Resilient Throttle Device for Personal Watercraft
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Riders of personal watercraft experience fatigue and safety concerns due to the need to continuously squeeze the throttle lever to maintain speed, leading to unsafe workarounds that compromise the watercraft's safety shutoff feature.
Innovation Solution
A throttle device with an arch-shaped body and resilient arms that can be removably attached to the handlebar, allowing the throttle lever to be maintained in a desired position without constant rider input, while ensuring the safety shutoff feature remains operational.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If Cruise Assist feature is used to maintain set speed, then rider fatigue is reduced, but the rider must maintain full-throttle grip which compromises safety
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mechanical intermediary device (throttle maintenance tool with resilient arms) that mediates between the rider's hand and the throttle lever. The resilient arms engage the throttle lever to maintain it in the desired position without requiring the rider to continuously squeeze the throttle, thus reducing fatigue while preserving safety. The device acts as a temporary mediator that can be easily removed by the rider at any time to restore full control.
2Ease of operation
If Velcro strap is wrapped around throttle to maintain position, then throttle position is maintained without rider grip, but the safety shutoff feature is defeated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic resilient arms that can flex and adapt to the throttle lever's position while maintaining engagement. The arms are designed to be spring-loaded, allowing them to dynamically adjust to the throttle's movement and maintain constant pressure to hold the throttle in the desired position without requiring continuous rider input.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the engagement mechanism by using resilient arms with specific elasticity and force characteristics. The arms are designed with controlled spring rates and engagement forces that allow them to maintain throttle position through mechanical pressure rather than adhesive or friction-based methods, enabling reliable position maintenance while preserving safety features.
3Ease of operation
If stick is inserted near throttle pivot point to hold position, then throttle position is fixed without rider input, but safety feature is compromised and removal is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the throttle maintenance function into separate resilient arms that can independently engage and disengage from the throttle lever. This segmentation allows the device to be easily removed by simply releasing the engagement mechanism, unlike a stick inserted near the pivot point which would require complex manipulation to remove. Each arm can be independently adjusted and released.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively maintains the throttle position without requiring continuous rider grip, reducing fatigue and ensuring safety by using resiliency to secure the throttle lever, while allowing easy removal in emergencies.
Implementation Method 1
The throttle device is resilient, thereby allowing the arms to be spread apart during installation and biasing the arms to return towards a resting position
Data Source
AI summary
A throttle device for personal watercraft includes a body portion having an arch shape with a central axis extending perpendicular to a top of the arch shape. A first arm extends from the body portion away from the central axis, where the first arm has a first arm end portion for engaging a throttle lever of the watercraft. A second arm extends from the body portion away from the central axis in a spaced-apart relation to the first arm, where the second arm has a second arm end portion for engaging a handgrip of the watercraft. The throttle device is resilient, thereby allowing the arms to be spread apart during installation and biased to return towards a resting position with a resiliency sufficient to maintain a hand-operable throttle lever of the personal watercraft in a desired throttle position.