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US 12,269,567 B2Granted
Fin-based watercraft propulsion system
AssigneeFishboat Incorporated
InventorMartin Spencer Garthwaite
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A watercraft comprises a motor, an inertial mass, and a fin. The motor oscillates the inertial mass about an axis, producing a torque reaction on and oscillation of the motor. Oscillation of the motor is communicated to the fin, producing thrust. The system can be operated in reverse, to generate electric power when the system is in a flowing stream of thrust fluid.
Claims10
A robotic system comprising:
- a body;
- at least one flexible fin attached to the body at a first location;
- and a first rotatable mass operatively coupled to the body at a second location removed and separate from the at least one flexible fin, wherein angular acceleration of the first rotatable mass relative to the body creates a reaction torque that rotates the body to deform the at least one flexible fin.
A method for operating a robotic system, the method comprising:
- applying an angular acceleration to a first rotatable mass relative to a body the first rotatable mass is operatively coupled with to apply a reaction torque to the body;
- rotating the body in response to the reaction torque applied to the body;
- and deforming at least one flexible fin attached to the body at a location removed and separate from the first rotatable mass in response to rotating the body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.