Sealed ortho-grid laser and imaging director with an ortho/iso-grid pressure vessel
View Patent ↗A pressure vessel that comprises an ortho-grid and an iso-grid wherein a stress subjected to the pressure vessel is propagated into the iso-grid through the ortho-grid.
1 . An apparatus comprising:
a pressure vessel comprising;
an ortho-grid comprising;
a plurality of vertical columns;
a plurality of nodes; and
at least one cylindrical spar connected to the vertical columns at one of the plurality of nodes; and
an iso-grid;
wherein a stress subjected to the pressure vessel is propagated into the ortho-grid and the iso-grid.
2 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure vessel is a cylindrical.
3 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the iso-grid further comprises:
a plurality of radial bars connected to the ortho-grid at the plurality of nodes.
4 . The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the iso-grid further comprises:
a hub connected to one end of each of the radial bars.
5 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ortho-grid further comprises:
a plurality of vertical columns;
at least one cylindrical spar perpendicularly connected to the vertical columns; and
the iso-grid further comprises:
a plurality of radial spokes;
wherein the radial spokes are perpendicularly connected to the vertical columns such that the stress subjected to the ortho-grid is propagated into the radial spokes.
6 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure vessel further comprises:
an outer surface attached to the ortho-grid such that the stress is propagated from the outer surface to the ortho-grid.
7 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a yoke;
a gimbal rotationally attached to the yoke; and
an actuator that moves the apparatus between a deployed and stowed position;
wherein the pressure vessel slidably engages with the yoke such that the gimbal and yoke are stowed in the pressure vessel when the apparatus is in the stowed position.
8 . The apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising:
a seal;
wherein the apparatus includes a deployed position and a stowed position, and wherein the seal is engaged between the gimbal and the pressure vessel in the stowed position.
9 . The apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the seal is a multistage seal, the multistage seal further comprising:
a first seal that seals a first interior space from a gas or fluid; and
a second seal that isolates a second interior space from the first interior space.
10 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the second seal is circumferentially arranged around an axis and the first seal is circumferentially arranged around both the second seal and the axis.
11 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the iso-grid is fixed to the ortho-grid at the cylindrical spar.
12 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each vertical column terminates at an iso-grid rim proximate to a radial spoke of the iso-grid.
13 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ortho-grid and iso-grid form a node-matched design that maximizes hydrodynamic pressure joint strength.
14 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ortho-grid receives a biaxial pressure load and the iso-grid receives a multiaxial pressure load, and wherein stress propagation converts the biaxial load to the multiaxial load.
15 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein radial spokes of the iso-grid direct radial forces from an iso-grid rim to a hub.
16 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pressure vessel is a single structural unit incorporating both the ortho-grid and iso-grid as integral load-bearing components.
17 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein both the ortho-grid and iso-grid are positioned within the same cylindrical pressure vessel wall structure.
18 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
optical equipment housed within the pressure vessel;
wherein the pressure vessel is configured for subsea operation.
19 . The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the node-matched ortho-grid and iso-grid design provides structural integrity for protecting the optical equipment in high-pressure subsea environments.