U.S. patent number 3,659,475 [Application Number 05/041,285] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-02 for remote throttle and steering control unit.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Leisure Products Corporation. Invention is credited to Paul E. Nichols.
United States Patent |
3,659,475 |
Nichols |
May 2, 1972 |
REMOTE THROTTLE AND STEERING CONTROL UNIT
Abstract
A remote control unit for an outboard motor or the like
incorporating in a single control bar the combined functions of
steering and throttle control.
Inventors: |
Nichols; Paul E. (Sunnyvale,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Leisure Products Corporation
(Menlo Park, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
21915753 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/041,285 |
Filed: |
May 28, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
74/480B; 74/471R;
114/160; 440/87; 74/500.5; 74/557; 440/62 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63H
21/213 (20130101); Y10T 74/20232 (20150115); Y10T
74/20864 (20150115); Y10T 74/20402 (20150115); Y10T
74/20012 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B63H
21/00 (20060101); B63H 21/22 (20060101); G05g
013/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;74/501,471,48B,494,488,489 ;114/160 ;115/18R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kaufman; Milton
Assistant Examiner: Shoemaker; F. D.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A remote throttle steering control unit for an outboard motor
comprising a pulley wheel adapted for mounting on a boat for
controlled rotation, a pair of cables connected to said pulley
wheel in extension from opposite sides thereof and adapted to be
secured to opposite sides of the throttle bar of an outboard motor
which includes a shaft rotatable about its axis to control throttle
setting of the motor and which is also angularly displaceable in an
arc for steering whereby turning of said pulley wheel effects such
steering, a steering control connected to said pulley wheel for
turning the same and including a tube and a torque shaft extending
through the tube, a handle adjacent one end of the steering control
for turning the torque shaft, a Bowden cable connection with the
opposite end of the steering control comprising a cable element and
a sheath, one end of the cable element being connected to turn with
the torque shaft with the sheath connected to the tube, and
mounting means connecting the opposite end of said Bowden cable to
said throttle bar; said mounting means including a connection of
the opposite end of cable sheath with a non-rotatable bracket of
the throttle bar with the opposite end of the cable element
connected to said throttle bar shaft to rotate the same upon
turning of said handle, whereby the motor can be steered without
affecting the throttle setting.
2. The remote control unit of claim 1 wherein said mounting means
comprises a tube through which the rotatable throttle shaft
extends, the non-rotatable bracket is carried by said tube, and a
pulley is secured to said throttle bar shaft adjacent said bracket
to which the cable element is connected.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
It is known to provide remote steering and throttle control for
ships and boats, generally in a wheelhouse or control station
thereof. Commonly, however, these types of controls are provided
for vessels having integral drive means and with regard to the
field of small boats such propulsion means are commonly termed
inboard motors. There are, however, a large class of powered boats
employing outboard motors, i.e., internal combustion engines, which
may be removably attached to the transom of a boat for powering of
same. In the operation of outboard motors, it is conventional for
the operator to locate himself at the stern of the boat where the
motor is mounted and to steer the boat by swinging the throttle or
steering arm back-and-forth in an arc and to control the throttle
setting by rotating the throttle bar or steering arm. It is
realized, however, that for many applications, it is desirable for
the operator to be located somewhere else in the boat other than
the stern thereof, and thus there have been developed remote
steering units and remote throttle controls for outboard motors of
substantial horsepower. These types of remote controls commonly
parallel those provided for inboard motors in that they usually
incorporate a steering wheel connected by cables to the outboard
motor and commonly provide a separate throttle lever that may be
moved between positions along an arc to establish the desired
throttle setting. Aside from the foregoing there exists a
relatively large group of what may be termed small horsepower
outboard motors which commonly must be manually operated from the
stern of the boat because of the lack of remote steering and
throttle control means therefor. Some boat operators have, in fact,
attempted to provide home-made remote control units for this type
of outboard motor in order to achieve remote control with a minimum
of cost.
The present invention provides a simple inexpensive and yet highly
utilitarian remote control unit particularly adapted for small
outboard motors employed with boats. The control unit of the
present invention provides the control in a single movable element
to thus materially simplify both the structure and the operation of
the invention.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
There is provided by this invention a relatively simple system
adapted for connection to an outboard motor that may be mounted on
the stern of a small boat for propelling same. The unit hereof may
be located at any desired position upon a boat carrying an outboard
motor and provides for both throttle setting and steering in a
single movable control bar or the like.
The control bar of the present invention is mounted to move in an
arc under control of an operator in order to controllably swing the
throttle bar of an outboard motor or the like so as to direct the
rudder and propeller thereof in a desired direction for steering a
boat upon which the outboard motor is mounted. The control bar of
this invention is furthermore provided with a capability of being
rotated about the axis thereof and this rotary motion is coupled by
a flexible cable of the type employed for motorcycles and the like
to the throttle bar of the outboard motor for operating same to
consequently vary the throttle setting of the motor.
The throttle and steering control mechanism of the present
invention is adapted for permanent mounting within a boat and for
simple attachment to and disconnection from an outboard motor that
may be removably mounted upon the stern of the boat. The control
bar of the present invention is attached t a pulley wheel having
flexible cables extending therefrom about appropriate guide members
to the stern of the boat for removable attachment to the throttle
bar of an outboard motor. Thus, moving the control bar in an arc
moves the throttle bar of the outboard motor in an arc to provide
steering control. Furthermore, the control bar of the present
invention includes an axial torque bar for transmitting rotary
motion from a control bar handle at one end of the bar to a
throttle pulley wheel immediately adjacent the axis of the
above-noted steering pulley wheel. A Bowden cable extending from
the throttle pulley wheel at the remote control station is
connected to the throttle bar of the outboard motor by bracket and
spring means to provide for twisting of the throttle bar by the
control bar so as to provide continuous throttle setting.
DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
A single preferred embodiment of the present invention is
illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the remote control mechanism of the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the mechanism of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of steering control lines
between the remote control mechanism and an outboard motor;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged sectional view taken in an axial plane
of the control bar of the remote control mechanism of FIG. 1;
FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken in the plane 6--6 of
FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken in the plane 7--7 of
FIG. 5;
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the throttle control
connection to an outboard motor;
FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the throttle control
connection at the motor taken in the plane 9--9 of FIG. 8; and
FIG. 10 is a partial transverse sectional view taken in the plane
10--10 of FIG. 8.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The remote control unit 11 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, will be
seen to include a mounting bracket 12 which may be secured to any
desired portion of a boat or the like, such as the forward combing
and including a pair of spaced sides adapted to carry an axle 13
therethrough. A peripherally grooved pulley wheel 14 is mounted on
the axle 13 for rotation in the mounting bracket 12. A pair of
lines or cables 16 and 17 extend partially about opposite sides of
the pulley wheel 14 in the peripheral groove to a connector 18
which engages the pulley wheel as, for example, by lateral arms
extending from the sides thereof to fix the cable ends with respect
to the wheel. It will be seen that turning the wheel 14 will cause
one of the cables to wrap further around the wheel and the other
cable to unwrap as the cable ends and the connector 18 are moved.
This, then, provides for remote steering of an outboard motor, for
example.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is schematically illustrated the pulley
wheel 14 with cables 16 and 17 extending therefrom and located at
some distance from an outboard motor 21. The cables 16 and 17 are
shown to be directed about small pulleys or the like from the
remote control unit 11 to the outboard motor where the two cables
are connected to opposite sides of the throttle bar 22 of the motor
which includes a shaft rotatable in the usual manner about its axis
to control throttle setting. Thus the motor may be pivoted for
steering from the remote control unit 11 by means of the cables 16
and 17, and the throttle setting is controlled by turning the
rotatable shaft of the throttle bar 22 about its axis.
With regard to the manner of turning the pulley wheel 14 for
steering, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a control bar 23 affixed
to one end of the axle 13 by a split fitting 24 bolted about the
bar 23 as shown. The control bar may then be moved in an arc to
rotate the pulley wheel 14 and consequently to rotate the outboard
motor 21 for steering the boat.
The control bar 23 is also employed for adjusting the throttle
setting of the motor 21. Considering now the details of the control
bar 23 and referring to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, it will be seen that the
bar includes an outer cylindrical tube 40 with an elongated torque
tube or rod 41 disposed axially therethrough with a cylindrical
spacer 42 connected at each end of the torque tube by means of a
pin 43 extending through tube and spacer. These spacers 42 are
disposed about the torque tube at opposite ends of the tube or
cylinder 40. At each end of the tube 40 there is provided a
cylindrical sleeve 46 slipped over the tube ends and over the
spacers 42 so as to be rotatable thereabout. Each of the sleeves
has slots 47 formed in extension inwardly from the ends thereof and
the pins 43 extend into these slots. It will thus be seen that the
sleeve 46 is locked to the torque bar or tube 41 and, inasmuch as
the sleeve is rotatable on the outer tube 40, rotation or twisting
of one sleeve 46 will thus result in similar rotation of the other
sleeve. A rubber or plastic grip 48 is provided over the cylinder
or sleeve 46 and attached thereto so that an operator may readily
grip the control bar both for swinging the same in an arc to steer
and for twisting same to control throttle setting.
On the opposite side of the mounting bracket or fitting 24 from the
handle 48, there is provided a cable connection 51 to the control
bar. This connection includes a pulley wheel or drum 52 disposed
about the sleeve 46 in attachment thereto and a housing 53 over the
drum. The housing is formed as two mating halves that are placed
together about the sleeve 46 and tightened in position by means of
bolts 54, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The housing 53 extends about
the pulley wheel or drum 52 with openings for access to the bolt
heads and includes a depending hollow cylindrical projection 57
through which a cable 58 of a Bowden cable is adapted to pass for
engagement with the drum 52. This throttle cable 58 may be of the
general type employed as a speedometer cable or the like, wherein
an outer sheath or casing 59 of such Bowden cable surrounds the
cable 58 so that the cable itself is free to move within the
sheath. At the end of the cable 58 there is provided a fitting 61
as, for example, in the form of a short cylinder secured to the
cable end for the purpose of attachment of the cable to the drum
52. This attachment may be accomplished by the provision of
corresponding circular openings through the sides of the pulley
wheel with a slot extending from these openings to the wheel
periphery. The fitting may thus be slipped laterally into the wheel
openings with the cable then lying about the wheel hub as shown in
FIG. 6 and extending through the housing 57.
It will be seen that with the structure described and illustrated
turning of the handle 48 will rotate the pulley wheel or drum 52 to
thus wind or unwind the cable thereabout.
Considering now the attachment of the throttle control of the
present invention to an outboard motor 21, it is noted that a
conventional outboard motor is normally provided with a throttle
bar 22 which may be rotated about its axis to vary the throttle
setting of the motor. The present invention operates to produce
this rotary motion of the throttle bar from the remotely located
control bar 23 of the invention. To this end there is provided a
split pulley wheel 62 having a somewhat rectangular shaft opening
with serrations 63 formed along at least part of the inner surface
of the opening. Spacers 64, also having serrations along the inner
surfaces thereof, may be provided for the purpose of accommodating
attachment of the pulley to different sized throttle bars on
different outboard motors. In assembly the split pulley wheel 62 is
placed about the throttle bar 22 with or without one or more
spacers 64 as may be required, and is clamped to the bar 22 by
means of bolts 66 extending from one wheel half into threaded
engagement with the other, as shown in FIG. 9. The throttle control
assembly is adapted to provide a "Dead Man" throttle which returns
the throttle control to idle or shut-off position when
released.
The throttle bar 22 is in fact comprised as a central rotatable bar
or the like extending from a cylindrical housing 71 and having, for
example, a twist grip on the end thereof for normal outboard motor
operation. In accordance with the present invention, this twist
grip is either removed from the throttle bar and the above-noted
pulley wheel 62 is secured to the end of the rotatable throttle
bar, or it is possible to attach the pulley wheel about the twist
grip itself or between the housing and grip, as shown. As briefly
noted above, the present invention provides for returning the
throttle to an idle or shut-off position when the throttle control
mechanism of the present invention is released. This is herein
accomplished by the provision of a bracket 72 which is mounted upon
the throttle bar housing 71 and which depends therefrom. As shown
in FIG. 8, this bracket 72 extends downwardly beneath the throttle
bar housing 71 and is mounted thereon as by means of one or more
clamps 73 which may include depending plates bolted to the top of
the bracket. An individual clamp, such as shown in FIG. 10, may,
for example, comprise a flexible strip of laterally slotted metal
74 extending about upper lateral projections of a mounting plate 76
and having a thumbscrew in threaded engagement for tightening the
strip or the like 74 about the housing, somewhat in the manner of a
hose clamp. Alternatively, other types of mounting means may be
employed.
At the lower end of the bracket 72 there is provided a split
mounting block 77 with the two portions thereof defining the
vertical aperture therethrough. This block 77 is attached to the
bracket by a thumbscrew 78 extending through the bottom of the
bracket and threaded into one side of a mounting block. A pair of
bolts 79 extend from the exterior of the mounting block through the
outer portion thereof into threaded engagement with the inner
portion adjacent the bracket 72, as generally illustrated in FIGS.
9 and 10. The cable 58 is placed between the portions of the
mounting block 77 and the mounting block bolts 79 are then
tightened to grip the cable casing or sheath 59. The end of the
cable 58 beyond the sheath is extended about the pulley wheel 62
and has the end thereof formed as a loop, as indicated at 81 of
FIG. 9. A transverse pin 82 is extended through the side flanges of
the pulley wheel with a head on one end of the pin exteriorly of
the wheel. This pin extends through the loop 81 on the end of the
cable and a cotter pin 83 extends through the opposite end of the
pin 82 to maintain such pin in recited position.
With the above-described structure it will be seen that drawing of
the cable 58 downwardly in FIG. 9 will serve to rotate the throttle
shaft 22 in a counterclockwise direction, which in this
illustration is intended to increase the throttle setting, i.e.,
speed up the motor. An elongated spiral return spring 86 has one
end thereof looped about the pin 82 of the pulley wheel and the
other end looped about a convenient location at the bottom of the
bracket such as, for example, the head of one of the bolts 79 of
the mounting block 77. This spring is maintained in tension so as
to thus at all times tend to rotate the pulley wheel and thus the
attached throttle shaft 22 in a clockwise direction for returning
the throttle setting to either idle or shut-off.
It will be seen that, with the throttle control cable 58 extending
from the wheel 62 to the connector 51 at the control bar 23,
twisting of the control bar at the handle thereof will twist or
rotate the throttle bar of the motor so as to change the throttle
setting. If desired, the thumbscrew 26 of the remote control unit
may extend through the outer tube 40 of the control bar so that it
may then be tightened against the torque tube 41. The thumbscrew
thus holds the throttle setting as adjusted by the control bar, for
otherwise the return spring 86 at the motor will cut off the motor
by rotating the throttle bar of the motor to idle or shut-off
position. Under those circumstances where it may be desirable to
cruise at a set speed with unvarying throttle setting, the
thumbscrew or friction screw may then be tightened against the
torque tube to hold the setting.
Considering now the operation of the present invention and
referring again to the drawings, it is noted that the mounting
bracket 12 may be secured to any desired portion on a boat or the
like with which the present invention is intended to be employed.
It is also noted that the bracket may be mounted in horizontal or
vertical position or, in fact, any desired position on the boat.
The length and traverse of the steering cables 16 and 17 are
established so that there is no slack in the cables and preferably
the throttle control cable 58 is retained in its desired path from
the remote control unit 11 to the motor 21 by small clips which
may, for example, be secured under the deck or elsewhere. With
regard to the attachment of the steering cables 16 and 17 to the
outboard motor, it is noted that a clamp, for example, may be
secured about the cylindrical housing 71 of the throttle bar 22 at
some desired position such as, for example, between the two
mounting brackets 73 on the housing.
Steering is readily accomplished with the present invention merely
by moving the control bar 23 in an arc, i.e., to left and right of
the position illustrated in FIG. 1, which is normally established
as a straight ahead rudder position. The cables 16 and 17 may be
directed somewhat as indicated in FIG. 3 or, alternatively, may be
crossed over so as to reverse the direction of rudder turning for
control bar movement.
In order for an operator to change the throttle setting of the
motor 21, it is only necessary for him to twist the control bar
handle 48 so as to thus draw the cable 58 toward the remote control
station and consequently to rotate the throttle bar 22 of the
motor. With the connections as shown in the drawings, release of
the handle 48 will then allow the motor to be automatically
returned to an idle or stop position. Provision is made for
maintaining any desired throttle setting by means of a thumbscrew
26 threaded through the fitting 24 and extending laterally through
the tube 40 of the control bar 23. This thumbscrew may be tightened
to bear upon the torque bar 41 and thus hold it in any adjusted
rotary position. Retraction of the thumbscrew releases the torque
tube to return the "Dead Man" throttle control. It is noted that,
although the connector 51 is mounted below the axle 13, angular
movement of the control bar to effect steering does not affect the
throttle setting inasmuch as both cable and sheath would then flex.
Throttle control is referenced to the connector 51 and is only
relative longitudinal movement of the cable 58 with regard to the
housing or sheath 59 thereof that operates the throttle bar of the
motor.
It will be seen from the foregoing that there is provided by the
present invention a simple and yet utilitarian remote control
device for outboard motors to the end of providing for steering of
the boat by the motor and controlling the throttle setting of the
motor. The present invention employs but a single control bar for
both of the above-noted functions and this is highly advantageous
inasmuch as it requires the use of but one hand of an operator.
Both steering and throttle control are quite easily accomplished
with the present invention. Furthermore, the invention may be
relatively easily attached to and disengaged from an outboard motor
to thus further commend the invention to widespread
applicability.
Although the present invention has been described with respect to a
single preferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated that
modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the
invention.
* * * * *