Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02945292 2016-10-13
Title: An electronic rudder system for Kayaks, SUPs (Stand-Up Paddle boards)
and
other paddle craft
Field:
This invention relates to an electronic rudder system for Kayaks, SUPs, and
other paddle craft
that enables paddlers to turn their craft to the right, to the left, or
maintain a straight tracking
course, as well as engage and/or disengage the rudder blade with the water
without the paddler
using their feet, foot pedals, or lengthy pedal-to-rudder wires and while
maintaining constant
grip on the paddle.
Background of the invention:
Current mechanical rudder systems are activated mechanically through the use
of foot pedals,
wires, and pulleys operated by the paddler using both feet for turning and at
least one free hand
for engaging or disengaging the rudder with the water while underway. Current
mechanical
rudder systems are installed during production and require piercing holes
below the water line in
the hull and stringing lengthy operational wires through watertight bulkheads.
Leaks can develop
over time. This complex system adds significant weight to the paddle craft.
This mechanical
rudder system is prohibitively difficult to install post production.
Once installed it is awkward to fit the system to the individual paddler with
the foot pedal
adjustments jammed far forward in the cockpit. Further, the pedals must be
readjusted for each
different paddler using the craft. In addition, the foot managed rudder
systems compromise the
kayak paddler's otherwise solid footing which can be a problem in rough sea
conditions.
The current all metal, one-piece rudder blades are extremely long, to enable
them to be flipped
over onto the kayak deck when not in use, offer only one shape for all
paddling conditions, and
are not detachable. Because of their length they can catch in kelp, regularly
come in contact with
obstacles on the bottom, and become an unwieldy obstacle in themselves when
the kayak is out
of the water.
In the case of the SUP, where rudders are rare at present, the paddler is
required to continuously
place extra paddle strokes to one side or the other of the paddle board to
turn or stay on course.
This causes a break in concentration and rhythm and can cause the paddler to
lose balance and
fall into the water.
Summary of the invention in use:
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CA 02945292 2016-10-13
An appropriately sized electronic signaling device, made up of a multi-channel
radio
controller/encoder, an appropriate power source and an antenna is attached to
the paddle shaft
or alternatively integrated into the paddle shaft. The device is placed so
that the paddler's thumb
or fore finger can easily access the protruding signal-choice toggle (gimbal
switch) on it. The
mechanical rudder assembly currently at the stern of the paddle craft is
replaced with a new
more compatible mechanical rudder assembly equipped with a detachable rudder
blade and a
rudder-activation device containing a radio-controlled receiver/decoder, a
power source and two
servo motors.
The paddler, while gripping the paddle in the normal fashion for a kayak
paddle or a SUP
paddle, decides on a course of action and using their thumb or forefinger
moves the gimbal
switch up, down, or to one side or the other, depending on whether they wish
to lift the rudder
blade out of the water, engage the rudder blade with the water, turn the
rudder blade to the left,
or turn it to the right. The SUP paddler can access the gimbal switch with
either hand on hand-
change rotations. Both the Kayak and SUP paddler can glance at the visual
icons surrounding
the gimbal switch to be certain of the toggle action to proceed with. Once the
gimbal switch is
set the multi-channel radio controller in the signaling device encodes the
message and sends that
exact message to the radio receiver at the rudder.
The receiver at the rudder receives the signal transmitted from the signaling
device on the Kayak
or SUP paddle, decodes the signal and relays the information to one of the
servo motors that
lift or drop the rudder blade, turn the blade to the left or to the right, or
allow the blade to
return to a neutral straight-tracking position.
Once the paddle located signaling device and corresponding craft-positioned
rudder-activating
device are in place paddlers are more able to concentrate on their paddle
strokes, activate turns
or engage or disengage the rudder blade by directing the toggle with their
thumb or fore finger
which sends the correct signal to the receiver which activates the servo
motors which act to
properly position the rudder blade. The mechanical rudder, pedals, cables, and
guide wires of the
craft's previous rudder system are removed. In the case of a SUP, since the
majority of SUPs
currently do not usually have rudders, a new receiver/decoder, servo motor
set, mechanical
rudder assembly, and two-part rudder blade is simply attached to the stern or
integrated into the
SUP.
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CA 02945292 2016-10-13
The new shorter, two-part blade's lower fin section can be easily replaced if
damaged. The
paddler, prior to setting out on the paddle, can choose between different fin
options for
different paddle craft, sea conditions, and excursions, whereby they simply
clip off the current
option and clip on their new selection. When the rudder is not in use the fin
is un-snapped and
stored.
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CA 02945292 2016-10-13
Title: An electronic rudder system for Kayaks, SUPs (Stand-Up Paddle boards)
and other
paddle craft
Drawings
Having described the invention in general terms above, reference will now be
made to the
accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale;
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the entire invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the paddle-positioned signaling device:
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the paddle craft positioned, rudder-activating
device:
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the two-part rudder blade:
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CA 02945292 2016-10-13
Detailed description of the invention
The embodiments of this invention hereinafter described and referenced by the
preceding drawings, =
overcome cost, safety, and efficiency obstacles with the current, solely-
mechanical rudder systems.
The following are some but not all the embodiments of the claimed invention.
This invention may
be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to
the embodiments
set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this
disclosure will satisfy
applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Fig. 1 is one embodiment of the Invention.
The present invention is comprised of two interactive devices; 1) the paddle
positioned signaling
device and 2) the stern positioned rudder-activation device. These two
devices, acting together, meet
the Kayak Paddler (3) or SUP Paddler's (4) needs to engage the rudder by
dropping the rudder blade
into the water (5), or disengage it by lifting the rudder blade out of the
water (6) and to turn the
rudder blade to the right (7) or to the left (8); without the use of the feet,
foot pedals, or wires. By
manipulating the gimbal switch to one of the choices on the signaling device
(1) the correct signal is
sent to the rudder activation device (2). There the radio receiver decodes the
signal and sends the
appropriate message to the servo motors located at the rudder which activate
the up or down, left,
right, or return-to-neutral movement of the rudder blade.
Fig. 2 is one embodiment of the paddle-positioned Signaling Device.
In this embodiment an appropriately-sized signaling device (1), made up of a
multi-channel radio
transmitter/encoder (9), a power source (10), two LED lights (11&12), an
antenna (13), and a
gimbal switch (14) are all encased in a water proof case (15) which is
attached with a strap or band
(16) to a Kayak paddle (17) or SUP paddle (18) in a position in close
proximity to one of the
paddler's gripping hands whereby the paddler can reach the protruding gimbal
switch with either
their fore finger or thumb. There is a charge port for charging the power
source (19) on the side and
color coded graphical icons to assist the paddler to choose the right
switching options (20) are
printed on the face around the gimbal switch.
In another embodiment the signaling device would be integrated directly into
the paddle with only
the gimbal switch protruding to be manipulated by the paddler and with the
choice option graphics
printed directly on the paddle. It is also conceivable that the signaling
device could have buttons for
each movement option. Further, the device could also be strapped to the
paddlers wrist or attached
elsewhere in the cockpit as long as it could be accessed easily.
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Fig. 3 is one embodiment of the paddle-craft positioned Rudder-Activating
Device:
In this embodiment the mechanical rudder assembly which consists of the rudder
axel (31), the
rudder axel arm (21), the rudder blade support (30), is mechanically attached
to the kayak or SUP via
the craft mount (33). The composite housing (35) which is mechanically
attached to the top of the
craft mount (33) houses the two servo motors (23 & 29), their respective
activating mechanisms, and
the radio receiver/decoder (24), and a power source (25) which are further
protected in a water
proof electronics case.
Servo motor #1 is attached to the mechanism to lift the rudder blade from the
water or drop the
rudder blade into the water. This mechanism is made up of the cable (28) and
the pully (29). Servo
motor #2 is attached to the mechanism to turn the rudder blade to the right or
to the left which is
made up of the push rod with v bend (22) and the swivel (21).
In this embodiment, when a blade-up signal is received from the multi-channel
controller (2) and
decoded, servo motor #1 is activated long enough to turn 85 degrees to the
right drawing the cable
(28), attached to the servo motor arm, along the grove (26) in the rotating
head of the blade (34).
This rotates the blade (34) lifting the blade from the water to take a blade-
up position (6). As long as
there is no subsequent blade-down signal the blade (34) will remain in the
blade-up position. Acting
on a blade-down signal from the controller, the servo motor is activated to
return to its neutral
position relaxing the cable, the blade head (38) rotates back and the blade
falls into the water with
the force of gravity to take a blade-down position where it will stay until a
blade-up signal is
received.
In this embodiment, when a Turn-left signal is received from the Controller
(2) and decoded, servo
motor #2 is activated long enough to turn 45 degrees to the left moving the
push rod (22) attached
to the servo motor arm forward through the swivel (21) and turning the rudder
axel (31) to the right
via the axel arm (21). As long as the Turn-left signal is being received,
while the paddler is holding
their thumb or fore finger on the switch, the rudder blade (34) will be held
to the right. Once the
Turn¨left signal is released the servo motor will reactivate in the opposite
direction and return the
push rod to its neutral, straight tracking position. Acting on a Turn-right
signal received from the
Controller (2) and decoded by the radio receiver, servo motor#2 is activated
moving the push rod
(22) backwards turning the rudder axel (31) to the left via the axel arm (21).
As long as the Turn-
right signal is being received the rudder blade (34) will be held to the left.
Once the Turn¨right
signal is released the servo motor will reactivate and return to push rod to
its neutral position.
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CA 02945292 2016-10-13
Fig. 4 is one embodiment of the two-part rudder blade:
In this embodiment the spring-loaded blade head (38) assists with returning
the rudder to the neutral
blade-down position and exerts spring pressure to hold the blade there. The
spring head (38) is also
a safety mechanism. Should the blade (34) encounter an obstacle during forward
movement of the
Kayak or SUP it can cede backwards to allow the obstacle to pass and then
reposition itself. The
blade fin (40) snaps on to the blade head (38). The spring snap (39) is
attached in a manner that
allows the fin to snap away if an obstacle is hit while the paddle craft is
moving backwards. This
removable fin (40) is easily replaced if damaged, removed during
transportation or for storage, and
can be exchanged for different fin shapes (40,41,42) or other fin shapes and
fin multiples depending
the craft, sea conditions, or excursions.
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