Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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SECTIONAL WATERCRAFT
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a watercraft and, more
specifically, to a
watercraft that has two or more separable sections.
Background of the Invention
A watercraft, such as a boat, kayak, canoe and dinghy, is usually constructed
as a single
body which is heavy and long. That makes it impractical to transport the
watercraft inside an
automobile. That is also the reason why most kayaks or canoes are carried on
top of an
automobile to be transported. Likewise, it is usually inconvenient for an
individual to move a
long kayak or canoe over a certain distance.
The present invention provides a watercraft that is easier to transport.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention provides a full-length watercraft which can be taken
apart and
packed into a single packed structure having a smaller length. In general, the
present invention
provides two ways in packing two adjacent body sections. One way is to take
apart the two
adjacent body sections and turn one of the sections around so that the smaller
section can be put
.. inside the larger section. The other way is to release the securing
mechanism between two
adjacent body sections so that the smaller section can be slid into the larger
section. When the
watercraft has more than two body sections, it is also possible to slide
smaller sections into
adjacent larger sections without taking apart those body sections. It is
possible to slide the
sections with motors or the like.
Thus, the scope of the present invention is to provide a watercraft having a
plurality of
separable body sections configured for assembling into a single assembled
structure having a
first length, and for packing into a packed structure having a second length
smaller than the first
length, said plurality of separable body sections comprising a first body
section and a second
body section, the first body section comprising an exterior surface and an
interior surface
defining a cavity with an opening, wherein the second body section is
dimensioned such that at
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least part of the second body section is locatable inside the cavity of the
first body section to
form the packed structure.
In one of the embodiments of the present invention, the first body section
comprises a
first inner end, an opposing first outer end and a first intermediate portion
between the first inner
end and the first outer end, and the second body section comprises a second
inner end, an
opposing second outer end and a second intermediate portion between the second
inner end and
the second outer end, and the second inner end is adjacent to the first inner
end when said
plurality of separable body sections form the single assembled structure.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the second outer end and at
least part of
the second intermediate portion are locatable inside the cavity when said
plurality of separable
body sections form the packed structure.
In yet another embodiment, the second inner end and at least part of the
second
intermediate portion are locatable inside the cavity when said plurality of
separable body
sections form the packed structure.
In a different embodiment, the second body section comprises a second exterior
surface
and a second interior surface defining a second cavity with a second opening,
and the first body
section comprises a plurality of separable sub-sections, said plurality of
separable sub-sections
comprising a first sub-section including the first inner end and a part of the
first intermediate
portion, and a second sub-section including the first outer end and a
different part of the first
intermediate portion, and wherein the second sub-section is dimensioned for
placement into the
second cavity of the second body section.
In another embodiment, the first body section comprises a plurality of
separable sub-
sections, said plurality of separable sub-sections comprising a first sub-
section including the first
inner end and a part of the first intermediate portion, and a second sub-
section including the first
outer end and a different part of the first intermediate portion, and the
cavity comprises an inner
cavity adjacent to the second sub-section, and wherein at least part of the
second sub-section is
dimensioned for placement into the inner cavity.
In some embodiments, the first body section comprises a first sub-section
including the
first outer end and a second sub-section including the second outer end, and
the second body
section comprises a third sub-section including the second inner end and a
fourth sub-section
including the second outer end, wherein the third sub-section is dimensioned
such that at least
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part of the third sub-section is locatable inside the second sub-section, at
least part of the first sub-
section is locatable inside the third sub-section, and at least part of the
fourth sub-section is locatable
inside the first sub-section for forming the packed structure_
In some embodiments, the first body section comprises a first sub-section
including the first outer
end and a second sub-section including the second outer end, and the second
body section
comprises a third sub-section including the second inner end and a fourth sub-
section including the
second outer end, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth sub-
sections has a smaller end
and an opposing larger end, and wherein the first, second, third and fourth
sub-sections are
dimensioned for forming the packed structure such that the smaller end of each
of the first sub-
section, the second sub-section and the third sub-section is adjacent to the
smaller end of the fourth
sub-section.
In one embodiment, the first body section comprises a first sub-section
including the first outer end,
a third sub-section including the first inner end, and a second sub-section
between the first sub-
section and the third sub-section, and the second body section comprises a
fourth sub- section
including the second inner end and a fifth sub-section including the second
outer end, wherein the
third sub-section comprises a cavity with a first opening adjacent to first
inner end and an opposing
second opening adjacent to the second sub-section, wherein the second sub-
section is dimensioned
for sliding into one part of the third sub-section through the second opening,
the first sub-section is
dimensioned for sliding into second sub-section, and wherein the fourth sub-
section is dimensioned
for sliding into another part of the third sub-section through the first
opening, and the fifth sub-
section is dimensioned for sliding into the fourth sub-section for forming the
packed structure.
In various embodiments, the watercraft also has a locking assembly configured
for securing the
first inner end to the second inner end when said plurality of separable body
sections form the single
assembled structure, and a sealing part located between the first inner end
and the second inner end
for preventing water leakage into the interior of the watercraft when said
plurality of separable body
sections form the single assembled structure.
In another aspect, there is provided a conventional kayak having one or two
cockpits comprising:
- a plurality of separable body sections configured for assembling into a
single assembled structure
having a first length, and for packing into a packed structure having a second
length smaller than
the first length,
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Date recue / Date received 2021-12-03
- in order to secure two adjacent body sections together a locking assembly is
provided between
the two adjacent body sections, and in order to prevent water from leaking
into the interior of the
conventional kayak a sealing part is provided between the two adjacent body
sections,
- the conventional kayak comprises four separable body sections: a first body
section, a second
body section, a third body section and a fourth body section, when the locking
assembly between
two adjacent body sections is released, the body sections are taken apart,
- for packing into a packed structure, the third body section is turned around
before it is placed at
least partly into the second body section, the first body section is placed
inside the third body section
and the fourth body section is placed inside the first body section to become
a packed structure.
The present invention will become apparent upon reading the description taken
in conjunction with
the drawings as shown in Figures 1-20g.
Brief Description of the Drawings
3a
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Figure 1 shows a watercraft in a single, assembled structure, according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows the general construction of a watercraft as shown in Figure L
Figure 3 shows various portions of a section in a sectional watercraft,
according to the
present invention.
Figure 4a shows how the sectional watercraft as depicted in Figures 2 and 3 is
packed
into a packed structure, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4b shows how the sectional watercraft as depicted in Figures 2 and 3 is
packed
into another packed structure, according to a different embodiment of the
present invention.
Figure 5 is a schematic representation of a sealing component and a locking
assembly for
assembling the sectional watercraft into a single assembled structure.
Figure 6 shows a watercraft having three separable sections.
Figure 7 shows how the three sections are packed into a packed structure,
according to
one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 8 shows how the three sections are packed into a different packed
structure,
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 9 shows a watercraft having four separable sections assembled in a
single
assembled structure.
Figures 10a ¨ 10h show different ways to pack the four sections in the
watercraft of
Figure 9 into a packed structure.
Figure lla shows a different watercraft having four sections.
Figure llb shows one way for packing the four sections in the watercraft of
Figure Ila
into a packed structure.
Figure 12a shows a different watercraft having five sections.
Figure 12b shows one way for packing the five sections in the watercraft of
Figure 12a
into a packed structure.
Figure 13a shows the sealing part on one of the adjacent body sections where
the cross
section of the body section is a complete loop.
Figure 13b shows the sealing part on one of the adjacent body sections where
the cross
section of the body section is only a partial loop.
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Figure 14 shows the interface between two adjacent body sections, according to
one
embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 15a to 15c illustrate a locking assembly for securing two adjacent
body sections,
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 15d to 15h illustrate a locking assembly for securing two adjacent
body sections,
according to another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 16 shows how the locking assembly of Figures 15a and 15b is used at the
interface
of Figure 14.
Figures 17a-17e illustrate how the locking assembly is engaged with and
released from
two adjacent body sections,
Figure 18 shows a movement mechanism used to move one of the locking blocks.
Figure 19a shows three adjacent body sections of the watercraft.
Figures 19b-19d illustrate how two adjacent body sections are folded,
according to a
different embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 20a illustrates how two adjacent body sections are mated and sealed.
Figures 20b-20g illustrate how the two adjacent body sections are locked and
separated,
according to one embodiment of the present invention
Detailed Description of the Invention
The present invention provides a full-length watercraft which can be taken
apart and
packed into a single packed structure having a smaller length. As such, the
watercraft can be put
in an automobile or on a cart to be transported. According to various
embodiments of the present
invention, the watercraft has two or more separable body sections which can be
secured into a
single assembled structure and can be packed into a packed structure having a
smaller length. In
general, the present invention provides two ways in packing two adjacent body
sections. One
way is to take apart the two adjacent body sections and turn one of the
sections around so that the
smaller section can be put inside the larger section. The other way is to
release the securing
mechanism between the adjacent body sections so that the smaller section can
be slid into the
larger section.
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In the various embodiments of the present invention, the watercraft can be a
boat, a kayak,
a canoe or the like. In case of a kayak, it can be a sit-on-top kayak or a
conventional kayak that
has one or two cockpits to allow one or more persons to sit in the cockpits.
In one of the embodiments of the present invention, a watercraft has two
separable body
sections as shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the watercraft 10 has a
first body section
20 and a section body section 30 to be assembled into a single assembled
structure having a full
length. As can be seen in Figures 2 and 3, the first body section 20 has an
exterior surface 220
and an interior surface 222 defining a cavity 244 with an opening 225. The
second body section
30 has an exterior surface 320 and an interior surface 322 defining a cavity
324 with an opening
325. The second body section 30 is dimensioned such that at least part of the
second body
section 30 is locatable inside the cavity 224 of the first body section to
form the packed structure,
as shown in Figures 4a and 4b.
As shown in Figure 3, the first body 20 has a first inner end 22, an opposing
first outer
end 26 and a first intermediate portion 24 between the first inner end and the
first outer end. The
second body section 30 has a second inner end 32, an opposing second outer end
36 and a second
intermediate portion 34 between the second inner end and the second outer end.
The second
inner end 32 of the second body section 30 is adjacent to the first inner end
22 of the first body
section when these body sections form the single assembled structure.
As mentioned earlier, there are two ways to pack the separable body sections
into a
packed size, depending on how the two adjacent body sections are joined. In
the embodiment as
shown in Figure 4a, after the securing mechanism (not shown) between the first
body section 20
and the second body section 30 is released, the smaller section 30 is slid
into the larger section
20 through the opening 225. In the embodiment as shown in Figure 4b, the two
adjacent body
sections 20 and 30 are taken apart and one of the sections are turned around
so that the smaller
section 30 can be put, at least partly, inside the larger section 20 through
the opening 225. As
can be seen from Figures 4a and 4b, the length of the packed structure 10' is
smaller than the
length of a single assembled watercraft 10 as shown in Figure 1.
In order to securing two adjacent body sections together, a certain locking
assembly has
to be provided. In order to prevent water from leaking into the interior of
the watercraft, a
certain sealing part has to be provided. As shown in Figure 5, a locking
assembly 50 is provided
for securing the first inner end 22 to the second inner end 32 and a sealing
part 60 located
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between the first inner end 22 and the second inner end 32 is used for
preventing water leakage
into interior of the watercraft when the separable body sections 20, 30 form
the single assembled
watercraft 10. An exemplary locking assembly and sealing part is illustrated
in Figures 13a and
13b.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the watercraft has three separable
body
sections which can be packed into a packed size. As shown in Figure 6, the
first body section 20
has a first sub-section 120 and a second sub-section 122. The first sub-
section 120 includes the
first inner end 22 and a part of the first intermediate portion 24. The second
sub-section 122
includes the first outer end 26 and a different part of the first intermediate
portion 24. In this
embodiment, the second sub-section 122 is smaller than the second body section
30 such that the
second sub-section 122 can be placed, at least partly, into the second cavity
324 of the second
body section 30 through the opening 325.
In a different embodiment, the first body section 20 is sectioned into two sub-
sections
differently. As shown in Figure 8, the first sub-section 120 has now two
openings 225 and 227
defined by the inner cavity 226. Before the first sub-section 120 and the
second sub-section 122
are separated, the inner cavity 226 is adjacent to the second sub-section 122.
In this embodiment,
at least part of the second sub-section 122 is dimensioned to be placed into
the inner cavity 226
through the opening 227.
In another embodiment, the watercraft 10 comprises four separable body
sections 410,
420, 430 and 440 as shown in Figure 9. After the locking assembly (not shown)
between two
adjacent body sections is released, the four body sections can be packed into
a packed structure
10' in many different ways. As shown in Figure 10a, the first body section 410
is slid into one
end of the second body section 420. Furthermore, the third body section 430 is
slid into the other
end of the second body section 420 and the fourth body section 440 is slid
into the third body
section 430. In the embodiment as shown in Figure 10b, after the fourth body
section 440 is
separated from the third body section 430, the fourth body section 440 is
turned around before it
is placed inside the third body section 430. In the embodiment as shown in
Figure 10c, after the
first body section 410 is separated from the second body section 420, the
first body section 410 is
turned around before it is placed inside the second body section 420. In the
embodiment as
shown in Figure 10d, after the first body section 410 is separated from the
second body section
420, the first body section 410 is turned around before it is placed inside
the second body section
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420. Furthermore, after the fourth body section 440 is separated from the
third body section 430,
the fourth body section 440 is turned around before it is placed inside the
third body section 430.
In the embodiment as shown in Figure 10e, after the locking assembly between
two adjacent
body sections in released, only the third body section 430 is turned around
for packing. In the
embodiment as shown in Figure 10f, after the locking assembly between two
adjacent body
sections in released, both the third body section 430 and the fourth body
section 440 are turned
around for packing. In the embodiment as shown in Figure 10g, after the
locking assembly
between two adjacent body sections in released, the first body section 410 and
the fourth body
section 440 are turned around for packing. In the embodiment as shown in
Figure 10h, the first
body section 410, the third body section 430 and the fourth 440 are turned
around for packing.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the watercraft 10
comprises four
separable body sections 510, 520, 530 and 540 as shown in Figure lla. After
the locking
assembly (not shown) between two adjacent body sections is released, all body
sections are taken
apart. As shown in Figure 11b, the third body section 530 is turned around
before it is placed at
least partly into the second body section 520. In this embodiment, the first
body section 510 is
placed inside the third body section 530 and the fourth body section 540 is
placed inside the first
body section 510 to become a packed structure 10'.
In a different embodiment of the present invention, the watercraft 10
comprises five
separable body sections 610, 620, 630, 640 and 650 as shown in Figure 12a.
After the locking
assembly (not shown) between two adjacent body sections is released, the
smaller one of the two
adjacent body sections is slid into the larger one. As shown in Figure 12b,
the second body
section 620 is slid into one end of the third body section 630 and the fourth
body section 640 is
slid into the other end of the third body section 630. Furthermore, the first
body section 610 is
slid into the second body section 620, and the fifth body section 650 is slid
into the fourth body
section 640 to form a packed structure 10'. In this embodiment, none of the
body sections are
turned around relative to the other sections. Furthermore, it would not be
necessary to move two
adjacent body sections apart from each other, as can be seen in Figure 14.
In various embodiments of the present invention, the adjacent body sections of
a
watercraft are separable for packing. Taking the embodiment as shown in Figure
2 as an example,
.. at least one of the body sections 20, 30 has a sealing part. As shown in
Figure 13a, the first body
section 20 has a sealing part 60 in the full circumference between the
exterior surface 220 and
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the interior surface 222. Furthermore, a tongue 80 is provided so that it can
be joined by a
matching part, such as groove, on the second body section 30 (not shown).
Furthermore, some
gaps 82, 84 are made in the tongue 80 so that the gaps can be joined with
corresponding mating
parts on the adjacent body section to achieve a positive alignment when the
two adjacent body
sections are assembled to form the single, assembled structure.
Figure 13b shows the sealing part 60 and the tongue and groove features 80,
82, 84 when
the joining area of the body section does not have a full circumference, as in
the case of a canoe,
or when the sectioning is done at a cockpit of a kayak, for example.
Figure 14 shows the interface between two adjacent body sections, according to
one
embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 14, part of the first
body section 20 has
a hook-like locking block 52 to be engaged with another hook-like locking
block 54 on the
second body section 30. Such a design allows the second body section 30 to be
slid into the first
body section 20 as indicated by the arrow 130. As such, it would not be
necessary to move the
two adjacent body sections apart when they are packed to form a packed
structure. In order to
prevent water from leaking into the watercraft through the interface, a
sealing part 60 is provided
between the two locking blocks 52, 54.
Figures 15a to 15c illustrate a locking assembly for securing two adjacent
body sections,
according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures 15a
to 15c, the first
body section 20 has a first locking block 52 and the second body section 30
has a second locking
block 54. As shown, a channel 170 is provided in the locking blocks 52 and 54.
The two locking
blocks 52 and 54 can be secured by a cam locking assembly 70. The cam locking
assembly 70
comprises a rod 74 with an arrowhead-like locking blade 72 on one end and a
cam locking
handle 78 with a locking pin or shaft 79 on the other end. The cam locking
assembly 70 is
operable in three positions. In the first position as shown in Figure 15a, the
locking blade 72 is
prevented from moving through the channel 170. In this position, a thumbscrew
or locknut 76 is
engaged with a threaded part 77 of the rod 74 and the locking shaft 79 for
securing the first body
section 20 to the second body section 30. The cam locking handle 78 provides
an urging force
against the block 55. In the second position as shown in Figure 15b, with the
cam locking handle
78 rotated in a clockwise direction to release the urging force against the
block 55, the locknut 76
can be moved away from the locking shaft 79. Now the cam locking handle can be
flipped over
as shown in Figure 15c. As such, the locking blade 72 is allowed to be
retrieved through the
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channel 170 so that the first body section 20 and the second body section 30
can be separated
from each other as indicated by the arrow 134. Furthermore, the entire locking
assembly 70,
including the locking blade 72, the rod 74, the thumbscrew 76, the locking
shaft 79 and the cam
locking handle 78, can be separated from the first body section 220, as
indicated by the arrow
134. For sealing the gap between two adjacent body sections, a sealing part 60
having two
sealing surfaces 62 and 63 is used, for example.
Figures 15d to 15h illustrate a locking assembly for securing two adjacent
body sections,
according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figures
15d to 15h, a
fixedly attached block 81 and a slideable block 83 are used to replace the
locking shaft 79 as
shown in Figures 1 5a to 15c. When the cam locking assembly 70 is in the
locking position, the
locknut 76 is engaged with the threaded part 77 of the rod 74 to push the
slideable block 83
against the block 55. The cam locking handle 78 provides an urging force
against the block 55,
as shown in Figures 15e and 15f. In the second position as shown in Figures
15g and 15h, with
the cam locking handle 78 rotated in a clockwise direction to release the
urging force against the
block 55, the locknut 76 and the slideable block 83 can be moved away from the
block 55. As
with the embodiment as shown in Figures 15a to 1 Sc, the cam locking handle
can be flipped over
to allow the locking blade 72 to be retrieved through the channel 170 so that
the first body
section 20 and the second body section 30 can be separated from each other as
indicated by the
arrow 134 (see Figure 15c). It should be noted that the fixedly attached block
Si can be
cylindrical (with a round cross section) or polygonal (with a polygonal cross
section). Likewise,
the inner part of the slideable block 83 can be dimensioned accordingly.
The cam locking assembly 70 can also be used to secure two adjacent body
sections as
shown in Figure 14. Now referring to Figures 16, and 17a-17e, the locking
blade 72 is engaged
with the locking block 52 and the rod 74 is engaged in the locking block 54.
In addition, the first
body section 20 also has a locking block 56 to be engaged with the thumbscrew
76 for securing
the first and second body sections together. As shown in Figures 17a-17e, the
locking block 52
on the first body section 20 has a first chamber 152 dimensioned to
accommodate the locking
blade 72, and the locking block 54 on the second body section 30 has a first
chamber 154
dimensioned to accommodate the locking blade 72.
As with the embodiment as shown in Figures 15a and 15b, the cam locking
assembly 70
is operable in the first position and in the second position. As shown in
Figure 17a, the cam
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locking assembly is operated in the first position in that the locking blade
72 is prevented from
moving out of the first chamber 152 through the channel 170. In this position,
a thumbscrew or
locknut 76 can be adjusted against the locking block 56 for securing the
second body section 30
to the first body section 20 (see Figure 16). As shown in Figure 17b, the cam
locking assembly
in the second position in that the locking blade 72 is turned side-wide so
that the locking blade
72 is allowed to move out of the first chamber 152 through the channel 170.
Figure 17c shows
that the locking blade 72 has moved into the second chamber 154. If the cam
locking assembly
is changed from the second position to the first position as shown in Figure
17d, the locking
blade 72 is prevented from moving out of the second chamber 154. As such, it
is possible to pull
the locking block 54 away from the locking block 52 so that the second body
section 30 is
moved toward the first body section 20 for packing as indicated by the arrow
130 (see also
Figure 16).
It should be noted that the separation of the various body sections and the
assembling of
the body sections into an assembled structure or a packed structure can be
carried out by one or
more movement means, such as motors. For example, after the locking blocks 52,
54 have been
released from the cam locking assembly 70 (see Figure 16), a motor 190 can be
used to move the
locking block 54 away from the locking block 52 so that the second body
section 30 is moved
toward the first body section 20 for packing as indicated by the arrow 130, as
shown in Figure 18.
Figure 19a shows three adjacent body sections of a sectional watercraft,
similar to those
shown in Figure 14. As shown in Figure 19a, the three adjacent body sections
are sections 28,
29 and 30. Part of the body section 28 has a locking block 51 to be engaged
with a locking block
53 of the body section 29. Part of the body section 29 has a locking block 52
to be engaged with
a locking block 54 of the body section 30. As such, the body section 30 can be
slid into the body
section 29, which can also be slid into the body section 28 to form a packed
structure, for
example. In one embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent body
sections are linked
with foldable arms for packing purposes. As shown in Figure 19b, the body
sections 29, 30 are
linked by a pair of foldable arms 143, 144 and the body sections 28, 20 are
linked by a pair of
foldable arms 141, 142. When the foldable arms 143, 144 are moved along the
direction 163, the
body section 30 can be moved toward the body section 29 along the direction
130. Likewise,
when the foldable arms 141, 142 are moved along the direction 161, the body
section 29,
together with body section 30, can be moved toward the body section 28 along
the direction 131.
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Figures 19c and 19d show how the body section 30 is further moved into the
body section 29. It
should be noted that the folding of the arm pair 141, 142 and the arm pair
143, 144 can be carried
out by a motor or other movement means.
In a different embodiment of the present invention, two adjacent body sections
are
clamped by a locking clamp when the watercraft is in an assembled structure.
The locking
clamp can be released so as to separate the two adjacent body sections one
from another, when
needed. To illustrate this different embodiment, the two adjacent body
sections 20 and 30 as
shown in Figures 1 and 2 arc used to demonstrate how the locking clamp can be
applied on these
two body sections. As shown in Figure 20a, the first body section 20 has a
mating block 37 to
face with a mating block 35 of the second body section 30. Mating block 35 is
substantially
flush with the exterior surface 322 of the second body section 30 but extended
further into the
interior of the second body section 30 as indicated by the interior surface
320. Likewise, mating
block 37 is substantially flush with the exterior surface 222 of the first
body section 20 but
extended further into the interior of the first body section 20 as indicated
by the interior surface
220. The interior sides of mating blocks 35 and 37 provide a surface 39 to
support a locking
clamp 180 as shown in Figures 20b and 20c. Mating block 35 has a first end 351
and an
opposing second end 352. Mating block 37 has a first end 371 and an opposing
end 372. The
second end 352 of mating block 35 has a tongue configured to be engaged with a
groove on the
second end 372 of mating block 37. A sealing part 60, which can be a neoprene
0-ring, for
example, is secured between the tongue and the groove. As shown in Figures 20b
and 20c, a
latch bracket 191 is secured to the first end 351 of mating block 35 and a
clamp mount 193 is
secured to the first end 371 of mating block 37. As shown in Figure 20c,
locking clamp 180 has
two clamp parts 182, 184 rotatably connected to each other by a pin 186. As
shown in Figures
20c to 20g, clamp part 184 is rotatably mounted on clamp mount 193 by a pivot
188. Clamp part
182 has two opposing ends, one end is connected to clamp part 184 and the
other end has a
locking cup 183 configured to be engaged with latch bracket 191 via a tension
adjustment screw
189. Clamp part 184 has a folded section 185 adjacent to clamp mount 193. When
locking
clamp 180 is used to keep mating blocks 35 and 37 in a locked position, clamp
part 182 is
lowered so that locking cup 183 is fully engaged with latch bracket 191. As
clamp part 184 is
pushed toward the interior surface 222 of the first body section 20, folding
section 185 presses
against mating block 37 while clamp part 182 rests on surface 39 as shown in
Figure 20c. With
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PCT/US2015/030557
tension adjustment screw 189 being properly adjusted, clamp part 184 applies
an urging force on
mating block 37 against mating block 35 so as to keep the first body section
20 and the second
body section 30 in a locked position.
To separate the first body section 20 from the second body section 30, clamp
part 184 is
rotated away from the interior surface 220 so as to disengage locking cup 183
of clamp part 182
from latch bracket 191, as shown in Figure 20d. Clamp part 182 can then be
rotated further
away from surface 39 toward clamp part 184 as shown in Figure 20c. As both
clamp parts 182
and 184 are lowered towards the interior surface 222 as shown in Figure 20f,
clamp part 182 can
be used to pull mating part 37 away florn mating part 35, as shown in Figure
20g.
According to various embodiments of the present invention, the watercraft has
two or
more body sections. In some of the embodiments, two adjacent body sections are
taken apart
before the smaller one of the adjacent sections can be placed into the larger
one. In some of the
embodiments, two adjacent body sections can be packed into a smaller size
without being taken
apart. Likewise, when the watercraft has three or more body sections, it is
also possible to slide
the sections on the two ends inward to form a packed size without being taken
apart. But there
are many more ways to pack the body sections, depending upon how the body
sections are
dimensioned.
Thus, although the present invention has been described with respect to one or
more
embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that
the foregoing and
various other changes, omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof
may be made
without departing from the scope of this invention.
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