Automatic Buoyancy Compensator

[elan]

For this concept to work you need to be able to measure in real time the positive or negative WEIGHT of the diver and gear. This is relatively easy to do, as long as the diver is not ascending or descending (suspend the diver via a rigid beam and measure the expansion or compression on the beam - otherwise known as a load cell).

Fixed it for you

He will also need to know the displacement ...

 

[tridacna]

Have you completed a patent search on this? I have a friend who has developed a similar device. After spending several hundred thousand dollars, he has come to the realization that it's not financially viable.

If you intend starting a company to market this, beware of the INSURANCE premiums you will have to pay. Mega$.

Additionally, you will have to get PADI, SSI et al to include training and so on. A probably futile undertaking. A neat idea but as an investor, I would be highly skeptical of any potential profit. PM me and I can put you in touch with him. He could be a valuable resource for you.

 

[TSandM]

You know, when I think about it again, having a BC that maintained constant volume throughout the dive might make things very interesting. It could damp out some of the major excursions that occur when someone changes his breathing under stress -- the device wouldn't know that you were ascending, but would control the expansion of the BC, so the ascent wouldn't continue to accelerate while the diver was distracted by whatever it was.

It could be intriguing. Of course, you'd have to have some way to override the governor to inflate it at the surface.

 

[Paladin]

Didn't Dacor make an automatic buoyancy/ballast system back in the late '60s, early '70s? I think it was called the Nautilus CVS.

 

[jIM STEELE]

have you seen the dacor cvs bc from the early 80s it did a good job to maintain a constant volume

 

[chillyinCanada]

Two questions.

Is this device going to have an emergency override?

Are you going to test it on goats? jk

 

[aquaregia]

Just add a tare function that runs whenever you release either the inflate or deflate. This sets the desired BC volume, which can easily be maintained with a pressure sensor or variable overpressure valve. It would decrease the chance of runaway ascents/descents as well, because it removes the positive feedback loop.

I'm skeptical about the added complexity (I really don't find using a BC that difficult) but I don't see a technical problem.

 

[JoshuaHeard]

Thanks for the tip on the Dacor Nautilus CVS. I couldn't find much on the internet about it. I did a search on constant volume BCs in general and came across a patent that looks like the Dacor Nautilus CVS. My design is similar to this, though it is not "constant volume". The exterior shell is a fixed size, but it uses a variable volume in order to compensate for the changing buoyancy of the diver. In any event, the patent I saw (possibly the Dacor) is still a manual device. My device has an automatic control based in part on the user's depth. It also compensates for changing buoyancy due to loss of mass from the breathing supply during the dive. It makes the BC completely automatic so the diver is always in a state of neutral buoyancy during the dive. I am hoping this will improve the diving experience by making it easier, simpler, and safer.

 

[Kharon]

Really would you trust your safety to such a device?

My first thought exactly. Not in a million years would I trust my life UW to an automated gizmo. If you don't have bouyancy down practice, practice, practice - OR stay on the shore/boat!!!!!

 

[tridacna]

My first thought exactly. Not in a million years would I trust my life UW to an automated gizmo!

Try telling that to all of the CCR rebreather divers out there. Mind you, many people were probably saying exactly what you just did 25 years ago. Things change...