WO2018134231A1

WO2018134231A1 - Hydraulic drive for a roller reefing device, and a roller reefing device equipped with such a drive

Info

Publication number: WO2018134231A1
Application number: PCT/EP2018/051077
Authority: WO
Inventors: Norbert Meier
Original assignee: Kaub GmbH & Co. KG
Priority date: 2017-01-19
Filing date: 2018-01-17
Publication date: 2018-07-26
Also published as: DE102017101002B3

Abstract

The invention relates to a hydraulic drive (1) of a roller reefing device (2) designed for a sail (7) of a sailing vessel (3). The drive (1) is connected to a fluid reservoir (10) for a hydraulic fluid by means of a line connection consisting of a supply line (8) and a return line (9) and can be operated so as to operate as a drive (1) when winding the sail (7) and as a pump for the hydraulic fluid when unwinding the sail (7). A separating element (11) designed as a piston is arranged within the fluid reservoir (10) so as to be movable in a translational manner, said separating element separating the fluid reservoir (10) into two variable chambers (12, 13). The separating element (11) is biased in the direction of a reservoir position which reduces the chamber volume of the second chamber (13) and simultaneously increases the chamber volume of the first chamber (12) by means of a spring element (14) such that the fluid volume conveyed while unwinding the sail (7) is conveyed into the chamber (12) against the restoring force (F). According to the invention, a component of the force acting while the sail surface of the sail (7) is being increased is stored by the spring element (14) in a simple manner and can thus be used to wind the sail (7), wherein the installation complexity for the drive (1) according to the invention is far less than that of a drive connected to an electric motor-driven pump and additionally an energy supply is omitted.

Description

Hydraulic drive for a furling device and a with

Such a drive equipped furling device

The invention relates to a hydraulic drive of a designated for a sail of a sailing craft furling device, wherein the drive is a line connection with a

Fluid reservoir for a hydraulic fluid and for winding the sail around one

Winding axle has a receptacle for fixing the sail. Furthermore, the concerns

Invention equipped with such a hydraulic drive furling device.

Furlers have been known on sailboats and sailing yachts since the 1970s. In view of the ever-increasing size of sailing vessels, there is an increasing need to be able to handle even large sails by the skipper alone or with only one helper.

This allows furling a quick and easy change of sail area, so that the sail can be quickly and easily set or overtaken. For this purpose, the sail, in particular the headsail, up on a forestay and unwound. About the forestay while a profile is mounted, one end of which is rotatably mounted in the region of the bow of the sailing ship and the other end in the upper mast area of the sailing ship. The sail is fixed with its luff to the profile, so that the sail can be wound up and down by turning the profile and so the sail area can be varied.

In other furling the mainsail is rolled up and reefed on a vertically mounted in the mast Reffstange or on a horizontally mounted reef bar in the boom.

Recent developments relate to furlers, so-called top-down Furler, consisting of an endless scooter with vortex for the sail neck, an anti-torsion line, and a topspin. The luff of the sail is not connected to the furling device, so that the sail is wound from the head and strongly profiled cuts can be realized with flared luff.

In principle, all furling devices can also be equipped with a drive.

Such a drive can be realized independently of a power supply.

For example, the horizontally mounted reef bar in the boom or the reef bar mounted on the forestay can be equipped with a spring drive or rubber drive.

DE 26 58 801 A1 and DD 1 27 958 A5 each relate to a furling device in which a drive spring acts on the winding axis, so that the drive spring is tensioned during unwinding of the sail and drives the winding axis during winding of the sail. For this purpose, according to DE 607 045 C, a coil spring is tensioned for torsion.

In contrast, one equipped with a hydraulic drive allows

Furling device the easy winding and unwinding of the foredeck with a push of a button in the cockpit. To drive the hydraulic furler is on board a

Hydraulic pump with a tank available.

DE 200 00 981 U1 discloses a furling device for winding and unwinding a foredeck on a forestay by means of a hydraulic rotary drive, which engages in the hinged to the mast of the sailing ship area of the forecastle or the profile tube. By transferring the rotary motion to the articulated on the mast of the sailing ship area of the previous day, an enlargement of the sail area is achieved, since approximately the entire length of the day can be exploited for attaching the headsail.

From EP 0 642 438 B1 a furling device with a worm drive between the drive and a shaft is known.

From EP 1 607 323 A1 a manually operable drive system with a servo-pneumatic power transmission and a compressed air reservoir for sailing vehicles is known. To operate, for example, a winch, wherein the connection between at least one stand and at least one winch, if necessary, can be activated or deactivated. From DE 26 58 801 A1 discloses a reef device for sailing vehicles with at least one hollow tree is known, which has on its upper side a slot and in its interior a shaft to which the lower luff of the sail attached and tensioned by means of an unwinding of the sail Spring is driven.

A hydraulic drive for a furling device is known for example from US 4,924,795 A.

Furthermore, US 2010/0018196 A1 describes a hydropneumatic energy store in conjunction with a hydraulic motor, and WO 2013/054626 A1 describes a hydraulic energy store with a spring element.

Although the usually used in practice furlers with a Reffleine due to their often unreliable handling, in particular their tendency to cause by so-called deforestation each other blocking turns, are perceived as motorized reefers in practice so far not prevail.

This is mainly due to the fact that the required power supply and the control for the drive is associated with a considerable installation effort. This also applies accordingly to hydraulic drives, which require a hydraulic pump including a reservoir and corresponding line connections, wherein the

Hydraulic pump in turn connected to the on-board electrical system and must be connected to a control unit and a control panel.

The invention has for its object to provide a hydraulic drive, which requires a much lower installation costs and also manages without an additional power supply. Furthermore, a equipped with such a drive furler should be created.

The first object is achieved with a drive according to the features of claim 1. The further embodiment of the invention can be found in the dependent claims.

According to the invention, therefore, a drive is provided in which the fluid reservoir has at least one chamber delimited by a movable separating body, wherein the separating body acts on the drive through the latter as a result of unwinding or hitting the sail Rotational movement transmitted force against a restoring force, in particular a

Spring element, in a chamber volume of the chamber magnifying storage position is movable. The invention is based on the surprisingly simple knowledge that the drive, which is supplied to wind up the sail with a corresponding volume of fluid, in particular the hydraulic fluid, to provide the required drive power, and when unwinding the sail from its winding axis, so when setting or meeting the sail, can be used to promote the fluid in the fluid reservoir against the restoring force, for example by compression of a

enclosed gas volume. This potential energy can therefore be used at any time

be used as needed to supply the fluid to the drive and to generate the corresponding drive power. The drive is thus operated when unwinding the sail as a pump in which the force generated during unwinding increases the volume of fluid in the fluid reservoir against the restoring force. In the reverse direction when winding the sail, the fluid flowing back acts as a hydraulic drive for the sail, so that in principle no external energy supply is required. Of course, the complementary use of an additional electric pump, especially for special operating conditions, not excluded. Nevertheless, the particular advantage of the invention is that the force applied during unwinding of the sail, which is generated manually by means of the sheet as a tensile force, for example, and even at low

Wind strengths is supported by the wind pressure, stored and can be accessed at any time as needed. It is easy to understand that the installation cost for the drive according to the invention is much lower than one with an electric motor

driven pump connected drive. Rather, the drive according to the invention requires neither an electrical power supply, nor a control, so this in contrast to the prior art in an optimal manner for retrofitting,

for example, by laymen, is suitable. The fluid reservoir can optionally be arranged below deck or designed as an integral part of the drive with this connected to a structural unit. Thus, for example, designs are conceivable in which the fluid reservoir encloses a deck fitting for fixing the tag annular, so that a reduction of the sail area can be avoided. In this case, the drive is not limited to certain designs, with gear pumps have proven to be useful and efficient in experiments already.

In addition, the drive according to the invention can also be used to support a manually applied by means of a reflecfing force when winding the sail, so as to be able to operate large sail areas effortlessly by hand and at the same time to maintain the usual handling of furlers otherwise. The separating body could be designed as a flexible deformable separating surface or as a pivotable separating element, for example as a rotary piston, so as to achieve particularly compact dimensions. An embodiment of the invention has proven to be particularly practical in which the separating body is designed as a translationally movable piston, so that due to the volume delivered, the chamber is enlarged by the displacement of the piston and the

Spring element, such as an air spring element is compressed. At the same time, the volume of a second chamber, preferably on a side facing away from the first chamber of the piston is reduced in a corresponding manner, so that the fluid contained therein is displaced and supplied to the drive. As a result, a closed, largely maintenance-free circuit is realized.

The separating body could counteract the restoring force of any compressible

Be movable medium in a chamber volume of the first chamber storage position. Particularly preferably, the spring element has one or more

Coil springs, which not only allows a reproducible spring characteristic over a long period, but also over a wide range a constant

Spring force allows. In this case, the spring force may for example also be adjustable or it may be several, for example, different springs connected in a series circuit with each other, so as to allow optimum adaptation of the drive to the respective conditions of use. In addition, a stationary or jointly movable with the piston spring guide may be provided within the piston, which in particular at design-related large lengths an undesirable lateral

Dodge the spring element prevents. The spring guide can also serve as a stop for the piston and thus limit the maximum compression of the spring element.

The drive activates automatically as soon as the pulling force on the sail sheet subsides. Thus, an additional stop position or separate deactivation on the drive is not required. However, a desired winding position independent of itself

If necessary, to fix the changing wind pressure on the sail, the flow of the line connection by means of a locking member, for example with a valve,

to be interrupted. This is not just a desired, infinitely adjustable

Wickelstellung fixable, but it may optionally also be achieved a damping or brake in the winding process caused by the drive. The thus implemented locking member is preferably electrically, electromechanically or manually operable, wherein a transmission of the switching signal, for example by means of a wireless remote data transmission, can be done. So are, for example

Applications for mobile devices easily implemented.

The drive shaft of the drive could be arranged coaxially with the winding axis.

In contrast, a variant of the drive is particularly easy to implement when the drive is kinematically coupled by means of a non-self-locking gear with the driver for the sail, wherein the drive shaft of the drive can be arranged parallel or orthogonal to the winding axis. Of course, a planetary gear or a transmission with variable ratio can be used.

The drive according to the invention is not limited to a particular sail shape and is therefore suitable for any shape of a sailsail. Particularly suitable is the drive for

Actuation of a leveling sail, in particular a fore sail of the sailing craft. In addition, the drive of a winding axis of a furling mainsail can be arranged on or inside the mast.

The drive could be equipped with a further fluid reservoir from expansion tanks for the flowing during unwinding against the restoring force in the fluid reservoir fluid. In order to keep the dimensions of the drive as low as possible, it is advantageous if the line connection has a flow line and a return line, so that the displaced from the second chamber fluid volume supplied by the supply line to the drive and by means of the return line into the first chamber is returned, wherein the chambers are separated only by the same piston formed on opposite sides of the piston in the same cylinder.

The hydraulic drive forms together with the fluid reservoir and the

Line connection a closed system. To avoid an undesirably high memory pressure in case of improper use, however, it is advantageous if the

Fluid reservoir is equipped with a pressure relief valve, allowing an uncontrolled

Escape or even a burst of the line connection is excluded.

Furthermore, it has already proven to be particularly promising if the

Rollreffeinrichtung having an electrically or hydraulically driven winch for a sheet of sail. As a result, not only increased comfort requirements are met, which largely relieves the driver of the manual operation of the operation of the winch. Rather, this also an essential step on the way of a self-propelled sailing craft realized by such driven winches are used, which can get the sheet and also fieren or schrick. These winches, which are already known per se, are connected to a central control system of the sailing craft in which, in addition to vehicle-specific data, in particular the course and the speed, also the wind strength and direction are detected and from this the optimum feathering position and sail area are determined and optionally an automatic

Reduction or enlargement of the sail area is made. In this case, the control system comes without a due to the drive according to the invention

Power supply of the respective sail associated furler and is thus optimally suitable especially for sailing vehicles with a variety of sails.

The second object is still according to the invention with such a

hydraulic drive having furling device solved by the

Fluid store has at least one limited by a movable separating body chamber, wherein the separating body is movable against a restoring force in a storage chamber position increasing the chamber volume of the chamber due to a force transmitted to the drive during unwinding of the sail. This creates an independent of the on-board system and with little installation effort, for example, even existing sail vehicles easily retrofittable hydraulic drive, the drive power is obtained from the force acting on the enlargement of the sail area, so when unwinding the sail force and stored as potential energy. This can be used for unwinding the acting on the sailing wind pressure for unwinding, while vice versa for winding the sail the

Sail vehicle is brought on a course against the wind direction and thus only a very low wind pressure acts on the sail. The stored potential energy can then be used as needed to wind up the sail.

The invention allows for various embodiments. To further clarify its basic principle, one of them is shown in the drawing and will be described below. This shows in each case in a schematic representation in

Fig. 1 a hydraulic drive according to the invention for a furler with

a fluid reservoir having two fluid chambers separated by a piston;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the hydraulic drive; Fig. 3 shows a variant of the hydraulic drive according to the invention with two fluid reservoirs.

In Figures 1 and 2 is a first variant of a hydraulic according to the invention

Drive 1 for a merely hinted illustrated furler 2 of a sailing vehicle 3 shown. The hydraulic drive 1 is arranged on a forestay 4 and has a hook-shaped receptacle 5 for a sail neck 6 here exemplified as a sail sail 7. The drive 1 is used to wind the sail 7 on a not shown, a luff of the sail 7 receiving profile , which is rotatable about a winding axis determined by the forestay 5, and this is connected by a gear with the profile.

The drive 1 is connected by means of a line consisting of a flow line 8 and 9 return line with a fluid reservoir 10 for a hydraulic fluid and operated so that it serves as a drive 1 when winding the sail 7, while unwinding the sail 7 as a pump for the hydraulic fluid. Within the fluid reservoir 10, a separating body 1 1 designed as a piston is arranged in a translationally movable manner, dividing the fluid reservoir 10 into two variable chambers 12, 13. In this case, the separating body 1 1 by means of a spring element 14 in the direction of a chamber volume of the second chamber 13 reducing and at the same time

Chamber volume of the first chamber 12 biased storage position biased that the conveyed during unwinding of the sail 7 fluid volume is promoted against this restoring force F in the chamber 12. The spring element 14 comprises in the illustrated example, two substantially identical springs 14a, 14b, which are connected in a series circuit. For this purpose, the springs 14a, 14b are opposite sides facing away from one another

Spring guide 19, which encloses the springs 14a, 14b circumferentially and at the same time bears against a respective inner circumference of the springs 14a, 14b with a tubular support portion 20. The spring guide 19 has a against the inner wall of the

Fluid reservoir 10 adjacent and on the inner wall translationally movable hollow cylindrical portion 21 as a stop and Wegbegrenzer in the translational movement of the separating body 1 1 whose length in the direction of movement of the separating body 1 1 is dimensioned so that the turns of the spring 14 a in the final position at maximum volume the second chamber 13 are not pressed against each other. Furthermore, the separating body 1 1 is equipped with such a hollow cylindrical portion 22 for protecting the spring 14b. To avoid an undesirable lateral evasive movement of the spring element 14, this is peripherally enclosed by a hollow cylindrical spring guide 19, which is independent of the separating body 1 1 movable in the cylinder. According to the invention, a part of the force acting on increasing the sail area of the sail 7 force is stored by the spring element 14 in a simple manner and is thus used for winding the sail 7. By the flow of the return line 9 is interrupted by means of a locking member 15, the set position can be reliably fixed or optionally also a desired slip can be set.

FIG. 3 additionally shows a variant of the hydraulic drive 16 according to the invention for the furling device 2, in which the fluid reservoir 10 only has a chamber 12 which is limited by the movable separating body 11 and is therefore variable in volume. The displaced from the chamber 12 during winding of the sail 7 volume of the hydraulic fluid is collected in a further fluid reservoir 17, which is arranged adjacent to the drive 16. In this variant of the drive 16 only one of a single line 18 existing line connection is required, so that the installation cost can be further reduced again.

applicant:

Kaub GmbH & Co. KG

August-Spindler-Strasse 1

37079 Göttingen

Our sign: MEI-29-PCT January 17, 2018

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1 drive drive

2 furling device fluid storage

3 sail vehicle line

4 forestay spring guide

5 recording support area

Sail neck section

Sail section

supply line

Return line Return force

fluid reservoir

11 separating bodies

12 chamber

13 chamber

14 spring element

14a spring

14b spring

15 locking member

Claims

PATE NTAN SPRU

1 . Hydraulic drive (1, 16) of a furling device (2) intended for a sail (7) of a sailing craft (3), the drive (1, 16) providing a line connection to a fluid reservoir (10, 17) for a hydraulic fluid and for winding up the Sail (7) about a winding axis, a receptacle (5) for fixing the sail (7), characterized in that the fluid reservoir (10, 17) at least one by a movable separating body (1 1) limited chamber (12, 13) wherein the separating body (1 1) due to a force on the drive (1, 16) when unwinding the sail (7) transmitted force against a restoring force (F) in a chamber volume of the chamber (12) magnifying

Memory position is movable.

Second drive (1, 16) according to claim 1, characterized in that the separating body (1 1) is designed as a translationally movable piston.

3. drive (1, 16) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive (1, 16) at least one of the restoring force (F) on the separating body (1 1) transmitting

Spring element (14), in particular a coil spring having.

4. drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow of the line connection by means of an electrically, electromechanically or manually operable locking member (15) can be blocked.

5. Drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive (1, 16) has a power transmission by means of the receptacle (5) specific transmission.

6. drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive (1, 16) for actuating a stay sail, in particular on a forestay of the sailing vehicle (3) is arranged.

7. drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fluid reservoir (10, 17) is equipped with a pressure relief valve.

8. drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the line connection connected to a second chamber (13) feed line (8) and one with a first chamber (12) connected

Return line (9).

9. drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the drive (1, 16) with a furling device (2) kinematically coupled conveyor unit, in particular a pump, for the hydraulic fluid.

10. A furling device (2) equipped with a hydraulic drive (1, 16) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one fluid reservoir (10, 17) has at least one chamber (11) which is delimited by a movable separating body (11). 12, 13), wherein the separating body (1 1) due to an unwinding of the sail (7) on the drive (1, 16) transmitted force against a

Restoring force (F) in a chamber volume of the chamber (12) magnifying

Memory position is movable.