US3521589A

US3521589A - Underwater vessel

Info

Publication number: US3521589A
Application number: US800471A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frederick O Kemp
Original assignee: FREDERICK O KEMP
Current assignee: FREDERICK O KEMP
Priority date: 1969-02-19
Filing date: 1969-02-19
Publication date: 1970-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 1987-07-21

Description

`Iuly 21, 1970 F, 0, KEMP k3,521,589

UNDERWATER VESSEL Filed Feb. 19, 1969 l 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGA f /05 a* a J9 l r 67 7 s; NGA

i i i I 7 W i f3 i g g n l f l 9/ w3 .fx l

\\w f l n i" REBER/cfr l EMP k IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIQ BYMJEM UNDERWATER VESSEL Filed Feb. 19, 1969 FIGA 2 Sheets-v-Sheet L.

INVENTOR.

Faves/cx 0. KEMP BYgw ,u Y A05 W 4free/vens' United States Patent O ILS. Cl. 114-16 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF TiilE DISCLOSURE An underwater vessel comprising a shell having a pair of propelling and maneuvering devices mounted on opposite sides thereof. Each of the propelling devices includes a transversely extending hollow gooseneck, having an arm-receiving opening in one side thereof. An L-shaped arm assembly includes a hollow base portion extending coaxially through the gooseneck and a hollow secondary portion extending transversely of the base portion, geared thereto, and projecting through said armreceiving opening. The secondary arm section includes a drive shaft-receiving bore in its sidewall. A drive shaft assembly extends coaxially through the arm assembly and includes a segment which projects transversely of the secondary arm and out the drive shaft-receiving opening and mounts a propeller on its projecting end. Means are provided for rotating the gooseneck, primary arm, and drive shaft independently whereby the gooseneck may be rotated on a horizontal axis, the primary arm pivoted on an axis perpendicular to the horizontal axis, and the drive shaft rotated to drive the propeller.

A joy stick apparatus is provided for controlling the propelling devices and includes a mount having a slip bar carried for longitudinal movement thereon. A slide plate is carried on the slip bar for transverse movement and a gimbal collar is carried from the slide plate for rotation about a iirst axis and a joy stick is carried pivotally from the collar for rotation about a second axis. A control system includes potentiometers which are coupled with the slip bar, slide plate, collar and stick, whereby sliding of the slip bar or slide plate will adjust separate potentiometers to effect corresponding adjustment of the propelling devices and rotation of the gimbal collar, or the stick will effect corresponding adjustment of other potentiometers to effect additional control of the propelling devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates generally to underwater vessels and more particularly to precision control thereof.

Description of the prior art Presently known underwater vessels utilize rudders and elevators for maneuvering thus requiring linear motion in order to accomplish certain maneuvers. There are no -underwater vessels known to applicant which include propulsion devices having propellers which are rotatable into any selected orientation to provide propulsion of the vessel in any selected direction.

The objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of an underwater vessel embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational left end view of the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1;

ICC

FIG. 3 is a detail view of one of the propulsion devices included in the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view, in enlarged scale, taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a joy stick control apparatus which may be utilized with the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, partially broken away, View of a portion of the joy stick apparatus shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of a rst portion of an electrical system which may be utilized with the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a schematic of a second portion of the electrical system which may be utilized with the underwater vessel shown in FIG. l;

FIG. l0 is a schematic of a third portion of the electrical system which may be utilized with the underwater vessel shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 11 is a schematic of a fourth portion of the electrical system which may .be utilized with the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a modification of the underwater vessel shown in FIG. 1 and depicting an analog computer in the control system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the underwater vessel of present invention includes a cabin defining shell 13 having propulsion devices, generally designated 15 and 17, mounted on opposite sides thereof, and propulsion devices 18 and 19 mounted on opposite ends thereof. With continued reference to FIG. 4, the propulsion devices 15 and 17 each includea hollow L-shaped gooseneck, generally designated 21. A hollow base arm 25 and a transversely extending hollow secondary arm 27 are carried in the gooseneck 21 and are geared together. The secondary arm 27 includes a transversely extending drive shaft-receiving bore 31 in its projecting extremity (FIG. 5) and a drive shaft assembly, generally designated 37, projects coaxially through the primary and

secondary arms

25 and 27 and extends out the bore 31 to mount a propeller 39. Thus, the gooseneck 21 may be rotated to swivel the propeller 39 about a horizontal axis, the primary and

secondary arms

25 and 27, respectively, rotated to pivot the propeller 39 about an axis extending perpendicular to the horizontal axis and the drive shaft 37 rotated to drive the propeller 39.

Referring to FIG. 2, the propelling devices 15 and 17 are controlled by the joy stick apparatus, generally designated 45, which has six

potentiometers

47, 49, 51, 53, 55 and 57 for orienting the propulsion devices 15 and 17 and controlling the speed of

propellers

39 and 41.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the goosenecks 21 include base portions 61 which extend laterally of the shell 13 and have perpendicular necks 63 which are formed with openings 59 in their ends. The inner ends of the base portions 61 are formed with external ring gears 65 which mesh with drive gears 67 driven by respective drive motors 69 (FIG. 12).

The base arms 25 are formed on their inner extremities with external ring gears 71 which are driven by drive gears 73 that are, in turn, driven by drive motors 75 (FIG, 8). The outer extremities of the base arms 25 are formed with bevel gears 79 which mesh with bevel gears 81 carried on the inner extremities of the transversely extending secondary arms 27. The outer extremities of the secondary arms 27 are formed with laterally projecting bosses 85, in the ends of which the drive shaft-receiving bores 31 are formed.

The drive shaft assemblies 37 include base shafts 91 having pinions 93 on their inner extremities which are driven by pinions 95 carried on the drive shafts of drive motors 97 (FIG. 9). The outer ends of the base shafts 91 are formed with bevel gears 101 which mesh with bevel gears 103 formed by the inner extremities of transversely extending secondary drive shafts 105. The outer extremities of the secondary drive shafts 105 are likewise formed with bevel gears 107 (FIG. 5) which mesh with bevel gears 109 formed by the inner extremity of a drive shaft segment 111 mounting the respective propellers 39 on their projecting ends.

The propulsion devices 18 and 19 located on each end of the shell 13 include housings which mount horizontally disposed propellers 39 that are driven by reversible motors whereby such propellers may be driven in one direction to provide lift to the vessel and may be reversed to lower the vessel.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the control apparatus 45 comprises a pair of parallel, longitudinal mounting bars 115 and 117 carried from the structure of the shell 13 and formed with longitudinal slots 119 and 121. A pair of parallel transverse slide bars 123 and 125 are supported on the mounts 115 and 117 by means of followers 127 which are received in the respective longitudinal slots 119 and 121. The transverse slide bars 123 and 125 are formed with respective transverse slots 131 and 133 which receive followers 137 that mount a slide plate 139.

A pair of upright brackets 141 and 143 are mounted on the slide plate 139 and rotatably support the outer extremities of a pair of

transverse support pins

147 and 149 that are affixed on their inner ends to opposite sides of a gimbal collar 151. The gimbal collar 151 rotatably supports the opposite ends of a longitudinal pivot pin 153 which carries a joy stick coupling 155. Received telescopically in the upper end of the joy stick coupling 155 is a joy stick 157 which is keyed against rotation by a key 159. A hollow handle 161, which is keyed against vertical movement by key 167, is received rotatably over the upper end of the joy stick 157 and has a push button 163 mounted in its upper end. A dead mans, or safety switch, 165 is coupled with the lower end of the push button 163 for discontinuing power to the control whenever the button 163 is not depressed.

FIG. 8 depicts electrical circuitry which may be ernployed with the propulsion devices and 17 and control apparatus 45 of present invention for controlling the motors 75 driving gear 73 and positioning boss 85. The

simplified circuitry shown includes a battery 171 connected across the end wipers of potentiometer 49 and also across a resistance 173. The resistance 173 is center tapped and connected to one side of each of the drive motors 75 of the devices 15 and 17 by means of leads 175 and 177. The other sides of such motors are connected with the center wiper of the potentiometer 49 through power amplifier 197 by means of

leads

181 and 183 such that the two motors 75 are connected in parallel. A conventional feedback system 199 detects the angular rotation of the secondary arm 27 and feds such information back into the potentiometer 49 to avoid overshoot and insure rapid assumption of the desired position.

FIG. 9 depicts the portion of electrical circuit which may be utilized for controlling the motors 97 of devices 15 and 17 that drive the drive shaft assemblies 37, such circuitry including the

potentiometers

47 and 57 with a battery 191 connected thereacross. The wiper of the potentiometer 47 is connected through power amplifier 197 to the adjacent terminals of the motors 97 and the wipers of the double ganged potentiometer 57 are connected through power amplifiers 197 to the opposite terminals of such motors 97. Potentiometer 47 alone provides for longitudinal movement and is also used in conjunction with potentiometer 49 for lateral motion and potentiometer 53 (FIG. 12) for roll movement. Potentiometer 57 is used for yaw movement.

FIG. l2 schematically depicts an analog computer 195 which may be utilized with the control system shown in FIG. 6, the output of the

potentiometers

47, 49, 51, 53, 55 and 57 providing an input to such computer and the output from the computer 195 being fed through respective amplifiers-197 to the

drive motors

69, 75, 97 and 99.

Feedback loops

199 and 201 are also included for preventing overshooting and assuring accurate control.

FIG. l0 depicts electrical circuitry which may be utilized for controlling the motors 99 of devices 18 and 19 that drive the propellers 41, such circuitry including the

potentiometers

51 and 55, power amplifiers 197 and a battery 189 connected thereacross. The wiper of potentiometer 55 is connected through power amplifier 197 to the adjacent terminals of the motors 99 and the wipers of the double ganged potentiometer 51 are connected through power amplifies 197 to the opposite terminals of such motors 99. Potentiometer 55 provides for vertical movement and potentiometer 51 provides for pitch movement.

FIG. 11 depicts electrical circuitry which may be employed with propulsion devices 15 and 17 and the control apparatus 45 of present invention for controlling the motors 69 driving gear 67 and positioning gooseneck 21. The simplified circuitry shown includes a battery 193 connected across the end wipers of potentiometer 53 and resistance 203. The resistance 203 is center tapped to form a bridge circuit and is connected to adjacent terminals of the motors 69. The center wiper of potentiometer 53 is connected through power amplifier 197 to opposite sides of motors 69. A conventional feedback system 201 detects the angular motion of the gooseneck 21 and feeds such information back into the potentiometer 53 to avoid overshoot and insure rapid assumption of the desired gooseneck 21 position.

In operation, the control apparatus 45 will have all its components biased to their neutral position wherein the side propulsion devices 15' and 17 will be facing rearwardly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the end propulsion devices 18 and 19 will be facing upwardly as shown in FIG. l. When the vessel is to be maneuvered, the dead mans button 163 is depressed to close the switch 165 and provide power to bridge circuit which control the drive motors 97. The vessel may be caused to move directly forward by the operator grasping the handle 161 and sliding the slide bars 123 and 125 forward on the mounting bars and 117 to adjust the potentiometer 47 to its more positive position thus unbalancing the corresponding bridge and causing the propellers 39 on the side propulsion devices 15 and 17 to rotate in their forward direction to drive the vessel forward.

To cause the vessel to move sideways, the operator will move the handle 161 to the right or left, depending on the direction desired, to cause the slide plate 139 to likewise move to the right or left on the slide bars 123 and 125 thus adjusting the lateral adjustment potentiometer 49 and unbalancing the corresponding bridge. Such bridge unbalance causes the motor 75 to rotate the drive pinion 73 (FIG. 4) thus rotating the respective base arms 25 thereby causing the secondary arms 27 to rotate and reorienting the propellers 39 to face to the right or left, as desired. It will be clear that the amount of wiper movement in the potentiometer 49 will cause a proportionate amount of rotation of the arm 27 to provide a corresponding amount of swing for the propeller 39 and that the feedback signal through the loop 199 will cancel the command signal when the desired adjustment is attained. Without the analog computer, the operator must also move the handle 161 forward or rearward to adjust potentiometer 47 causing propellers 39 to rotate.

To cause the vessel to move vertically, the handle 161 is raised or lowered to cause the stick 157 to correspondingly raise or lower within the housing 155 thereby adjusting the potentiometer 55 to unbalance a corresponding bridge and drive the motors 99 of the end propulsion devices 18 and 19 to cause such devices to rotate their respective propellers 41 in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction as dictated by the initial movement of the stick 157 to propel the vessel upward or downward (FIG.

As best shown in FIG. 11, to cause the vessel to roll, the stick 157 is pivoted to the right or left to adjust the potentiometer 53 thereby providing a signal to cause goosenecks 21 of the propulsion devices 15 and 17 to assume the desired reciprocal orientation. Without the analog computer, the operator must move the handle 161 forward or rearward to adjust potentiometer 47 causing the respective propellers 39 to rotate thereby placing the vessel in the desired roll. Feedback loop 201 rebalances the bridge circuit providing a null signal to motor 69 thereby proportionately displacing the position of gooseneck 21 the desired amount. If gooseneck 21 of device moved upward, then gooseneck 21 of device 17 moved downward a proportional amount.

The vessel is caused to pitch or rotate about a transverse horizontal axis by pivoting the stick 157 forwardly or rearwardly to adjust the potentiometer 51 to provide the desired signal to cause one of the end propellers 41 on propulsion devices 18 and 19 to push upwardly and the other to push downwardly (FIG. 10).

The vessel is caused to yaw, or rotate about a vertical axis, by rotating the handle 161 on the stick 157 to adjust the potentiometer 57 thus providing an actuating signal to cause one of the side propellers 39 on propulsion devices 15 and 17 to push and the other to pull to accomplish the yaw maneuver desired (FIG. 9).

From the foregoing it will be clear that the propulsion devices of present invention provide means for precision movement in any direction of an underwater vessel. The control system enables the operator to conveniently orient the propulsion devices to accomplish maneuvers with comparatively great precision and, by employing the computer, such maneuvering may be accomplished blind and with greater accuracy and ease. Travel in any combination of directions can be accomplished by merely manipulating the joy stick apparatus to initiate the appropriate combination of command signals.

Various :modifications and changes may be made with regard to the foregoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An underwater vessel, comprising:

a shell;

a pair of propelling devices mounted on oppsite sides of said shell, said devices each including a gooseneck pivotable about a horizontal axis and formed with a horizontal passage having an opening in one side thereof, an arm assembly including a hollow base arm disposed in said passage and a hollow secondary arm projecting transversely of said horizontal arm, through said opening and being formed on one side with a drive shaft-receiving bore means coupling said base and secondary arms together, each of said devices also including coupled-together drive shaft sections projecting through said horizontal and vertical arms and a segment projecting transversely of said secondary arm and out said bore, and a 6 propeller mounted on the propecting end of said segment; and

drive means to independently rotate said respective goosenecks and arms to orient said propellers and to turn said drive shaft to drive said propellers whereby said propellers may be oriented to drive said vessel in any direction.

2. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 1 that includes: elevator devices mounted at opposite ends of said shell and including a drive shaft, a propeller connected with said drive shaft and reversible drive means for driving said drive shaft.

3. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 1 wherein: said goosenecks include transversely projecting necks having said openings formed in the end thereof.

4. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 1 that include:

joy stick apparat-us including a mount aixed to said shell, a slip bar carried on said mount for longitudinal movement thereon, a gimbal collar carried pivotally from said plate for rotation about a first axis, a joy stick carried pivotally from said collar for rotation about a second axis; and

electrical control means including a rst control element coupled with said slip bar and responsive to movement thereof to orient said propelling devices for propelling said vessel longitudinally, a second control element coupled with said collar and responsive to rotation thereof to orient said propelling devices for pitching said vessel, a third control element coupled with said stick and responsive to rotation thereof to orient said propelling device for rolling said vessel.

5. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 4 wheresaid joy stick apparatus includes a handle rotatably mounted on said joy stick; and

said control means includes a fourth control element coupled with said handle and responsive to rotation thereof to cause said vessel to yaw.

6. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 4 wheresaid joy stick apparatus includes a slide plate interposed between said slide bar and said collar for transverse sliding on said bar; and

said control means includes a fth control element coupled with said slide plate and rseponsive to movement thereof to orient said propelling devices for propelling said vessel laterally.

7. An underwater vessel as set forth in claim 4 wherein:

said joy stick apparatus includes a coupling carried by said collar and telescopically receiving said stick; and

said control means includes a control element coupled with said stick and responsive to raising and lowering thereof to orient said propelling devices to raise and lower said vessel.

References Cited UNITED STATES `PATENTS 2,291,940 8/ 1942 Babcoke 114-16 3,356,055 12/1967 Link 114-16 TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. --35