Patents Assigned to Watercraft Offshore Canada Ltd.
  • Patent number: 5199372
    Abstract: An amphibious vehicle has a body with front and rear portions, opposite sides and a bottom. The vehicle includes at least one pair of wheels, each wheel being located adjacent a respective side, and a wheel mounting structure for moving the respective wheel between raised and lowered positions thereof. Thus, when the wheels are in the raised position, lower portions of the wheels are raised above the bottom, providing clearance when the vehicle is used in water, and when in the lowered position thereof, the lower portions of the wheels are below the bottom to support the vehicle on a bearing surface. Preferably, the vehicle has two pairs of wheels, and each pair can be moved independently of the remaining pair. For some uses, the wheels of each pair could be moved independently of each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 6, 1993
    Assignee: Watercraft Offshore Canada Ltd.
    Inventors: Bruce H. J. W. Seligman, Raymond G. Wall
  • Patent number: 4934300
    Abstract: The invention provides a crawler track belt assembly with flexible parallel belts interconnected by transverse grouser bars. The bars have guide portions spaced transversely apart and mutually aligned longitudinally with guide portions of other bars. A track bed of the vehicle has parallel, longitudinally extending, guide grooves which receive and guide the guide portions of the belt to maintain track alignment. To reduce belt tension, the lower track bed has a lateral profile which resembles a catenary. The vehicle body has spaced sponsons defining a hull tunnel therebetween, and in water is powered by a water jet having a primary intake adjacent the tunnel roof. If the primary intake becomes blocked, a secondary intake on the track bed is swept by the crawler track belt assembly to maintain the secondary nozzle free of obstruction. The water jet discharges through a rotatable nozzle which can be directed to assist in clearing the primary intake of blockage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 19, 1990
    Assignee: Watercraft Offshore Canada Ltd.
    Inventors: Bruce H. J. W. Seligman, Duncan H. Ferguson
  • Patent number: 4727949
    Abstract: An all terrain vehicle has two vehicle units and an articulating link which interconnects the vehicle units in tandem. Each vehicle unit has a body and a pair of spaced crawler tracks which are powered for moving the respective vehicle unit. The articulating link has two longitudinally spaced apart pitch hinge assemblies, each of which cooperates with a respective vehicle unit to permit relative rotation therebetween about a horizontal pitch axis without interference between the vehicle units. Pitch swivelling means associated with one particular pitch hinge assembly can force relative rotation about the particular pitch axis between a particular vehicle unit and the link, so that one vehicle unit can be rotated forcibly relative to the other vehicle unit to negotiate marginal terrain. The remaining pitch hinge assembly can be either freely hinged to permit rotation about the remaining pitch axis or alternatively can have a similar pitch swivelling means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 1, 1988
    Assignee: Watercraft Offshore Canada Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenneth A. Rea, Alan H. Reynolds
  • Patent number: 4645023
    Abstract: An all terrain vehicle has two vehicle units and an articulating link which interconnects the vehicle units in tandem. Each vehicle unit has a body and a pair of spaced crawler tracks which are powered for moving the respective vehicle unit. The articulating link has two longitudinally spaced apart pitch hinge assemblies, each of which cooperates with a respective vehicle unit to permit relative rotation therebetween about a horizontal pitch axis without interference between the vehicle units. Pitch swivelling means associated with one particular pitch hinge assembly can force relative rotation about the particular pitch axis between a particular vehicle unit and the link, so that one vehicle unit can be rotated forcibly relative to the other vehicle unit to negotiate marginal terrain. The remaining pitch hinge assembly can be either freely hinged to permit rotation about the remaining pitch axis or alternatively can have a similar pitch swivelling means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1985
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1987
    Assignee: Watercraft Offshore Canada Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenneth A. Rea, Alan H. Reynolds