Previous methods for modifying the attitude of submerged objects have involved (a) the shifting of non-fluid mass within the submerged object to alter the position of the center of mass, or by (b) dynamic lifting surfaces or thrusters which require relative velocity of the submerging fluid to exert external forces on the object and change its attitude. Alternatively (c) inflatable or floodable volumes may be used to displace or ingest quantities of submerging fluid from a submerged object, thus changing the object's total volume, center of buoyancy, and attitude.
Of the above described previous methods, (a) is impractical for very large or non-rigid submerged objects because of the practical issues of re-positioning non-fluid mass within the object. Further, objects which are not large enough to internally house repositionable masses are limited by that approach. Method (b) is impractical for objects which are or must remain static in the submerged fluid, which is to say those which are not moving or cannot move, and method (c) is impractical for systems which cannot afford an overall change in net buoyancy in order to achieve attitude modification.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds