Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6793552
-
Patent Number
6,793,552
-
Date Filed
Friday, December 20, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 21, 200420 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Banks; Derris H.
- Abdelwahed; Ali
Agents
- Offenberg, Esq.; Cristina M.
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 446 153
- 446 154
- 446 156
- 446 163
- 446 164
- 446 275
- 446 457
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A radio controlled toy is provided with a robotic rider that catches waves via an electric motor and propeller, then rides waves like a real surfer, and rights itself after a wipeout comprising a novel way to rotate the robotic rider's upper torso and to disburse the motor room heat allowing for long run times.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a radio controlled surfboard having a motorized robotic rider in the nature of a toy or amusement device wherein the robotic rider is controlled by a two-string roto-wing.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The present invention was designed to imitate the act of surfing as close as possible to real life surfing via a remote controlled surfboard in an effort to generate the realism and excitement in order to be marketable to surfers and surfboard enthusiasts. The present invention is a toy motorized surfboard with a robotic rider, designed to perform almost every maneuver from all the different aspects of human surfing. The result is an easily maneuverable, directional toy that handles with enough precision to host a new competitive radio control sport.
The applicant has two patents on radio controlled toys. The surfboard patent (hereinafter Derrah '88) had some difficulties in operation. First, the motor room was overheating and the run time was stifled due to the number of batteries in the compartment and small size of the compartment. The new invention includes an aluminum heat sink device via an aluminum keelson to cool the motor. The aluminum heat sink expels motor room heat out into the ocean, pool or pond. This modification allows the surfboard to work properly for a longer time. Second, the weight of robotic figurine in the prior invention was too heavy due to the presence of a servo in the robotic figurine's back. The applicant has improved upon these short comings in the present invention. In contrast to the prior art, the present invention has a robotic rider controlled by a two string roto-wing, which eliminates the need for the servo in the back of the figurine. The upper body of the robotic rider has been made lighter by removing the servo and reducing the number of joints in the prior figurine. The rider needs to be lighter in order to properly and efficiently right the surfboard after capsizing. Also, in an effort to imitate real surfing, the size of the board relative to the size of the rider can be maintained by reducing the weight of the rider. The new surfboard includes a small rudder and two side fins used to steer the surfboard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The need for motor room cooling for electric powered radio-controlled vehicles is as old as battery power itself. Cars and planes can rely on air cooling without consequence. However boats have to be careful of taking in water when trying to pass air by the motor and batteries. Boats usually rely on the combination of a water-cooling coil surrounding the motor; and a dry air venting system to expel the hot air that builds up in a typical battery powered engine room. The venting system being the most effective method. However, the typical radio-controlled motor room cooling coil system fails to adequately cool the tremendous amount of heat created from a big cell battery pack that is located right next to a high RPM electric motor. In a radio controlled toy, the cooling coil's diameter is too small and the volume of water traveling through the coil tubes is at a trickle and therefore not adequate for cooling purposes. Other problems include: air void problems and the potential of debris blockage. Despite the cooling coil's faults, most remote controlled toy boats make-out okay with them; especially the larger ones, because the engine rooms are big; with high ceilings and vents to expel the intense motor room heat.
In the radio-controlled surfboard, there is no chance for the air to pass in or out of the motor room due to its small size. Also, when the waterproof deck is screwed shut neither air or nor water can penetrate it. It is necessary to have the deck screwed shut due to the fact that the surfboard is more or less under water like a submarine and must be water tight.
The typical problem found when running radio-controlled surfboard is that run-time is stifled by overheating of the motor. This is especially true with the new high capacity, long running nicad cells batteries and metal hydride battery cells between 2400 MHZ and 3000 MHZ. These batteries are capable of running at high speed at full throttle for ten minutes or more. However the same batteries run in a remote controlled toy surfboard give about five minutes of high speed at full throttle and three minutes of slow speed at full throttle; and this is with the assumption that it starts out with a stone cold motor.
This sport of radio-controlled surfing is not advancing if you only get five minutes or less run time. Additionally, after the motor overheats, the board and rider need to be taken out of water, dried off, unscrew and have the deck removed; and then wait thirty minutes for the motor to cool, or in the alternative; to change both motor and batteries every time it runs. The prior art radio-controlled surfboards would overheat catch fire, melt a hole in the hull and sink before you would get forty-five minutes in the water running. There was a need for a change to allow for motor cooling and prevention of overheating. The present invention addresses these short comings by providing a cooling system by way of the heat sink aluminum keelson. This new heat sink keelson design will be able to take advantage of the long run batteries of the future.
The other problem with the pre-existing surfboard toy is that it does not right itself automatically. The shortcomings of that invention was that the user needed the assistance of an on-coming wave and or dramatic body movements back and forth to right the surfboard. The keelson design combined with the new-age heat sink motor and battery mount accomplishes a righting moment. It provides some ultra low profile keel ballast useful in righting the surfboard.
There are many different ways to make a robotic rider's upper torso twist from port to starboard and vise versa. Some of these are outlined in the Derrah '88. No prior art in the radio control surfing industry has surfaced that is as simple, inexpensive, and lightweight as the present invention of a two string roto-wing.
This new design is an improvement upon the Derrah '88, Radio-Controlled Surfboard with Robot. The robotic movements of a rider on a surfboard deck continue to be carried out in this new design. As disclosed in the prior patent, body movement #
2
—the upper torso movement and body movement #
1
the movement of the lower body over the deck of the surfboard, both are controlled with the novel roto-wing. However, body movements #
3
and #
4
outlined in Derrah '88 and Derrah '71, a skateboard patent # 6,074,271 are eliminated with this new design. The two string-roto wing makes a big change in body movement #
2
. The body movement #
1
is used and it remains essentially the same as in Derrah '88—
FIG. 4
with the difference being that the leg connector is attached directly to the front leg, as opposed to a relay mill connecting to the rear foot.
In this remote controlled toy in marine use, there is a need for the robot's upper torso to be ultra lightweight so the surfboard and rider can right itself after a wipeout without adding too much keel weight or increasing the size of the surfboard. This new design of a two-string roto-wing provides a simply, inexpensive and corrosion free solution.
The wing shaped servo arm named roto-wing, pulls two lines, port string and starboard string that work in-sync to twist the robotic rider's upper torso. One string pulls as the other lets go and vice versa. Because the roto-wing is part of the body movement branch; when the body moves, the wing moves, so in turn the upper torso twists. This new design is similar to Derrah '88 (as shown in that patent in
FIG. 23
,
FIG. 24
, FIG.
25
), but without the servo and roto-wing outside the surfboard providing more movement. The replacement of the roto-wing eliminates the need for the servo in the back of the rider making the rider lighter in weight and allowing the surfboard and rider to right itself easily after a wipe-out.
The two strings of the roto-wing are made with clear fishing line that is virtually invisible from a ten-foot distance. The port string travels from the port knot through a hole at the port end of the roto-wing down through the port deck guide then travels up through the port waist guide at the right side of the robotic rider's waist. The same sequence takes place on the starboard side. Both the port string and starboard string are tied to the center arm loop. The center arm loop sticks out from the rider's arm, and is preferably made of stainless steel wire but can be of any material that can be secured into the rider's arm and hold the string secure, and the length and placement is critical to centering the upper torso.
The two string pulling action of the roto-wing can be seen in
FIGS. 8
,
9
, and
10
by comparing string travel. These two body movements #
1
and #
2
really make radio controlled surfing an intense and exciting adventure. The realism achieved by the robotic movements of the rider gives the impression that the rider is real, and is really responsible for steering the surfboard by thrashing its body about and seeing the surfboard respond. The other advantage is that the rider in the act of leaning its weight over the surfboard sinks the affected rail of the surfboard deep into the wave, which enables the surfboard to take advantage of the many pockets of energy present in all breaking waves; especially top to bottom barreling waves. This recreated movement is the same way a real surfer propels himself on real waves—weighting and un-weighting at the right times. When a rider sinks a rail at the apex of a turn at the same time he is at the trough or bottom corner of a wave; where the water is sucking up the facer of the wave; the rider accelerates out of that pocket of the wave like a rocket doubling or tripling his speed. The “real surfing” situations are possible to be created with this robotic rider because the rider is able to lean out, over and sink a rail; like real surfers. The fact is that 70% of the steering is done by the rudder and 30% of the steering is done by the rider leaning over the surfboard. In comparison to rail sinking where 10% of the rail sinks by rudder and 90% of the rail sinks by the rider's body hovering over the surfboard rail. This robotic rider and surfboard turns amazingly tight and smooth when carving. This combination of a rudder turning in sync with a rider's body movement was claimed in Derrah '88, but with a jet steering nozzle instead of a rudder; and has now been proven to be the ultimate way to run a remote control surfboard. With this design, the rider's body movements assist steering to a degree where it does not require a real deep or twin deep rudder to turn this surfboard and rider sharply; or even on its length, this design allows a smaller rudder therefore it can run in shallower water without breaking off a rudder. Additionally, if the rudder did break off, a user can still steer it home with the assistance of the towed-in side fins combined with the body movement.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a front view of the robotic rider on the remote controlled surfboard
FIG. 2
is a top view of the surfboard deck and hull without the rider
FIG. 3
is a side view of the surfboard hull and deck and keelson without the rider
FIG. 4
is a front view of the surfboard hull and keelson
FIG. 5
is a bottom view of the surfboard hull and keelson
FIG. 6
is a cross sectional view of the surfboard hull with the robotic rider on top
FIG. 7
is an interior view of the surfboard hull
FIG. 8
is a view of the robotic rider on the surfboard in a left hand turn
FIG. 9
is a view of the robotic rider on the surfboard in a go straight position
FIG. 10
is a view of the robotic rider on the surfboard in a right hand turn
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The electrical connections or wires are not shown in any drawings. It is assumed that all parts are connected to each other by the proper wiring provided with each component. All like components are labeled with the same identifying numbers.
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
shows a front view of the moveable robotic rider
8
and the starboard side of the radio controlled surfboard
10
. The robotic rider's upper torso
15
is shown with arms straight out, fore and aft over the radio controlled surfboard
10
in a center balanced “go straight” position. The upper torso
15
is molded in a one piece foam filled lightweight part that includes the head and arms pre-set at the correct tilt and forward moving look of a balancing professional surfer. Because the upper torso
15
stands highest off the deck
19
, it is vital that it be ultra light weight so the righting moment occurs quickly to allow the surfboard
10
and robotic rider
8
to get up and out of the impact zone before the next wave rolls through and knocks them over.
The upper torso
15
is moveable as it twists from center to port, and back; then from center to starboard and back from port straight over to starboard and vice versa. This is shown as body movement #
2
; (shown in drawing
FIGS. 8
,
9
and
10
) and as originally outlined in Derrah '88 patent. The Derrah '88 patent actually claimed two different methods to activate body movement #
2
, one was a mini servo placed in the rider's back; the other involved strings being pulled from a servo within the surfboard, shown in Derrah '88 in
FIG. 23
,
FIG. 24
, and FIG.
25
. This claimed design did not offer enough upper body movement and was not designed to work with body movement #
1
. The skateboard patent, Derrah '71 which claimed a third method to activate body movement #
2
(shown in
FIG. 7
,
FIG. 18
, and
FIG. 19
of that patent) also has been improved upon. In the skateboard patent, there is a spring-rotor in the rider's back that will not work in water because of corrosion. The fourth and best method of activating body movement #
2
for a surfboard is outlined and claimed in this patent application. The novel method is called the two-string roto-wing
11
. It is explained in detail in
FIG. 8
,
FIG. 9
, and FIG.
10
.
Body movement #
2
helps the surfboard lean into turns and also gives the rider
8
an added touch of realism. Surfing along as the rider's
8
turned head and the leading arm swings into turns laying the surfboard
10
way over, carving and making the rider
8
look like it is really working at it like a real surfer and as it rips front and backhand turns.
The lower body
14
is seen molded in a crouched position, attached in a regular foot stance (left foot forward), as the two molded feet, left foot
9
and right foot
16
are hinged at ankle
13
. The lower body
14
is attached to the upper torso
15
by a swiveling axis connector
30
.
The lower body
14
carries the upper torso
15
to perform body movement #
1
. This is the body movement that puts the most weight over port, center or starboard of the surfboard
10
.
The lower body
14
is molded in one piece. The lower body
14
is foam filled with a hard plastic outer surface with a female bay for wrench access to service the axis connector
30
(not shown). It is less critical that the lower body
14
be ultra lightweight because it is not as high over the surfboard
10
. Yet, the combined weight of the upper torso
15
and the lower body
14
have to carry a substantial amount of weight in order to lean the surfboard
10
over which seems to work out okay because the combined weight of the lower body
14
and the upper torso
15
accumulated some extra ounces in the course of making them strong enough to withstand a big wave ocean beating.
The correct amount of weight of the rider
8
is determined by a flat water float test. By putting the rider
8
in a full front or backhand turn, the rider's
8
upper torso
15
and lower body
14
will touch the water but will not tip the surfboard
10
over. When in this position, the operator can let go of the controls, which brings the rider
8
back to center; wait a few seconds and the rider
8
rights itself automatically. Additionally, the operator can signal the rider
8
to move to the opposite side of the surfboard
10
for almost instant recovery. This same type of recovery action was mentioned in Derrah '88, and shown in
FIG. 19A
, however this new art and rider recovers much quicker on its own and does not need an oncoming wave to right it as disclosed in Derrah '88. The new art uses a keelson design combined with the new-age heat sink motor and battery mount to expel heat and assist in this righting movement. Body movement #
1
is possible because of the high torque servo
12
near the base of the rider's
8
left foot
9
. This body movement servo
12
has three times the torque as a standard duty servo. This is necessary because moving the rider
8
from a low fulcrum situation takes power. The body movement servo
12
is attached to the roto-wing
11
at the servo's
12
power shaft, which is connected to the flexible arm
31
that attaches to the leg connector
28
that connects about halfway between the rider's
8
ankle
13
and knee. This low center of gravity connection is operating a high center of gravity object. The rider
8
which is basically light weight, still demands high torque power to move it, especially when the surfboard
10
and rider
8
are knocked down by a wave at a horizontal plane to the sky. The load on the body movement servo
12
at this point is tremendous. The servo
12
extends out from the deck
19
and is exposed to the elements; so it has to be waterproofed at all seams and openings especially at the power shaft. The servo
12
should have an “O” ring inside at the power shaft opening. The final waterproofing is done by a grease reservoir
29
which surrounds the power shaft with waterproof grease.
The rider's
8
right foot
16
and left foot
9
are attached in two different ways. The right foot
16
is attached towards the rear of the board
10
and is solidly anchored and waterproofed. The left foot
9
is attached by a swivel connector due to the awkward angle of the rider's
8
leg due to the crouched stance. This swiveling of the left foot
9
alleviates any binding up of the leg connector
28
and flexible arm
31
and allows for free flow of movement The other factors that help free movement are that the right amount of flex built into the flexible arm
31
and the swiveling attachments of the leg connector
28
both at the rider's
8
leg and the flexible arm
31
junction.
Also shown, are the two strings
24
and
25
starting at the roto-wing
11
at the port
26
and starboard
27
stop knots, extending out through the port
20
(not shown) and starboard
22
waist guides, then up and tied to the centered arm loop
23
. The strings
24
and
25
are made of clear fishing line which are virtually invisible from a ten foot distance.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
shows a top view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
without the rider
8
. The waterproof deck
19
is shown fastened down by four deck screws
37
. A top view of the body movement servo
12
connected to the roto-wing
11
reveals the outline shape of the roto-wing
11
which further reveals that the body movements branch is noticeably offset to starboard to accommodate the rider's
8
regular foot stance and crouched lower body
14
. Also seen on the roto-wing
11
are the two open holes where the two strings (shown in
FIG. 1
)
24
and
25
are tied into stop knots
26
and
27
that connect to the roto-wing
11
, that travel through the port
17
and starboard
18
deck guide then out to the rider
8
. Also seen is a top view of the rudder hatch
38
in place. The outline shape of the surfboard
10
is revealed showing the wide winged tail design that planes up easier in order to carry the big battery weight around.
FIG. 3
FIG.
3
. shows a side view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
without a rider
8
. The waterproof deck
19
is fastened down revealing the crown built into the deck for rigidity. Protruding out of the deck
19
is the body movement servo
12
attached to the roto-wing
11
. Notice how the side view of the roto-wing shows that the body movement branch has a step down platform to accommodate the flex arm
31
attachment to the crouched angle leg. Also seen are the port
17
and starboard
18
deck guides.
FIG. 3
also shows a good side line view of the radio controlled surfboard
10
and how the water flows by it. The up turned nose gives way to some flat running surface as well as the forward part of the keelson
21
. A look at
FIG. 4
helps to understand how water travels over the curved V-bottomed keelson at the same time that it travels over the flat planning surface of the surfboard
10
. As the water travels aft, it goes by more flat surface as well as the deepest part of the keelson
21
, which also doubles as a heat sink
32
and disbursement device to expel heat out of the motor room. The water travels past the aluminum heat sink up towards the end of the keelson
21
and into the propeller's
33
spin. The propeller's
33
spin shoots water up into a slightly concaved area as it passes by the rudder
35
and side fins
36
then out past the down turned tail
39
. Besides propelling the radio controlled board
10
forward; the propellers
33
prop wash gives the tail lift as it travels into the flat, slightly concave area widened by the tail wings which host the side fins
36
. The down turned tail
39
has the final act in creating tail lift. Tail lift is necessary to counter the horizontally mounted prop shaft
34
and the seven c-cell motor battery pack
51
which tends to hinder lift. Tail lift keeps the nose down and helps get the board upon plane sooner.
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
shows a front view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
. The underside of the upturned nose is seen as well as the V-bottomed keelson
21
part of this keelson design is derived from the V-bottomed fuselage and outboard sponsons from world war II seaplanes. The V-bottom provides lift, directional control, and chop absorption. The name keelson describes a semi keel, somewhere between a keel and a sponson. This keelson
21
was designed in as low a profile as possible to make this radio controlled surfboard
10
act like a planning hull, yet still contain motor room components within that doubles as ballast. The righting moment built into this radio controlled surfboard
10
is remarkably quick at righting it self considering how small the keelson
21
looks. This in part is attributed to the aluminum heat sink
32
fitted into the keelson
21
design that allows weight to be placed at the lowest possible part of the keelson
21
.
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
shows a bottom view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
. The outline shape of the surfboard
10
is revealed showing the wide winged tail design that accommodates the semi-concaved area between the side fins
36
rudder
35
and propeller
33
. The widest part of the surfboard
10
is at the rider's
8
front foot
9
which puts the bulk of the rider's
8
weight aft of the wide point of the surfboard
10
. This was also outlined in Derrah '88 patent. However, this new surfboard's
10
wide point forward is a lot less exaggerated as it tapers towards the tail
39
.
The outline shape of the keelson
21
is seen along with the raised V-bottom lines. This shape allows the water to flow back into the prop
33
. Also shown is how much aluminum surface of the heat sink
32
shows up on the bottom of the surfboard
10
.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
shows a front view of the moveable rider
8
and a starboard side view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
that has a see through side so all interior components can be seen. The waterproof deck is shown screwed down compressing the sponge gasket
40
. The receiver dry bay
42
is shown housing the radio receiver
41
high and dry away from the motor room. If the radio-controlled surfboard
10
did happen to take in water it could continue to run as long as both battery packs
43
and
51
, both servos
46
and
49
as well as the on/off switch
48
and all the electrical connections in the motor room should be water proofed as well.
The most likely culprit for incoming water is through the prop shaft stuffing tube
34
due to it being improperly stuffed. This can be avoided by injecting the quick fill grease fitting (not shown) before each days use. The rudder servo
46
is shown at mid-ships with the servo arm
45
connected to the steering shaft
54
which travels through the steering prop staff stuffing tube
34
through the foam filled surfboard
10
out into rudder bay past the waterproof nipple
53
and connected to the rudder control arm
52
which moves the rudder post and rudder
35
. Also shown is the motor servo arm
47
next to the on/off switch
48
, which does not create any extra heat to run the motor; in comparison to a speed control that does. Notice the prop shaft and stuffing tube
34
are at an almost dead horizontal line into the keelson
21
through the heat sink
32
ballast; connected to the universal linkage
50
which is necessary to step up to the motor's
44
power shaft. The electrical motor
44
is mounted on the aluminum heat sink
32
, which actually has four functions; it is a motor mount, a battery tray, a heat sink, and a low profile ballast keel. The body movement servo
12
is placed directly over the motor battery pack
51
. This is one of the three reasons the prop shaft stuffing tube
34
is so horizontally mounted. The first is to allow room for the body movement servo
12
and the motor battery pack
51
, the second is to set the motor
44
as low as possible, the third is to set the motor battery pack
51
as low as possible. Having these components mounted to the aluminum heat sink
32
allow for a quickened righting moment, eliminating the need to place lead weights in the keelson
21
.
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
shows an overhead view of the radio-controlled surfboard
10
with the waterproof deck
19
removed along with the rider
8
the body movement servo
12
and the roto-wing
11
. The components are place neatly inside the radio-controlled surfboard
10
. All the heaviest units, the motor battery pack
51
, the electric motor
44
, the servo battery pack
43
, and the heat sink
32
are all placed in line and inside or partially inside the keelson
21
. This keeps the center of gravity low and centered. The lighter units such as the motor servo
49
and the rudder servo
46
are placed evenly across from each other for balance.
The receiver
41
can be seen in its dry bay
42
. The entire sponge gasket
40
is revealed along with the four threaded deck mounts
56
. The rudder hatch is removed to show a top view of the rudder control arm
52
and the waterproof nipple
53
.
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
shows the rider
8
in a full backhand turning position. The rider's
8
body is leaned out over the port side of the surfboard
10
deck. This takes place by the servo
12
rotating to the left, which moves the servo roto-wing
11
body movement branch combination which connects to the flexible arm
31
. The flexible arm
31
moves the leg connector
28
which attaches to the left leg, which moves the lower body
14
from port to starboard or vice versa. The leg connector
28
and flex arm
31
are made to swivel and flex to accommodate the back and forth, up and down movements of the lower body
14
. This lower body
14
movement was outlined in Derrah '88 patent and is known as body movement #
1
. Body movement #
2
is where the two string roto-wing
11
comes into this novel invention. Body movement #
2
is the upper torso
15
twisting that reacts in-sync with body movement #
1
.
The two string pulling action can be seen when the port string
24
length between the port deck guide
17
and the port knot
26
is shorter that the starboard string
25
is between the starboard deck guide and the starboard knot
27
. This creates an opposite effect at the upper torso
15
end of the strings
24
and
25
. The distance between the starboard guide
22
and the arm loop
23
is shorter that the distance between the port guide
20
and the arm loop
23
. The shorter string length between the waist guides
22
and
20
and the arm loop
23
is the one being pulled and in turn twists the torso in one direction. While the other string just lays loose.
FIG. 9
FIG. 9
shows the rider in a center balanced, straight ahead steering stance. Notice the string lengths of the port deck guide
17
and starboard deck guide
18
between the port
26
and starboard
27
string knots are equal. Also the string lengths between both waist guides
20
and
22
and arm loops
23
are equal.
FIG. 10
FIG. 10
shows the rider
8
in a full front hand turning position. The rider's
8
lower body
14
and upper torso
15
are leaned out over the starboard side of the surfboard
10
as well as twisted in the direction of the turn. The string lengths are opposite from the lengths shown in
FIG. 8
, also the rotation of the roto wing
11
is different. The distance between port guide
20
and arm loop
23
is the shortest and pulled directly under arm loop
23
on a vertical plane. This demonstrates that the position of the two waist guides
20
and
22
which are the closest to the arm loop
23
can determine how much rotational twisting the upper torso
15
can be achieved. As long as there is plenty of servo
12
rotation and roto-wing
11
swing to feed and retract sufficient lengths of line. The roto-wing swing can be increased by increasing the roto-wing
11
span, and also increased servo
12
rotation.
Claims
- 1. A radio controlled steerable self-propelled surfboard toy capable of moving on water comprised of:a posed robotic rider with a light upper body and an attached lower body; a motorized self propelled surfboard having a hull with sufficient buoyancy to keep the surfboard afloat on water, and having a general longitudinal axis, said surfboard having an upper surface said upper surface supporting said robotic rider and an under surface; a keelson molded to said under surface; a heat sink fitted into said keelson capable of transferring heat from an interior area of the hull to outside surroundings; a variable speed motor enclosed in said hull; a power source operatively connected to the motor; a radio wave signal allows an operator to continuously and differentially vary, at an operator's option any level of power supplied from the power source to the motor; a steering system which combines rudder movements turning in sync with movements of the upper and lower body of the robotic rider to shift weight of robotic rider from one side of the surfboard to another side of the surfboard by means of a two string roto-wing.
- 2. A radio controlled steerable self-propelled surfboard toy as claimed in claim 1 further comprising said posed robotic rider secured by one foot and pivotally attached by a second foot to said surfboard upper surface.
- 3. A radio controlled steerable self-propelled surfboard toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein said keelson assists in recovery of said surfboard to right said surfboard toy.
- 4. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy as claimed in claim 1 wherein the radio wave signal is transmitted by an operator at a remote location from the surfboard, and a signal receiving means is incorporated in the surfboard and operatively associated with the power source and with the motor and the signal receiving means receives the radio wave signal and applyies power to the motor in conformance to the radio wave signal.
- 5. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy according to claim 4 wherein a steering system makes the upper body of the robotic rider rotate to move in the same turning direction as the surfboard by means of pulling on one of two strings of the two string roto-wing.
- 6. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy according to claim 1 wherein the upper surface is water proof by means of a sponge gasket and securing screws.
- 7. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy according to claim 1 having a small centered rudder and two towed-in side fins on the under surface of said surfboard.
- 8. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy according to claim 1 wherein having a flat semi concave prop wash area and a down turned tail on said under surface of said surfboard.
- 9. A radio controlled steerable surfboard toy according to claim 4 having two servos for steering working in sync via a “Y” shaped harness allowing both servos to receive simultaneous command signals.
- 10. A radio controlled steerable self-propelled surfboard toy according to claim 1 having a high torque body movement servo that is water proofed by a grease reservoir at a powershaft.
US Referenced Citations (5)