Importance

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Abstract

A battery operated system 20 responds to coded acoustic signals 15 for releasing a buoyed housing from an underwater anchor 21 to carry a retrieval line attached to a retrievable underwater object to the water surface. A novel tethering mechanism 26 is provided for attaching the housing to a line 25 tethered to the anchor and for releasing it in response to the coded acoustic signals. The tethering mechanism operates in two diverse modes. Thus the housing is released from its tether line thermally by battery power which melts an expandable wax body in a thermal actuator 36 to move an actuating member 37 through a line release stroke. However, the tether line is attached by a manually actuated latching mechanism 45, 47 provided for retethering the housing at a different location without draining battery power for resetting the latching mechanism. In one embodiment, the angle of the line leaving a latching compartment outwardly is restricted to prevent substantial changes in line orientation thereby to reduce fouling of the tether line in response to underwater currents. The tether line attaching mechanism comprises in separate embodiments either a set of line clamping cams or a latched set of levers, either of which releases the line in response to thermal movement of an actuating member.

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First Claim