Steering system for sailing vessels

(19)

(11)

EP 2 404 823 A3

(12)	EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88)	Date of publication A3:
	11.04.2012 Bulletin 2012/15

(43)	Date of publication A2:
	11.01.2012 Bulletin 2012/02

(21)	Application number: 11166398.5

(22)	Date of filing: 17.05.2011

(51)

International Patent Classification (IPC):

B63H 25/02^(2006.01)

B63H 25/18^(2006.01)

(84)	Designated Contracting States:
	AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR
	Designated Extension States:
	BA ME

(30)

Priority:

17.05.2010 NZ 58541610

(71)	Applicant: Alloy Yachts International Limited
	Auckland (NZ)

(72)	Inventor:
	Salmon, Russell Andrew Auckland (NZ)

(74)	Representative: Powell, Stephen David
	Williams Powell Staple Court 11 Staple Inn Buildings London, WC1V 7QH London, WC1V 7QH (GB)

(54)	Steering system for sailing vessels

(57) A steering system for a yacht including a rudder and a user steering interface such as a wheel or tiller is described. The steering system comprising:
a drive unit connected with the rudder to control the angle of the rudder relative to the yacht hull,
a sensor for sensing the position or movement of the user steering interface,
a controller activating the drive unit to control the angle of the rudder according to the output of the sensor,
a feedback system that senses the rotation load on the rudder and applies a feedback force to the user steering interface that is a non-linear function of the rudder load.

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