Ships – Watercraft with means used in providing sailpower – Having specifically defined hull shape
Patent
1984-01-17
1985-12-17
Blix, Trygve M.
Ships
Watercraft with means used in providing sailpower
Having specifically defined hull shape
114 93, 114102, B63H 906
Patent
active
045586551
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a sail unit for the purpose of sport which enables the user to perform a wide range of different movements on both land and water, in particular when the sail unit is employed conjointly with a moving support for carrying the user so as to constitute a composite traveling device in conjunction with the above-mentioned sail unit.
Sailboard boards are already known and are characterized by the association of a board and a substantially triangular sail which the user operates by exerting physical force and which bears on an anchoring point of the board. These devices permit only limited movements.
It is also known to associate a sail of the spinnaker type fitted with a venturi tube and a pair of snow skis, the sail being fastened to the wrists and ankles of the user who is wearing the skis. This association permits only flying ski-jumps which are slowed-down during ski descents.
It is primarily in the field of aquatic sports that interest has focused on the use of wind power for enabling the user to obtain both propulsion or flight effects by air sustentation according to the orientation of a sail with respect to the wind, this sail being orientable in space independently of the support which carries the user. However, in known designs of this type, the sail consisting of a V-wing, for example, is relatively heavy and awkward to handle. Furthermore, its development in width is such that, in practice, it is not capable of occupying all desirable positions and in particular it can neither be inclined at a large angle with respect to the vertical nor be connected to the board by engaging the leading edge of the wing within a receptacle provided for this purpose.
The object of the present invention is to provide a highly maneuverable sail unit which permits rapid changeover from a vertical position of propulsion to a horizontal position of sustentation and conversely without any danger of touching the water.
In accordance with the invention, the sail unit provided for the purpose of sport and operable by hand in order to permit propulsion and/or flight by air sustentation according to the orientation of said sail unit as a function of the wind and with respect to a moving support for carrying the user such as a sailboard, is characterized in that it is of the multiplane type and comprises at least two wings in relatively displaced relation to each other.
An arrangement of this type makes it possible to obtain a sail unit which has a large total sail area while being of small overall size, thereby enabling the user to handle this sail unit with great ease in the different configurations of use in propulsion and/or in sustentation without any danger of touching the bearing surface such as the ground or water.
The sail unit according to the invention advantageously consists of two wings forming a biplane. This design permits simple and economical construction.
In a preferred version of the invention, the two wings are relatively displaced in a transverse direction with respect to their leading edges.
This arrangement permits optimum use of the two wings and prevents blanketing of one wing by the presence of the other on the windward side.
In an advantageous manner, the two wings have substantially the same surface area.
This makes it possible to simplify the industrial manufacture and therefore to reduce the cost price while also simplifying the assembly operation to be performed by the user since the two wings are thus interchangeable.
In a version of the invention which is of practical interest, one of the two wings has a substantially greater span than the other wing.
This arrangement permits the achievement of enhanced effectiveness of the sail unit without increasing its weight to any appreciable extent.
When used as a waterborne craft, it is an advantage to ensure that at least one of the wings is formed of positively buoyant material such as a plastic foam in sheet form. When the sail unit is immersed at the time of departure or when a fall occurs, this choice makes it possibl
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patent: 4344377 (1982-08-01), Gram
patent: 4473022 (1984-09-01), Eastland
"Hang-Gliding Review", Flight International, Dec. 10, 1977, by Ann Welch.
"Hang Gliders", Popular Science, Jun. 1972, by Paul Wahl.
Blix Trygve M.
Swinehart Edwin L.
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