US2544240A - Water cycle - Google Patents

Description

March 6, 1951 F. SHELVERTON WATER CYCLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 10, 1948 1N1 'EN TOR.

FRED SHEILVEHTDN AifUE/VEY March 6, 195] F. SHELVERTON WATER CYCLE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 10, 1948 INVENTOR.

m a em WA mm Y B M r 6, 1951 F. SHELVERTON Q 2,544,240

WATER CYCLE Filed Dec. 0, 348

3 Sheets-Sheet .5

INVENTOR. FRED SHEELVEIRTDN gar;

arifaimusement device for pathers a b Q mi qfp qa' e rc s jin h Qn n. 'further, a device which'is feasible fofn e as a drum? for free rotation abo ita hoirizfontal' axis trans- Patented Mar. 6, 1951 .EumtrE-D T E-s 1 ,f i su e t 9 vthi *inreili c i FFW an ns'eful self-propulsion watercrait ice stit not only offering "amusement, "'but also for st ength in the arm 1 a wis n sc and'oth'erwise afiording an'exceptional trani ertaiipn iv h c e -fQr travelling idve i'th wat a .n in e es ing an i em iims s u flEis'sentiaily, the new device comprises a hull versefto the direction of;1ength of :the pontoo'n's, journalling means for the wheel axis, supports upstanding from the tops of the pontoqr'isior axles or shafts concentric with said axisj'a se- "ries'ofpaddles carried by the cage and spaced circnmferentially thereOf at'itsannLiIar Zone of greatest diameter and extending parallel "to 'said axis, and a plurality ofhand-and-foot-holdfriings also carried 'by'fthe' cage and spaced circumfe'ren'tially thereofand extending paralleliwith said axis but disposed inwardly of the inner limits of the widths of the paddles. With the axis of rotation for the cage properiyplaced relative to the depth of submeigence of mete-atoms, the lowermost bacic'ubr paddle "s dip into'the water; so that, after a l bather has entered the cage, he may, by 'use of said rungs, advance hand over hand and f oo't over foot, from one to another collection of the rungs at the part of the cage adjacent to the stern of the watercraft, as though climbing; "t ereby to rotate the cage' in a direction 'to "caiis'e the paddle equipment" to"prope 1 thewater-cra it.-

Afurther object 'of the 'pre'sent inv poses the provision of nov'eT' n'eans'iiositione" '0 them ma be cperated'wnn the c aft s in mg)- i It is a further object of this invention to prome a w t cra wmchifs'smme nd s l and wh c t b a ufa ture ant s ld l a reas name cost. For further comprehension of the inventien,

and of the objectsand advantages thereoff'refer- In the accompanying" drawi gs forming. a ,materiai'part o'f'thisdis'closure. "Fig; I is'a' side 'elevational view of the watercraft constructed i'n accordance 'withthe present 5 invention and having "a"portionof the water wheel broken away. Fig.2 'isa pian'view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is anenlarged partial vertical sectional view taken on the line 3 3 "of Fig 2.

ig.'" 4"i's an enlarged partial vertical sectional view taken'bnthe line 4 40f Figiz; 1g. 15' is a porti'j'n ofLFigDB; but showing a diiferentposition' of the'harts. Fig'fffi is'an en1arged"'sect"na1 view taken on 15 the line 6 OfFi'g/B." Fig. '7 is an enlarged partialvertical sectional View taken on the line 1: 1 of igili FigI8 is'a peispecifiiv vi of ne of the Sup-=- taken en the line |0- m dirigxz. i The" watercraft, according to ';the present inthe relative dimensions "sh wn, aridvvith' lateral- 1y" rounded 'hi'iil bott and flaired'tat stern as illii'strated.

suitably secu'red to the deck of each pontoon 30 l l!,"desirab1y at'a point about one' 'third of'th'e way"back "from its' bovv about at the pintof "znaxiiniiin depth and'vvidth'ofthe' pontoon'jthere is a standard I l 'ef inverted-v'tvpe and incliidin}; stats top a hubipertion i2. 35 E'achhub I? has a pair 'ofspaced flanges i3 afid eachstandard [I further includes'fo ubstantiallywertical legs l4. """lh'etopenqs legs M are secnred to the outer faces of the flanges i3 by'nie ans of long belts lfiwhich pass 6 1 r Q 1j hfb h thl' to i Oif i iefles land the flanges IBQThe bottom ends 'o fthe legs are secured to the decks of the pontoons new k 'lei ma in The l ss" 1. ar s ged that they support the hnbs I? in horia p ux l o k6 r i u iformsa l im mfer z i a lyOfthe cas 6 "a th ute Per- 1. 1 5 o the rim" mefmbersjli nd J8; a plurality of like rungs 2i}, lgewise unif grrrily spaced gircnmfejrentially' Offfihe cage [5 5.5 b t e inner perti ns of the rim membe s sans the its "ri niemb w th 8- willibe nnderstgod, any of the parts of the device may be ade-bf any desiredfinafieriai or internment w th he in men; n and l-fi shown is also self-complete.

wooden rounds or dowels and, desirably, about one inch in diameter. As the cage I6 is herein illustrated, it is of a size such that the inner diameter of the rim members I! and I8 is about six feet, and the outer diameter thereof is about seven feet four inches. Such a cage will comfortably accommodate a man bather well over six feet tall as indicated by the dot and dash line 2| in Fig. 1.

The cage I6, and its journalling means to be described in a moment, may be constructed in any suitable way; but as the cage is herein shown it is self-complete and readily mountable on its axle or the like; which latter as herein According to this arrangement, the cage further includes at each side a suitable plurality of outwardly extended spokes 22 formed of tubular pipe stock. At each side of the cage [6, the spokes 22 are suitably connected to collars 23 and an annular hub 24 by bolts 25. The outer ends of the spokes 22 are secured to the outer faces of the rim member I! and It by bolts 26, see Fig. 9. With the cage I6 of the size already mentioned, there is approximately a twenty-eight inch space between each pair of adjoining spokes 22 adjacent to the rim members H and t8, which .is ample to afford easy ingress and egress for the bather 2| relative to the interior of the cage at any point.

The hubs 24 of the cage I6 are rotatively supported on short tubular shafts 2? which in turn are fixedly mounted in the hubs E2 of the standards H. The tubular shafts 27 are retained in position by small pins 28, see Figs. 3 and 4, which pass through the hubs l2 and into the shafts 21. The hubs 24 of the cage l are rotative on the shafts 2?. between the inner ends of the hubs l2 of the standards I and collars 29 fixedly mounted on the inner ends of the shafts 2?. Complementary collars 35 are mounted on the opposite ends of the shafts 21 adjacent the outer faces of the outer flanges i3 of the hubs l2. Thus, as the bather 2| walks over the rungs of the cage IS, the cage will rotate about the shafts 2'! and the paddles i9 will successively dip into and out of the water and propel the watercraft in a forward direction. From Fig. 1,

wherein the dot and dash line 3| designates the normal waterline, it will be noted that the paddles I9 at the bottom of the cage I6 extend into the water.

For maintaining the two pontoons ii} in the spacing, parallelism and transverse alignment illustrated, any suitable bracing and staying means may be employed.

The bracing means comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced laterally extending braces 32 and a pair of cross braces 33 extended between the pair of braces 32 at the front ends of the pontoons l0. Brackets 34 are provided on opposite sides of the pontoons H! for connecting the ends of the braces 32 and the cross braces 33 to the pontoons. Details of one of the brackets 34 are shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings. Each bracket 34 includes a pair of spaced plates 35 attache-d to the inside faces of the side walls I5 of the pontoons ID, by means of bolts 36. The top ends of the plates project from the top of the pontoons l5 and U-shaped members 31 are secured in position between the top ends of the plates 35 by means of bolts 38. The braces 32 and/or cross braces 33 extend through the U-shaped members 3'! and are clamped in position within the U-sh'aped members 31 by bolts 4 39. The bolts 39 pass through and draw together the top ends of the arms of the U-shaped members 31 to securely clamp the braces 32 and/or cross braces 33 in position.

The crossed centers of the cross braces 33 are connected together by means of plates 40 disposed above and below the crossing points of the cross braces 33 and four rivets 4| located one in each of the junctions of the cross braces 33, see Figs. 2 and 10.

Means is provided to permit the bather 2| to steer the watercraft from the interior of the cage, Hi. This means comprises a shaft 42 rotatively extended through the tubular shaft 2? which rotatively supports the rim member ll" of the cage I6. The inner end of the shaft 42 projects into the side of the cage i6 and is provided with a handle member 43. The handle member 43 includes an arm 44 fixed to the inner end of the shaft 42 by means of a pin 45, see Fig. 3, so that the arm extends radially from the shaft 42.

The free end of the arm 44 has pivotally attached thereto, by means of a pin 45, a hand-grip 41. The end of the hand-grip is cut down to fit into a slot 48, see Fig. 6, cut into the free end of the arm 44. A leaf spring 49 is secured to one side of the arm 44 by means of several rivets 58 and engages the sides of the arm 44 and the hand-grip 4?. The leaf spring 49 functions to hold the hand-grip 4! in the longitudinal aligned position with the arm 44, as shown in Fig. 3, in which the hand-grip 41 is out of the way or to hold the hand-grip 47 in a position extended at right angles from the arm 44, as shown in Fig. 5, in which the hand-grip is in its operative position to be used for manually turning the shaft 42.

The outer end of the shaft 42 projects from the tubular shaft 21 and into the side of a hollow casing 5| secured to the side of the respective standard II- by means of the bolts l5. At that side of the cage IS, the bolts l5 are long enough to secure the casing 5| in position, in addition to securing the top ends of the legs M to the flanges l3 of the respective hub l2. Within the casing 5|, the shaft 42 is provided with a bevel gear 52 which meshes with a suitable smaller bevel gear 53 fixedly attached to the top end of a shaft 54. The shaft 54 is vertically rotatively extended through the bottom wall of the casing 5| and is rotatively supported intermediate of its ends in a bracket 55, see Fig. 1, mounted on the adjacent legs |4.

The top of the casing 5| is open. The open top is closed by a removable cover 56 which provides access to the bevel gears 52 and 53 for lubricating and the like. The cover 55 is retained in position by four screws 57.

Pivotally secured to the rear end of each of the pontoons l0, there is a rudder 58. Each rudder 58 is formed with cutouts 59 which extend about lugs 69 which project from the rear ends ofthe pontoons 40. Vertical rods 6| project through the interengaged lugs 60 and the portions of the rudders 58 pivotally supporting the rudders 58 on the lugs 60. One of the rods 6| projects from the top of its respective rudder 58 and is provided at its'top end with a sprocket wheel 62. That paddle 58 is pinned to its rod 6|, by a pin 63, see Fig. 1, so that the paddle 58 will be turned in one direction or the other as the sprocket wheel 62 is turned in one direction or the other.

wheel 65 mounted on the bottom end of the shaft 54 which carries the bevel gear 53. Thus, as the shaft 42 is turned in one direction or the other by the handle member 13, the shaft 5 3 will be similarly turned through the medium of the bevel gears 52 and 53 to turn the sprocket wheel 62 in one direction or the other and similarly turn the rudder 58 which carries the sprocket wheel 62.

Means is provided for connecting the rudders 58 together for movement in unison, when the rudder 58 carrying the sprocket wheel 62 is moved in one direction or the other. This means comprises a bar 65 equal in length to the distance between the adjacent faces of the rudders 58 which has its ends pivotally attached to the top edges of the rudders 58. The ends of the bar 56 are formed with openings through which pins 61 from the top edges of the rudders 53 rotatively extend.

If desired, the steering mechanism can be duplicated on both sides of the watercraft, elimihating the necessity for the connecting bar 55.

The operation of the new device should be clear from the foregoing. In Fig. 1 the bather 2| is shown climbing in the cage it. During such climbing, the cage is being rotated in a clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1; so that the pontoons l0 are caused to travel bow-on toward the right. Steering is accomplished by turning the handle member 43 in the desired direction to cause the rudders 58 to be turned to turn the watercraft either to the right or the left.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a watercraft having a spaced pair of pontoons between which a large hollow cage carrying a plurality of paddles is rotatively supported by means of end aligned hubs at least one of which is tubular, means operative from within the hollow cage for steering the pontoons, comprising a rudder pivotally mounted on the rear end of each of the pontoons, means connecting said rudders together for unitary movement in one direction or the other, a shaft rotatively extended through the tubular hub, a handle member mounted on the inner end of said shaft within the hollow cage by which said shaft can be turned in one direction or the other, and a transmission interposed between the outer end of said shaft and one of said rudders.

2. In a watercraft having a spaced pair of pontoons between which a large hollow cage carrying a plurality of paddles is rotatively supported by means of end aligned hubs at least one of which is tubular, means operative from within the hollow cage for steering the pontoons, comprising a rudder pivotally mounted on the rear end of each of the pontoons, means connecting said rudders together for unitary movement in one direction or the other, a shaft rotatransmission interposed between the outer end of said shaft and one of said rudders, said handle member comprising a radial arm secured at one end to the inner end of said shaft, and a hand grip pivotally secured to the free end of said radial arm to have an inoperative position in end alignment with said arm or an operative position extended radially from the free end of said arm.

3. In a watercraft having a spaced pair of pontoons between which a large hollow cage carrying a plurality of paddles is rotatively supported by means of end aligned hubs at least one of. which is tubular, means operative from within the hollow cage for steering the pontoons, comprising a rudder pivotally mounted on the rear end of each of the pontoons, means connecting said rudders together for unitary movement in one direction or the other, a shaft rotatively extended through the tubular hub, a handle member mounted on the inner end of said shaft within the hollow cage by which said shaft can be turned in one direction or the other, and a transmission interposed between the outer end of said shaft and one of said rudders, said handle member comprising a radial arm secured at one end to the inner end of said shaft, and a hand grip pivotally secured to the free end of said radial arm to have an inoperative position in end alignment with said arm or an operative position extended radially from the free end of said arm, and a spring mounted on said arm ,adjacent its free end and engaging the pivoted end of said hand grip for retaining said hand grip in either its operative or inoperative position.

4. In a watercraft having a spaced pair of pontoons between which a large hollow cage carrying a plurality of paddles is rotatively supported by means of end aligned hubs at least one of which is tubular, means operative from within the hollow cage for steering the pontoons, comprising a rudder pivotally mounted on the rear end of each of the pontoons, means connecting said rudders together for unitary movement in one direction or the other, a shaft rotatively extended through the tubular hub, a handle member mounted on the inner end of said shaft within the hollow cage by which said shaft can be turned in one direction or the other, and a transmission interposed between the outer end of said shaft and one of said rudders, said transmission comprising a bevel gear mounted on the said outer end of said shaft, avertical shaft rotatively supported adjacent the outer end of the tubular hub, a bevel gear mounted on the top end of said vertical shaft and meshed with said first bevel gear, a sprocket wheel mounted on the bottom end of said vertical shaft, a sprocket wheel mounted on the said one rudder concentric with its pivot, and a chain engaged about said sprocket wheels.

FRED SHELVERTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

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