WO1998038084A1 - Underwater viewing vessel - Google Patents
Underwater viewing vessel Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1998038084A1 WO1998038084A1 PCT/AU1998/000132 AU9800132W WO9838084A1 WO 1998038084 A1 WO1998038084 A1 WO 1998038084A1 AU 9800132 W AU9800132 W AU 9800132W WO 9838084 A1 WO9838084 A1 WO 9838084A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- pod
- viewing
- hull
- vessel
- floating portion
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
- B63C11/00—Equipment for dwelling or working underwater; Means for searching for underwater objects
- B63C11/48—Means for searching for underwater objects
- B63C11/49—Floating structures with underwater viewing devices, e.g. with windows ; Arrangements on floating structures of underwater viewing devices, e.g. on boats
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
- B63C11/00—Equipment for dwelling or working underwater; Means for searching for underwater objects
- B63C11/34—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base
- B63C11/36—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base of closed type
- B63C11/38—Diving chambers with mechanical link, e.g. cable, to a base of closed type with entrance above water surface
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a monohull watercraft which incorporates a submersible pod to enable underwater viewing.
- Australian Patent No. 569.919 discloses a submersible craft which includes three hulls which are interconnected by lever systems. One of the hulls is submersible with
- Australian Patent No. 644 152 discloses a twin hull craft with a submersible cabin movable between a raised and submersed position between the hulls.
- the submersible cabin has upward extension to enable access to and from the catamaran at all times.
- the present invention seeks to provide all the advantages of the system disclosed in Australian Patent No. 644, 152 with the advantages provided by a monohull design and certain additional benefits.
- the present invention provides, in one aspect, a monohull watercraft having a floating portion and a selectively deployable viewing pod positioned within the floating portion and movable through an opening in a hull of the floating portion to a first deployed position at least part way outside the hull and second position wherein the
- viewing pod is within the hull of the floating portion, and means for sealingly closing
- the pod being constructed to allow
- said viewing pod is provided with means which allow passenger access
- said means for sealingly closing said opening comprises a portion of said viewing pod which sealingly engages said opening in said second position.
- the craft is provided with forward, sideways and aft propulsion means.
- the vessel is provided with a precision satellite positioning system (GPS)
- the watercraft is preferably a high-speed transit craft having a top speed of 25-35+ knots with the viewing pod only being deployed when the craft is travelling at low speeds of the order of 2 knots.
- Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a water craft according to one aspect of the
- Figure 2 is an end elevation view of the craft of Figure 1;
- Figure 3 is a plan view of the craft of Figure 1 ;
- Figure 4 is end sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1 with the viewing pod
- FIG. 5 is end sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1 with the viewing pod
- Figure 6 is sectional plan view of the craft of Figure 4 taken on line 6-6;
- Figure 7 is sectional plan view of the craft of Figure 4 taken on line 7-7;
- Figure 8 is a isometric view of the stairway arrangement for access to the viewing
- Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the sealing arrangement between the viewing pod and the hull of the floating portion of the craft of Figure 1; and Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing the hydraulic rams used for raising and lowering the viewing pod.
- the vessel 10 is fairly conventional in nature having a monohull 1 1 and upper
- the cabin or pod 14 sits generally in the middle of the vessel's hull 11 and is raised and lowered within a cavity 15 in the hull 11.
- the pod 14 has a stairway
- the lower part of the pod has a pair of wings 17 extending outwardly around the periphery of the base of the pod 14 which serve to close off the cavity 15 within the hull 1 1 when the pod 14 is raised to its retracted position as shown in Figure 4.
- a seal arrangement which will be described later, seals the cavity 15 when the pod
- wings 17 serve to provide a smooth, continuous, planing
- the viewing pod 14 needs no additional ballast, in the preferred embodiment, and
- the vessel 10 In the fully retracted and locked position, the vessel 10 is a conventional hard
- chine planing craft with speed determined by size of engines chosen for propulsion to overcome hull drag in seaway conditions.
- the vessel 10 In the fully extended and locked down position, the vessel 10 becomes a semi-
- doors 22, 23 that preclude access in any other position, to protect passengers during their
- a pair of doors 22, 23 are provided at each forward and aft stairwell 20, 21.
- One door of the pair 23 being located at a higher level and being used
- the viewer pod 14 would accommodate 25% of the maximum total
- the seal arrangement comprise a moulded neopreneTM (or similar material) seal 25 mounted on in the inner wall 26 of the cavity 15 and extending around the periphery of the cavity 15.
- An upper internal surface 27 of the wings 17 bears against the seal 25 when the pod 14 is raised and locked.
- the retracted viewer pod 14 desirably effects a
- the novel and protected seal 25 is designed to minimise water wear at high
- the extended viewer pod or cabin 14 is buoyant and in one form needs to be counterbalanced by taking on board ballast water to allow vessel to maintain trim, stability and waterline level.
- the ballast water is typically pumped into tanks 29 prior to
- Ballast tanks 29 are always filled with
- a depth sounder with forward ranging sensor to alert bridge of shallow water and approaching bomboras.
- the vessel can also be provided with automatic control of position which enables the vessel to automatically "maintain/hold station " via the digital global
- passengers may use the after dive platform of the vessel for in- water sports.
- the vessel can therefore provide passengers a superior underwater viewing experience in a shorter time, with a minimum of transfers, at a lower cost, with greater
- the present invention seeks to provide, at least in its preferred embodiments, a monohull watercraft combining high speed passenger transit to offshore reefs, with a capability of slow speed navigation of these reefs with an underwater viewing chamber projected from the monohull so as to effect minimal environmental impact on delicate
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
CA002287320A CA2287320A1 (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1998-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
NZ338059A NZ338059A (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1998-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
EP98905151A EP0963314A1 (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1998-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
AU60824/98A AU728042B2 (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1998-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AUPO5377A AUPO537797A0 (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1997-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
AUPO5377 | 1997-02-27 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1998038084A1 true WO1998038084A1 (en) | 1998-09-03 |
Family
ID=3799680
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/AU1998/000132 WO1998038084A1 (en) | 1997-02-27 | 1998-02-27 | Underwater viewing vessel |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0963314A1 (en) |
AU (2) | AUPO537797A0 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2287320A1 (en) |
NZ (1) | NZ338059A (en) |
WO (1) | WO1998038084A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2898579A1 (en) * | 2006-03-15 | 2007-09-21 | Gilbert Roux | Transparent wall cabin immersing and pull up device for use with e.g. mobile hull, has cabin maintained in rails guiding vertical displacement, where cabin is immobilized in bottom position and is positioned outside water by locking device |
CN103085953A (en) * | 2013-02-19 | 2013-05-08 | 哈尔滨工程大学 | Submersible vehicle embedded type butting device |
CN103318390A (en) * | 2013-07-03 | 2013-09-25 | 哈尔滨工程大学 | Space docking device of underwater vehicle |
WO2013186760A1 (en) * | 2012-06-14 | 2013-12-19 | Martin Kuster | Semi submarine |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3379157A (en) * | 1966-10-14 | 1968-04-23 | William L. Post | Watercraft with submersible marine observation chamber |
FR2287380A1 (en) * | 1974-10-08 | 1976-05-07 | Flandin Blety Georges | Tourist ship with central passenger cabin - uses cable winches to lower or raise cabin in water |
EP0277068A1 (en) * | 1987-01-27 | 1988-08-03 | Marcel Ramond | Pleasure boat for observing the bottom of the sea |
-
1997
- 1997-02-27 AU AUPO5377A patent/AUPO537797A0/en not_active Abandoned
-
1998
- 1998-02-27 CA CA002287320A patent/CA2287320A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1998-02-27 AU AU60824/98A patent/AU728042B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1998-02-27 NZ NZ338059A patent/NZ338059A/en unknown
- 1998-02-27 WO PCT/AU1998/000132 patent/WO1998038084A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1998-02-27 EP EP98905151A patent/EP0963314A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3379157A (en) * | 1966-10-14 | 1968-04-23 | William L. Post | Watercraft with submersible marine observation chamber |
FR2287380A1 (en) * | 1974-10-08 | 1976-05-07 | Flandin Blety Georges | Tourist ship with central passenger cabin - uses cable winches to lower or raise cabin in water |
EP0277068A1 (en) * | 1987-01-27 | 1988-08-03 | Marcel Ramond | Pleasure boat for observing the bottom of the sea |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2898579A1 (en) * | 2006-03-15 | 2007-09-21 | Gilbert Roux | Transparent wall cabin immersing and pull up device for use with e.g. mobile hull, has cabin maintained in rails guiding vertical displacement, where cabin is immobilized in bottom position and is positioned outside water by locking device |
WO2013186760A1 (en) * | 2012-06-14 | 2013-12-19 | Martin Kuster | Semi submarine |
US9371111B2 (en) | 2012-06-14 | 2016-06-21 | Martin Kuster | Semi submarine |
US9701377B2 (en) | 2012-06-14 | 2017-07-11 | Martin Kuster | Semi submarine |
CN103085953A (en) * | 2013-02-19 | 2013-05-08 | 哈尔滨工程大学 | Submersible vehicle embedded type butting device |
CN103318390A (en) * | 2013-07-03 | 2013-09-25 | 哈尔滨工程大学 | Space docking device of underwater vehicle |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0963314A1 (en) | 1999-12-15 |
AU728042B2 (en) | 2001-01-04 |
NZ338059A (en) | 2001-05-25 |
CA2287320A1 (en) | 1998-09-03 |
AUPO537797A0 (en) | 1997-03-27 |
AU6082498A (en) | 1998-09-18 |
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