IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0158047
(2011-06-10)
|
등록번호 |
US-8777680
(2014-07-15)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
2 인용 특허 :
8 |
초록
▼
A kit for conversion of a snowmobile for use as a personal watercraft by replacement of the skis with steerable flotation ‘device’ and addition of outrigger flotation ‘device’ to suspend the track in the water while providing flotation to the chassis, along with the flotation provided by the steerab
A kit for conversion of a snowmobile for use as a personal watercraft by replacement of the skis with steerable flotation ‘device’ and addition of outrigger flotation ‘device’ to suspend the track in the water while providing flotation to the chassis, along with the flotation provided by the steerable flotation ‘device’. The kit installs to the snowmobile without removing the track or engine drive, and without interference with operator control systems. Wheels may be included in keels of some hulls to allow for ease of access and egress from water to land.
대표청구항
▼
1. A conversion kit to convert a tracked recreational snow vehicle into a personal watercraft for accommodating a passenger, the vehicle having a front, a rear, two sides, a track, a steering system, vehicle suspension, a tunnel having two sides and a plurality of holes, and at least one ski, the co
1. A conversion kit to convert a tracked recreational snow vehicle into a personal watercraft for accommodating a passenger, the vehicle having a front, a rear, two sides, a track, a steering system, vehicle suspension, a tunnel having two sides and a plurality of holes, and at least one ski, the conversion kit comprising: a. At least one front flotation device to replace the at least one ski to provide buoyancy to the front of the vehicle as well as to provide steering while the vehicle is in motion;b. A set of rear flotation devices for mounting to the vehicle, the rear flotation devices being mountable rearward of the at least one front flotation device, to provide buoyancy to the rear of the vehicle while leaving at least a portion of a lower part of the track in contact with the water when the vehicle is waterborne, in order that the track is operable to power the vehicle's motion through and over the water; andc. mounting brackets and at least one arm for the rear flotation devices, the mounting brackets being attachable to the tunnel via the holes using the at least one arm, the at least one arm having attached thereto the set of rear flotation devices, the rear flotation devices being parallel to each other and aligned longitudinally with the front-to-rear axis of the vehicle, and the at least one arm being threaded through the track and the vehicle suspension before being attached to the rear flotation devices and the vehicle near the bottom of the tunnel, and the distance between the tunnel and the bottom of the rear flotation devices is adjustable. 2. The kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one front flotation device is equipped with one or more integrated or removable wheels in the at least one front flotation device's lower-most part for amphibious operation, or for ease of loading and unloading the vehicle to and from the water. 3. The kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one front flotation device is pointed at its front-most end, and is of any hydrodynamically useful hull shape or form. 4. The kit of claim 1 further comprising at least one mounting bracket for the at least one front flotation device, wherein the at least one ski is attached to the steering system by mounting elements, and the at least one mounting bracket is designed to be compatible with the mounting elements. 5. The kit of claim 1 where means are included on the at least one arm and/or additional holes are included in the sides of the tunnel, for adjusting the distance between the tunnel and the bottom of the rear flotation devices to adjust the angle of attack of the vehicle and its disposition in the water when idle and in use under powered motion. 6. The kit of claim 1 wherein the at least one arm is made of 2″×2″ square aluminum tubing, or of any other suitable material or dimension. 7. The kit of claim 1 where the attaching of the rear flotation devices to the vehicle is accomplished by welding a plate to each side of the at least one arm, the plates spaced to be directly beside the inside vertical wall of the tunnel, one per side, to be bolted to the tunnel through holes in the plates which mate with holes in the tunnel. 8. The kit of claim 1 wherein the front and rear flotation devices are all the same size. 9. The kit of claim 1 wherein the front and rear flotation devices are of different sizes. 10. The kit of claim 1 wherein the front and rear flotation devices each have a hull which is made using any suitable means of making boat hulls. 11. The kit of claim 10 where the hulls are made by thermally setting a plastic to match a mold of the hull's shape, filling the thermally set plastic hull shape with suitable foam, making an upper or lid part of suitable material to seal to the hull shape's upper and outer edges, to provide structural rigidity to the device itself, and to provide mounting points for the hardware by which the device is to be attached to the vehicle. 12. The kit of claim 1 wherein at least one of the front and rear flotation devices has a non-slip top surface for at least a portion of its area. 13. The kit of claim 10 wherein the vehicle further comprises a motor, a passenger seat, and wherein when the kit is installed on the vehicle and when the vehicle is in operation, the vehicle is a watercraft whereby the rear flotation devices provide sufficient buoyancy to hold the vehicle sufficiently out of the water so that, at rest, the lower part of the vehicle's track is in the water and the motor, passenger seat, and passenger are out of the water; and when the vehicle is operated at speed over water, the hull shape of the rear flotation devices may plane or otherwise rise out of the water to some extent, which acts to raise the vehicle and its track with respect to the water's surface in a way which is controlled to keep the track in contact with the water in order to enable the track to provide propulsive power to the vehicle, and control is effected by the initial placement of the rear flotation devices with respect to the vehicle's track, its weight and the displacement of the hull of the rear flotation devices, and the amount of rise or vertical change in location of the front and rear flotation devices with respect to the water surface when the vehicle and hulls are moving in the water at various speeds. 14. A recreational vehicle converted to a personal watercraft through application of the kit of claim 1.
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