My 'Pretty Fin' Patent

[SlugLife]

Interesting design. I did skim the description(s) as it was quite long, but I think I got the general idea. I'm pretty much always a fan of innovation and experimentation. Some of the replies so far have been quite critical, and perhaps some of them are accurate, but I'm going to give you a nudge to give it a try.

Have you prototyped and tried out the fin? There are potential differences between what works out in theory versus practice. I'm referencing both the design and the criticism of the design. The prototyping is likely to reveal flaws and potential improvements. You may discover this works great for certain finning-styles and poorly for others. A fin that is really good at a specialty can be very appealing to a niche.

I would also encourage you to keep at this, regardless of whether this prototype works out as you hope. The way I've gotten good at everything, is by just doing it, and perhaps "failing" a bit along the way. I've also learned from experience that strong criticism or large quantities of criticism tends to suggest you're at least starting on somewhat the right path, and have potential. People tend to ignore that which has no potential, and is of no interest.

Perhaps the one "critique" I might have is that moving parts would be more prone to fail and wear down much more quickly. You might need extra reinforcement in some areas, to ensure the fin is durable.

Anyway, best of luck. Whether your prototype 1, 3, 25, or 100 goes somewhere, It should be an interesting journey to watch.

 

[Wibble]

Perhaps the one "critique" I might have is that moving parts would be more prone to fail and wear down much more quickly. You might need extra reinforcement in some areas, to ensure the fin is durable.

Needs to be capable of being folded up, trodden upon, thrown at the bottom of a pile, cylinders falling on it, covered in sand, salt, sea, wide temperature ranges (left in the sun, cold water)...

Which is why fins are made like they are.

Remind us what the benefits of designing a better wheel is?

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Where's @Bob Evans

 

[CT-Rich]

You have put a lot of thought into this. I would say, start prototyping to see how well these ideas apply in the real world. Find a way to quantitatively measure the force generated and see if you can develop a real product. 3D printers have made the prototyping much fast and cheaper than in the past.
Good luck

 

[lexvil]

They just may perform as well as jet fins, except the frog kicking stuff.

 

[Wibble]

They just may perform as well as jet fins, except the frog kicking stuff.

Like split fins?

 

[tridacna]

I say let's not bash this until a prototype is produced. Snarky comments about Jet fins and split fins don't help. If you see fault in the design, go ahead and criticize but explain why you think so.

 

[lexvil]

I say let's not bash this until a prototype is produced. Snarky comments about Jet fins and split fins don't help. If you see fault in the design, go ahead and criticize but explain why you think so.

The fault, so many moving parts, but you go for it.

 

[Wibble]

I say let's not bash this until a prototype is produced. Snarky comments about Jet fins and split fins don't help. If you see fault in the design, go ahead and criticize but explain why you think so.

Throwing technology at something where no problem exists; especially throwing it at a single use case -- straight line flappy leg finning -- when there's lots of other things one does when finning, or rarely needing to fin very fast whilst moving around a dive site.

A very short amount of time working with a half-decent instructor would quickly counteract any inefficiencies in stroke technique. Another short amount of time would get the person turning, stopping and maybe going backwards using finning only.

 

[Angelo Farina]

Before building a prototype (which can be tricky and expensive) I would run a computer simulation for checking how much these new fins improve the ratio between thrust obtained and effort applied in comparison with existing highly-efficient fins.
As the simulation involves the interaction between a varying-geometry human body, a flexible mechanical structure and a fluid in relative motion to such a structure, I would recommend a "multiphysics" simulation software, such as Comsol.
I think you can get a free 30-days license for using Comsol when you attend one of their free introductory courses.
If you do not possess the skills for using Comsol, you should make a research contract with some researcher at the university: as academics are more interested in doing publications than in getting a lot of money, this can be much cheaper than relying on a naval engineering consultancy company.
After a proper fluid dynamic simulation showcasing the benefits of the new fins is made available, I think it will be much easier to get funds for developing the project, either finding a single investor or by crowfunding.
Without at least a mathematical proof of the increase in performances over existing technology, I think it will be very difficult to raise money for developing the project.
Of course an experimental verification would be even better, but this would require to have access to an instrumented water tunnel, equipped with biodynamics legs simulators, and I know of only a couple of them worldwide, and their usage is terribly expensive.