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US 5,178,086 AGranted
High performance sail construction
OwnerThomas D. Rossinventor
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OwnerThomas D. Rossinventor
Estimating the term…
High performance sail craft operate in high apparent wind velocities which induce high aerodynamic loads into the said surface. This invention provides a light weight sail construction that resists deformation of the sail surface caused by high aerodynamic loads. The sail construction consists mainly of ribs permanently affixed to the sail surface to stretch the sail material. Each rib in the sail provides the required amount of stretch in the sail material to eliminate stretch folds in the sail surface. Each rib in the sail has the stiffness or resistance to flexure varying along its length to control the sail surface curvature thereby providing a low drag airfoil for high speed sailing. A double surface sail construction is provided wherein each sail surface consists of the aforemention sail construction. A parabolic nose forms the leading edge of the double surface sail to provide smooth air flow entry. The rearward end of each sail surface is joined to form the sail trailing edge. Water drain passages are provided at the trailing and foot of the double surface sail.
A sail having sail material with a leading edge and trailing edge, a rib having a front end and rear end, first holding means fixed adjacent the leading edge to hold the front end of the rib, second holding means fixed adjacent the trailing edge to hold the rear end of the rib, said front end of the rib being held by said first holding means against forward movement, said rear end of the rib being held by said second holding means against rearward movement, said rib being under compression between said first holding means and said second holding means stretching said sail, said rib being adhered to said sail.
A sail having a leading edge at its front and a trailing edge at its rear with a desired three-dimensional shape when mounted on a mast, said sail having sail material and ribs, said sail material being pre-stretched between forward and rearward ends and adhered to a plurality of ribs extending from the forward end of the sail material to the rearward end of the sail material, each of said ribs being adhered to said sail material to maintain a desired curvature to the sail material forming the sail.
A sail construction having a double sail surface comprising a first sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear with a desired three-dimensional shape when mounted on a mast, a second sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear with a desired three-dimensional shape when mounted on a mast, said first and second sails having sail material and ribs, said sail material being pre-stretched between forward and rearward ends and adhered to a plurality of ribs extending from the forward end of the sail material to the rearward end of the sail material, each of said ribs being adhered to said sail material to maintain a desired curvature to the sail material forming the first sail and second sail, a mast, flexible means connecting each of said first and second sails having slidable contact with said mast, the forward edge of each first and second sail being connected to opposite sides of said flexible means, the rearward ends of said first and second sails being connected.
A method of affixing a rib to a sail at a location between the (1) leading edge of the sail, and (2) trailing edge of the sail, wherein the space between the fixing points of the sail is less than the space between the fixing points of the rib:
A sail having sail material with a leading edge and trailing edge, ribs having a front end and rear end, a rivet and first plate means fixed adjacent said leading edge to secure the front end of each rib preventing forward and rearward motion of each rib relative to said leading edge, a rivet and second plate means fixed adjacent said trailing edge to secure the rear end of each rib preventing forward and rearward motion of each rib relative to said trailing edge, each rib being under compression between said rivet and said first plate means and said rivet and said second plate means stretching said sail, and means fixedly holding said ribs to the sail along its length where it contacts said sail.
A sail construction having a double sail surface comprising a first sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear, a second sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear, said first and second sails each having sail material with a leading edge and trailing edge, ribs for said first sail and second sail having a front end and rear end, a rivet and first plate means fixed adjacent each leading edge to secure the front end of each rib preventing forward and rearward motion of each rib relative to said leading edge, a rivet and second plate means fixed adjacent each trailing edge to secure the rear end of each rib preventing forward and rearward motion of each rib relative to said railing edge, each rib being under compression between its rivet and first plate means and its rivet and second plate means stretching said sail, means fixedly holding said ribs to the sail along its length where it contacts said sail, a mast, flexible members connecting each of said first and second sails having slidable contact with said mast, the forward edge of each of said first and said second sails being connected to the opposite sides of said flexible members, the rearward ends of said first and said second sails being connected, an upper and lower flexible leading edge member is adhered to said mast, an upper and lower luff sleeve, wherein one edge of said upper and lower luff sleeve is fixed to the forward edge of said first sail and the other edge of said upper and lower luff sleeve being fixed to the forward edge of said second sail, said upper and lower luff sleeves having slidable contact with said upper and lower flexible leading edge members.
A sail having a leading edge at its front and a trailing edge at its rear, said sail having said material and ribs, said sail material being pre-stretched between forward and rearward ends and adhered to a plurality of ribs extending from the forward end of the sail material to the rearward end of the sail material preventing relative motion between said ribs and said sail material.
A sail construction having a double sail surface comprising a first sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear, a second sail having a forward end at its front and a rearward end at its rear, said first and second sails having a leading edge at its front and a trailing edge at its rear, said first and second sails having sail material and ribs, said sail material being pre-stretched between forward and rearward ends and adhered to a plurality of ribs extending from the forward end of the sail material to the rearward end of the sail material preventing relative motion between said ribs and said sail material, a mast, flexible members connect each of said first and said second sails and have slidable contact with the mast, the forward edge of each of said first and said second sails being connected to the opposite sides of said flexible members, the rearward ends of said first and said second sails being connected, an upper and lower flexible leading edge member is adhered to said mast for making slidable contact with an upper and lower luff sleeve, one edge of an upper and lower luff sleeve is fixed to the forward end of said first sail and the other edge of an upper and lower luff sleeve is fixed to the forward end of said second sail.
A sail having a sail material with a leading edge and trailing edge, ribs having a front end and rear end, first holding means fixedly holding the front end of each rib to the leading edge of the sail material, second holding means fixedly holding the rear end of each rib to the trailing edge of the sail material, each of said ribs being under compression between said first holding means and said second holding means, means fixedly holding said ribs to said sail material along its length where it contacts said sail material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.