Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120204780 | Marine vessel having reduced skin friction drag - A marine vessel comprising a hull having a wetted area when underway on a surface of a body of water, a series of spaced transducer sections positioned in the wetted area of the hull, and an acoustic generator to energize the transducers to produce acoustic waves having an intensity sufficient to nucleate cavitation upon cavitation nuclei suspended in the water medium. Suspended cavitation nuclei include entrained gases, particulate matter, microbubbles formed from wind-blown breaking waves, and/or phase-boundaries at gas-water or solid-water interfaces in the water medium. The intensity, duty cycle and/or frequency of the acoustic waves are determined and/or regulated according to water conditions to produce microcavitation bubbles in the boundary layer between fifty and two hundred microns in size or to optimally reduce drag. An operator or controller may dynamically regulate the frequency, intensity, and/or duty cycle of acoustic waves according to vessel speed and/or sea surface conditions. | 08-16-2012 |
20120272891 | Apparatus to Reduce Skin Friction Drag on a Marine Vessel - An apparatus of reducing skin friction drag on a marine hull comprising imparting ultrasonically-induced cavitation at a boundary layer at the hull-water interface. The apparatus includes a sonification plate on at least a portion of a wettable area of the hull to establish a boundary layer interface between the sonification plate and the water medium, and an acoustic generator for energizing the sonification plate to produce microcavitation bubbles at the boundary layer interface whereby to alter the Reynolds number, kinematic viscosity, and coefficient of friction. The sonification plate is hermetically sealed and includes an array of ultrasonic transducers, which may be mounted on an interior or exterior surface of the hull. The energizing nucleates microcavitation bubbles upon entrained gases and/or particulate matter residing in the water medium. | 11-01-2012 |
20130319310 | HIGH-SPEED MARINE VESSEL HAVING AERODYNAMICALLY SUSPENDED CABIN OR COCKPIT - A floating cabin or cockpit for a marine vessel to achieve smooth rides in rough seas when traveling at high speeds. In response to vessel speed, the cabin is aerodynamically lifted and suspended between upper and lower limits. The cabin includes a wing structure for aerodynamic lift; a suspension and tethering mechanism interconnecting the cabin with a hull structure of the vessel to allow substantially free, unimpeded vertical, lateral and/or longitudinal excursions of the cabin between predefined limits when underway at high speeds; and a helm station to control the vessel and/or orientation of the cabin when freely floating. A multi-wing structure may provide addition lifting force and/or spring biasing may be provided to reduce aerodynamic lifting requirements for heavy cabin loads. The invention also helps to reduce vessel displacement, which improves fuel economy. | 12-05-2013 |
20140238291 | Self-Powered Slip Plate To Reduce Skin-Friction Drag on a Marine Vessel - An anti-friction slip plate for mounting on a hull of a marine vessel to reduce skin friction drag by acoustically generating microcavitation bubbles at a wetted area of the hull. The slip plate comprises a plate-like enclosure, an energy extraction mechanism to extract power from water current flowing along the hull when underway, a power generator driven by the energy extraction mechanism to produce electrical power, an acoustic signal generator powered by the power generator to produce an acoustic signal, and a series of transducers excited by the acoustic signal to effect emission of acoustic waves that produce cavitation bubbles in the wetted area. A bottom surface of the slip plate serves as an acoustic diaphragm to impart cavitation bubbles at the wetted area interface. Optionally, a controller and/or status monitor may be provided to control and/or visual monitoring of power, acoustic frequency, intensity, duty cycle, or other parameters according to a condition of operation of the vessel or a condition of the water medium at the interface. | 08-28-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100178869 | Enhanced wireless handset, including direct handset-to-handset communication mode - A wireless handset is provided with enhanced features and capabilities. The wireless handset may be embodied as a full-featured handset that is capable of operating either within a wireless network (such as a cellular or PCS network) or in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode that is independent of the wireless network. Alternatively, the wireless handset may be embodied as a special purpose handset, that is capable of simply operating in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode. The wireless handset may additionally include features for supporting and enhancing direct communication between handsets. Such features may include a find feature that permits a user to determine which objects, including other wireless handset users, are located within a predetermined operating range of the wireless handset. A memorize feature may also be provided to permit handsets and other objects exchange information by wireless transmission. | 07-15-2010 |
20110124316 | ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE - A wireless handset is provided with enhanced features and capabilities. The wireless handset may be embodied as a full-featured handset that is capable of operating either within a wireless network (such as a cellular or PCS network) or in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode that is independent of the wireless network. Alternatively, the wireless handset may be embodied as a special purpose handset, that is capable of simply operating in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode. The wireless handset may additionally include features for supporting and enhancing direct communication between handsets. Such features may include a find feature that permits a user to determine which objects, including other wireless handset users, are located within a predetermined operating range of the wireless handset. A memorize feature may also be provided to permit handsets and other objects exchange information by wireless transmission. | 05-26-2011 |
20120015614 | ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE - A wireless handset is provided with enhanced features and capabilities. The wireless handset may be embodied as a full-featured handset that is capable of operating either within a wireless network (such as a cellular or PCS network) or in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode that is independent of the wireless network. Alternatively, the wireless handset may be embodied as a special purpose handset, that is capable of simply operating in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode. The wireless handset may additionally include features for supporting and enhancing direct communication between handsets. Such features may include a find feature that permits a user to determine which objects, including other wireless handset users, are located within a predetermined operating range of the wireless handset. A memorize feature may also be provided to permit handsets and other objects exchange information by wireless transmission. | 01-19-2012 |
20130115883 | ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE - A wireless handset is provided with enhanced features and capabilities. The wireless handset may be embodied as a full-featured handset that is capable of operating either within a wireless network (such as a cellular or PCS network) or in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode that is independent of the wireless network. Alternatively, the wireless handset may be embodied as a special purpose handset, that is capable of simply operating in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode. The wireless handset may additionally include features for supporting and enhancing direct communication between handsets. Such features may include a find feature that permits a user to determine which objects, including other wireless handset users, are located within a predetermined operating range of the wireless handset. A memorize feature may also be provided to permit handsets and other objects exchange information by wireless transmission. | 05-09-2013 |
20140162592 | DYNAMIC POWER CLASS RE-REGISTRATION OF MOBILE DEVICES - Dynamic power class re-registration of wireless devices is provided. A wireless device can exchange data with a communications network. While exchanging data, the device can monitor its usage and based on the usage, generate a power change request. The device can then send the power change request to the communications network, prior to or in conjunction with powering down the device. In this regard, the communications network can receive the power change request, generate instructions for the wireless device, and adjust network resources based on the power change request. The instructions can then be sent to the wireless device. Since the device re-registers its power class with the communications network, handoffs, internetwork thresholds, network resources and other network parameters can be adjusted to compensate for the changed power class resulting into improved service for a user of the wireless device. | 06-12-2014 |
20140370812 | ENHANCED WIRELESS HANDSET, INCLUDING DIRECT HANDSET-TO-HANDSET COMMUNICATION MODE - A wireless handset is provided with enhanced features and capabilities. The wireless handset may be embodied as a full-featured handset that is capable of operating either within a wireless network (such as a cellular or PCS network) or in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode that is independent of the wireless network. Alternatively, the wireless handset may be embodied as a special purpose handset, that is capable of simply operating in a direct handset-to-handset communication mode. The wireless handset may additionally include features for supporting and enhancing direct communication between handsets. Such features may include a find feature that permits a user to determine which objects, including other wireless handset users, are located within a predetermined operating range of the wireless handset. A memorize feature may also be provided to permit handsets and other objects exchange information by wireless transmission. | 12-18-2014 |