Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a sailing device for use
on snow or ice.
The action of the device is not that of an ice boat
but is analogous to that of a sail equipped surfboard. With
a sail equipped surfboard, the sail is connected to the
board by an articulated mast. The design is such that boom
for the sail may be pivotted relative to the axis of the mast
to allow selection of the direction of incidence of the wind
upon the sail. The articulation of the mast provides the
steering. When the mast is tilted forward the board tends
to turn out of the wind and when the mast is tilted backward
the board tends to turn into the wind.
Attempts have been made to adapt such a device for
sailing on ice. Riedel U.S. Patent 4,094,262 shows a frame
mounting an articulated mast and having a pivotal sail boom all
operating on the same principal as a sail board. A pair of
runners similar to ice-boat runners support the rear of the
frame or the ice. A forward runner is mounted near the front
of the frame and is pivotal relative thereto about an up and
down axis. The front runner is castered so that sideways
thrusts thereon tend to turn the runner into a fore and off
direction. No steering controls are connected to the front
runner. It turns in response to the actions of the operator
in tilting the mast forward or back.
The Riedel device for sailing on ice has been found
to be dangerous for users. Sideways thrusts upon the forward
runners create impacts, undesired turning of the front runner
and imbalances, all of which tend to upset the balance of the
f~
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operator and board and to cause upset and injury. Moreover
the Riedel device, because of the relatively narrow runner
construction, (and also because of the dangers from the front
runner outlined above), is unsuitable for use on snow.
This invention provides a sailing device for use on
snow and ice wherein the sail, mast and boom mounting on the
frame may be the same as on the Riedel device and indeed, the
same as on a sailboard. However, on applicant's device the
frame is provided with two rear runners but instead of a third
forward runner, is provided with a convex downward surface which
curves upward at those portions of its periphery which will face
forwardly or to the side relative to the fore and aft axis of
the frame. Preferably such upwardly curving contour will exist
completely about the periphery with the novel arrangement, the
convex downward sliding surface will slide on the snow or ice in
any direction under the steering force applied by the forward or
rearward tilting of the mast. In operation, sidewise forces on
the forward surface are lessened, in comparison to those on the
forward runner of Riedel, since such forces from the ice or snow
are exerted at a very shallow angle on the convex sliding surface
and thus the sliding surface tends to slide over the obstacle
rather than to be subjected to a solid impact. Preferably, the
two rear runners are designed to have a wide ski type surface
for travelling on snow, shaped to provide a central ridge, which
acts as a runner on ice and which acts to improve the "tracking"
when on snow or a crust.
Preferably the concave downward surface of the forward
sliding support is mounted to allow a limited universal movement
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relative to the frame to allow it to tilt more easily to glide
over ridges and discontinuities in the snow or ice surface.
Preferably also spring biasing is provided for such universally
connected member to tend to return the convex downward member
to a median or central position.
The preferred form of the member having the convex
downward surface is a wide flat dish which may be of aluminium
or plastic or any other suitable material and which resembles,
in contour, the saucer-like dish used as a child's sliding toy,
on snow, and known as a 'flying saucer'.
The forward sliding support or 'dish' may be attached
to the frame so that rotation is not permitted about an up and
down (roughly vertical) axis. However the strains on the
connection between support and frame and on the frame and on the
user are lessened if the saucer is allowed to rotate relative to
the frame about a roughly vertical axis.
In addition to the Riedel Patent mentioned above,
the following patents were located in a preliminary search and
are the closest prior art known to the inventor.
3,794,341 Torok
3,352,567 Swanson
3,436,087 Noland
D 194,270 Dunn
3,143,357 Krupnik
Such patents, in applicant's opinion are not as
relevant as Riedel and do not teach anything relevant to a
sailing device of the inventive type.
In drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment
of the invention :
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Figure l is a perspective view of a sailing device
in accord with the invention,
Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section along the lines
2-2 of Figure l,
Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section along the lines
3-3 of Figure l; and
Figure 4 shows a vertical cross-section of an alter-
native form of the forward support.
In the drawings, Figure l shows a device in accord
with the invention. The frame comprises a platform lO having
a plurality of sockets 12 spaced along the longitudinal axis.
A mast mount 14 may be (usually frictionally) fixed in one of
the sockets and mast mount 14 is provided with a universal
connection 16 so that the mast mey be held in any fore and aft
or sideways attitude relative to the platform 10. Means are
also provided so that the mast may rotate 360 relative to the
platform. Such 360 rotation may be provided for in any of a
variety of ways. In the preferred embodiment the universal
connection 16 has a bearing 18 above the accordion folds 17
which bearing allows 360 rotation about what is to be the mast
axis. Above bearing 18 is provided the extended sleeve 19
which frictionally receives the mast 21. A boom 20 is mounted on
the mast (as in a sailing surf board) and the boom, mast and
mast mount (or one of them) are designed so that a sail 22 may
(here due to bearing 18) be placed any angle relative to the axis
of the mast. The mast 21 is inserted to be frictionally received
in sleeve 19 to be retained therein by friction although mechani-
cal locking means may be provided. All of the specific features
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described in this paragraph are part of the well known prior
art in the design of sailing surfboards and is similar to what
is disclosed in the Riedel device and this invention uses the
mast mount, mast, boom and sail in exactly the same manner as
these earlier devices. The platform 10 has rigidly attached
thereto, a transversely extending bar 24 which may be of wood
or metal to mount the side runners 26 and a forwardly extending
strut 28 to mount the forward convex downward sliding surface
34. The side runners 26 are preferably not fixedly mounted but
are mounted in brackets 30 which are fixed on bar 24 which
allow the runners 26 to pivot about a transverse axis relative
to the frame. If the device in accord with the invention is
to be used on ice only the two runners may be standard ice
boat runners of which they are many types including those
shown as the rear runners in Riedel. However, if the
inventive device is to be used on snow instead of or as well
as ice, then the runners 26 should be wide, as shown, to
constitute skis and should have a central downwardly projecting
and longitudinally extending ridge 30. Thus the ski in cross
section (see Figure 3), has one its bottom surface a central
downwardly projecting ridge 30 faired on each side into
relatively horizontal contours 31 which contours encompass
approximately the inner two quarters of the ski. The outer
two quarters of the ski 33 are swept gently upwardly. Although
this is the preferred arrangement for the skis, it will be
understood that the invention is not regarded as limited in
this regard. For use on snow surfaces the skis may vary widely
from the shape shown and still cooperate with the forward,
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concave downward sliding member, in accord with the intended
use of the invention. For use on ice surfaces the ice
runners may be combined with skis as in members 26 in the
preferred embodiment or may (for use on ice only) be iceboat
runners, such as those shown in the Riedel patent referred to.
The forward convex downward sliding support,
preferably comprises a surface having an inner downwardly
directed surface sloping gently upwardly toward its periphery
and adjacent the outer periphery curving more sharply upwardly
in a curvature 35 of a smaller radius to provide 360 azimuth
in which the dished surface may ride over upward projections
in the ice and snowO
The surface 34 is part of di~h 36 and has four
upwardly extending braces 38 attached (by welding, brazing or
otherwise) at their lower extremities to the dish 34, the
braces 38 sloping upwardly toward each other to meet at a
horizontal pedestal 40. The forward end of the strut 28 mounts
a downwardly projecting bolt or shank 41 as shown, which at its
lower end passes through an aperture 42 in the pedestal. Lock
nuts or retainer 44 is located on the bolt or shank 41 below
the pedestal to retain the dish on the bolt. A compression
spring 46 helically extending about the bolt or shank 41 bears
upwardly on the forward strut 28 and downwardly on the pedestal
40. The compression spring 46 therefore acts to cushion the
shocks between the dish 36 and the strut 28. The compression
spring 46 is preferably at top or bottom provided with bearing
surfaces spaced from the shank axis so that it biases the dish
to central position. The aperture 42 in the pedestal is made
larger than that required by the bolt or shank 41 so that the
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dish 36 and its pedestal 40 have limited universal movement
relative to the bolt 41 and forward strut 28. Due to this
arrangement, the dish 36 may tip to various orientations to
conform to contours of the ice and snow encountered during use
of the device.
Preferably the dish is rotatable about the
(approximate) axis of bolt or shank 41. This reduces the
strain on the dish 36 and its connection to the strut 28 and
reduces the proportion of the force of the impacts of snow and
ice on the dish 36 which is transmitted to the frame 10 of the
device and to its user. When the dish 36 is connected to be
thus rotatable the upward curving periphery must be 360 in
a~imuth around the periphery of the dish. If the dish does not
rotate and has the same portion of its periphery directed
forward at all times then the upturned portion of the periphery
need only encompass the forward 180 relative to the fore-and-
aft axis of the device. However, an upturn about 360 of
periphery is much preferred, since it will sometimes be
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~ desireable to sail the device in turns which ~ a relative
backward movement of the device.
Figure 4 is included to indicate that the dish
within the scope of the invention although it will have a
downwardly directed annular inner portion 50 and an upwardly
curve periphery 52 may have a raised central portion 54 within
the scope of the invention.
In use, and with mast and sail mounted, the user
stands on platform 10 orienting the sail to drive the device
in the wind. To turn the device into the wind, the mast and
587
sail are tilted backward and to turn the device out of the
wind the mast and sail are tilted forward. The resultant turns
of the device are achieved because the dish 36 is designed to
slide with a wide variety of sideways components over the snow
and ice. As with a sailing surfboard the user must place his
body on the side of the mast toward the wind direction (hence
to change sides with each tack) and lean out to compensate for
the transverse component of the wind on the sail.
