Marine propulsion – Screw propeller – With means effecting or facilitating movement of propulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-07-03
2004-03-02
Basinger, Sherman (Department: 3617)
Marine propulsion
Screw propeller
With means effecting or facilitating movement of propulsion...
C074S57900F, C074S586000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06699082
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to boat drive mounting configurations and, more particularly, to the tie bars and the mounts used to connect the boat drives to the steering system and to each other.
2. Background Information
Many different types of boats use multiple drives to power the boat. Whether these drives are inboard or outboard, the drives must be synchronized to efficiently power the boat. The typical prior art synchronization arrangement is depicted in
FIGS. 1-3
wherein tie bars
10
extend between the drives
12
. Tie bars
10
are connected to mounting flanges
14
that extend from the portions of drives
12
that project out from the rear of the boat
16
.
Prior art mounting arrangements such as the one depicted in
FIGS. 1-3
do not completely synchronize drives
12
when drives
12
are turned as depicted in FIG.
2
. The incomplete synchronization results in inefficient drive arrangement in the turns and boat
16
loses power.
FIG. 2
depicts a turning configuration wherein angle A is different from angle B which is different from angle C. The differences in these angles are caused by the relationship between mounting flanges
14
and the centerlines of drives
12
. The art desires a mounting configuration that allows drives
12
to turn at identical angles. The interconnections between drives
12
must also compensate for different vertical offsets depending on the vertical locations of drives
12
with respect to boat
16
.
Another problem with prior art mounting configurations is that tie bars
10
used to connect drives
12
rapidly wear when each tie bar
10
rotates about its longitudinal axis. Such rotation is caused when drives
12
turn back and forth. The wear is also caused by the constant vibration experienced by each tie bar
10
. Worn tie bars
10
become loose and do not accurately turn drives
12
. Boat owners do not like changing the bars and desire an engineered, high-quality tie bar designed to withstand the operating environment over time. The boat owner must also replace worn bars. Severely worn bars create a dangerous situation where control over a drive may be lost suddenly. The art thus desires a tie bar configuration that may continuously rotate in a manner that does not loosen the bar.
Another problem with some prior art systems is that the rotation of the tie bar changes the length of the bar. The length of the bar changes because the bar includes threaded parts. Such rotation is undesirable because of the length change and the wear between the threaded parts.
Another drawback with prior art mounting configurations is that the brackets and mounting flanges connected to drives
12
cannot be adjusted and do not provide connection arrangements that may be selectively reconfigured for different types of drives
12
and different types of boats
16
. The art desires a drive mount that can accommodate a variety of drive configurations.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a drive mounting configuration wherein the drives of a boat are connected together at their centerlines so that the drives are turned at equal angles and are synchronized by the steering system of the boat.
The invention provides a tie bar used to interconnect the drives wherein the tie bar is designed to repeatedly and reliably rotate 360 degrees in the same direction without loosening or changing its length.
The invention also provides a reconfigurable mount that is adapted to be connected to the portion of the drive that extends from the back of the boat. The mount may be configured in a right hand, center, double, or left hand configuration. The mounts may also support different vertical offset mounting configurations in a reliable manner using a single mounting pin and spacer combination.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2999476 (1961-09-01), Johnson
patent: 3756186 (1973-09-01), Nordling
patent: 4009678 (1977-03-01), North
patent: 4300888 (1981-11-01), Warning
patent: 4311471 (1982-01-01), Queen
patent: 4573930 (1986-03-01), Queen
patent: 4778418 (1988-10-01), Mondek
patent: 4808131 (1989-02-01), Glen
patent: 5049097 (1991-09-01), Rodskier et al.
patent: 5370075 (1994-12-01), Rodskier
patent: 5505106 (1996-04-01), Herman
patent: 6224438 (2001-05-01), Hase
patent: 6322408 (2001-11-01), Latham
Basinger Sherman
Sand & Sebolt
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