Flexible Buoyancy System with Segmented Floats
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recreational flotation devices restrict user movement, require users to conform to the device's shape, and expose parts of the body to air and sunlight, leading to discomfort during water activities.
Innovation Solution
A recreational buoyancy system comprising flexible upper and lower layers with pneumatically inflatable spherical floats, allowing for adjustable buoyancy and user support that conforms to the body, enabling full-body submersion while keeping the neck and head above water, with detachable components and loops for easy repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If users hold onto foam tube-type floatation devices, then buoyant support is provided, but hand and arm movement is substantially decreased
Solution Approach 1:
The floatation device is divided into multiple independent floats that can be distributed around the user's body. Each float operates independently, providing buoyancy at different locations without requiring the user to grip a single large structure, thereby maintaining freedom of movement while ensuring reliable buoyant support.
Solution Approach 2:
The user support structure acts as an intermediary between the floats and the user's body. It distributes the buoyant force from multiple floats across the user's body without requiring direct hand grip, allowing the floats to provide support while the user maintains natural movement freedom.
2Reliability
If users lie down on or sit in flotation devices such as chairs and mattress-like floats, then buoyant support is provided, but users must conform their bodies to fit the particular configurations of the devices
Solution Approach 1:
The user support is designed with flexible, stretchable material that can dynamically adapt to different body shapes and positions. The support structure can stretch and conform to various configurations as the user moves, rather than requiring the user to conform to a fixed device shape, thereby providing reliable buoyancy while maintaining body positioning flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The floatation device allows for changes in the physical state and configuration of the user support material. The stretchable fabric can change its shape and dimensions to accommodate different body positions, enabling the same device to adapt to various user needs while maintaining consistent buoyant support.
3Reliability
If known recreational flotation devices are used, then buoyant support is provided, but large portions of the users' bodies are left out of the water, exposing users to air temperature and direct sunlight
Solution Approach 1:
The user support is nested within the configuration of multiple floats, creating a supportive structure that allows the user's body to be positioned deeper in the water. The floats are arranged to envelop the user support and provide buoyancy while keeping the user submerged, reducing exposure to harmful environmental factors while maintaining reliable buoyant support.
Solution Approach 2:
The floatation system transitions from surface-level support to vertical immersion support. By distributing floats at different depths and using the user support to suspend the user vertically, the system enables full-body submersion while maintaining buoyancy, thereby reducing exposure to air temperature and sunlight from above.
4Ease of operation
If multiple floats are spaced apart to provide full-body buoyant support, then user movement is unrestricted, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple floats are combined through the user support structure into a single integrated buoyant system. The floats, though spaced apart for optimal buoyancy distribution, are connected through the support structure and can be collectively adjusted and positioned, reducing the operational complexity of managing multiple separate floatation devices while maintaining user movement freedom.
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 system allows for unrestricted user movement and full-body buoyant support, minimizing exposure to air and sunlight, while being easy to assemble and transport.
Implementation Method 1
Multiple floats are provided that are connected to the user support and that are spaced from each other. This allows the spaced-apart floats to serve as buoyant anchors that suspend the user in the water so that the user's neck and head remain above the water.
Implementation Method 2
The user support may include an upper layer and a lower layer, each of which may be made from a flexible material, the upper layer including an upper surface that engages the body of the user and an opposing lower surface, the lower layer including an upper surface that abuts the lower surface of the upper layer
Implementation Method 3
The floats may have a variable volume for changing the size of the float and the floats may be spherical and pneumatically inflatable, which may allow for adjusting buoyancy of the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A recreational buoyancy system is provided that includes multiple floats and a user support that engages and conforms to a shape of a body of a user. The user support may include an intermediate portion and multiple arms that extend from the intermediate portion in different directions toward outer ends of the multiple arms. Multiple floats are arranged at the outer ends of the multiple arms, respectively. The user support may be made from a flexible material so that the user support can conform to the body of the user while the multiple floats buoyantly support the user in the water at the spaced-apart locations while allowing the multiple floats to move relative to each other.