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US 12,246,808 B1Granted
Methods for operating a field configurable vehicle
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorEric Seeley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A field configurable vehicle includes bladders located interior of the vehicle hull walls. One or more of the bladders can be filled with fluids of varying densities to manage the buoyancy, mass properties, and thermal heat dissipation of the vehicle.
Claims12
A method for operating a field configurable autonomous vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- configuring the vehicle for a mission;
- determining at least one of a first mass, first buoyancy, and first stability property of the vehicle;
- filling a bladder located within a hull of the vehicle with a fluid to create at least a one of a second mass, second buoyancy, and second stability property of the vehicle, wherein the bladder comprises a plurality of bladders located at different discrete locations within the hull;
- filling a first one of the plurality of bladders with a first fluid having a first density;
- and,
- filling a second one of the plurality of bladders with a second fluid having a second density.
3 more elements
A method for operating a field configurable autonomous vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- configuring the vehicle for a mission;
- determining at least one of a first mass, first buoyancy, and first stability property of the vehicle;
- filling a bladder located within a hull of the vehicle with a fluid to create at least a one of a second mass, second buoyancy, and second stability property of the vehicle;
- and,
- deploying the vehicle after the step of filling the bladder.
2 more elements
A method for operating a field configurable autonomous vehicle, comprising the steps of:
- configuring the vehicle for a mission;
- determining at least one of a first mass, first buoyancy, and first stability property of the vehicle;
- and,
- filling a bladder located within a hull of the vehicle with a fluid to create at least a one of a second mass, second buoyancy, and second stability property of the vehicle, wherein the bladder comprises a plurality of bladders located at different discrete locations within the hull.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.