Oriskany Divemaster:Thanks for the clarification. I always seem to get that one wrong. I just assumed....
You know what what assume means right?
Make an *** out of U and ME
:shakehead
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Oriskany Divemaster:Thanks for the clarification. I always seem to get that one wrong. I just assumed....
sam miller:------------------------------------------
The "BIU" or "Wings" origin and inventor can a probably will be always be disputed. Scuba Pro and Sea tec inflatable systems both introduced units in 1975.
The Scuba pro unit was idenified as follows;
Bouyancy control pack #570 $165.00.
Scuba Pro had a number of very inovative engineers and may have designed the unit, how ever I suspect that they copied the unit forn Inflatable Systems.
It was produced in Ensenada Baja California Mexico (Yes it was Mexican Made!) by Ruben Pena for Scuba Pro in Compton California, USA
Darryl Bowerman:I want to say Bill Walters of Sea Pro had some early models. Was it Sea Pro? Memory fry on the exact name of the product. Hey Mike, was'nt Bill the one who developed the weight-integrated BP/wing system. Was it called the AD-Pack? Darryl
sam miller:"What Flanagan designed was new and THE major inprovement in the advancement of the backplate: the "flat bottomed "V"; that made his plate different than which came before and became the standard for cave diving - which is now standard for all tech diving."
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It was certainly not new...
It was a "modification" to exisiting hardware that had been around probably prior to his birth and certainly prior to his entrance into the world of Scuba diving.
Had he made a patent search he would had discovered the Sea Craft had a prior art work and a prior patent covering a Back Plate. Since he made a bend in the back plate and changed the configuration to the design his unit could and did leap frog over the Sea Craft patent. Therefore it was a "modification."
One only needs to examine the single hose regulator. There are a number currently on the market but all revert to the American single hose regulator patent of Sam Lecocq. These were the frist US regulators designed specificly for underwater usage and were marketed by Heathways and Sportsways. However, there have been many
many regulators since their introduction fifty plus years ago all being a little different to avoid infringement of the patent. SDM