Patent ID: 9254899
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: B63B,B63C,B63G

Claim Text:
1. A buoyancy-based lifting system comprising: a flexible lift bag coupled to a load being lifted; a plurality of valves having a flow capacity, the plurality of valves including at least one inflation valve and at least one deflation valve in fluid communication with the flexible lift bag, the plurality of valves inflating or deflating the flexible lift bag by adding a compressible fluid to the flexible lift bag under control of a lift-controller; at least one pressure sensor that obtains pressure readings during a lift, the pressure readings indicating an ambient pressure external to the flexible lift bag; and the lift-controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of valves and the at least one pressure sensor, the lift-controller including a processor that determines burst durations of the plurality of valves based on an instability ratio:  where R