Control Assembly For Jet Boat

Abstract

A control assembly for a boat having a water jet propulsion system in which the jet is discharged successively through a discharge conduit and a nozzle. The nozzle, which is movable with respect to the conduit, is provided with movable bucket whereby said nozzle and bucket are movable into different positions of adjustment to control the jet for thus controlling the steering, fore and aft movements, and desired planing of the boat.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The ability of a boat to properly plane in the water for the most efficient operation and maximum speed is a function of various factors such as hull design, weight distribution, and the like. These factors exist irrespective of whether the boat employs a conventional propeller drive or a water jet propulsion system. While various types of steering controls for boats with water jet propulsion systems are known, these controls make no provision for controlling or adjusting the planing of the boat upon which they are mounted.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide a control system for a jet propelled boat which will control the fore and aft and lateral steering movements of said boat, as well as providing a means for increasing its ability to plane properly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one form of the invention, a discharge conduit projects rearwardly from the transom of a boat to receive the jet flow from a water jet propulsion power source. A nozzle is also supported from the boat transom and extends around and projects rearwardly of the discharge conduit. The nozzle is laterally swingable with respect to the conduit for directing the jet from the nozzle in different directions for steering the boat. An elongated reversing slot is formed in the bottom wall of the nozzle adjacent its outlet end, and a bucket is swingably mounted on said nozzle for opening and closing the outlet thereof. Thus, when said bucket is swung upwardly into a retracted position, the jet is free to move in a generally rearward direction through the nozzle outlet for propelling the boat in a forward direction, but when said nozzle is swung downwardly into a reversing position over the nozzle outlet, the jet is diverted through the nozzle reversing slot into a generally forward direction for propelling the boat in a rearward direction.

The lower end of the bucket has an outwardly angled flange thereon. When the bucket is moved into its retracted position, the jet flow through the nozzle outlet will impinge upon said flange thereby forcing the bow of the boat downwardly for better planing. The degree to which the jet impinges upon the flange is adjustable by adjusting the retracted position of the bucket.

Conveniently, the movements of the nozzle and bucket for controlling the steering, reversing, and planing of the boat are controlled by any desired type of actuating means, such as push-pull cables, control links, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a jet boat having mounted thereon a control assembly embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear elevation of the control assembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3--3 of FIG. 2, and showing the bucket in full lines in its retracted position and in dotted lines in its reversing position;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2, but showing the bucket in its reversing position; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the bucket stop assembly shown in FIG. 3 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in FIG. 1, the control assembly comprising the instant invention is adapted to be mounted on a jet boat 10 having a hull 11. The hull is provided with an intake opening 12 connected to a pump 13 driven by a conventional marine engine 14 to force a jet of water outwardly through the transom 16 of the hull.

In order to control the direction of the jet flow for controlling the steering, reversing, and planing movements of the boat, there is provided a control assembly as shown in detail in FIGS. 2-5 of the drawings. As shown, said assembly comprises a discharge conduit 18 projecting rearwardly through the transom 16 and having its inlet end interconnected to the pump. A nozzle 20 extends around and projects rearwardly of the outlet of the conduit 18. A pair of upwardly and downwardly projecting posts 22 and 23 are provided on the nozzle adjacent its forward or inlet end 24. The posts are rotatably retained, as by snap rings 25, in a pair of mounting brackets 27 connected to the transom 16 as by bolts 28. Thus, the nozzle 20 is swingable about the vertical axis of the posts 22 and 23 for controlling the lateral angle at which the jet is directed rearwardly through the nozzle outlet 30 for steering the boat 10. Conveniently, the nozzle is movable with respect to the conduit 18 to effect such steering by a pair of push-pull control cables 32 connected, as by nuts 36, to a pair of laterally projecting ears 34 on the nozzle.

As is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an elongated reversing slot 38 is provided in the bottom face of the nozzle 20 and extends forwardly from the nozzle outlet 30. The flow of the jet through the outlet 30 or slot 38 is controlled by a bucket 40 swingably mounted on nozzle 20. As shown, the bucket 40 comprises a generally spherically or cup shaped center section 42 interconnecting a pair of side arms 43 disposed on opposite sides of the nozzle 20. The side arms 43 are rotatably mounted on a pair of stub axles 44 projecting outwardly from the opposed sides of the nozzle 20. The swinging movements of the bucket 40 about the horizontal axis of the axles 44 is controlled by a push-pull cable 46 connected, as by nuts 48, to an outwardly projecting finger 47 on bucket section 42.

As shown in FIG. 3, the lower or outer end of bucket section 42 has an arcuate flange 50 extending outwardly therefrom. Desirably, a plurality of stiffening ribs 52 interconnect the bucket section 42 and flange 50 along the outer faces thereof. As shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, when the bucket is in its lowered or reversing position, it blocks the nozzle outlet 30 so that the jet flow through said nozzle will strike the bucket 40 and be diverted through the reversing slot 38 into a generally forward direction thereby causing the boat 10 to be propelled in a reverse direction. With the bucket being mounted upon the nozzle 20, and thus movable therewith, the nozzle and bucket can still be swung as a unit about the axis of the posts 22 and 23 for steering the boat during such rearward movement. When the bucket 40 is moved into its retracted full line position as shown in FIG. 3, the jet flow will be in a rearward direction through the nozzle outlet 30 for propelling the boat in a forward direction. Again, the nozzle 20 is swingable about the axis of posts 22 and 23 for steering the boat.

When the bucket 40 is moved into retracted position, the jet flow through the nozzle outlet 30 will impinge upon the flange 50. The force of the jet striking the flange forces the bow of the boat 10 downwardly to effect a more efficient planing of the boat. As will be understood, the higher the bucket is raised, the less will be the amount of impingement of the jet upon the flange 50 and the less the bow will be forced downwardly. In this manner, the retracted position of the bucket can be adjusted to adjust the planing action afforded by its flange 50.

In order to adjust the location of the retracted position of the bucket and to prevent the force of the jet against the flange 50 from being transmitted directly to the cable 46, a stop assembly as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 is provided. As shown, said assembly is mounted on the upper nozzle post 22 and comprises a frame having a pair of side rails 58 interconnected by front and rear rails 59 and 60. A stop block 62 having a rearwardly angled rear face 63 is slidably carried between the side rails 58 on the upper face of post 22. The block 62 is longitudinally adjustable within the frame by a bolt 64 extending through a hole 65 in the front rail 59 and threadably received in a tapped opening 67 in the front face of said block. The angulated rear block face 63 is adapted to engage the correspondingly angled front face 68 of the bucket 40. Thus, with the block 62 properly adjusted and the bucket moved into a retracted position such that its flange 50 achieves the desired degree of planing, the force of the jet impinging upon the flange 50 will be transmitted to and absorbed by said block.

Conveniently, in order to limit the movement of the bucket downward toward its reversing position, a finger 70 projects upwardly from the upper face of the nozzle at its outlet end. Said finger is engageable with a downwardly projecting hook 72 formed on the bucket section 42 as the bucket is moved into its reversing position. As will be understood, the finger 70 and hook 72 also help to absorb the force of the jet against the bucket section 42 and thereby decrease the force on the axles 44 when the bucket is in its reversing position.

As will be understood, of course, the control cables 32 and 46 are shown for illustrative purposes only, and any desired type of actuators may be employed to achieve the desired nozzle and bucket movements.

Claims

I claim:

1. A control assembly for a boat having a jet propulsion power source, comprising a discharge conduit at the rear of said boat having an inlet operatively connected to said power source and an outlet, a nozzle having an inlet and outlet and extending around said conduit, said nozzle being laterally swingable with respect to said conduit, said nozzle having a slot formed in its lower face and extending forwardly from the rear of said nozzle, a bucket swingably mounted on said nozzle for movement between a reversing position in which it extends over said nozzle outlet to divert the jet flow from the power source generally forwardly through the slot in said nozzle and a retracted position in which said flow is permitted to move in a generally rearwardly direction through the nozzle outlet, an outwardly angled flange on said bucket engageable with the jet flow when said bucket is in its retracted position for controlling the planing of the boat, and control means for moving said nozzle and bucket into the desired positions of adjustment.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 in which said bucket comprises a generally spherically shaped center section, a pair of side arms connected to said center section and rotatably mounted on said nozzle, and said flange is angled outwardly from the lower end of said center section.

3. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that adjustable stop means are provided on said nozzle for engaging and limiting the movement of said bucket into its retracted position.

4. The invention as set forth in claim 1 with the addition that means are provided on said nozzle for engaging and limiting the movement of said bucket into its retracted and reversing positions.

5. A control assembly for a boat having a jet propulsion power source, comprising a discharge conduit at the rear of the boat having an inlet operatively connected to said power source and an outlet, a nozzle having an inlet and an outlet and extending around said conduit, said nozzle being laterally swingable with respect to said conduit, a bucket swingably mounted on said nozzle for movement between a reversing position in which it extends over said nozzle outlet to divert the jet flow from the power source generally forwardly from the nozzle and a retracted position in which said flow is permitted to move in a generally rearwardly direction through the nozzle outlet, means on said bucket engageable with the jet flow when said bucket is in its retracted position for controlling the planing of the boat, control means for moving said nozzle and bucket into the desired positions of adjustment, stop means on said nozzle for limiting the movement of the bucket into its retracted position and comprising a pair of side rails interconnected by front and rear rails, a block slidably carried between said rails and projecting thereabove for engagement with said bucket, and a bolt carried by one of said rails and threadably connected to said block for adjusting the position of said block along the length of said side rails.

6. The invention as set forth in claim 5 with the addition that said block and bucket have correspondingly angled faces engageable with each other.

7. A control assembly for a boat having a jet propulsion power source, comprising a discharge conduit at the rear of said boat having an inlet operatively connected to said power source and an outlet, a nozzle having an inlet and outlet and extending around said conduit, said nozzle being laterally swingable with respect to said conduit, a bucket swingably mounted on said nozzle for movement between a reversing position in which it extends over said nozzle outlet to divert the jet flow from the power source generally forwardly from the nozzle and a retracted position in which said flow is permitted to move in a generally rearwardly direction through the nozzle outlet, stop means mounted on the top of said nozzle engageable with said bucket for limiting movement of the bucket into its retracted position, a finger projecting upwardly from said nozzle adjacent its outlet, a hook on said bucket engageable with said finger for limiting movement of the bucket into its reversing position, means on said bucket engageable with the jet flow when said bucket is in its retracted position for controlling the planing of the boat, and control means for moving said nozzle and bucket into the desired positions of adjustment.

8. A control assembly for a boat having a jet propulsion power source, comprising a discharge conduit at the rear of said boat having an inlet operatively connected to said power source and an oulet, a pair of brackets mounted on the rear of the boat, a nozzle extending around said conduit and having a pair of posts rotatably carried in said brackets whereby said nozzle is laterally swingable with respect to said conduit, a bucket swingably mounted on said nozzle for movement between a reversing position in which it extends over said nozzle outlet to divert the jet flow from the power source generally forwardly from the nozzle and a retracted position in which said flow is permitted to move in a generally rearwardly direction through the nozzle outlet, first stop means on one of said posts engageable with said bucket for limiting its movement into its retracted position, second stop means on said nozzle adjacent its outlet engageable with said bucket for limiting its movement into its reversing position, flange means on said bucket projecting outwardly therefrom and engageable with the jet flow when said bucket is in its retracted position for controlling the planing of the boat, and control means for moving said nozzle and bucket into the desired positions of adjustment.