Hydrofoil to be fastened to a watersports board

Abstract

A hydrofoil (1) includes a mast (2), with an incoming flow edge (3), a discharge edge (4), lateral surfaces (5) and an upper mast end (6) with a holder (7) to be fastened to a watersports board. A fuselage (8) has front (10) and rear wings (11) are arranged on opposite sides. The mast and the fuselage are configured as separate components and are connected to one another via a screw connection (12). An adapter (13) is connected to the mast and to the fuselage and is arranged in a recess (14) of the fuselage. A positive locking is established between an adapter outer surface (15) and the recess of the fuselage. An adapter mount (16) receives a lower mast end (9). A positive locking is formed between the mast and the adapter such that the lower mast end is arranged within the fuselage.

Claims

1. A hydrofoil to be fastened to a watersports board, the hydrofoil comprising: a mast comprising an incoming flow edge, a discharge edge, lateral surfaces connecting the incoming flow edge and a discharge edge, an upper mast end with a holder configured to be fastened at least indirectly to the watersports board, and a lower mast end; a fuselage fastened to the lower mast end, the fuselage having a central longitudinal axis located at least nearly in a plane defined by the incoming flow edge and the discharge edge of the mast; respective front and rear wings arranged on opposite sides of the mast at the fuselage, wherein the mast and the fuselage are configured as separate components and are connected to one another via a screw connection, the mast is configured as an extruded section and the fuselage has a recess; and an adapter arranged in the recess of the fuselage and connected to the mast and to the fuselage, wherein: a positive locking is established between an adapter outer surface and the recess of the fuselage; and the adapter has an adapter mount into which the lower mast end is inserted, so that a positive locking is formed between the mast and the adapter such that the lower mast end is arranged within the fuselage.

2. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein a bonded connection is provided in at least some areas between the adapter and the mast, the lower mast end being in contact with the adapter.

3. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the adapter comprises a connection structure, which protrudes into the mast and is in contact in at least some sections with an inner wall of the mast, wherein a portion of the adapter is located between the lower end of the mast and the fuselage.

4. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 3, wherein a bonded connection is provided in at least some areas between the connection structure and the inner wall of the mast.

5. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the adapter comprises a plastic, the lower end of the mast being located between one portion of the adapter and another portion of the adapter.

6. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 5, wherein the plastic is reinforced with glass fibers and/or carbon fibers.

7. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 5, wherein the adapter is manufactured by plastic injection molding.

8. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the mast, the fuselage and/or the adapter comprise aluminum, manganese or carbon fibers, the lower end of the mast being located at a spaced location from the fuselage.

9. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the mast, the fuselage and/or the adapter have a protective coating in at least some areas.

10. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 9, wherein the protective coating is configured as an oxide coating prepared by anodic oxidation.

11. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 3, wherein the connection structure comprises at least one cuboid and/or cubic structural element, which is in contact with the inner wall of the mast in at least some areas within the mast.

12. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 3, wherein the connection structure has at least one circular cylindrical and/or oval cylindrical structural element, which is in contact with the inner wall of the mast in at least some areas within the mast.

13. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 3, wherein the connection structure comprises at least two structural elements, which are arranged in a row and which are in contact each with the inner wall of the mast in at least some areas within the mast.

14. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the screw connection comprises at least one flat head screw with internal hexagon and a complementary internal thread arranged in the mast, wherein a portion of the adapter extends beyond the lower end of the mast.

15. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein anti-seize paste is provided in the area of the screw connection.

16. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein an electrically non-conducting element and/or an electrically non-conducting layer is arranged between a screw of the screw connection and the fuselage.

17. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein the rear wing is bent upwards in at least some areas at both of ends about a surface thereof facing the mast, the mast being located at a spaced location from the fuselage.

18. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein a fin is arranged in the rear area of the fuselage.

19. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 1, wherein a fin, integrated into the rear wing, is arranged in the rear area of the fuselage.

20. A hydrofoil in accordance with claim 18, wherein the fin is directed upwards and the fin projects beyond a surface of the fuselage, which surface of the fuselage faces the mast.

21. A watersports board for wakeboarding, surfing and/or kitesurfing, the watersports board comprising: an underside; and a hydrofoil fastened on the underside, the hydrofoil comprising: a mast comprising an incoming flow edge, a discharge edge, lateral surfaces connecting the incoming flow edge and a discharge edge, an upper mast end with a holder configured to be fastened at least indirectly to the watersports board, and a lower mast end; a fuselage fastened to the lower mast end, the fuselage having a central longitudinal axis located at least nearly in a plane defined by the incoming flow edge and the discharge edge of the mast; respective front and rear wings arranged on opposite sides of the mast at the fuselage, wherein the mast and the fuselage are configured as separate components and are connected to one another via a screw connection, the mast is configured as an extruded section and the fuselage has a recess; and an adapter arranged in the recess of the fuselage and connected to the mast and to the fuselage, wherein: a positive locking is established between an adapter outer surface and the recess of the fuselage; and the adapter has an adapter mount into which the lower mast end is inserted, so that a positive locking is formed between the mast and the adapter such that the lower mast end is arranged within the fuselage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hydrofoil according to the present invention to be fastened to a foilboard for kitesurfing;

(3) FIG. 2 is a detail longitudinal sectional view through the area between the fuselage and the mast; and

(4) FIG. 3 is a detail cross sectional view through the connection area between the fuselage and the mast.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(5) Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a hydrofoil 1 configured according to the present invention in a perspective view. The hydrofoil 1 has a holding element 7, which is arranged at the upper end 6 of a mast 2 and is used to fasten the hydrofoil on the underside of a kiteboard or foilboard. The holding element 5 has in the outer area four holes, through which the screws can be passed and screwed in suitable threads in the board.

(6) In the use position of the hydrofoil 1, the mast 2 extends, starting from the holding element 7, in the vertical direction in the water. A fuselage 8 is arranged at the end 9 of the mast 2, the mast foot, which end is located opposite the upper end 6, and is fastened to the mast 2 by means of two screws, which are not shown in this view. The longitudinal direction of the fuselage 8 is directed in the direction of travel or in the direction of movement during the use. A front wing 10, also called frontwing, is fastened at the fuselage 8 at the front end of the fuselage 8. A rear wing 11 is arranged at the rear end of the fuselage 8.

(7) Such a hydrofoil ensures that a watersports board fastened to the hydrofoil is moved upward during travel on or through the water based on hydrodynamic forces and is thus lifted off from the surface of the water. Based on this movement, the area that is in contact with the water is considerably reduced on the basis of this movement, so that considerable traveling speeds can be reached at times with the watersports board even at low wind forces and/or with comparatively small sail or stunt kite areas.

(8) The technical feature of the hydrofoil 1, which is configured according to the present invention and is shown in FIG. 1, which technical feature is essential for the present invention, can be seen in the fact that the mast 2 and the fuselage 8 are configured as separate components and are connected to one another via an adapter 13, which is likewise a separate component. The adapter 13 is arranged here within a recess 14 in the fuselage 8, and a positive-locking connection is established between the recess 14 and the outer surface 15 of the adapter 13. Furthermore, the mast 2 is inserted into an adapter mount 16 of the adapter 13 such that the lower mast end 9 is located within the fuselage 8. Forces that are transmitted between the fuselage 8 and the mast 2 via the adapter 13 are thus transmitted via the positive-locking connections between the fuselage 8 and the adapter 13, on the one hand, and between the adapter 13 and the lower mast end 9, on the other hand. Comparatively large areas are thus obtained for the transmission of the forces and torques developing during the operation of the hydrofoil 1, and punctiform peak loads or stresses are ruled out at least to a great extent in the connection area between the fuselage 8 and the mast 2. Even though this cannot be seen in this view, the adapter 13 has a connection structure 17, which protrudes into the interior of the hollow mast 2 configured as an extruded aluminum section, and a positive-locking connection is in turn created between the connection structure 17 of the adapter 13 and the inner wall 18 of the mast 2. The mast 2 is thus held securely within the adapter 13 and contact areas are present both between the outer surface 21 of the mast 2 and the adapter 13 and also between the inner wall 18 of the mast 2 and the adapter 13.

(9) The mast 2 and the fuselage 8 are manufactured from aluminum, while the adapter 13 is an injection-molded plastic part in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The adapter 13, which is configured as an injection-molded plastic part and has a connection structure 17 protruding into the mast 2, is bonded via the connection structure 17 protruding into the interior of the mast 2 to the inner wall 18 of the mast 2. A permanent and reliable connection is established in this manner between the adapter 13 and the mast 2, so that the mast 2 can be separated together with the adapter 13 from the fuselage. The presence of an adapter 13, which is made of plastic, also has the advantage that there will be no direct contact between the mast 2 and the fuselage 8. Any possible damage to the surfaces during the assembly or disassembly can thus be avoided. It is likewise ensured that contact corrosion will not develop between the mast 2 and the fuselage 8, especially if these consist of different metals. This is significant, in particular, because the hydrofoil 1 shown is usually used in salt water, which markedly increases the risk of a contact corrosion between different metals.

(10) FIG. 2 shows the detail of a sectional view in the longitudinal direction of the connection area between the fuselage 8 and the mast 2 of a hydrofoil 1 configured according to the present invention. The mast 2 is configured here as an extruded aluminum section and is partially hollow inside, and the mast 2 has, in its interior, two tubular struts 22, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the mast 2 and have an internal thread each, for establishing a screw connection 12.

(11) Flat head screws with internal hexagon are screwed into these internal threads to fasten the fuselage 8 to the mast 2.

(12) It is essential for the present invention that the mast 2 is inserted into an adapter mount 16, and the lower end 9 of the mast is located within a recess of the fuselage 8 and hence within the fuselage 8. A transmission of forces between the fuselage 8 and the mast 2 consequently takes place based on the positive-locking connection in this area via a comparatively large contact surface between the adapter 13 and the fuselage 8. The adapter 13 also has a connection structure 17, which protrudes into the interior of the mast 2 and establishes a positive-locking connection there to the inner wall 18 of the mast 2, and a positive-locking connection is formed both between the connection structure 17 and the inner wall 18 of the mast 2 and between the connection structure 17 of the mast and the struts 22 extending vertically in the interior of the mast 2.

(13) The adapter 13 is arranged in a recess 14 of the fuselage 8 and a positive locking is obtained between the recess 14 and the outer surfaces of the adapter 13. The outer surfaces of the adapter 13 are beveled such that the adapter 13 has its smallest diameter at the lower end facing the fuselage 8, while the diameter increases continuously in the direction of the end of the adapter 13 facing the upper side of the fuselage 8. The adapter 13 is made of plastic, so that there is no direct contact between the mast 2 and the fuselage 8. Both the lower end 9 of the mast 2 and the recess 14 of the fuselage 8 are also reliably sealed by the adapter 13 against the surrounding area, above all against the sea water. It is ensured in this manner that no water can enter an area in which the screws of the screw connection 12 exit from the fuselage 8 in the interior of the fuselage 8. Further, the screws are sealed by means of an anti-seize paste against the surrounding area, so that no sea water can enter the thread area and hence a contact area of different metals via the area of the screw heads, either. This is especially significant because screws made of stainless steel are usually used for the screw connection, while an aluminum-containing material is preferably used for the fuselage 8 and/or the mast 2.

(14) FIG. 3 additionally shows a sectional view of the connection area between the fuselage 8 and the mast 2, the section extending in this case in the transverse direction of the fuselage 8. It can again be seen clearly that a positive locking is established by means of the adapter 13 both between the fuselage 8 and the adapter 13 and between the adapter 13 and the mast 2. The lower end 9 of the mast 2, which is located within the adapter mount 16 of the adapter 13, is thus held securely within the recess 14 of the fuselage 8, so that forces and/or torques are transmitted directly within the fuselage 8 between the mast 2 and the fuselage 8 via the adapter 13. It is essential here for the present invention that comparatively large areas are created, via which a transmission of forces and torques that occur takes place, so that increased area loads and stresses in individual areas are ruled out.

(15) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(16) 1 Hydrofoil 2 Mast 3 Incoming flow edge 4 Discharge edge 5 Lateral surface 6 Upper mast end 7 Holder 8 Fuselage 9 Lower mast end 10 Front wing 11 Rear wing 12 Screw connection 13 Adapter 14 Recess 15 Adapter outer surface 16 Adapter mount 17 Connection structure 18 Inner wall of the mast 19 Structural element 20 Bonded connection 21 Mast outer surface 22 Strut