Abstract:
An elongate and tubular body of a watercycle, featuring a fish, for recreation and for exercise in the water, includes two humps on its back serving as saddle for a rider. The seated rider gets wet up to about the waist. The watercycle and the rider are floated by a highly buoyant material located within the upper body of the watercycle. Forward movement is initiated by manipulating the pedals to get the propellers in the body turning.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/960,787 filed Sep. 27, 2013 by the present inventor. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This water ride includes a float and propellers disposed within an elongate, tubular body. It is slow-moving and is ideal for use in the backyard swimming pool and on the beach, or water park where there is a big crowd a times. A rider manipulates the pedals to get the watercycle to move forward. 
     Commonly used small water rides are assorted figures crafted from foam, and inflatable rubber or plastic material in many forms. These above mentioned water rides have no means of propulsion and it is necessary that younger kids be assisted by elders or parents. Many times kids would use their hands to paddle, or legs to propel themselves. 
     One advantage with this unique watercycle is that the propellers are well shielded within the body and this makes it very safe for swimmers in the vicinity. 
     Another advantage is that it is relatively slow-moving and this makes it safe even in a crowd of bathers. 
     Still another advantage is that the float portion of the watercycle is likewise within the body and this makes it more resistant to deterioration, which may be caused by weather and abrasion from rough handling. 
     SUMMARY 
     Several ways may be adapted to set the propellers within the body of the watercycle, like for example: (1) two propellers mounted side-by-side on one shaft, each propeller being accommodated within respective openings; (2) one propeller mounted on a shaft and accommodated within one opening; and (3) two propellers mounted in tandem on the same shaft and accommodated within one opening. 
     A preferred diversion wall, shown in  FIG. 3 , having multiple openings is disposed perpendicularly within the lower body with the two ends attached to either inboard side walls. When the propellers turn, water flow enters the front open end and is guided towards the suction side of the openings wherein corresponding propellers are disposed. The side of the diversion wall facing the in-coming water flow is the suction side, while the reverse side of said diversion wall is the discharge side. 
    
    
     
       THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a left side view of the watercycle in the form of a fish with two humps on its back. A rider sits between the humps, which serves as a saddle. 
         FIG. 2  is the watercycle shown in  FIG. 1  with the left side removed. It shows the main parts located within the body of the watercycle. 
         FIG. 3  is a top view taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . The diversion wall is “U”-shaped and its two ends are attached to either forward, inboard side walls of the body. Two propellers are mounted side-by-side on a shaft. 
         FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , except that the diversion wall is reversed, and that the two ends are attached to the rearward portion of the body. 
         FIG. 5  shows a diversion wall disposed generally diagonal within the body. One end of said wall is attached to the inboard, forward portion of one side of the body while the other end is attached to the inboard, rearward of the opposite side. 
         FIG. 6  shows a diversion wall disposed generally diagonal, and is attached to the body similar to that in  FIG. 5 . Two propellers in tandem are disposed. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic in the top view, taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 2  of the steering mechanism for translating rotation from handlebar to rudder unit A cord with figure-“8” arrangement is used. 
         FIG. 8  is another form of mechanism for translating rotation from handlebar to rudder unit; a link rod is used. 
         FIG. 9  is an enlarged sectional view of the steering column of  FIG. 2 . It shows how the steering column is mounted atop the front hump of the watercycle. 
         FIG. 10  is a top view taken along line  10 - 10  of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to the drawings in greater detail,  FIG. 1  shows a watercycle  10  with body in the form of a fish having two humps  12  and  14  on its back. When no rider is onboard, the waterline is at N. However, when a rider is onboard, the waterline is at R. A rider sits between the humps, which serves as a saddle. The body  16  may be made of plastic or fiberglass. A rider  18  manipulates the pedals  20  to move the watercycle in the water. 
     In a preferred embodiment, shown in  FIG. 2 , the upper portion of the body is provided with highly buoyant float  22  like molded or pour-foam, or any other suitable material for floating the watercycle and its rider. 
     A perpendicular diversion wall  24  (see also  FIG. 3 ), taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 , with its two ends  24 - a  and  24 - b , is attached opposingly to the forward portion, inboard sides of the body  16 . Two openings  26  and  28  (see also  FIG. 2 ) are provided on the diversion wall to accommodate the respective propellers  30  and  32  thereinto. The openings are sized to have larger diameter than the diameter of the propellers. The diversion wall is provided to guide water flow towards openings  26  and  28  (see also  FIG. 2 ), when the propellers  30  and  32  are rotating. In  FIG. 4  is an alternative set-up of the diversion wall, similar to that shown in  FIG. 3 . The diversion wall  34  is reversed so that the two ends  34 - a  and  34 - b  are attached oppositely towards the rear portion, inboard sides of the body. 
     Other arrangements of the diversion walls are shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The walls  38  and  39  are oriented generally diagonal within the body. One end  38 - b  ( FIG. 5 ) of the diversion wall is attached to the right inboard, forward portion of the body, and the other end  38 - a  is attached to the left inboard rearward portion. Diversion walls  38  ( FIG. 5) and 39  ( FIG. 6 ) are identical and therefore no further discussion is deemed necessary. 
     In  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the diversion walls  24  and  34  are each having two openings  26  and  28  (not shown), and  40  and  44  (both not shown). Each opening includes a propeller accommodated therein. In  FIG. 5  is shown a single propeller  48  accommodated within a single opening  50 . In  FIG. 6 , however, two propellers  54  and  56  are placed in tandem in one shaft  62  and accommodated in the proximity of a single opening  58 . 
     A propeller shaft  62  is disposed horizontally athwartly across the body of the watercycle with bearings  64  and  66  on either sidewalls  70  and  72 . This shaft set-up likewise applies to all arrangements shown in  FIGS. 3 through 6 . Pedals  20 - a  and  20 - b  are respectively attached to shaft ends  74  and  76 . 
     When pedaling for forward movement, the shaft  62  and including the propeller rotate counter-clockwise (see  FIG. 2 ) when viewed from the left side. It will be noted that the propeller blades are set or angled such that the leading edges are facing the suction side, or towards the source of water flow, indicated by the small arrows. Thus, water passes through the openings when the pedals are manipulated, and thereby give the watercycle a push-forward reactive movement. 
     The handlebar column  78  ( FIGS. 2 and 9 ) is pivotally mounted atop the front hump  12 . A protective tube  80  is provided to ensure free rotation of the handlebar column. A flanged bushing  84  on the upper end of the tube and another bushing  86  on the bottom end are placed tight-fit against the inside wall of the tube  80 . The inside diameter of bushing  84  and  86  are larger than the diameter of the column  78  to ensure free rotational movement of the latter. 
     A collar  88  integral with a pulley  90  and attached with setscrew  92  onto the bottom end of the column supports the tube  80  from sliding down. A larger collar  94  with stop prongs  96  projecting downwardly from its periphery is attached with setscrew  97  onto the handlebar column to keep the latter from sliding down. The stop prongs  96  penetrate through arcuate openings  98 - a  and  98 - b  which serve to limit rotational movement of the handlebar column when steering. 
     A protective tube  102  ( FIG. 2 ) is provided for rudder shaft  104 . A pin  106  is radially attached to limit angular rotation of the shaft  104 . Also attached to the rudder shaft is a pulley  109  and a rudder  110 . The protective tube  102  includes a transverse slot  114 , of length, adopted to permit limited rotation of the rudder shaft  104  when steering. 
     The pulley  108  at the bottom end of the handlebar column and the pulley  109  intermediate the rudder shaft are interconnected by a cord  116  (see  FIG. 7 ) in a figure-“8” pattern. With this operative hitch, when the handlebar is rotated in one direction, the rudder shaft rotates in the other direction. 
     An alternative steering arrangement is shown in  FIG. 8 . A link rod  118  is articulated with its first end  120  to a first ear  122  affixed to the handlebar shaft  78  and its second end  124  is articulated with the second ear  126  affixed to the rudder shaft  104 . Thus, when the handlebar is rotated in one direction, the rudder shaft  104  with the rudder  110  rotates in the other direction, by actuation of the link rod  118 . 
     Pour-foam or spray-on method of stuffing foam into the upper body, shown in  FIG. 2 , may be used to produce floatation means for the watercycle. Or, any other suitable material with excellent buoyancy can be used. If pour-foam or spray-on foam is used, the handlebar protection tube  80  and the rudder shaft protection tube  102  are embedded in the foam  22  and this make them structurally steady. 
     Various changes in shape and form may be apparent to those skilled in the art and such may be within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claim herein appended.