Aquabuddy

Table of content
THE PRESENTATION 3 V. COMPETITION 21

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 VI. PRODUCT
TECHNICAL ASPECTS 25
II. MISSION STATEMENT 7
THE INVENTION
CONTACT 39
III. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 10

IV. MARKET SUMMARY 14
POTENTIAL MARKET DEMAND 16
MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS 17
PRODUCT PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS 20

THE PRESENTATION

This presentation has the purpose to give a short and brief
description of the P.U.V. personal underwater vehicle
AQUABUDDY.

More details and specs could be request in a future
contact.

I. The Presentation

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Personal Underwater Vehicle (PUV) have been used by
military, scientific research and recreational divers for a few
decades. The main advantages for utilizing a PUV are to cover
larger areas underwater with minimum effort from the diver.
II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Data show that there is significant growth in the dive industry,
specifically diver certifications. According to the 2001 PADI
Certification History Report1, there are more than 11 million
Cumulative Certifications documented in the US, with a growth
percentage of 6.33 percent
per year.

The invention

PROTOTYPE ALREADY
TESTED UNDERWATER

III. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

MISSION STATEMENT
To design and market efficient and effective transportation devices for
recreational and scientific research purposes. Our research
department knows that several designs for personal underwater
vehicles are in the market now. None of them, however includes,
among other features, a dual, 14 counter rotating motor that pulls
from near the center of mass while towing a diver from behind the
center of mass and an adjustable ballast system and propeller-wash
avoidance features combined into a sleek self contained long range
capable device.

At this time, the goal is too sell the patent or to find investors to take
this personal underwater vehicle (PUV) to market.

Business Opportunity
Our company has been able to design a personal underwater vehicle
(PUV) that not only fulfill industry safety standards, but it is among the
most efficient in terms of performance due to its dual propulsion
system. The following considerations were taking into account when
evaluating our PUV:

• Water properties and hydrodynamics • Ergonomics/human factors

• Materials and waterproofing

• Vehicle propulsion, with a direct reference to free • Lighting

energy sources and self powering motion • Water pressure, and its effect towards the

product and humans

• Breathing apparatus • Existing product distance range

• Buoyancy

Another objects of the present invention is to provide:
• A device that can be used with a single hand, either
for the handicapped or allowing the operator to have a
hand freely available for other uses such as
photography, spear fishing, navigation or to allow the
operator diver to hold their nose for clearing sinuses
and equalizing pressure.

• An underwater vehicle that has an adaptable ballast
system to accommodate varying power supplies and
the mass of other onboard systems.

• An underwater vehicle that is both thrust balanced
and rider balanced so that the vehicle is easily steerable
and controllable.

• A device that is inexpensive to manufacture and
maintain while retaining its effectiveness.


Another objects of the present invention is to provide:

Additionally, our PUV An underwater
personal vehicle that as twin battery powered
motors affixed to a central body. The
propellers preferably counter-rotate and are
in shrouds to allow true tracking without
stabilizing fins. The operator holds onto the
device and controls it from handles on the aft
end of the central body. A light and
supplemental ballast tubes are available. The
thrust produced by the motors is at
approximately the center of mass of the
vehicle to further stabilize it during motion

Market Summary
General Market and Demographic Data *
• Estimated number of certified divers in the US - 6 million
• Data show the total U.S. scuba sales in 2001 to be $812.8 million *
• Estimated number of active divers in the US - 2.5 million
• Estimated number of new divers certified each year - 250,000
• Estimated number of retail dive operations in the US - 2000
• Average gross revenue per store - $475,000
• Average revenue generated by dive operations rentals - $700
million
• Estimated revenue generated by dive travel sales - $1.7 billion
• Estimated number of dives by US divers per year - $20 million

Data supplied by PADI and DEMA (Diving Equipment and Marketing Association)

III. Market Summary

POTENTIAL MARKET
DEMAND
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that there are currently 5,674 taxable and 749 exempt sports and
recreation instruction establishments in the US, with more than $1.4 billion in sales per year.

III. Market Summary

MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS
Marketing efforts should be focused on two types of target consumers: Dive

operations and the consumer market (certified scuba divers)

Survey results show the following prominent information:

• The US states California, Hawaii, Washington, New Jersey, and Florida have the

strongest demand for DPVs. Surveys show that areas with bad diving conditions do

not have a strong demand for PUVs.

• The rental market is prominent in resort areas with good dive conditions.

• Data show that the majority of dive operations based in Hawaii do not allow PUV

dives to be unaccompanied by an instructor. This is due to liability reasons.
III. Market Summary

• Surveys conducted show that younger males use PUVs mainly for the thrill of riding

MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS

• Surveys conducted show that younger males use PUVs mainly for the thrill of riding

underwater, and older males use s mainly to reduce air consumption.

• Surveys show among female PUV certified divers, size and weight are the most

important features in the purchase of a PUV.

• 98 percent of the 60 PUV certified divers surveyed do not own a DPV, and 63

percent would like to own one.

• 80 percent of PUV certified divers and 80 percent of dive operations believe that
III. Market Summary
cost is a large factor in the purchase of a PUV.

MARKET DEMOGRAPHICS

• 80 percent of PUV certified divers and 80 percent of dive operations believe that

cost is a large factor in the purchase of a PUV.

• 70 percent of PUV certified divers surveyed chose battery life as the PUV feature

that is most important.

• 54 percent of dive operations surveyed do not currently sell PUVs, with 65 percent

answering that the reason why is that there is no demand.

• 53 percent of PUV certified divers surveyed became interested in PUVs from a

dive store, and 35 percent became interested in PUVs from a friend.
III. Market Summary

PRODUCT PROFITABILITY
ANALYSIS

III. Market Summary

COMPETITION

Several designs for personal underwater vehicles have been
designed in the past. None of them, however includes, among
other features, a dual, counter rotating motor that pulls from
near the center of mass while towing a diver from behind the
center of mass and an adjustable ballast system and propeller-
wash avoidance features combined into a sleek self contained
long range capable device.

IV. Competition

COMPETITION

IV. Competition

COMPETITION

Applicant believes that the closest reference corresponds to U.S. patent No. 4,996,938
issued to Cameron. However, it differs from the present invention because the Cameron
device requires the operator of the device to grasp the device near the center of thrust,
requires two-handed operation and requires the operator to expose their face, and
necessarily their face mask, to the full force of the hydrodynamic water resistance during
travel.

IV. Competition

Vi.
Technical aspect of AquaBuddy
P.U.V.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
Furthermore, the present device
includes features including an
electronic display, accessory
mounting rack, integrated light
and is balanced to tow more than
one person.

Other patents describing the
closest subject matter provide
for a number of more or less
complicated features that fail to
solve the problem in an efficient
and economical way. None of
these patents suggest the novel
features of the present invention.

III. Product Technical Aspects

The invention description

Keeping the previous related objects in mind, the
invention consists in the details of construction and
combination of parts as will be more fully understood
from the following short descriptions. Any further
details can be arrange by request.


This unit is unique in many ways.

First, the dual propeller thrust comes from either side of
the diver and thus is not directly in her face mask. Also, the
low profile of the unit allows it to be operated on the
surface or beneath the water. The unit has been designed
and engineered to speeds up to and beyond three miles per
hour, depending on the diver and the charge of the battery.


Another feature is the speed control throttle 40. By
depressing the throttle 40 button half way, the
vehicle operates at half-speed which is an
economical cruising rate. This propels the unit at
approximately twelve pounds of thrust at which
speed it can operate up to three hours of
continuous use.

Depressing the accelerator button all the way puts
the unit into high speed at maximum thrust
which allows operation up to one hour of
continuous use. Typically each motor will produce
at maximum power 23 about twenty-four to one-
hundred-one pounds of thrust or more.


body
Safety and Optionals

The device runs 1 smoothly and quietly in the water. The
headlight is designed with a particular safety feature. For
example, if one is night diving and the light should burn out,
the operator can simply move the switch to the opposite
position and the second beam will be in operation. This
prevents one from being "left in the dark".

control assembly
The device can optionally include a eyebolt attached to the
inside tube body or control assembly, which is ideally located for towing
a vehicle or another diver. It can also be used as a tether to
the operator's belt to prevent the unit from floating to the
surface because of it's positive buoyancy. Buoyancy of the unit
can be varied by adding ballast weight inside the body or
inside a tube under the body to the desired buoyancy.


The control assembly 16 is shown to include, inter alia, a hatch 34, a handle 36, a handle 37, a
switch 38, a display 39 and a throttle 40. The body assembly 12 is the central structure and
largest part of the device. The body 18 is generally a hollow cylinder that contains the several
internal components and provides the structure onto which the other necessary and optional
components are affixed. The handle 22 is provided on most variations to more easily transport
the device while not in the water.

To each side of the body assembly 12 is affixed a motor 28. The motor 28 connects to the
body 18 via a strut 42. The strut 42 is generally a tube that holds the motor 28 the proper
distance away from the body assembly 12 to prevent the propeller 30 that is powered by
the motor 28 from hitting the body assembly 12. The strut 42 also acts as a conduit for
wiring that supplies power to the motors 28.


The strut 42 and support 44 may be cylindrical in cross-section or may also take the form
of a hydrodynamic foil to track truer while the vehicle is in motion. The hydrodynamic
cross-section can act similar to an aircraft wing to provide lift and tracking. The
hydrodynamic shape of the cross-section can also have neutral lift if shaped similar to a
symmetrical tear drop. The cross-section shape can reduce the fluid resistance
experienced by the strut 42 and support 44 thereby allowing the device to move easier
through the water resulting in faster speeds and/or reduced battery usage.


The shrouds 32 are affixed, 1 one each, to the left and right side of the body 18. The
shrouds 32 each house a propeller 30 that is connected to a motor 28. The shrouds 32 aid
in preventing any foreign object, or an operator of the vehicle, from contacting the
propeller 30. This protects both the propeller 30 and the operator from injury.



The shrouds 32 also act to direct the flow of water
that the propellers 30 push when in operation. This
feature avoids the otherwise necessary stabilizing
fins or struts. In typical use, water is drawn into the
front of the shroud 32 by the propeller 30 and
forced out of the back of the shroud 32 in a directed
flow of water. The shroud 32 acts to expel that flow
of water in the most efficient way behind the device.
In this way the prop-wash behind the vehicle avoids
interacting with the user of the device.


It is important for an operator of the device to not
be directly in the prop-wash, flow of water ejected
by the propellers 30. The efficiency of the vehicle is
potentially adversely affected if the force of water
flow created by the propellers 30 strikes or is
obstructed by the operator. It is important to have a
free path of fluid travel behind the propeller or
efficiency can be severely compromised.

Besides efficiency, the operator coming into contact
with the prop wash can make it more difficult to
hold on to the device. This can prematurely fatigue
the operator resulting in a dangerous condition
made worse by being underwater. Further, the prop-
wash can blow off the operator’s dive mask 1 or
breathing regulator, also a very dangerous condition
for the operator.


Referring to Figure 4, a front perspective view of the device is shown. The nosecone 20 is generally a dome that
encloses the fore end of the body assembly. In a preferred version, the nosecone 20 is made a clear, rigid material such
as glass, acrylic or other plastic. Under the nosecone 20 is a light 46. The nosecone 20 is preferably permanently affixed
to the fore end of the body assembly 12. Access to the light 46 for service and maintenance purposes may be had
through the hatch 34 on the aft end of the body assembly 12.

In other versions the light 46 may be absent from the device and the nosecone 20 may then be absent or constructed
of a rigid, opaque material. Without a light 46 the nosecone 20 may be integral to the construction of the body 18 of
the body assembly 12. Whether a light 46 is present or not, the nosecone 20 preferably is formed of a hydrodynamic
shape so that the energy required to propel the vehicle through the water is minimized, speed is optimized and the
required battery weight to complete a particular application is minimized.


The light 46 may be controlled by switch 38.
The switch 38 can simply be comprised of an
on-off switch or may index through incremental
intensities of the light.

38

For example, when the light 46 is off a single
push of switch 38 turns the light 46 on to a low
intensity, a second push turns it to a medium
intensity, a third turns the light 46 on high
intensity and a subsequent push turns the light
46 off. Alternatively, a half-press of switch 38
may result in a low light 46 intensity and a full
press of switch 38 results in full light 46
intensity.

CONTACT

More details and specs could be request upon request

spinedoktr@aol.com

Aquabuddy

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