Patent ID: 7000560
Filing Date: 2006-02-21
Classification: B63G

Abstract:
1. A docking system for an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), comprising: a housing having one or more UUV docking ports formed therein, the UUV docking ports configured to receive one or more UUVs; a spool mounted within the housing and movable in a deploy direction and a stow direction; a tether line at least partially wound on the spool and configured to couple to a structure that floats on a surface of a body of water, to thereby anchor the housing to the structure; a lock control circuit configured to selectively supply one or more lock command signals; and a spool lock coupled to receive the lock command signals and operable, in response thereto, to move between (i) a locked position, in which the spool lock engages the spool and prevents movement thereof in at least the deploy direction, and (ii) an unlocked position, in which the spool lock disengages the spool and allows movement thereof in both the stow and deploy directions.