Patent ID: 11970256
Assignee: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  G | IPC B  G

Claim 3:
4. A method of providing information on the location of a device and conditions in the air and on the body of water for rescue personnel, said method comprising:
(a) deploying by air drop over a body of water, a device for collecting and transmitting data on the conditions in the air and on the body of water, said device comprising: a spherical buoy having an outside surface; a weight joined to said buoy; a parachute joined to said buoy with a connecting structure, wherein said parachute is deployed during the air drop; a plurality of sensors associated with said buoy, wherein said sensors measure at least one condition in the air as said device is falling to the surface of a body of water, and at least one local condition on a body of water, said sensors comprising at least two of the following: a GPS device; an accelerometer; an altimeter; a barometer; and a thermometer; and a transmitter associated with said buoy, said transmitter being in communication with said sensors, and adapted to transmit data on the location of the device and the conditions in the air and on a body of water on a real-time basis to at least one receiver, which receiver is located over the horizon or in line of sight with the device;
(b) measuring with the device, the wind direction and velocity at preselected intervals during the descent of said device during its air drop, and transmitting the data on wind direction and velocity to a receiver; and
(c) when the device is on the surface of the water said weight is joined to said buoy in a manner so that the weight sinks below the surface of the water and is disposed underneath the buoy when the buoy is on the surface of the water, and at least portions of said sensors and said transmitter are located on a first portion of the outside surface of the buoy, and said weight is joined to the buoy so that it extends below a second portion of the outside surface of the buoy opposite the sensors and said transmitter so that the weight keeps the sensors and transmitter upright and above the surface of the water, and measuring with the device and collecting data on: the location of the device; the wind speed and direction above the body of water; atmospheric pressure above the body of water; wave height and wave motion, and transmitting the data collected to a receiver.