US3038435A

US3038435A - Mechanism for manual propulsion of small water-craft

Info

Publication number: US3038435A
Application number: US61536A
Authority: US
Inventors: Fairfax Bradford Lindsay
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-10-10
Filing date: 1960-10-10
Publication date: 1962-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 1979-06-12

Description

B. L. FAIRFAX June 12, 1962 MECHANSM FOR MANUAL PROPULSION OF SMALL WATER-CRAFT Fiied oct. 1o, 1960 2 sheets-sheet 1 FIG. 3.

INVENTO'R BRADFORD LINDSAY FAIRFAX ATTORNEYS.

June 12, 1962 B. L.. FAIRFAX '3,038,435

MECHANISM FOR MANUAL PRoPULsIoN oF SMALL WATER-CRAFT Filed oct. 1o, 1960 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR BRADFORD LINDSAY FAIRFAX ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Oiice 3,038,435 Patented .lune 12, 1962 3,038,435 MECHANHSM FOR MANUAL PRGPULSHN F SMALL WATER-CRAFT Bradford Lindsay Fairfax, Watsonville, Calif. Filed (1ct. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 61,536 6 Claims. (Cl. 11S-21) The present invention relates to improvements in mechanisms Ifor the manual propulsion of small watercraft such as rowboats, dinghies, canoes, punts, life-boats and the like.

The broad concept of propelling small water-craft by operating an oar over the stern of such water-craft although dating back several hundred years is still in vogue in many locales. During the last `century various mechanisms have been devised for attachment to the stern of boats to assist an operator or sculler in the manipulation of the propelling oar, but for one reason or another such mechanisms lhave not met with popular acceptance because they were cumbersome, complicated, costly and/or not portable, i.e., readily adaptable for attachment and removal from the water-craft. Furthermore, in many localities regional laws and ordinances prohibit the use of motor driven water-craft on lakes and ponds, wherefore interest is being revived in sculling mechanisms by local fishermen and small water-craft enthusiasts.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a manually operable propelling mechanism for water-craft which mechanism is simple in construction, operation and eihcient in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a propelling mechanism of the type set forth which is portable, of light weight and particularly suitable for auxiliary use on small sail boats and on motor boats `which have become disabled due to lack of fuel, motor failure, propeller damage, etc.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character specified, so constructed as to facilitate using the blade as a rudder and -for holding the oar in retracted position out of the water when beaching the boat.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention, not specifically enumerated, I accomplish by providing a device of the character set forth which comprises a pair of meshing `gears having axes substantially perpendicular t-o each other, mean associated with said gears for oscillating them and in turn operating a blade supported along one edge thereof and dependently pivotally carried by a blade support which in turn is movable laterally relative to the stern of the boat by `one of the gears. The construction and modus operandi of the present invention will be better understood from the detailed description which follows when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings showing a preferred construction and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the stern of a boat or water-craft showing the invention applied thereto.

FIG. 2 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of the stern of the watercraft shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the reference character indicates a water-craft having at its stern an end wall 11 over which the manual propulsion mechanism of the present invention is mounted. The propulsion mechanism comprises essentially a pair of meshing mitre gears 12 and 13, the gear 13 having a -depending blade support 14 which pivotally supports a blade holder 15 having a double feather-edged blade or paddle 16.

The mitre gears 12 and 13 are mounted on

xed shafts

17 and 18 respectively disposed perpendicularly to each other and extending outwardly from the base 19a and arm 19b respectively of an inverted U-shaped clamp 19 which is removably secured over the stern end wall 11 by a clamping screw 20 threaded through an arm 19a of the U-shaped clamp.

The outer end of the screw 20 is formed with an operating handle 21 having an opening 22 therethrough and the inner end of said screw is provided with a swivelly mounted bearing ring 23. The inner face of the arm 19b of the Iclamp is formed with bearing portions 24.

The gear 12 is rotatably held on the shaft 17 by a nut 25 and the hub o-f said gear is formed with diametrically opposed at faces 26 yover which is pivotally mounted a clevis 27 having a socket member 28 for removably accommodating an operating staff 29 for oscillating said gear 12. The socket member adjacent its outer end has a downwardly projecting lug 28a. The gear 13 is rotatably held on the shaft 13 by a nut 30 and the hub of said gear is formed with a radial upwardly extending socket member 31 for removably accommodating the staff 29.

The blade support 14 consists of a stem 14a which extends downwardly lfrom the hub `of the gear 13, diametrically opposite to the socket member 31 and terminates at its lower end in a transverse elongate, diamond or elliptical shaped plate 14h, provided at. its lower face adjacent the ends of its major dimension with depending lugs 14C. The plate lrib is formed Iwith a bearing 14d through which extends upwardly a stud 15a on the plate holder 15, a securing nut 32 serving to hold the blade holder 15 in pivotal assembled relation on the blade support 14.

The blade holder 15 consists of a supporting arm 15b in axial alignment with the stud 15a and laterally extending `from said arm at the top thereof is an elongate socket member 15C which terminates at its free end in a headed stud 15d. Depending from the lateral walls of the socket member 15 is a pair of spaced lingers 15e and extending laterally from the arm 15b adjacent its lower end is a pair of laterally spaced lingers 1.5L the socket member 15a` together with the pairs of fingers 15e and 15jc serving to secure the blade 16 in the blade holder 15 through the aid of fastening elements 16a and 1Gb passing through holes in the fingers 15e and 151.

In use the propulsion mechanism is mounted on the stern end wall of a water-craft by securing the inverted U-shaped bracket thereon with the shaft 17 extending vertically upward and the shaft 19 extending horizontally. The staff 29 is selectively inserted into either of the

socket members

30 or 31 depending upon whether the watercraft is to be propelled by an operator from a seating or standing position, By oscillating the staff the gears 12 and 13 will be oscillated and with them the blade support, the blade holder and the blade carried thereby in an arc up to approximately to either side of the boat about the axis of the gear 13. The blade holder and the blade being movable as a unit about the pivot stud 15a, it may be said that the blade will pivot about one lateral edge thereof and as the blade is laterally forced through the water, the friction of the Water 4will operate to pivot the blade until a side Wall of the socket member 15C strikes one of the lugs 14C in which position the blade will remain until moved in the opposite direction Where again the friction of the lwater vwill turn the blade in the opposite direction about its pivotal mounting. It will thus be appreciated that the operating staff can be ernployed to propel a boat from all positions or angles from 0 horizontal to 90 vertical, thus allowing the `operator to scull while facing in any direction, one handed yor two handed and while either sitting or standing. The lug 28a may be engaged over the stern wall of the boat to lock the gear teeth and hold the blade in retracted position 3 as shown in phantom in FIG. 3, as when beaching the boat or landing it at a dock in shallow water.

The mechanism may also be used to function as a steering oar when a boat is being propelled by sail. To accomplish this a tiller line '33 is looped around the neck of the headed stud d, guided through ring bolts 34- or the like aixed to the top of the stern end wall and the ends of the tiller line passed through the opening 22 in the operating handle of the U-shaped clamp, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. With lche tiller line pulled taut, as shown in FIG. l, any movement of the staif causes the paddle to turn on a steering radius with the stud 15d as a center. As one side portion of the tiller line would always be under tension and the other portion idle, compensation is taken up automatically by the latter. On slacking off the tiller line the paddle is restored to sculling or propelling position.

Although there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that changes in the specific construction and arrangement of parts disclosed may be resorted to within the range 0f mechanical skill Without departing from the spirit oi the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is:

1. A propelling mechanism for mounting at the stern of a water-craft, comprising a pair of meshing gears having axes substantially perpendicular to each other, means associated with said gears for oscillating them, a blade support carried by and movable in a plane substantially parallel to the stern of the watercraft by one of the gears and a lblade supported by and dependingly pivotally carried by said blade support.

2. A propelling mechanism for mounting at the stern of a water-craft, comprising a pair of meshing bevel gears, means associated with said `gears `for oscillating them, one of said `gears having a horizontal axis, a blade support movable with said last recited gear, a blade holder sup-y porting a blade along one edge thereof dependingly carried by said blade support and means for accommodating a tiller line `whereby the blade may be made to function as a rudder.

3. A propelling mechanism Ifor mounting at the stern of a water-craft, comprising a pair of meshing gears having axes disposed horizontally and vertically with respect i to each other, means associated with said gears for oscillating them about their axes, a blade movable with said gear 'having the horizontal axis and oscillatable through an arc up to approximately and means for locking the gears to hold the blade in substantially horizontal retracted position above the water line of the water-craft.

4. A propelling mechanism Ifor water-craft comprising, an inverted U-shaped clamp for detachable mounting at the stern of such Water-craft, said clamp having a pair of perpendicularly disposed shafts extending outwardly -frorn the base and one arm of the U respectively, a pair of meshing gears mounted on said shafts, meansassociated with each of said gears for selectively accommodating a staff for oscillating the gears, a blade support carried by and movable with the gear mounted on the shaft extending outwardly from the arm of the U, and a blade dependingly supported and pivotally carried by the blade support.

5. A propelling mechanism for water-craft comprising, an inverted U-shaped clamp for detachable mounting at the stern of such water-craft, said clamp having a pair of per-pendieularly disposed shafts extending outwardly from the base and one arm of the U respectively, a pair of meshing gears mounted on said shafts, a socket member associated with each of said gears for selectively accommodating a staff for oscillating the gears, the socket member associated with the gear mounted on the shaft extending from the base of the U being carried by a clevis which engages the hub of said gear to permit oscillating said gear by a stair engaged in said socket when disposed in any position between horizontal and vertical.

6. A mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the socket member on the clevis has a downwardly extending projection adapted to engage the rear of the stern of a water-craft to lock the gears against movement.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNETED STATES PATENTS 54,481 Allen May 8, 1866 227,491 Coulter May 11, 1880 464,408 Williams Dec. 1, 1891 1,003,516 Sax Sept. 19, 1911 2,062,546 Wells Dec. l, 1936