Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60F—VEHICLES FOR USE BOTH ON RAIL AND ON ROAD; AMPHIBIOUS OR LIKE VEHICLES; CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES
  • B60F3/00—Amphibious vehicles, i.e. vehicles capable of travelling both on land and on water; Land vehicles capable of travelling under water
  • B60F3/0007—Arrangement of propulsion or steering means on amphibious vehicles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60F—VEHICLES FOR USE BOTH ON RAIL AND ON ROAD; AMPHIBIOUS OR LIKE VEHICLES; CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES
  • B60F3/00—Amphibious vehicles, i.e. vehicles capable of travelling both on land and on water; Land vehicles capable of travelling under water
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60F—VEHICLES FOR USE BOTH ON RAIL AND ON ROAD; AMPHIBIOUS OR LIKE VEHICLES; CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES
  • B60F3/00—Amphibious vehicles, i.e. vehicles capable of travelling both on land and on water; Land vehicles capable of travelling under water
  • B60F3/003—Parts or details of the vehicle structure; vehicle arrangements not otherwise provided for
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60F—VEHICLES FOR USE BOTH ON RAIL AND ON ROAD; AMPHIBIOUS OR LIKE VEHICLES; CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES
  • B60F3/00—Amphibious vehicles, i.e. vehicles capable of travelling both on land and on water; Land vehicles capable of travelling under water
  • B60F3/0061—Amphibious vehicles specially adapted for particular purposes or of a particular type
  • B60F3/0069—Recreational amphibious vehicles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60F—VEHICLES FOR USE BOTH ON RAIL AND ON ROAD; AMPHIBIOUS OR LIKE VEHICLES; CONVERTIBLE VEHICLES
  • B60F2301/00—Retractable wheels
  • B60F2301/04—Retractable wheels pivotally

Definitions

• the invention relates to an amphibian, capable of travelling on water and on land.
• Amphibians have been proposed and produced in various formats. Although amphibian bicycles have been proposed, the smallest engine driven amphibians have been motorcycles. Lehrberger (DE 19831324C2) , Gong (US 6,540,569), and Buchanan (GB 2,254,831) all disclose designs for amphibian motorcycles .
• Amphibians are dual purpose vehicles, and must therefore be equally usable on land as they are on water. Different classes of vehicle have different handling characteristics. Motorcycles are capable of fast acceleration and fast, steeply leaning cornering. The three machines described above, however, are heavy, wide, and bulbous in shape .
• the width of the motorcycle must also be increased compared to the convention for a purely road machine, in order to provide both buoyancy and stability on water. This increased width limits the angle through which the machine can be leaned on corners on road. The additional weight and width will make the motorcycle feel cumbersome on road.
• the present invention provides an amphibian according to claim 1.
• the amphibian is of a compact size, can rise rapidly onto the plane on water and is easy to handle on water.
• Figure 1 is a schematic underneath plan view of an amphibian of a first embodiment of the present invention
• Figure 2 is a side view of the amphibian of the first embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 3 is a cut-away perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention.
• the amphibian 10 comprises a buoyant "V" shaped hull 12.
• the hull 12 has a bow 14 and a stern 16.
• a body 11 is attached to the hull 12.
• a pair of front wheels 20 are connected adjacent to the bow by front suspension 22.
• the front suspension 22 is preferably in the form of double wishbone suspension, or may alternatively be formed of any known type of suspension.
• a single rear wheel 24 is connected adjacent to the stern by rear suspension 26.
• the rear suspension 26 is preferably in the form of a pair of rearwardly trailing arms 28, rotatably supporting the wheel 24 between them.
• the arms 28 are rotatably attached to the chassis by pivots 35 at their forward ends.
• the rearwardly trailing arms preferably form an A-frame.
• a laterally extending strut 29 connects the arms 28 and forms an apex of the A-frame.
• a coil spring over shock absorber unit 31 is connected to the strut 29 to allow damped suspension movement of the arms 28.
• the rear suspension may comprise a single trailing arm supporting the wheel 24.
• the front suspension 22 and rear suspension 26 are retractable for use of the amphibian on water.
• the suspension 22,26 is preferably retractable over a waterline of the vehicle when on water.
• the suspension 22,26 can be protracted for use on land.
• the front wheels 20 may be retracted by any known means.
• hydraulic suspension struts can provide for damping of wheel movement and also retraction of the wheels.
• Such struts are known from US 2003/0047899 of the present Applicant.
• wheel retraction may be achieved with an actuator rotating part of the suspension assembly, for example as known from US 5,531,179 of
• the wheels 20 may be retracted by rotation of the wheel or suspension upright about a local axis of rotation so that the outer derside of the wheels when on land is directed to face downwardly over water
• the rear wheel 24 may be retracted by an actuator 33, e.g. a hydraulic actuator or pneumatic actuator, preferably attached to the coil spring over shock absorber unit 31.
• the trailing arms 28 may be rotated upwardly around the pivot 35 by the actuator 33.
• the amphibian 10 is propelled on water by water jet drives.
• the amphibian comprises two water jet drives 30.
• Each water jet drive 30 comprises a jet inlet 32, the jet inlet 32 preferably opening onto a bottom surface of the hull to take water in to the jet drive 30.
• Each jet drive 30 further comprises a jet nozzle 34, opening rearwardly. Water is expelled through the jet nozzles by an impeller to propel the amphibian 10 on water.
• the two water jet drives 30 are offset laterally from a centreline X-X of the amphibian 10.
• the water jet drives 30 are located symmetrically about the centreline X-X.
• the water jet drives 30 are located outwardly of the rear wheel 24, such that water expelled from the water jet drives 30 to passes either side of the rear wheel 24, when said wheel is protracted.
• the water jet drives 30 are' powered by a power source in the amphibian, preferably by an engine 37, e.g. an internal combustion engine.
• the output of the engine 37 is connected to a gearbox 46.
• the gearbox 46 may be a continuously variable transmission (CVT) .
• the gearbox 46 is operably connected to a driveshaft 39, the driveshaft 39 connected to the rear wheel to drive the rear wheel .
• the output of the gearbox 46 is preferably on or near the longitudinal axis of the amphibian.
• the engine also drives two belt drives 48, each belt drive 48 extending laterally outwardly from the vehicle centreline.
• Each belt drive comprises an endless belt looped around two spaced apart supporting wheels.
• Each belt drive 48 drives a driveshaft 50, the driveshafts 50 extending rearwardly and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the amphibian.
• Each driveshaft 50 is connected to and drives the impeller of one of the water jet drives 30.
• Each water jet is therefore independently (i.e. separately) driven.
• Each water jet is driven from a common power source.
• the driveshafts may be connected to the gearbox by gears, in particular, bevel gears.
• the front wheels 20 are preferably not driven when the amphibian 10 is on land.
• the front wheels 20 may be driven by the same power source as the water jet drives 30.
• the front wheels 20 may be driven by a power source separate from the power source driving the water jet drives 30.
• the separate power source may be a second engine (e.g. internal combustion engine) or an electric motor.
• the rear wheel may be driven in addition to the front wheels 20, either from the same power source as the water jet drives 30 or from the separate power source.
• twin jets may be assumed to be heavier than a single jet drive, a surprising result occurs when comparing the two layouts.
• the twin jets will be specified as being of smaller diameter than the equivalent single jet. This reduces the tip speed of the jet blades compared to the single jet drive,- which makes the twin jets less liable to cavitation at speed. It is also found that as forces at the tips of the blades go up as the square of the rotational speed, a smaller jet can be built more lightly than a single jet, because it is of smaller diameter.
• twin jets may in themselves be lighter than a single jet drive; and may still be lighter overall, even when a more complex transmission is necessarily specified than for a single jet drive .
• twin jets An advantage of twin jets is that the amphibian can rise rapidly onto the plane on water, perhaps one or two seconds faster than an equivalent machine with a single jet drive.
• the drawbacks of twin jets are in cost, and packaging; and a reduction in top speed on water due to the increased pumping losses through the additional jet drive.
• the top speed might, for example, be reduced by four knots for a compact amphibian.
• a twin jet machine will be easier to ride, less ultimately fast but more relaxing.
• the amphibian 10 is a ride-on amphibian, in which a driver sits astride the body 11 of the amphibian.
• a seat 40 is located on the body 11, on which the driver can sit.
• the seat 40 may be large enough to seat a passenger behind the rider.
• One or more recesses may be provided in seat 40 to allow the rider and/or passenger (s) to "step through” the seat .
• the driver steers the amphibian through handlebars 42.
• the handlebars are connected to the front wheels 20 for steering the amphibian on land, and connected to a rudder or other steering means for steering the amphibian on water.
• a steering wheel may be used in place of the handlebars, for steering the amphibian 10 on land and water.
• the seat 40 is located above the power source which provides power to the water jet drives and/or the wheels.
• a windscreen 44 may extend upwardly from the body 11, for spray and weather protection.
• the amphibian 10 has been described as having two jet drives. Alternatively, the amphibian 10 may have three or more jet drives. Each jet drive is preferably driven by a driveshaft as described above.
• the amphibian according to the invention does not have body parts (e.g., wheel covers) which move when the amphibian changes mode from road to marine or vice versa.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Motorcycle And Bicycle Frame (AREA)
• Automatic Cycles, And Cycles In General (AREA)
• Arrangement Or Mounting Of Propulsion Units For Vehicles (AREA)
• Aiming, Guidance, Guns With A Light Source, Armor, Camouflage, And Targets (AREA)
• Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
• Axle Suspensions And Sidecars For Cycles (AREA)
• Hydraulic Turbines (AREA)

Priority Applications (8)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=38599253

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (17)

Citations (9)

Family Cites Families (12)

• 2007
  • 2007-08-24 GB GB0716582A patent/GB2452088A/en not_active Withdrawn
• 2008
  • 2008-08-22 CA CA 2697727 patent/CA2697727A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-08-22 WO PCT/GB2008/002860 patent/WO2009027647A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2008-08-22 CN CN201510161807.8A patent/CN104875565A/zh active Pending
  • 2008-08-22 ES ES08788420T patent/ES2432799T3/es active Active
  • 2008-08-22 CN CN2008801119133A patent/CN101918229A/zh active Pending
  • 2008-08-22 JP JP2010522432A patent/JP5331808B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-08-22 KR KR1020107006098A patent/KR101601249B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2008-08-22 AU AU2008291933A patent/AU2008291933A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-08-22 RU RU2010111105/11A patent/RU2555051C2/ru not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2008-08-22 US US12/674,895 patent/US20110189906A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2008-08-22 EP EP20080788420 patent/EP2181003B1/en not_active Not-in-force
• 2014
  • 2014-07-10 AU AU2014203795A patent/AU2014203795A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (9)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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