Segmented Stiffening Shaft for Compact Marine Motor Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing trolling motor shafts are cumbersome to store and often interfere with marine vessel activities due to their rigid nature, and existing folding or telescoping solutions are not suitable for mounting motors or anchoring in shallow waters.
Innovation Solution
A stiffening shaft with vertebrae and inelastic tension elements that can transition between flexible and rigid configurations, allowing for compact storage and stable motor positioning, with features like a tensioning system and collapsible design for easy deployment and anchoring.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid shaft is used for trolling motor mounting, then the motor can be positioned stably in the water, but the shaft becomes cumbersome to store and interferes with marine vessel activities
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is divided into multiple collapsible segments that can be stacked together for compact storage and extended to form a rigid structure when deployed. This segmentation allows the shaft to transition between a compact stored state and a rigid operational state, resolving the contradiction between storage convenience and motor positioning stability.
2Volume of moving object
If a foldable shaft with hinge mechanisms is used, then storage space is reduced, but the hinge mechanisms interfere with fishing and other marine activities
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanisms are completely removed from the shaft design. Instead of using traditional folding hinges, the invention employs a collapsible telescoping structure where segments slide into each other without any rotating or folding joints. This extraction of harmful hinge mechanisms eliminates interference with fishing and marine activities while maintaining compact storage capability.
3Measurement precision
If a long rigid shaft is used to position the propeller at appropriate depth, then the motor control is precise, but the shaft is cumbersome to store onboard
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft segments are designed to nest within each other when collapsed, similar to nested dolls. The shorter segments fit inside longer segments, creating a compact stored configuration. When deployed, the segments extend to form the full-length rigid shaft needed for precise propeller depth positioning, thus resolving the contradiction between positioning precision and storage volume.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are examples of stiffening shafts, which in some cases are adapted to couple to a marine vessel. An exemplary stiffening shaft can be used to extend a motor from the marine vessel or be used as a shallow water stick anchor. The exemplary stiffening shafts can include a plurality of linked vertebrae stacked to form a column and at least one inelastic tension element threaded longitudinally through the plurality of vertebrae. The shaft can have a flexible configuration when the at least one tension element is released and a stiffened linear configuration when the tension element is tensed to react to torque and bending moments. Alternatively, the stiffening shaft can be used as a shallow water stick anchor for a marine vessel by piercing the bottom of a marine environment (e.g., a sea bed, a lake bed, a river bed, etc.).