Patent ID: 11967853
Assignee: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  B | IPC B  H

Claim 0:
1. An autonomous underwater vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body including a bow region and a stern region, said vehicle body having a cavity therein between said bow region and said stern region;
an anchor disposed in said cavity;
a tether connecting said anchor to said vehicle body;
control surfaces disposed on said vehicle body between said bow region and said stern region;
a turbine disposed on said vehicle body external thereto at said stern region;
a power source disposed within said vehicle body;
a propulsion unit disposed within said vehicle body, said propulsion unit being connected to said turbine and said power source for receiving power;
a processor disposed within said vehicle body and joined to control said propulsion unit and said control surfaces and joined to said power source for monitoring and receiving power; and
a charging device connected to said turbine, wherein when said processor determines a power condition of said power source below a threshold value, said propulsion unit is stopped, said anchor is deployed, and said control surfaces are controlled to move said vehicle in a predetermined trajectory through environmental fluid allowing rotation of said turbine and causing said charging device to recharge said power source.