Patent Publication Number: US-2016221654-A1

Title: Electrical Forward-Moving Assistant Apparatus

Description:
This application claims the benefit of priority based on Taiwan Patent Application No 104201469, filed on Jan. 30, 2015, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is regarding an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus. More precisely speaking, this invention is regarding an ultra-compact, low drag in water, hands-free and easy-to-install electrical forward-moving assist apparatus. 
     2. Descriptions of the Related Art 
     In prior art, diver propulsion vehicle requires user to hold the vehicle by hand to operate. This inconvenience greatly limited user&#39;s ability to perform other function. Also, during use underwater, a hand-held type vehicle could drift away unnoticed if left on the sea floor beside diver. 
     For this reason, prior art as depicted in  FIG. 1 , the diver propulsion device  1  utilizes a mounting bracket  108  for installing onto the side of the cylinder body  109 . Even though diver propulsion device  1  in  FIG. 1  can be operated hands-free, but its profile increased drag in water, and thus become user&#39;s burden when the vehicle lost its propulsion power due to low battery or malfunction. Besides, because the diver propulsion device  1  is installed away from the center of gravity of the cylinder body  109 , the device generate significant amount of torque to flip the user toward one side. Furthermore, the structure of diver propulsion device  1  is exposed and thus can be entangled by objects or cause damage to environment underwater. 
     Besides, the prior arts consider battery as an item which can only have basic geometry shape such as cylinder or box. The exterior shape of the diver propulsion device is developed primarily based on the shape of the battery, causing the envelop dimension to become large or long. Excessive size and weight subsequently become a burden too much for many divers to carry. Please refer to the multifunctional diver propulsion device in  FIG. 2 . Because the shape of the diver propulsion device  2  is developed based on the usual shape of most commonly available batteries  24 , the battery chamber  242  became large and long. It simply cannot be light and compact enough for divers to carry easily. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary purpose of this invention is to provide an electrical forward-moving assistant apparatus which comprises of a housing, a motor, at least one battery unit, a propeller, a housing mounting fixture and at least one battery mounting fixture. Said housing forms a watertight pressure-resistant sealed internal space. Said at least one housing mounting fixture is placed outside of said housing to install said housing onto one end of a cylinder body. Said Motor is placed inside said sealed internal space and connect with said propeller outside said housing (in the opposite direction away from said housing). Said battery unit is installed onto said cylinder body, said housing, or said buoyancy control device (BCD) by said at least one battery mounting fixture. Said battery unit supplies power to the motor by connecting with the at least one electrical wire. 
     In summary, the electrical forward moving assistant apparatus can be easily attached and detached onto the diver&#39;s equipment, such as scuba tank or BCD, and thus does not require hand-held to operate. Its compact profile based on making the shape of housing conforms to the shape of the equipment and the battery shape conforms to the shape of the housing creates a very compact structure which is easy to carry, low drag in water and light weight on land. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a prior art diver propulsion device; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a prior art multifunctional diver propulsion device; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of the first embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial, schematic view of the first embodiment of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the first embodiment of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic view of the second embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view of the third embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the fourth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the fifth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the sixth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of the seventh embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic view of the eighth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic view of the ninth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic view of the tenth embodiment of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 15  is a partial, schematic view of the tenth embodiment of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic view of a battery unit of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; 
         FIG. 17  is another schematic view of a battery unit of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus; and 
         FIG. 18  to  FIG. 22  are schematic views of an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     In the following description, this invention will be explained with reference to embodiments thereof. However, the description of these embodiments is only for purposes of illustration rather than limitation. It should be appreciated that in the following embodiments and attached drawings, elements unrelated to this invention are omitted from depictions; and dimensional relationships among individual elements in the attached drawings are illustrated only for ease of understanding, but not to limit the actual scale. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 5 , an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  the first embodiment of this invention is consists of a housing  31 , a motor  32 , a propeller  33 , a battery unit  34  and a housing mounting fixture  35 . The housing  31  is installed onto one end of a cylinder body  30  by the housing mounting fixture  35 , such as the bottom side of the cylinder body  30 . The drag when operating underwater did not increase since the propulsion vehicle is mounted directly behind one end of the cylinder body. The housing  31  is consisted of one housing chamber  312  and housing cover  313  which together form a watertight pressure-resistant sealed internal space. The Motor  32  is installed inside said the sealed internal space. Under normal circumstances, the cylinder body  30  is a scuba tank with a tank boot  301  attached to the bottom. The shape of the housing cover  31  conforms to the external shape of the tank boot  301  or bottom of the scuba tank  30 . The battery  34  is installed onto the cylinder body  30  by a battery mounting fixture, such as a strap, a latch or a locking pin. 
     In this embodiment, the battery  34  has an elongated shape. Said battery unit  34  is mounted onto the cylinder body  30  by a strap  36 , for example, the strap  36  commonly found on a BCD  302 . The battery  34  is electrically connected and provides electricity to motor  32  or motor controller  39  by an electrical wire  37 . 
     Inside the housing cover  313 , a bearing seat  3131  can be installed to position a bearing  322 . One end of a motor rod  321  is placed inside the bearing seat  3131  to ensure its smooth running. In this embodiment, a rib structure  314  formed outside the housing body  31  to allow water passage to propeller  33  and provide protection against entanglement. A propeller guard  315  is placed to the bottom end of the housing  31  to reduce possibility of external impact during use. The propeller guard  315  can also support the weight of the entire setup and maintain upright. The motor rod  321  passes through a through hole  3121  on the housing  31  and connects with the propeller  33  by a propeller rod  331 . 
     In this embodiment, the motor shaft  321  directly connects with the propeller shaft  331  and then connects with propeller  33 . The motor  32  electrically connects with a control switch  326  mounted on the housing  31  to control the power on/off and speed of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3 . 
     The electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  is installed onto the cylinder body  31  by the housing mounting fixture  35  which can be at least one latch  351  that connect housing  31  to the tank boot  301 . Said tank boot  301  has a cylindrical rim  3011 , an opening  3012  and multiple side ribs  3013  and bottom ribs  3014 . No need for redundant description, other mechanical means, such as screw or locking pin, can also be used to connect the housing  31  and tank boot  301 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 6 , the battery  34  in the second embodiment of this invention is elongated in shape. The battery  34  is installed onto the cylinder body  30  by a latch  61  and electrically connects the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 7 , in the third embodiment of this invention, the battery  34  of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  is elongated in shape. The battery  34  is mounted onto the cylinder body  30  by a first strap  361  and a second strap  363 . The battery  34  is electrically connected to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 8 , in the fourth embodiment of this invention, the battery  34  of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  is elongated in shape. The battery  34  is installed onto the cylinder body  30  by a mounting piece  81  and a pin  83 . The battery  34  is electrically connected to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 9 , in the fifth embodiment of this invention, the shape of the battery  34  of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  adapts to the contour of the top of the cylinder body  30 . The battery  34  is mounted onto the cylinder body  30  by the above mentioned mechanical means. The battery  34  is electrically connected to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 10 , in the sixth embodiment of this invention, the shape of the battery  34  of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  adapts to part of exterior shape of the housing  31 . The battery  34  is mounted onto the housing  31  by the above mentioned mechanical means. The battery  34  is electrically connected to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 11 , in the seventh embodiment of this invention, the battery  34  of the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  adapts to part of exterior shape of the components of the BCD  302 . The battery  34  is installed onto the BCD  302  by the above mentioned mechanical means. The battery  34  is electrically connected to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  by the electrical wire  37 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 12 , in the eighth embodiment of this invention, the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  consists of multiple battery units  341 ,  343  and multiple electrical wire  371 ,  372 . The battery unit  341  electrically connects to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  shown in  FIG. 4  by the electrical wire  371 . The battery unit  343  electrically connects to the motor  32  or motor controller  39  shown in  FIG. 4  by the electrical wire  373 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 13 , in the ninth embodiment of this invention, the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  is similar to the eighth embodiment except it further consists of a battery connector  38 . The battery units  341 ,  343  electrically connect to the battery connector  38  by the electrical wires  371 ,  373 . The motor  32  or motor controller  39  electrically connects to the battery connector  38  via a wire  381  to receive power from the battery unit  341  or the battery unit  343 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 14  and  FIG. 15 , in the tenth embodiment of this invention, the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  is similar to the eighth embodiment except it further consists of a battery switch  41  and an internal battery unit  43 . The battery units  341 ,  343  respectively electrically connect to the battery switch  41  by the electrical wires  371 ,  373 . The battery switch  41  electrically connects to the internal battery unit  43  shown in  FIG. 15  and the motor  32  or motor controller  39  as well. The motor  32  or motor controller  39  receives power from the battery units  341 ,  343  or internal battery unit  43  by the battery switch  41 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 16 , the battery unit  34  in above mentioned embodiments comprises of multiple battery modules  3411 ,  3413  and a battery management device  3415 . The battery modules  3411 ,  3413  can be one single battery cell or several battery cells. The battery modules  3411 ,  3413  are individually electrically connected to the battery management device  3415  and then to the electrical wire  37 . The battery units  341 ,  343  are similar in structure to the battery unit  34 . Besides, the battery unit  34  in this invention does not have to include the battery management device  3415  as a built-in device. The battery modules  3411 ,  3413  can electrically connect to the electrical wire  37  directly. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 17 , each of the above mentioned battery units  34 ,  341 ,  343  further consists of a power supply terminal  3417 . User can use their appliance by drawing power via the power supply terminal  3417  from the battery units  34 ,  341 ,  342 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 18 , the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  in the above mentioned embodiment further consists of a controller  181  and a control wire  183  which are used to control the motor  32  or motor controller  39  shown in  FIG. 4 . Also, the control wire  183  can serve as a pull cord for kill switch which allows the user to pull and breakup the power from the battery when necessary. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 19 , the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  in the above mentioned embodiment further comprises of a controller pocket  185  which is mounted on the housing  31  for storing the controller  181 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 20 , the above mentioned electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  can further include a controller retriever  187  which is mounted on the housing  31  for containing the controller  181  and retrieving the control wire  183 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 21 , the above mentioned electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  can further include a wireless controller  191 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 22 , the electrical forward-moving assist apparatus  3  can be installed onto the front end of the cylinder body  30 , more specifically speaking, around tank valve of the scuba tank. In this setup, the electrical forward moving assist apparatus  3  is mounted to cylinder body  30  by a mounting piece, but nonetheless serve as a latch to fasten the unit onto cylinder body. 
     To sum up, this invention is an electrical forward-moving assist apparatus that is easy to be mounted onto a cylinder body. It is a compact, low drag in water, easily detachable type non-hand held electrical forward moving assist apparatus. By such design, this invention can effectively overcome many issues related to the use of electrical forward moving assist apparatus in the prior art. 
     The above embodiments merely give the detailed technical contents of the present invention and inventive features thereof, and are not to limit the covered range of the present invention. People skilled in this field may proceed with a variety of modifications and replacements based on the disclosures and suggestions of the invention as described without departing from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although such modifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the above descriptions, they have substantially been covered in the following claims as appended.