Patent ID: 7250568

Claim:
A deceleration and positive buoyancy assembly for use with an undersea vehicle, said assembly comprising: a hull section generally conforming in shape to a contour of the undersea vehicle upon which said hull section is positioned; at least two cavities formed within said hull section, each of said cavities formed opposite to each other along a perimeter of said hull section; a door mechanically secured to said hull section at each of said cavities, said door having a first and second end, said second end more proximate to a end of said hull section closer to a projecting end of the undersea vehicle than said first end of said door with each of said doors positioned to encompass said cavity coincident to an exterior surface of said hull section; a hinge secured at each of said first end of said doors; a means for releasing said second end of each of said doors from said hull section; at least two inflatable members, each of said inflatable members secured within each of said cavities, each of said inflatable members expansive to position said door to an initial angle from a longitudinal axis of said hull section upon actuation of said releasing means and adapted to assume a generally spherical configuration outside the contour of the undersea vehicle upon inflation; and means within said hull section for inflating each of said inflatable members with a gas in response to a signal; wherein the position of said door at the initial angle allows hydrodynamic forces resulting from a movement of the undersea vehicle to fully deploy said door to an angle to decelerate the undersea vehicle by a counter-acting hydrodynamic force and to provide a pathway for each of said inflatable members to inflate from said cavities thereby rendering the undersea vehicle buoyant for sea surface recovery.