Efficient undersea charging of undersea autonomous vehicles
A docking/charging module for an undersea autonomous vehicle comprises a housing allowing the undersea autonomous vehicle to dock, thereby establishing both a data connection and a power connection between the module and the vehicle, the module being equipped with the battery which is charged from an undersea cable having a power conductor which may charge the undersea autonomous vehicle via the power connection when the undersea autonomous vehicle is docked with or in proximity to the docking/charging module.
1. A docking/charging module for an undersea autonomous vehicle comprising:
a housing;
a connection to an undersea cable having both power conductors and a data connection;
a battery disposed within the housing, and
a data transmission module for exchanging data with the underwater autonomous vehicle and with a land-based station via the data connection of the undersea cable;
wherein the battery is charged via a connection to a land-based power feed via the power conductors of the undersea cable.
2. The docking/charging module of claim 1 wherein the data connection of the undersea cable comprises one or more
optical fibers.
3. The docking/charging module of claim 1 wherein the docking/charging module is configured to engage with the undersea autonomous vehicle for transferring power from the battery to the undersea autonomous vehicle.
4. The docking/charging module of claim 1 wherein the connection for transferring power from the battery to the undersea autonomous vehicle is wireless.
5. The docking/charging module of claim 3 wherein the docking/charging module is configured with hardware providing a physical data connection and a physical power transfer connection between the docking/charging module and the undersea autonomous vehicle.
6. The docking/charging module of claim 3 further comprising:
a connection between the docking/charging module and the undersea autonomous vehicle for transferring data between the docking/charging module and the undersea autonomous vehicle.
7. The docking/charging module of claim 3 , the undersea autonomous vehicle having a battery, wherein power is transferred from the battery on the docking/charging module to the battery on the undersea autonomous vehicle when the undersea autonomous vehicle is engaged with the docking/charging module.
8. The docking/charging module of claim 7 wherein the power connection and the data connection to the undersea cable is via a deployment pallet for providing power and data linkages between the undersea cable and the docking/charging module.
9. The docking/charging module of claim 7 further comprising:
a beacon providing navigational assistance to the undersea autonomous vehicle for locating the docking/charging module.
10. The docking/charging module of claim 1 wherein the data exchange module performs the functions of:
receiving data collected by the undersea autonomous vehicle and transmitting the data to the land-based station via the undersea cable;
transmitting data from the land-based station to the undersea autonomous vehicle.
11. A method of providing a quick charge to an undersea autonomous vehicle, comprising:
navigating the undersea autonomous vehicle to an undersea docking/charging module;
docking the undersea autonomous vehicle to the undersea docking/charging module, the docking comprising making a physical connection for transferring power from the undersea docking/charging module to the undersea autonomous vehicle;
transferring power from a charged battery in the undersea docking/charging module to a battery on the undersea autonomous vehicle; and
disengaging the physical connection;
wherein the battery in the undersea docking/charging module is charged via a connection to a land-based power feed via power conductors of an undersea cable.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein the undersea docking/charging module is connected to the undersea cable having both power and data connections to a land-based station.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
transferring data from a data store on the undersea autonomous vehicle to the undersea docking/charging module; and
transferring the data from the undersea docking/charging module to the ground station or to another device in communication with docking/charging module via the undersea cable.
14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
transferring data from the ground station to the undersea docking/charging module via the undersea cable; and
transferring the data from the undersea docking/charging module to a data store on the undersea autonomous vehicle.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein the battery on the undersea docking/charging module is charged when the undersea autonomous vehicle is disengaged from the undersea docking/charging module.
16. The method of claim 11 wherein navigating the undersea autonomous vehicle to the undersea docking/charging module is guided by a navigational beacon on the undersea docking/charging module.
17. The method of claim 11 wherein the undersea docking/charging module is configured with hardware for physically engaging with the undersea autonomous vehicle and further wherein docking the undersea autonomous vehicle to the undersea docking/charging module comprises making a physical engagement between the undersea autonomous vehicle and the undersea docking/charging module.