Patent Application
20130157527
The present disclosure is generally related to watercraft propulsion and more particularly is related to a watercraft propulsion apparatus.
Boats, ships, and other watercraft are in increasingly-high demand in society today. Watercraft vessels are used for a wide range of purposes, including recreational purposes, industrial purposes, within the transportation industry, and in many other settings. Conventional watercraft vessels are primarily propelled with fossil fueled-powered engines and motors, but fossil fuel based devices have many shortcomings. For example, fossil fuel engines are highly inefficient, noisy, dirty, and prone to expensive maintenance and repair, whereas other propulsion devices, namely electrically-powered motors, are highly efficient, quiet, clean, and have fewer moving parts than fossil fuel engines. Thus, the use of electrically-powered motors within watercraft vessels may provide significant benefits over conventional water craft propulsion.
The ability to change an existing fossil fuel-powered engine in a watercraft vessel to a cleaner electrically-powered engine is desirable by many watercraft owners and operators. However, the interchangeability of conventional engines with new engines is usually poor, thus making it difficult to replace conventional engines. For example many recreational watercraft vessels use fossil fuel-based outboard motors which are required to be accessibly positioned on the watercraft for refueling and maintenance. The use of an electrically-powered motor may allow the propulsion devices of a watercraft to be located in positions with limited accessibility, thereby providing more useful space on the watercraft. However, the current industry has failed to provide solutions for this need.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.
There is a long history of technological development related to propelling watercraft through the water from sailing vessels in the 19th century to steam power that put clipper ships out of business around the time of the Civil war. In the early 20th century with the invention of the gasoline engine and the development of the horseless carriage; the automobile industry was born. Later, gas and diesel engines became the standard for both automobile and watercraft propulsion.
Today, there is a worldwide effort to preserve our air, water and natural resources and move toward more efficient and less polluting hybrid and electric vehicles. With recent advances in electric vehicle technology; history will surely repeat itself as electric vehicles become mainstream, electric propelled watercraft will not be far behind.
The present disclosure offers new and improved technology not seen in the prior art. The invention utilizes a simple, self contained, hydrodynamic fin′ and motor to provide rotary motion to the propeller of new or used watercraft.
Electric watercraft propulsion apparatus' devices are related to pushing a vessel through water with the use of onboard electric power from batteries, fuel cells, wind turbines and other power generating devices. While the applicable prior art teaches about propelling a watercraft forward; there are solid differences and improvements to the present disclosure.
The present disclosure utilizes an electric motor for rotary power not seen in much of the prior art for watercraft propulsion. The present disclosure can operate at a high energy efficiency and weighs less contributing to better performance in contrast to the prior art. The new apparatus electric fin′ is simple and modular with fewer parts, not available in electric boat technology today. The present disclosure has a built in water cooling feature not shown in the prior art. The new apparatus eliminates the large protruding hub as shown in the prior art. The present disclosure provides a streamlined slim front leading edge where most prior art propulsion apparatus are vertical moving through the water. In addition to these improvements the present invention is self-contained to fit most new and used watercraft to be converted to electric propulsion. Recent technological developments in traction batteries, wind turbines and onboard power generation will increase the range of electric cars and boats. The present disclosure will provide new technological improvements for converting watercraft to electric propulsion and contribute to worldwide use of electric boats.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a watercraft propulsion apparatus. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the apparatus, among others, can be implemented as follows. The watercraft propulsion apparatus includes a watercraft having a hull, wherein the hull has at least an interior side and an exterior side. A motorized device is positioned proximate to the interior side of the hull. A shaft is connected to a propeller structure and positioned proximate to the exterior side of the hull. A drive structure is mechanically connected between the motorized device and the shaft, wherein the drive structure is at least partially positioned within an opening in the hull, wherein the opening is connected between the interior side and the exterior side.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like the reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The apparatus 10 may be used with any type of watercraft 20, including any type of boat, ship or other type of movable watercraft device. For clarity in disclosure, the watercraft 20 in
Preferably, the apparatus 10 may be used to convert existing watercraft 20 having a fossil fuel-powered motor or engine into a watercraft 20 using an electrical-based motor. Preferably, the apparatus 10 is used with electrical-based motors, including single electric drive motors, twin electric drive motors, inboard and/or outboard electric drive motors, stabilizer electric drive motors, or any combination thereof. As is discussed further with respect to the second exemplary embodiment, each of these motors may be used with a hydrodynamic-shaped housing commonly called a fin, which surrounds the shaft 40 carrying the propeller structure 42. As those skilled in the art can recognize, the use of fossil fuels for propulsion in boats and other transportation devices is environmentally unfriendly and highly inefficient. Additionally, conventional fossil fuel engines and motors are noisy, they often emit undesirable odors, and they require significant costs in operation and maintenance, in part due to numerous number of moving parts they contain, among many other disadvantages.
The apparatus 10 may be used to provide improvements in the watercraft and boating industry. The watercraft 20 with which the apparatus 10 is used has a hull 22, which is generally defined as the watertight body of the watercraft 20 which is in communication with the water when the watercraft 20 is in use. The hull 22 has at least an interior side 24, which is the side of the hull 22 that faces away from the water when the watercraft 20 is in use, and an exterior side 26 of hull 22 which is the side of the hull that contacts the water while the watercraft 20 is in use. Of course, the hull 22 may have any dimensions, sizes, and variations, including curved and planar surfaces, edges, and additional sides.
The motorized device 30 is positioned proximate to the interior side 24 of the hull 22, as is shown in
A shaft 40 and propeller structure 42 are positioned proximate to the exterior side 26 of the hull 22, which locates the shaft 40 and propeller structure 42 exterior of the watercraft 20 and in contact with any body of water that the watercraft 20 is placed in. For example
The drive structure 50 may include any structure or combination of structures that mechanically connects the motorized device 30 and the shaft 40. For example, the drive structure 50 may include any type of belt, chain, gear assembly, transfer shaft, or other structures, which transfers the mechanical energy of the motorized device 30 to the shaft 40. The drive structure 50 is positioned at least partially within the opening 28 in the hull 22, which allows the drive structure 50 to be connected between the motorized device 30 and the shaft 40. The opening 28 in the hull 22 may be characterized as any opening or hole that is connected between the interior side 24 and the exterior side 26 of the hull 22 and allows for sufficient space for the drive structure 50 to be inserted and positioned therein. Of course, the hole 28 may have a number of additional features, such as gaskets or other materials to prevent water from entering the watercraft 20 through the hole 28.
Installation of the apparatus 10 may include removing all previous propulsion components from the watercraft 20, if any are present. The motorized device 30 may then be installed on the interior side 24 of the hull 22, substantially above the opening 28 in the hull 22. The drive structure 50 may be inserted within the hole 28 and mechanically connected to the shaft 40, which has been rotatably secured to the exterior side 26 of the hull 22. The motorized device 30 may then be initiated to create mechanical energy, which is transferred through the drive structure 50 to the shaft 40. As the drive structure 50 rotates the shaft 40, the propeller structure 42 is rotated while in contact with the water, which propels the watercraft 20.
As is shown, the apparatus 110 includes a watercraft 120 having a hull 122, wherein the hull 122 has at least an interior side 124 and an exterior side 126. A motorized device 130 is positioned proximate to the interior side 124 of the hull 122. A shaft 140 is connected to a propeller structure 142 and is positioned proximate to the exterior side 126 of the hull 122. A drive structure 150 is mechanically connected between the motorized device 130 and the shaft 140, wherein the drive structure 150 is at least partially positioned within an opening 128 in the hull 122, wherein the opening 128 is connected between the interior side 124 and the exterior side 126. The shaft 140 may be supported by any number of support devices 144 with any type of bearing, thereby providing a rotatable positioning of the shaft 140 relative to the watercraft 120.
The apparatus 110 may be substantially similar to the apparatus 10 of the first exemplary embodiment in design and function. However, the apparatus 110 further includes a hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 which is positioned on the exterior side 126 of the hull 122 and substantially houses the shaft 140. The hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160, which may be known as a ‘fin’ within the industry, may include any substantially hydrodynamic shape to provide for a streamlined and efficient movement of the watercraft 120 through the water. The hydrodynamic-shaped 160 housing may be sized large enough to house a substantial portion of the shaft 140, and any support structures 144 therein. The shaft 140 may exit the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 on one end, thereby allowing the propeller devise 142 to be placed in contact with the water. Other designs may include a plurality of propeller devices 142 with a plurality of shafts 140, where the plurality of propeller devices 142 are positioned on any side of the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160.
The hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 may be substantially water-tight, thereby preventing water from entering an interior portion of the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 and contacting the shaft 140. However the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 may also be designed to allow water to enter into the interior portion and contact the shaft 140 and other components. This may allow for efficient cooling of the shaft 140, the bearings, or any other moving parts of the apparatus 110 without the added expense and complication of a mechanical or chemical cooling system. As one having ordinary skill in the art can see, the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 may be affixed to the watercraft 120 in a number of ways, and may include a variety of additional components, all of which are considered within the scope of the present disclosure.
As is shown, the apparatus 210 includes a watercraft 220 having a hull 222, wherein the hull 222 has at least an interior side 224 and an exterior side 226. A motorized device 230 is positioned proximate to the interior side 224 of the hull 222. A shaft 240 is connected to a propeller structure 242 and is positioned proximate to the exterior side 226 of the hull 222. A drive structure 250 is mechanically connected between the motorized device 230 and the shaft 240, wherein the drive structure 250 is at least partially positioned within an opening 228 in the hull 222, wherein the opening 228 is connected between the interior side 224 and the exterior side 226. The shaft 240 may be supported by any number of support devices 244 with any type of bearing, thereby providing a rotatable positioning of the shaft 240 relative to the watercraft 220.
The apparatus 210 includes a hydrodynamic-shaped housing 260 which is positioned on the exterior side 226 of the hull 222 and substantially houses the shaft 240. The hydrodynamic-shaped housing 260 may be substantially similar to the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 160 described in
The overall structure of the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 360 may provide for substantially low drag or resistance in the water when the watercraft is moving. This may include a hydrodynamic-shaped housing 360 that is substantially symmetrical or equal in various dimensions. For example, each of the two pointed ends 362 may efficiently slice through the water, which flows around the sides of the body pieces 366. Of course, other hydrodynamic shapes are sufficient for use as well, many of which may include different components than explicitly disclosed herein. Any of the components of the hydrodynamic-shaped housing 360 may include features for housing the shaft 340 (
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the disclosure without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present disclosure and protected by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61566084 | Dec 2011 | US |
