WO2016064409A1

WO2016064409A1 - Stingray repellent footwear, swim goggles & swim cap

Info

Publication number: WO2016064409A1
Application number: PCT/US2014/062058
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael BOBZIEN
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-10-23
Filing date: 2014-10-23
Publication date: 2016-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 2017-04-23

Abstract

Stingrays are not aggressive toward humans. If left alone stingrays will not attack. They do possess a defensive stinger in their tail which they use if threatened or stepped on. Stingrays spend much of their time buried just beneath the surface in shallow sandy bottoms along beaches and bays. Hammerhead sharks, killer whales and large predatory fish prey upon them. When a person inadvertently steps on a buried stingray or floats over top, the ray's protective instinct is to thrust its tail upward imbedding its stinger into the unsuspecting victim injecting a painful toxin. Stingrays have an organ called the Ampullae de Lorenzini which are electroreceptors sensitive to Earth's geomagnetic field. Magnets elicit an aversionary response from the stingray due to an overstimulation of the Ampullae de Lorenzini organ. The invention is magnets strategically placed on foot wear, swim goggles and swim caps to avert accidental stingray encounters.

Description

Invention Name: Stingray repelling footwear, swim goggles and swim cap

Type of Invention: Utility

Brief Description of Drawing:

Figure 1 is of footwear side view with magnets labelled 1 attached to the toe, sides and heel areas.

Figure 2 is of swim goggles front view with magnets labelled 1 attached around the area covering the eyes.

Figure 3 is of swim cap side view with magnets labelled 1 attached at the top of the head area and forehead region.

Figure 4 is of bottom view footwear with magnets labelled 1 attached to the toe and heel areas.

Figure 5 is of top view of swim goggles with magnets labelled 1 attached around the eye protectors.

Detailed Description:

Stingrays have an organ called the Ampullae de Lorenzini which are electroreceptors sensitive to the Earth's geomagnetic field. Magnets elicit an aversionary response from the stingray due to an overstimulation of the Ampullae de Lorenzini organ. Many persons are stung when they inadvertently step on a stingray or float over the top of stingrays buried in the sand. The invention repels stingrays with strategic placement of magnets on swim goggles, toe, sides and heel areas of foot wear and swim caps used for swimming and wading in areas inhabited by stingrays. The shape, size, thickness and number of magnets are not critical to the principle of the invention. The placement is critical as the magnets have a limited range of effect upon stingrays. Most persons are stung on the foot area when accidentally stepping on a stingray or in the chest and shoulder areas when floating just above a buried stingray. Having the magnet placed at the point closest to initial human contact with the stingray increases the effectiveness of the invention. Placement of magnets on the side and bottom of the toe and heel area of the foot, on swim goggles and swim caps are important for effectively averting stingray encounters.

Prior Art:

Patent 8,453,356:

Refers to imbedded magnets in a shoe for the purpose of attaching accessories to the shoe. There is no mention of using magnets in the toe and heel area to repel stingrays. (The patent's application relates to an accessory item for temporary manual attachment to, and temporary manual removal from, an item of footwear, the accessory item comprising a first magnetic material part and a second magnetic material part, the first magnetic material part and the second magnetic material part are arranged to temporary attach to a magnetic material part on an item of footwear, wherein the first magnetic material part is spaced from the second magnetic material part.) The Stingray repellent footwear specifies magnets places strategically on the toe, sides and heel areas which are the points of first contact with stingrays buried in sandy ocean bottoms. There is no intent to temporarily attach an accessory item to the footwear. Patent 7,302,905:

References a shark deterrent system involving a floatation device, electrical transmitter and attachable magnet. Stingray deterrent footwear, swim goggles and bathing cap utilize permanently attached Magnets worn by a person wading or swimming in the water. (Shark repellent system repels sharks away from an individual while boating. The shark repellent system includes an attachable magnet and a transmitter unit that emits sound waves at a frequency undesirable to sharks. The transmitter unit is contained in a watertight enclosure affixed to a buoyant device, and is usually submerged in water while the buoyant device is in the water. The magnet may function as an on/off switch for the transmitter unit)

Patent 6606963:

References a shark repellent system emitting sound waves. The stingray repellent footwear, swim goggles and bathing cap utilize magnets to repel stingrays. (A shark repellent system for use upon a human in a volume of water for deterring sharks, comprising: a band member comprising an elastic material for snugly fitting about a body part; and a transmitter unit capable of transmitting sound waves within a volume of water in a pulsing manner within water at a frequency undesirable to sharks, wherein said frequency is adjustable and between 30 Hz to 500 Hz; wherein said transmitter unit is comprised of: a power source; a frequency generator electrically connected to said power source; an amplifier electrically connected to said frequency generator; and a transducer electrically connected to said amplifier for generating said sound waves within a volume of water for deterring sharks.) Patent 7270083:

References using electromagnetic field generator powered by onboard power supply supported by a buoyancy device and mentions adding additional interconnected floating electromagnetic field generators effectively creating a shark free zone. The Stingray repelling footwear, swim goggles and swim cap are personal stingray repelling item moving with the individual wearing them whereas the afore mentioned patent creates a stationary shark repelling zone attached to the buoyancy devices and any persons in the water need to stay within the zone. (A device for repelling selected aquatic creatures, such as sharks. The device consists of an electromagnetic field generator for generating an electromagnetic field that repels sharks and is supported by a buoyant device. This provides a shark-free region about the device. Multiple devices can be connected together to form an array of repelling devices, thereby extending the shark-free region.)

Patent 5524300:

References nose bridge being formed integrally with eye lenses, said nose bridge being generally U-shaped. The stingray repellent swim goggles utilize a connector piece between the molded eye pieces and magnets are bonded to the pieces covering the eyes. Patent 7134148

References multiple parts snapping together. The stingray swim goggles has magnets fastened to the eye protection frame. No snapping together of parts is intended. The only replaceable part is the head band securing the swim goggles to the face.

Summary: The Stingray repelling footwear, swim goggles and swim cap are specifically intended for averting incidental contact by ocean swimmers and surf waders with stingrays buried in the sand. All other inventions focus primarily on shark aversion. The important aspects of this patent are use of magnets located at points on the human body closest to encounters with the buried stingrays. The person will likely be walking or swimming when accidental encounter with a stingray occurs. Locating the magnets on toes, heels, sides and sole of feet and head region are important to avert accidental contact with stingrays.

Claims

I claim :

1: Magnets fitted, attached, adhered, sown, mechanically connected, velcroed, taped, welded to foot wear in the toe, sides and heel areas deter accidental stingray encounters.

2: Magnets fitted, attached, glued, adhered, mechanically connected, taped, velcroed, welded to swim goggles deter accidental stingray encounters.

3: Magnets fitted, attached, glued, adhered, mechanically connected, taped, velcroed, welded to bathing caps deter accidental stingray encounters.

4: The Magnets recited in claim 1, 2 & 3 wherein may vary in number, size, shape, thickness and strength.

5: The footwear recited in claim 1 wherein are made of mesh, polyester, spandex, neoprene, plastic, rubber, synthetic rubber, canvas, with or without hard durable bottoms.

6: The swim goggles recited in claim 2 wherein may cover only the eyes or the eyes and nose and be made of plastic, rubber, synthetic rubber, glass, latex, silicon and metal.

7: The bathing caps recited in claim 3 wherein are made of latex, silicon, rubber, synthetic rubber with or without under chin fastening strap.