HRP20160375A2 - Wind hydrosledge with synchronised hand and foot control - Google Patents

Abstract

Synchronous manual and foot-operated windsurfing is a recreational, tourist, folding and portable vessel intended for mass use primarily for two persons. in front of the seating rudder, synchronously controls the vessel. The vessel consists of two rigidly connected floats (S), a central fin (12), a mast (11) with four connecting rings (9, 13, 14, 17), a freestanding carrier with two rectangular triangular sails (1) where the outer ends of the boom (2) are connected by a quarter rod (4) which serves as the steering wheel for the sail. The rudder (5) has two hoops (20) for synchronous rotation of the arms (19) of the cross-linked rear rudder (6) of the vessel. The vessel has a seat in the form of a crate (7) for belongings and an auxiliary oar for a peaceful landing and in case of adverse wind or its cessation.

Description

The technical field to which the invention belongs

The invention belongs to the field of wind-powered vessels without engines. Since pedals with paddles or a foot-powered propeller can be installed in it, the invention also belongs to the field of human-powered vessels. According to the international classification of patents, the invention belongs to class B63B 35/72, B63H 9/06.

Technical problem

The invention solves the basic technical problem of the best possible use of wind power and its transfer via sails to the vessel. In addition, the problem of steering the vessel as simply as possible is solved.

In existing sailing vessels, only the component of the wind force that hits the surface of the sail is used, and a good part of the tangential force remains unused. This invention uses all components of the force falling on the surface occupied by the sails, which increases the utilization of wind power.

Another problem that is solved by this technical solution is the problem of wind pressure regulation. Namely, in the existing solutions, by regulating the thrust force by turning the sail, a significant part of the energy is lost, because maintaining the sailing direction is compensated by the resistance of the rudder in the water. With this technical solution, by symmetrically changing the angle between the sails, i.e. the size of the air cushion, the thrust force of the wind changes between the sails, and by turning the sails, the direction of travel of the vessel.

The third problem is steering, i.e. simultaneously adjusting the position of the sail with one hand and the position of the rudder with the other hand, which creates instability and requires the helmsman to be trained. The problem of vessel stability and maintaining the sailing direction is solved by means of a centrally located fin, which simultaneously serves as an additional foot-operated rudder and for braking when changing the driving mode.

The fourth problem is shocks during sudden changes of direction of such vessels, which in existing catamarans are solved by mechanical coupling of two rudders and timely sudden turn of the sail. This requires certain knowledge and practice as well as physical strength. Here, this is solved with a manual rudder (steering wheel), which achieves a calm and continuous turning of both sails and thus a change of direction. This avoids uncontrolled wind blows on the sails and avoids the possibility of overturning and breakage.

The fifth problem solved by this invention is sailing with the wind, which in existing sailboats is solved by zigzag sailing. The proposed technical solution uses the wedge position of the sails, where the side components of the wind force are used to push the vessel upwind. There, the use of zig-zag sailing is absolutely minimal, because the thrust is obtained by the size of the sail wedge.

The sixth technical problem is contained in the requirement that the vessel be manually unfolded and collapsible, that it be portable on the roof of a car, that there are no parts that a person cannot lift, that it be for two people sitting, for a longer stay on the water and for mass use.

The seventh technical problem is reflected in the sudden stopping of the vessel, which in existing solutions requires pre-programmed and trained reactions. This proposed technical solution stops the current vessel by releasing the sail rudder when the sail is automatically positioned in the direction of minimum wind resistance.

State of the art

In technology, a more widely known solution for a vessel with two floats is a catamaran.

In a catamaran, the mentioned technical problems are only partially solved by using a separate rudder and a special stabilizing fin for each float. Both rudders are mechanically linked to operate in parallel and simultaneously operated with one hand.

The main disadvantage of this technical solution is the great instability of the catamaran when changing direction, the sudden turning of the vessel around its float and frequent overturning, all of which require highly trained coordination of sail and rudder control movements and a good knowledge of local winds.

Unlike a catamaran with a double rudder, this solution uses only one rudder and one fin, located along the central axis of the vessel. The consequence of such placement of the rudder and fin is the complete prevention of turning the vessel around the float, because the float would have to be submerged in order for the vessel to capsize around it.

Patent application FR 1 591 092 A solves the tensioning of wing sails without booms (fatties) which is achieved with a rope and a pulley. Management of two sails using two pulleys and, which is fundamentally different, does not have a mechanical solid connection of the ends of the wing sails, which fundamentally changes the way the sails are used and their management.

Patent application GB 742 128 A solves the lever control of parallel sails by sliding guides of the lower tips of the sails which are essentially connected to two masts at a distance from the main mast. Guides connected to the wheels of the rotating lever enable a different intermediate position of the sails, forward - backward, which is already different in principle. For the efficient operation of the sails placed in this way, the air gap between the sails is used, which act as two sails in all multi-winged sailplanes. In the proposed solution, two perpendicularly connected sails are used, completely on the contrary, which operate on the principle of a trapped air cushion, with the tops of the sails connected.

Patent application CH 652 083 A5 solves the technical problem of a sitting helmsman with the use of a surf sail which is placed behind the sitting helmsman. In this case, the foot rudder, which is controlled by the pedals on the pivoting lever in front of the helmsman, has appendages attached parallel to the rudder fin.

To place the sailboat in front of the helmsman, it is necessary to change the direction of movement of the fins of the helm itself. Namely, with sails at the front, a parallel rudder would have the opposite effect. With a sailboat in front of the helmsman, it is necessary to have a cross-connected rudder.

In the patent, the control foot lever with pedals does not allow the use of both feet to turn the lever in both directions, especially in the direction towards the helmsman, which requires a greater effort of one foot, especially since the vessel has two fins for stabilization.

The new solution solves this problem with foot rings on the swing arm.

Description of the technical solution of the invention

1. Sailboats, which move the vessel by the force of the wind, are placed in front of the sitting helmsman, who turns the steering rod 4 of the sailboat with his hands and, by moving the tops of the sails along the rod, brings the sails into the optimal position, which controls the direction and speed of the vessel, Fig. 1.

2. The entire sailboat is intended for assembly and disassembly as well as transport before and after sailing. The joints of individual parts of the sailboat are made uniformly using circular links that are connected to each other with standard clips called "karabiner with side opening". This avoids rigid joints and enables loose connections of all parts of the sailboat, which solves the very important problem of rigid parts breaking in the event of wind.

3. The new sailboat, which is located in front of the sitting helmsman, consists of two structurally separate parts.

One part of the sailboat is a free-standing sail support, Fig. 2.

The second part represents the construction of the sails, Fig. 3, which consists of a functional coupling of two equal rectangular triangular sails that are attached to the existing free-standing sail support.

4. The free-standing sail holder, Fig. 2, has the function of maintaining the set shape of the sails, i.e. the angle between them, the constant tension of both sails and always the same height of the steering rod 4 in front of the helmsman, the free-standing sail holder consists of a mast 11, two spars 2, suffixes 3 and 10 and bars 4.

5. The mast 11 has a fixed circular steel ring 13 at its top and a second ring 14 at its bottom. The left and right attachments 10 and the tips of both sails are connected to the ring 13 using carabiner clips. The ends of both spars 2 and the lower ends of the sails 1 are connected to the ring 14 on the mast.

6. Attachments 3 and 10 have the function of ensuring the stability of the entire construction of the sailboat, i.e. the unchanging basic shape of the sail holder and steering rod.

Attachments 3 fasten the masts 2 to the lower part of the mast 11 and thereby ensure their permanent horizontal position.

Attachments 10 have the function of resting the sails on them, preventing the sails from inflating like balloons, ensuring a flat shape, which achieves more reliable and precise control of the movement of the vessel.

7. The other outer ends of the block 2 are connected to each other with a quarter-circle bar 4 using carabiner clips. Bar 4 has a dual function.

One of the functions of rod 4 is that the helmsman's hands can turn the entire sailboat to the left and right, and with it simultaneously both sails stretched on it.

The second function of rod 4 is that by means of the five rings 16 firmly installed on it, the ends of individual sails can be moved along them and thereby change the angle of contact of the air between the sails, i.e. its volume.

By changing the angle between the sails, the desired speed of the vessel is achieved and the optimal position or angle of the sails with regard to the direction of the wind. This achieves a new solution for optimally harmonizing the direction and speed of the vessel's movement, which has been an unsolved problem with existing front sails (spinnakers).

8. The sail construction consists of two separate equal sails 1, each in the shape of a right triangle. The two tips of the longer legs of the triangular sails are connected to the mast on rings 13 and 14. The third ends of both sails are connected to rod 4 with carabiners and can be moved along it separately during sailing.

The sails are placed in front of the helmsman, so, in order to enable visibility through them, they have transparent surfaces 18 in the lower part above the mast, or the entire sails are made of transparent material. By hanging the tops of the sails in various places along the rod 4, the angle between the sails and the wind pressure and its direction change.

9. By joining the ends of both sails on the rod, the 4 sails fit one on top of the other and acquire the function of one sail. This achieves optimal conditions in cases of sudden turning of the vessel as well as in sailing upwind.

By unhooking the ends of the sails from the rod 4, the sails bend around the attachment 10 when their thrust surface decreases and thus the speed of the vessel, or they hang against the mast when the vessel stops without wind resistance.

The vessel is also stopped by releasing from the hands the steering rod 4 of the sail when the main sails are self-rotating and placed in the neutral position of least resistance to the wind. By moving the tops of the sails, according to Fig. 3, to various places 16 along the bar 4 and connecting both sails into one, the optimal position of the sails is established in relation to the lateral direction of the wind, and by fixing this position of the sails, permanent sailing is possible without steering the sails.

10. Ring 9 on the mast is used for additional attachment of raised booms to the mast, for additional attachment of sails to the mast, for attachment of mast attachments as well as for hanging clothes.

11. The fin 12, which is inserted into the central axis of the vessel between the mast and the foot rudder, is immovable and, with its firm position, acts as a stabilizer of the sailing direction.

12. Foot rudder 5 in Fig. 1. is placed in front of the helmsman for the purpose of synchronous control of the vessel with hands and feet to turn the vessel in the same direction with the fin in the water and has a double function.

In the case of steering the vessel using only the sails with the latch 26, the foot rudder becomes immovable and assumes the function of a keel, i.e. an immovable fin as a direction stabilizer.

In the case of foot steering, the rudder does not have fins 23, but is connected to the lever of the rear swivel rudder 6 by means of cross attachments 19 connected to places 27.

13. Foot rudder 5, according to Fig. 4, consists of two parts. One part in the shape of the letter T, whose vertical part in the form of a tube 21 is inserted into the wider tube 22 of the second lower part to which the fin 23 is connected.

14. The horizontal part 5 of the foot rudder has four characteristic parts: 20, 26, 27 and 28.

At the ends of the horizontal foot rudder there are two symmetrically placed hoops 20 intended for turning the rudder with the helmsman's feet, which enables turning the rudder with both feet at every stage, as well as preventing the foot from slipping off the rudder.

On the rim, on the outside, there is a pivoting lever 26 in the form of a latch, which, by lowering it into the groove on the crossboard, locks the rudder.

On the lower side of the foot ring there are half rings 27 to which the cross-connected attachments 19 of the rear rudder are connected.

In the central part of the rudder, between the hoops, there is a box 28 with hermetic closure, which is used to store the sealing key 25 and the rings for connecting the carabiner 15.

15. On the cross board that connects both floats, according to Fig. 1, a seat 7 in the form of a box 30 with a backrest 29 is attached. According to Fig. 5, the panel 29 has the function of protecting the helmsman from wind blows and has a wider slot 32 for water drainage. The seat box is attached from the inside with butterfly nuts. The upper plate of the box on which you sit has a rounded concave shape for more stable sitting and easier foot control of the rudder.

Brief description of the drawing

Fig. 1. shows the overall appearance of a folding windsurfing water sled with a rear view with nineteen callsigns.

Fig. 2. shows a free-standing collapsible sail carrier suspended from the mast with nine new callsigns. The free-standing sail and steering rack is composed of two booms, a quarter-circle steering rod, attachments and side-opening carabiners for connecting them.

Fig. 3. shows the construction of two wings of equal right-angled triangular sails and the method of connecting them to the free-standing sail support. The picture shows the case of the way of changing the angle between the wing sails.

Fig. 4. shows the T-shaped foot rudder and its tubular connection to the vessel's fin.

Fig. 5. shows a prefab seat in the form of a box with a backrest.

List of callsigns

1 Sail

2 Booms

3 Boom attachments

4 Boom connecting rod

5 Nose rudder lever

6 Rear rudder fins

7 Seat box

8 Vessel floats

9 Ring on the mast

10 Connection attachment of mast and boom

11 Mast

12 Fins-keel of the vessel

13 Connecting ring on the top of the mast

14 Connecting ring on the mast

15 Connecting ring of booms

16 Rod connecting half ring (4)

17 Connecting ring at the bottom of the mast

18 Transparent parts of the sail

19 Rudder cross attachments

20 Foot rudder hoops

21 Foot rudder connecting tube

22 Fin connecting tube

23 Foot rudder fins

24 Profiled pipe groove

25 Sealing key

26 Brake latch lever

27 Rudder attachment half rings

28 Accessory box

29 Seat back

30 Box seats

31 Seat box nut butterfly

32 Gap of the backrest

Statement on the best way for economic use of the reported invention

The invention is intended for mass use as a collapsible and portable wind-powered vessel. As such, it is made of permanently water-resistant material.

To make water sleds, you need basic craft skills specialized in making individual parts, some of which can be obtained ready-made from other manufacturers. The floating elements can be boards made of the same material used to make surfboards (surfboards) in length 2.5-3.5 m. During the casting of the boards, screws are inserted into them, on which the three basic links of the floats are fixed with butterfly nuts during assembly. The links can be made as boards from the same material or as bars with square holes at the ends. The link on which the seat is mounted is about 20 cm wide so that it can be used for the possibility of standing or sitting on it.

The hand rudder rod should be bent in a circular arc in the length of a quarter circle. The optimal angle between the sails is 75°-85° degrees.

The tillers and manual rudder are made of aluminum or an alloy of increased strength, which is plasticized for protection against sea water and corrosion. The mast as well as the seat are made of suitable plastic. The clips used to fasten the masts to the mast and to the manual rudder are made either as chrome hardware or plasticized.

The cheapest version of the water sled can be without a seat when sitting on the board and without a swivel rudder when only fins are inserted into the slot instead.

The invention is adapted for serial production and the product does not require any special expertise for its maintenance and servicing. Hydrosleds are designed as collapsible, designed for own transport by car on the roof.

Claims (7)

1. Wind-powered hydro-sled with synchronous hand and foot control is a collapsible, portable, massive vessel with two connected floats without fins, with one central fin, characterized by the fact that they are: free-standing manually controlled hydrofoils (1,2,3,4) and foot-turning synchronously controlled rudder (5,6,19) located on the central axis of the vessel in front of the sitting helmsman (7). 2. Wind-powered water sled, according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that at the top of the mast it has a ring (13) to which the sails (1) and boom attachments (10) are connected, which at two-thirds of the height has a ring (9) for connecting the tension mast, which has a ring (14) for connecting the booms (2) at one quarter of the height of the mast and which has a ring (17) for connecting the attachments (3) of the horizontal booms (2) at the bottom of the mast. 3. Wind-powered water sleds, according to patent claim 2, characterized by the fact that the two outer ends of the booms (15) are interconnected with a quarter-round rod (4) on which there are half-rings (16) for connecting the ends of the sails (1) and that the middle of the booms are connected with attachments (3) and (10) to the rings (17) and (15) of the mast (11), 4. Wind-powered water sled, according to patent claim 3, characterized by the fact that the two ends of the sail are connected to the rings (13) and (14) of the mast (11) and the third end can be moved by connecting hooks (16) on the manually rotating steering rod (4). 5. Wind-powered water sled, according to patent claim 1, characterized by the fact that there are two rings (20) at the ends of the horizontal lever, that there is a box (28) for accessories between them, and that the vertical tube (21) of the rudder is connected to the tube (22) fins (23) using profiled grooves (24) with sealing key (23). 6. Water sled powered by the wind, according to patent claim 3, characterized by the fact that at the lower ends of the horizontal part there are two half-rings (27) to which the cross-connected attachments (19) of the pivoting lever of the rear rudder (6) are connected and that they have a movable lever (26) ) latch for stabilizing the position of the foot rudder (3). 7. Wind-powered water sleds, according to patent claim 6, characterized by the fact that they have butterfly nuts (31) for attaching parts, an oval backrest (29) with a transverse slot for ventilation (32).