The present invention relates to improvements made to inflatable boats comprising two inflatable buoyancy chambers extending at least laterally and spaced apart by a rigid floor at least transversely, at least one operator's seat being fixed on said rigid floor and an operating console being arranged in front of said seat.
In certain applications and/or conditions of use of such boats, even simply in order to simplify their manufacture, there may be a requirement for the motor assembly, i.e. not only the outboard motor or motors in particular (fixed on a rear panel extending between the end parts of the two buoyancy chambers), but also its control console arranged on the inside and generally towards the centre or the front of the boat and attached operationally to the motor by cables, to be assembled simply and rapidly.
In currently known arrangements, operating consoles are generally included in a base fixed to the floor. It takes a long time to assemble them and dismantle them, and this requires the use of tools.
An object of the invention is to satisfy certain users who seek a compact operating console of simplified structure that is also as light as possible and can be assembled/dismantled very rapidly and very simply without tools.
To those ends, an inflatable boat is proposed as mentioned in the preamble, which, being arranged in accordance with the invention, is characterized in that:
By virtue of this arrangement, the console is reduced to just that which is strictly necessary, i.e. a relatively small casing suitable for supporting, in particular, the steering wheel and the control lever or levers, and the customary substructure (often arranged in a storage box in the lower part) is eliminated. Assembly/dismantling is simplified in the extreme and made very rapid by virtue of the projecting-spindle system.
Stable, robust fastening may be obtained by making provision for the support member to be a bar extending transversely to the seat part and equipped with two housings that are distant from one another, and for the casing of the operating console to be provided with two projecting spindles suitable for being fitted into the two above-mentioned housings, respectively. Therefore, each housing may simply be a bore passing substantially vertically through the bar.
In order to make the assembly of the console on its support more secure, provision may advantageously be made for the spindle or at least one spindle to include a through-bore suitable for receiving an immobilization peg.
In a version that is very advantageous because, in this case also, there is a simplified structure and a time saving during assembly/dismantling, the seat is a jockey seat resting on the rigid floor by means of an underframe, and said transverse bar is secured to the underframe; preferably, therefore, the underframe of the seat comprises at least one tubular arch in the form of an inverted U fixed transversely on the front of the seat part, and the bottom of the U forms the above-mentioned transverse bar.
In specific inflatable boats for particular uses, the arrangements according to the invention just described are employed in conjunction with at least one multiple, particularly a triple, jockey seat, i.e. a seat suitable for accommodating a number of persons, in particular three persons, seated such that they straddle the seat, one behind the other. If the boat thus arranged has to transport a large number of persons, provision may then be made for two multiple jockey seats in series (e.g. two triple jockey seats in series), or, optionally, two multiple jockey seats side by side if the dimensions of the boat allow this.
Although the arrangements according to the invention may apply to all types of inflatable boat, these arrangements nevertheless appear to apply particularly advantageously to an inflatable boat with a detachable rigid underwater hull formed from a plurality of portions as described in document FR-A-2 765 855 and illustrated more specifically in
The advantage offered by this type of boat is that of being able, despite the presence of a rigid underwater hull, to be dismantled easily and to be transported and/or stored in the form of a relatively small package (the motor generally forming a separate package). The arrangements according to the present invention are thus advantageously incorporated (although this is not their exclusive application) in the design of this type of boat so as, and therefore preferably in conjunction with other types of fitting, to form a boat whose simple, rapid assembly/dismantling can be carried out without tools.
Therefore, a further aspect of the invention relates to the proposal of a package for transporting and/or storing the inflatable boat with detachable rigid underwater hull consisting of a plurality of portions as set forth above, which package is characterized in that it comprises:
At this point, it should be emphasized that, during assembly of the boat, the plate and the two support bars are superfluous pieces that are not used in the boat.
When the boat is equipped with two multiple jockey seats, provision may then advantageously be made, when making up the above-mentioned package, for the two longitudinal bars to be fixed, respectively, to the two seats: in this configuration, the spacing of the two support bars may be greater than in the configuration with a single jockey seat. These bars thus spaced apart form a more stable support for the equipment placed on top, and the package thus formed is less likely to lose its consistency during handling operations.
The invention will be better understood on reading the following detailed description of certain preferred embodiments that are given solely by way of nonlimiting examples. In this description, reference is made to the appended drawings, in which:
With reference, firstly, to
At least one operator's seat 4 is fixed to the floor 3, arranged in front of an operating console 5, the seat 4 and the operating console 5 being located generally towards the centre or, preferably, towards the front of the boat, as illustrated in
In the example shown in
According to the invention, the seat 4 is equipped with a support member 9 located in front of the seat part 6, said support member 9 including a housing 10. In the example illustrated in
The console 5 comprises a casing 12, and is arranged in any appropriate manner for operating the boat, this console 5 being connected, via control cables that are not shown, to the outboard motor or motors mounted on the rear panel.
Within the context of the invention, the casing 12 is equipped with a projecting spindle 13 that has a shape complementing that of the housing 10 (in this case, a square-section spindle), so as to be able to be fitted into said housing 10. The arrangement of the casing 12 and of its spindle 13 is such that, when the spindle 13 is fitted into the housing 10 (in this case, approximately vertically), the console 5 extends in a tilted position in front of the operator seated on the seat 4, the arm 11 having a specific length so that the console 5 is within reach of the operator's hand.
This thus forms an arrangement of very simple structure, which is easy and rapid to assemble/dismantle and requires no tools for this operation.
In order to immobilize the console in the assembled position, provision may be made, still in a simple manner, for there to be a peg 14 that can engage in aligned holes 15 in the support member 9 and 16 in the spindle 13. The peg 14 may be attached to the casing 12 by a small chain 17 (captive pin). Optionally, the peg 14 itself may be provided with a diametral hole suitable for receiving an immobilizing member, for example a pin (not shown).
A mechanically strong assembly of the console 5 may be obtained by doubling the housing 10/spindle 13 assembly system. To this end, it is possible to use a support member constructed in the form of a bar 18, as illustrated in
Two immobilizing pins 14 may be received in two transverse holes 15 in the bar 18 and 16 in the spindles 13, or, alternatively, a single pin 14 may suffice to obtain the required immobilization.
The arrangements just set forth appear to have a particularly advantageous application when implemented in conjunction with a specific type of seat, namely a jockey-type seat (the operator sits straddling the seat), as illustrated in
The arrangements according to the invention appear to have an even more specifically advantageous application in the case of a jockey seat equipped with an underframe comprising, as illustrated in
This arrangement is most particularly advantageous when, illustrated in
In order to make the concepts clearer,
The arrangements according to the invention appear to apply very particularly advantageously to the fitting-out of an inflatable boat that includes:
The arrangements just described with respect to
It is precisely for forming such a package that the means envisaged above for facilitating rapid, easy assembly of the operating console may be prove to be advantageous.
To those ends, the invention proposes forming, in the manner set forth below, a package for transporting or storing the inflatable boat with rigid underwater hull in a plurality of portions described above.
A plate 22, for example made from wood, is arranged and dimensioned in order to support, in the configuration shown in
In order for it to be possible for this equipment to be supported in a stable manner, provision is made for the seat 4 to be equipped with two rigid bars 23 (for example metal bars, in particular made from aluminium), equipped towards their ends with feet 24 that are fitted into the housings 10 provided on the arches 19 of the seat with a view to receiving the spindles of the console (front arch) and the arch forming the back (rear arch) during assembly of the boat.
Preferably, the feet 24 mounted on one and the same arch 19 are arranged (elbowed, curved, etc.) in order to be spaced from one another in order to leave a sufficiently large gap between the two bars 23. The feet 24 are also shaped such that the two bars extend slightly above the seat part 6, or at least at the same level as the top of the seat part 6.
The distribution of the various component elements of the boat between the plate in the lower part and the support bars in the upper part may be performed in any appropriate manner suitable for forming a stable package that is as compact as possible.
For example, as illustrated in
The package corresponding to the boat of
A package formed as just described is particularly stable by virtue of the presence of the bars 23 that make it possible to stack the equipment in layers, the placing of these bars being made possible by virtue of the particular arrangement provided within the context of the invention for a rapid, tool-free assembly/dismantling of the console.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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03 05797 | May 2003 | FR | national |