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Nature's Wing Fin Design, LLC

Nature's Wing Fin Designs, LLC

Peter T McCarthy

Shane S Taylor

A method for providing a swim fin includes providing a foot attachment member and a blade member having a predetermined blade length. The blade member has a soft portion made with a relatively soft thermoplastic material. The method includes providing a relatively harder portion and the relatively soft thermoplastic portion that is molded to the relatively harder thermoplastic portion. The method includes providing an orthogonally spaced portion of the relatively harder portion that is arranged a predetermined orthogonal direction while said swim fin is in state of rest. The method includes providing the blade member with a predetermined biasing force portion that is arranged to urge the orthogonally spaced portion while the swim fin is in a state of rest. The method includes arranging a significant portion of the blade length to experience pivotal motion a lengthwise angle of attack during use.

Hydrofoils and methods

Hydrofoils and method

Methods are disclosed for improving the performance and design of snorkels () that are arranged to reduce splashes of water from entering the snorkel () during use. Methods including providing a non-floating active portion () and a spring member () to move active portion () to a closed position (). Methods are provided for using weighted members () and, or floats () in conjunction with biasing members () exerted with torque across pivoting arms () and along longitudinal directions of motion (). Methods are provided for enabling dry top snorkel devices () to automatically achieve, maintain or reestablish a closed position () at depth even if little or no pressure differential exists between the inside and outside of the snorkel () or if the sealed connection is disengaged at depth, such as can occur during a firm exhale at depth. Other methods are providing for moving the sealing member () to a closed position () even if no float () is used or if no spring member () is used.

Dry snorkels and methods

A gas valve has housing and a barrier. The housing has a passageway with an upstream port and a downstream port. The barrier is disposed across the passageway and is formed from a material which is porous to compressed gas but which substantially prevents a low-pressure liquid from advancing through the passageway downstream of the barrier. The passageway may also contain a gas conditioner and/or a filter that is preferably disposed downstream of the barrier. In another embodiment, a valve comprises an inlet opening, a passageway extending downstream of the inlet opening, an attachment portion near the inlet opening, and a movable cap adapted to cover the inlet opening. The cap has a range of motion between a first position, wherein the cap covers the inlet opening, and a second position outside of the passageway, wherein the cap is displaced from the inlet opening. The cap is biased towards the first position. The gas valve may further comprise a gas regulator in fluid communication with the passageway.

Gas valve

Methods are disclosed to design resilient hydrofoils () which are capable of having substantially similar large scale blade deflections under significantly varying loads. The methods permit the hydrofoil () to experience significantly large-scale deflections to a significantly reduced angle of attack under a relatively light load while avoiding excessive degrees of deflection under increased loading conditions. A predetermined compression range on the lee portion of said hydrofoil () permits the hydrofoil () to deflect to a predetermined reduced angle of attack with significantly low bending resistance. This predetermined compression range is significantly used up during the deflection to the predetermined angle of attack in an amount effective to create a sufficiently large leeward shift in the neutral bending surface with the load bearing portions of the hydrofoil () to permit the hydrofoil () to experience a significantly large increase in bending resistance as increased loads deflect the hydrofoil () beyond the predetermined reduced angle of attack. The shift in the neutral bending surface causes a significant increase in the elongation range required along an attacking portion of the hydrofoil () after the predetermined angle of attack is exceed. Methods are also disclosed for designing the hydrofoil () so that it has a natural resonant frequency that is sufficiently close the frequency of the reciprocating strokes used to attain propulsion in an amount sufficient to create harmonic wave addition that creates an amplified oscillation in the free end of the reciprocating hydrofoil ().

Methods for creating consistent large scale blade deflections

Methods are disclosed for designing improved flexible tubes and production methods which have improved flexibility and resistance to collapsing under load or during bending. Methods for injection molding a flexible tube () and providing at least one support member () that is arranged to provide improved lateral support to reduce lateral collapsing of the flexible tube (). Methods for using and fabricating flexible tubes () are also provided for various shapes of support members () including annular ribs, helical ribs, spaced apart coils (), narrow ribs, wide supports, as well as for various cross sectional shapes of flexible tubes (), including streamlined elongated hydrofoil shaped cross sectional shapes relative to the longitudinal axis of flex tube (). Methods and designs are disclosed for providing an improved diving mouthpiece () used for diving snorkels or other underwater breathing equipment which can reduce jaw fatigue, reduce chaffing to the soft tissues of the mouth and provide increased structural integrity. Methods are provided for reducing collapsing of the mouthpiece () around a transverse axis under load created during use. Molding methods and designs are also disclosed for reducing material costs, material weight, fabrication time, manufacturing costs and improving function, structure and/or styling for diving mouthpieces (). Other methods also disclosed.

Snorkels, flexible tubes, mouthpieces and methods

Designs and methods are disclosed for permitting scooped shape swim fin blades () to flex around a transverse axis to a significantly reduced angle of attack while reducing or preventing the scooped blade portion () from collapsing or buckling under the longitudinal compression forces () exerted on the scooped portion during a large scale blade deflection () by strategically alleviating or controlling such compression forces (). Methods are also disclosed for increasing flow capacity, effective scoop length, scoop depth over a greater length of the blade, reducing blade resistance to large scale deflections, reducing bending resistance within scooped blade portions () that are experiencing high levels of blade deflection. Methods are also provided for reducing lost motion and increasing propulsion during the inversion phase of a reciprocating kicking stroke cycle while also increasing the formation of a scooped blade region () during the inversion phase of the stroke cycle.

High deflection hydrofoils and swim fins

Method for creating consistent large scale blade deflections

Methods for increasing the performance of a foil () by using tip droop () having an inward directed camber capable of generating an inward directed lifting force on the tip droop () in order to control spanwise flow conditions adjacent the tip () of a foil (). Methods for varying the inward lifting shape of a tip droop () are provided along with methods for varying the angle of attack and camber of the tip droop () as the angle of attack of the foil () is changed and as spanwise flow conditions vary.

High efficiency tip vortex reversal and induced drag reduction

Methods are disclosed for increasing lift and decreasing drag on hydrofoils and swim fins. The methods include providing a hydrofoil with a highly swept back leading edge portion and orienting the hydrofoil at a significantly reduced angle of attack in which the reduced angle of attack occurs at an angle that is substantially transverse to the hydrofoil's direction of movement through a surrounding fluid medium. The lee surfaces of the hydrofoil are provided with a substantially unobstructed flow path as well as a separation reducing contour so as to permit lift generating attached flow conditions to form along such lee surfaces. Substantially rigid structural reinforcement is provided to prevent the hydrofoil from deforming significantly during use. Methods are disclosed for providing a hydrofoil with a substantially longitudinal recess or venting system located substantially along the center axis of the hydrofoil. The attacking surfaces of such a hydrofoil are provided an anhedral contour that forms a substantially lengthwise channel with the recess or venting means located along the center axis of this lengthwise channel. Methods are disclosed for applying these lift generating and drag reducing methods to both non-flexible and flexible hydrofoil blades that are used in reciprocating propulsion strokes through a fluid medium. Also provided are methods for significantly controlling and reducing the build up of torsional stress forces within a flexible hydro foil as it is encouraged to twist to a reduced angle of attack during use.

High efficiency hydrofoil and swim fin designs

Methods are disclosed to design resilient hydrofoils () which are capable of having substantially similar large scale blade deflections under significantly varying loads. The methods permit the hydrofoil () to experience significantly large-scale deflections to a significantly reduced angle of attack under a relatively light load while avoiding excessive degrees of deflection under increased loading conditions. A predetermined compression range on the lee portion of said hydrofoil () permits the hydrofoil () to deflect to a predetermined reduced angle of attack with significantly low bending resistance. This predetermined compression range is significantly used up during the deflection to the predetermined angle of attack in an amount effective to create a sufficiently large leeward shift in the neutral bending surface with the load bearing portions of the hydrofoil () to permit the hydrofoil () to experience a significantly large increase in bending resistance as increased loads deflect the hydrofoil () beyond the predetermined reduced angle of attack. The shift in the neutral bending surface causes a significant increase in the elongation range required along an attacking portion of the hydrofoil () after the predetermined angle of attack is exceed. Methods are also disclosed for designing the hydrofoil () so that it has a natural resonant frequency that is sufficiently close the frequency of the reciprocating strokes used to attain propulsion in an amount sufficient to create harmonic wave addition that creates an amplified oscillation in the free end of the reciprocating hydrofoil (). Methods are also disclosed for focusing energy storage and blade deflections along focused regions of load bearing members and the hydrofoil (). Methods are also disclosed for reducing induced drag vortex formation along the lee surface of the hydrofoil (), reducing drag and increasing the formation of lift forces.

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Newport Beach, CA, United States of America

Peter T McCarthy