A system receives and passively manages incident force vectors from at least one tethered aerofoil and from one or more other sources so as to minimise the torque exerted on the structural body of a craft by these forces to substantially zero in the roll, pitch and, in some embodiments, yaw axes. This imposed-torque-minimising system allows a high-powered propulsion system based upon tethered aerofoils to propel a relatively small craft without forcibly tilting it to port, to starboard, forward or aft, which is an important prerequisite for safe, controllable operation of such craft in most cases. The tethered aerofoil may be attached to curved tracks 30, which are mounted on a rotatable plate 31, so that the imposed force always acts through a central point 40. A hydrofoil may be attached by a second curved track 40 mounted on an independently rotatable lower plate 31.
Load convergence system for tethered aerofoil wind propulsion
2022-04-06
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B63H Schiffsantrieb oder Steuerung der Schiffe , MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING |
LOAD CONVERGENCE SYSTEM FOR TETHERED AEROFOIL WIND PROPULSION
European Patent Office | 2022
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