EP0155012B1 - Flexible wing sail with batten - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a sail arrangement with the features of the preamble of claim 1 (EP-A-0 083 432).

The conventional sail arrangement according to EP-A-0 083 432 is shown schematically in FIG. 1. The front edge of the sail is wound around a cylindrical mast or profile sleeves located on it to form a mast pocket. The seam between the mast pocket and the sail forms a concave discontinuity on each side of the sail towards the rear of the mast. This discontinuity induces turbulence, which reduces the effectiveness of the sail by increasing air resistance and decreasing lift generated by the sail. “Buoyancy in this context means moving a force normal to both the apparent wind and the mast around the sail vehicle by the wind sweeping past the edge of the sail near the mast towards the sail leech past the sail. «Air resistance here means a force normal to buoyancy and mast, caused by the resistance of the apparent wind passing by the mast and sail. Additional resistance is created in conventional technology due to the non-optimal cylindrical shape of the leading edge.

In this description, the terms "front _" , "top" and "head" refer to headwind and away from the vehicle directions. The directions "rear", "bottom" and "foot are opposite to the corresponding directions" front, "top" and «Understand head.

An improvement of the prior art lies in the use of a wing-shaped mast according to FIG. 2. The front edge of the sail lies with a bead in a groove on the rear of the mast. This configuration creates an effective shape on the front of the mast, a relatively thin rear edge on the rear of the mast, and, if the sail is appropriately trimmed, an almost continuously smooth shape on the top (low pressure side) of the sail on the back of the mast.

The main disadvantage of the wing-shaped mast is that the concave discontinuity on the underside (high pressure side) is greater than the previously described conventional arrangement when the curvature of the sail merges with that on the rear top of the mast.

Another disadvantage of the wing-shaped mast is that turbulence is generated at the top unless the sail is trimmed to blend in with the curvature at the top of the mast at the point of attachment. The appropriate trim is shown in Fig. 2 by the position (a) of the sail. In this position, the curvature of the sail matches the curvature of the rear top of the mast. If the direction and / or the speed of the apparent wind change, it may be desirable for the overall functionality of the sail to trim it either in position (b) or in position (c) according to FIG. 2. The conditions represented by (b) or (c) create the disadvantage of increased air resistance caused by the turbulence at the rear of the mast due to a convex (position b) or concave (position c) discontinuity at the top.

Another disadvantage of the wing-shaped mast is that the conditions represented by positions (b) and (c) in Fig. 2 create additional air resistance at the leading edge of the mast because the leading edge of the mast is not properly directed into the apparent wind .

In order to correct the discontinuity at the top between the wing-shaped mast and the sail and to align the leading edge of the mast with the apparent wind, the prior art provides a further setting in that the mast is rotated. However, this leads to an expensive production, possibly to a mechanical malfunction and to the load of the glider due to an additional function.

Another disadvantage of the known mast rotation setting is that the optimal position for adaptation to the curvature of the sail is not always the position in which the leading edge is directed directly into the apparent wind.

The invention has for its object to provide a sail assembly of the type described in the preamble of claim 1, which provides an effectively shaped, appropriately oriented front edge of the sail, without inducing turbulence, either on the top or on the bottom of the sail , this attachment should work automatically.

This object is solved by claim 1. The present invention provides a sail assembly with an effective leading edge that suitably aligns with the apparent wind and forms a smooth aerodynamic contour behind both sides of a cylindrical mast, the shape automatically adjusting as the sail trim changes.

Stiffening means for a sail assembly are known per se, but their pre-formation is controlled by a sail tree and not by the battens (US-A-4,064,821).

The pairs of rib pockets preferably run parallel to the slat pockets on each side of the main section.

The present invention can be configured as a sail attachment that includes a plurality of flexible pairs of ribs tangentially abutting opposite sides of the mast gene to be slidably clamped near one end tangentially on opposite sides of the corresponding slats extending across the entire width of the sail. The battens engage with anchors that are rotatably arranged on the mast. An aerodynamically shaped leading edge part in front of the mast is attached to the pairs of ribs and each anchor, so that the leading edge part can freely rotate with the anchors and the pairs of ribs around the mast.

A sail can be attached by placing a sail bag close to the leading edge part so that the sail bag seam is aligned with the desired points of tangential alignment of the flexible pairs of ribs on the battens. A main section of the sail is sewn to the seam of the sail pocket, which includes a trailing edge near the points of the tangential course. The sail pocket can extend to the back of the sail pocket seam, over each flexible pair of ribs, to form a pair of rib pockets that slidably clamp the flexible pairs of ribs at desired points of the tangential course against the battens. The seam is interrupted at the rib pockets to provide openings for the flexible rib pairs. The battens are attached to the back of the seam by conventional battens and are held to the leech by conventional battens. Preferably, the slat pockets run within the sail pocket and are attached to the anchors for guiding the sail slats into engagement with the anchors.

The pressure of the apparent wind on the sail results in the leading edge and flexible ribs taking an effective aerodynamic shape, without inducing turbulent discontinuities on either side of the sail, and so that the leading edge suitably fits in the apparent The wind blows.

The anchors preferably have a free space so that the flexible rib parts can be tilted relative to the mast so that the battens can be tilted according to the sail cut.

The leading edge part can be interrupted to form a free space in order to attach a conventional boom to the mast there.

Preferably, the leading edge part is provided with a plurality of slots which form stops for locating the leading edge against the front of the mast. The leading edge part is provided with recesses which are formed opposite the slots and thus to create a linkage in such a way that the leading edge part adapts to the bending of the mast. The leading edge part can also be designed to be articulated in accordance with a coil shape in order to facilitate transport.

The leading edge part is preferably filled and reinforced with a low-density material, such as closed-cell polyurethane foam.

Because of the rotatable, aerodynamically shaped leading edge and the flexible rib parts that are clamped between the ends of the battens to automatically adjust a smooth contour on both sides of the sail, the attachment of the present invention satisfies the need for a sail attachment that is effectively shaped Provides for the leading edge of the mast to be directed into the apparent wind without inducing turbulence on either the low pressure or the high pressure side of the sail, which automatically occurs during operation.

• Fig. 1 einen Längsschnitt durch eine herkömmliche Segelanbringung am Mast,
• Fig. 2 einen Längsschnitt durch eine herkömmliche Segelanbringung an einem tragflügelartig geformten Mast,
• Fig. 3 eine Seitenansicht eines Segels, welches entsprechend der vorliegenden Erfindung am Mast angebracht ist, wobei die Anbringung ein Vorderkantenteil umfaßt, welches unterbrochen ist, um für die Anbringung eines nicht dargestellten, herkömmlichen Gabelbaums am Mast einen Raum vorzusehen,
• Fig. 4 eine detaillierte seitliche Schnittansicht der Anbringung gemäß Fig. 3 entlang der Linie 4-4 der Fig. 3,
• Fig. 5 eine fragmentarische Detailschnittansicht einer Anbringung der Fig. 3 entlang der Linie 5-5 in Fig. 4,
• Fig. 6 eine fragmentarische Detailschnittansicht der Anbringung gemäß Fig. 3 entlang der Linie 6-6 der Fig. 5,
• Fig. 7 eine fragmentarische Detailschnittansicht der Anbringung gemäß Fig. 3 entlang der Linie 7-7 der Fig. 5,
• Fig. 8 eine fragmentarische Detailschnittansicht der Anbringung gemäß Fig. 3 im Bereich 8-8 der Fig. 3 und
• Fig. 9 eine Anlenkung des Vorderkantenteils der Anbringung gemäß Fig. 3 in einer Wendelform, um den Transport zu erleichtern.

Further details, features and advantages of the invention will be better understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

• 1 shows a longitudinal section through a conventional sail attachment to the mast,
• 2 shows a longitudinal section through a conventional sail attachment to a wing-shaped mast,
• 3 is a side view of a sail attached to the mast in accordance with the present invention, the attachment including a leading edge portion which is interrupted to provide space for the attachment of a conventional boom, not shown, to the mast;
• 4 is a detailed sectional side view of the attachment according to FIG. 3 along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3,
• 5 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of an attachment of FIG. 3 along the line 5-5 in FIG. 4,
• 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the attachment according to FIG. 3 along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5,
• 7 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the attachment according to FIG. 3 along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5,
• 8 is a fragmentary detail sectional view of the attachment according to FIG. 3 in the area 8-8 of FIGS. 3 and
• Fig. 9 is an articulation of the leading edge part of the attachment of FIG. 3 in a helical shape to facilitate transportation.

3 and 8, a cylindrical mast 10 with a mast top 12 and a mast base 14 with the mast base 16 is articulated, ie rotatably, attached to a sail board 16. A sail 18 attached to the mast 10 is equipped with a lower boom 20 on a conventional boom, not shown. The sail 18 is also equipped with a conventional luff stretcher 21 near the mast base 14 in order to stretch the sail 18 against the mast top 12. A conventional hood 22 is attached to the sail 18 by a hood pin 23. The hood 22 engages with the mast top 12 when tensile stress is applied to the downward luff stretch 21. A pocket seam 24 in the sail 18 connects a main section 25 of the sail to a sail bag 26 which encloses the mast 10.

According to the illustration in FIGS. 3 to 7, the sail 18 having a leech 27 is provided with a plurality of battens 28 running over the entire length, which are accommodated in a conventional manner in corresponding battens pockets 29 of the main section 25. The. Slats 28 run from corresponding known slat holding tabs 30 on the leech 27 to corresponding anchorings 31 in the area of the mast. The batten flaps 30 stretch the sail 18 over the corresponding batten 28 when a batten loop patch 32 attached to the batten flap 30 comes into engagement with a batten hook patch 33 attached to the batten pocket 29. Each batten pocket 29 and a corresponding pocket extension 34 of the main section 25 extends to a point near the corresponding anchor 31 for guiding the slats 28 into engagement with the anchor 31. An anchoring strip 35, which is fastened to the pocket extension 34, secures the slatted pocket 29 with the pocket extension 34 via a strip slot 36 in FIG Anchoring 31 to the anchoring 31. An anchoring loop patch 37, which is fastened to the anchoring strip 35, engages with an anchoring hook patch 38 fastened to the slatted pocket 29.

There is a leading edge part 39 in front of the mast 10 and within the sail pocket 26. The leading edge part 39 can be interrupted to be formed around a front head edge part 39a and a front leading edge part 39b with a space in between for attaching a conventional boom, not shown, to the mast 10. The front leading edge part 39a is held axially inside the pocket 26 by the hood pin 23. The foot leading edge part 39b is held axially within the sail pocket 26 by a foot pin 43.

4 and 5, the leading edge part 39 is provided with a plurality of stops 40 which bear against the mast 10. A plurality of flexible pairs of ribs 41, which are arranged coplanar with the corresponding slats 28, contact oppositely oriented sides of the mast 10 and are rotatably and tangentially attached to the leading edge part 39 by a pair of rib rivets 45. Each flexible pair of ribs 41 extends over the pocket seam 24 of the sail 18 and is displaceably clamped in a tangential orientation by a pair of rib pocket extensions 42 in the pocket 26 on opposite sides of the slats 28. Each anchor 31 is formed so that it is rotatably located by the mast 10. Each anchoring 31 is provided with an anchoring recess 44 in order to provide a free space for each rib of the flexible pair of ribs 41. The anchoring 31 is firmly riveted to the front edge part 39 by a plurality of anchoring rivets 47. Thus, the front edge part 39, the anchoring 31 and the flexible pair of ribs 41 can rotate freely around the mast 10 in accordance with the orientation of the slats 28.

Preferably, the free space provided by the anchoring recesses 44 in the anchors 31 is sufficient for the pairs of ribs 41 so that the flexible pairs of ribs 41 assume positions that are inclined substantially relative to the vertical to the mast 10. This free space allows the slats 28 to be positioned substantially inclined, as determined by the cut of the sail 18.

The stops 40 are preferably formed by corresponding slot-forming partition walls which are cast with the front edge part 39. The design of the stops 40 and the partition walls 46 forming a slot allows the front edge part 39 to be formed by vacuum forming from a flat material.

The front edge part 39 is preferably reinforced by a filling 48. This filling can be, for example, a closed-cell, low-density polyurethane foam. The filling 48 has such a buoyancy that the overall arrangement including the sail 18 floats in the water.

The front edge part 39 preferably has slots 50 corresponding to each stop 40, so that the front edge part 39 is divided into segments and thus forms an articulation point on each stop 40. This joint arrangement of the leading edge parts 39 allows the mast to bend when sailing. In addition, the leading edge part 39 can be arranged in a loop or coil shape, so as to allow a more convenient transportation as shown in FIG. 9.

In another version of the present invention, the rib pocket extensions 42 for slidably clamping the flexible pairs of ribs may be separate from the sail pocket.

• 1. Einsetzen des Kopfvorderkantenteils 39a zusammen mit den angebrachten Verankerungen 31 und den flexiblen Rippenpaaren 41 teilweise in die Segeltasche 26, wobei die flexiblen Rippenpaare 41 schräggestellt wurden, um die in den Taschenabschnitt 26 gelangenden, entsprechenden Verankerungen 31 voraus vorzubewegen ;
• 2. Einführen jeder flexiblen Rippe des Rippenpaares 41 in die entsprechenden Rippentaschenverlängerungen 42 ;
• 3. Fortgesetztes Einsetzen des Kopfvorderkantenteiles 39a vollständig in die Segeltasche 26 ;
• 4. Anbringen der Haube 22 mit dem Haubenstift 23, welcher mit der Haube 22, der Segeltasche 26 und dem Kopfvorderkantenteil 39a im Eingriff steht, ;
• 5. Wiederholen der Arbeitsschritte 1 bis 3 für das Fußvorderkantenteil 39b ;
• 6. Befestigen des Fußvorderkantenteils 39b mittels des Fußstiftes 43 an der Segeltasche 26 ;
• 7. Befestigen der Taschenverlängerungen 34 mit den Lattentaschen 29 an den Verankerungen 31, in dem die Verankerungsstreifen 35 durch die entsprechenden Streifenschlitze 36 in die Verankerungen 31 eingebracht werden, wonach die Verankerungs-Schlingenflicken 37 mit den entpsrechenden Verankerungs-Hakenschlitzen 38 in Eingriff gebracht werden ;
• 8. Einsetzen des Mastes 10 zwischen die Anschläge 40 und den Verankerungen 31, bis der Masttop 12 mit der Haube 23 in Eingriff gelangt ;
• 9. Einsetzen der Segellatten 28 zwischen die Lattentaschen 29 und den Hauptabschnitt 25 des Achterlieks 27 in Eingriff mit den Verankerungen 31 ;
• 10. Befestigen der Lattenlaschen 30 mit den Segellatten 28 unter Aufbringung einer axialen Kompression und
• 11. Anbringen des herkömmlichen Gabelbaums und Anschließen des Vorliekstreckers 21 und des Unter- bzw. Achterliekstreckers 20.

The attachment arrangement according to the invention can be brought together with the sail 18 by the following steps:

• 1. partially inserting the front leading edge part 39a together with the attached anchors 31 and the flexible pairs of ribs 41 into the sail pocket 26, the flexible pairs of ribs 41 having been inclined in order to advance the corresponding anchors 31 which come into the pocket section 26;
• 2. Insert each flexible rib of the pair of ribs 41 into the corresponding rib pocket extensions 42;
• 3. Continued insertion of the front leading edge portion 39a fully into the sail bag 26;
• 4. attaching the hood 22 with the hood pin 23 which is engaged with the hood 22, the sail bag 26 and the head leading edge part 39a;
• 5. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for the front foot portion 39b;
• 6. Attaching the leading edge of the foot part 39b by means of the foot pin 43 to the sail bag 26;
• 7. Attach the pocket extensions 34 with the slat pockets 29 to the anchors 31 by inserting the anchoring strips 35 through the corresponding strip slots 36 into the anchors 31, after which the anchoring loop patches 37 are brought into engagement with the corresponding anchoring hook slots 38;
• 8. Insert the mast 10 between the stops 40 and the anchors 31 until the mast top 12 comes into engagement with the hood 23;
• 9. inserting the battens 28 between the battens pockets 29 and the main portion 25 of the leech 27 in engagement with the anchors 31;
• 10. Attach the slat tabs 30 with the battens 28 with the application of an axial compression and
• 11. Attaching the conventional boom and connecting the luff stretcher 21 and the lower or aft luff stretcher 20.

When using the described rig, the shape and orientation of the battens is determined by the position of the mast and the boom, as well as the wind pressure against the sail. One rib 41a of each flexible pair of ribs 41 automatically assumes a smooth convex shape, while the other rib 41 of each flexible pair of ribs 41 automatically assumes a smooth concave shape. At the same time, the anchors 31 are rotated by the battens 28 in order to properly direct the leading edge part 39 into the wind. The anchoring strips 35, which fix the slat pockets 29 to the anchors 31, support the rotation of the anchors 31 under the tension of the slat pockets 29 on the anchors 31 as a reaction force by the slat plates 30 against the compression of the battens 28.

Claims (8)

1. Sail assembly comprising a sail (18) including a sock (26) for enclosing the mast (10), said sail being stiffened by elastically flexible battens (28) extending from a location in the vicinity of the mast (10) in the direction towards the trailing edge (27), the front end of the battens being pivotally retained on the mast, characterized in that anchors (31) mounted on the mast retain the leading ends of the battens (28) and are pivotable about the mast (10) due to the movement of the battens, and that a plurality of stiffening means (41) for the sock (26) are arranged to extend along the leading edge within pocket extensions (42) of the sail (18) so as to be tangentially movable relative to the battens (28), said rib pairs being located by the anchor means (31) and being deformed in accordance with the flexure of the battens (28) and swivelling about the mast in accordance with the orientation of the battens (28).

2. Sail assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the stiffening means of the sock (26) comprise a flexible rib (41a; 41b) which extends from the anchor (31) along one side of the sock (26).

3. Sail assembly as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the stiffening means for the sock (26) comprise a pair of flexible ribs (41) which extend from the anchor (31) along either side of the sock (26).

4. Sail assembly as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the stiffening means comprise a leading edge member (39) which assumes a smooth aerodynamic shape before the mast (10).

5. Sail assembly as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sail (18) includes a main section (25) with the trailing edge (27), said main section connecting with a seam (24) of the sock (26), in that batten pockets (29) for the battens (28) are provided in the main section (25) and freely extend into the sock (26) to locations in the vicinity of the mast (10), in that a plurality of pairs of rib pocket extensions (42) of the sock (26) interrupt the seam (24) between sock (26) and main section (25) of the sail (18) opposite corresponding batten pockets (29), said pairs of rib pocket extensions (42) extending in parallel to the batten pockets (29) on either side of the main section (25), in that the leading edge member (39) is formed within the sock (26) to provide an aerodynamic shape on the side opposite the sock seam (24), in that the anchors (31) are fixedly mounted on the leading edge member (39) so as to pivotably mount the leading edge member (39) on the mast (10), wherein the anchors (31) are aligned with the batten pockets (29) and fastened thereto, in that the plurality of battens (28) disposed in the corresponding batten pockets (29) are passed through the batten pockets in firm engagement with the anchors and extend to a point near the trailing edge (27), and in that a plurality of pairs of flexible ribs (41), which are co-planar with the respective battens (28) and are mounted on opposite sides of the mast (10) to engage the leading edge member (39) at a tangent, project into the corresponding pairs of rib pocket extensions (42), the pairs of flexible ribs (41) being slidably clamped by the pairs of rib pocket extensions (42) substantially tangentially to the opposite sides of the respective battens (28), and the leading edge member (39) being automatically positioned into relative wind and defining a smooth aerodynamic shape of the sock blending with both sides of the main section (25) as the sail (18) is variously trimmed.

6. Sail assembly as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises means by which the battens (28) may be inclined at an angle to the mast axis in accordance with the cut of the sail.

7. Sail assembly as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that the leading edge member (39) is segmented so that the segments swivel with the anchors (31) when the mast (10) flexes.

8. Sail assembly as claimed in claims 5, 6 or 7, characterized in that the leading edge member (39) is reinforced by a filler (48) clamped therein.

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