Vacuum-Controlled Submersible Buoys for Water Sports Courses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional water sports course buoys are challenging to maintain due to size, height, and firmness inconsistencies caused by environmental factors, require extensive manual handling, and are prone to damage and entanglement, leading to safety risks and high maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
An automatic submersible water sports course system using hose-tethered buoys connected to an air control with a vacuum pressure pump, allowing for consistent buoy size, height, and softness, and featuring a non-buoyant hose network for easy deployment and retrieval, reducing parts and susceptibility to damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional water sports buoys are used with compressed air inflation, then buoyancy is achieved to float above water surface, but size, height, and firmness become inconsistent due to environmental factors requiring constant maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the buoyancy medium from compressed air (gas) to water (liquid). Water-filled buoys maintain consistent size, height, and firmness because water is incompressible and not affected by temperature changes or leakage in the same way compressed air is. This eliminates the need for constant inflation adjustments and maintains reliable buoy performance without requiring frequent maintenance.
2Productivity
If buoys are kept floating on water surface during non-use times, then they are readily available for use, but they are susceptible to damage from boat traffic, entanglement, and environmental degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic system where buoys can transition between floating and submerged states. During non-use times, buoys are submerged to protect them from damage, degradation, and entanglement. When needed, they are quickly pumped back to the surface. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction by protecting the buoys when not in use while maintaining rapid availability when needed.
3Adaptability or versatility
If water sports course buoys are placed in busy public waterways, then they provide necessary course markers, but they become prone to entanglement with anchors, fishing lures, and boat propellers causing damage and safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a dynamic submersion system that allows rapid deployment and retrieval of buoys. In busy public waterways, buoys can be quickly submerged when not in use to minimize exposure to entanglement hazards from anchors, fishing lures, and boat propellers. When the course is active, buoys are positioned precisely for course marking. This dynamic control maintains system integrity while providing placement flexibility.
4Reliability
If conventional tethering systems with anchors and stakes are used, then buoys are secured to lake bottom, but the system becomes complex with numerous components requiring maintenance and repair
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tethering function with the buoyancy function by integrating the hose tether directly into the buoy structure. The hose tether contains both the air supply line and the anchoring mechanism, eliminating the need for separate anchor assemblies, stakes, and complex tethering systems. This integration maintains reliable buoy positioning while dramatically reducing the number of components requiring maintenance.
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 ensures consistent buoy performance, reduces maintenance effort, minimizes damage risk, and enhances skier safety by maintaining precise buoy dimensions and reducing entanglement, allowing for swift deployment and stowage.
Implementation Method 1
The air control includes a vacuum pressure pump that is capable of both collapsing and sinking the buoys below the water surface
Implementation Method 2
The air control includes a vacuum pressure pump that is capable of both collapsing and sinking the buoys below the water surface or expanding and raising them to the water surface
Implementation Method 3
Conventional water sports buoys are inflated members filled with compressed air to create sufficient buoyancy. The weight applied to the buoy causes a sinking gravitational force which is balanced by the buoyancy properties of the compressed air within the buoy
Data Source
AI summary
The invention described herein relates to an automatic submersible water sports course system comprising expandable buoys interconnected within an anchored network of non-buoyant airlines, operated by an air control system featuring a vacuum pressure pump. The vacuum pressure pump is capable of both collapsing and sinking the buoys below the water surface or expanding and raising them to the water surface. When deployed these buoys have a predetermined shape, size, height, and softness. This configuration offers skiers a consistent and precise water sports course, thereby reducing falls and enhancing safety. One embodiment of the present invention comprises airline which is configured for strength and forms a tensioned hose network used to precisely orient buoys at the water surface. The present invention provides a water sports course which is lighter weight, has fewer parts, and can be easily lifted above the water surface for maintenance and repair.