Floatation Attachment Device Using Gas-Generating Material
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current floatation devices for personal items like cell phones, keys, and sunglasses are bulky and obtrusive, failing to effectively prevent them from sinking when dropped into water.
Innovation Solution
A floatation attachment system with a buoyant material and attachment surface that can be directly attached to objects, optionally featuring an expansion material that generates gas upon contact with water, and a dispenser for pre-cut shapes and dimensions, including a backing layer for easy attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional floatation devices (key floats, floating sunglasses straps, floatation housings) are used, then objects can be prevented from sinking, but the devices become bulky and obtrusive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential floatation function from bulky traditional devices by using a thin, flexible floatation material that can be directly attached to objects. The floatation material is extracted as a separate functional layer that provides buoyancy without the need for large enclosures or complex structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a thin, flexible floatation material that can conform to various object shapes while providing sufficient buoyancy. This thin film approach replaces the need for bulky three-dimensional floatation structures, achieving both effectiveness and minimalism.
2Device complexity
If floatation material is directly attached to objects, then device bulk is reduced, but attachment reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the floatation material with an attachment mechanism into a single integrated unit. The floatation material is combined with adhesive or mechanical attachment features that allow direct bonding to objects, ensuring both minimal bulk and secure attachment simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary attachment layer or mechanism between the floatation material and the object surface. This intermediary component ensures reliable bonding while maintaining the thin-profile design, solving the contradiction between attachment security and device bulk.
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
Provides unobtrusive and effective buoyancy to attached objects, preventing them from sinking, with the expansion material enhancing floatation capabilities upon water contact.
Implementation Method 1
a floatation material configured to provide buoyancy to the object it attaches
Implementation Method 2
The expansion material includes one or more gas generating reactants that generate gas upon contact with water or upon being mixed together
Data Source
AI summary
A floatation attachment system may include a floatation attachment device configured to be attached to an object. The floatation attachment device may include a floatation material configured to provide buoyancy to the object it attaches and an attachment surface configured to directly attach the object. The floatation material may include a material that expands or generates gas upon contact with water. The system may include a dispenser such as a sheet of pre-cut floatation attachment devices or for manual cutting for customized shapes and sizes. In one instance, the system includes a tape roll dispenser for dispensing floatation attachment devices from a roll.