Rotating Pulley Deflection for Water Sports Towing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water sports train systems with sheaves of constant diameter cause abrupt rope deflection, leading to falls and reduced service life due to uncontrolled forces and high loads, especially for beginners, and pose risks of injury from spokes and derailment.
Innovation Solution
A water sports train system with a deflection device featuring rotatable cable pulleys mounted on a horizontally rotating carrier, allowing for increased curvature radius and reduced forces, using spring and damping devices to compensate load changes, and sealed bearings for reduced maintenance and safety, with pulleys designed for smoother operation and noise reduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pulleys with constant diameter are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the rope deflection is abrupt causing falls and high loads
Solution Approach 1:
The support is made rotatable about a vertical axis, allowing the pulley assembly to dynamically adjust its orientation in response to rope tension changes. This dynamic adaptation smooths rope deflection during acceleration and deceleration phases, reducing abrupt force changes while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a rotational degree of freedom in the vertical dimension by allowing the support to rotate about a vertical axis. This dimensional change enables the pulley assembly to accommodate rope angle variations without requiring complex multi-pulley arrangements, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while improving reliability
2Device complexity
If small diameter pulleys are used, then the device size is reduced and maintenance is simplified, but the rope deflection radius is small causing high loads and reduced service life
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable support allows the small-diameter pulleys to dynamically adjust their orientation, effectively increasing the rope deflection radius during operation. This dynamic adjustment reduces peak loads on the rope and pulleys, extending service life while maintaining the simplicity and small size of the pulley components
3Device complexity
If pulleys with spokes are used, then the structure is simplified, but the risk of injury to operators and persons being pulled increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pulley design uses solid construction without spokes in the rope contact zone, eliminating injury risks while maintaining structural simplicity. The local quality change (from spoked to solid) specifically addresses the harmful factor at the critical interface between pulley and rope, while the overall device complexity remains low
4Speed
If the rope is redirected over a short distance, then the system response is faster, but the forces acting on the person and system are higher causing falls
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable support allows the pulley assembly to dynamically adjust its position, extending the rope redirection distance while maintaining fast system response. This dynamic adjustment distributes the force change over a longer period and distance, reducing peak forces on the person being pulled while preserving system responsiveness
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 system reduces falls and maintenance costs, enhances safety by minimizing injury risks, and extends operational reliability through smoother rope guidance and reduced wear, while maintaining the facility's efficiency and comfort.
Implementation Method 1
a deflection device which is provided on the mast for the horizontal deflection of the rope, wherein the deflection device has at least a first pulley for receiving a first section of the rope, and at least a second pulley for receiving a second section of the rope
Implementation Method 2
the support is rotatably mounted horizontally with respect to the mast... allow for an increased turning radius when the rope is redirected at the mast... forces acting on both the person and the system during the redirection from one direction to another are reduced
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a water sports towing system (1), in particular a circulating water sports towing system, comprising: at least one mast (2), a rope (10) which is deflected and/or driven on the mast (2) and which is designed for pulling a person across the water surface, a deflection device (100) which is provided on the mast (2) for the horizontal deflection of the rope (10), wherein the deflection device (100) comprises at least one first pulley (11) for receiving a first section of the rope (10), and at least one second pulley (21) for receiving a second section of the rope (10), wherein the at least first pulley (11) and the at least second pulley (21) are rotatably mounted in a support (30), and wherein the support (30) is rotatably mounted horizontally with respect to the mast (2).