Claims
- 1. An underwater swimmer transport vehicle, comprising:
a generally cylindrical open hull; a deck mounted in the hull; means for enabling a diver to be transported by the vehicle; a blunt bow at a forward end of the hull, the bow extending upwardly above the deck and forming a forward shroud for the diver; and a thruster mounted to the hull.
- 2. The transport vehicle of claim 1 further comprising steering means mounted to the hull.
- 3. The transport vehicle of claim 2 further comprising depth control means mounted to the hull.
- 4. The transport vehicle of claim 1 wherein the enabling means comprises a T-bar tethered to the hull.
- 5. The transport vehicle of claim 1 wherein the enabling means comprises the deck.
- 6. The transport vehicle of claim 1, wherein the hull has a forward cylindrical portion and a tapered aft portion supporting a skeg and drainage means located at an intersection between the forward and aft portions.
- 7. The transport vehicle of claim 2, wherein the steering means comprise a pivotable pylon to which the thruster is mounted.
- 8. The transport vehicle of claim 3, wherein the steering means and the depth control means further comprise a control yoke pivotable about two independent pivot axes.
- 9. The transport vehicle of claim 1, wherein the thruster comprises an electric motor coupled to a battery source.
- 10. The transport vehicle of claim 5, wherein the thruster further comprises a propeller mounted to a shaft of the motor and a peripheral shroud surrounding the propeller.
- 11. The transport vehicle of claim 6, wherein the forward and rear hull portions are separable from each other.
- 12. The transport vehicle of claim 11, wherein the forward hull portion has an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the rear hull portion to allow the rear hull portion to collapse within the forward hull portion for storage.
- 13. The transport vehicle of claim 1 further comprising neutral buoyancy means mounted to the hull to develop neutral buoyancy for the vehicle.
- 14. The transport vehicle of claim 13 wherein the deck forms at least a portion of the buoyancy means.
- 15. The transport vehicle of claim 6 wherein the deck comprises a main deck located in the aft portion of the hull.
- 16. The transport vehicle of claim 15 wherein an electrical power source is located in the aft portion of the hull below the deck.
- 17. The transport vehicle of claim 15 wherein the deck further comprises a second portion located in the forward portion of the hull.
- 18. The transport vehicle of claim 17 wherein the main deck is supported within the aft portion of the hull by a bulkhead in the aft portion, the second deck portion being affixed to and extending forwardly from the bulkhead.
- 19. The transport vehicle of claim 18 wherein the second deck portion is constructed of fabric.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The present invention relates to a submersible, self-propelled transport device for scuba divers and the like. Priority of Provisional application 60/195,384 of Apr. 7, 2000 is claimed.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60195384 |
Apr 2000 |
US |