초록 ▼

A mounting assembly for a removable foil improves acceleration, maneuverability, and control of craft such as boats or rideable boards (surfboards, sailboards, and the like) and also reduces repetitive stress exerted on the hull by foil bending and torsion. An off-center ball-and-cup joint in the mo

A mounting assembly for a removable foil improves acceleration, maneuverability, and control of craft such as boats or rideable boards (surfboards, sailboards, and the like) and also reduces repetitive stress exerted on the hull by foil bending and torsion. An off-center ball-and-cup joint in the mounting allows the foil to yaw and roll within a limited range in response to changes in lateral fluid pressure. A resilient pad in the mounting then exerts a restoring force to return the foil to a neutral orientation as the lateral pressure equilibrates. An elastically deformable cushion on the base of the foil may contribute to the resilient adaptation while excluding ambient water from the mounting. Optionally, the entire assembly may be mounted in a translation cage that allows adjustment of the foil's longitudinal position. Variations on removable foils, and cushions for the bases of foils, have thickened trailing ends to reduce turbulence.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An interchangeable foil system, comprising: a removable foil comprising a tab protruding from a base, anda foil mounting assembly, comprising:a sleeve having a ball on an outer surface and a receptacle configured to receive the tab,a retainer extending within the receptacle and engage-able with t

1. An interchangeable foil system, comprising: a removable foil comprising a tab protruding from a base, anda foil mounting assembly, comprising:a sleeve having a ball on an outer surface and a receptacle configured to receive the tab,a retainer extending within the receptacle and engage-able with the tab,a socket containing the sleeve and the retainer in a chamber and seating the ball rotatably in a cup,a resilient pad between the sleeve and an inner wall of the chamber, anda lid confining the sleeve, the retainer, and the pad within the socket and having a slot through which the tab may enter the receptacle,where the tab is inserted through the slot into the receptacle in an insertion direction,where the retainer retains the tab in the receptacle until the tab is pulled in a direction opposite the insertion direction with at least a minimum removal force,where a lateral pressure on the foil when the tab is in the receptacle causes the sleeve to yaw and roll in the chamber as the ball rotates in the cup, andwhere the pad exerts a restoring force to return the sleeve to a neutral orientation as the lateral pressure subsides. 2. The system of claim 1, where the ball is located near an outer corner of the socket. 3. The system of claim 1, where the chamber, sleeve, foil base, and lid are configured to prevent the foil from pitching in response to fluid-dynamic pressure. 4. The system of claim 1, where ranges of the yaw and roll of the sleeve are determined by one of: a lateral clearance between an outer surface of the sleeve and an inner wall of the chamber,a lateral clearance between the tab seated in the sleeve and the slot in the lid,a compressibility or width of the base, anda clearance between the base and the hull. 5. The system of claim 1, where the tab comprises two posts and a torsion web between the two posts. 6. The system of claim 1, where the retainer holds the tab by compression, friction, or a combination of compression and friction. 7. The system of claim 1, where the retainer is integrated with the pad. 8. The system of claim 7, where the retainer extends into the receptacle through a port in the sleeve. 9. The system of claim 1, where the pad comprises one of an elastomer and a leaf spring. 10. The system of claim 1, where the pad is pre-loaded more strongly on one side of the sleeve than on an opposing side of the sleeve. 11. The system of claim 1, where the pad acts as a damping spring, resisting the sleeve more and more as it nears the limits of its allowed yaw and roll range. 12. The system of claim 1, where the pad includes a tongue that extends into the slot, and where the tongue is configured to prevent ambient water from entering the slot, the receptacle, or the chamber. 13. The system of claim 1, where the sleeve comprises one of a stiffening flange around a perimeter of the receptacle and a convex barrel extending from a vicinity of the ball. 14. The system of claim 1, where the socket is mounted in the hull. 15. The system of claim 1, further comprising a translation cage fixedly mounted in the hull, where the socket is mounted in the translation cage in an adjustable position and the lid confines the socket in the translation cage. 16. The system of claim 15, further comprising: socket teeth on an outer socket surface,cage teeth on an inner cage surface, anda removable fastener configured to anchor the socket to the cage with the socket teeth and the cage teeth meshed in any of a plurality of positions when the fastener is fully engaged. 17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a guide configured to guide the socket from one of the positions to another when the fastener is not fully engaged. 18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a thickened trailing end on the base or a tip of the foil configured to reduce turbulence aft of the foil. 19. The system of claim 1, further comprising an elastically deformable cushion covering the base of the foil, where the tab protrudes through the cushion. 20. The system of claim 19, where the cushion comprises a thickened trailing end configured to reduce turbulence aft of the foil. 21. The system of claim 20, where the thickened trailing end has a substantially squared-off shape, where the squared-off shape creates a low-pressure zone aft of the foil, andwhere the low-pressure zone increases laminar flow of fluid around the foil. 22. The system of claim 19, where a shape of the elastically deformable cushion adapts to changing flow speed and fluid pressure. 23. A method of improving the fluid-dynamic performance of a hull, the method comprising: coupling a foil to the hull with a mount comprising a ball-and-cup joint that allows the foil to yaw and roll through a limited range in response to lateral pressure from the ambient fluid, andproviding a restoring force in the mount that automatically returns the foil to a neutral orientation as the lateral pressure subsides. 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: incorporating the cup of a ball-and-cup joint in a socket,mounting the socket adjustably in a translation cage, andadjusting the position of the socket by at least partially disengaging a fastener,unmeshing socket teeth from cage teeth,moving the socket to a new position in the translation cage,meshing the socket teeth with the cage teeth in the new position, andfully re-engaging the fastener to anchor the socket in the new position. 25. The method of claim 24, where moving the socket comprises sliding the socket along a guide built into the translation cage. 26. A method of attaching a foil-mounting component to a hull, comprising: forming a cavity in the hull, where the cavity accommodates a portion of the component to be recessed in the hull with clearance for a liquid phase of a hardening material to flow around the component,cutting a transverse channel extending laterally into the hull from a periphery of the cavity,selecting a mounting angle by breaking, or electing not to break, a frangible peg on the component, where the frangible peg provides a point of contact between the component and the hull,inserting the component into the cavity,injecting the liquid phase of the hardening material into at least part of the cavity and at least part of the transverse channel, andhardening the hardening material to form a rigid structure bonding the component into the cavity and comprising a reinforcing vane formed by the portion of the hardening material in the transverse channel.