US20150056877A1

US20150056877A1 - Attitude reconstructing apparatus of air boat

Info

Publication number: US20150056877A1
Application number: US14/389,478
Authority: US
Inventors: Ko Sasaki
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-09-03
Filing date: 2012-09-03
Publication date: 2015-02-26
Also published as: WO2014033949A1; JPWO2014033949A1

Abstract

It is an object of the invention to realize an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which until a ship body in an overturn attitude is set to a rotational angle which is equal to or less than an overturn limit angle and is reconstructed to a normal attitude, a force in a reconstructing direction can be continuously made to act on the ship body and the ship body can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.

According to the invention, there is provided an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which a propeller for propulsion is attached to an engine mounted in an upward position of a rear portion of a ship body, wherein an expandable floating body is attached to a propeller guard covering the propeller and the apparatus has control means for controlling at least one of an expansion/contraction state and a setting state of the floating body so that a force in the reconstructing direction to make the ship body approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body in the overturn attitude.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat and, more particularly, to an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which an overturned ship body can be reconstructed to a normal attitude.

BACKGROUND ART

Among small ships, there is an air boat in which an engine is mounted at an upward position of a rear portion of a ship body having a flat ship bottom and a propeller for generating a propulsive force is attached to the engine. The air boat is also called an aero-propeller vessel because an aero-propeller is used for propulsion. Since there are no projections such as screw, rudder, and the like on the ship bottom, the air boat is suitable for use in a damp ground or marshland in which a depth of water is shallow.
In the air boat, since the engine having a large weight is mounted at the upward position of the rear portion of the ship body, a center of gravity is high, the ship bottom is flat, and a draft is also shallow. Therefore, an overturn limit angle is small. According to the ship such as an air boat or the like in which the overturn limit angle is small as mentioned above, when the ship body is rotated at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle, it is difficult to return the ship to the normal attitude. Therefore, an attitude reconstructing apparatus for reconstructing the ship body to the normal attitude has been proposed.
Among the attitude reconstructing apparatuses of a ship in the related arts, there is an attitude reconstructing apparatus in which an expandable floating body is mounted at a position over a center of gravity of a ship body, and when the ship body is rotated at an angle exceeding an overturn limit angle, the floating body is expanded by feeding a pressure gas therein, and a buoyancy of the floating body is made to act on the ship body, thereby reconstructing the ship body to a normal attitude. (The Official Gazette of JP-A-5-142381)

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

[PTL 1] The Official Gazette of JP-A-5-142381

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

According to the attitude reconstructing apparatus in the related art, the buoyancy of the floating body which has sunk under the water is made to act on the ship body in the overturn attitude and a force in the reconstructing direction adapted to make the ship body approach a normal attitude is made to act on the ship body. However, when the floating body floats to the surface of the water from a state where the floating body has sunk under the water and has reached the surface of the water, the floating body stops on the water surface without rising from the water surface into the air. Therefore, the force in the reconstructing direction to make the ship body approach the normal attitude cannot be made to act on the ship body any more.
Therefore, the attitude reconstructing apparatus in the related art has such a problem that the force in the reconstructing direction cannot be continuously made to act on the ship body until the ship body in the overturn attitude is set to the overturn limit angle or less and is reconstructed to the normal attitude, and the ship body cannot be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.
It is an object of the invention to realize an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which until a ship body in an overturn attitude is set to a rotational angle which is equal to or less than an overturn limit angle and is reconstructed to a normal attitude, a force in a reconstructing direction can be continuously made to act on the ship body and the ship body can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.

Solution to Problem

According to the invention, there is provided an attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which a propeller for propulsion is attached to an engine mounted in an upward position of a rear portion of a ship body, wherein an expandable floating body is mounted to a propeller guard covering the propeller and the apparatus has control means for controlling at least one of an expansion/contraction state and a setting state of the floating body so that a force in a reconstructing direction adapted to make the ship body approach a normal attitude is made to act on the ship body in an overturn attitude.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the invention, by controlling at least one of the expansion/contraction state and the setting state of the floating body so that the force in the reconstructing direction adapted to make the ship body approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body in the overturn attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction can be continuously made to act on the ship body, and the ship body can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a rear view of an air boat. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the air boat. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the air boat. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 4 is a system constructional diagram of an attitude reconstructing apparatus. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the air boat in a normal attitude. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 6 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to an overturn limit angle or less. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 7 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to the overturn limit angle. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle and a one-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 9 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated at 90°. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 10 is a rearview of the air boat in an overturn attitude in a state where it is rotated at 180°. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where an expansion of the one-side floating body is completed and a rotation is started in the reconstructing direction. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the one-side floating body has reached the surface of the water and an other-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 13 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the other-side floating body has reached the surface of the water. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 14 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it starts to rotate in such a direction that an arm is separated. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the overturn limit angle. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 16 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the overturn limit angle or less. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 17 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the normal attitude. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 18 is a rear view of the air boat in the normal attitude in a state where the other-side floating body is contracted. (Embodiment 1)

FIG. 19 is a rear view of an air boat. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 20 is a system constructional diagram of an attitude reconstructing apparatus. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 21 is a rear view of the air boat in a normal attitude. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 22 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle and a one-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 23 is a rear view of the air boat in an overturn attitude in a state where it is rotated at 180°. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 24 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the one-side floating body has reached the surface of the water and an other-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 25 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the rotation is continued in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the other-side floating body. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 26 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the overturn limit angle or less. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 27 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the normal attitude. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 28 is a rear view of the air boat. (Embodiment 2)

FIG. 29 is a system constructional diagram of an attitude reconstructing apparatus. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 30 is a rear view of the air boat in a normal attitude. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 31 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle and a one-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 32 is a rear view of the air boat in an overturn attitude in a state where it is rotated at 180°. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 33 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the one-side floating body has reached the surface of the water and a first other-side floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 34 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the rotation is continued in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the first to fourth other-side floating bodies. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 35 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the overturn limit angle or less. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 36 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the normal attitude. (Embodiment 3)

FIG. 37 is a rear view of an air boat. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 38 is an enlarged cross sectional view of an outer peripheral member portion taken along the line E-E in FIG. 37. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 39 is a system constructional diagram of an attitude reconstructing apparatus. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 40 is a rear view of the air boat in a normal attitude. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 41 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is rotated to an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle and a moving floating body starts to expand. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 42 is a rear view of the air boat in an overturn attitude in a state where it is rotated at 180°. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 43 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the moving floating body has reached the surface of the water. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 44 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where the rotation is continued in the reconstructing direction by the movement of the moving floating body. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 45 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the overturn limit angle or less by the movement of the moving floating body. (Embodiment 4)

FIG. 46 is a rear view of the air boat in a state where it is reconstructed to the normal attitude. (Embodiment 4)

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will be described hereinbelow on the basis of the drawings.

Embodiment 1

FIGS. 1 to 18 illustrate an embodiment 1 of the invention. In FIGS. 1 to 3, an air boat 1 has a ship body 2 having a quadrilateral plate shape which is longer in the front/rear direction than that in the width direction and in which a ship bottom is flat. A frame 3 is mounted to an upper surface of a rear portion of the ship body 2. The frame 3 is formed in a frame shape by a lateral member 4 extending in the width direction of the ship body and vertical members 5 extending in the front/rear direction of the ship body. A supporting base 6 is mounted at almost a center of the frame 3. An engine 7 is mounted to an upper portion of the supporting base 6. A propeller 8 for generating a propulsive force by pushing the air toward a rear side of the ship body 2 is attached to the engine 7.
A propeller guard 9 which covers the propeller 8 is attached to the frame 3. The propeller guard 9 has a pair of outer peripheral members 10 which are curved and projected upwardly in an inverse U-character shape so as to cover a rotational locus of the propeller 8. On one side in the ship body width direction, the pair of outer peripheral members 10 are constructed by: a one-side straight line portion 11A in a range from a lower portion to an intermediate portion; and a one-side curve portion 11B in a range from a front edge of the straight line portion 11A to a top portion. On the other hand, on the other side in the ship body width direction, the pair of outer peripheral members 10 are constructed by: an other-side straight line portion 12A in a range from the lower portion to the intermediate portion; and an other-side curve portion 12B in a range from a front edge of the straight line portion 12A to a top portion.
The pair of outer peripheral members 10 are arranged in parallel so as to sandwich the propeller 8 from the front and rear sides and are mutually coupled by a plurality of coupling members 13. The pair of outer peripheral members 10 are coupled with the frame 3 by a plurality of supporting members 14 extending to the rear side so as to cover the engine 7. In the propeller guard 9, a netlike guard fence 15 is attached to the outer peripheral members 10, coupling members 13, and supporting members 14 so as to cover the engine 7 and the propeller 8.
On a front side of the engine 7, a fuel tank 16 is mounted onto the frame 3 and a seat 17 is mounted over the fuel tank 16. Two rudders 18 are rotatably attached to a rear portion of the propeller guard 9. The two rudders 18 are communicated by a rudder link 19 and are operated in an interlocking relational manner. An idler arm 20 is attached to the rudder 18 on the other side in the ship body width direction. One end side of a linkage 21 is communicated with the idler arm 20. The other end side of the linkage 21 is extended forwardly through the other side in the ship body width direction of the engine 7 and is communicated with a rudder stick 22. The rudder stick 22 is mounted to the other side in the ship body width direction of the seat 17 mounted to the front side of the engine 7.
The air boat 1 drives the engine 7 by a fuel in the fuel tank 16 so as to rotate the propeller 8, thereby sailing. In the air boat 1, by operating the rudder stick 22 mounted to the other side in the ship body width direction of the seat 17, the two rudders 18 are steered, thereby adjusting the progressing direction.
The air boat 1 has an attitude reconstructing apparatus 23 for reconstructing the ship body 2 to a normal attitude by rotating the ship body 2 in an overturn attitude in a reconstructing direction C.
As illustrated in FIG. 6, “normal attitude” denotes a state where a rotational angle θ between a vertical line H and a center line S in the vertical direction of the ship body 2 is equal to “0”. As illustrated in FIG. 8, “overturn attitude” denotes a state where when the ship body 2 is rotated in the width direction, the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 exceeds an overturn limit angle θs. As illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 16, “reconstructing direction C” denotes a direction in which the rotational angle θ between the vertical line H and the center line S of the ship body 2 approaches “0”. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 10, “overturn direction D” denotes a direction in which the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 to the vertical line H is larger than “0”.
When the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs, the air boat 1 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by a reconstructing force of the ship itself and is reconstructed to the normal attitude. When the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 exceeds the overturn limit angle θs, the air boat 1 is rotated in the overturn direction D and enters the overturn attitude. When the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 exceeds the overturn limit angle θs, the engine 7 mounted in the air boat 1 is automatically stopped.
In the air boat 1, an expandable one-side floating body 24 and an expandable other-side floating body 25 are mounted to the pair of outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9. The one-side floating body 24 is mounted to the one-side curve portion 11B provided in the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral members 10. The other-side floating body 25 is mounted to the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral members 10.
In the pair of outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9, the one-side floating body 24 is attached to the one-side curve portion 11B existing in the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction. On the other hand, the pair of outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9 have a pair of arms 26 extending from the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion to the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion along the other side in the ship body width direction. The other-side floating body 25 is attached to an upper edge of each of the pair of arms 26.
The upper edge of each of the pair of arms 26 is rotated around a lower edge as a center by an actuator 27 mounted in a lower portion of the straight line portion 12A of the outer peripheral member 10. The actuator 27 has a driving mechanism 27B which is rotated by an electric motor 27A. A lower edge of the arm 26 is attached to the driving mechanism 27B. In the actuator 27, an upper edge of the arm 26 is rotated around the lower edge of the arm 26 as a center in such a direction that it approaches or is away from the outer peripheral member 10. A setting position of the other-side floating body 25 attached to the upper edge of the arm 26 can be changed in such a direction that it approaches or is away from the outer peripheral member 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, a pressure source 28 such as a compressed air bomb or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The pressure source 28 is connected to the one-side floating body 24 and the other-side floating body 25 by a one-side communicating passage 29 and an other-side communicating passage 30, respectively. A one-side switching valve 31 and an other-side switching valve 32 are provided for the one-side communicating passage 29 and the other-side communicating passage 30, respectively. A power source 33 such as a battery or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The power source 33 is connected to the electric motor 27A of the actuator 27 by a communicating electric path 34. A change-over switch 35 is provided for the communicating electric path 34.
The attitude reconstructing apparatus 23 has control means 36 for controlling at least one of an expansion/contraction state and a setting state of the one-side floating body 24 and the other-side floating body 25 so that a force in the reconstructing direction C adapted to make the ship body 2 approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. The one-side switching valve 31, other-side switching valve 32, and change-over switch 35 are connected to the control means 36. The control means 36 has detection means 37 which can detect the rotational angle θ in the ship body width direction of the ship body 2.
As will be described hereinbelow, the control means 36 switches the one-side switching valve 31, other-side switching valve 32, and change-over switch 35 on the basis of the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 which was detected by the detection means 37 and controls the expansion/contraction state and setting state of the one-side floating body 24 and the other-side floating body 25.
When the ship body 2 is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs, the control means 36 switches the one-side switching valve 31 so as to supply the pressure gas to the one-side floating body 24 from the pressure source 28 and to expand the body 24.
Subsequently, when the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 24 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 24 has reached the surface W of the water, the control means 36 switches the other-side switching valve 32 so as to supply the pressure gas to the other-side floating body 25 from the pressure source 28 and to expand the body 25.
When the ship body 2 is further rotated by the expansion of the other-side floating body 25 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the other-side floating body 25 has reached the surface W of the water, the control means 36 switches the change-over switch 35 so as to supply an electric power to the actuator 27 from the power source 33 and to rotate the arm 26 in such a direction as to be away from the outer peripheral member 10.
Further, when the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude, the control means 36 switches the other-side switching valve 32 so as to exhaust the pressure gas from the other-side floating body 25 and to contract the body 25.
Subsequently, the operation of the attitude reconstructing apparatus 23 of the air boat 1 will be described.
In the air boat 1, when some external force acts on the ship body 2 in the normal attitude shown in FIG. 5 and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D (clockwise in FIG. 6) by only the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°) as shown in FIG. 6, if the external force is extinguished, the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude illustrated in FIG. 5 by a reconstructing force of the ship itself. On the other hand, in the air boat 1, when the external force is not settled and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D to the overturn limit angle θs as shown in FIG. 7, the engine 7 is automatically stopped.
In the attitude reconstructing apparatus 23, when the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is detected by the detection means 37 and the ship body 2 in the state shown in FIG. 7 is further rotated in the overturn direction D to the rotational angle θ (for example, 60°) exceeding the overturn limit angle θs as shown in FIG. 8, the one-side switching valve 31 is switched by the control means 36, the pressure gas is supplied to the one-side floating body 24 from the pressure source 28, and an expansion is started.
The air boat 1 whose ship body 2 was rotated in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs is rapidly rotated in the overturn direction D from a state where the rotational angle θ is equal to 90° as shown in FIG. 9, and the overturn attitude enters a state where the ship body 2 has completely been overturned (180°) as shown in FIG. 10. At this time, the one-side floating body 24 which started the expansion at the stage of FIG. 8 mentioned above also continues the expansion for such a period of time.
As shown in FIG. 11, a buoyancy of the expanding one-side floating body 24 starts to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 10 and the reconstruction is started. At this time, the ship body 2 starts the reconstruction while a direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 11) to the side where the one-side floating body 24 is provided is set into the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 24, the one-side floating body 24 is perfectly expanded, and the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 24 has reached the surface W of the water as shown in FIG. 12, the other-side switching valve 32 is switched by the control means 36, the pressure gas is supplied to the other-side floating body 25 from the pressure source 28, and an expansion is started.
When the buoyancy of the expanding other-side floating body 25 acts on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 12 and the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (90°) at which the other-side floating body 25 has reached the surface W of the water as shown in FIG. 13, as shown in FIG. 14, the change-over switch 35 is switched by the control means 36, the electric power is supplied to the actuator 27 from the power source 33, and a rotation of the arm 26 in such a direction as to be away from the outer peripheral member 10 is started. By the rotation of the arm 26 in such a direction as to be away from the outer peripheral member 10, the force in the reconstructing direction C acts on the ship body 2 owing to the buoyancy of the expanding other-side floating body 25 attached to the upper edge of the arm 26.
As illustrated in FIG. 15, when the ship body 2 which is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the rotation of the arm 26 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 45°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs, the rotation in the reconstructing direction C is promoted by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. When the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°) as shown in FIG. 16, the ship body 2 continues the reconstruction to the normal attitude by the reconstructing force of the ship itself.
As for the rotating arm 26, at a point of time when the ship body 2 has been reconstructed to the normal attitude as shown in FIG. 17, as illustrated in FIG. 18, the other-side switching valve 32 is switched by the control means 36, the pressure gas is exhausted to a certain extent from the other-side floating body 25 so that the arm 26 sinks under the surface W of the water, thereby contracting the body 25. At this time, the control means 36 switches the change-over switch 35 and shuts off the electric power which is supplied to the actuator 27 from the power source 33, thereby stopping the rotation in a state where the arm 26 has sunk under the surface W of the water.
A person 88 fallen into the water from the air boat 1 can easily get on board by using the arm 26, as a clue, which has sunk under the surface W of the water since the other-side floating body 25 was contracted by exhausting the pressure gas to a certain extent from the other-side floating body 25.
As mentioned above, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 23 of the air boat 1, the pressure gas is sequentially supplied to the one-side floating body 24 and the other-side floating body 25 in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude, thereby expanding the bodies 24 and 25. The force in the reconstructing direction C is made to act on the ship body 2 by the buoyancies of the one-side floating body 24 and the expandable other-side floating body 25. Further, when the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the other-side floating body 25 has reached the surface W of the water, the arm 26 is rotated in such a direction as to be away from the outer peripheral member 10 and the force in the reconstructing direction C is made to act on the ship body 2 through the arm 26 by using the buoyancy of the other-side floating body 25 attached to the upper edge of the arm 26 as a prop.
Thus, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 23, until the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated to the rotational angle θ which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs and is reconstruct to the normal attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction C can be continuously made to act on the ship body 2 and the ship body 2 can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.
According to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 23, when the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude, by exhausting the pressure gas from the other-side floating body 25 to a certain extent and contracting the other-side floating body 25, the arm 26 to which the other-side floating body 25 has been attached can be made to sink under the water and can be used as a clue of the fallen person 88. The fallen person 88 can be easily got on board by the arm 26.
Since the one-side floating body 24 attached to the one-side curve portion 11B provided in the upper portion of the outer peripheral member 10 exists at the highest position of the ship body 2 reconstructed to the normal attitude, it plays a role of informing the person of the necessity of a rescue. Therefore, the one-side floating body 24 is set to a rescue color such as an orange color or the like.

Embodiment 2

FIGS. 19 to 27 illustrate an embodiment 2 of the invention. Since the air boat 1 of the embodiment 2 has a construction similar to that of the air boat 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the embodiment 1, its description is omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 19, according to an attitude reconstructing apparatus 38 of the air boat 1, an expandable one-side floating body 39 and an expandable other-side floating body 40 are mounted to the outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9. The one-side floating body 39 is mounted to the one-side curve portion 11B provided in the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the pair of outer peripheral members 10. The other-side floating body 40 has a length extending from the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion to the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion along the other side in the ship body width direction of the pair of outer peripheral members 10 and is mounted in the other-side straight line portion 12A and the other-side curve portion 12B.
As shown in FIG. 20, a pressure source 41 such as a compressed air bomb or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The pressure source 41 is connected to the one-side floating body 39 and the other-side floating body 40 by a one-side communicating passage 42 and an other-side communicating passage 43, respectively. A one-side switching valve 44 and an other-side switching valve 45 are provided for the one-side communicating passage 42 and the other-side communicating passage 43, respectively.
The attitude reconstructing apparatus 38 has control means 46 for controlling an expansion/contraction state of the one-side floating body 39 and the other-side floating body 40 so that the force in the reconstructing direction C adapted to make the ship body 2 approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. The one-side switching valve 44 and the other-side switching valve 45 are connected to the control means 46. The control means 46 has detection means 47 which can detect the rotational angle θ in the ship body width direction of the ship body 2.
As will be described hereinbelow, the control means 46 switches the one-side switching valve 44 and the other-side switching valve 45 on the basis of the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 which was detected by the detection means 47 and controls the expansion/contraction state of the one-side floating body 39 and the other-side floating body 40.
When the ship body 2 is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs, the control means 46 switches the one-side switching valve 44 so as to supply the pressure gas to the one-side floating body 39 from the pressure source 41 and to expand the body 39.
Subsequently, when the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 39 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 39 has reached the surface W of the water, the control means 46 switches the other-side switching valve 45 so as to supply the pressure gas from the pressure source 41 to the other-side floating body 40 having the length extending from the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion of the outer peripheral member 10 to the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion and to expand the body 40.
Subsequently, the operation of the attitude reconstructing apparatus 38 of the air boat 1 will be described.
In the air boat 1, when some external force acts on the ship body 2 in the normal attitude shown in FIG. 21 and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D (clockwise in FIG. 21) by only the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°), if the external force is extinguished, the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. On the other hand, in the air boat 1, when the external force is not settled and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D to the overturn limit angle θs, the engine 7 is automatically stopped.
In the attitude reconstructing apparatus 38, when the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is detected by the detection means 47 and the ship body 2 which was rotated to the overturn limit angle θs is further rotated in the overturn direction D to the rotational angle θ (for example, 60°) exceeding the overturn limit angle θs as shown in FIG. 22, the one-side switching valve 44 is switched by the control means 46, the pressure gas is supplied to the one-side floating body 39 from the pressure source 41, and an expansion is started.
The air boat 1 whose ship body 2 was rotated in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs is rapidly rotated in the overturn direction D from a state where the rotational angle θ is equal to 90°, and the overturn attitude enters a state where the ship body 2 has completely been overturned (180°) as shown in FIG. 23. At this time, the one-side floating body 39 which started the expansion at the stage of FIG. 22 mentioned above also continues the expansion for such a period of time.
A buoyancy of the expanding one-side floating body 39 starts to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 23 and the reconstruction is started. At this time, the ship body 2 starts the reconstruction while a direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 23) to the side where the one-side floating body 39 is provided is set into the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 39, the one-side floating body 39 is perfectly expanded, and the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 39 has reached the surface W of the water as shown in FIG. 24, the other-side switching valve 45 is switched by the control means 46, the pressure gas is supplied to the other-side floating body 40 from the pressure source 41, and an expansion is started.
When the buoyancy of the expanding other-side floating body 40 acts on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 24, since the other-side floating body 40 has the length extending from the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion of the outer peripheral member 10 to the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion, as shown in FIG. 25, even if the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is equal to or less than 90°, the buoyancy of the expanding other-side floating body 40 which is expanded under the water continuously acts and the ship body 2 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 which is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the buoyancy of the expanding other-side floating body 40 shown in FIG. 25 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 45°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs, the rotation in the reconstructing direction C is promoted by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. Further, as shown in FIG. 26, when the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°), the ship body 2 continues the reconstruction by the reconstructing force of the ship itself after that and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude as shown in FIG. 27.
As mentioned above, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 38 of the air boat 1, the pressure gas is sequentially supplied to the one-side floating body 39 and the other-side floating body 40 in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude, thereby expanding the bodies 39 and 40. When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction by the buoyancy of the one-side floating body 39 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the expanded one-side floating body 39 has reached the surface W of the water, the other-side floating body 40 having the length extending from the lower portion of the outer peripheral member 10 to the upper portion is expanded, and the force in the reconstructing direction is made to act on the ship body 2.
Thus, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 38, until the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated to the rotational angle θ which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs and is reconstruct to the normal attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction C can be continuously made to act on the ship body 2 and the ship body 2 can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude. As illustrated in FIG. 27, an expandable third floating body 39A having a length extending from the lower portion on one side in the ship width direction of the outer peripheral member 10 of the propeller guard 9 to the upper portion may be mounted, and by manually expanding the third floating body 39A after the reconstruction, such a situation that the ship body is overturned again can be prevented.

Embodiment 3

FIGS. 28 to 36 illustrate an embodiment 3 of the invention. Since the air boat 1 of the embodiment 3 has a construction similar to that of the air boat 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the embodiment 1, its description is omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 28, according to an attitude reconstructing apparatus 48 of the air boat 1, an expandable one-side floating body 49 and a plurality of expandable first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 are mounted to the outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9. The one-side floating body 49 is mounted to the one-side curve portion 11B provided in the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the pair of outer peripheral members 10. The plurality of first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 are sequentially arranged and mounted from the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion to the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion along the other side in the ship body width direction of the pair of outer peripheral members 10.
As shown in FIG. 29, a pressure source 54 such as a compressed air bomb or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The pressure source 54 is connected to the one-side floating body 49 and the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 by a one-side communicating passage 55 and first to fourth other-side communicating passages 56 to 59, respectively. A one-side switching valve 60 and first to fourth other-side switching valves 61 to 64 are provided for the one-side communicating passage 42 and the first to fourth other-side communicating passages 56 to 59, respectively.
The attitude reconstructing apparatus 48 has control means 65 for controlling an expansion/contraction state of the one-side floating body 49 and the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 so that the force in the reconstructing direction C adapted to make the ship body 2 approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. The one-side switching valve 60 and the first to fourth other-side switching valves 61 to 64 are connected to the control means 65. The control means 65 has detection means 66 which can detect the rotational angle θ bin the ship body width direction of the ship body 2.
As will be described hereinbelow, the control means 65 switches the one-side switching valve 60 and the first to fourth other-side switching valves 61 to 64 on the basis of the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 which was detected by the detection means 66 and controls the expansion/contraction state of the one-side floating body 49 and the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53.
When the ship body 2 is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs, the control means 65 switches the one-side switching valve 60 so as to supply the pressure gas to the one-side floating body 49 from the pressure source 54 and to expand the body 49.
Subsequently, when the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 49 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 49 has reached the surface W of the water, the control means 65 switches the first to fourth other-side switching valves 61 to 64 so as to supply the pressure gas from the pressure source 54 to the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 and to sequentially expand the bodies 50 to 53 from the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion of the outer peripheral member 10 to the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion.
Subsequently, the operation of the attitude reconstructing apparatus 48 of the air boat 1 will be described.
In the air boat 1, when some external force acts on the ship body 2 in the normal attitude shown in FIG. 30 and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D (clockwise in FIG. 30) by only the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°), if the external force is extinguished, the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. On the other hand, in the air boat 1, when the external force is not settled and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D to the overturn limit angle θs, the engine 7 is automatically stopped.
In the attitude reconstructing apparatus 48, when the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is detected by the detection means 66 and the ship body 2 which was rotated to the overturn limit angle θs is further rotated in the overturn direction D to the rotational angle θ (for example, 60°) exceeding the overturn limit angle θs as shown in FIG. 31, the one-side switching valve 60 is switched by the control means 65, the pressure gas is supplied to the one-side floating body 49 from the pressure source 54, and an expansion is started.
The air boat 1 whose ship body 2 was rotated in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs is rapidly rotated in the overturn direction D from a state where the rotational angle θ is equal to 90°, and the overturn attitude enters a state where the ship body has completely been overturned (180°) as shown in FIG. 32. At this time, the one-side floating body 49 which started the expansion at the stage of FIG. 31 mentioned above also continues the expansion for such a period of time.
A buoyancy of the expanding one-side floating body 49 starts to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 32 and the reconstruction is started. At this time, the ship body 2 starts the reconstruction while a direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 32) to the side where the one-side floating body 49 is provided is set into the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the one-side floating body 49, the one-side floating body 49 is perfectly expanded, and the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ at which the one-side floating body 49 has reached the surface W of the water as shown in FIG. 33, the first to fourth other-side switching valves 61 to 64 are switched by the control means 65, the pressure gas is supplied to the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 from the pressure source 54, and an expansion of the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 is started.
When the first other-side floating body 50 to which the pressure gas is supplied first is expanded to a certain extent in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2, the control means 65 starts to supply the pressure gas to the second other-side floating body 51. When the second other-side floating body 51 is expanded to a certain extent, the control means 65 starts to supply the pressure gas to the third other-side floating body 52. When the third other-side floating body 52 is expanded to a certain extent, the control means 65 starts to supply the pressure gas to the fourth other-side floating body 53. In this manner, the control means 65 sequentially expands the first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2.
A buoyancy of the first other-side floating body 50 which is expanded first acts on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 33, so that the ship body is rotated in the reconstructing direction C. Subsequently, a buoyancy of the second other-side floating body 51 which is expanded second acts on the ship body 2, so that the ship body 2 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C. After that, a buoyancy of the third other-side floating body 52 which is expanded third acts on the ship body 2, so that the ship body 2 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C. Finally, a buoyancy of the fourth other-side floating body 53 which is expanded fourth acts on the ship body 2, so that the ship body 2 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C. In this manner, as shown in FIG. 34, the buoyancies of the first to fourth other-side floating body 50 to 53 which are sequentially expanded continuously act on the ship body 2. Even if the rotational angle θ is equal to or less than 90°, the ship body 2 is rotated in the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 which is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the buoyancies of the first to fourth other-side floating body 50 to 53 shown in FIG. 34 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 45°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs, the rotation in the reconstructing direction C is promoted by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. When the ship body 2 is further rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°) as shown in FIG. 35, the ship body 2 continues the reconstruction by the reconstructing force of the ship itself after that and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude as shown in FIG. 36.
In this manner, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 48 of the air boat 1, the pressure gas is sequentially supplied to the one-side floating body 49 and the plurality of first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the buoyancy of the one-side floating body 49 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the expanded one-side floating body 49 has reached the surface W of the water, the plurality of first to fourth other-side floating bodies 50 to 53 are sequentially expanded from the upper portion of the outer peripheral member 10 to the lower portion, and the force in the reconstructing direction C is made to act on the ship body 2.
Thus, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 48, until the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated to the rotational angle θ which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs and is reconstruct to the normal attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction C can be continuously made to act on the ship body 2 and the ship body 2 can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.

Embodiment 4

FIGS. 37 to 46 illustrate an embodiment 4 of the invention. Since the air boat 1 of the embodiment 4 has a construction similar to that of the air boat 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 of the embodiment 1, its description is omitted. As illustrated in FIG. 37, according to an attitude reconstructing apparatus 67 of the air boat 1, an expandable moving floating body 68 is mounted to the outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9.
A pair of rails 69 extending from the one-side curve portion 11B provided in the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction through the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion are mounted to the pair of outer peripheral members 10 of the propeller guard 9. As shown in FIG. 38, the pair of rails 69 have an almost lateral U-character shaped cross section and are attached so as to face the outer peripheries of the pair of outer peripheral members 10. A wheel 71 of a moving member 70 is rotatably come into engagement with each rail 69. The moving floating body 68 is attached to the moving member 70. Thus, a setting position of the moving floating body 68 can be changed along the rail 69 from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member 10 through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion.
A ring-shaped wire 72 is attached to the moving member 70. As for the wire 72, as shown in FIG. 39, one folded-back curve portion is wound around a driven pulley 73 provided in the one-side curve portion 11B on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member 10, an intermediate portion is arranged in the rails 69, is extended to the other-side straight line portion 12A in the lower portion through the other-side curve portion 12B in the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction, and another folded-back curve portion is wound around a driving pulley 74.
The ring-shaped wire 72 is driven by an actuator 75. The actuator 75 has a driving mechanism 75B which is driven by an electric motor 75A. The driving pulley 74 is attached to the driving mechanism 75B. In the actuator 75, the wire 72 is driven by the driving pulley 74, the setting position of the moving floating body 68 attached to the moving member 70 can be changed along the rails 69 from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member 10 through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion.
As shown in FIG. 39, a pressure source 76 such as a compressed air bomb or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The pressure source 76 is connected to the moving floating body 68 by a communicating passage 77. A switching valve 78 is provided for the communicating passage 77. A power source 79 such as a battery or the like is mounted to the ship body 2. The power source 79 is connected to the actuator 75 by a communicating electric path 80. A change-over switch 81 is provided for the communicating electric path 80.
The attitude reconstructing apparatus 67 has control means 82 for controlling an expansion/contraction state of the moving floating body 68 so that the force in the reconstructing direction C adapted to make the ship body 2 approach the normal attitude is made to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. The switching valve 78 and the change-over switch 81 are connected to the control means 82. The control means 82 has detection means 83 which can detect the rotational angle θ in the ship body width direction of the ship body 2.
As will be described hereinbelow, the control means 82 switches the switching valve 78 and the change-over switch 81 on the basis of the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 which was detected by the detection means 83 and controls the expansion/contraction state and the setting state of the moving floating body 68.
When the ship body 2 is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs, the control means 82 switches the switching valve 78 so as to supply the pressure gas to the moving floating body 68 from the pressure source 76 and to expand the body 68.
Subsequently, when the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the moving floating body 68 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the moving floating body 68 has reached the surface W of the water, the control means 82 switches the change-over switch 81 so as to supply an electric power to the actuator 75 from the power source 79 and to drive the wire 72, thereby allowing the moving floating body 68 attached to the moving member 70 to be moved along the rails 69 from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member 10 through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion.
Subsequently, the operation of the attitude reconstructing apparatus 67 of the air boat 1 will be described.
In the air boat 1, when some external force acts on the ship body 2 in the normal attitude shown in FIG. 40 and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D (clockwise in FIG. 40) by only the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°), if the external force is extinguished, the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. On the other hand, in the air boat 1, when the external force is not settled and the ship body 2 is rotated in the overturn direction D to the overturn limit angle θs, the engine 7 is automatically stopped.
In the attitude reconstructing apparatus 67, when the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 is detected by the detection means 83 and the ship body 2 which was rotated to the overturn limit angle θs is further rotated in the overturn direction D to the rotational angle θ (for example, 60°) exceeding the overturn limit angle θs as shown in FIG. 41, the switching valve 78 is switched by the control means 82, the pressure gas is supplied to the moving floating body 68 from the pressure source 76, and an expansion is started.
The air boat 1 whose ship body 2 was rotated in the overturn direction D at an angle exceeding the overturn limit angle θs is rapidly rotated in the overturn direction D from a state where the rotational angle θ is equal to 90°, and the overturn attitude enters a state where the ship body has completely been overturned (180°) as shown in FIG. 42. At this time, the moving floating body 68 which started the expansion at the stage of FIG. 41 mentioned above also continues the expansion for such a period of time.
A buoyancy of the expanding moving floating body 68 starts to act on the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude shown in FIG. 42 and the reconstruction is started. At this time, the ship body 2 starts the reconstruction while a direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 42) to the side where the moving floating body 68 is provided is set into the reconstructing direction C.
When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the expansion of the moving floating body 68, the moving floating body 68 is perfectly expanded, and the ship body 2 is rotated to the rotational angle θ at which the moving floating body 68 has reached the surface W of the water as shown in FIG. 33, the change-over switch 81 is switched by the control means 82, the electric power is supplied to the actuator 75 from the power source 79, and the wire 72 is driven.
By the driving of the wire 72, the moving member 70 to which the moving floating body 68 locating on the surface W of the water has been attached is gradually moved along the rails 69 from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member 10 through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion. Since the moving floating body 68 locating on the surface W of the water is moved from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion, the ship body 2 is gradually rotated in the reconstructing direction C as shown in FIG. 44.
When the ship body 2 which is gradually rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the movement of the moving floating body 68 is rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 45°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs, the rotation in the reconstructing direction C is promoted by the reconstructing force of the ship itself. When the ship body 2 which is further rotated to the rotational angle θ (for example, 30°) which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs (for example, 45°) as shown in FIG. 45, the ship body 2 continues the reconstruction by the reconstructing force of the ship itself after that and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the normal attitude as shown in FIG. 46.
In this manner, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 67 of the air boat 1, the pressure gas is supplied to the moving floating body 68 in accordance with the rotational angle θ of the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude. When the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction C by the buoyancy of the moving floating body 68 and the ship body 2 is reconstructed to the rotational angle θ at which the expanded moving floating body 68 has reached the surface W of the water, the moving floating body 68 is gradually moved from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion, and the force in the reconstructing direction C is made to act on the ship body 2.
Thus, according to the attitude reconstructing apparatus 67, until the ship body 2 in the overturn attitude is rotated to the rotational angle θ which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle θs and is reconstruct to the normal attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction C can be continuously made to act on the ship body 2 and the ship body 2 can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the invention, until the ship body in the overturn attitude is rotated to the rotational angle which is equal to or less than the overturn limit angle and is reconstruct to the normal attitude, the force in the reconstructing direction can be continuously made to act on the ship body and the ship body can be certainly reconstructed to the normal attitude. The invention is not limited to the air boat but can be also applied to a small ship.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

- 1 Air boat
- 2 Ship body
- 3 Frame
- 6 Supporting base
- 7 Engine
- 8 Propeller
- 9 Propeller guard
- 10 Outer peripheral member
- 23 Attitude reconstructing apparatus
- 24 One-side floating body
- 25 Other-side floating body
- 26 Arm
- 27 Actuator
- 28 Pressure source
- 39 One-side communicating passage
- 30 Other-side communicating passage
- 31 One-side switching valve
- 32 Other-side switching valve
- 33 Power source
- 34 Communicating electric path
- 35 Change-over switch
- 36 Control means
- 37 Detection means
- 88 Fallen person

Claims

1. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of an air boat in which a propeller for propulsion is attached to an engine mounted in an upward position of a rear portion of a ship body, wherein:

an expandable floating body is mounted to a propeller guard covering the propeller; and

the apparatus has control means for controlling at least one of an expansion/contraction state and a setting state of the floating body so that a force in a reconstructing direction adapted to make the ship body approach a normal attitude is made to act on the ship body in an overturn attitude.

2. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of the air boat according to claim 1, wherein:

the propeller guard has an outer peripheral member which is curved and projected upwardly in an inverse U-character shape so as to cover a rotational locus of the propeller;

the floating body is constructed by a one-side floating body which is mounted in an upper portion on one side in a ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member and an other-side floating body which is mounted in an upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member;

the apparatus has an arm extending from a lower portion to the upper portion along the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member;

the other-side floating body is attached to an upper edge of the arm, the upper edge is rotated around a lower edge of the arm as a center by an actuator mounted to the lower portion on the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member, thereby enabling a setting position of the other-side floating body to be changed;

a pressure source mounted to the ship body is connected to the one-side floating body and the other-side floating body by a one-side communicating passage and an other-side communicating passage, respectively;

a one-side switching valve and an other-side switching valve are provided for the one-side communicating passage and the other-side communicating passage, respectively;

a power source mounted to the ship body is connected to the actuator by a communicating electric path;

a change-over switch is provided for the communicating electric path;

the control means has detection means which can detect a rotational angle of the ship body in the ship body width direction;

on the basis of the rotational angle of the ship body detected by the detection means,

when the ship body is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction at an angle exceeding an overturn limit angle, the one-side switching valve is switched so as to supply a pressure gas to the one-side floating body from the pressure source and to expand the one-side floating body;

when the ship body in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the one-side floating body and the ship body is reconstructed to the rotational angle at which the one-side floating body has reached a surface of water, the other-side switching valve is switched so as to supply the pressure gas to the other-side floating body from the pressure source and to expand the other-side floating body; and

when the ship body is further rotated by the expansion of the other-side floating body and the ship body is reconstructed to the rotational angle at which the other-side floating body has reached the surface of the water, the change-over switch is switched so as to supply an electric power to the actuator from the power source and to rotate the arm in such a direction as to be away from the outer peripheral member.

3. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of the air boat according to claim 2, wherein:

when the ship body is reconstructed to the normal attitude, the control means switches the other-side switching valve so as to exhaust the pressure gas from the other-side floating body and to contract the other-side floating body.

4. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of the air boat according to claim 1, wherein:

the floating body is constructed by a one-side floating body which is mounted in an upper portion on one side in a ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member and an other-side floating body which is mounted so as to have a length extending from a lower portion on the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member to an upper portion;

when the ship body is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction at an angle exceeding an overturn limit angle, the one-side switching valve is switched so as to supply a pressure gas to the one-side floating body from the pressure source and to expand the one-side floating body; and

when the ship body in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the one-side floating body and the ship body is reconstructed to the rotational angle at which the one-side floating body has reached a surface of water, the other-side switching valve is switched so as to supply the pressure gas from the pressure source to the other-side floating body having the length extending from the lower portion of the outer peripheral member to the upper portion and to expand the other-side floating body.

5. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of the air boat according to claim 1, wherein

the floating body is constructed by a one-side floating body which is mounted in an upper portion on one side in a ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member and a plurality of other-side floating bodies which are sequentially arranged and mounted from an upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member to a lower portion;

a pressure source mounted to the ship body is connected to the one-side floating body and the plurality of other-side floating bodies by a one-side communicating passage and a plurality of other-side communicating passages, respectively;

a one-side switching valve and a plurality of other-side switching valves are provided for the one-side communicating passage and the plurality of other-side communicating passages, respectively;

when the ship body in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the one-side floating body and the ship body is reconstructed to the rotational angle at which the one-side floating body has reached a surface of water, the other-side switching valve is switched so as to supply the pressure gas to the plurality of other-side floating bodies from the pressure source and to sequentially expand the plurality of other-side floating bodies from the upper portion of the outer peripheral member to the lower portion.

6. An attitude reconstructing apparatus of the air boat according to claim 1, wherein

the floating body is constructed by a moving floating body which can change a setting position of the outer peripheral member;

a rail extending from an upper portion on one side in a ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member through an upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to a lower portion is provided;

a moving member to which the moving floating body has been attached is moved along the rail by an actuator, thereby enabling a setting position of the moving floating body to be changed from the upper portion on one side in a ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion;

a pressure source mounted to the ship body is connected to the moving floating body by a communicating passage;

a switching valve is provided for the communicating passage;

a change-over switch is provided for the communicating electric path;

when the ship body is rotated from the normal attitude in the overturn direction at an angle exceeding an overturn limit angle, the switching valve is switched so as to supply a pressure gas to the moving floating body from the pressure source and to expand the moving floating body; and

when the ship body in the overturn attitude is rotated in the reconstructing direction by the expansion of the moving floating body and the ship body is reconstructed to the rotational angle at which the moving floating body has reached a surface of water, the change-over switch is switched so as to supply an electric power to the actuator from the power source and to move the moving member to which the moving floating body has been attached along the rail from the upper portion on one side in the ship body width direction of the outer peripheral member through the upper portion on the other side in the ship body width direction to the lower portion.