Communications: radio wave antennas – Antennas – Waterborne
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-20
2001-02-27
Phan, Tho (Department: 2821)
Communications: radio wave antennas
Antennas
Waterborne
C343S710000, C175S018000, C441S003000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195057
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to submarine radio antenna assemblies and is directed more particularly to an antenna assembly for deployment through an ice layer.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
When operating submerged under ice, a submarine cannot communicate with the outside world. To do so, it is necessary to project an antenna through the ice. There is thus a need for a means of projecting a submarine-based antenna through an ice layer for transmission of signals from the submarine to a satellite, for example, and on to a command post, and to receive signals therefrom.
It is known to provide an ice-penetrating submarine communication buoy which supports a spring steel tubular extendable mast which pushes an ice penetrator and antenna elements up through a tunnel drilled by the penetrator through up to several feet of ice. Upon break-through of the ice layer, the ice penetrator is explosively ejected and the rapidly-extending antenna is stopped at a selected distance, typically about 18 inches, above the surface of the ice. The conventional approach has been to use a spool fixed inside the buoy, with a tether wound on the spool and one end of the tether fixed to the spool and the end of the tether fixed to the top of the mast. A sensor in the buoy monitors the rotation of the spool and sends information to a microprocessor in an electronics compartment of the buoy. The microprocessor determines ice breakthrough by analyzing the change in the rate of spool rotation. The microprocessor commands an electromagnetic clutch to stop the spool rotation, thereby to hold the tether and stop upward movement of the mast. The microprocessor sends another signal to a squib disposed under the penetrator, to explode the squib to eject the penetrator from the mast.
The antenna deployment must be a fixed distance above the ice to provide proper radio transmission properties. It is deemed beneficial to provide for mast stoppage and antenna deployment without the use of squibs, and without the consumption of electrical power or use of micro-processors. Further, the antenna deployment mechanism must be rugged, compact and lightweight. The antenna elements must be locked in position to withstand wind loading while maintaining transmission characteristics.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a submarine antenna assembly for use in deployment through ice layers, wherein the assembly is operative to properly position the antenna components and remove the penetrator therefrom without requiring squibs or other explosive devices, and without requiring microprocessors, or other electrical power consuming components, for the proper deployment of the antenna elements.
A further object of the invention is to provide such an assembly as is reliable in operation, compact and lightweight, and rugged in construction.
A still further object is to provide such an assembly wherein the antenna elements, upon deployment, are locked in position to withstand high winds.
With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, a feature of the present invention is the provision of a submarine antenna assembly comprising a tubular body having a removable end cap at a first end thereof, a mast stowable in the body and extendible therefrom, the mast having elements pivotally mounted thereon, a penetrator stowable in the body nearer the end cap than the mast and movable out of the body by the extendible mast upon removal of the end cap, the penetrator being adapted to bore through an ice layer, and an inflatable ring stowable in the body proximate the end cap and movable out of the body by the extendible mast upon the removal of the end cap. First and second capsules in the body are proximate the end cap for retaining and releasing gas, the first capsule being adapted upon opening thereof to pressurize the body to blow off the end cap to permit movement of the mast, the ring, and penetrator out of body, and the second capsule being adapted upon opening thereof to inflate the ring to hold the penetrator in engagement with an undersurface of the ice layer. An electronics assembly is disposed in the body and includes message retention and transmitting means in communication with the mast, and timer means in communication with the capsules. A spool is mounted in the mast and adapted for rotation. A tether is wound on the spool and fixed at a first end to the spool and fixed at a second end to the body. A clutch means is engageable with the spool to stop rotation of the spool, whereby to stop paying out of the tether from the spool, the clutch means being activated, by the penetrator breaking through the layer of ice, to engage the spool.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the elements mounted on the mast comprise antenna elements and the clutch means is further engageable with the antenna elements to lock the antenna elements in an extended operative attitude.
The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular device embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4699222 (1987-10-01), Taylor
patent: 5116268 (1992-05-01), Eninger et al.
patent: 5319376 (1994-06-01), Eninger
Eninger James E.
Kan Samuel Kuo
Kornblith Jeffrey S.
Zamel James M.
Lall Prithvi C.
McGowan Michael J.
Oglo Michael F.
Phan Tho
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of
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