United States Patent: Air-Buoyant Structures and Vehicles

This document is a United States Patent (US 11,027,816 B1) granted on June 8, 2021, to Triad National Security, LLC, for an invention titled 'Air-Buoyant Structures and Vehicles.' The inventors listed are Miles Frank Beaux, II, Igor Olegovich Usov, and Brian M. Patterson. The patent outlines a technology for creating air-buoyant structures that do not rely on traditional lifting gases like helium, which are noted as becoming increasingly expensive and scarce. Instead, the invention utilizes hollow structures with internal cavities maintained under reduced pressure or vacuum conditions. The shell of these structures is constructed from ultra-low density materials such as aerogels, foam, or vapor-expanded materials, which are described as being strong and stiff enough to withstand atmospheric pressure while remaining lightweight. The shell may be reinforced with materials like helical nanofibers. The system includes integrated vacuum pumps and valves that allow for the active control of buoyancy by adjusting the internal pressure. The patent details various geometries for these structures, including torus, spherical, cylindrical, and pill shapes, as well as complex interconnected tube configurations. The document discusses the potential applications for this technology, including balloon-suspended Wi-Fi hotspots, floating warehouses, delivery vehicles, and high-altitude platforms for launching space vehicles. It also provides technical data, including stress-strain graphs for various aerogel materials and tables detailing minimum hoop stresses required for buoyancy at an altitude of 36,090 feet. The patent includes 19 claims defining the scope of the invention, covering both the structures themselves and vehicles incorporating them, as well as the method of using vacuum pumps to maintain buoyancy.