Patent Application
20140026312
The invention relates to dive tanks and, more particularly, to an in-ground, enclosed, temperature-controlled super dive tank for recreational and/or training purposes.
Every year more than 140,000 new divers are certified in the United States. Divers that dive recreationally or for training purposes need to dive on a regular basis in order to maintain their certification. Divers have limited options to address this need. These options include going to above-ground tanks or to rivers, lakes or quarries where visibility for diving is minimal and, in both cases, only during those time of the year when the weather is favorable for such diving. Divers, of course, have the option of traveling to favorable diving venues, such as the Caribbean and other open water warm climates, but this typically entails much time and expense.
There exists, therefore, a need for a super dive tank that can be used for recreational and/or training purposes which is easily accessible, large enough to simulate the pleasures and rigors of open water diving, and which can be used all year round.
The invention fulfills this need by providing an enclosed, in-ground, temperature-controlled super dive tank and methods for simulating open water diving by a diver using the super dive tank of the invention. The super dive tank of the invention is capable of providing a diver with as natural a diving experience as one would experience if one were diving in a coral reef in an ocean.
In particular, the super dive tank of the invention has a front end, a rear end, a top end, a bottom end and two sides. The distance between the front end and the rear end of the tank, i.e. the length of the tank, ranges between about 100 feet to about 200 feet long. The distance between the two sides of the tank, i.e. the width of the super dive tank, ranges between about 50 feet to about 150 feet wide. The distance between the top end and the bottom end of the tank, i.e. the depth of the tank, ranges between about 50 feet to about 80 feet deep.
The super dive tank of the invention is rectangular or elliptical in shape.
The super dive tank of the invention has an entry ledge at the rear end and the two sides of the tank. The width of the entry ledge is about 3 feet.
The super dive tank of the invention has a walkway adjacent to the entry ledge of the tank. The walkway has a width of about 6 feet.
Each of the two sides of the super dive tank has one or more ledges which is located at a different depth level in the tank such as, for example, at about 20 feet deep, at about 30 feet deep or at about 40 feet deep. Each one of the underwater ledges has a width of about 20 feet.
It is contemplated that the super dive tank of the invention having the above-described dimensions can accommodate up to about 30 divers comfortably and safely at any given time.
The super dive tank of the invention is filled with at least about 1×106 to about 3×106 gallons of clear water and maintained at a temperature of about 80 degrees F.
The bottom of the super dive tank of the invention may be filled with sand or any other suitable material which simulates the bottom of a natural waterway.
The super dive tank may contain a plurality of artifacts including, without limitation, underwater landscaping such as artificial reef or coral, a sunken pirate ship, a treasure chest, one or more skeletal remains, a small aircraft or other objects to enhance recreational use of the tank by a diver.
The super dive tank may contain a plurality of objects including, without limitation, underwater video cameras, a submerged vehicle for rescue, a section of steel beams and girders welded together for underwater welding, bolting and inspection exercises or other objects useful for training exercises by a diver in the tank.
The invention also provides a method for simulating open water diving by a diver. The method comprises diving in the enclosed, in-ground, temperature-controlled super dive tank of the invention.
A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the following description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Referring to
The super dive tank 10 of the invention may be rectangular or elliptical in shape. In one embodiment, the super dive tank 10 is rectangular.
The super dive tank 10 of the invention has an entry ledge 20 at the rear end 14 and at the two sides 16, 16′ of the tank. The width of the entry ledge 20 is about 3 feet wide.
The super dive tank 10 of the invention has a walkway 22 adjacent to the entry ledge 20 of the tank. The walkway 22 has a width of about 6 feet wide.
As can be seen in
Each of the two sides 16, 16′ of the super dive tank 10 has one or more underwater ledges 24, in which each underwater ledge 24 is which are located at a different depth level in the tank 10. In an embodiment, one of the two sides 16 of the tank contains two underwater ledges 24. The first underwater ledge 24 is located at a depth level of about 20 feet. The second underwater ledge 24 is located at a depth level of about 40 feet. The second of the two sides 16′ contains one underwater ledge 24 located at a depth level of about 30 feet. Each one of the underwater ledges 24 has a width of about 20 feet. The underwater ledges 24 thus allow a diver to dive to different depths by descending from a particular underwater ledge 24 located at the above-described depth level.
It is contemplated that the super dive tank 10 of the invention having the above-described dimensions can accommodate up to about 30 divers comfortably and safely at any given time.
The super dive tank 10 of the invention can be filled with at least about 1×106 to about 3×106 gallons of clear water. In an embodiment, the super dive tank 10 is filled with over 2.5×106 gallons of clear water and the water temperature in the super dive tank is maintained at about 80 degrees F. The bottom end 18 of the super dive tank of the invention may be filled with sand.
In an embodiment, the super dive tank 10 may contain a plurality of artifacts 32 including, without limitation, underwater landscaping such as artificial reef or coral, a sunken pirate ship, a treasure chest, one or more skeletal remains, a small aircraft or other objects to enhance recreational use of the tank by a diver. The artifacts may be fabricated from suitable materials used by those skilled in the art of manufacturing artifacts such as these. For example, artificial reef or coral may be fabricated from plastic casts or moldings.
In another embodiment, the super dive tank 10 may contain a plurality of objects 34 including, without limitation, underwater video cameras for viewing divers in action, a submerged vehicle for rescue, a section of steel beams and girders welded together for underwater welding, bolting and inspection exercises or other objects useful for training exercises by a diver in the tank.
The super dive tank 10 of the invention is fabricated as an in-ground tank, so that divers will experience increasing atmospheric pressure at increasing diving depths. In particular, the super dive tank 10 of the invention is deep enough to allow divers to train in compression dives, defined as diving at depths over 33 feet. Compression dives consist of “atmospheres of pressure.” The air pressure at sea level is defined as one atmosphere of pressure (1 ATM). Pressure increases at a rate of 1 ATM every 33 feet of water depth. Thus, at 33 feet, a diver is at 2 ATM; at 66 feet a diver is at 3 ATM, and so on. When a diver descends over 33 feet, i.e., compression dives, the time spent at such depths as well as the assent from the dive needs to be strictly timed and regulated. The super dive tank 10 of the invention allows for such deep-water diving training as well as for regular diving sessions in order to maintain diving certification by a diver.
The super dive tank 10 of the invention may be fabricated from all suitable materials well known by those skilled in the art of manufacturing in-ground aquatic structures including, without limitation, concrete blocks, form and pour concrete columns and beams, tank concrete, concrete slabs with steel, steel footers, underground plumbing, a water filtration system, a water heater, and electrical wiring for underwater lighting.
It is envisioned that the super dive tank 10 of the invention is contained within an enclosed diving facility. The facility may be enclosed with any suitable enclosure 36 to ensure that the temperature of the water in the super dive tank 10 as well as the diving facility is maintained at warm temperatures to allow divers 26 to use the super dive tank 10 for recreational and/or dive training all year round in any climate.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications that are within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.
