Vehicle handling system for submersibles
US5042415A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 7, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 27, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 7, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB63G8/42
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus for launching and recovering a submersible vessel from a ship, and includes a gantry that pivots in an arc extending over and beyond the aft deck of the ship. A lift line passes about a head sheave that pivots from the top of the gantry and threads through a saddle that also pivots from the top of the gantry. The saddle is clamped to the vessel. The lift line is connected to the top of the submersible vessel and passes about a ram tensioner which may be mounted on the deck. After a winch pays out the lift line to lower the vessel into the ocean, the saddle is disconnected from the vessel and the lift line is rethreaded back out of the saddle. A tether provides a communicative link between the ship and the vessel, and may pass about a hanging sheave suspended from the gantry when the vessel is in the ocean. Recovery of the vessel is the reverse of deployment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.