US3905007A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Equipment for locating and plotting the position of underwater towed vehicles
Assignee: United States Department of the Navy
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Filing: 1962-03-27
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Granted: 1975-09-09
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Expires: 1982-03-27
Abstract
Abstract 1. In a system for indicating the relative position between a vehicle being towed submerged and a tow ship, the combination with an acoustic transponder mounted on the vehicle comprising: FIRST AND SECOND ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS SPACED ATHWART ON THE TOW SHIP, MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING AN ACOUSTIC PULSE FROM THE FIRST TRANSDUCER TO TRIGGER SAID TRANSPONDER, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE TRANSIT TIME OF ACOUSTIC ENERGY FROM SAID FIRST TRANSDUCER TO SAID TRANSPONDER AND RETURN TO SAID FIRST TRANSDUCER FOR PROVIDING A FIRST VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE SLANT RANGE TO SAID VEHICLE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID SLANT RANGE VOLTAGE AND TO THE DEPTH OF SAID VEHICLE FOR PROVIDING A SECOND VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE HORIZONTAL RANGE TO SAID VEHICLE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE TRANSIT TIME OF ACOUSTIC ENERGY FROM SAID FIRST TRANSDUCER TO SAID SECOND TRANSDUCER VIA SAID TRANSPONDER FOR PROVIDING A THIRD VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL THERETO, MEANS ESTABLISHING A FOURTH VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE TRAVEL TIME OF AN ACOUSTIC PULSE BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND TRANSDUCERS, AND COMPUTER MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST, THIRD AND FOURTH VOLTAGES FOR PROVIDING AN OUTPUT VOLTAGE PROPORTIONAL TO THE RELATIVE BEARING OF SAID VEHICLE.
Inventors
- 👤 Calvin B Koesy
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 06:00
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S15/00; G01S15/74; G01S15/02; G01S15/06; G01S15/46
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
187 words
In a system for indicating the relative position between a vehicle being towed submerged and a tow ship, the combination with an acoustic transponder mounted on the vehicle comprising: first and second acoustic transducers spaced athwart on the tow ship, means for transmitting an acoustic pulse from the first transducer to trigger said transponder, means responsive to the transit time of acoustic energy from said first transducer to said transponder and return to said first transducer for providing a first voltage proportional to the slant range to said vehicle, means responsive to said slant range voltage and to the depth of said vehicle for providing a second voltage proportional to the horizontal range to said vehicle, means responsive to the transit time of acoustic energy from said first transducer to said second transducer via said transponder for providing a third voltage proportional thereto, means establishing a fourth voltage proportional to the travel time of an acoustic pulse between said first and second transducers, and computer means connected to said first, third and fourth voltages for providing an output voltage proportional to the relative bearing of said vehicle.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
187 words
In a system for indicating the relative position between a vehicle being towed submerged and a tow ship, the combination with an acoustic transponder mounted on the vehicle comprising: first and second acoustic transducers spaced athwart on the tow ship, means for transmitting an acoustic pulse from the first transducer to trigger said transponder, means responsive to the transit time of acoustic energy from said first transducer to said transponder and return to said first transducer for providing a first voltage proportional to the slant range to said vehicle, means responsive to said slant range voltage and to the depth of said vehicle for providing a second voltage proportional to the horizontal range to said vehicle, means responsive to the transit time of acoustic energy from said first transducer to said second transducer via said transponder for providing a third voltage proportional thereto, means establishing a fourth voltage proportional to the travel time of an acoustic pulse between said first and second transducers, and computer means connected to said first, third and fourth voltages for providing an output voltage proportional to the relative bearing of said vehicle.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The combination according to claim 1, and means for converting said output voltage and said second voltage into an indication of the relative position between towed vehicle and the towed ship.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
194 words
In a system for indicating the relative position between a vehicle being towed and a tow ship, the combination with a navigation system carried by the two ship comprising: first and second stations spaced athwart on the tow ship, means for providing a first voltage proportional to the range from said first station to the towed vehicle, means for providing a second voltage proportional to the sum of the ranges from said first station to said vehicle and from said second station to said vehicle, means for providing a third voltage proportional to the distance between said first and second stations, computer means connected to said first, second and third voltages for providing an output voltage proportional to the relative bearing of said vehicle, means responsive to said first voltage and to the depth of said vehicle for providing a fourth voltage proportional to the horizontal range to said vehicle, a gyro compass, means controlled by said compass for converting saId output voltage to a physical characteristic proportional to the true bearing of said vehicle, and means for introducing said fourth voltage and said physical characteristic as modifying factors into the ship''s navigation system.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
194 words
In a system for indicating the relative position between a vehicle being towed and a tow ship, the combination with a navigation system carried by the two ship comprising: first and second stations spaced athwart on the tow ship, means for providing a first voltage proportional to the range from said first station to the towed vehicle, means for providing a second voltage proportional to the sum of the ranges from said first station to said vehicle and from said second station to said vehicle, means for providing a third voltage proportional to the distance between said first and second stations, computer means connected to said first, second and third voltages for providing an output voltage proportional to the relative bearing of said vehicle, means responsive to said first voltage and to the depth of said vehicle for providing a fourth voltage proportional to the horizontal range to said vehicle, a gyro compass, means controlled by said compass for converting saId output voltage to a physical characteristic proportional to the true bearing of said vehicle, and means for introducing said fourth voltage and said physical characteristic as modifying factors into the ship''s navigation system.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
172 words
In an apparatus for indicating the positions relative to a ship of a plurality of vehicles towed submerged by said ship and individually equipped with a sonic transponder, each of said transponders including means for generating a sonic signal at a common frequency and receiver means individually responsive to a received interrogating sonic pulse of a unique frequency for triggering its associated signal generating means, first and second transducers spaced athwartwise said ship, means for pulse exciting the first transducer with the several unique interrogating frequencies in succession, and position indicating apparatus including receiver means responsive to the time intervals between each interrogating pulse and the arrival times at the first and second transducers of a sonic signal from the interrogated transponder for producing electrical quantities representative of the interrogated transponder''s distances from said first and said second transducers, respectively, and computer means coupled to the distance representing electrical quantities for deriving respectively signals proportional to the x and y rectangular coordinates of the interrogated transponders''s position relative to the tow ship.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
172 words
In an apparatus for indicating the positions relative to a ship of a plurality of vehicles towed submerged by said ship and individually equipped with a sonic transponder, each of said transponders including means for generating a sonic signal at a common frequency and receiver means individually responsive to a received interrogating sonic pulse of a unique frequency for triggering its associated signal generating means, first and second transducers spaced athwartwise said ship, means for pulse exciting the first transducer with the several unique interrogating frequencies in succession, and position indicating apparatus including receiver means responsive to the time intervals between each interrogating pulse and the arrival times at the first and second transducers of a sonic signal from the interrogated transponder for producing electrical quantities representative of the interrogated transponder''s distances from said first and said second transducers, respectively, and computer means coupled to the distance representing electrical quantities for deriving respectively signals proportional to the x and y rectangular coordinates of the interrogated transponders''s position relative to the tow ship.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
114 words
Apparatus for determining the positions of a plurality of vehicles being towed submerged relative to a tow ship, the combination with a navigation system carried by the tow ship comprising: means for cyclically producing a first voltage proportional to the horizontal distance and a second voltage proportional to the relative bearing of each of said vehicles in succession, a pair of electric capacitors for each vehicle under tow, means operable in timed relation with said cyclical means for separately storing said first and second voltages in a pair of capacitors individual to each of each vehicles, and manually operable switching means for connecting at will any pair of capacitors to the ship''s navigation system.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
114 words
Apparatus for determining the positions of a plurality of vehicles being towed submerged relative to a tow ship, the combination with a navigation system carried by the tow ship comprising: means for cyclically producing a first voltage proportional to the horizontal distance and a second voltage proportional to the relative bearing of each of said vehicles in succession, a pair of electric capacitors for each vehicle under tow, means operable in timed relation with said cyclical means for separately storing said first and second voltages in a pair of capacitors individual to each of each vehicles, and manually operable switching means for connecting at will any pair of capacitors to the ship''s navigation system.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2582971A
Cited
US2557900A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-09-08 | 1979-03-10 | 1979-09-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-09-08 | 1983-03-10 | 1983-09-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-09-08 | 1987-03-10 | 1987-09-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |