Abstract:
This invention pertains to an aquatic stand up board where the rider is standing on the board and provides propulsion by means of a manual hand crank. The hand crank operates two sprockets and a chain causing a double paddle wheel beneath the board to rotate thereby providing thrust. Forward or backward motion depends on whether the manual crank is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise. Steering is achieved by turning the crank in a horizontal plane, similar to a bicycle handlebar, which rotates the paddle wheels in the desired direction.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of stand-up paddle boarding and in particular, to a stand-up paddle board having a human powered propulsion system directed by a hand crank. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Stand-up paddle boarding (“SUP”) is an activity based upon the sport of surfing. Surfing being an activity that allows an individual to move in accordance with the motion of a wave, requiring the individual to lay on the board to hand paddle when the motion of the wave is not available. This is a common mode of propulsion when a surfer is moving from one location to another. 
     The movement of a surfboard without the motion of a wave has become a sport in and of itself. In particular the surfboard is used as a platform and wherein an individual stands up on the board and propulsion is caused by use of a paddle board. The paddle board is operated by the individual requiring balance and strength in order to successfully move the board from one location to another. 
     SUP has created a following wherein SUP races are commonly held throughout the world. In many instances it is difficult for beginners or those not so athletically inclined to maintain their balance upon a SUP. In such instances the individual may frequently tip the board over and/or lose the paddle. In either event the individual can become frustrated and lose interest in the activity. 
     What is needed in the art is a board that allows an individual to stand-up on a board yet provide the individual with a raised handle to grasp in order to steady himself. In addition, what is needed is for the raised handle to provide a means to cause human propulsion of the board in a forward, rearward, or sideward direction. 
     DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
     U.S. Pat. No. 9,051,038 discloses a paddle board that includes a propulsion device that utilizes paddle wheels positioned on either side of the board. The paddle wheels are driven by a foot operated drive mechanism that utilizes elliptical type of pedaling by the user. Hand controlled rudders control the direction of travel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,048 discloses a water board wherein a screw propeller mounted on the underside of the board generates thrust in response to the push-pull action of a hand lever which protrudes from either side of the board. The push-pull action on the lever causes a ratchet-type mechanism to rotate a gear assembly which is connected to the screw propeller shaft. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 8,992,272 discloses a stand-up pedal board wherein propulsion is provided by applying alternating downward force to foot pedals to swing a fin side to side through transfer of energy from foot pedal shafts rotating around a T brace. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,274 discloses a catamaran hull with bicycle pedals used to drive a propeller to propel the hull. The foot pedaling action may be augmented by lines secured to the pedals so the operator can pull each pedal manually on return. Turning is achieved by the operator leaning to either side which causes the rear pontoons to pivot right or left correspondingly. 
     U.S. Design Pat. No. 399,814 discloses a small boat having a pedal operated propulsion perspective view of an aquacyle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,554 discloses a recreational water craft which is manually powered. Outrigger floats are provided with a vertical extension on which is mounted an independently operated paddle wheel. The paddle wheels each have a handle or hand grip on their inboard surface, which can be adjusted relative to the axis of rotation of each of such wheel, to accommodate the crew member&#39;s reach and his location on the main float. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,371,138 discloses a pedal boat drive comprising a pedal crank and a drive train for transferring drive energy produced by the pedal crank to a propeller. At least one flywheel, which is mounted on a free-running axle, is placed in the drive train between the pedal crank and the means of propulsion. Drive energy produced by the pedal crank is transferred from the pedal crank to the flywheel, which is mounted in a free-running manner, and is transferred from said flywheel to the means of propulsion. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 8,043,134, discloses a watercraft having a deck configured with a rocker having graspable input arm above-deck and a lower output arm, the first rocker being pivoted to the craft, the output arm connecting a push-bar at a first end and the push-bar having a second end connecting a second rocker, the second rocker having input and output arms, the output arm of the second rocker having a propelling fin, the second rocker being pivoted to the watercraft. The watercraft may have a third rocker, fin, and pivot, and more. Users stand upon deck, grasp the first rocker&#39;s input arm and vertically thrust the rocker to propel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An aquatic stand up board, similar to a paddle board or surf-board, where the individual stands on the board having a raised handle to steady themselves. From the raised handle, propulsion is provided by means of a manual crank located on the raised handle which is based upon a vertical shaft that extends from the board to a position where the individual can grasp the manual crank for rotation. The manual crank is coupled to a paddle wheel beneath the board by use of two sprockets and a chain, rotation of which providing thrust through the paddlewheel. Forward or backward motion depends on whether the manual crank is rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise. Steering is achieved by turning the crank in a horizontal plane, similar to a bicycle handle bar, which rotates the paddle wheels in the desired direction. 
     An objective of the invention is to provide an improved stand-up paddle board. 
     Still another objective of the invention is to provide a paddle board that is less prone to tipping by positioning a handle system in the middle of the paddle board. 
     Still another objective of the invention is to provide a paddle board wherein the paddle and operating mechanism are attached to the board to prevent loss. 
     Yet still another objective of the invention is to provide a dual paddle wheel design having a solid disc on the inboard sides to minimize cavitation from the individual paddles. 
     Other objectives and further advantages and benefits associated with this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, examples and claims which follow. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the stand-up paddle board of the instant invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view thereof; 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the crank assembly cross section; and 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the paddle wheel assembly cross section. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , illustrated is the stand-up paddle board  10  of the instant invention. Paddle boards can be made of any length but are typically range from nine feet to about fourteen feet long. The shape of the board varies between manufacturers but otherwise assimilate a conventional surfboard constructed either from a foam core wrapped in a fiberglass and epoxy skin or other materials. The paddle board is defined by an upper surface  12 , a lower surface  14 , and a continuous shaped sidewall  16 . A stabilizing fin  18  is secured to the lower surface  14  of the board  10  along a tail end  19 , opposite the leading end  21 . A centrally disposed aperture  20  is placed through the board  10  for receipt of a conical shaped housing base  22  that is secured to the upper surface  12  of the board  10  over the aperture  20 . The housing base  22  includes a flange  24  that allows for permanent attachment of the housing base  22  to the board  10  by fasteners such as screws (not shown), glue or lamination within the fiberglass skin. A column  26  is sized to provide a handle at a distance above the upper surface  12 . The column  26  holds the propulsion system mechanism and serves also as the steering column. The upper end of the column  26  contains a manual crank system  32 . The manual crank  32  is coupled to a paddle wheel assembly  35  as later herein defined. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the top section of column  26  includes a top retainer cap  33  used to prevent the upper sprocket  34  assembly from sliding upward. A slotted sleeve  36  is adjusted up or down to achieve proper tension of a drive chain  38  and then fastened by screws or the like to maintain the position and proper tension to the drive chain  38 . The top retainer cap  33  also serves as a protective cover to the upper sprocket  34  and drive chain  38 . It should be noted that the drive chain  38  and sprockets  34  and  40  may be made of plastic, metal, fabric or any type of material capable to achieve the needed torque to actuate the paddle wheels  100  and  101  assembly. While in most instances the drive chain  38  can be made of light weight and fairly soft materials, should a SUP be used in a sporting activity such as racing the drive chain may be made of metal in order to handle the high stress imposed by a non-recreational individual. The upper sprocket  34  is assembled to a shaft  44  housed in a shaft housing  46 . On each side of the sprocket  34  are securement rings  50  and  52  which maintain the position of the upper sprocket  34  in a central position of the shaft  44 . Middle rings  54  and  56  are attached to the inward portion of the shaft housing  46  and outset rings  58  and  60  are attached to the outward portion of the shaft housing  46  to guide and retain the sprocket  34  in a central position of column  26 . Rings  62  and  64  are at the end of the shaft housing  46  and operate as bearing areas to the cranks  70  and  73 . A first crank  70  is bolted  72  to the first end of the shaft  44  having rotating handle  74  bolted  76  to the first crank  70 . A second crank  73  is bolted  75  to the second end of the shaft  44  having rotating handle  77  bolted  79  to the second crank  73 . 
     Most of the components, if not all, can be made of plastic such as polyethylene by utilizing injection and rotational molding processes. This simplifies the manufacturing of the various parts and lowers assembly time. For example, the sprockets and their respective shafts can be made as one component, similarly for the housing  22  together with flange  24  and stiffening braces  25  can be made as one part by utilizing the rotational molding process; by means of injection molding each paddle wheel can be made as one component. By utilizing these processes the weight and cost of the board are significantly reduced. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the lower section of the column  26  consists of a bottom cap  90  which retains the lower sprocket assembly  40  and serves as the protective cover to the sprocket  40  and drive chain  38 . Note that the cap  90  can be made longer so that its bottom would be lower than the outer circumference of the paddle wheels  100  and  101  thus protecting the paddle wheels from touching bottom in shallow waters. The lower sprocket  40  is attached to shaft  104  which is housed in a spacing sleeve  106 . On each side of the shaft  104  are securement rings  110  and  112  which maintain the position of the lower sprocket  40  in a central position on the shaft  104 . Middle rings  114  and  116  are attached to the inward portion of the shaft housing  106  and outset rings  118  and  120  are attached to the outward portion of the housing  106  to guide and retain the sprocket assembly  40  in a central position of column  26 . The attached rings serve the same purpose as explained for the upper sprocket assembly  34 . 
     Paddle wheel  100  is bolted to one end of the shaft  104  and paddle wheel  101  forms a mirror image of paddle wheel  100  and is bolted to the opposite end of the shaft  104 . Paddle wheel  100  is formed from a solid disk  130  on the inboard side to which the individual paddles  132  are attached to. The solid disks  130  help to protect and stiffen the paddle blades and also minimize cavitation interference between the two paddle wheels  100  and  101  by directing water flow. Similarly, paddle wheel  101  is formed from a solid disk  140  on the inboard side to which the individual paddles  142  are attached to. The solid disk  140  helps to protect and stiffen the paddle blades  142  and also minimize cavitation interference between the two paddle wheels  100  and  101  by directing water flow. The paddle wheel assembly (see  FIG. 2 ) and the column  26  are secured to the board  10  by the conical shaped housing  22  which also prevents splashing of the rider by the paddle wheels. The flange  24  of the housing  22  allows to attach the complete assembly to the board  10 . 
     The steering housing  28  and the paddle wheels  22  employ four stiffener braces  25  constructed and arranged to support the column  26  and stiffen the housing  22 . The column  26  engages bearing ring  27  to allow ease of turning. As previously mentioned, the column  26  is attached to the paddlewheel assembly wherein turning of the column  26  allows the paddlewheel assembly to turn in the direction that the column  26  is facing. Turning the column 90° would allow the paddlewheel assembly  35  to rotate in a direction perpendicular to the length of the board, causing the board to move sideways. The bearing ring  27  is securely attached to column  26  and sits on the upper flange of  28 . Brackets  29  prevent column  26  from moving upward. 
     The housing  22  forms a cavity  15  beneath the board  10 . The shaft  104  of the paddlewheels  100 ,  101  is centrally mounted about in the middle of the core  11  wherein about half of the paddles  132  and  142  are above the water line for part of the rotation above the middle of the core  11  when the board is properly loaded and the remainder of the water paddles  132  and  142  are beneath the water line for propulsion purposes. 
     The crank arms  70  and  73  can be made of different lengths for the individual user&#39;s comfort. The crank arms can be installed pointing in the same direction, if the rider/operator prefers both of his arms to move the same way at all times allowing the crank to operate in a pump action wherein both crank arms  70  and  70  are rotated such that handles  74  and  77  are in the same position at all times. Alternatively the crank arms are diametrically opposed wherein the handles are positioned 180 degree apart. In this manner the first crank arm can form a mirror image of the second crank arm allowing the crank assembly to operate as a straight line pump. When the first crank arm is positioned diametrically from the second crank arm, the crank assembly operates as a rotational pump. The design of this invention allows easy assembly of the crank and as well as the different components allowing ease of modification or replacement when needed. 
     Column  26  has two slotted openings from the top edge to a certain distance and opposite to each other; the width of these two opposite slots is the same as the diameter of the two shafts housings  46  and  106 . The bottom section of column  26  has also two slotted openings in line with those of the upper section, having the same width and starting at the bottom edge of column  26 , except that their length is the same as the diameter of the two shafts housings  46  and  106 . This allows for ease of mounting and dismounting of the sprocket-chain assemblies. 
     The upper sprocket  44  and lower sprocket  40  can be of the same or different diameters establishing different ratios. The optimal ratio of the two sprockets is established by the size of the board  10 , the comfort of the rider actuating the crank  32  and the best paddle wheel efficiency. Several sprockets diameters can be made available so that the board  10  can be customized to the stand up rider/operator. 
     The column  26  further operates as a steering mechanism wherein the turning of the column  26  operates to turn the paddle wheels  100 ,  101 . In this manner while the board is being operated the individual can turn the column  26  by orientation of the crank assembly  32  allowing the board  10  to move in the direction of the paddlewheels. At higher speeds the individual can shift their weight to lessen the need for directional positioning of the paddlewheels. 
     Detailed embodiments of the instant invention are disclosed herein, however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific functional and structural details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representation basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. 
     All patents and publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. It is to be understood that while a certain form of the invention is illustrated, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement herein described and shown. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention and the invention is not to be considered limited to what is shown and described in the specification and any drawings/figures included herein. 
     One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.