Band-Spring Latching for Packable Sectional Watercraft
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional watercraft, such as boats and kayaks, are typically constructed as single, heavy bodies that are impractical for transportation and storage due to their size and weight, making them difficult to move and store efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A watercraft design featuring multiple separable body sections that can be assembled and disassembled to form a compact structure, allowing for easier transportation and storage by sliding or reorienting sections within each other, with securing mechanisms and sealing parts to maintain structural integrity and prevent water leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a watercraft is constructed as a single body, then structural integrity is improved, but transportation and storage convenience deteriorates due to heavy weight and large size
Solution Approach 1:
The watercraft is divided into multiple separable body sections that can be disconnected from each other. This segmentation allows the watercraft to be broken down into smaller, more manageable components for transportation and storage, while maintaining structural integrity when assembled through securing mechanisms.
2Strength
If a watercraft is constructed as a single body, then structural integrity is improved, but storage space requirements worsen due to large volume
Solution Approach 1:
The separable body sections are designed to nest within each other when the watercraft is in its packed configuration. Smaller sections can be placed inside larger sections, significantly reducing the overall storage volume required while allowing the sections to be reassembled into the full-size watercraft when needed.
3Ease of operation
If body sections are separated for packing, then transportation convenience is improved, but device complexity worsens due to securing mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The securing mechanisms are designed to be self-latching or automatically engaging when the body sections are assembled. This self-service approach reduces the complexity of operation while maintaining reliable connections between sections, allowing users to easily assemble and disassemble the watercraft without complex manual procedures.
4Ease of operation
If body sections are separated for packing, then transportation convenience is improved, but water leakage risk worsens at connection points
Solution Approach 1:
Flexible sealing elements such as gaskets or seals are incorporated at the connection interfaces between body sections. These flexible membranes conform to the mating surfaces and create watertight seals, preventing water leakage while allowing for the assembly and disassembly of the separable sections.
Data Source
AI summary
A watercraft includes a plurality of separable body sections (2101, 2102, 2103, 2104, 2105, 2106) configured for assembly into a single assembled structure (2100) having a first length, and for packing into a packed structure (3000) having a second length smaller than the first length. The single assembled structure may be held together using latching devices, one or more of the latching devices including a latch unit comprising a latch support, a spring mount and a band spring, the band spring having a first spring end and a second spring end, wherein the latch support includes a latch and a first shaft positioned in relationship to the latch, the first shaft configured for rotatably mounting the first spring end of the band spring, and the spring mount includes a second shaft configured for rotatably mounting the second spring end of the band spring.