US367338A - Rowing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

' W; L. DE GRAPE.

ROWING APPARATUS.

No. 367,338. Patented July 26, 1887.

12206236073".- Writ/L 2W7Qf/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. DE GRAFF, OF HOMER, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM B. LOVELAND, OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN.

ROWING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,338, dated July 26, 1887.

Application filed Novembcr lll, 1886. Serial No. M9395. (No model.)

' Improvement in Rowing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention is an improvement in rowing apparatus of that class in which the oar-blade is fixed pivotally to the edge of the boat and is actuated by an independent hand-lever controlled by the oarsman, the connection between the two parts being such as will cause the oar to move forward or backward in unison with a similar motion of the hand-lever. The primary object of such devices is to enable the oarsman to sit facing the direction of movement of the boat, while the work performed by him will be similar in all its motions to that required when an ordinary oar is employed and the oarsman sits facing the stern.

In carrying out my invention in a practical way to meet the requirements of such an .ob-

'ject, I aim to provide a combination of elements arranged in compact and simple form,

'which shall have the effect of multiplying the movement of the hand-lever tothe oar-blade, so that a long stroke may be made with comparatively slightmovement of they said lever.

My invention consists of a tilting frame supported upon the edge of the boat and carrying the pivoted .oar and the operating handlever therefor,with peculiar and novel connections between the car and said 1ever,whereby the desired increased movement of the blade is effected.

Further, my invention consists of an oar formed in two parts connected so that a partial rotary movement is permitted to the oarblade for the purpose of feathering the same on return-stroke, and in novel devices, employed in combination'with this form of oar, by which the tilting of the supportingframe automatically controls the position of the oar-blade for the working and feathering stroke.

The invention further consists in the various details of arrangement and construction by which the principle involved may be embodied in a practically-working apparatus.

All the details will be fully described hereinafter, and pointed out particularly in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of 5 the device, the parts being in position to begin the backward stroke. Fig. 2 is a perspective view with the operating parts in their for- Ward position.

In the drawings the oar-blade is repre- 66 sented at A and the operating hand-lever at- B, both of these parts being pivotally sccured at points 1 and 2, respectively, to the frame C. This frame is composed of the upper and lower bars, a b, the latter of which is adapted to be'pivotally secured to the edge of the boat in a manner hereinafter referred to, whereby the whole frame, with the parts secured thereto, may be tilted, so that the oarblade can be raised free from the water for ']O the return-stroke. The oar-blade is formed of wood in the ordinary manner. The stock 3 is divided, as at 4, the portion carrying the blade being swiveled to a pivoted portion, 5,

all of which will be hereinafter particularly referred to. Ashort arm, 4., of the pivoted por' tion 5 of the oar-stock,extends approximately at right angles to the main body of the oar, and to this arm connection from the operating hand-lever is made. As heretofore intimated, it is desirable to multiply the movement of this arm, and consequently that of the blade, relatively to the amount of stroke made by the hand-lever, and for this purpose a peculiar form of connection is employed. 8 As shown in Fig. 1, an arm, 6, extends from the hand-lever at a point within its pivot toward the pivot of the blade, being braced by a suitable rod or bar, 6. A link, D, is pivoted in the extreme end of this arm at 8, and 0 is connected at its opposite end to the arm 4" of the blade, as shown at 7. It will be observed that the point Sis at as great a distance from the pivot'of the handle as the structure of the device will permit, and the path traversed by it will be within the path of the point 7 Supposing the dotted lines to represent the paths traveled by the two pivots 7 and 8, and

the parts to be in position shown in Fig. 1, now let the pivot 8 be moved along its path to the point 9 and the length of the link D be measured off to intersect the path of the pivot 7. It will be seen that while the pivot Sis moving to the point 9 the pivot 7 will have passed to the position, as at 10, which, it is clear, is greatly in excess of the imparting motion of the hand-lever. Thus to give the oar-blade a movement of one-fourth on its pivot it necessitates a movement of the handle equal approximately to only one-eighth of a circle. The bottom bar of the supportingframe is provided with ears, between which supportirig-standards from the side of the boat are adapted to fit, a pin passing through the parts to make a pivotal connection. By this construction the oarsman is enabled to lift the ear from the water,so as to return it to its forward position for a new working stroke. By the arrangement shown all dead-centers are avoided and there is no lost motion between the parts.

As before intimated, I desire to utilize the motion of the tilting supporting-frame for the purpose of automatically controlling the position of the ear relatively to the water-that is to say, when the frame is tilted to raise the ear from the water, the swiveled part of the oar-stock is acted upon to incline the blade for feathering, and when the opposite movement of the frame takes place the operating mechanism causes the oar-blade to assume a position at right angles to the surface of the water, so that the working-stroke will be rendered effective to the highest degree. The swiveled portion of the oar-stock is provided with a ferrule or sleeve, (2, adapted to receive the end of the pivoted portion 5, the latter having a suitable bearing-su rfaee by which the oar-blade is steadied and prevented from having any undesirable movement. A laterallyextending slot, m, is formed in the ferrule, and into this a pin projects from the hearing, which answers the purpose of preventing any longitudinal movement of the ferrule and at the same time permits a rotary motion to the blade within certain limits. The .slot and pin bear such arelation to each other that when the pin is in one end of said slot the oar-blade will be sufficiently inclined for the feathering action; but when the parts are operated to cause the opposite end of the slot to strike the pin the blade will be then in position for the working-stroke.

The rotary movement of the oar-blade is effected in the following manner: To any suitable standard secured to the boat-side an arm, f, is pivoted, the pivot being directly in the same vertical line with the pivot of the earblade. The arm extends parallel with the oarstoek,and is provided with a pivoted vertical extension, f, having rack-teeth formed thereon adjacent to the oar-stock. The oar stoek, or the ferrule secured thereto, is provided with a segment of a gear, f with which the teeth on the pivoted arm f are adapted to mesh. The pivoted arm is held to its position in relation to the oar stock by means of an extension, projecting from the pivoted portion of the stock, and it will thus be seen that, no matter whether the oar-blade be in its forward or backward position, the pivoted extension f will be adjacent thereto, and its teeth will always be in engagement with the segment on the oar-stock.

The arm f, however, has nomovementother than the pivotal one referred to, for being supported upon standards entirely independent of the frame 0, the tilting movement of the frame is not imparted to it. \Vhen, therefore, the oar is raised from the water, the teeth of the rack on armf will give a partial rotation to the ferrule and oar-stock and the blade will be inclined for feathering. Upon the opposite tilting of the frame and oar for the workingstroke the reverse operation of the armf and oar-stock takes place and the blade as sumes a suitable position for effecting the pro pulsion of the boat. By pivoting the extensionf to the armf and holding the same by the projection g the position of the rack is made to conform to the path described by the segment when the frame is tilted. The racktcct-h, slot, and pin serve to hold the blade to either position it may have assumed.

I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details of construction shown, as any slight variation therefrom would still be within the broad spirit of my invention.

I am aware that it is not new to provide extensions upon the hand-lever and the ear and connect these extensions by a link, and I therefore do not claim this construction broadly.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a rowing apparatus, and in combination, the pivoted ear, the arm 4, extending approximately at a right angle therefrom, the link pivoted at 7 to the said arm and at 8 to the end of an extension on the handle, the said pivot 8 being positioned so that it will describe a path between the path of the pivot 7 and the pivot of the ear, substantially as described.

2. I11 combination with the til-ting frame, a hand-lever and a portion of the oar-stock pivoted to said tilting frame, the oar-blade swiveled to the pivoted portion of the earstock, the segment carried by the swiveled portion of the oar, and the rack carried by a pivoted support and engaging the segment, substantially as described.

3. In a rowing apparatus, and in combination, a tilting frame, and handlever and oarstock pivoted thereto, a blade swiveled to the pivoted portion of the stock, and mechanism, substantially as described, supported independent of the tilting frame, engaging with the swiveled portion of the ear and operating the same when the frame is tilted in either direction, substantially as described.

4. In combination, the tilting frame and hand-lever, thepivoted oar-stock, the swiveled portion carried thereby, having a segment formed thereon, an arm pivoted to a support in vertical line with the pivot of the oar-stock, rack-teeth on said arm arranged to engage with ICC the segment, and means for keeping said arm in engagement with the segment, all substantially as described.

5. Incombination with the tilting frameiand hand-lever pivoted thereto, a portion of the oar-stock, also pivoted to the said frame, the swiveled portion of the oar, the segment thereon, the pivoted arm with rack-teeth, and

the projection 9, carried by the oar-stock, all

substantially as described.

6. In combination with the tilting frame and the hand-lever, the part 5 and the swiveled portion of the oar, the segment carried by the said swiveled portion, the rack in engagement therewith, the ferrule having a slot,and the pin adapted to engage with the ends of said slot, substantially as described.

-7. In combination, the tilting frame, the

hand-lever, the pivoted portion of the oarstock, the swiveled portion carried thereby provided with a segment, the pivoted arm f,

situated near the oar-stock, ,the extension f,

pivoted thereto and having teeth adapted to engage with the teeth upon the oar-stock, and the arm 9 upon the oar-stock, all substantially as described.

8. In combination, an oar pivoted to aframe, an arm, 45, formed thereon at the pivot extending approximately at right angles to the oar-stock, whereby a bell-crank action is pro-

Images