Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Motor-driven Hydroplane for Rescue Purposes (Ice Rescue)
Summary of the Invention
The invention relates to a locomotive device, in particular an engine-driven
boat
having a catamaran-like body of at least two parallel tube bodies disposed in
a
mutually spaced relationship and a bottom disposed befinreen them at a
distance
from the underside of the tube bodies (claims 1, 2 or 3).
Such a keel-less "vehicle" (boat, boat body, gliding device or locomotive
device
or boat device) is to be designed in such a way that it is equally suitable
for use,
preferably for rescue missions, on water and ice surfaces.
The boat device according to the invention is especially suited for rescue
missions on water bodies such as lakes, whose body of water usually freezes up
at least partly. Mostly, rescue missions with only floating boats are no
longer
possible in these cases. A rescue mission across a large ice surface is
troublesome and time-consuming. This also applies to fire brigade missions
from
the mainland on an island, the water being frozen up. As opposed to this, a
rescue mission is not hindered with the locomotive device according to the
invention, it being possible to rapidly and safely carry out the mission
carrying
along any necessary rescue equipment and a rescue team, since the locomotive
device can be moved with equal safety and speed and without the difficulties
of
transition both on ice and on water.
The bow area of the boat body may be a further tube body uniting the two tube
bodies or a rod (claim 4 or 5). A slide-on slope is formed in the bow area
(claim
3) which makes the gliding onto ice safe and impact-free during transition
from
water to ice. The gliding on only a frozen surface, driven by the propeller,
thus
takes place without trouble, as well.
The area defined by the tube bodies is preferably occupied by a relatively
firm
bottom (claim 2), which is disposed at a distance from the gliding surface and
lowered with respect to the center of the tube bodies. Towards below this
bottom
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is completely covered by a second bottom part which may consist of the same or
a similar material as the outer tube cases (claim 6). Rubberized Kevlar tissue
is
very well suited. During movement on an ice surface an air cushion is formed
between the raised (covered) firm bottom and the gliding surface, which
provides
for a buoyancy and, thus, for instance for a higher speed (with the same
driving
power) or causes a load on the ice with lower contact forces during the drive.
A frame support for the propeller propulsion may be affixed to the firm
bottom,
preferably in an easily detachable fashion.
Further advantageous developments of the invention result from the dependent
claims.
The rescue of persons who when through ice surfaces is made possible by a
hinged bottom flap so that it is not necessary to heave the victim across the
tube
bodies (claim 13).
The invention is based on the object of further developing an engine-driven
device of the mentioned type in such a way that it can be easily, reliably and
effectively used in the situations mentioned at the beginning. In this
connection it
must be taken into consideration that difficult conditions may prevail during
these
missions such as the frequent alternation of water and ice surfaces, piled up
ice
or pack-ice, strong ar gusty wind or pebbles and boulders with sharp edges and
the like. It must be possible to use the locomotive device under all weather
conditions and the device must be capable of accurately and quickly heading
for
sites of an accident that are difficult to access.
An important prerequisite for achieving the objects aimed at is provided,
namely
the corresponding design of the vehicle body itself (claim 1 and/or 21).
Due to the use of two different bottoms which are matched to each other, a
compact composite design of all appertaining elements is obtained after
inflation.
Both bottoms cooperate during inflation in order to achieve this composite
design
since the flexible bottom safely limits the maximum distance between the
inflated
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tube bodies to a fixed value across their entire length and the other bottom,
matched thereto with its transverse dimensions, is compression-tensioned, i.e.
"clamped", due to this. This results in a high dimensional stability and load-
bearing capacity in transverse direction (first rigidity), whereas an inherent
flexibility of the bottom material is not reduced in longitudinal direction
(second
rigidity). This certain flexibility in the longitudinal direction is still
supported if the
measures according to claims 7 and 8 are used. Then, the transversely
extending bottom plates are surrounded by elastically flexible rod sections on
their edges adjoining the tube bodies. The first rigidity is higher than the
second
rigidity (claims 22, 19 or 9).
Due to its transverse stability which is increased due to the clamping, the
boat
body can
- directly and safely receive the load of the means necessary for propulsion
and control and ensure their perfect cooperation;
- reliably receive the propulsion and brake forces and safely transmit them
to the tube bodies across their entire length;
- ensure a safe drive also under the aforementioned difficult conditions.
The steerability and lateral stability when driving on ice surfaces is clearly
improved by the wear strips directly disposed on the lower side of the tube
bodies, which, preferably, have sharp guide edges (cf. claims 10 and 11 ).
Background of the Invention
US-A 5,112,257 certainly shows a vehicle that is to be usable on water and on
ice. For this purpose, two tube bodies are inserted into a shell body and tied
up
with it by means of straps. Should the shell be flexible, this would mean that
the
distance of the tubes is changed, wherewith the entire rod-shaped structure
that
is strapped to the tube bodies with the straps would be distorted. If this is
to be
avoided, the shell as a whole must be practically rigid, which renders the
motion
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on rough ice extraordinarily more difficult and impairs steerability of the
device to
a great extent. The load of the propulsion and appertaining means must be
directly received by tube bodies which are flexible per se. The propulsion
force of
the drive is predominantly only transmitted into the baw area to that point
where
the two tube bodies meet and, from there, it is transmitted to the ends of the
tube
bodies via an inflated tyre. The vehicle is hardly steerable on difficult,
irregular
ice surfaces, in particular in view of the difficult weather conditions that
prevail at
the same time. Due to the attachment of the propulsion and control means
directly on the tube bodies, the free space necessary for rescue missions and
the appertaining means is missing on the device.
FR-A 2,323,573 and US-A 6,148,757 show rigid, profiled boat bodies, in which
floating bodies are inserted or formed.
WO-A 01/12501 starts from a different objective, namely to provide components
that can be assembled to manifold shapes in order to obtain vehicles with a
different length or width and different propulsions for different purposes.
Only a
bottom is provided in all embodiments, which consists of hollow chamber plates
which are firmly connected both at their edges adjoining each other and the
tube
bodies and are additionally stiffened by stiffening elements (there 88). The
distance of the inflated tube bodies is determined by this bottom. Skids can
be
mounted on the undersides of the tube bodies through complex and partly
inflatable substructures with a construction height that corresponds
approximately to the diameter of the tube bodies themselves. Wear-resistant
guide strips for increasing the lateral stability and steerability, which are
directly
mounted on the underside of the tube bodies, are not provided.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention is explained in greater detail in the following by means of
schematic drawings and examples of embodiment.
Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the structure of a keel-less boat device;
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Fig. 2 shows a top view of the main body with the supporting frame being
supported on the bottom;
Fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the structure of the main body;
Fig. 4 shows a longitudinal section with further details;
Fig. 5 shows a modification of the design according to Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 shows a detail of a contact area of one of the tube bodies on an
enlarged
scale;
Fig. 7 shows the lateral view of a detail;
Fig. 8 shows a detail of the clamping of the firm bottom;
Fig. 9 shows a modified design of the clamping;
Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of the stern part with further details;
Fig. 11 shows a lateral view of a further detail;
Fig. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of one of the two parallel tube bodies
with
skid part stabilizing lateral stability during the drive;
Fig. 13 shows a modified example of embodiment in the same representation as
Fig. 12;
Fig. 14 shows a top view of the arrangement of Fig. 13 (from below);
Fig. 15 shows a lateral view of a further detail in the stern area.
As is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the main body of this motorized locomotive
device substantially consists of a catamaran-like arrangement of two parallel
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tube bodies 1 and 2 preferably subdivided into chambers. As shown in this
example of embodiment, said tube bodies may connected to each other at the
ends pointing in the direction of motion by a bow part 9 or a rod 5 that also
consists of a tube section (Fig. 5). The front sections of the bodies 1 and 2
are
inclined forwards and upwards at the angle a in order to thus form a slide-on
slope and to facilitate transition from water to ice or ice floes.
The tube bodies are connected to each other by means of a flexible bottom
layer
according to Fig. 3, which is preferably made of the material of the tubes and
is
firmly connected to the bodies, preferably by means of gluing. The connecting
line 5a is located between the underside 4 (plane 4a between two undersides)
and the plane 3 of the tube bodies 1 and 2, which connects the tube centers,
this
being evident from the distances a and b. The edges of a further bottom 6
adjoin
along the connecting line, which may consist of wood, rigid plastic material
or the
like. Said bottom 6 consists preferably of several plates of so-called marine
plywood. The bottoms 5 and 6 are dimensioned such that, with the tube bodies
being inflated, the bottom 6 is clamped between the tube bodies and the
fastening area 5a of the bottom 5 at 6a under tension in an inner shoulder
that is
limited on two sides, in order to determine distance c. Said bottom 6 serves
as a
supporting and assembly bottom and is correspondingly dimensioned.
Fig. 8 is a modified clamping assembly of bottom 6 on the diverging tube
section
2a showing details of the clamping position 6b at a vertical distance a1 from
the
underside 4.
A modified embodiment of the areas is shown in Fig. 9, where the bottom plates
6 adjoin the tube bodies 1, 2 and are held there. A U-shaped rod section 69
that
is elongate vertically to the plane of projection grips over the plate edges
adjoining the tube bodies. A web 69a projects from its closed side in the
direction
of the adjoining tube body 2. A further rod section 67 is located above the
web
which, on the one hand, nestles around the closed end of section 69 and, on
the
other, against the outer skin of the tube body and supports web 69a from
above.
From below, the web is supported by a hard rubber section 68 which like rod
section 67 is firmly connected to the tube body by means of gluing (along the
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adhesive strips 67a and 68a). The second, flexible bottom 5 is glued to
section
68 and the tube body at 5b. If the tube body is firmly inflated, rod section
69 is
firmly clamped between rod section 67 and hard rubber section 68 and, thus,
bottom 6 is safely anchored between the two tube bodies. A protective strip is
shown at 8, which will be described in greater detail in connection with Figs.
3
and 6. The bottom 6 and/or the bottom plates arranged in a row are held in the
U-shaped section with screws (not shown).
The tubes and the additional bottom 5 are designed in a reinforced fashion,
e.g.
with a rubberized Kevlar tissue. Resilient strips 7 or 8 are affixed to the
contact
area of the tubes and the underside of the bottom 5 for protection against
friction,
said strips 7 consisting of a wear-resistant material. Several of said strips
7 are in
each case disposed at a mutual distance in the contact area with an arcuate
cross-section according to Fig.6. The lateral edges of strips 7 and 8 are
preferably of a sharp-edged design so that they contribute to improving the
lateral guiding and steerability of the vehicle on ice. The sharp edges 7b are
preferably provided on an additional supporting cover 7a of strips 7, 8 so
that
they act as skids.
A front area 17 according to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 of the bottom construction is
designed as a part swivelling about the transverse axis 18. The bottom portion
5
is not fastened to the bow portion 9 and/or the rod-shaped connection 9a with
its
front edge and, in lateral areas, is connected to bodies 1 and 2 forming one
fold
5a each in this area, which make a downward swivelling of element 17 in the
direction of arrow 20 possible. The actuation of the flap-like bottom 17 takes
place through a biased actuating means 19. This facilitates the rescue of
persons who can be carried more easily into the vehicle over the slope. If,
instead of the bow portion, a connecting rod 9a is provided, rescue is still
further
facilitated since the rod may also serve as a grip.
A frame support 10 is fastened to the bottom 6 in an easily detachable
fashion,
e.g. by means of four bolts, on which, in the example of embodiment, the drive
(via supporting rods 20) and all equipment elements of the vehicle can be
mounted. In the example shown, the support 10 consists of a rear portion 11
and
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a front portion 12.
In the example of embodiment shown, a motorcycle-like seat box 30 with
steering means 32 is mounted on the front portion 12 of the frame element 10.
The propeller propulsion is shown in Fig. 1 at 25 to 27.
The ends of the two tube bodies are firmly connected to each other by an
approximately upright stern plate H, which, preferably, is also made of marine
plywood. Said stern plate may be used for supporting various additional means.
According to Fig. 15, a blade-shaped rudder 15 which is lowerable between a
standby position and an effective position and connected to the handlebar in
parallel to the lateral rudder 27 may be provided on said stern plate in order
to
support steering in water. Said blade 15 is connected ti a liftable and
lowerable
swivelling support 51 which can slide up and down in a sleeve 51 a and is
rotatably connected to said sleeve via a toothing, whereas the sleeve itself
is
rotatably mounted and connected to the sheathed cables 53 of control 32
through lateral arms 52. Everything is mounted on the frame support 10.
Moreover, braking elements for slowing down the vehicle during a drive on ice
may be mounted on the stern plate H. As is shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 11, said
braking elements may be designed with one or two arms 13a, 13 and they may
be pivotable about a transverse axis 55, 55a and comprise brake spikes 54, 54a
on their free ends. Arm 13 is under the bias of a strong spring 58 which is
locked
at 59 or arm 13a is pneumatically 58a controllable. The locking bar may be
loosened by means of sheathed cable 60. The supporting box 56 is the mount
for mounting the brake elements. The ice surface is outlined with 57.
According to Fig. 10, elements may also be mounted on the stern plate H, which
serve for a transport or locomotive possibility on land, if the glider is not
being
used, such as an arrangement with a supporting wheel 62 on a crank means 64
with vertical drive 63 which is capable of being extended and retracted in
order to
lower or lift the supporting wheels depending on the type of use. Two
auxiliary
lines 65, 66 are drawn which make a symmetric arrangement possible, however,
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a one-sided arrangement is also realistic. If a symmetric arrangement is
chosen,
the two mounting positions are symmetrically located along the auxiliary lines
65,
66 on both sides of the central plane (the vertical central plane) of the boat
body.
The described supporting wheel means (61 to 66) may be used in connection
with a lever that is guided on a wheel, which is used on land on the opposite
(bow) side, said lever having an upwards projecting nose portion (not shown)
for
engagement with a recess, e.g. a groove, which is provided on the bow and
points downwards. The nose portion is substantially shorter than the lever and
they are at an angle to each other which is greater than 45°,
preferably between
60° and 150°, in order to insert the nose portion into the
recess by means of a
swivelling of the longer main lever, so that the boat can be lifted and, drawn
by
the longer lever arm, be driven on the supporting wheel that is supported on
the
rear side.
In order to improve the lateral stability of the vehicle when driving on ice,
cutting-
edge-like skids 38 may be provided on the tube bodies. The length of said
skids
must be chosen small, based on the length of the bodies 1, 2, preferably less
than 1/4 of the length, so that the flexibility of the bodies 1 and 2 is not
restricted
and steerability is maintained. A length of between 5 cm and 60 cm proved its
worth. Advantageously, they are disposed in the rear or front area. In the
shown
example of Fig. 12 to 14, each skid 38 consists of a cross bar 39, from which
the
blade edge 40 projects.
A controllable central skid (in the transverse center) may form a skid
triangle with
the other two fixed skids, e.g. two skids near the bow on the tube bodies and
a
central skid on the stern plate H. The control skid that is located in the
transverse
center is coupled to the control of the lateral rudder 27. The control skid
may be
pressed towards the ice surface by means of a spring force in order to
increase
steerability, above its skid it may also be designed as a plane paddle in
order to
be able to implement steering in water. Spring bias and a shaping that forms
slide-on surfaces ensure sliding onto an ice surface and/or the driving over
ice
floes or the like.
The fastening of skids 38 is implemented by means of clamping using the
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tensions formed on the tube cover 35 during inflating of the tube bodies 1 and
2.
According to Fig. 12, clamping pockets 36 and 37 are affixed to the cover 35,
which encompass edges of the element 39 in order to press said element 39
firmly against the cover 35, it being also possible that the plate element 39
is
arched slightly upwards.
In a modified embodiment according to Figs. 13 and 14, hooks 43 and 46 which
encompass the edges of element 39 are provided in each case on longer
shackles 41, 44, which are disposed in a side-by-side relationship and whose
end portions 41 a or 44a are affixed to the tube cover 35 at 42 or 45. The
shackles 44, 41 are flexible. When the bodies 1 and 2 are inflated, the
shackles
are pulled in contradirectional directions due to a widening of the
intermediate
element 35a of tube 35 and thus clamp element 39 firmly between the hook-
shaped ends 43, 46.
As is shown in Fig. 14, three shackles are sufficient for a respective skid
section.
The shackles 41, 44, 47 seem to cross each other in the front view, but are
adjacent in the top view.
It is evident that the vehicle is of a simple structure and has a
comparatively low
weight. It can be easily handled and accommodate additional equipment and
persons. It is equally suited for driving on water and ice and, consequently,
it can
be used in a multi-purpose fashion, even under difficult conditions such as
storms and thunderstorms.
***
