Speed indicating device

Abstract

A detachable speed indicating device 2 for a waterborne vessel, the device being in the form of a kit of parts comprising: a tube 20 with a first open end 22 configured to face substantially forwards with respect to forward movement of the vessel and a second open end 24 configured to face substantially upwards, and a plurality of flow controlling attachments 10, 12, 14, 44, 46, 48 and 50 configured to be selectively connectable to the first open end or to the second open end. Each flow controlling attachment controls flow through the tube to an extent that differs from that effected by the or each other flow controlling attachment, wherein movement of the device with its first end submerged in water and facing forwards results in a flow of water issuing from the second open end.

Description

[001] The invention relates to a detachable speed indicating device for a waterborne vessel and in particular for a rowed or paddled vessel such as a racing sculling or rowing boat or a canoe.

[002] In a racing vessel, (referred to below as a boat) propelled by oars such as a sculling boat, for one or more scullers or a sweep oared boat such as a pair, four or eight, the velocity of the boat varies considerably depending on what stage of the stroke of the oars is considered. The provision of a device that provides realtime visual feed-back to a coach or oarsperson, indicating the manner in which the velocity of the boat changes during each stroke, and can be easily modified to take account of different overall speeds of different boats would be extremely useful for assisting in optimising the overall speed of the boat. A coach or oarsperson in a boat observing the visual feed-back relating to boat speed could use this feed-back to modify different parts of the stroke to provide such optimisation. The stroke can be divided into two parts, a first driving part in which an end of the oar is in the water and work is applied to an opposite end of the oar to accelerate the boat, and a second recovery part when no part of the oar is in the water and the oarsperson is changing their body position in preparation for taking the next driving stroke part. In a conventional rowing or sculling boat, during the recovery part of the stroke, the oarsperson’s sliding seat moves towards the stem of the boat. The velocity profile of the boat during both of these parts of the stroke are important if average boat speed is to be optimised. During the driving part of the stroke it is important that maximum acceleration of the boat takes place. This might not be the case if for example work on the blade falls off notably at any section of the driving part of the stroke and importantly at an end section thereof. During the recovery part of the stroke, the speed at which sliding of the seat towards the stern of the boat takes place is particularly important. If the speed is too high, and the seat stops abruptly at the end of the sliding process, then significant deceleration of the boat will occur. Providing real-time visual feed-back relating to boat speed will enable optimisation of both parts of the stroke to be addressed.

[003] The typical overall speeds of different boats will vary considerably. The difference in speed between a junior novice single sculler and a competitive adult racing eight will be considerable and any device for indicating boat speed would preferably be able to accommodate such a range of speeds.

[004] It would also be preferable for such a device to be easily connected to a boat for training and coaching purposes but easily detachable for situations such as racing.

[005] According to the invention there is provided a detachable speed indicating device for a waterborne vessel, the device being in the form of a kit of parts comprising: a tube with a first open end configured to face substantially forwards with respect to forward movement of the vessel and a second open end configured to face substantially upwards; and a plurality of flow controlling attachments configured to be selectively connectable to the first open end or to the second open end wherein each flow controlling attachment controls flow through the tube to an extent that differs from that effected by the or each other flow controlling attachment, wherein movement of the device with its first open end submerged in water and facing forwards results in a flow of water issuing from the second open end. Such a device will provide the advantageous real-time feedback referred to above during training and coaching sessions but can be removed from the vessel or boat for the purpose of competitions. Furthermore the provision of plural flow control attachments will mean that the device can be used for a wide range of vessel types and oarsperson capabilities.

[006] Each flow controlling attachment may be an inlet scoop configured to be connected to the first open end to route water into the tube. An effective way of adapting the device so that it is suitable for wide ranges of vessel types and oarsperson capabilities is to provide different sizes of inlet scoops. Differently dimensioned inlet scoops can also be selected to provide different amounts of hydrodynamic drag which can be used as an additional training facility.

[007] Each flow controlling attachment may be an outlet nozzle configured to be connected to the second open end to throttle the flow of water issuing from the second open end. The provision of differently sized outlet nozzles can provide an effective way of fine tuning resistance to flow through the tube and, also control the height of a jet of water projected upwardly by the device.

[008] The device may include a first plurality of flow controlling attachments in the form of inlet scoops and a second plurality of flow controlling attachments in the form of outlet nozzles. This will allow the device to benefit from the advantages referred to in the two preceding paragraphs.

[009] Preferably the tube is substantially L-shaped. An L-shaped tube can conveniently be connected to the stern of a wide variety of racing vessel or boat hulls.

[010] Preferably the device includes a pair of opposed securing arms extending from the tube and configured for connecting the device to a vessel. The stern of a racing vessel or boat is customarily quite narrow and has steep sides. For this reason an effective and simple way of securing the device to the stern of such a vessel or boat is to provide a pair of opposed arms which can extend up the sides of the stern and be secured together above the hull. [Oil] At least one of the inlet scoops preferably includes a deflector which projects upstream of an inlet aperture thereof to deflect debris away from the inlet aperture. More preferably all of the inlet scoops include such a deflector. Such a deflector will reduce the probability of debris becoming caught on the device which debris could partially or completely block the first open end.

[012] The or each deflector may comprise a planar member with a convex edge facing in an upstream direction. Such a deflector has been found to effectively route debris away from the first open end without substantially impeding flow into the first open end of the tube.

[013] At feast one of the inlet scoops preferably includes a projecting portion configured to project towards a hull of a vessel to which the device is connected to reduce the chance of debris becoming trapped between the device and the vessel Such an arrangement will in particular reduce the chance of a large item, such as a plastic sack, becoming trapped between the device and the vessel which could severely interrupt a training session and / or drag the device off the vessel.

[014] Conveniently the projecting portion may comprise an extension of the deflector.

[015] At least one of the flow controlling attachments preferably includes a first keying means configured to engage complementary second keying means of the tube to prevent rotation of the flow controlling attachment. Such an arrangement will ensure that the flow controlling attachment is connected to the tube in the correct orientation. This will be particularly important when the flow controlling attachment is an Inlet scoop including a debris deflector and / or an anti-entrapment projecting portion.

[016] The tube preferably includes at least one anchoring feature for facilitating anchoring of the device to a vessel. Each such feature will permit an additional securing means to be connected to the device in order to provide redundancy in connection with the securing of the device to a vessel and thereby reduce the chance of accidental loss of the device from occurring

[017] Preferably each inlet scoop has an inlet aperture which may be circular or substantially circular, with a maximum transverse dimension of between 15 mm and 70 mm. This has been found to be an effective range of sizes for inlet scoops that can be used on a wide variety of boat types.

[018] Preferably each outlet nozzle has an exit aperture, which may be circular or substantially circular, with a maximum transverse dimension of between 4 mm and 16 mm. This has been found to be an effective range of sizes for outlet nozzles that can be used on a wide variety of boat types and provide effective control over the height of jet issuing from the second open end of the tube.

[019] The tube preferably has an internal diameter of approximately 16 mm. This has been found to be a suitable internal diameter for the tube for a wide variety of boat types.

[020] The device may include a flow rate measuring device for measuring a rate of flow through the pipe and transmission means configured to transmit data relating to the rate of flow either directly or indirectly to a device configured to store such data. With such an arrangement it will be possible for a coach or oarsperson to access the data following a training session to provide useful feedback.

[021] Various embodiments of the device will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in different embodiments and in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device according to the invention in a dismantled state including a tube, three inlet scoops and four outlet nozzles, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 1 with one of the inlet scoops and one of the outlet nozzles connected to the tube; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 1 connected to the stern of a racing boat with an outlet nozzle but no inlet scoop connected to the tube; Figure 4 is a perspective view of four inlet scoops showing keying slots; Figure 5 is a perspective view of seven alternative forms of inlet scoop; Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the inlet scoops shown in Figure 5 connected to the tube with the device mounted on a boat (boat in inverted position); Figure 7 is an alternative perspective view of the arrangement shown in Figure 6; Figure 8 is a perspective view of a different one of the inlet scoops shown in Figure 5 connected to the tube showing keying means; Figure 9 is a perspective view of one of the outlet nozzles shown in Figure 1 connected to the tube showing keying means; Figure 10 is a perspective view of two wings and a screw-threaded fastening means of the device which are used to connect the device to a boat; Figure 11 is a side view of the device without an inlet scoop or outlet nozzle prior to being connected to a boat; Figure 12 shows an anchoring feature which can be used as an additional means of securing the device to a boat; Figure 13 shows a perspective view of the two securing wings of the device; Figure 14 is an exploded vertica! cross-section through the centre of a device with an inlet scoop and an outlet nozzle positioned ready to be connected to the tube: Figure 15 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative device according to the invention with an inlet scoop and an outlet nozzle poised ready to be connected to the tube and a flow rate measuring device connected to the tube; and Figure 16 is an exploded perspective view of an alternative device according to the invention that is designed to be used with a canoe in which an inlet scoop and two outlet nozzles are poised ready to be connected to the tube.

[022] Figure 1 shows a device 2 according to a first embodiment of the invention. The device 2 includes a main portion, portion 4, a set 6 of inlet scoops and a set 8 of outlet nozzles. These parts may all be made from a suitable plastics material such as PET, PET-G, ABS or ASA and may be made by injection moulding, additive printing or any other suitable method.

[023] The set 6 of inlet scoops includes a relatively large inlet scoop 10, a relatively small inlet scoop 14, and a medium sized inlet scoop 12 with a size between that of the large and small inlet scoops. Each inlet scoop has an attachment end 16, configured for connection to a tube 20 of the device and an inlet end 18 defining an inlet aperture 17. An inner diameter 19 of the inlet end of each inlet scoop may lie in the range of 20 mm to 60 mm. The set of inlet scoops may include a set in which the internal diameters of adjacent inlet scoops in the range differ by around 10 mm. The attachment ends 16 of all inlet scoops are the same size, since they are all configured to be connected to a first open end 22 of the tube 20. At its opposite end the tube 20 includes a second open end 24.

[024] The tube 20 includes a first leg 30, configured to be positioned adjacent to a bottom 34 of a stern portion 26 of a boat, as shown in Figure 3, and a second leg 32 configured to be positioned in a generally upwardly directed orientation adjacent to a rearwardly facing surface 36 of the boat. Since the first leg 30 is configured to be positioned adjacent to the bottom 34 of the stern portion 26, and preferably in contact therewith, the first leg 30 preferably includes an angled end portion 28 adjacent to the first open end 22. This angled end portion 28 is angled downwardly or away from the bottom 34 of the boat and allows one of the inlet scoops to be attached to the tube 20, notwithstanding the fact that the inlet end 18 of the inlet scoop may project outwardly beyond a transverse cross-sectional profile of the tube 20. The tube 20 may have an internal diameter of around 16 mm and an external diameter of around 20 mm.

[025] Figure 4 shows a further set 6' of inlet scoops including four rather than three different sizes of inlet scoop. Each inlet scoop includes a keying means in the form of a slot 40 extending to its attachment end 16. Each slot is configured to cooperate with a complementary keying means in the form of a tab 42 which extends outwardly from the first leg 30 of the tube 20 to prevent rotation of an inlet scoop once it has been attached to the tube 20. The inlet scoops of the first set 6 include such keying means or slots 40 although they are not visible in Figure 1. The attachment end 16 of each inlet scoop referred to above is a friction or push fit onto a distal end of the first leg 30 of the tube 20. Alternative attachment means, such as by means of a grub screw, clip on attachment or any other suitable means could be employed.

[026] The set of 8 of outlet nozzles shown in Figure 1 includes four outlet nozzles 44, 46, 48 and 50 an internal diameter 52 (see Figure 14) of each outlet nozzle is different. Outlet nozzle 50 has the largest interna! diameter and the internal diameters of the outlet nozzles step down to the internal diameter of the smallest nozzle 44. The outlet nozzles may have internal diameters in the range of 5 mm to 14 mm.

[027] Each outlet nozzle has an outlet end 56 and an attachment end 58. Figure 14 shows the outlet nozzle 46 poised for attachment to the tube 20. The attachment end 58 of each outlet nozzle has a keying means in the form of a slot 54 (shown in the enlarged detail in Figure 14) configured to cooperate with a complementary keying means in the form of a tab 61 which extends outwardly from the second leg 32 of the tube 20 to prevent rotation of an outlet nozzle once it has been attached to the tube 20. The outlet nozzles of the set 8 of outlet nozzles shown in Figure 1 include such keying means or slots 54 although they are not visible in Figure 1.

[028] The attachment end 58 of each outlet nozzle is a friction or push-fit onto a distal end of the second teg 32 of the tube 20. Alternative attachment means, such as by means of a grub screw, clip on attachment or any other suitable means could be employed.

[029] The tube 20 has two wings or flaps 60 extending upwardly from its first leg 30. These flaps are preferably formed integrally with the tube 20 and are preferably flexible and preferably pivotable about their junction with the tube 20 to facilitate moving the flaps inwardly or outwardly so as to fit the stem portion 26 of the boat to which the device is connected (as shown in Figure 3). Preferably each flap 60 has an inwardly projecting ridge 62 or shoulder (as shown in Figures 13 and 14) on its face which opposes the other flap 60. Each ridge 62 is positioned so as to sit on top of the stem portion 26 of the boat to enhance the securing of the device to the stem portion 26. In order to reduce the possibility of the device damaging an outer surface of the stern portion 26, preferably each flap 60 has a pad 64 on its interior surface which confronts the other flap. The pads 64 may be made of waterproof felt, rubber, neoprene or any other suitable material. Close to the top or distal end of each flap 60 a hole 66 is provided. The holes 66 in the two flaps are aligned with each other and configured to receive a screw-threaded fixing such as a nylon bolt 66 which can be secured in place with a nylon nut 68 which is preferably configured so as to be tightenable by hand. Other forms of fixing could be used such as a stainless steel nut and bolt combination or some form of lashing. The stern portion 26 is preferably provided with an eye 72 or ring through which the fixing can pass in order to reliably secure the device to the stern portion of the boat. The eye 72 can be screwed, riveted or glued to an upper surface of the stern portion of the boat.

[030] Each inlet scoop, instead of having a simple funnel like form, as shown in Fig 1, can be provided with a deflector which projects upstream of its inlet end 18. Figure 5 shows various different forms of deflector and labelled 73 to 79. The or each deflector, such as that labelled 73, may comprise a planar member 71 with a convex leading edge 81. Preferably any inlet scoop formed with a deflector is formed integrally therewith. Inlet scoop 80 shown in Figures 5 to 7 includes a projecting portion 82 configured to project towards the hull or stem portion 26 of the boat to which the device is attached. The purpose of such a projecting portion 82 is to prevent debris from becoming trapped in a gap 84 between the hull and the inlet scoop 80. The projecting portion 82 may be an extension of the deflector 73.

[031] The pipe 20 may be provided with additional anchoring features such as a hole 86 formed in the tab 61 or elsewhere (as shown in Figures 12 and 14) or a slot 88 such as that shown in Figure 14. Such anchoring features can be used to provide additional back-up anchoring of the device to avoid its loss in the event of the primary anchoring system (flaps 60 and bolt 66) failing or becoming undone.

[032] The device 3 shown in Figure 14 differs from that shown in Figure 1 in that its tube 20 does not include an angled end portion and its inlet scoop 83 is the inlet scoop labelled 83 in Figure 5.

[033] Figure 16 shows a modified form of the device adapted for use with a canoe, a bow section 90 of which is shown in Figure 16. Since a canoeist faces forwards the upward jet of water provided by the device might go into the canoeist’s face if directed vertically. For this reason the device for use with a canoe includes a bifurcation at an upper end of a second leg 92 of its pipe 94. Each leg 96 of the bifurcated pipe has a separate outlet nozzle 98 connected thereto in order to direct the jet of water issuing therefrom to one side or other of the canoe. The device will be connected to the bow section 90 of the canoe by any suitable means the details of which would be obvious to a skilled person in the art. Other features of the embodiment shown in Figure 16, such as the selection of inlet scoops and outlet nozzles and the way in which they interact with other parts of the device will be as described in connection with the other embodiments referred to above.

[034] Figure 15 shows a possible enhancement of the device 100 which could be used with any of the embodiments described above.

[035] The device 100 can include any or all of the features referred to above including the pipe 102, a selection of inlet scoops 104 and / or outlet nozzles 106 and securing flaps 108. The device 100 also includes a flow rate sensor 110 which senses flow in the tube 102 and includes transmission means configured to transmit data relating to the rate of flow either directly or indirectly to a device configured to store such data. The data transmission could be by a Bluetooth connection to a smart device such as a phone or watch and captured by an App. This data could then be used by an oarsperson or coach to generate a variety of useful coaching outputs.

Claims

1. A detachable speed indicating device for a waterborne vessel, the device being in the form of a kit of parts comprising: a tube with a first open end configured to face substantially forwards with respect to forward movement of the vessel and a second open end configured to face substantially upwards: and a plurality of flow controlling attachments configured to be selectively connectable to the first open end or to the second open end wherein each flow controlling attachment controls flow through the tube to an extent that differs from that effected by the or each other flow controlling attachment, wherein movement of the device with its first open end submerged in water and facing forwards results in a flow of water issuing from the second open end.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein each flow controlling attachment is an inlet scoop configured to be connected to the first open end to route water into the tube.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein each flow controlling attachment is an outlet nozzle configured to be connected to the second open end to throttle the flow of water issuing from the second open end.

4. The device of claim 1 including a first plurality of flow controlling attachments as claimed in claim 2 and a second plurality of flow controlling attachments as claimed in claim 3.

5. The device of any preceding claim wherein the tube is substantially L-shaped.

6. The device of any preceding claim including a pair of opposed securing armsextending from the tube and configured for connecting the device to a vessel.

7. The device of claim 2 or any claim depending thereon wherein at least one of the inlet scoops includes a deflector which projects upstream of an inlet aperture thereof to deflect debris away from the inlet aperture.

8. The device of ciaim 7 wherein the deflector comprises a planar member with a convex leading edge.

9. The device of claim 2 or any claim depending thereon wherein at least one of the inlet scoops includes a projecting portion configured to project towards a hull of a vessel to which the device is connected to reduce the chance of debris becoming trapped between the device and the vessel.

10. The device of claims 7 or 8 and claim 9 wherein the projecting portion comprises an extension of the deflector.

11. The device of any preceding claim wherein at least one of the flow controlling attachments includes a first keying means configured to engage complementary second keying means of the tube to prevent rotation of the flow controlling attachment.

12. The device of any preceding claim wherein the tube includes at least one anchoring feature for facilitating anchoring of the device to a vessel.

13. The device of claim 2 or any claim depending thereon wherein each inlet scoop has an inlet aperture with a maximum transverse dimension of between 15 mm and 70 mm.

14. The device of claim 3 or any claim depending thereon wherein each outlet nozzle has an exit aperture with a maximum transverse dimension of between 4 mm and 16 mm.

15. The device of any preceding claim wherein the tube has an internal diameter of approximately 16 mm.

16. The device of any preceding ciaim further including a flow rate measuring device for measuring a rate of flow through the pipe and transmission means configured to transmit data relating to the rate of flow either directly or indirectly to a device configured to store such data.

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