US3200781A - Foldable hydrofoil - Google Patents

Description

KEITARO TAKAGI Aug. 17, 1965 FOLDABLE HYDROFOIL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1963 INVENTOR- KEITARO TAKAGI ATTORNEYS z- 7, 1965 KEITARO TAKAGI 3,200,781

FOLDABLE HYDROFOIL Filed April 23, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. KEITARO TAKAGI ATTORNEYS A 7, 1965 KEITARO TAKAGl 00,78

FOLDABLE HYDROFOIL Filed April 23, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. KEITARO TAKAGI ATTORNEYS Aug. 17, 1965 KElTARO TAKAGI 3,200,

FOLDABLE HYDROFOIL Filed April 23, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. KEITARO TAKAGI ATTORNEYS United States Patent use 3,2dih75fi FSLDABLE HYDR OFGHL Keitaro Talragi, Setagaya-hu, Tokyo-to, Japan, assignor to Ishikawajima-Harima .llnitogyo Kahushiiri Kaisha, Tokyo-to, Japan, a company of Japan Filed Apr. 23, 1963, der. No. 275,168 Claims priority, application Japan, Apr. 30, 1962, 37/16,88 6 Claims. (Ci. lidefi) The present invention relates to a hydrofoil for boats, and more particularly to a hydrofoil which is capable of being folded up.

A conventionally known hydrofoil is so constructed that the lifting foil, the supporting foil, the strut, and other parts of the hydrofoil are fixed to each other, and when it is necessary to stow the hydrofoil away, the lifting foil, the supporting foil and the strut are either to be rotated about the point at which they are fitted to the hull, or to be shifted upwardly alongside the hull, in order to be stowed away on the deck or alongside the broadside of the boat.

In these cases, some serious drawbacks are inevitable: a larger space is necessary for stowing away the hydrofoil. For example, when it is to be stowed away on the deck, it will be a hindrance in the use of the deck, and when it is stowed away alongside the broadside of the boat, the hydrofoil will not safe, as it protrudes far beyond the side of the boat when the boat docks at a pier or is running or is moored alongside other vessels.

The present invention aims to eliminate such defects as mentioned above. The main features of the invention are that the lifting foil, the supporting foil, and the strut are not fixed as formerly but are connected with each other by hinge joints; also the middle point of the abovementioned lifting foil, the supporting foil, and the strut are provided with hinge joints, respectively, so that the hydrofoil can be folded up when it is stowed away.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the hydrofoil boat of the invention in a side view with the hydrofoil shown in its collapsed position stowed alongside of the bull in solid lines, and the hydrofoil is shown in its expanded, operative position in dot-dash lines;

FIG. 2 is a view of the hydrofoil taken from the left of FIG. 1 showing the hydrofoil of the invention in its expanded, operative position with parts of the hull shown schematically;

FIG. 2 shows the structure of FIG. 2 in its collapsed position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the hydrofoil of the invention in its stowed position, FIG. 3 also showing in dot-dash lines the expanded hydrofoil in its operative position;

FIG. 3 shows the stowed hydrofoil of FIG. 3 as it appears from the bottom of FIG. 3 looking upwardly, which is to say from the bow of the vessel looking toward the stern thereof, so that what is seen in FIG. 3 is the front end of the stowed hydrofoil of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing in an enlarged fragmentary section the manner in which the hydrofoil is supported by the hull as well as the details of a structure for adjusting the angle of attack of the hydrofoil;

PEG. 4' shows part of the structure of FIG. 4 as seen from the left of FIG. 4 to further illustrate the details of structure for adjusting the angle of attack;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the hydraulic circuit for controlling any one of the lock pins; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the structure for driving the torque generators.

As shown in the various views, a lifting foil 1, a supporting foil 2 and a strut 3 are freely connected with each djfidjldl Patented Aug. 17, 1965 other by hinge joints 4, 5, respectively. In this exemplary embodiment, the supporting foil is also capable of being folded at its middle by means of a hinge joint 6.

It will, of course, be understood that instead of the supporting foil 2, either the lifting foil 1 or the strut 3, or all of the aforementioned elements, may be provided with hinge joints so that they may be folded. in half.

In the drawings, numeral 7 denotes a torque generator for folding and unfolding the. hydrofoil. The hydrofoil folded by the drive of the generator 7 is then to be stowed away in the given position on the broadside 9 of the boat by the drive of another torque-generator 8 for rotating the foil, as is shown in solid lines FIG. 1 through FIG. 3, while the foil unfolded by the drive of the generator 7 is then to be pulled out for use by the drive of the generator 3, as is shown in broken lines in the same figures.

The foil is kept secure in proper form for use by a locking pin it) of the supporting foil 2, the elevation of the foil 2 being kept constant by a locking pin 11 of the strut 3, and the regulation of the elevation being possible by moving fore and aft said locking pin.

When being stowed away, the foil is pulled up to the given position on the broadside of the boat, and the folded foil is fixed to its position by a stowing-away pin 12 and is protected by a platform 13, and, therefore, the possibility for the foil to be damaged is eliminated when the boat docks at the pier or stops alongside other vessels. At 13, a downwardly directed lateral flange of the platform 13 is shown, while 1?)" denotes a bracket for fixing the flange la.

The hydrofoil of the invention includes the lifting foil 1 and the supporting foil which includes an upper sec tion 2 and a lower section 2 which are hingedly c0nnected to each other by the hinge 6. The strut 3 is sup ported for turning movement by the side of the hull, this strut 3 being supported for turning movement about an axis which extends transversely across the hull, and the lifting foil 1 is connected by a hinge d to a bottom end of the strut 3 which extends in a generally up and down direction when it is in its operating position. The upper section 2 of the supporting foil is hinged by a hinge 7 to the upper end of the strut 3 and, of course, this end of the strut 3 becomes the forward end thereof when the strut 3 is turned to its horizontal, stowed position.

A releasable lock means, which includes the pin it is carried by the section 2 and is capable of extending through an opening at the upper end of the section 2" for releasably locking the sections 2 and 2' in their expanded position where they are located in a common plane (FIG. 2), and in a manner described below, the pin 10 can be retracted to release the sections 2 and 2' for movement to their collapsed position. The strut 3 has a laterally projecting shaft portion 14 which is supported for turning movement in a bearing 15, the axis of the shaft 14 and bearing 15 extending transversely across the hull.

The strut 3 is formed with a bore which is capable of receiving the locking pin 11 which forms part of a second releasable lock means for releasably locking the strut 3 in its operative position, and in order to be able to adjust the angle of attack the bearing 15 supports for rotation a lever 16 which carries a cylinder 11' in which a piston at the inner end of the cylinder 11' is capable of sliding.

As is shown most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 4, the lever 16, which can swing around the bearing 15, carries a stud 17 which extends through a slot i9 formed in a wall 9' of the hull, this slot 19 extending along a circle whose center is in the axis of the shaft 14, and the stud 17 carries a pair of nuts 18 which can be loosened for adjusting the angular position of the releasable lock pin ll which also extends at the outer wall 9 of the hull through a slot identical with and aligned with the slot 19 shown in FIG. 4'.

When the position of the pin 11 is adjusted the nuts 18 are tightened with one of the nuts engaging the hull wall 9' and the other engaging the first nut so that in this way a lock-nut assembly is provided for retaining the pin 11 in its adjusted position, and when the strut 13 is turned to its operating position it will receive in its bore the pin 11, so as to be releasably retained in an adjusted operating position where it extends in a generally up and down direction.

As may be seen from FIG. 6, the torque generator 7 includes a cylinder '70, and this cylinder is rigidly fixed with the strut 3, and within the cylinder is a rotary shaft 7b which is supported for turning movement by the end walls of the cylinder and which extends fluid-tightly through one of these walls to be fixed rigidly with one end of the supporting foil section 2, so that the hinge 7 is actually an integral extension of the shaft 7b within the cylinder 7a and is rigidly fixed with the supporting foil section 2 so that the latter will turn with the shaft '7 b.

The torque generator 8 is identical with the torque generator 7 and is rigidly fixed to the side of the hull, which is to say a cylinder 8a of the torque generator 8 is rigidly fixed to the side of the hull, and in this case a shaft 8!) is supported for rotary movement by the cylinder and projects fiuid tightly therefrom to the shaft 14 to which it is coaxially fixed so that the shaft 14 is necessarily constrained to turn the shaft 8b of the torque generator 8.

There is shown in the drawings an eye 2t fixedly carried by the strut and capable of receiving the lock pin 16 when the hydrofoil is in its collapsed position so that in this way the structure can be retained in its collapsed position. When the hydrofoil, after collapse thereof, has been turned to its stowed position the bore of the strut 3 will receive the lock pin 12 so that in this Way the structure will be retained in its stowed position.

As was indicated above, all of the lock pins ill-12 are .of an identical construction and are actuated with precisely the same structure, .and an example of this structure is shown in FIG. 5 where it will be seen that the lock pins 1042 are respectively located within the cylinders Ely-12' (of which it has been mentioned above in connection with lever 16). Selector valves 1tl"l2" are hydraulically connected with the cylinders 10 2', respectively, so that by suitable manual control of these valves it is possible to displace the lock pins 10-12 either 'to a retracted inoperative position or to a projecting operative position.

The adjustment of the angle of attack has been described above.

Referring to FIG. 6, the torque generators 7 and 8 each include, in addition to their cylinders 7a, 8a and shafts 7b and 8b, a vane 7d, 8d respectively fixed to and projecting laterally from the shaft 711, 8b. The length of this vane corresponds to the length of the cylinder and its outer edge is located close to the inner surface of the cylinder, and it will be noted that there is within each cylinder a portion 70, 80 so that the selector valves '7", 8 can be actuated to introduce fluid under pressure into each cylinder at either side of the vane 7d or 8d so as to turn the shaft '71) or 82) in a selected direction. Thus it is possible to collapse or expand the hydrofoil with the torque generator 7 and to turn the entire hydrofoil between its substantially horizontal stowed position and its operating position where it extends in a generally up and down direction.

In the case of FIGS. 5 and 6, the source of power is derived from an engine 21 through a clutch 22 which transmits the drive from the engine, when the clutch is engaged, to a pump 23 which circulates the liquid in the manner shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 5 and 6, so that through the actuation of the valves it is possible to selectively operate the lock pins or the torque generators, and the liquid is taken by the pump 23 from a tank 24 to which the liquid is returned with the liquid flowing through a strainer, as diagrammatically indicated. Thus, the operator can at any time selectively actuate any of the lock pins or the torque generators to displace the hydrofoil between dits expanded and collapsed positions as well as between its stowed and operative positions For further clarification of the schematic hydraulic diagrams appearing in FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of the selector valve ltll2" will be described in connection with the locking pins ltY-IZ (FIG. 5), as well as that of the valves '7", 3 with respect to the torque generators 7, 8 (FIG. 6).

In FIGS. 5 and 6, the valves are shown with three types of symbols in their lower, upper and intermediate sections, the latter corresponding to the rest or neutral positions. The lower section (active when the valves are pushed upward) indicates continuous through-flow between the conduits on the leftand right-hand sides of the valves, in the directions identified by the arrows. The upper section (operative when the valves are pushed downward) shows crossed arrows, denoting that the upper and lower conduits coming from the left-hand side are connected crosswise with the lower and upper conduits of the right-hand side, respectively. Finally, the intermediate or neutral section shows a return path allowing the oil coming from pump 23 to flow back to the tank 24.

FlG. 5 shows the neutral positions of valves 10-12", wherein no oil reaches the respective locking pins 10'-12'-. The pistons of these pins .are, therefore, fixed in any desired position. If the selector valves are pushed upward, the oil supplied by the pump 23 flows toward the left-hand side chamber of the locking pins (in the upper conduit), so as to displace the pistons in outward direction. If, however, the selector valves are pushed downward, the oil will flow in the opposite direction, that is toward the right-hand side chamber (in the lower conduit), so that the pistons are pushed back against the biasing springs.

FIG. 6, in a similar manner, shows the neutral positions of valves 7", 8", wherein no oil is supplied to the respective torque generators 7, 8. The shafts 7b, 8b and the vanes 7d, 8d, are, therefore, fixed at any desired position. If the selector valves are pushed upward, the oil will enter the left-hand inlet of the generators, through the upper conduit, so as to move the vanes in clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. 6. If, on the other hand, the valves are pushed downward, the oil will fiow toward the right-hand side generator inlet, through the lower conduit, whereby the vanes are moved in counterclockwise direction.

As will be understood from the foregoing detailed description, the present invention provides various excellent features, namely: as the hydrofoil can be folded up properly when stowed away, the necessary space can be much small-er than needed by conventional type hydrofoils; also, there will be no inconvenience in the use of the deck, as the hydrofoil can be stowed away below deck side level and above water line; furthermore, the hydrofoil can be protected completely, even at the time of docking or stopping alongside other vessels, by constructing a platform for protecting the foil and the broadside of the boat over the place where the hydrofoil is stowed away so that it may constitute a part of the deck.

The foregoing description and the exemplary embodiment illustrated relate to a case wherein the present invention is applied to the forward hydrofoil assembly of the surface piercing split type, but it is understood that the present invention can be applied to hydrofoils of other type as well. In either of these cases, the component parts can take forms or styles which are different from those shown in the described example, though, of course, within the limits of technical feasibility and the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A hydrofoil boat comprising an elongated hull having a side, a hydrofoil located at the side of the hull and including an elongated substantially rigid strut having an operative position extending in a generally up and down direction and located directly next to said side of said hull, said hydrofoil further including a lifting foil hingedly connected to a bottom end of said strut and a supporting foil having a pair of sections hingedly connected to each other with one of said sections hinged to an upper end of said strut and with the other section hinged to an end of said lifting foil distant from said strut, turning means operatively connected to the supporting foil section which is hinged to said strut for turning the latter section of said supporting foil away from said strut so as to locate said sections of said supporting foil in a common plane and place the hydrofoil in an expanded position where the supporting foil, the lifting foil, and the strut, respectively, extend substantially along the sides of a triangle, said turning means also being connected to the section of said supporting foil which is connected to said strut for turning the latter section of said supporting foil to a collapsed position next to said strut, and the supporting foil section which is connected to said lifting foil automatically b.- corning located alongside of the section which is con nected to said strut to displace said lifting foil to a collapsed position extending generally parallel to said strut and located adjacent thereto with the collapsed supporting foil situated between said strut and said lifting foil, and support means supporting said strut on said side of said hull for turning movement, about an axis extending transversely across the hull, from a position where said strut extends in a generally up and down direction to a stowed position where said strut and the collapsed supporting foil and lifting foil all extend in a generally horizontal direc tion and are located closely adjacent to the side of the hull.

2. A boat as recited in claim 1 and wherein one of said sections of said supporting foil carries a releasable lock means for releasably locking said supporting foil in its expanded position where the sections thereof are located in a common plane.

3. A boat as recited in claim 1 and wherein a releasable lock means is carried by the hull and cooperated with said strut for releasably maintaining the latter in said operative position where it extends in a generally up and down direction.

4. A boat as recited in claim 1 and wherein an elongated platform is carried by and projects from said side of said hull and is situated over and covers the hydrofoil when the latter is in said stowed position, for protecting the stowed hydrofoil.

5. A boat as recited in claim 4 and wherein said platform has at a distance from the side of said hull a downwardly directed side flange which extends alongside of the hydrofoil when the latter is in said stowed position thereof to protect the stowed hydrofoil from being damaged by docks or other vessels located alongside of said side of said hull.

6. A boat as recited in claim 1 and wherein a means is carried by the hull and is operatively connected to said strut for turning the latter about said transverse axis to displace the hydrofoil between said stowed position thereof and an operating position where said strut is in its operative position and the supporting and lifting foils are capable of being displaced laterally away from said strut to their expanded positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,750,959 3/30 Lake 114-4365 2,108,574 2/38 Atwell 1l4-126 2,887,979 5/59 Bader 1l466.5 2,906,229 9/59 Boericke 114-665 2,991,747 7/61 Bader et al. ll466.5 3,099,239 7/63 Von Schertel et a1. l14-66.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 582,985 12/46 Great Britain. 1,066,897 1 10/59 Germany.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Primary Examiner.

MILTON BUCHLER, Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A HYDROFOIL BOAT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HULL HAVING A SIDE, A HYDROFOIL LOCATED AT THE SIDE OF THE HULL AND INCLUDING AN ELONGATED SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID STRUT HAVING AN OPERATIVE POSITION EXTENDING IN A GENERALLY UP AND DOWN DIRECTRION AND LOCATED DIRECTLY NEXT TO SAID SIDE OF SAID HULL, SAID HYDROFOIL FURTHER INCLUDING A LIFTING FOIL HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO A BOTTOM END OF SAID STRUT AND A SUPPORTING FOIL HAVING A PAIR O/F SECTIONS HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER WITH ONE OF SAID SECTIONS HINGED TO AN UPPER END OF SAID STRUT AND WITH THE OTHER SECTION HINGED TO AN END OF SAID LIFTING FOIL DISTANT FROM SAID STRUT, TURNING MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE SUPPORTING FOIL SECTION WHICH IS HINGED TO SAID STRUT FOR TURNING THE LATTER SECTION OF SAID SUPPORTING FOIL AWAY FROM SAID STRUT SO AS TO LOCATE SAID SECTIONS OF SAID SUPPORTING FOIL IN A COMMON PLANE AND PLACE THE HYDROFOIL IN AN EXPANDED POSITION WHERE THE SUPPORTING FOIL, THE LIFTING FOIL, AND THE STRUT, RESPECTIVELY, EXTEND SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE SIDES OF A TRIANGLE, SAID TURNING MEANS ALSO BEING CONNECTED TO THE SECTION OF SAID SUPPORTING FOIL WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SAID STRUT FOR TURNING THE LATTER SECTION OF SAID SUPPORTING FOIL TO A COLLAPSED POSITION NEXT TO SAID STRUT, AND THE SUPPORTING FOIL SECTION WHCIH IS CONNECTED TO SAID LIFTING FOIL AUTOMATICALLY BECOMING LOCATED ALONGSIDE OF THE SECTION WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SAID STRUT TO DISPLACE SAID LIFTING FOIL TO A COLLAPSED POSITION EXTENDING GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID STRUT AND LOCATED ADJACENT THERETO WITH THE COLLAPSED SUPPORTING FOIL SITUATED BETWEEN SAID STRUT AND SAID LIFTING FOIL, AND SUPPORT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID STRUT ON SAID SIDE OF SAID HULL FOR TURNING MOVEMENT, ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY ACROSS THE HULL, FROM A POSITION WHERE SAID STRUT EXTENDS IN A GENERALLY UP AND DOWN DIRECTION TO A STOWED POSITION WHERE SAID STRUT AND THE COLLAPSED SUPPORTING FOIL AND LIFTING FOIL ALL EXTEND IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND ARE LOCATED CLOSELY ADJACENT TO THE SIDE OF THE HULL.

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