Patent ID: 8919274
Filing Date: 2014-12-30
Classification: B63G,B63H

Abstract:
1. A submersible vehicle comprising: a vehicle body having a bow and a stern; and a propulsion system to propel the vehicle body through the water, the propulsion system comprising: wherein each of the bow cyclic-pitch postswirl and stern cyclic-pitch postswirl stator arrangements comprise a plurality of vanes positioned circumferentially along an outer surface of the vehicle body, and wherein the each of the bow fixed-pitch rotor and the stern fixed-pitch rotor comprise a plurality of fixed-pitch blades mounted on a rotatable ring, and wherein the submersible vehicle includes a longitudinal axis extending axially through the vehicle body, and wherein each of the bow fixed-pitch rotor and the stern fixed-pitch rotor are rotatably mounted with respect to the longitudinal axis, and wherein each of the bow cyclic-pitch postswirl and stern cyclic-pitch postswirl arrangements are stationary with respect to the longitudinal axis, the submersible vehicle further comprising a plurality of swivel axes, each of the plurality of swivel axes extending outward from outer surface of the vehicle body through a respective vane of the plurality of vanes wherein each of the plurality of vanes are rotatably mounted with respective swivel axis, wherein the angle of rotation of each vane about the swivel axis determines the amount of sideways force generated.