Fluid outlet interface for personal watercraft, associated personal watercraft and propulsion system

Abstract

The invention relates to a fluid outlet interface for a personal watercraft, so that the latter can collect and divert a very small portion of the fluid pressurized by said vehicle and thus create a sufficient Venturi effect to drive the emptying of the bilge of said vehicle. The invention also relates to a personal watercraft, or more generally any floating device delivering a pressurized fluid, comprising such an interface.

Claims

1. An interface for cooperating with a fluid outlet of a personal watercraft pressurizing said fluid, said interface comprising: a front face arranged to cooperate with said fluid outlet; a rear face opposite the front face; a main opening extending through the interface from the front face to the rear face along a first axis, the main opening having dimensions and a shape compliant with dimensions and a shape of a section of said fluid outlet; a hole extending from the front face to the rear face substantially parallel to the main opening, wherein the hole has a varying diameter along a length thereof; a passage extending substantially perpendicular to the main opening, wherein the passage is in fluid communication with the main opening and the hole; and a fluid ejector coupled to the hole and extending from the rear face, wherein the ejector defines a convergent cone therein and a divergent cone concentric to the convergent cone.

2. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the passage includes a shoulder proximate to the main opening.

3. The interface according to claim 2, further comprising a grate affixed against the shoulder.

4. The interface according to claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the passage is threaded to receive one or more tightening screws therein.

5. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the ejector includes a tubular and hollow main body.

6. The interface according to claim 5, wherein the ejector is threaded to engage the hole.

7. The interface according to claim 1, wherein an inner wall of the ejector includes ribs.

8. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the divergent cone defines a height greater than a height defined by the convergent cone.

9. The interface according to claim 1, wherein a height defined by the convergent cone is substantially equal to a depth defined by the hole.

10. A personal watercraft, comprising: a hull; a fluid inlet; a pressurized fluid outlet; a bilge emptying system including an emptying pipe; and an interface including: a front face, a rear face opposite the front face, a main opening extending through the interface from the front face to the rear face coaxial with the pressurized fluid outlet, a hole extending from the front face to the rear face substantially parallel to the main opening and in fluid communication with the emptying pipe, and a passage extending substantially perpendicular to the main opening, wherein the passage is in fluid communication with the main opening and the hole.

11. The personal watercraft according to claim 10, further comprising a propulsion device in fluid communication with the pressurized fluid outlet, the propulsion device having a body arranged to receive a passenger.

12. The personal watercraft according to claim 11, further including a supply pipe coupled to the rear face of the interface and configured to deliver pressurized fluid to the propulsion device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other features and advantages will appear more clearly upon reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows an example of a propulsion device with a passenger, said device being supplied with pressurized fluid;

(3) FIG. 2 describes a PWC suitable for delivering a fluid pressurized by spinning a turbine via an outlet interface by means of a supply pipe;

(4) FIG. 3 describes a fluid outlet interface according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 describes a view of the front face of a fluid outlet interface according to the invention, said interface being connected to a connecting elbow for a supply pipe;

(6) FIG. 5 describes a view of the rear face of a fluid outlet interface according to the invention, said interface being connected to a connecting elbow for a supply pipe;

(7) FIG. 6 describes a cross-section of a fluid outlet interface according to the invention;

(8) FIG. 7 describes a partial view of a longitudinal cross-section of a fluid outlet interface according to the invention;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a fluid outlet interface according to the invention including an additional fluid ejector;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a cross-section of a fluid outlet interface according to the invention including an additional fluid ejector; and

(11) FIG. 10 describes a partial enlargement of the cross-section of an additional fluid ejector for a fluid outlet interface according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) Thus, the invention provides for adapting a fluid outlet interface of the PWC, so that the latter can collect and divert a very small portion of the fluid pressurized by the PWC and thus create a sufficient Venturi effect to drive the emptying of the bilge of said PWC. Such a solution may be used on any floating device, irrespective of whether it is able to carry a passenger, that may deliver a pressurized fluid to a third-party device. In the rest of this document, the terms “personal watercraft” or “PWC” encompass any floating device supplying pressurized fluid to a third-party device.

(13) According to FIG. 3, a first embodiment of an interface 100 according to the invention consists of a plate having a first face F1, called “front face”, designed to cooperate, for example fastened using bolts, with the fluid outlet of the propulsion means 32 of the PWC, like that described relative to FIG. 2. This front face F1 is therefore arranged to be pressed against said fluid outlet. The plate of the interface 100 includes a second face F2, called “rear face”, designed to cooperate, for example fastened using bolts, with the collector 34, like that described relative to FIG. 4. Said plate, said collector 34 or even elbow 36 or any intermediate additional element between said rear face F2 of the plate and a pipe for delivering the pressurized fluid, crossing through said plate, could constitute only one single entity that we will hereinafter encompass using the term “interface”.

(14) The rear face F2 could alternatively cooperate with a directional or power limiting means, in the form of a directional cone or steerable flaps. The interface 100 includes an opening Op substantially compliant with the configuration or shapes, and dimensions, of said fluid outlet of the compression means 32 of the PWC. It generally has a circular section. The main opening could, however, the arranged to include front and rear faces with different sections, both in terms of dimensions and/or shape. The interface 100 may thus have a gradual transformation function for the fluid outlet section along its thickness. As an example, the front face F1 could have a circular section and the rear face could have an oval or oblong section. Irrespective of the arrangement of the main opening Op, on the periphery thereof, the interface 100 includes one or more secondary openings, or through holes, oriented along a normal shared by the faces F1 and F2 of the interface 100. These secondary openings may preferably be oblong so as each to receive a fastening bolt, or equivalent fastening means, to affix the interface 100 against the fluid outlet of the propulsion means of the PWC.

(15) In order to collect part of the fluid pressurized by the PWC and thus create a particularly clever and effective Venturi ejector, the interface 100 includes, in its thickness, a recess 106 with a substantially oval or rectangular section. This recess 106 emerges within the main opening Op to form a collecting port 108 for collecting part of the pressurized fluid passing through said main opening Op. Such a collecting port 108 is described relative to FIG. 4 showing an enlargement of the inner wall of the main opening Op of the interface 100 when the latter cooperates, as one non-limiting example, with a conical collector 34 and an elbow 36.

(16) Such a recess 106 may be defined as the resultant of a first through hole in the main opening Op, the section of which is that of the collecting port 108, and a second blind hole, with a section concentric to the section of the first through hole and the dimensions of which are larger than those of said section of the first through hole, the two holes being arranged from the outer wall of the interface 100. Such a recess 106 thus has a shoulder E as described relative to FIG. 7. The latter describes an enlargement of the longitudinal section of the interface 100, i.e., along the plane of symmetry of said recess normal to the axis of revolution of the main opening Op. The dimensions of the port 108 are thus preferably smaller than those of the section of the recess 106 on the periphery of the interface 100.

(17) In this way, the invention provides that a grate 104, arranged to filter any bodies ingested by the propulsion means of the PWC, can advantageously be affixed against the shoulder E to preserve the flow of fluid penetrating via the collecting port 108, as indicated in FIG. 3. The grate 104, which is substantially planar, may advantageously be arranged to have dimensions substantially similar to those of a section of the recess 106 upstream from the shoulder E.

(18) As indicated in FIG. 3, the recess 106 may be pierced-tapped and blind 110 from the outer wall of the interface 100 to receive one or more tightening screws 102. The respective lengths of said screws will advantageously be adjusted and determined so that they pass through an occluder plate 105, with dimensions larger than those of the section of the recess 106, and bear against the grate 104, tightly mount said occluder plate and the grate against the outer wall of the interface and the shoulder E, respectively. The occluder plate 105 thus makes it possible to close the recess 106 and ensure the tightness thereof on the side of the outer wall of the interface 100.

(19) As indicated by FIGS. 3 and 6, the interface 100 further includes a through hole 107 along a normal shared by the front F1 and rear F2 faces and passing through the recess 106. This hole makes it possible to establish two new recesses or bores respectively emerging on said front F1 and rear F2 faces. The recess emerging on the front face F1 is provided advantageously to include a circular section with a diameter d1 smaller than that d2 of the circular section of the second through recess of the rear face F2.

(20) The diameter d1 is advantageously adjusted to be substantially identical to that of the distal part of the pipe 103 of the bilge emptying system of the PWC, with inner diameter d3. Said pipe 103 advantageously emerges from the hole 107 at the rear face F2. Alternatively, the element 103 consists of a substantially cylindrical adapter, the distal part of which, emerging from the front face F1, includes ribs provided to cooperate with the inner wall of said pipe of the emptying system, said pipe being comparable to a hose with a constant section.

(21) The mutual arrangement of the recess 106 and the hole 107 thus makes it possible, after inserting the end of the pipe or adapter 103 into said hole 107 from the front face F1 of the interface 100, to create a flow of pressurized fluid, from the collecting port 108, along the recess 106, within the hole 107 emerging from the rear face F2 of the interface 100. In fact, in light of the outer diameter d1 of the emptying pipe 103 and the diameter d2 of the section of the hole 107 emerging from the rear face F2, an annular interstice 200i, in the vicinity of one to two millimeters thick, is arranged or left free, between the outer wall of the emptying pipe 103 and the wall of the interface forming the hole 107, to eject said flow. Such a fluid creates a sufficient vacuum to suction the content of the emptying pipe 103, the distal part of which is flush with the rear face F2 of the interface 100, and therefore the fluid obstructing the bilge of the PWC, if the proximal part of said emptying pipe 103 is positioned at the bilge bottom of said PWC. This is in particular the case if said emptying pipe 103 is a pipe of the original bilge emptying system of the PWC. A Venturi ejector is thus created at the interface 100.

(22) The invention further provides that a plurality of recesses 106-107 can be arranged to connect a plurality of pipes 103, respectively.

(23) This first embodiment with a Venturi ejector at the interface 100 procures a particularly high-performing emptying system. It is thus possible to observe a suction in the vicinity of one thousand liters per hour, which makes it possible to maintain an unobstructed PWC bilge.

(24) Such an arrangement may lose some of its efficiency when the recess 107 does not constantly emerge below the float line of the PWC. In fact, such an ejector has its best output when the hole 107 emerging from the rear face F2 of the interface 100 is submerged. Based on the movements of the PWC on the surface of the water or along the waves, the hole 107 may emerge.

(25) The invention provides an alternative embodiment of an interface including a fluid ejector to resolve this drawback and thus maintain optimal output irrespective of whether the hole 107 emerging from the rear face is submerged. According to this alternative, an additional fluid ejector is positioned on the end of the hole 107 emerging from the rear face F2 of the interface 100. Such an additional device 200 is illustrated by FIGS. 8 to 10.

(26) Thus, FIG. 8 has a fluid outlet interface 100 according to the invention including said additional fluid ejector 200. The latter advantageously includes a tubular and hollow main body. Its length is predetermined and suitable for the desired performance. As one non-limiting example, such a length is approximately eight centimeters to procure an effective fluid ejection for emptying a bilge of a PWC. The proximal part of the additional ejector 200 cooperates with the rear face F2 of the interface 100, along a normal thereto, and with the orifice of the through hole 107. To fasten the additional ejector 200 on the interface 100, the wall forming said hole 107 is advantageously tapped. The outer proximal part of said ejector 200 is threaded to cooperate with the tapped wall forming said hole 107. Other fastening methods for fastening the additional ejector 200 on the rear face F2 of the interface 100 could be considered. The two elements could alternatively form a single and same entity.

(27) FIG. 9 describes a cross-section of a fluid outlet interface 100 according to the invention and including an additional fluid ejector 200, in a plane comprising the axis of revolution of said additional ejector 200. According to this FIG. 9, the ejector 200 includes an insert cooperating with the proximal part of the ejector 200. The outer proximal part emerging from said insert is threaded to cooperate with a wall forming the hole 107, when the latter is tapped beforehand. The section of the inner wall of the insert may be constant. However, in order to improve the performance of the interface 100 according to the invention, the proximal part of the insert may have an inner wall describing a convergent cone 201. Furthermore, the distal part 203 of the emptying pipe or the adapter 103 is advantageously flared to describe a divergent cone. This distal part may result from the use of a coupler, for example made from a non-oxidizable material, cooperating with the element 103 and flush with the rear face F2 of the interface 100 within the recess 107. The convergent cone 201 is advantageously arranged and sized to surround the distal part 203 of the emptying pipe 103. This mutual arrangement of the elements 203 and 201 makes it possible to arrange an annular interstice 200i within which the fluid, coming from the collecting port 108, flows. The latter flows between the outer wall of the distal part 203 of the emptying pipe 103 and the outer wall of the proximal part 201 of the insert. The thickness of said interstice 200i decreases when the fluid comes closer to the rear face F2 of the interface 100, in order to accelerate said fluid and favor its ejection. The insert, within the additional ejector 200, may furthermore be arranged to describe an inner wall in the form of a divergent cone 201. Said insert thus advantageously describes two parts: a proximal part in the form of a convergent cone, and a distal part in the form of a divergent cone. However, the arrangement of the insert is such that its inner wall does not have any marked discontinuity or shoulder. The height of the divergent cone 202 is advantageously greater than that of the convergent cone 201. The latter is substantially equal to the depth described by the hole 107 when the latter passes through the rear face F2 to emerge in the pipe 106. The height of the cone 202 is determined to gradually reduce the speed of the ejected fluid. As a non-limiting example, said heights are in the vicinity of ten millimeters for the cone 201 and 30 millimeters for the cone 202, when the main body of the ejector 200 has a length of approximately twenty-four millimeters. Other dimensions may, however, be used. To avoid any pressure loss, the divergent cone 202 emerges, at its distal part, against the inner wall of the cylindrical main body of the ejector 200. In other words, the inner end section of the insert is substantially equal to that of the inner wall of said body. To offer good adhesion of the insert within the cylindrical body of the ejector 200, the diameter of the section of the outer wall of said insert is substantially identical to that of the inner wall of the main body of the ejector 200.

(28) Surprisingly, if the inner wall of the main body of the additional ejector advantageously has ribs, i.e., has discontinuities 200c with repeated sections, the flow of the fluid coming from the insert is no longer laminar, but becomes turbulent. Jointly with the slowing effect of the cone 202, the asperities or ribs 200c cause filling of the distal part of the ejector 200, which delivers the ejected fluid, like a tap. On the one hand, the flow rate and section are maximized as a result, but above all, the inner distal part of the additional ejector 200 is kept filled with fluid, whether the latter is submerged or emerges from the water or fluid on which the PWC is traveling. Such an arrangement of the main body of the ejector may be likened to a sheath portion for electrical ducts that one wishes to embed in a partition. Thus, the main body of the additional ejector 200 may include, as indicated in FIG. 9, ribs 200c over its entire height, on its inner wall, or even on its outer wall. In order to increase the strength of said main body on the insert of the ejector 200, with the exception of the advantageously threaded proximal portion substantially corresponding to the inner cone 201 and cooperating with the wall forming a hole 107, the outer wall of said insert may include teeth 205 arranged to cooperate with the ribs or inner striations 200c of the main body of the ejector 200 as indicated in FIG. 10, the latter illustrating a partial enlargement of the cross-section of an additional fluid ejector 200 for a fluid outlet interface 100 according to the invention.