Ergonomic Water Paddle for Watercraft
An ergonomic water paddle for a watercraft includes left-hand and right-hand arms, a cross piece, and left and right paddle bodies. The left-hand arm extends lengthwise to terminate at left front and rear ends. The right-hand arm extends lengthwise to terminate at right front and rear ends. The left paddle body is connected to the left rear end. The right paddle body is connected to the right rear end. The cross piece is disposed to connect the left front end to the right front end to permit the left and right paddle bodies to be moved synchronously with each other in each paddling stroke.
This application claims priority from Taiwanese application no. 104200280, filed on Jan. 8, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
FIELDThe disclosure relates to a water paddle, more particularly to an ergonomic water paddle for a watercraft.
BACKGROUNDA conventional double bladed paddle may include an elongated shaft and left and right blades on opposite left and right ends of the elongated shaft. A paddler can use the double bladed paddle to propel a watercraft, such as a canoe, by inserting the left blade and then the right blade into water in an alternating fashion.
SUMMARYAn object of the disclosure is to provide a novel ergonomic water paddle for a watercraft, which includes left and right paddle bodies that can be moved synchronously with each other in each paddling stroke.
According to the disclosure, an ergonomic water paddle for a watercraft includes left-hand and right-hand arms, left and right peddle bodies, and a cross piece. The left-hand arm extends lengthwise to terminate at left front and rear ends. The right-hand arm extends lengthwise to terminate at right front and rear ends. The left paddle body is connected to the left rear end. The right paddle body is connected to the right rear end. The cross piece connects the left front end and the right front end to permit the left and right paddle bodies to be moved synchronously with each other in each paddling stroke.
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
With reference to
The main shaft body 1 has left-hand and right-hand arms 12, 13, and a cross piece 11. The left-hand arm 12 extends lengthwise to terminate at left front and rear ends 121, 122. The right-hand arm 13 extends lengthwise to terminate at right front and rear ends 131, 132. The left paddle body 31 is connected to the left rear end 122, and the right paddle body 32 is connected to the right rear end 132. The cross piece 11 connects the left front end 121 and the right front end 131 to permit the left and right paddle bodies 31, 32 to be moved synchronously with each other in each paddling stroke.
The left-hand arm 12 has a left intermediate segment 123 between the left front and rear ends 121, 122. The right-hand arm 13 has a right intermediate segment 133 between the right front and rear ends 131, 132. The left and right intermediate segments 123, 133 are spaced apart from each other in a left-and-right direction (X) (see
In this embodiment, the left-hand and right-hand arms 12, 13 are symmetrical relative to each other, and are integrally formed with the cross piece 11. The cross piece 11 has a central region 110 which is curved forwardly. As shown in
The left and right paddle bodies 31, 32 are detachably connected to the left and right rear ends 122, 132, respectively, to facilitate carrying. As shown in
In other embodiments (not shown), the ergonomic water paddle may have two left paddle bodies and two right paddle bodies, and each of the left and right rear ends has two socket cavities for receiving, respectively, the plug ends of the respective ones of the left and right paddle bodies.
In this embodiment, the ergonomic water paddle further includes a reinforcement member 2 which has a bracing segment 21 and left and right holding rod segments 22, 23. The bracing segment 21 extends in the left-and-right direction (X) to terminate at left and right connecting ends 211, 212 which are respectively connected to the left and right front ends 121, 131 so as to maintain a predetermined distance between the left and right front ends 121, 131 for accommodating an upper part of a paddler's body (see
In this embodiment, the bracing segment 21 and the left and right holding rod segments 22, 23 are integrally formed in one-piece, and the reinforcement member 2 is arc-shaped. The reinforcement member 2 may be connected to the main shaft body 1 by welding or screw connection.
The main shaft body 1, the reinforcement member 2, and the left and right paddle bodies 31, 32 may be made of a light-weight, high strength flexible material, such as aluminum alloy, aluminum-magnesium alloy, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, carbon fiber, etc.
With reference to
Since the left and right intermediate segments 123, 133 are arc-shaped, they can be gripped ergonomically by paddlers having different heights or different forearm lengths.
The extension 35 extends from the shaft 302. The two blade halves 3011 of each of the left and right paddle bodies 31, 32 are hingedly mounted to the extension 35 using two hinge members 33 so as to be displaceable between an unfolded position, where the two blade halves 3011 have a maximized propelling force (
The adjustable spacer 34 is disposed to be swivelable relative to the extension 35 and between an engageable position where the adjustable spacer 34 limits the extent of movement of the two blade halves 3011 toward the folded position (
When the left and right paddle bodies 31, 32 are moved rearward (i.e., the ergonomic water paddle is moved from the upper position (
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiments, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. An ergonomic water paddle for a watercraft, comprising:
- a left-hand arm extending lengthwise to terminate at left front and rear ends;
- a right-hand arm extending lengthwise to terminate at right front and rear ends;
- a left paddle body connected to said left rear end;
- a right paddle body connected to said right rear end; and
- a cross piece connecting said left front end and said right front end to permit said left and right paddle bodies to be moved synchronously with each other in each paddling stroke.
2. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 1, wherein said left-hand arm has a left intermediate segment between said left front and rear ends, and said right-hand arm has a right intermediate segment between said right front and rear ends, said left and right intermediate segments being spaced apart from each other in a left-and-right direction so as to permit said left and right intermediate segments to be gripped ergonomically.
3. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 1, wherein said cross piece has a central region which is curved forwardly.
4. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 2, wherein said left and right intermediate segments are convergent toward cross piece.
5. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 1, wherein said left and right paddle bodies are detachably connected to said left and right rear ends, respectively.
6. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 5, wherein each of said left and right rear ends has a socket cavity extending lengthwise, and each of said left and right paddle bodies has a blade and a shaft extending from said blade to terminate at a plug end which is configured to be fitted in said socket cavity of a corresponding one of said left and right rear ends.
7. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 6, wherein each of said left and right rear ends has an outer end surface and a retaining hole which extends radially from said outer end surface to said socket cavity, and each of said left and right paddle bodies further has a spring-loaded pin disposed in said plug end and configured to be snapped into said retaining hole of the corresponding one of said left and right rear ends once said plug end is fitted into said socket cavity of the corresponding one of said left and right rear ends.
8. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 6, wherein said shaft has front and rear segments which are telescopically connected to each other.
9. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 8, wherein said rear segment has a tubular end region distal from said blade, and said front segment has a connected end region which is distal from said plug end, and which is slidably fitted into said tubular end region so as to permit telescopic connection between said connected end region and said tubular end region.
10. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 9, wherein said tubular end region has a plurality of through holes that are linearly displaced from each other, and said connected end region has a spring-loaded ball configured to be snapped into a selected one of said through holes so as to adjust the length of said shaft.
11. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 2, further comprising a reinforcement member having
- a bracing segment extending in the left-and-right direction to terminate at left and right connecting ends which are respectively connected to said left and right front ends so as to maintain a predetermined distance between said left and right front ends, and
- left and right holding rod segments which extend respectively from said left and right connecting ends to said left and right rear ends, respectively, and which are disposed outwardly of said left and right intermediate segments.
12. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 6, wherein each of said left and right paddle bodies further has an extension extending from said shaft, and said blade includes two blade halves hingedly mounted to said extension so as to be displaceable between an unfolded position, where said two blade halves have a maximized propelling force, and a folded position, where said two blade halves have a minimized propelling force.
13. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 12, wherein each of said left and right paddle bodies further has an adjustable spacer which is disposed to be swivelable relative to said extension and between an engageable position where said adjustable spacer limits extent of movement of said two blade halves toward the folded position, and a disengageable position.
14. The ergonomic water paddle according to claim 2, wherein each of said left and right intermediate segments has an arcuate shape.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 1, 2015
Publication Date: Jul 14, 2016
Inventor: Huei-Wern TSUEI (Taipei City)
Application Number: 14/726,852