Aquatic Sport Garment Restraints for Torso Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wetsuits often fail to provide optimal buoyancy and support, leading to suboptimal swimming speeds and increased energy expenditure due to issues with density distribution and stiffness, and they do not adequately inhibit side-to-side bending or promote proper rotation of the torso, resulting in poor swimming mechanics and increased drag.
Innovation Solution
The use of strategically placed longitudinal and diagonal restraint strips made from materials with varying moduli of elasticity, integrated into the wetsuit to inhibit side-to-side bending and encourage rolling rotation of the torso, thereby improving body position and reducing drag.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional wetsuit materials are used, then warmth and basic buoyancy are provided, but side-to-side bending is not inhibited and swimming speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The wetsuit is segmented into multiple functional zones with different stiffness characteristics. Restraint strips are placed at specific locations (sides of torso, back, shoulders) to create localized stiffness zones that inhibit side-to-side bending while maintaining flexibility in other areas for swimming motion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the wetsuit have different mechanical properties. The restraint strips have higher modulus of elasticity than the base material, creating localized areas of increased stiffness at the sides and back of the torso to prevent unwanted bending, while other regions remain flexible for natural swimming movement.
2Ease of manufacture
If uniform material stiffness is used throughout the wetsuit, then manufacturing is simplified, but proper torso rotation and body position are not promoted
Solution Approach 1:
The wetsuit construction is divided into a base layer and additional restraint strip layers placed at specific locations. This segmentation allows the majority of the suit to be manufactured uniformly while adding targeted stiffness enhancement only where needed for rotational control and body position stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The restraint strips are positioned asymmetrically on the torso, with specific placement on the sides and back rather than uniform distribution. This asymmetric placement creates the necessary torque and rotational resistance to promote proper body position and rotation during swimming strokes.
3Strength
If higher modulus materials are used for restraint strips, then side-to-side bending is inhibited, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire wetsuit complex with varying materials throughout, only specific localized regions (the restraint strips) use higher modulus materials. The majority of the wetsuit remains simple and uniform, while the restraint strips provide the necessary anti-bending strength at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The restraint strips are integrated into the wetsuit construction by bonding or laminating them to the base material, merging two functional elements (flexible wetsuit and rigid restraint) into a single composite structure that provides both warmth and rotational stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The restraint strips enhance swimming efficiency by stabilizing the core, improving buoyancy, and promoting proper rotation, leading to reduced energy expenditure and increased swimming speed by maintaining a streamlined profile and minimizing side-to-side bending.
Implementation Method 1
a first modulus of elasticity that is approximately two or more times greater than a second modulus of elasticity of the aquatic sport performance garment material
Data Source
Figure 1~3A
Figure 3B~3C
Figure 4~6
AI summary
An aquatic sport performance garment comprising restraints affixed to a lateral material surface of the aquatic sport performance garment approximately parallel to a sagittal plane along each side of the garment and further comprising restraints affixed to a material surface across the back of the aquatic sport performance garment, posteriorly offset from the coronal plane of the garment in a criss-cross fashion, intersecting the longitudinal axis with the ends of the criss-cross restraints located in proximity to the ends of the longitudinally placed lateral restraints on each side of the garment; said restraints configured to inhibit side-to-side bending of the body of a user, reduce longitudinal drag, improve stroke mechanics, encourage proper torso rotation and muscle coordination about the midsection of the body of the user during movement and improve endurance when the garment is worn by the user when swimming.