Dipping sonar transducer housing

Details Dipping sonar transducer housing Dipping sonar transducer housing

1985-07-25

2001-05-15

Tudor, Harold J. (Department: 3641)

Communications, electrical: acoustic wave systems and devices

Transponders

Sonobuoys and sonobuoy systems

C367S006000, C367S153000, C181S110000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06233202

ABSTRACT:

This invention relates to dipping sonar systems and more particularly to a compact and efficient transducer housing assembly for a dipping sonar.
In the usual dipping sonar the transmitting or projector transducers and receiving transducers are contained in a unit which is suspended from the helicopter at the end of a cable with the transmitting and receiving transducers permanently fixed to the suspended unit. For some applications it is desired to create a system operating at a lower frequency, in which case the inherent geometry dictates a much larger array. Such large, low frequency sonars have been limited to ship-based or shore-based systems, but recently it has been considered desirable to provide a lower frequency sonar for airborne use.
To provide a transducer for airborne sonar capable of operating at significantly lower frequencies than those presently employed, applicant has devised a system including a radially deployable array of hydrophones and an array of disk-shaped sonar transmitting transducers or projectors which is carried in a very compact assembly in a submersible housing and which is deployed to create a vertical array of considerable length. This projector system includes a series of electrically interconnected transmitter projectors tethered together by means of small diameter cables which are anchored to the bottom or lower projector unit. A powered drum in the housing unwinds the cables to permit the projectors to drop away from the housing and winds the cables in to return the projectors to their stored position. This projector deployment system is described and claimed in copending application Ser. No. 717,199 (common assignee) now U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,988.
A powered piston is movable to positively drive the receiver array to its open or extended position and is also movable to positively drive the receiver array to a position where it is folded against the housing. A stack of amplifier and analog to digital converter circuit boards for the receiver array are located in a first water-tight chamber at the top of the housing where they are connected to the suspending cable and to a series of preamplifier units which, in turn, are connected through feed-through connectors in the wall of the housing to the hydrophone array. To minimize the effect of noise traveling down the cable, it is connected to the housing through a vibration isolation unit.
Located in a second water-tight chamber of the housing just below the housing containing the amplifier and the analog-to-digital convertor circuit boards are an electric motor, a hydraulic pump and an accumulator, the hydraulic pump being driven by the electric motor. Hydraulic connections from the accumulator and pump provide fluid to operate the drum which deploys the projectors and the powered piston which deploys and secures the hydrophone array.
An additional water-tight chamber contains the electronic components which power the projectors, which components are sealed from both a free-flooding chamber containing the projectors and from a sealed battery chamber surrounding the projector chamber.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3886491 (1975-05-01), Jonkey et al.

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