Coral Ring Mount with Integrated Wire for Rapid Seafloor Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current coral nursery and planting methods are inefficient due to reliance on knots, nails, cable-ties, and adhesives, which require skilled labor, are time-consuming, and limit scalability, survivability, and location flexibility, especially under rough sea conditions.
Innovation Solution
A ring or washer mount device is used to affix and grow coral propagules, which then secures the coral to the seafloor using a screw, allowing for rapid attachment and planting without adhesives, enabling higher survivability and scalability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If knots, nails, cable-ties, or adhesives are used to attach coral propagules, then the coral can be secured to the nursery device or seafloor, but the process requires skilled labor, is time-consuming, and limits scalability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the skilled labor-intensive attachment process by using a specialized ring mount with integrated wire that automatically secures the coral propagule through a simple wrapping and tightening motion, eliminating the need for knots, nails, cable-ties, or adhesives
Solution Approach 2:
The ring mount with integrated wire serves itself by providing both the mounting structure and the securing mechanism in one component, where the wire wraps around the coral and tightens to secure it without requiring additional materials or skilled manipulation
2Reliability
If traditional attachment methods are used, then coral can be secured, but the process is time-consuming and limits scalability
Solution Approach 1:
The wire is pre-integrated into the ring mount structure during manufacturing, so that when the technician arrives at the coral site, the securing mechanism is already prepared and ready for immediate deployment without requiring separate preparation steps
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes multiple time-consuming steps (selecting and applying knots, nails, cable-ties, or adhesives) by extracting only the essential securing function and implementing it through a single wire-wrapping motion with the integrated ring mount
3Reliability
If adhesives or cements are used for coral attachment, then the coral can be secured, but propagule losses increase due to curing time requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces chemical bonding mechanisms (adhesives and cements that require curing time) with a purely mechanical securing system using the integrated wire and ring mount, which provides immediate attachment strength without chemical curing delays
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical wire-wrapping system secures the coral immediately upon tightening, providing self-service attachment that does not require external chemical agents or waiting periods for curing, thereby eliminating propagule losses during the curing phase
4Reliability
If traditional planting methods are used, then coral can be attached to the seafloor, but the process limits location flexibility to protected areas only
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the limitation of protected-area-only planting by removing the vulnerability of slow attachment methods, enabling deployment in exposed locations where wave action would prevent traditional adhesive or knot-based methods from working effectively
Solution Approach 2:
The rapid mechanical attachment provided by the integrated ring mount and wire system prepares the coral for immediate wave exposure, allowing planting in previously inaccessible exposed locations without requiring preliminary protection or calm conditions
5Reliability
If multiple separate devices are used for nursery mounting and seafloor planting, then each function can be optimized, but the overall process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the nursery mounting function and the seafloor planting function into a single integrated ring mount device, where the same wire-wrapped structure serves both to secure the coral during nursery growth and to anchor it to the seafloor during planting
Solution Approach 2:
The ring mount with integrated wire provides multi-functionality by serving as both the nursery attachment device and the seafloor planting anchor, eliminating the need for separate devices and simplifying the overall system while maintaining optimized performance for both functions
Data Source
AI summary
A coral ring mount device and method for the propagative culture of sessile benthic marine organisms (for example, stony corals) employing either a ring, washer or threaded nut or similar as a propagule mount upon which the coral is set in order to attach, grow and overgrow within a coral nursery system. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, once the coral is grown onto the ring mount and to its requisite size and condition, the ring mount becomes the washer through which passes a screw to secure the ring and coral to the seafloor.