USOO646 1209B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,461,209 B2 Evans (45) Date of Patent: Oct. 8, 2002 (54) SWIM FIN HAVING ARTICULATED WING Primary Examiner S. Joseph Morano MEMBERS Assistant Examiner Andy Wright (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cislo & Thomas LLP (76) Inventor: Robert B. Evans, 715 Kimball Ave., Santa Barbara, CA (US) 93.103 (57) ABSTRACT - - - - 0 A Swim fin has articulating wing members articulated by (*) Notice: Subject to any distic the SME t means of clock washers or the like with respect to a foot patent isS. adjusted under pocket to provide, among other things, adjustment of pitch U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. and tension of Such wing members or other fin blade. A Swim fin with articulating wing members may have a foot pocket (21) Appl. No.: 09/892,119 with a forked end. Articulating wing members may then be (22) Filed: Jun. 25, 2001 attached to the fork Stubs, there being right and left articu O O lating wing members. Clock washers or the like may serve (65) Prior Publication Data to provide Stable and adjustable means by which the dispo US 2001/0051477 A1 Dec. 13, 2001 Sition of the individual articulating wing members may be Selectably disposed with respect to the foot pocket. Each of Related U.S. Application Data the articulating wing members extends away from the foot - - - pocket, there possibly being a gap Separating the individual (62) Division of application No. 09/549,088, filed on Apr. 13, articulating wing members. The ends of the wing members 2000. may be flared outwardly. The outermost side of the articu (51) Int. Cl." ................................................ A63B31/08 lating wing members may also be flared upwardly. The gap (52) U.S. Cl. ......................................................... 441/64 between the wing members may serve to allow the flow of (58) Field of Search ............................ 441/64; D21/806 Water through and past the articulating wing members. The Swim fin of the present invention allows the Swim kick to (56) References Cited concentrate its energy in a more propulsive direction. An U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS alternative embodiment of the present invention has indi vidual webbed rails generally connected at their common 3,952,351 A 4/1976 Gisbert ........................ 441/64 base, but may be separated, or split, near their end. The rails 4,767,118 A * 8/1988 Ostergard .................... 441/60 are generally attached to the foot pocket in the manner 5,108,327 A 4/1992 Klein .......................... 441/62 Similar to that for the articulating wing members. The E. A : 3. E. Ea - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - is: optional Separation between the webbing at the end of the fin 5,634,6132-1 .. 2 A 6/1997 McCarthyValls . ...... .... 244/199 allows the water to flow through and past the webbing. The 5746631 A 5 flow through the Separation prevents Swim kick energy from D404,4562 . / 2 S 1/1999/1998 McCarthyEvans .......... .................... ... D21/806 441/64 being dispersed laterally and allows focus of the swim kick 6,120,336 A 9/2000 Kawai et al. ................. 441/64 energy in a propulsive, rather than dispersive, direction. * cited by examiner 5 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets 20 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 2 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 3 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 4 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 XXXXXXXXX&XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX KXXXXXXXXXXXXCXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXKXXXXXX 40 as&xXXXXXXXXAx a CXXXX S& CXXXXXXXXXXXXX CXXXXX &S &e 40 FIG. 12 42 N 22 -7 42 FIG. 13 48 80 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 6 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 7 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 8 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 42 130 150 152 164 FIG. 24 164 FIG. 25 162 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 9 of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 U.S. Patent Oct. 8, 2002 Sheet 10 Of 10 US 6,461,209 B2 92 US 6,461,209 B2 1 2 SWIM FIN HAVING ARTICULATED WING maintain their buoyancy. In Some Sharks, the top fork of the MEMBERS forked caudal fin is elongated to increase the upward force on the fish to hold its vertical position in the water as it CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED Swims. Fish with lunate caudal fins tend to be the fastest fish, APPLICATIONS with Such fish being able to maintain relatively high Speeds This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. for long durations. Such fish include tuna, mackerel, and No. 09/549,088 filed on Apr. 13, 2000 by the same inventor jacks, which have a fusiform shape and are generally the entitled “Spear Blade Swim Fin,” the entirety of which is fastest fish in the ocean. incorporated herein by this reference thereto. This is a Beyond the specific construction of fish fins, fish also divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. have the ability to bring their musculature to bear upon the 09/549,089 in the name of the same inventor entitled SWIM instant geometry of their fins. Thus, it is an advantage not yet FIN HAVING ARTICULATED WING MEMBERS fled on realized in the art to provide a Swim fin that allows the diver Apr. 13, 2000. to adjust the pitch and tension of the diver's Swim fin blade, regardless of the Specific geometry of the Swim fin blade. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 15 Furthermore, the art of Swim fins would be enhanced and expanded by the ready Substitution of one adjustable Swim 1. Field of the Invention fin blade by another, both Swim fin blades being adjustable This invention relates to Swim fins and more particularly in pitch and tension. Swim fins of an advanced design that will allow canceling Most bladed Swim fins, particularly those often used in Vortices and better propulsion. conjunction with Scuba and skin diving, are bladed fins 2. Description of the Related Art having a pair of rails extending outwardly from a foot With the advancement of Scuba diving and Snorkeling, pocket. Webbing is present in the form of elastic or plastic Swim fins have likewise developed in order to propel the webbing that forms a blade by which the diver propels him diver through the water. As with the Swimming fins of fish, or herself. Such Swim fins often resemble the rounded or Swim fins for human beings have certain dynamic charac 25 truncate caudal fins present on fish. Consequently, Such teristics that provide for different types of propulsion Swim fins provide Strength, but generally not speed. AS a through the water. result, skin and Scuba diverS Swimming around reefs and The analogy with fish and aquatic mammal fins is par trying to cover longer distances in calm waters must gen ticularly apropos, as Such fish fins Serve to propel fish erally work harder in order to propel themselves faster. ranging in size from the Smallest minnow to the largest Additionally, Such bladed Swim fins are not adjustable, the whale. Additionally, if the rules of natural Selection are lateral rails and the blade webbing not providing any adjust assumed, the development of fish fins for particular activi ment with respect to the foot pocket or adjustment with ties Serves as an indication of advantageous architecture to respect to the pitch and/or tension of the Swim fin blade. be adopted in diving fins. 35 By taking advantage of the development in fish fins nature Different species of fish and fish living in different envi has achieved, a Swimmer or diver could better propel him ronments have adapted over the thousands of generations to or herself by adopting a Swim fin blade configuration that both interspecies and intraspecie competition So that those allows for greater Speed and easier propulsion. Additionally, fish with the most efficient or better fin configuration, by improving upon present-day Swim fins, greater adjust geometry, or architecture have a better advantage with 40 ability and tailoring of fin blade performance would allow respect to other members of their species not So endowed. divers to conform fin blade operation to the diver's prefer Over time, advantageous characteristic features are adopted CCCS. while detrimental or disadvantageous features are eliminated, as individual members of the Species compete SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION against one another. AS fish are especially adapted for 45 The present invention provides Swim fins with adjustable Swimming and living in aquatic environments, the wing members having a greater degree of forkedness or arrangement, Structure, and architecture of the fins, particu lunateneSS Such as that which is often found with the caudal larly the fins used for propulsion, are a significant element fins of faster-Swimming fish. The individual wing members to the fish's anatomy and its ability to compete and Survive are Selectably adjustable by means of a clock or timing with respect to other members of the Species. 50 washer so that the attitude or disposition of the individual Ichthyologists characterize fish in a number of ways wing members may be Selectively positioned with respect to according to their body type and habitat. Some fish live the foot pocket. generally at the Surface of the water, others at the bottom, In an alternative embodiment, the webbing between the Some around coral reefs, and Some are deep water, pelagic, laterally extended rails of the Swim fin blade may be fish that are generally in a constant State of motion and 55 discontinuous down its center, thereby allowing water flow generally always Swimming.