A submarine trails one fiber optic cable and an undersea vehicle is controlled by this first cable. A missile/torpedo trails a second cable that is to be coupled to the first cable. The second cable has a segment suspended vertically underwater between a buoyant pod and a sea anchor type buoy. The undersea vehicle, or Autonomous Undersea Vehicle, (AUV) hunts for the pod by conventional homing means, and a fork-shaped cable capture probe on the vehicle direct the cable's movement relative to the vehicle into a pod mating position in which a male socket in the underside of the pod mates with a female socket in a slot formed at the vertex of the fork. An interlock mechanism between the male socket and female socket holds the pod and AUV in engagement wherein optical coupling is achieved by means not forming part of this invention.
System for Effecting Underwater Coupling of Optical Fiber Cables Characterized by a Novel Pod-To-Vehicle Interlock
1993
20 pages
Report
No indication
English
Underwater Ordnance , Electrotechnology , Industrial & Mechanical Engineering , Ordnance , Patent applications , Underwater vehicles , Underwater cables , Couplings , Fiber optics transmission lines , Anchors , Buoys , Cables , Fiber optics , Homing , Submarines , Torpedoes , Buoyancy , Remotely piloted vehicles , Locking(Mechanics) , Underwater communications , AUV(Autonomous Undersea Vehicle)