Patent Application
20210362067
The invention relates to a winding device for winding up and unwinding lines of a stunt kite, paraglider or parachute with at least three reels for receiving at least one line of the stunt kite, paraglider or parachute.
Parachutes are air sports equipment which are designed to slow down a person or object in free fall by means of dynamic lift and thus bring it safely to the ground. Known examples include round canopy parachutes and paragliders. Parachutes usually have more lines than a stunt kite, at least four lines, but especially eight and more lines.
Paragliders are air sports equipment which are designed for paragliding. While a parachute is usually used to jump out of an aeroplane, a paraglider is used to take off from an elevation, such as a mountain. In contrast to parachutes, paragliders are not optimized to sink to the ground but to move forward during the descent, so that they can cover long distances. Paragliders are usually composed of a canopy, lines, risers and a harness. The harness is a seat for the pilot of the paraglider. Paragliders also usually have more lines than a stunt kite, at least four lines, but especially eight and more lines.
Kites are play and sports equipment operated with the wind. The simplest basic form of a kite is the single-line kite that cannot be steered, which consists of a frame and a covered cloth. The single-line kite is held aloft by a single line. The line is attached to a reel, which makes it easy to retrieve the line together with the kite.
Multi-line kites constitute another type of kite, which can generally be steered. They are equipped with at least two lines, which can be pulled to varying degrees to allow different manoeuvres, such as loops, screws or angles, to be performed.
A type of stunt kite that is often used for kitesurfing is the so-called soft kite. An incoming flow of air causes these rodless kites to develop a wing profile similar to a paraglider. They consist entirely of fabric and lines, making it possible to fold and transport them in a space-saving manner. In addition to soft kites, there are many other types of stunt kites for kitesurfing, such as tube kites, C-kites, bow kites, hybrid kites and delta kites.
Stunt kites that are used for kitesurfing are attached to a handlebar (also known as a “kite bar”) by means of their steering and safety lines, which allows control of the direction and force development of the stunt kite.
In the case of a 4-line stunt kite, two pull lines transmit the tensile forces. The pull lines are usually brought together in the middle of the handlebar through a central passage in the handlebar and attached to a trapeze hook. The other two lines, also known as steering lines or brake lines, are attached to the left and right ends of the bar. In the case of a soft kite, they act on a rear edge of the kite's wing profile, thereby enabling aerodynamic manipulations such as steering, changing the angle of attack or braking.
On a 5-line stunt kite, a fifth line is attached centrally or in a Y-shape to the leading edge of a front tube of the kite. By pulling on the fifth line, the kite can blow out without pressure, thereby increasing the level of safety.
While a single-line kite can easily be reeled in with a reel, winding up the lines of a stunt kite with three or more lines is much more difficult. When kitesurfing, the lines are attached to the handlebar such that they are usually wound onto the handlebar by hand. The lines must be unwound again for the later assembly of the kite. The lines can easily get tangled and cause valuable time to be lost for play or sport.
ES 2 358 813 B1 describes a device for winding up and unwinding the lines of a stunt kite. The device features a cylindrical housing with an incorporated opening slot extending parallel to its longitudinal axis. A rotating shaft is arranged along the longitudinal axis, which is divided into different segments by several discs arranged side by side. Through the slot in the housing, the lines of the kite can be wound individually onto the segments of the rotation axle, wherein the rotation axle features a crank at one end to wind the lines onto the rotation axle. The disadvantage of this device is that the lines become easily tangled.
The task of the present invention is to minimize the disadvantages of the prior art.
The invention comprises a winding device according to the preamble of the type specified above, wherein at least two reels of said device have their own reel drive for winding and unwinding the line taken up on the reel. This renders it possible to drive the reels independently of each other. This is advantageous, for example, if the lines are of different lengths or thicknesses or if one line gets tangled up in a reel. Furthermore, it allows defects of a reel or a reel drive to be easily detected and repaired.
The winding device according to the invention is suitable for stunt kites with three, four, five or more lines, or paragliders or parachutes. Specifically, the winding device is also suitable for all types of stunt kite, but is especially advantageous for stunt kites, particularly soft kites, used for kitesurfing. To stow the lines after kitesurfing, the lines can be detached from the handlebar in order to wind them up, received by the reels and wound up using the reel drives. To prepare the lines for kitesurfing, the lines can be unwound from the reels using the reel drives and/or manually, released from the reels and attached to the handlebar.
A reel is an element made of cardboard, wood, plastic or metal onto which material with a round cross-section, such as yarn, rope, wire, cable or any other material used for the lines of a stunt kite, paraglider or parachute is wound.
The reels of the winding device according to the invention make take different forms. For instance, they may be disc reels, cylindrical reels or conical reels. Preferably cylindrical reels are used to ensure even winding and unwinding of the lines. At least one of the reels or all reels may also feature an opening and/or a flap to receive at least one line.
The feature that at least two reels have their own reel drive is understood particularly to mean that at least or exactly three, four, five or more reels also have their own reel drive. In particular, as many reels have their own reel drive as there are lines of a stunt kite, paraglider or parachute that are to be wound up or unwound with the winding device. It is therefore possible for a reel to receive more than one line, in particular two or three lines. However, it may also be that case the each reel receives exactly one line.
The reels of a winding device can be of different or identical dimensions. For example, the diameter of a first reel can be larger than the diameter of a second reel of the winding device to receive lines of different thickness or two or more lines on the reel with the larger diameter. It is also possible that the reels of a winding device are designed to be of different or equal length or have different or equal geometries.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least two of the reels are each arranged in a separate reel housing and at least two reel housings each form an interchangeable winding unit with the reel arranged therein and its reel drive. The fact that the reels have their own reel housing facilitates maintenance and ensures the easy replacement of a winding unit in case of a defect.
The reel housing preferably encloses the reel predominantly or essentially completely so that no dirt can get onto the reel and into the reel housing. The reel drive can be arranged both inside and outside the reel housing. The interchangeability of the winding unit of the winding device means in particular that the winding units can be detached non-destructively from the winding device and the detached winding unit or another winding unit can be mounted on the winding device in place of the originally mounted winding unit as a replacement for the defective winding unit. In particular, all winding units are identical in construction at least with regard to the reel and the reel drive, or at least the winding units are interchangeable.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the reel housings is hinged for the purpose of introducing the line. Hinged means that the reel housing can be opened by raising a part of the reel housing. For example, the reel housing can be opened via a hinge. To this end, the reel housing can be designed in at least two parts. In addition, the reel housing may feature a locking device to prevent the reel housing from opening during operation. In particular, the reel housing is designed to be hinged so that the reel housing and any fasteners need not be separated to open the reel housing. This prevents any components of the winding device from getting lost.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the winding device comprises a device housing with at least one holding device, by means of which at least one winding unit can be attached to the device housing such that it can be detached. The holding device may be designed, for instance, as an opening adapted to the winding unit or as a holder in the device housing. Alternatively or additionally, the receiving device may feature or be a clamp, a groove, a slip-on connection or a screw connection. In the case of a groove, the reel housing can have a corresponding tongue, which can be used to create a detachable tongue and groove connection. In addition, each of the winding units, in particular the reel housing and/or the device housing, may comprise a locking mechanism to lock and unlock the fastening produced by the holding device. The locking mechanism can be activated by a switch or a lever.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the winding device has at least one fastening means for detachable attachment to a handlebar of the stunt kite or a paraglider or parachute component. In particular, the device housing features a fastening means for detachable attachment to the handlebar or the paraglider or parachute component. Alternatively or additionally, attachment can also be achieved by means of one or more reel housings, which may feature at least one fastening means, such as a screw, a clip or a tongue or groove for attachment to the handlebar or the parachute or paraglider component. The paraglider or parachute component can be, for example, a carabiner, a rucksack or part of a rucksack, a harness or belt of a paraglider.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the at least one fastening means is a fastening clip which can be attached and detached to a handlebar of a stunt kite or a parachute component. Preferably the device housing features the fastening clip or the device housing itself is designed as a fastening clip. A fastening clip is understood in particular to mean a fastening means that grips around the handlebar in at least two places and clamps between them.
If the device housing itself is designed as a fastening clip, it is advantageous if the device housing is designed to be elongated and preferably at least partially hollow and/or with an opening. A cavity in the device housing that is open to the outside by way of the opening is particularly preferable, so that a handlebar can be inserted through the opening into the cavity of the device housing. The handlebar can thus be arranged and fixed in the cavity of the device housing. For example, the fixing can be achieve by a preload and/or elastic design of the device housing. Alternatively or additionally, a tongue and groove connection between the device housing and handlebar is possible.
Preferably, the device housing has a length in the direction of its longitudinal extension of between 0.3 and 0.7 m, preferably between 0.4 and 0.6 m. A longitudinal extension of the device housing is preferably greater than an extension orthogonal to the longitudinal extension direction by a factor of at least 5, in particular 10.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least two reel drives are electric motors coupled with at least one, preferably one each, energy storage device for operating at least one electric motor. In particular, the electric motors are coupled by a shaft on which the reel is mounted. The electric motors accelerate and facilitate the winding up and unwinding of the lines compared to manual operation. The electric motors can be designed to act as a brake when unwinding the line to prevent the line from getting tangled. A slip clutch can be designed to be positioned between an electric motor and a reel of a winding unit. An additional braking device can also be arranged on each of the reels. Furthermore, in addition to the electric motors, the reels can each feature a further or a common manually operated reel drive, such as a crank drive.
The energy storage devices are preferably batteries or rechargeable batteries. Alternatively or additionally, the reel drives or energy storage devices may be coupled with at least one photovoltaic cell. The energy storage device can be designed to be interchangeable. This means that, for charging or replacing the energy storage device, the energy storage device is arranged on or in the reel housing or in the winding unit in such a way that it can be removed and replaced without destruction. The energy storage device can also be designed for wireless energy transmission, especially near-field transmission. For this purpose, a reel and a rectifier for inductive coupling or a metal plate and a reel for capacitive coupling with an oscillator of an inductive charger can be assigned to the energy storage device. Preferably, the reel or metal plate and rectifier are located within the reel housing and/or an energy storage device housing, in which the energy storage device is also located.
Preferably, the winding units and the winding device are designed to be waterproof up to a depth of 5 to 10 metres. Preferably, the reel drive, the shaft and/or the energy storage device are designed to be resistant to salt and water. It is especially preferable if the reel drive, the shaft and/or the energy storage device are designed to be waterproof. To this end, the reel drive, the shaft and/or the energy storage device can be essentially encapsulated separately or together against the external environment, for example within a housing. At least one shaft sealing ring, in particular an axial shaft sealing ring, can be arranged on the shaft or on a housing part of the reel housing, the shaft and/or the reel drive.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least two reel drives are each coupled with an actuating unit for separate control of the respective reel drive and at least two reel drives with a common actuating unit for common control of the at least two reel drives. Each of the reel drives preferably has at least one separate actuating unit. Furthermore, all reel drives can be activated by means of a common actuating unit. The actuating units may feature, for instance, an activation button or two activation buttons. An activation button may be designed to facilitate the winding up of the line by starting the electric motor. A further activation button may be designed to wind up the line by, for example, activating a motor brake of the electric motor. For example, at least one of the activation buttons or all activation buttons are push buttons. These are preferably arranged on an upper side of the reel housing.
According to an embodiment of the invention, at least one stripping device is assigned to at least one of the reels, said stripping device cleaning the line taken up by the reel during winding and/or at least one tensioning device is assigned to at least one of the reels, wherein said tensioning device tensions the line during winding. The stripping device and the tensioning device can also be designed as one common stripping and tensioning device.
The at least one stripping and/or tensioning device is preferably arranged near an opening of the reel housing for the line and inside the reel housing, in particular within a housing projection of the reel housing. At least one discharge device, which discharges water and dirt from the at least one stripping device out of the reel housing and/or housing projection to the outside, is preferably configured in the reel housing, in particular in the housing projection. The discharge device may comprise at least one opening, one slot and/or at least one channel. The discharge device is preferably arranged on a lower side of the reel housing and/or the housing projection.
Preferably, the at least one stripping and tensioning device or a partition wall for the line essentially seals off the reel housing, the reel, the reel drive and/or the energy storage device from the external environment in such a way that only the at least one line can pass the at least one stripping and tensioning device or partition wall. This prevents water or dirt from the lines or from outside through, for example, the discharge device from entering the reel housing, the reel, the reel drive and/or the energy storage device.
The stripping device, tensioning device or the stripping and tensioning device may, for example, feature a flexible material, such as a wiper rubber, or a brush. Suitable wiper rubbers include those used for the windscreen of motor vehicles.
Two stripping and/or tensioning devices are preferably arranged above and below the line or a passage for the line, such that they form a pair of a stripping and/or tensioning device. It is further preferred that the stripping and/or tensioning devices arranged in pairs are essentially arranged opposite each other. Preferably, there is no distance between the paired stripping and/or tensioning devices or at most the distance of the diameter of the line, especially preferably at most half the distance of the diameter of the line. This allows the line to come into contact with the tensioning devices when being wound onto the reel. The tensioning devices provide resistance to the line. This creates a preload on the line. This can also cause dirt to be stripped off the line, especially if a wiper rubber or brush is used as a stripping device. This keeps the reel and the inside of the reel housing clean.
The invention also includes a handlebar for a stunt kite, paraglider or parachute with a winding device according to the invention.
Furthermore, the invention includes a stunt kite, in particular a kite for kitesurfing, with a handlebar, in particular a kite bar, and a winding device according to the invention.
The invention also includes a paraglider and a parachute with a winding device according to the invention.
Examples of embodiments of the present invention will now be described with the aid of figures. They show:
In this example of an embodiment, the reel drive 14 is designed as an electric motor. The reel drive 14 can have a separate housing and/or be mounted in a support structure 15 as shown here, or alternatively be supported on the support structure 15 or on the reel housing 12. The reel drive 14 is connected to an energy storage device 17 (see
The reel housing 12 is designed to be hinged for the purpose of inserting a line. To this end, the reel housing 12 consists of an upper reel housing part 12a and a lower reel housing part 12b, which are connected to each other by means of a hinge 18 located on the back of the reel housing 12.
The lower reel housing part 12b completely accommodates the reel 11 in this example of an embodiment and is therefore larger than the upper reel housing part 12a. The upper and lower reel housing parts 12a, 12b each feature a housing projection 19a, 19b with trapezoidal bases. The housing projections 19a, 19b have frontal recesses that correspond to each other in such a way that the recesses form a common housing opening 20 for at least one line not shown here. Alternatively, they may form separate recesses for one line each or have several recesses for several lines.
Within the housing projections 19a, 19b, three stripping and tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 are arranged in pairs. The stripping and tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 arranged in pairs are arranged essentially equidistant from each other. The number of stripping and tensioning devices 21a, 21b can also be greater or smaller and in particular 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. The distances between the stripping and tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 can also vary. In particular, different stripping and/or tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 can also be used.
In the present case, all stripping and tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 consist of a wiper rubber. The pairs of an upper and a lower stripping and tensioning device 21a.1 and 21b.1, 21a.2 and 21b.2, 21a.3 and 21b.3 are each arranged corresponding to each other in such a way that no opening remains between them. When winding up the line, the line must therefore deform the wiper rubbers with force in order to be wound onto the reel 11.
In this open state, a line, not shown, can be wound onto the reel 11 very easily; in the closed state, after closing the reel housing 12, the line can be taken up by the reel drive 14. For this purpose, the reel 11 has a reel flap 11 a which can be opened and into which at least one line can be inserted.
Three discharge devices 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 are arranged in the lower housing projection 19b of the lower reel housing part 12b. The discharge devices 22.1, 22.2, 22.3 are designed as elongated slots along the lower housing projection 19b. This provides an opening from the reel housing 12 to the outside through which water and dirt, such as grains of sand, that have been scraped off by the stripping and/or tensioning devices 21a.1, 21a.2, 21a.3, 21b.1, 21b.2, 21b.3 can be discharged.
For example, the holding device of the device housing 31 can be a groove and a lower side of the winding units 101, 102, 103, 104 can have corresponding tongues to engage in the groove. In addition, the holding devices may feature locking elements for locking the tongue and groove connection, which prevent the tongues of the winding units 101, 102, 103, 104 from being released from the grooves.
The device housing 31 is also designed as a fastening clip 31. The fastening clip 31 features a cavity with an opening to receive a handlebar 40 for a stunt kite. The fastening clip 31 grips around the handlebar 40 and clamps it tight. The handlebar ends 40.1, 40.2 of the handlebar 40 protrude from the cavity.
In the present case, the clamping force of the fastening clip 31 is provided by the elastic design of the fastening clip 31. To clamp the handlebar 40, the opening and cavity of the fastening clip 31 are elastically widened and the fastening clip 31 is placed on the handlebar 40, where the elastic restoring force provides the clamping force. To release the fastening clip 31 and thus the winding device 30 from the handlebar 40, the fastening clip 31 is pulled in the direction from the opening of the cavity away from the handlebar 30.
The winding units 101, 102, 103, 104, in turn, each have reel drives 141, 142, 143, 144, which are each connected to an energy storage device 171, 172, 173, 174 by means of an electrical line 161, 162, 163, 164. In addition, the energy storage device 171, 172, 173, 174 is each connected to an actuating unit 241, 242, 243, 244 by means of an electrical line 231, 232, 233, 234. The actuating units 241, 242, 243, 244 each have an activation button to activate the reel drive 141, 142, 143, 144, which are designed here in the form of electric motors. Each of the depicted lines 501, 502, 503, 504, which are received in the reels 11 of the winding units 101, 102, 103, 104, can be wound up by means of one of the activation buttons.
The energy storage devices 171, 172, 173, 174 are also connected to each other by means of an electrical line 32 via a common actuation unit 33. On the common actuating unit 33 there is a common activation button 33a which starts the reel drives 141, 142, 143, 144 to simultaneously wind up all lines 501, 502, 503, 504 and a common activation button 33b which activates the motor brakes of the reel drives 141, 142, 143, 144 to simultaneously unwind all lines 501, 502, 503, 504.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2018 112 589.5 | May 2018 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2019/060945 | 4/29/2019 | WO | 00 |
