Flexible Wrap Marine Navigational Aid for Piling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing marine navigational aids are expensive to manufacture and maintain, limiting their deployment in water bodies due to high costs.
Innovation Solution
A marine navigational aid apparatus comprising a flexible, waterproof wrap with affixment mechanisms and alphanumeric characters, designed to be conformally wrapped around pilings without forming a waterproof seal, using environmentally-resistant acrylic-based fibers and affordable materials like Sunbrella fabric, with affixment mechanisms such as hooks-and-loops fasteners to secure the wrap above the water line for visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional marine navigational aids are used, then navigational information is provided to mariners, but the high manufacturing and maintenance costs limit the quantity of aids deployed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive traditional navigational aids with inexpensive flexible wraps that can be easily manufactured and deployed. These wraps use simple materials like fabric or vinyl with printed or attached alphanumeric characters, eliminating the need for costly electronic components while providing the same navigational information function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs flexible wraps made from thin film materials such as fabric or vinyl that can be conformally wrapped around pilings. This approach replaces rigid, expensive traditional aids with flexible, lightweight alternatives that are easier and cheaper to manufacture, transport, and install.
2Reliability
If traditional marine navigational aids are used, then navigational information is provided, but the high maintenance costs reduce the number of installations
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible wraps are designed to be inexpensive enough that when they deteriorate from exposure to sun and water, they can be easily replaced rather than repaired. This disposable approach eliminates ongoing maintenance costs associated with traditional aids while ensuring continuous navigational information availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigational aid is segmented into simple components (flexible wrap, alphanumeric characters, affixment mechanisms) that can be independently replaced. If one wrap deteriorates, only that specific wrap needs replacement rather than maintaining an entire complex system, significantly reducing maintenance costs.
3Reliability
If more navigational aids are deployed to enhance safety, then boating safety improves, but the high cost of traditional aids prevents sufficient deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The extremely low cost of manufacturing flexible wraps enables mass deployment across numerous locations in water bodies. This allows sufficient coverage to enhance boating safety throughout entire regions rather than isolated points, directly addressing the deployment quantity limitation.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible wrap design is universal and can be applied to various piling sizes and shapes using the same basic components. This universality allows rapid deployment across diverse locations without requiring custom-designed aids for each site, significantly reducing overall deployment costs and enabling comprehensive safety coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A marine navigational aid for use with a piling. This marine navigational aid comprises a flexible wrap, at least one affixment mechanism coupled to the flexible wrap, and a plurality of alphanumeric characters disposed on an exterior side of the flexible wrap.