The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 28, 1995
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1993
Michael S Triantafyllou, Belmont, MA (US);
David S Barrett, Needham, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);
Abstract
A propulsion system for use in a fluid, the system utilizing at least one foil which is both oscillated at a frequency f with an amplitude a in a direction substantially transverse to the propulsion direction and flapped or pitched about a pivot point to change the foil pitch angle to the selected direction of motion with a smooth periodic motion. Parameters of the system including Strouhal number, angle of attack, ratio of the distance to the foil pivot point from the leading edge of the foil to the chord length, the ratio of the amplitude of oscillation to the foil chord width and the phase angle between heave and pitch are all selected so as to optimize the drive efficiency of the foil system.