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US 5,651,706 AGranted
Collapsible pontoon pedal boat
OwnerGary A. Kasperinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A watercraft comprising a body, two inflatable floatation members, a drive assembly, a steering assembly and a seat wherein the body portion of the watercraft is foldably collapsible from an operative configuration to a transportable configuration. When in its transportable configuration, the watercraft body forms a compact storage case adapted to accommodate all of the elements of the watercraft for easy and convenient transportation. The storage case generally includes a first compartment wherein the drive assembly and seat are stored and a second compartment accommodating the floatation members and other miscellaneous components of the watercraft.
Claims20
A watercraft collapsible from an operative configuration to a compact, transportable configuration, said watercraft comprising:
- a body including front, center and rear sections, said front and rear sections pivotally connected to said center section and rotatable substantially one hundred eighty degrees relative to said center section from a first position wherein said body forms a deck when said watercraft is in said operative configuration to a second position wherein the front, center, and rear sections are disposed in a substantially stacked arrangement whereby said body forms a storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable configuration;
- at least two inflatable floatation members connected to said body, said floatation members being containable within said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable configuration;
- a drive assembly removably connected to said front section of said body when said watercraft is in said operative configuration and containable within said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable configuration;
- and
- a steering assembly connected to said body when said watercraft is in said operative configuration and containable within said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable configuration.
2 more elements
A watercraft collapsible from an operative position to a transportable position, said watercraft comprising:
- a body including a front section, a center section and a rear section, said front section and said rear section pivotably connected to said center section and movable from a first position wherein said body forms a deck to a second position wherein said body forms a storage case having a first compartment formed by said front and center sections and a second compartment formed by said rear and center sections, said front section including a platform having an opening;
- two inflatable floatation members separated by and connected to said center section, said floatation members removably coupled to said front and rear sections when said watercraft is in said operative position, said floatation members contained within said second compartment of said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable position;
- a drive assembly including a pedal apparatus and a propeller coupled to a drive assembly housing for rotation relative thereto, said pedal apparatus operative to rotate said propeller, said drive assembly removably disposed within said opening in said front section when said watercraft is in said operative position, said drive assembly contained within said first compartment of said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable position;
- means for steering said watercraft including a rudder pivotably connected to said body;
- and
- a seat connected to said center section of said body, said seat contained within said first compartment of said storage case when said watercraft is in said transportable position.
3 more elements
A pedal powered drive mechanism for use in a collapsible watercraft, said drive mechanism comprising:
- a housing,;
- a first drive pulley rotatably coupled to said housing, said first drive pulley having an axis of rotation, an entrance point and an exit point;
- a pedal assembly rotatably coupled to said housing and operative to rotate said first drive pulley;
- a propeller rotatably coupled to said housing by a propeller shaft;
- a driven pulley coupled to said propeller shaft for rotatably driving said propeller, said driven pulley having an axis of rotation substantially perpendicular to said axis of rotation of said first drive pulley, said driven pulley having an entrance point and an exit point, said exit point of said driven pulley substantially aligned with said entrance point of said first drive pulley;
- an idler pulley coupled to said housing for rotation relative thereto, said idler pulley having an entrance point, an exit point, and an axis of rotation forming an acute angle relative to the axis of rotation of each of said first drive pulley and said driven pulley, said entrance point of said idler pulley substantially aligned with said exit point of said first drive pulley, said exit point of said idler pulley substantially aligned with said entrance point of said driven pulley;
- a first drive belt contacting said idler pulley and rotatably coupling said first drive pulley and said driven pulley;
- and
- a second drive belt, said pedal assembly further including a second drive pulley and wherein said first drive pulley includes a reduced radius pulley and an enlarged radius pulley, said enlarged radius pulley having an entrance point and an exit point wherein said entrance point of said first drive pulley is the entrance point of said enlarged radius pulley and said exit point of said first drive pulley is the exit point of said enlarged radius pulley, said second drive belt coupling said second drive pulley and said reduced radius pulley.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.