Submersible Flotation Device with Adjustable Buoyancy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional personal flotation devices are uncomfortable, restrictive, difficult to transport, fragile, and do not accommodate users of different sizes and buoyancies, often requiring users to float on the water's surface and limiting hand-free operation.
Innovation Solution
A waterproof, hollow personal flotation device with a hard outer shell, adjustable buoyancy via a water ballast valve, internal support columns, and a stackable design, allowing users to sit upright in the water with adjustable buoyancy and accommodating various user sizes, while being lightweight, durable, and easy to carry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional personal flotation devices use foam or inflatable materials, then they provide buoyancy, but they are fragile and difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from soft foam or inflatable materials to hard plastic material, transforming the device from fragile to durable while maintaining buoyancy through hollow construction. This parameter change resolves the contradiction between durability and transport difficulty by creating a rigid yet lightweight structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hard plastic shell serves multiple functions: it provides structural durability, maintains buoyancy through hollow construction, and enables easy cleaning. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by making the device both durable and easy to maintain without compromising transportability.
2Reliability
If personal flotation devices require users to float on top of the water, then they provide flotation, but they restrict hand and arm movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the flotation mode from surface floating (2D) to submerged floating (3D), allowing users to sit upright with most of their body underwater. This dimensional change enables hand-free operation while maintaining flotation capability through the buoyant shell positioned at the user's back.
Solution Approach 2:
The buoyant shell acts as an intermediary between the user and water, providing flotation force without requiring the user to float on their back. The shell's buoyancy supports the user's weight while allowing natural swimming positions and hand movement.
3Adaptability or versatility
If personal flotation devices are made to accommodate different users, then they increase versatility, but they increase device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces adjustable buoyancy through a ballast system that can be dynamically modified by users. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the same device to accommodate different users and conditions without requiring multiple specialized devices, resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The device includes pre-configured adjustment mechanisms (ballast valve, interchangeable weights) that allow users to pre-adjust buoyancy before entering water. This preliminary action enables the device to adapt to different users without complex real-time control systems.
4Reliability
If personal flotation devices use light materials like foam, then they provide buoyancy, but they are subject to breaking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining hard plastic material with hollow construction, creating a material system that simultaneously achieves high strength and buoyancy. The hard plastic provides break resistance while the hollow interior provides buoyancy, resolving the contradiction between these two properties.
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
Enables users to sit upright in the water with hands-free operation, accommodating different sizes and buoyancies, while being lightweight, durable, and easy to transport and clean, with adjustable buoyancy to prevent capsizing and ensure stability.
Implementation Method 1
A water ballast valve allows for water to enter or exit the shell thereby changing the buoyancy of the device
Data Source
AI summary
A personal flotation device includes a hard outer shell, a seat, a centered leg straddle support, and a water ballast valve. The flotation device is fully submersible and has adjustable buoyancy that allows the user to sit upright on the device, floating at approximately armpit level in the water with the user's arms free and feet dangling down. The user can use his or her arms and legs to propel through the water, or perform other activities while floating because his or her hands are free to do so.