Command and control device for kites

Abstract

A command and control bar for a kite sail associated with two front cables connected to a user and two rear cables connected to the bar. The cables are connected at one end to the sail. An adjustment element to shorten/extend the rear cables is incorporated into the bar and can be controlled by the user without releasing the bar. A deflection system can be displaced parallel to the axis of the bar and is connected to a return element. The bar includes a locking element to lock/release the position of the deflection system along the bar, depending on the traction forces applied on the cables. The locking element is accessible to the user from outside the bar.

Claims

1. A command and control bar of a kite associated with two front cables and two rear cables, wherein the rear and front cables are configured to be connected at one end to the kite, the command and control bar has a substantially elongated cylindrical shape, the rear cables are connected to the command and control bar and the front cables are configured to be connected to a user; wherein the command and control bar comprises an adjustment element to shorten or extend the front or rear cables to vary an inclination or incidence of the kite, wherein the adjustment element to shorten or extend the rear cables are incorporated into the command and control bar so as to allow control with one hand of the user without releasing the command and control bar; wherein each rear cable is associated with a mobile deflection system that creates, for each rear cable, a cable strand of a variable length, the mobile deflection system is displaceable parallel to an axis of the command and control bar and connected to a return element; and wherein the command and control bar comprises a locking element configured to lock or release a position of the mobile deflection system along the command and control bar depending on traction forces applied on the rear cables, the locking element is accessible by at least one finger of the user from outside the command and control bar.

2. The command and control bar according to claim 1, wherein the return element comprises a gas lift cylinder or a return spring.

3. The command and control bar according to claim 1, further comprising a self-locking cylinder.

4. The command and control bar according to claim 1, further comprising a long element, one end of the long element is integral with the mobile deflection system and other end of the long element is connected to the return element.

5. The command and control bar according to claim 4, wherein the long element, the mobile deflection system, the cable strands of the variable length and the return element are arranged inside the command and control bar.

6. The command and control bar according to claim 4, wherein the locking element comprises a mobile male lug configured to be either in a locking position where the mobile male lug cooperates with openings or notches on the long element or in a retracted releasing position which allows the displacement of the long element.

7. The command and control bar according to claim 6, wherein the mobile male lug is connected by a transmission mechanism to a pushbutton controllable with a finger of the user from the outside of the command and control bar.

8. The command and control bar according to claim 4, wherein the long element is connected to the return element and to the deflection system by a respective pulley.

9. A device connected to a kite by at least one cable or line, the device configured to command and control said kite; wherein the device has a substantially elongated cylindrical shape and comprises an adjustment element to shorten or extend said at least one cable to stretch said kite or alter an inclination or incidence of said kite, wherein the adjustment element is incorporated into the device so as to allow control with one hand of a user without having to release the device; wherein said at least one cable is associated with a deflection system that creates a cable strand with a variable length, the deflection system is displaceable parallel to an axis of the device and is connected to a return element; and wherein the device comprises a locking element configure to lock or release a position of the deflection system along the device depending on traction forces applied on said at least one cable, the locking element is accessible by at least one finger of the user from outside the device.

10. An assembly of a kite, comprising at least one cable or line connecting the kite to a command and control bar according to claim 1.

11. An assembly of a kite, comprising at least one cable or line connecting the kite to the device according to claim 9.

12. The command and control bar according to claim 1, further comprising a strip, one end of the strip is integral with the mobile deflection system and other end of the strip is connected to the return element.

13. The command and control bar according to claim 12, wherein the strip, the mobile deflection system, the cable strands of the variable length and the return element are arranged inside the command and control bar.

14. The command and control bar according to claim 12, wherein the locking element comprises a mobile male lug configured to be either in a locking position where the mobile male lug cooperates with openings or notches on the strip or in a retracted releasing position which allows the displacement of the strip.

15. The command and control bar according to claim 14, wherein the mobile male lug is connected by a transmission mechanism to a pushbutton controllable with a finger of the user from the outside of the command and control bar.

16. The command and control bar according to claim 12, wherein the strip is connected to the return element and to the deflection system by a respective pulley.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be better understood in the light of the description below of illustrative but non-limitative examples by reference to the attached drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of a sail associated with four lines or cables connected a command bar;

(3) FIG. 2 is a top schematic view showing the bar and the four associated lines;

(4) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bar according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective cutaway view of a form of embodiment of the command bar according to the invention, with the cylinder and strip;

(6) FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are front views of the bar in FIG. 4 with the means to extend/shorten the rear cables in different positions;

(7) FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are simplified schematic drawings of the operating principle of the means for extending/shortening the rear cables;

(8) FIGS. 7A and 7B show an example of a mechanism for locking/releasing the strip in two positions;

(9) FIG. 8 is a detailed perspective view of the bar in FIGS. 3 and 4;

(10) FIG. 9 is a perspective cutaway view of an alternative embodiment, with a cylinder known as a self-locking cylinder, with no strip;

(11) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cylinder locking/releasing means included in the embodiment of FIG. 9;

(12) FIG. 11 is a perspective cutaway view of an alternative embodiment for FIG. 9, with a self-locking cylinder and pulleys with four deflections;

(13) FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C are simplified schematic drawings of the three forms of embodiment of the bar, of FIGS. 4, 9 and 11 respectively;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(14) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a convex sail 1 that is shaped like a parallelepiped or square, and is connected to a command bar 2, held by a user, who is not shown, through two front cables or lines 3 and 4 and two rear lines or cables 5 and 6.

(15) The lines or cables 3, 4, 5, and 6 have one end each connected to a respective corner of the sail 1. The ends 6A and 5A, opposite the sail 1, of the rear cables 5 and 6 are connected to the ends 2A, 2B of the bar 2. The ends 3A and 4A (opposite sail 1) of the front cables 3 and 4 are connected to a common central end 10 that passes close to or at the center of the command bar 2. Beyond bar 2, opposite the sail, the end 10 protruding from the bar is connected to a handle or ring, known as the dropping ring 10 A.

(16) In a known manner, depending on the wind speed and/or direction symbolized by the arrow V, the user holding the bar 2 modifies the length of the front cables 3 and 4, by example in the manner shown in FIG. 1 where the sail then is in the position represented in dotted lines and referenced 1A.

(17) Thus, the user can modify the leading angle of the sail in relation to the force of the wind, and thus adjust and control the sail traction power.

(18) The user can therefore move on the water, on a sailboard or the like, or on the land, on a buggy or the like.

(19) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the bar 2 of FIG. 1. The bar is connected to the sail 1 through the front cables 3 and 4, the ends 3A and 4A of which are connected to the common end L that goes through the command bar, and the rear cables 5 and 6, the respective distal ends 5A and 6A of which are fixed to ends 2A and 2B of the command bar 2.

(20) At the cruising speed of use, the user holds the bar 2 with their left 7 and right 8 hands, while a harness (known in itself and not shown) connects the bar 2 to the user, who is not shown.

(21) The bar according to the invention has a system for adjusting the length of the rear cables 5 and 6, which adjusts the power of the sail by shortening/extending said cables, where said system can be controlled by one of the hands of the user without releasing the bar. The front cables or lines are thus, in the described exemplary embodiment, fixed in length.

(22) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bar according to the invention with the elements described above, and the following additional elements: two bent end sleeves 2C and 2 D for routing the cables 5 and 6 respectively; two longitudinal threaded rods 2E and 2F penetrating in the bar 2 at the respective ends of the bar and designed for tightening/locking the ends of the bar; a radial sleeve 10 that creates a through passage for the common end L.

(23) The system according to the invention, for shortening/extending the cables 5 and 6, is placed inside the bar and has been described below by reference to FIG. 4, in a first stage, showing one embodiment.

(24) FIG. 4 shows the rear cables 5 and 6 and the front cables 3 and 4. The bar 2 according to the invention is made of a hollow cylinder in metal or composite material, and for example carbon, which is approximately 30 to 60 cm long with a diameter of approximately 20 to 30 mm. The bar is shown in FIG. 3, in a longitudinal section and cut away so as to show the inside.

(25) At its two ends, the bar has two closing sleeves 7 and 8 and a fixed sleeve 9 substantially at the center.

(26) The front cables 3 and 4 go through the bar 2, substantially at its center, through an opening 10A created in the bar 2, designed to receive the sleeve 10 (not shown) in FIG. 3, to route said cables beyond the bar, towards the harness (not shown) worn by the user. More precisely, the front cables 3 and 4 go through the bar in a duct (not shown to allow clarity) that guides them. The duct is placed diagonally on the bar at a notch demarcating the central opening 10.

(27) In the bar, the following are also provided: A slide 11 with a complementary shape adapted to move longitudinally in the bar; A longitudinal strip 12, made integral with said slide 11 and which is approximately 17 cm long, comprising a plurality of cylindrical and regularly spaced holes 13, 14 etc. on part of the length of the strip; A gas lift cylinder 15 comprising a cylinder body 16 inside which a piston 17 moves, the distal end of which is fixed to the central fixed sleeve 9; A fixed functional block 18, placed close to the opening 10 for routing the front cables and comprising a control mechanism 18 (detailed later on) for a lug 19 that can move diagonally, the end of which is adapted to go through one of the holes provided in the strip 12.

(28) The left-hand rear cable 5 goes through the extreme left sleeve 7 and onto a guide pulley, not shown, inside the bar 2, arranged inside the slide 11. The end of the left rear cable 5 is connected to the left end sleeve 7.

(29) Thus, inside the bar, the cable 5 forms two parallel strands 5A and 5B between the end sleeve 7 and the slide 11.

(30) The rear left cable 6 passes through the closing sleeve 8, then goes entirely through the bar from the inside and passes through a deflection pulley (not shown) with a diagonal axis provided in the closing sleeve 7. At the exit from that pulley, the cable forms a first strand 6A that passes around the other deflection pulley provided on the slide 11 and then forms a second strand 6B, the distal end of which is fixed to the end sleeve 7.

(31) The pulley provided in the slide 11 is thus common to the rear cables 5 and 6.

(32) The strip 12 is integral at its end 12B (opposite the end 12A integral with the slide 11) with the fixed central sleeve 9 through an additional cable or rope 20. That rope passes over a deflection pulley (not shown) with a diagonal axis and provided in a second slide 21 that is integral with the end of the cylinder 16 turned towards the end sleeve 8.

(33) The additional rope 20 thus comprises: a first strand 20A connecting the end 12 B of the strip 12 and the pulley of the second slide 21; a second strand 20B connecting said pulley or fixed central sleeve 9.

(34) The gas piston 15 is of a type known in itself and is adapted to apply, depending on the relative position of the piston rod 17 and the cylinder body 16, a return force on the strip 12. That is because the latter is connected, by the additional rope 20 with a fixed total length to a fixed point of the bar, that is to say the central sleeve 9.

(35) Reference is now made to FIGS. 5A to 5D showing the bar 2 of the FIG. 4 in four stages or positions of the mobile elements placed inside the bar, when the latter is being used associated with a sail.

(36) In FIG. 5A, the piston 17 is maximally extended. As a result, the second slide 21 is in its extreme position, that it so say resting against the end sleeve 8. That position corresponds to that in FIG. 3.

(37) In FIG. 5B, as a result of the traction forces applied by the sail (not shown) and thus on the rear cables 5 and 6, the two slides 11 and 21 are displaced towards the left of the figure. The first slide 11 thus leads to the displacement of the strip 12 to the left. When that happens, the strands 5A, 5B, 6A and 6B are shortened since the distance between the end sleeve 7 and the slide 11 is reduced.

(38) At the end of its range, the position shown in FIG. 5C is reached, where the slide 11 rests against the end sleeve 7 and the piston rod 17 is virtually totally retracted inside the cylinder body 16.

(39) The displacement of mobile elements inside the bar extends/shortens the rear cables 5 and 6, so as to adjust the behavior of the sail, and its power, inclination etc.

(40) Via the two deflection pulleys provided in the respective slides 11 and 21, it can be seen that a given extension/shortening distance D of the cables 5 and 6 leads to displacement d of the mobile elements of the bar that is such that d=D/4.

(41) That makes it possible to limit the dimensions of the bar, while providing cable extension/shortening amplitude that is appreciable and sufficient for the user.

(42) Reference is now made to FIGS. 6A to 6C, which schematically show the forces applied on the strip 12 and thus the cables 5 and 6. The additional rope 20/slide 21/gas piston 15 assembly is shown schematically by a spring, while the end sleeves 7 and 9 are symbolized by fixed fasteners.

(43) In FIG. 6A, a position known as the idle position is shown, that is to say that the intensity of the force FA applied by the gas cylinder 15 on the strip 12 is greater than the force GA applied by the rear cables 5 and 6 on the strip 12. The forces FA and GA are in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the base, but are in opposite directions.

(44) The lug 19 protrudes out and penetrates into the hole 13 of the strip 12, locking the displacement of the strip. The gas cylinder 15 thus applies a return force on the strip 12.

(45) If the user presses the pushbutton (not shown and described later on) of the control mechanism 18, associated with the lug 19, that makes the lug go back once again into the bar 12, thus releasing the strip 12 which can thus be displaced again.

(46) Because the intensity of the force FA is greater than the force GA, the strip thus moves to the right up to a balance position shown in FIG. 5B, where the strip is subjected to two forces FB (cylinder return) and GB (rear cables) of equal intensity in opposite directions.

(47) That situation is that of a sail configuration known as slightly hauled in.

(48) The user may, if they wish, re-engage the lug 19 so that it blocks the strip 12 in that balance position.

(49) If, on the contrary, the user's action is such that the lug 19 does not block the displacement of the strip 12, the forces applied by the rear cables become greater than the return force of the gas cylinder. The position shown in FIG. 5C is then reached, where the force GC applied on the strip by the rear cables is greater than the return force FC applied by the gas cylinder 15.

(50) In FIG. 6B, the strip 12 is balanced, because it is subjected to two forces FB and GB of the same intensity and in opposite directions, along the longitudinal direction of the bar. The balance position is reached when the user hauls in the sail slightly, that is to say when moderate tension is applied on the bar by the sail.

(51) FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective exploded views of part of the bar, showing the control mechanism 18 associated with the mobile lug 19 cooperating with the holes 13, 14 etc. of the strip 12, in order to lock or release its longitudinal displacement movement.

(52) Said control mechanism 18 comprises: a pushbutton 22 that is accessible from the outside of the bar through an opening; a diagonal compression spring 23; a small hydraulic cylinder 24 connected to said locking lug 19 to move the lug between a first active position (FIG. 7A) where it penetrates into one of the holes of the strip and a second retracted position (FIG. 7B) where it allows the strip to slide freely; a rod 25 connected to the spring 23 and the cylinder 24 adapted to command the cylinder by controlling the spring.

(53) The displacement axis of the locking lug 19 is substantially orthogonal, firstly with the displacement axis of the pushbutton 22 and secondly with the displacement plane of the strip. Thus, the user can control it with a thumb, from below the bar substantially facing the ground.

(54) FIG. 8 is a perspective cutaway view of a part of the bar in FIG. 4 particularly showing part of the cylinder 15 and the deflection system, the through sleeve 10 for routing cables, and the means for locking/releasing the strip (FIGS. 7A and 7B).

(55) FIG. 9 is a perspective cutaway view of the bar in another embodiment, with no strip, using a cylinder 150 known as a self-locking cylinder.

(56) The self-locking cylinder is maneuvered by the user via a cam mechanism 26 described below, connected to a pushbutton 22 associated with a compression spring 23 (similar to those of the embodiment of FIGS. 7A and 7B).

(57) FIG. 10 is a detailed view of the locking system 26 associated with the self-locking cylinder 150.

(58) The pushbutton 22 is integral with a rod 27 that can be displaced diagonally and provided with a bevel 28. A tab 29 is set against the bevel 28, wherein the tab itself is integral with a longitudinal arm 30 (passing before the sleeve 10) which is connected by a fork 31 to the piston 32 of the self-locking cylinder 150.

(59) When the user presses the pushbutton 22, the rod 27 is displaced, which leads to longitudinal displacement when the bevel 28 pushes the diagonal tab 29. That leads to the displacement of the cylinder piston 32 via the arm 30 and the fork 31.

(60) It is then subjected to the traction forces applied by cables 5 and 6, as shown schematically in FIG. 12B.

(61) The self-locking cylinder 150 is of the type known to those skilled in the art, and is known as self-locking in that the displacement of its inner piston remains blocked until releasing action is applied to the piston by means of the pushbutton as described above.

(62) When the user releases the pushbutton, the cylinder piston 32 is no longer subjected to the longitudinal displacement force (due to the movement explained above) and the piston is blocked once again.

(63) FIG. 11 is a perspective cutaway view of an alternative embodiment of FIG. 9, with a self-locking cylinder, and fitted with a system of pulleys with four deflections, 210 (near the fixed chamber of the cylinder 150) and 110 on the opposite side (beyond the sleeve 10) respectively.

(64) The configuration of FIG. 11 is shown schematically in FIG. 12C.

(65) FIGS. 12A, 12B and 12C are schematic illustrations of the three forms of embodiment of the bar, and the means for extending/shortening the cables, of FIG. 4 (cylinder and strip), FIG. 9 (with no strip and with self-locking cylinder) and FIG. 11 (with no strip, with self-locking cylinder and pulleys with four transmissions) respectively.