Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~1(1 5330
BACKGROUND OF ~HE INVENTION
Portable frame-and-sail assemblies are widely used for skate sailing
and hang gliding, and are also used for small boat, iceboab and land vehicle
sailing. Such assemblies characteristically comprise a multiple number of
full width spars, i.e. one at the leading edge, one near the lift center for
being mannually grasped, and sometimes one at the *oot of the sail. Unlike
kites, parachutes or sails used only for running with the wind, a sa~l for
running cross-wind or to windward, possibly at speeds of from two to three
times wind velocity, is required to be rigged with the leading edge stayed
for damping vibration, a non-pliant member such as a mast being used if
possible, and if not, then a tautly stretched, strongly anchored stay line
as may be used for a jib. A skate sail, which is manually held at an oblique
angle during use, is optimumly provided with a head spar. Whether the sail
is tensioned tautly for running close to the wind or is provided with slack
for running with the wind, a simple cruciform frame sufficiently stout to
provide adequate anchorage for rigging a stay line proves excessively heavy
for use in a skate sail, in which weight is a factor limiting the ability and
endurance of a skater to support and manipulate a sail assembly. Reducing
the number and size of framing members in a skate sail to enable use to be
made of fewer, shorter and thinn members increases the serviceability of
a sail for such use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a sail assembly
comprising: a sail; a mast disposed substantially coincident with one
diagonal of said sail; a brace cruciform with said mast, said brace being
non-pliant, shorter, and disposed non-coincident with one cross diagonal of
said sail, and wherein the end extremities of said brace are configured with
groove-like recesses; lateh means for adjustably securing said mast to said
brace, relatively non-pliant spars, disposed individually along two edges of
said sail which form a common juncture with said one diagonal, said spars
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being moveably retained upon either end extremity of said brace in said
groove-like recesses, said brace urging said spars outward for deploying
said sail, said sail being fixed to said spars and anchored to the foot of
said mast.
According to a preferred embodiment, a light-weight, multi-purpose
sail assembly is framed conveniently with short~ separable components of
minimal collective length, including a single full said-width transverse
member, a weather edge spar which is jointed at the mast head and buttressed
mid-way along each jointed section on either end of an abbreviated length stiff
brace which is set cruciform with a mast along which it is run and snuffed or
latched to deploy the spar sections by toggle-like action and spread the sail.
A trapeziform sail is stretched tautly from an anchor point at the foot of
the mast unless deployment of the spar sections is restrained by a
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cinch line as used when the sail assembly i8 rigged for hang gliding. Triangular
pleces may be attached to the 6ides Or a trapezlform sail snd be separately deployed
by retr~ctable spring wires to provide wind-spill troughs for the purpose of
increaslng the stability and ease of handling of the sail assembly by a user
in varying wind conditlons as ~ell as for increasing sail aren. In dismantling
the ~all assembly for stowage, the mast sections are uncoupled ~nd placed togèther
wlth the cross-brace and inwardly iolded spar arms into a compact core about
which the ~ail can be rolded or wrapped. The sail assembly provided by this
lnvention i~ lighter in weight and more servlcaable than those as6emblies which
embodJ ~rame members which are collectively longer, and i6 more adaptable to
bein~ used by per60n6 oi dif~erent ststure and weight, and in varying modes
and wind condltions because of the selectively variable size of sail area which
maJ be deployed.
DESCRIPTION OF T~E I~VENTION
Figure 1 is a side elevation o~ one embodiment of a skate sail assembly of
thl6 invention;
Figure 2 is an elev~tlon of the detail Or the rOot edge Or the sail assembly
e~hodiment Or Flgure l;
Figure 3 is a perspective view Or a latch for fastening together the mast
and cross brace ~ember6 of the embodiment Or Figure l;
Figure 4 i6 a 6ide elevation Or another embodiment Or a skate sail embodiment
Or thl6 invention;
Figure 5 is a perspective view of one end of the brace member of Figure l;
~ igure 6 is a perspective view Or the rOot of the mast of Figure 4 ~howing,
in broken line representation~ portions Or spring wires disposed within the mast.
In Figure 1 sail as6embly 10 iB shown comprisine sail 11 tautly attached at
root edge 12 and head edge 13~ respectively~ bylline 17 laced throu~h grommets 16
at the rOot corners or sail 11 and through eye 24 at the foot Or mast 22, and by
lines 33 and 3~ lsced through grommets 14 and around spar sections 35 and 36 which
rorm the leading edge stay for sail 11. In Figure 2 foot edge 12 is shown strengthened
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by relnforcing tape 18 sewed with two rows 19 o~ single stitches across the foot
Or the sail a~d under grommets 16. The foot Or mast 22 is shown flattened and
sealed to prerent water or debris rrom entering into the core of the tubular mast.
Sleeve 25 islshown disposed along the center line of ssil 11 enclosing mast 22
and comprises marrow elongated patches Or sail cloth fastened to sail 11 by two
row~ Or stitching along its length with hand-hold 27 interspersed to enable a
skster to opersbly grssp snd manipulate mast 22, the skater being positioned OD
the lee side Or sail 11 protected from the wind and in position to rest mast 22
on his shoulder to relleve the load Or m~nually holding the sail assembly aloft.
In tscking~ ssil sssembly 10 is shirted by the skater to his opposite side, the
skater slwsys remaining on the same side of the sail assembly, however, to enable
him to grssp the ~raming members.
head edge 13 Or sail 10 is shown reinforced with tape 30 attached by two
rows 15 o~ single stitching and provided with grommets 14 spaced at about three
inch intervals for lacing lines 33, 34. Toggle spars 35, 36 are light-weight
~embers, prerersbly sluminum slloy tubing, around which lines 33 and 34 are laced
for clo6ely drawing ssil 11 lnto proxlmlty sgsinst the restraint of lace 17 at
the foot Or msst æ. The to~gle ap~rs form a non-pliant weather ed~e reinforcement
for 8all sssembly 10. Inner ends 35', 36' Or spsrs 35, 36 are shown attached to
the hesd of mast 22, each such member being configured with a flattened end extremity
through which an eye is provided with line 37 being passed therethrough and knotted
~t the ends to provide a hinge. If desired, spars 35, 36 msy be unconnected either
to the msst or to each other without detriment to use of sail assembly 11, however,
such lsck Or co~nection lessens the stability and rieidity of the seather edge of
the sail sssembly.
Brsce 40 is shown cruciform with mast 22 and of lesser length than the width
Or sail 11 st its upper portion, snd is preferably less than the mean width of s~il 11.
The end exkremities of brsce 40 are clesved or deeply grooved as shown in Figure 5
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to slidably cradle and support the tub~ng configuration Or the mid-portion3 of
spars 35, 36. Any other operable configuration may be used such as pivotal or
roller means, but such means are not preferred. Brace 40 is preferably non-
pliant, but stirrly re6iliently deformable to uree spar6 35, 36 into deployment
when the brace iB advanced along mast 22 and secured in position by latch 42
carrled on brace 40~ Wood or glass fiber material is preferred for brace 40,
and o~ such dimenslon as best shown in Figure 3, with the width of the member
which is co-planar with the sail being greater than that of the dimension which
is transver3e to the plane Or the sail to provide bending stiffness to the
member ror deploying spars 35~ 36. Latch 42 is shown configured with hook
6haped met~l plate 43 secured to brace 40 and provided with bolt 46 about
which rotatsble rubber cam 44 is fitted. When brace 40 is properly positioned
wlth respect to spars 35, 36, it is drawn up alon6 mast 22 toward the head Or
the mast until a bending moment i8 evedent by there being h resilient restoring
rorce ~elt which resists further drawing Or the brace up the mast, whereupon cam 44
is rotated to the position shown in Figure 3 to frictionally secure brace 40 in
the desired position relative to mast 22. Sail 11 is tautly stretched by spars
35~ 36 belng deployed by brace 40 unles6 cinch line 50, shown slack in Figure 1,
i~ fore6hortened to limit outward deployment of spars 35, 36. Cinch line 50 is
employed to limit movement Or spar6 35~ 36 onl~ when sail as6embly 10 is used as
a hang glider.
Ma6t 22 is prei~erably fabricated from tele6copingly fitted or otherwise
separable or collapsible sections of aluminum alloy tubing, joints 54, 55 being
shown for facilitating convenient disas6ebly and compact stowing of sail sssembly 10.
Leech edges 57, 58 of sail 11 are shown hemmed only in Figure 1, however,
they may be relnforced a~d ~itted with stay lines in the manner conventional for
sail~ ir desired. Sail 11 i8 conveniently ~abricated from a retangular bolt of
sail cloth by cutting the cloth diagonally on the bias and sewing the bias edges
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together, the seam lying along the length of mast ~2, with all outer ed~es of
sail 11 being rree of bias cut fabric.
The provision of abbreviated length brace 40 disposed as a to~le-like
operator ~or spars 35, 36 reduces the collective length o~ all frQme members of
sail assembly 10 to less than that for sail assemblies which are equipped with
a brace of full length of the transver6e axis of the sail, and because of the
shorter length of brace 40 and the shorter un6upported reach spanned by spars
35, 36 than for spsrs which are end-supported, the section diameter snd weight
Or brace 40 and of spars 35, 36 can be dimini6hed relative to similar member6
Or longer reach and 6pan without sacrifice in structural strength of the framin~,
thus providing an optimumly serviceable and efficient sail assembly.
Sail 11 may be provided with hemmed adges to form enclosing ~leeves for
receiving spars 35, 36 rather than being provided with lacing as shown, but
such slee~es are not preferred because the sail fabric tends not to be as
uniformly ten6ioned as when lashed to the spars by lacing. Cinch line 50 i8
eliminated from sail a6sembly 10 i~ the sail assembly is not used for hang
gliding, and sleeve 25 may be eliminated from the sail as6embly, if desired.
Sail assembly 10 may be mounted on a boat, iceboat, bicycle or other
land vehicle for use without being hand-held while the advantage of the sail
assembly being o~ lower profile than are conventionsl 6ails and thus having
greater stabillty against tipping or capsizine, is retained.
In Figure 4, sail 60 is shown stretched in the manner of sail 11 of ~igure 1
rrom the rOot of msst 22' to spar6 35 "~ 36 "~ however, triangular portions 61
6ewn on the sides of trapezium portion 11' of sail 60 are not stretched laterally
as ahown snd are free to billow to form troughs or gutters for wind spilling from
Gail portion 11'. Spring wires 63, which preferably comprise one-ei~hth inch
diameter piano wire, retractably proJect from two openings in opposite sindes of
ma6t 22' ror beine manually extended or inserted with the exposed end extremities
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of the wires being fitted with cords 64 which attach to the free corners of
triangular sail portions 61, thereby enabling theouter edges of sail portions
to be tensioned without the foot edges of the sail portions being drawn taut.
Sail portions 61 are therefore enabled to form wind spill troughs unless wires
63 are fully extended whereby the sail portions 61 are tautly stretched, but
may be disposed in plances angularly set from the plane of main portion 11' of
6ail 60. The inner end extremities of spring wires 63 disposed within tubular
ma~t 22' are shown in broken line representation in Figure 6, the detail of the
foot oi mast 22' being similar to that shown in Figure 2: as shown in Figure 6
the spring wires are fully extended and will resch farther along the ~ore of
the ma6t when they are manually inserted either to stow the apparatus or to
reduce the distance to which the sind spill troughs are extended. The provision
Or wind 6pill troughs facilitates handling of the sail assembly by cushioning the
effect Or wind 6pilling irom sail portion 11' in a manner which creates a force
disrupting the balance of the sail assembly in the wind, and eases handling of
the sail in tacking and trimming. Additionally~ in lieht breezes full extension
Or wires 63 ef~ectively increa6es sail area materially, e.g. usin~; a ten foot
l~ng mast a sail may conveniently be increased from forty-one square feet to
firty-seven square feet by use of sail portions 61.
Sail 60 i6 secured to mast 22' by lacing 65, as shown in Fi~ure 4, rather
than being enclosed in a sleeve as in Figure l; either ezpedeint proves suitable
for u6e. Latch means 42' consi6t6 of a stout length of rubber or synthetic resin
coated wire configuredlwith one helical turn about mast 22' and a hook shaped
upper extremity for receiving brace 40'. When snugged in position to properly
ten6ion brace 40' against spars 35 ", 36 ", latch 42' is frictionally retsined
~rom sliding on mast 22' in operable manner.
For economy of material ussge in fabricating sail 60 the side apexes of both
sall portion 11' and trisngular portions 61 are of right angular config~ration
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thus providing a pattern which permits use to be made of all material in a bolt
of s8il cloth. In use, sail portion 11' is tautly stretched planarly at all
times whereas triangular portion6 61 are tautly stretched in one direction only
when used a~ spill troughs and m~y be tautly stretched in the plane of sail
portion 11' as des~red, but the flexibility of spring wires 63 enablé portions 61
when 80 stretched to yield rather readily and assume an angular disposition
relati~e to 6ail portion 11' whereas sail portion 11' is firmly retainedin planar
configuration by the stifrness of mast 22' and brace 4Q'. Spring wires 63 may
comprise ny suitable material such as res~n bonded fibrous ~lass rods.
.
