Torpedo control apparatus

Claim 1

IN MULTI-CHANNEL TELECOMMUNICATION APPARATUS FOR COMMUNICATING ELECTRICAL SIGNALS BETWEEN TWO STATIONS CONSISTING OF A TORPEDO AND A REMOTE TELECOMMUNICATION STATION, THE COMBINATION, COMPRISING; (A) TWO OR MORE SETS OF MATCHED SIGNAL GENERATION AND SIGNAL DETECTION MEANS EMPLOYING A BANDPASS UNDER 30,000 CYCLES PER SECOND, EACH SET OF MATCHED MEANS FORMING A SEPARATE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL AND COMPRISING A SIGNAL GENERATOR PRODUCING A DISTINCTIVE SIGNAL DISPOSED AT ONE OF SAID STATIONS, AND SIGNAL DETECTOR MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID DISTINCTIVE SIGNAL, ONLY, DISPOSED AT THE OTHER STATION, (B) THE SIGNAL GENERATORS AND SIGNAL DETECTORS OF THE MATCHING SETS BEING COUPLED THROUGH A COMMON SIGNAL TRANSMISSION CIRCUIT COMPRISING A FIRST ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION PATH THROUGH AN INSULATED SINGLE CONDUCTOR WIRE AND A SECOND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTION PATH THROUGH THE SALINE OCEAN WATER MEDIUM BETWEEN THE TORPEDO AND THE REMOTE STATION, (C) SAID INSULATED WIRE BEING OF FIXED LENGTH COMPOSED OF A FIRST PORTION INITIALLY CARRIED BY THE TORPEDO AND FORMING A COIL WHICH IS PROGRESSIVELY DISPENSED INTO THE OCEAN MEDIUM BETWEEN THE TORPEDO AND THE REMOTE STATION UNDER MOVEMENT OF THE TORPEDO, WHEREBY A PROGRESSIVELY LENGTHENING UNCOILED PORTION OF WIRE IS DISPOSED IN THE OCEAN MEDIUM BETWEEN SAID STATIONS, (D) SAID UNCOILED PORTION OF THE WIRE AND THE WATER MEDIUM EFFECTIVELY FORMING A CO-AXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE IN WHICH THE OCEAN WATER MEDIUM SURROUNDS THE CONDUCTOR OF THE WIRE AND THE INSULATION OF THE WIRE DISPOSED BETWEEN THE OCEAN WATER AND THE CONDUCTOR, SAID INSULATED CONDUCTOR WIRE HAVING AN OUTER PROTECTIVE SHEATH OF INSULATION AND AN INTERMEDIATE SHEATH OF INSULATION BETWEEN THE OUTER SHEATH AND THE CONDUCTOR, SAID INTERMEDIATE SHEATH BEING OF SUBSTANTIAL THICKNESS AND MADE OF A MATERIAL HAVING A LOWER VALUE OF DI-ELECTRIC CONSTANT THAN THE INSULATION MATERIAL OF THE PROTECTIVE SHEATH TO LOWER THE SHUNT DISTRIBUTED CAPACITY OF THE CO-AXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE, WHEREBY THE OCEAN WATER MEDIUM SURROUNDING THE WIRE COOPERATES WITH SAME TO PROVIDE A CO-AXIAL TRANSMISSION LINE CONFIGURATION WHICH EXHIBITS SUBSTANTIAL DISTRIBUTED INDUCTANCE, TO THEREBY COMPENSATE FOR VARIATION OF ATTENUATION DUE TO PROGRESSIVE UNCOILING OF THE COILED PORTION OF THE WIRE, (E) SAID FIRST COILED PORTION OF THE WIRE CARRIED BY THE TORPEDO IN A FIRST COMPARTMENT FLOODED WITH SAID SALINE WATER MEDIUM, SAID FIRST COILED PORTION FORMING A FIRST MULTI-LAYER COIL OF ANNULAR SHAPE HAVING AN AXIAL APERTURE EXTENDING BETWEEN ITS ENDS, SAID ANNULAR COIL BEING SUPPORTED IN SUBSTANTIALLY SPACED RELATION TO THE WALLS OF THE COMPARTMENT, WHEREBY THE COIL IS SUBSTANTIALLY SURROUNDED BY AND ITS AXIAL APERTURE IS FILLED WITH SAID SALINE WATER MEDIUM TO OBVIATE UNDESIRED GROSS NON-LINEARITIES IN THE BANDPASS OF THE COUPLING CIRCUIT.