U.S. patent application number 11/945499 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-28 for manually operated boat.
Invention is credited to Rong-Jyh Song, Tsung-Ping Yen.
Application Number | 20090137164 11/945499 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40670131 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090137164 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Song; Rong-Jyh ; et
al. |
May 28, 2009 |
MANUALLY OPERATED BOAT
Abstract
A manually operated boat includes a propelling device including
an upright driving rod extending through and rotatable relative to
a floating member and having opposite upper and lower end portions
that extend outwardly of the floating member, an operating member
connected fixedly to the upper end portion of the driving rod, and
a paddle member connected fixedly to the lower end portion of the
driving rod so as to allow co-rotation of the operating member with
the paddle member. The paddle member has a resilient paddle body
having first and second paddle surfaces opposite to each other in a
direction perpendicular to the driving rod.
Inventors: |
Song; Rong-Jyh; (Taipei,
TW) ; Yen; Tsung-Ping; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DARBY & DARBY P.C.
P.O. BOX 770, Church Street Station
New York
NY
10008-0770
US
|
Family ID: |
40670131 |
Appl. No.: |
11/945499 |
Filed: |
November 27, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
440/15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63H 1/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
440/15 |
International
Class: |
B63H 1/36 20060101
B63H001/36 |
Claims
1. A manually operated boat comprising: a floating member; and a
propelling device including an upright driving rod extending
through and rotatable relative to said floating member and having
opposite upper and lower end portions that extend outwardly of said
floating member, an operating member connected fixedly to said
upper end portion of said driving rod, and a paddle member
connected fixedly to said lower end portion of said driving rod so
as to allow co-rotation of said operating member with said paddle
member, said paddle member having a resilient paddle body that has
first and second paddle surfaces opposite to each other in a
direction perpendicular to said driving rod.
2. The manually operated boat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
paddle member further has a connecting clamp connected fixedly to
said lower end portion of said driving rod, said paddle body
further having a fixed end clamped by and attached fixedly to said
connecting clamp, and a free end opposite to said fixed end, said
paddle body having a thickness decreasing gradually toward said
free end.
3. The manually operated boat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
floating member includes: an inflatable boat body having opposite
top and bottom sides, and a through hole extending from said top
side to said bottom side; and a sleeve mounted in said through hole
in said boat body and permitting extension of said driving rod
therethrough, said sleeve having an upper end formed with a flange
extending radially and outwardly therefrom, said flange having a
bottom surface abutting against said top side of said inflatable
boat body to thereby prevent downward removal of said sleeve from
said inflatable boat body.
4. The manually operated boat as claimed in claim 3, wherein said
floating member further includes a rudder extending downwardly from
a rear end portion of said bottom side of said boat body.
5. The manually operated boat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
operating member includes an intermediate cap portion mounted
fixedly on said upper end portion of said driving rod, and opposite
grips extending radially from said intermediate cap portion away
from each other.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a boat, more particularly to a
manually operated boat.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional automatically propelled
boat 1 is shown to include an inflatable boat body 11, a connecting
rod 12 extending through the boat body 11, and a motor-driven
propeller 13 disposed under the boat body 11 and mounted fixedly on
a bottom end of the connecting rod 12.
[0005] In the abovementioned conventional boat 1, it is necessary
to ensure a sufficient supply of power source, such as the amount
of electrical energy, during operation, thereby resulting in
inconvenience during use. On the other hand, when the conventional
boat 1 is used as a toy device, due to the presence of the
motor-driven propeller 13, a user can only control a travel
direction of the conventional boat 1, thereby resulting in less
excitement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide
a manually operated boat that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks
of the prior art.
[0007] According to the present invention, a manually operated boat
comprises:
[0008] a floating member; and
[0009] a propelling device including [0010] an upright driving rod
extending through and rotatable relative to the floating member and
having opposite upper and lower end portions that extend outwardly
of the floating member, [0011] an operating member connected
fixedly to the upper end portion of the driving rod, and [0012] a
paddle member connected fixedly to the lower end portion of the
driving rod so as to allow co-rotation of the operating member with
the paddle member, the paddle member having a resilient paddle body
that has first and second paddle surfaces opposite to each other in
a direction perpendicular to the driving rod.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional automatically
propelled boat;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the preferred
embodiment of a manually operated boat according to the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a propelling
device of the preferred embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic top view showing the preferred
embodiment when an operating member is rotated in a
counterclockwise direction; and
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic top view showing the preferred
embodiment when the operating member is rotated in a clockwise
direction.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of a
manually operated boat according to the present invention is shown
to include a floating member 3 and a propelling device 4.
[0020] In this embodiment, the floating member 3 includes an
inflatable boat body 31 and a sleeve 32. The boat body 31 has
opposite top and bottom sides 311 and 312, and a through hole 313
extending from the top side 311 to the bottom side 312. The sleeve
32 is mounted in the through hole 313 in the boat body 31, and has
an upper end 321 formed with a flange 322 extending radially and
outwardly therefrom. The flange 322 has a bottom surface 3221
abutting against the top side 311 of the boat body 31 to thereby
prevent downward removal of the sleeve 32 from the boat body 31, as
shown in FIG. 2. The floating member 3 further includes a rudder 33
extending downwardly from a rear end portion of the bottom side 312
of the boat body 31.
[0021] The propelling device 4 includes an upright driving rod 41,
an operating member 43 and a paddle member 42. The driving rod 41
extends through and is rotatable relative to the sleeve 32 of the
floating member 3, and has opposite upper and lower end portions
411, 412 that extend outwardly of the sleeve 32 of the floating
member 3. The operating member 43 is connected fixedly to the upper
end portion 411 of the driving rod 41. In this embodiment, the
operating member 43 includes an intermediate cap portion 431
mounted fixedly on the upper end portion 411 of the driving rod 41,
and opposite grips 433 extending radially from the intermediate cap
portion 431 away from each other. The paddle member 42 is connected
fixedly to the lower end portion 412 of the driving rod 41 so as to
allow co-rotation of the operating member 43 with the paddle member
42. In this embodiment, the paddle member 42 has a connecting clamp
422 and a resilient paddle body 421. The connecting clamp 422 is
connected fixedly to the lower end portion 412 of the driving rod
41. The resilient paddle body 421 has a fixed end 4211 clamped by
and attached fixedly to the connecting clamp 422, and a free end
4212 opposite to the fixed end 4211. The paddle body 421 has a
thickness decreasing gradually toward the free end 4212. The paddle
body 421 further has first and second paddle surfaces 4213, 4214
opposite to each other in a direction perpendicular to the driving
rod 41.
[0022] During use in water, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, when the
operating member 43 is manually and alternately rotated in
counterclockwise and clockwise directions (.alpha., .beta.), the
paddle member 42 co-rotates with the operating member 43 and
functions as a fish tail such that a frontward push force caused by
water flow acts on the boat body 31. At the same time, although
opposite sideward push forces are also generated as a result of the
bent free end 4212 of the paddle body 421, the opposite sideward
push forces have the same magnitude and thus cancel out by each
other.
[0023] In sum, since the manually operated boat of this invention
can be operated by hands or feet, the manually operated boat can
serve as an exercise device.
[0024] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
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