SUBMERSIBLE DOCK AND DUMP MECHANISM

Abstract

Mechanically cooperating assemblies on an undersea vehicle and an instrumation target assure the making of a rigid coupling for passing electrical, optical or fluid information between the vehicle and the instrumentation and reduce the complexity of such a coupling from a three-dimensional to a two-dimensional maneuver by the vehicle. An undersea vehicle locates a pair of spaced-apart vertical cables which are attached to an instrumentation target assembly and engages them anywhere along their length with a converging grabber assembly mounted on the forward moving underwater vehicle. After engaging the cables, the grabber assembly merely slides along the cables toward the instrumentation target assembly. When the grabber assembly is nested in the instrumentation target assembly, a rigid attachment therewith is achieved by merely retracting the grabber arm assembly to pull appropriately located mating electrical, optical or fluid information connectors together to effect a coupling since a proper alignment is guaranteed by the mating configurations of the assemblies.

Source: Google Patents

35 USC §181 Secrecy Order

Inventor

• 1RONALD S. REICH

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