Boat Hybrid Propulsion System with Vertical Guide Thruster
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing boat propulsion systems require significant structural modifications to integrate both heat engines and electric thrusters, making it complex, expensive, and risky to convert existing boats to hybrid propulsion systems.
Innovation Solution
An electric propulsion system that includes a vertical guide device, an electric thruster with a gyration box, a drive system, and a control unit, allowing the electric thruster to be easily integrated into boats with existing heat engines without modifying the boat's structure. The system can operate in thermal or electric mode depending on the thruster's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a boat is equipped with both a heat engine and an electric thruster to form a hybrid propulsion system, then the advantages of both propulsion types are retained (high power from heat engine and low pollution/noise from electric thruster), but significant structural modifications are required to interface both engines with the same propeller, increasing device complexity, manufacturing cost, and installation risk
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the propulsion system into two independent segments: the existing heat engine-propeller system remains unchanged, while a separate electric thruster system with its own propulsion unit is added. This segmentation allows both propulsion types to operate independently without requiring complex integration modifications to the boat's original structure, thus achieving hybrid propulsion capability while minimizing structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges two distinct propulsion systems (heat engine and electric thruster) into a single hybrid propulsion setup where each system maintains its own propeller and drive mechanism. The electric thruster is positioned to work alongside the existing heat engine system, allowing both to contribute to propulsion without requiring integration of their drive trains, thereby combining the advantages of both systems while avoiding complex mechanical interfacing
2Adaptability or versatility
If the original heat engine is moved to interface the propeller with both heat engine and electric motor, then hybrid propulsion is achieved, but the modification is complex and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the electric thruster as a separate, self-contained propulsion unit that does not require modification of the existing heat engine or propeller interface. By taking out the electric thruster as an independent module with its own mounting structure and drive system, the system achieves hybrid propulsion capability without the need to move or modify the original heat engine, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity and integration costs
3Adaptability or versatility
If structural modifications are made to install both heat engine and electric motor on the same propeller, then hybrid propulsion is enabled, but the boat owner may perceive this as risky to the boat's structure
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the propulsion systems into independent units with separate mounting structures, the invention avoids any modification to the boat's original structural elements. The electric thruster is mounted on its own dedicated structure that does not interfere with the heat engine's mounting or the boat's hull integrity, thereby maintaining structural reliability while enabling propulsion mode selection
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a propulsion system (30) intended to be integrated into a boat (1) and comprising a vertical guide device (31) comprising a member for fixing the vertical guide device (31) to the hull of said boat (1); an electric thruster (32) comprising a gyration box (33), said gyration box (33) being vertically movably mounted on the vertical guide device (31) to be able to adopt an emerged position and a submerged position; a drive system (34) capable of causing a vertical movement of the gyration box (33) of the electric thruster (32) along the guide device (31); a control unit (35) capable of receiving a movement instruction and arranged, in response to said instruction, to control the drive system (34) to cause movement of the gyration box (33) toward the emerged position or toward the submerged position.