Communications: electrical – Selective – Having indication or alarm
Patent
1981-08-06
1983-12-13
Groody, James J.
Communications: electrical
Selective
Having indication or alarm
73178R, 114285, 3403094, 440 2, G08B 2300, B63B 122
Patent
active
044207417
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to the art of monitoring and displaying and more particularly does it relate to an electronic position monitoring and readout device for the trim tabs on boats.
2. Background Art
It is well known by boat owners and operators who have trim tabs on their crafts that they also frequently do not known at any given time what position the trim tabs are in. Currently there are no acceptable commercial products on the market which allow the boat owner or operator to monitor the position of the trim tabs electronically. Operators have burned out pumps or a pump motor because the tabs have been in either a full up or a full down position and the hydraulic actuation system was still functioning. Up to the present time a frequent practice has been to look over the stern to tell where the tabs are.
Another problem is that if the trim tabs are left in the down position then the extended piston rods of the hydraulic cylinders can be corroded. Corrosion of the piston rods will generally result in damage to seals in the cylinders leading to the loss or leakage of hydraulic fluid. Loss of hydraulic fluid again frequently means a burned out or damaged pump, which is expensive to repair or replace. It is recognized as important for the operator of a boat to check the position of the trim tab before shutting the engine down after tying up. It is generally assumed that the operator will move the tabs to the full up position when the boat is tied up but this is not always so.
The only known prior art position monitor has been restricted to a hydraulic pressure gauge which indicates the line pressure between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic cylinder but does not show trim tab position.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
A trim tab position monitor and readout device which is attached directly to the trim tab controls. The monitor device enables the operator to visually read the position of the tabs as they are moved either by manual or by automatic operation. The monitor device is based on the time required to traverse from full up to full down position and divides the total travel distance into a predetermined number of equal distance segments. Each segment of travel is traversed by the trim tabs in a predetermined period of time depending, of course, on whether the boat is moving and whether the movement is down against water resistance or up with little resistance. The basic circuitry involved is timing the movement of the tabs in order to accurately track trim tab movement and position. The position monitoring of the trim tabs is done entirely electronically requiring no connections or modifications to the controls and actuators for the hydraulic system.
Accordingly, it is among the many features and advantages of this invention to provide a trim tab position monitoring and readout device which is uniquely simple and relatively easy to install. The device is inexpensive and dependable. It tells the operator with its visual readout capability when to take his finger off the control button for the trim tabs. A single glance at the readout indicator tells how far the tabs have advanced at any particular time and tell, the operator accurately where his trim tabs are. There are as a result of the invention fewer burned out pumps and pump motors. The device may tell the operator where the optimum tab position is for a boat's cruising speed. It is both a safety device and an efficiency device from the point of view of boat operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a simple instrument face with two arcuate lines of lights to show the position of the trim tabs;
FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic of the circuitry of the invention; and
FIG. 3 is a block functional diagram of the circuits of the device.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows the face of the position monitor panel. The port and starboard tabs each are represented by ten LED's (light emitting diodes) in an arcuate pattern which represent the full distance of travel of the tabs f
REFERENCES:
patent: 2723089 (1955-11-01), Schuck et al.
patent: 3641965 (1972-02-01), Schmiedel
patent: 3695204 (1972-10-01), Bennett
patent: 3797449 (1974-03-01), Carpenter et al.
patent: 4158885 (1979-06-01), Neuberger
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