Autonomous Traction Wing with Inflatable Symmetrical Profile
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water sports equipment, such as windsurfing and kitesurfing, face challenges with maneuverability and efficiency due to bulky, heavy frames made of metal or plastic, which are impractical for handling and controlling, especially in changing wind conditions, and obstruct visibility.
Innovation Solution
A self-contained, autonomously held traction wing with a symmetrical aerodynamic profile and inflatable tubes for leading and trailing edges, providing a reversible shape with a high span-to-chord ratio, allowing for efficient wind performance and reduced weight, facilitating easy maneuverability and transportability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a large-diameter circular sail with metal or plastic frame is used to increase useful surface area and efficiency, then wind capture efficiency is improved, but weight increases significantly and maneuverability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of frame material from rigid metal or plastic to flexible fabric, fundamentally altering the weight-to-area ratio. This allows the sail to achieve large surface areas for wind capture without the prohibitive weight penalty of traditional rigid frames, directly resolving the contradiction between productivity and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible fabric sail without rigid framing, using the fabric itself to maintain aerodynamic shape through tension and airflow pressure. This flexible film approach eliminates the weight of metal or plastic frames while preserving functional surface area, enabling both high efficiency and light weight simultaneously.
2Productivity
If a large-diameter circular sail is used to increase useful surface area, then wind capture efficiency is improved, but maneuverability and responsiveness deteriorate due to increased size and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the structural parameter from rigid to flexible, allowing the sail to deform and adapt to maneuvering forces. This flexibility enables responsive handling of large surface area sails without the inertial penalties of rigid structures, simultaneously achieving high productivity and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible fabric sail dynamically adjusts its shape and tension in response to wind forces and user input, enabling adaptive maneuverability. Unlike static rigid frames, the flexible structure can continuously optimize its configuration during operation, maintaining responsiveness despite large surface area.
3Device complexity
If a circular or quasi-circular symmetric sail shape is used, then structural simplicity is improved, but visibility is impaired and efficiency is reduced due to restricted useful surface area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from circular symmetry to an asymmetric teardrop shape optimized for aerodynamic efficiency and user visibility. The asymmetric form allows strategic placement of opening/closing axes and gripping zones, improving both visibility and functional efficiency while maintaining structural simplicity through the regularity of the asymmetric geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical dimension to the sail design with the teardrop shape, creating a three-dimensional aerodynamic profile that optimizes wind capture. This dimensional evolution from flat circle to volumetric teardrop enhances efficiency and visibility while preserving manufacturing simplicity through geometric regularity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If frequent changes in sail orientation are made to adapt to changing wind conditions, then responsiveness to wind changes is improved, but physical effort required for gripping and controlling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible fabric construction allows the sail to dynamically respond to wind changes with minimal user input. The material's inherent flexibility enables automatic adjustment to varying wind forces, reducing the physical effort required compared to rigid structures that demand active repositioning for each wind change.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible sail structure serves itself by automatically adapting its shape and orientation in response to wind forces without requiring constant user intervention. The fabric's natural compliance allows it to self-adjust to changing conditions, minimizing the physical effort the user must expend while maintaining high adaptability.
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 wing achieves improved maneuverability and efficiency in various wind conditions, maintaining optimal user experience by minimizing physical effort and weight, while being foldable for convenient transport.
Implementation Method 1
a fabric surface arranged in the form of a wing or sail which, by interacting with the wind, allows a user whose feet rest on a board to move thanks to the force of the wind
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The present invention relates to an autonomous traction wing intended to be used in addition to a gliding device capable of cooperating with the feet of a user, the traction wing is controlled by said user via manual gripping means (14), (14'), (15), (15') placed on said wing, which has a surface (S) of sail (6) delimited by a leading edge (1), (2) and a trailing edge (2), (1). According to the invention, the leading and trailing edges (1), (2) are symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry passing through a median axis (AA), and the span (L) of the wing, measured in the direction of said axis (AA), is greater than the maximum length (1) of chord, measured perpendicular to said axis (AA).