Standing Watercraft Paddle with Bendable Knee Bracket

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing watercraft paddle systems operable by a user's legs and feet, such as paddleboats, induce muscle fatigue and discomfort due to limited muscle engagement and prolonged seated position, leading to inefficient propulsion.

Innovation Solution

A watercraft paddle apparatus designed for use in a standing position, featuring a pair of pedals with downwardly extending paddles and a bendable knee bracket that allows for a full range of motion, enabling alternating walking or cross-country skiing motions, reducing muscle fatigue and enhancing propulsion efficiency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a user operates paddleboat pedals in a seated position, then the paddleboat can be moved forward, but the user experiences muscle fatigue and discomfort due to limited range of motion

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepropulsion efficiencyVSAvoiduser comfort

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional seated pedaling position to a standing position. Users stand on the watercraft platform and perform walking or cross-country skiing motions with the pedals, completely reversing the traditional operating posture to engage different muscle groups and eliminate seated discomfort while maintaining propulsion efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The pedal assembly incorporates a bendable knee bracket with a rotatable joint that dynamically adjusts the pedal angle throughout the stride motion. This dynamic adjustment allows the pedal to support the user's foot through the full range of motion from front to back and back again, enabling natural walking or skiing movements that reduce muscle fatigue

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Productivity

If a user remains in a seated position to operate the pedals, then the paddleboat can be operated, but undue pressure is placed on the user's backside exacerbating fatigue

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepropulsion efficiencyVSAvoidpressure on user's backside

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional seated pedaling position to a standing position. Users stand on the watercraft platform and perform walking or cross-country skiing motions with the pedals, completely reversing the traditional operating posture to engage different muscle groups and eliminate seated discomfort while maintaining propulsion efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts the user from the seated position and relocates them to a standing position on the platform. This removal of the user from the harmful seated posture eliminates the source of backside pressure and fatigue while preserving the propulsion function through the alternative standing pedal operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Productivity

If the pedal is fixed in a single position, then the structure is simple, but the user cannot achieve full range of motion for efficient propulsion

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepropulsion efficiencyVSAvoidpedal structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The pedal assembly incorporates a bendable knee bracket with a rotatable joint that dynamically adjusts the pedal angle throughout the stride motion. This dynamic adjustment allows the pedal to support the user's foot through the full range of motion from front to back and back again, enabling natural walking or skiing movements that reduce muscle fatigue

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the angular parameter of the pedal throughout the operating cycle. The bendable knee bracket enables the pedal angle to vary dynamically during the stride, optimizing the contact between the pedal and user's foot at different positions in the motion cycle, thereby improving propulsion efficiency without requiring overly complex mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

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 apparatus allows for a full range of leg and foot motion, reducing muscle fatigue and improving propulsion efficiency by enabling longer strides and more effective engagement of muscles, thus reducing fatigue and enhancing the efficiency of moving the watercraft.

Implementation Method 1

The bendable knee bracket includes a resilient tensile spring secured on either side of the joint and bent around the outside of the rotatable joint, thereby acting to extend the bendable knee when the spring is not under an external load.

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS10556656B2Watercraft paddle apparatus

Publication Date: 2020.02.11 KUNTZ CARL

AI summary

There is disclosed a watercraft paddle apparatus operable by a user's legs and feet. In an embodiment, the watercraft paddle apparatus comprises a pair of rails positioned side-by-side and mountable to a watercraft, each rail configured to slidably receive a pedal mechanism adapted to slide back and forth along each rail. Each pedal mechanism includes a downwardly extendable paddle adapted to engage a water surface on which the watercraft is floating during a backward stride and to lift from the water surface on a forward stride, whereby a user can operate the pedal mechanism in each rail using an alternating walking or skiing motion. In an embodiment, each pedal mechanism is supported laterally by a front axle with a pair of wheels on either end of the front axle engaging the parallel rails. In another embodiment, each pedal mechanism is attached.