Stabilized floating platform

Abstract

A floating structure is floatable in a body of liquid and stabilized with respect to at least one of roll and pitch. Such a structure includes: a hull including compartments, each compartment being open at the bottom thereof relative to a horizontal plane, and being adapted to accommodate ingress by the body of liquid; a negative pressure source to negatively pressure a volume above a level of the liquid in at least one of the compartments; and one or more arrangements by which at least one or more other of the compartments can be made to exhibit a positive buoyancy.

1 . A floating structure floatable in a body of liquid and stabilized with respect to at least one of roll and pitch, the structure comprising: 
 a hull including a plurality of compartments, each compartment being open at the bottom thereof relative to a horizontal plane, and being adapted to accommodate ingress by the body of liquid;    a negative pressure source to negatively pressure a volume above a level of the liquid in at least one of the compartments; and    one or more arrangements by which at least one or more other of the compartments can be made to exhibit a positive buoyancy.    
   
   
       2 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the one or more arrangements includes: 
 a positive pressure source to positively pressure a volume above the level of the liquid in at least one other of the compartments.    
   
   
       3 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 an overall buoyancy of the structure is positive;    the at-least-one negatively pressurized compartment represents respective negative buoyancy contributions to the overall buoyancy; and    the one or more arrangements represents respective positive buoyancy contributions to the overall buoyancy.    
   
   
       4 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the plurality of compartments, from a top view, is arranged as a matrix.    
   
   
       5 . The structure of  claim 4 , wherein: 
 the plurality of compartments includes multiple respectively negatively-pressurized compartments and multiple compartments made to exhibit respective positive buoyancy by the one or more arrangements, respectively; and    the matrix is arranged so that the negatively-pressurized compartments are distributed relatively more towards the periphery of the matrix and compartments exhibiting respective positive buoyancy are distributed relatively more towards a central region of the matrix.    
   
   
       6 . The structure of  claim 5 , wherein: 
 the matrix is rectangular; and    respectively negatively-pressurized compartments are located at corner positions of the matrix.    
   
   
       7 . The structure of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a deck on the hull;    wherein a load is disposed towards one side of the deck so as to induce a first roll moment;    wherein the plurality of compartments includes multiple respectively negatively-pressurized compartments and multiple compartments made to exhibit respective positive buoyancy by the one or more arrangements, respectively; and    wherein the matrix is arranged so that the respectively negatively-pressurized compartments are distributed relatively more towards a side of the matrix opposite the load so as to induce a second roll moment that opposes the first roll moment.    
   
   
       8 . The structure of  claim 7 , wherein the load is one of the following: 
 a crane that disposes another load aside the structure; and    a ramp to another structure in a circumstance in which the floating platform is a ferry and a vehicle is located on at least one of the ramp and the area on the deck near the ramp.    
   
   
       9 . The structure of  claim 1 , wherein each compartment is one of: 
 a prism, a bottom end of which is fictional; and    a cylinder, a bottom end of which is fictional.    
   
   
       10 . A floating structure floatable in a body of liquid and stabilized with respect to at least one of roll and pitch, the structure comprising: 
 a hull including a plurality of compartments, each compartment being open at the bottom thereof relative to a horizontal plane, and being adapted to accommodate ingress by the body of liquid;    a negative pressure source to induce a negative buoyancy, relative to a net positive buoyancy of the structure as a whole, in at least one of the compartments; and    one or more arrangements by which at least one or more other of the compartments can be made to exhibit a positive buoyancy, relative to the net positive buoyancy of the structure as a whole.    
   
   
       11 . The floating structure of  claim 10 , wherein the at least one of the one or more arrangements includes: 
 a positive pressure source to induce a respective positive buoyancy in at least one other of the compartments.    
   
   
       12 . A method of stabilizing, with respect to at least one of roll and pitch, a structure that floats in a body of liquid, the method comprising: 
 providing a hull;    configuring the hull to include a plurality of compartments, each compartment being open at the bottom thereof relative to a horizontal plane, and being adapted to accommodate ingress by the body of liquid;    negatively pressuring a volume above a level of the liquid in at least one of the compartments; and    inducing a positive buoyancy in at least one other of the compartments.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of inducing includes: 
 positively pressuring a volume above a level of the liquid in at least one of the other compartments.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein method further comprises: 
 arranging the plurality of compartments, from a top view, as a matrix.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein: 
 the plurality of compartments includes multiple respectively negatively-pressurized compartments and multiple compartments made to exhibit respective positive buoyancy; and    the method further includes the following, 
 distributing the respectively negatively-pressurized compartments in the matrix relatively more towards the periphery of the matrix, and  
 distributing the respectively positively-buoyant compartments in the matrix relatively more towards a central region of the matrix.  
   
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein: 
 the matrix is rectangular; and    the method further comprises the following, 
 disposing respectively negatively-pressurized compartments at corner positions of the matrix.  
   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising: 
 providing a deck on the hull;    disposing a load towards one side of the deck so as to induce a first roll moment;.    wherein the plurality of compartments includes multiple respectively negatively-pressurized compartments and multiple compartments made to exhibit respective positive buoyancy; and    distributing the respectively negatively-pressurized compartments relatively more towards a side of the matrix opposite the load so as to induce a second roll moment that opposes the first roll moment.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the configuring step configures each compartment as one of: 
 a prism, a bottom end of which is fictional; and    a cylinder, a bottom end of which is fictional.    
   
   
       19 . A method of stabilizing, with respect to at least one of roll and pitch, a structure that floats in a body of liquid, the method comprising: 
 providing a hull;    configuring the hull to include a plurality of compartments, each compartment being open at the bottom thereof relative to a horizontal plane, and being adapted to accommodate ingress by the body of liquid;    inducing a negative buoyancy, relative to a net positive buoyancy of the structure as a whole, in at least one of the compartments; and    inducing a positive buoyancy, relative to the net positive buoyancy of the structure as a whole, in at least one other of the compartments.    
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the step of inducing includes: 
 positively pressuring a volume above a level of the liquid in at least one of the other compartments.