GB2470710A

GB2470710A - Method and apparatus for defence against persons intruding underwater

Info

Publication number: GB2470710A
Application number: GB0624764A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Detlef Lambertus
Original assignee: Atlas Elektronik GmbH
Current assignee: Atlas Elektronik GmbH
Priority date: 2005-12-23
Filing date: 2006-12-12
Publication date: 2010-12-08
Also published as: DE102005062109A1; FR2916292A1; GB0624764D0

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are specified for defence against persons, such as divers, swimmers, combat swimmers 12 and the like intruding into an underwater security zone 13 in which, in order to quickly, precisely and effectively impede a person who is approaching the security zone 13 and who represents a potential risk of intrusion, the person is detected and is tracked on his way to the security zone 13. On identification of probable intrusion into the security zone 13, an unmanned underwater vehicle 22, p which is equipped with defensive means (23)fig 3 is moved to an expected area 58 and the person being tracked is localized in the expected area 58 from the underwater vehicle 22 and at least one defensive means (23)fig 3 is used against the person being tracked.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DEFENCE AGAINST PERSONS

INTRUDING UNDERWATER

The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for defence against persons, such as divers, swimmers, combat swimmers and the like intruding into an underwater security zone.

In one known method for detection and indication of the intrusion of a swimmer into a secure water area above a bridge (US 3 740 704), a CW signal is transmitted into the water by means of a sonar, and the Doppler frequencies contained in the received signal are evaluated, in order to achieve a high detection probability and a low false alarm rate. The evaluation is carried out by means of bandpass filters, whose bandwidth is governed by speed ranges of different underwater attackers. The levels which occur within a speed range or frequency range are compared with a threshold, and produce an alarm signal, which is indicated audibly and visually, if the threshold is exceeded.

Attackers being tracked normally have combat swimmers deployed against them, who prevent the attacker from penetrating any further. It is also known for so-called diver-defence grenades to be thrown, which disorientate the swimmer or diver by their acoustic bang that is produced on detonation, and the initiation of pressure shock waves associated with this.

The invention is based on the object of specifying a method and an apparatus for defence against persons, such as divers, swimmers, combat swimmers and the like intruding into an underwater security zone, by means of which a person who represents a potential intrusion risk can be quickly, precisely and effectively prevented from intrusion or further penetration.

In the case of the defensive method, the object is achieved according to the invention by the features in Claim 1, and in the case of the defensive apparatus, it is achieved by the features in Claim 10.

The method according to the invention and the apparatus according to the invention have the advantage that, after a person who is approaching the security zone has been detected, his path or track is tracked continuously, and the level of the resultant potential intrusion can be determined by evaluation of the track. At the same time, it is possible to use the track to predict when and where the person being tracked will reach the security zone, thus initiating deployment of the underwater vehicle at the appropriate time, with the underwater vehicle being moved to a predicted expected area. In the expected area, the person being tracked is localized from the underwater vehicle, and defensive means are used specifically against the person being tracked in order to prevent that person from penetrating further. The use of the defensive means in this case follows the principle of reasonableness, in which the escalation levels of the selected defensive means extend from just a warning via shock production, non-lethal injuries up to killing of the person being tracked. The underwater vehicle is not destroyed during this process, and can be retrieved after carrying out its defensive mission. The defensive means can be fitted individually to the underwater vehicle, and can be matched to the regulations for different national legal environments.

Expedient embodiments of the method according to the invention, together with advantageous developments and refinements of the invention, are specified in the further Claims 2 to 9.

Expedient embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention for carrying out the method, together with advantageous developments and refinements of the invention, are specified in the further Claims 11 to 19.

The invention will be described in more detail in the following text with reference to one exemplary embodiment, which is illustrated in the drawing, in which: Figure 1 shows a plan view of a scenario in order to explain the method for defence against persons intruding into an underwater security zone, Figure 2 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for defence against persons intruding into an underwater security zone, Figure 3 shows a perspective view of an underwater vehicle for the defensive apparatus in Figure 2, Figures 4 and 5 each show an enlarged perspective illustration of the defensive effectors carried by the underwater vehicle as shown in Figure 3, and Figures 6 and 7 each show a schematic sectional illustration of a further defensive effector, which can be connected to the underwater vehicle as shown in Figure 3, in the transport state (Figure 6) and in the operational state (Figure 7).

By way of example, Figure 1 shows a schematic plan view of a scenario in which the aim is to protect a depot for submarines 11, which has been set up on a coastal bay 10, against being reconnoitred and destroyed by divers or combat swimmers 12 intruding underwater. A security zone 13 is declared around the depot for submarines 11 in the coastal bay 10, and is defined by a zone boundary 14 which passes across the coastal bay 10. An apparatus for defence against persons such as divers, swimmers or combat swimmers 12 intruding from the sea under water is installed in the security zone 13, by means of which the bay area around the security zone 13 is monitored underwater. and defensive measures are implemented to prevent a person who has been detected from crossing the zone boundary 14.

The apparatus has an active sonar 15 which is arranged such that it can acoustically scan the entire underwater area around and in the security zone 13. If the areas to be monitored are relatively large, a plurality of active sonars are placed at various points, so that the underwater area is acoustically monitored without any gaps. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1, two active sonars 15 are arranged close to the two coast lines, with their monitoring areas being superimposed somewhat in the centre of the bay, and thus covering the underwater area around the security zone 13 without any gaps. In a known manner, each active sonar 15 has a sound transmitter which emits sound pulses into the water by means of an underwater antenna 16 (Figure 2), and a sound receiver, which receives sound waves scattered back from the sea area, by means of the underwater antenna 16. The sound transmitter and receiver are indicated symbolically in Figure 2 by the block 17.

An object which appears in the monitoring zone, such as someone approaching underwater, is detected, and the position of the detected object is determined continuously, in a known manner by means of suitable signal processing in the signal processing block 18 of the sonar data obtained from the two sonars 15, so that a track 19 is obtained from the successive positions, and is represented symbolically by dots in Figure 1. The position data is supplied to a control console 20 and is visualized for an operator on a display 21 on the control console 20. In this case, the instantaneous position of the person being tracked, which is always characterized by the front end of the track 19, is particularly annotated.

The defensive apparatus has at least one unmanned, remotely controllable underwater vehicle 22, which is equipped with defensive means 23, so-called effectors. The underwater vehicle 22 is linked to the control console 20 via a thin glass-fibre cable 24, which is unwound from a supply reel 25 and from a further supply reel at the stern of the underwater vehicle 22 during the movement of the underwater vehicle 22. The glass-fibre cable 24 is used on the one hand to transmit steering signals to the underwater vehicle 22, and on the other hand for communication between the underwater vehicle 22 and the control console 20. The position of the underwater vehicle 22 is determined continuously by means of an APS 26 (acoustic positioning system), and appropriate steering corrections are carried out on the underwater vehicle 22, via the control console 20, by means of the steering data output means 27 provided there. The APS 26 has, in a known manner, a transponder 28 arranged on the underwater vehicle 22, and a fixed-position hydrophone arrangement 29, whose electrical output signals are evaluated for position-finding in the control console 20. All of the electronic components of the defensive apparatus are combined in a monitoring station 30 (Figure 1), while the underwater vehicles 22 are accommodated in a land-based vehicle depot 31, and are deployed into the water when required by means of the deployment appliance 32. The deployment appliances 32 are activated from the monitoring station 30 via command output means 33 on the control console 20.

The underwater vehicle 22 is illustrated in perspective form in Figure 3. The vehicle has a pressure body 34 in which energy storage devices and electronic components are accommodated in a watertight manner. The vehicle-end supply reel for the glass-fibre cable 24, which cannot be seen here, is arranged at the stern of the pressure body 34. Steering and propulsion means, stabilization fins 35 and the transponder 28 are arranged on the outside of the pressure body 34. The steering and propulsion means comprise a total of four electrical propeller drives 36, which are accommodated in elongated propulsion tubes 37 that are attached to the pressure body 34. The electric motors for the propeller drives 36 are integrated in the rear part of the propulsion tubes 37, and the propellers 38 are arranged at the rear end of the propulsion tubes 37, at a distance from them. The front ends of the propulsion tubes 37 are open and are designed for the insertion of defensive means 23 or effectors and/or of localization means, for example a TV camera 39 and illumination device 40. A short-range sonar 41 is provided as a further localization means, and is arranged in the bow of the pressure body 34. 1.

A supply of different effectors is available in the defensive means 23 with which the underwater vehicle 22 can be equipped. In this case, the underwater vehicle 22 is preferably fitted with those defensive means 23 which can be used for defence against a person approaching the security zone 13, in rising escalation levels with increasing alarm or attack effect. If the underwater vehicle 22 is not fitted with the localization means comprising the TV camera 39 and the illumination device 40, then a total of four different effectors can be fitted to the underwater vehicle 22.

In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 3, the underwater vehicle 22 is fitted with two defensive means 23 or effectors, which are inserted in the end of the propulsion tubes 37 and at the same time close the open ends of the propulsion tubes 37 such that they are watertight. The two effectors or defensive means 23 in Figure 3 comprise an electric-shock appliance 42, which is shown enlarged in a perspective and partially sectioned illustration in Figure 5, and a firearm 43, also referred to as a shot effector, which is shown enlarged in a perspective and partially sectioned illustration in Figure 4. The two effectors have a housing 44 with a cylindrical housing part 441 for insertion into the propulsion tube 37, and with a swan-neck contact pole 442, which continues integrally from the cylindrical housing part 441 and, once it has been fitted to the underwater vehicle 22, projects well beyond its bow.

The cylindrical housing part 441 is provided with a sealing ring 50, which is pressed against the inner wall of the propulsion tube 37.

Two electrodes 45 are arranged at the front end of the contact pole 442 of the electric-shock appliance 42 (Figure 5), on which high-voltage pulses are produced by contact with a person being tracked. For this purpose, an energy store in the form of batteries or rechargeable-battery cells 46, and electrics 47 for generation of the high-voltage pulses, are arranged in the cylindrical housing part 441. Alternatively, the electrical energy for the high-voltage pulses can also be taken from the power supply in the underwater vehicle 22.

A shotgun cartridge 48 which is arranged in the cylindrical housing part 441 of the firearm 43 shown in Figure 4 is fired as soon as a contact pin 49, which projects at the front end of the contact pole 442, is pushed in by direct contact with the person being tracked. The shotgun charge 48 that is then fired leads to injuries to that person which, depending on the shotgun charge used, extend from bodily injuries to fatality. Alternatively, the firearm 46 can also be initiated by an electrical fuze, with the fuzing time being defined by the operator on the control console 20, and the initiation command being initiated by the operator via one of the command output means 33.

A further defensive means 23 is illustrated schematically in Figures 6 and 7.

The defensive means 23, which is referred to as "fire flash" once again has a housing 51, which is designed to be inserted into the front end of a propulsion tube 37. A pressure vessel 52, which is filled with a gas which can be ignited, and a folded-up elastic balloon 53 are arranged in the housing 51. The balloon 53 is connected to the pressure vessel 52, and an electrically controllable opening valve 55 is arranged in the connecting line 54. An electrical firing pin 56 is arranged on the balloon 53. The opening valve 55 and the electrical firing pin 56 are actuated by electronics 57. When this defensive means 23 is used, the operator uses the control console 20 to pass an activation command via one of the command output means 33 to the electronics 57. The opening valve 55 opens, and the gas which can be ignited flows out of the pressure vessel 52 into the balloon 53, and inflates it, as illustrated in Figure 7. The firing pin 56 is actuated with a time delay and ignites the gas which can be ignited, as a result of which the balloon 53 bursts, with a flame being produced. The formation of the flame and the pressure wave caused by the bursting of the balloon 53 warn the intruding person, without causing lethal injuries to him.

A further defensive means 23, which is not illustrated here, has a very small explosive charge which is detonated electrically. The sound effect and the shock wave produced by the detonation likewise result in a warning which can be sensed by the intruder, indicating to the intruder that he is at risk if he goes any further.

Using the apparatus as described above, the method by means of which a person, for example the combat swimmer 12 illustrated in Figure 1, who is approaching the security zone 13, is intended to be prevented from moving further towards the security zone 13 or even intruding in it, is carried out as follows: A combat swimmer 12 -as illustrated in Figure 1 -who is approaching the security zone 13 is detected by means of the active sonar 15 and is tracked as he continues in the direction of the security zone 13, that is to say his position is measured continuously. The resultant track 19 in this case is shown on the display 21 on the control console 20 (Figure 2), so that an operator can visually track the swimming path travelled by the combat swimmer 12. The operator uses the track l9to predict the probability of the combat swimmer 12 detected intruding into the security zone 13. If the nature of the track 19 indicates probable intrusion, an expected area 58 is calculated, through which the combat swimmer 12 being tracked is predicted to pass. The operator now uses one of the command output means 33 to activate an underwater vehicle 22 in the vehicle depot 31, with this underwater vehicle 22 being that which is equipped with the defensive means 23 which appear to the operator to be most suitable on the basis of the hazard situation for defence against the combat swimmer 12 who has been located. The selected underwater vehicle 22 is deployed into the water by means of a deployment appliance 32, and is steered to the expected area 58, whose coordinates have been calculated. The route of the underwater vehicle 22 towards the expected area 58 is visualized on the display 21 by using the APS 26 to continuously find the position of the underwater vehicle 22, and this is displayed on the display 21 as the vehicle track 59. The operator uses the steering data output means 27 to make corrections to the vehicle course, with the steering data being transmitted via the glass-fibre cable 24. The underwater vehicle 22 is steered by varying the rotation speed of the individual propeller drives 36 (Figure 3).

In the expected area 58, the combat swimmer 12 is localized and possibly identified by means of the short-range sonar 41 and/or the TV camera 39 (Figure 3). Corresponding localization and identification data is transmitted via the glass-fibre cable 24 to the control console 20, where it is processed and shown on the display 21. The operator can now steer the underwater vehicle 22 into an alignment with respect to the combat swimmer 12 that is advantageous for the defensive measures, so that the defensive means 23 can be used optimally. The operator determines the time of initiation of the defensive means 23, and their sequence, via the command output means 33.

The choice of the defensive means 23 and the sequence of their use take place in different escalation levels, with the degree of danger to the combat swimmer 12 being raised in each level. For example, the "fire flash" as shown in Figures 6 and 7 is initiated first of all, thus warning the combat swimmer 12 against continuing to swim in this direction. If the combat swimmer 12 cannot be dissuaded in this way, then the electric-shock appliance 42 (Figure 5) is used in the next escalation level. For this purpose, the underwater vehicle 22 is moved against the combat swimmer 12, so that the electrodes 45 touch the combat swimmer 12 one or more times. The electric shocks initiated in this way are intended to cause the combat swimmer 12 to give up his aim of intrusion into the security zone 13, and to change the direction in which he is swimming. In the extreme, the combat swimmer 12 can be injured by use of the firearm 43 such that he can no longer carry out his task.

Once the defensive process has been ended successfully, the underwater vehicle 22 is driven back to the vehicle depot 31 by the operator, where it is once again refitted with the defensive means 23 that have been consumed, and is fitted in the deployment appliance 32 for use again.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMSMethod for defence against persons, such as divers, swimmers, combat swimmers (12) and the like intruding into an underwater security zone (13), having the foHowing method steps; -a person who is approaching the security zone (13) is detected and is tracked on his way to the security zone (13), -on identification of probable intrusion into the security zone (13), an unmanned underwater vehicle (22) which is equipped with defensive means (23) is moved to an expected area (58) which it is predicted that the person being tracked will pass through, and -in the expected area (58), the person being tracked is localized by the underwater vehicle (22) and at least one defensive means (23) is used against the person being tracked, with this defensive means (23) being matched to the potential intrusion risk originating from the person being tracked.
2. Method according to Claim 1, in which the use of the defensive means (23) is implemented in various escalation levels, with an increasing degree of danger to the person being tracked.
3. Method according to Claim 2, in which a plurality of defensive means (23) are used successively from the underwater vehicle (22), with the first defensive means (23) representing a warning for the person being tracked, and each further defensive means (23) initiating an injury to the person being tracked, with an increasing degree of injury.
4. Method according to Claim 3, in which the use of each further defensive means (23) is made dependent on the reaction of the person being tracked to the previously used defensive means (23).
5. Method according to Claim 3 or 4, in which a small explosive charge is used as the first defensive means, in order to produce a detonation sound and a detonation pressure wave.
6. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 5, in which an ignitable gas mixture, which is enclosed in a casing which can be detonated, an electric-shock appliance (42) and an underwater firearm (43) with a selectable calibre are used, preferably in the stated sequence, as further defensive means (23).
7. Method according to one of Claims 3 to 6, in which, after each defensive means (23) is used, the behaviour of the person being tracked is observed, and the decision on the next defensive means (23) is then made.
8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, in which the track (19) of the detected person is used to predict the probability of his intrusion into the security zone (13), and to calculate the expected area (58).
9. Method according to one of Claims I to 8, in which the detection and tracking of the person who is approaching the security zone (13) are carried out by means of at least one sonar (15), and the localization of the person being tracked is carried out by means of a short-range sonar (41), which is fitted to the underwater vehicle (22), and/or by means of a TV camera (39).
10. Apparatus for defence against persons such as divers, swimmers, combat swimmers (12) and the like intruding into an underwater security zone (13), -having at least one sonar (15) for detection and tracking of a person who is approaching the security zone (13), -having an unmanned, remotely controllable, underwater vehicle (22) which is equipped with means for localization of the person being tracked and with defensive means (23) which can be used against the person tracked, -having a control console (20) which has a steering and command data output means (27, 33), -having a communication line between the control console (20) and the underwater vehicle (22) in order to transmit localization data from the underwater vehicle (22) to the control console (20) and in order to transmit steering and command data from the control console (20) to the underwater vehicle (22), and -having a display (21) in order to display the track (19) and the localization data.
11. Apparatus according to Claim 10, in which the defensive means (23) have a pressure vessel (52), which is filled with a gas which can be ignited, an elastic balloon (53) which can be inflated with the gas, and an electrical fuze (56) which is arranged on the balloon (53).
12. Apparatus according to Claim 10 or 11, in which the defensive means (23) have a, preferably small-volume, explosive charge which can be detonated electrically.
13. Apparatus according to one of Claims 10 to 12, in which the defensive means (23) have an electric-shock appliance (42).
14. Apparatus according to one of Claims 10 to 13, in which the defensive means (23) have a firearm (43).
15. Apparatus according to Claim 14, in which the firearm (43) can be initiated by touching contact or, without contact, via an electrical signal which is emitted from the control console (20).
16. Apparatus according to one of Claims 10 to 15, in which the underwater vehicle (22) has a pressure body (34), and the defensive means (23) are fitted interchangeably to the pressure body (34).
17. Apparatus according to Claim 16, in which propulsion tubes (37) which hold propeller drives (36) are arranged on the pressure body (34), and the defensive means (23) are arranged in the front part, facing away from the propeller drive (36), of at least one of the propulsion tubes (37).
18. Apparatus according to one of Claims 10 to 17, in which the localization means on the underwater vehicle (22) have a short-range sonar (41).
19. Apparatus according to one of Claims 10 to 18, in which the localization means on the underwater vehicle (22) have an underwater camera (39) and an illumination device (40).