired depth. While this may be acceptable for a civilian diver during a relatively short or shallow dive, carrying or manually towing a container that continually tends to sink or rise can be inconvenient for a civilian diver during longer, deeper dives or for a military diver equipped with additional gear and possibly operating in adverse maritime conditions (e.g., low ambient light, Sea States approaching or exceeding Code 3, etc.). This may also render such conventional submersible containers unsuitable for usage during Hurricane Disaster Water Recovery, Boat Accident Recovery, and similar disaster or accident recovery efforts.
It is thus desirable to provide embodiments of a submersible transport canister that can be utilized by a diver to transport non-marinized, commercial-off-the-shelf items, including lithium ion batteries and other combustible items. It would also be desirable if embodiments of the submersible transport canister included a diver-adjustable buoyancy system, which can be adjusted by the diver to compensate for the weight of the item or items stored within the canister to achieve a substantially neutral buoyancy and thereby facilitate diver transport of the loaded canister. Finally, it would be describable for embodiments of such a submersible transport canister to be scalable, reliable, and relatively inexpensive to produce. Other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent Detailed Description and the appended Claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings and this Background.
Embodiments of a submersible transport canister, and embodiments of using a submersible transport canister, are provided. In one embodiment, the submersible transport canister includes a pressure vessel having a storage cavity configured to store at least one item therein, a cap movable to a closed position wherein the cap sealingly engages the pressure vessel, and a diver-adjustable buoyancy system configured to be coupled to the pressure vessel. When coupled to the pressure vessel, the diver-adjustable buoyancy system is configured to displace a volume of water to achieve a substantially neutral buoyancy during underwater transport of the item within the submersible transport canister.
Embodiments of a method are further provided for the underwater transport of one or more items utilizing a submersible transport canister of the type that includes a pressure vessel and a diver-adjustable buoyancy system. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of storing an item within the pressure vessel, and adjusting the buoyancy of the diver-adjustable buoyancy system to impart the submersible transport canister with a substantially neutral buoyancy during underwater transport of the item stored within the pressure vessel.
At least one example of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and:
The following Detailed Description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding Background or the following Detailed Description. As appearing herein, the term “diver” is utilized in a broad sense to encompass any person working within a body of water, whether or not such a person is fully submerged and regardless of the particular manner in which such a person is equipped. Similarly, the term “canister” as appearing herein is defined broadly to include any sealable container, regardless of shape, size, structural features, material composition, etc., suitable for the underwater transport of one or more non-marinized items, as described more fully below.
In embodiments wherein watertight cap 22 does not threadably engage open end portion 14, watertight cap 22 is preferably secured in the closed position (
One or more seals may be disposed between watertight cap 22 and open end portion 14 of pressure vessel 12 to improve the sealing characteristics of submersible transport canister 10 in the closed position (
Submersible transport canister 10 further includes a vacuum port 36 and a pressure relief valve 38. Vacuum port 36 and pressure relief valve 38 are each fluidly coupled to main storage cavity 18 of pressure vessel 12. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
Submersible transport canister 10 is further equipped with a diver-adjustable buoyancy system 40 including at least one flotation device, which may be manually adjusted to compensate for the payload weight of non-marinized items 20 (
In embodiments wherein diver-adjustable buoyancy system 40 does not include a pressure gauge, a diver may determine the appropriate volume to which inflatable float collar 42 should be inflated by progressively inflating float collar 42, while submersible transport canister 10 is submerged, until the upward (buoyant) and downward (gravitational) forces exerted on canister 10 are balanced. By comparison, in embodiments wherein diver-adjustable buoyancy system 40 includes a pressure gauge fluidly coupled to float collar 42, the diver can determine appropriate volume to which inflatable float collar 42 should be inflated by simply referring to the pressure gauge. If the pressure gauge includes only pressure markings, the diver may utilize a two-dimensional look-up table to determine the appropriate pressure to which inflatable float collar 42 should be inflated based upon the approximate payload weight of non-marinized items 20. However, in a preferred group of embodiments, the pressure gauge is provided with a read-out (e.g., text) that visually indicates the approximate pressure to which float collar 42 should be inflated to achieve a substantially neutral buoyancy for a range of payload weights. An example of such a neutral buoyancy pressure gauge is described in more detail below.
In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in
The foregoing has thus provide an exemplary embodiment of a submersible transport canister 10 that can be utilized by a diver to transport non-marinized, commercial-off-the-shelf items, including lithium ion batteries and other combustible items. In the above-described exemplary embodiment, submersible transport canister 10 included a diver-adjustable buoyancy system 40 having an inflatable floatation device (i.e., float collar 42) that can be inflated by a diver utilizing an on-board or integral gas source (e.g., pressurized cartridge 44). The forgoing example notwithstanding, diver-adjustable buoyancy system 40 may not include an on-board gas source in alternative embodiments, and inflation of an inflatable floatation device included within buoyancy system 40 may be effectuated utilizing an external or independent gas source. Further emphasizing this point,
In the above-described exemplary embodiments of submersible transport canister 10, the diver-adjustable buoyancy system include at least one inflatable floatation device. However, in further embodiments of submersible transport canister 10, the diver-adjustable buoyancy system may include a number of modular, fixed-volume floatation members (e.g., foam or plastic float collars) in lieu of, or in addition to, an inflatable floatation device.
Prior to usage of submersible transport canister 10, a determines the buoyancy of diver-adjustable buoyancy system 70 by selecting a particular fixed-volume float collar 72 (or float collars 72) based upon the payload weight of non-marinized items 20. In particular, the diver selects a float collar 72 that cooperates with submersible transport canister 10 to displace a volume of water that is generally equivalent in weight to the cumulative weight of canister 10 and non-marinized items 20. To facilitate diver selection of a particular float collar 72, text or other graphics may be provided associating each float collar 72 with a particular payload weight range, as indicated in
A wide variety of different coupling interfaces can be utilized to enable a diver to removably secure the selected float collar 72 (or float collars 72) to pressure vessel 12. For example, in one embodiment, float collars 72 may each be formed to include an internal threading that engages an external threading provided around upper end portion 14 of pressure vessel 12. As a second example, in the embodiment illustrated in
There has thus been provided multiple exemplary embodiments of a submersible transport canister that can be utilized by a diver to transport non-marinized, commercial-off-the-shelf items, including lithium ion batteries and other combustible items. In each of the above-described exemplary embodiments, the submersible transport canister included a diver-adjustable buoyancy system, which can be adjusted by the diver to compensate for the weight of the item or items stored within the canister to achieve a substantially neutral buoyancy and thereby facilitate diver transport of the loaded canister. In view of its ability to transport combustible items, its ability to enable ad-hoc buoyancy adjustments to achieve a neutral or close-to-neutral buoyancy for a range of payload weights, and its scalability, embodiments of the submersible transport canister are well-suited for utilization by divers and other personnel involved in Hurricane Disaster Water Recovery and Boat Accident Recovery.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing has also disclosed embodiments of a method for the underwater transport of an item utilizing a submersible transport canister of the type that includes a pressure vessel and a diver-adjustable buoyancy system. In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of storing an item within the pressure vessel, and adjusting the buoyancy of the diver-adjustable buoyancy system to impart the submersible transport canister with a substantially neutral buoyancy during underwater transport of the item stored within the pressure vessel. In embodiments wherein the diver-adjustable buoyancy system comprises a plurality of fixed-volume floatation members each having a different buoyancy, the step of adjusting the buoyancy of the diver-adjustable buoyancy system may include the sub-steps of selecting a fixed-volume floatation member based, at least in part, upon the weight of the item, and securing the selected fixed volume floatation member to the pressure vessel. In embodiments wherein the diver-adjustable buoyancy system includes an inflatable floatation device coupled to the pressure vessel, the step of adjusting may comprise inflating the floatation device to a volume at which the inflatable floatation device imparts a substantially neutral buoyancy to the submersible transport canister during underwater transport of the item. Finally, in embodiments wherein the diver-adjustable buoyancy system further comprises a neutral buoyancy pressure gauge fluidly coupled to inflatable floatation device and visually indicating the approximate floatation device pressure required to achieve a substantially neutral buoyancy for a given range of payload weights, the step of inflating may comprise: (i) determining the approximate weight of the item, and (ii) inflating the floatation device to a pressure substantially equivalent to the pressure at which the neutral buoyancy pressure gauge indices is required to impart a substantially neutral buoyancy to the submersible transport canister, given the weight of the item.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing Detailed Description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the foregoing Detailed Description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing an exemplary embodiment of the invention. It being understood that various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements described in an exemplary embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as set-forth in the appended Claims.