GB2477377A

GB2477377A - Outboard motor coupling system

Info

Publication number: GB2477377A
Application number: GB201021240A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Ogier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-12-15
Filing date: 2010-12-15
Publication date: 2011-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 2030-12-15
Also published as: WO2012080442A1; GB2477377B; EP2651756A1; GB201021240D0

Abstract

A system 1 for coupling an outboard motor 7 to a vessel 9, 11 comprises a first part 3 configured for coupling to an outboard motor, and a second part 5 configured for coupling to a vessel. The first part includes a first part (19, Fig 2) of a two-part engagement mechanism, and the second part includes a second part (29, Fig 3) of said two-part engagement mechanism. The first and second parts of said engagement mechanism being engageable to couple said first part to said second part. The two-part engagement mechanism may comprise a male part and a complementary female part. The male part may comprise a square section cone while the female part may comprise a square section conical socket.

Description

COUPLING SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to coupling systems. In one illustrative implementation, the invention relates to a system for coupling a motor to a vehicle. The teachings of the present invention have particular utility as a system for coupling an outboard motor to a water vessel, particularly small water vessels such as dinghies, yachts and power boats; and the system will be described below with particular reference to this application.

It will be appreciated, however, that the teachings of the present invention have other applications, and hence the following description and claims should not be read as being limited only to a system for coupling an outboard motor to a boat.

Background to the Invention

It is commonplace for persons owning a number of boats to swap outboard motors between boats. For example, an owner of a small yacht might moor their yacht offshore and travel between their yacht and the land in a small motor dinghy. When that owner moors their dinghy they will typically remove the outboard motor for safe storage, and when that owner motors out to their yacht they may decouple the motor from the dinghy and couple it to the yacht.

In either case, as outboard motors are typically quite large and heavy items of machinery it can be difficult for one person to decouple the motor from the boat and lift it onto the quayside or to decouple the motor from the dingy and couple it to the yacht.

A typical outboard motor includes one or more C-clamp fixing arrangement that enable the motor to be attached to a boat (typically to the transom of the boat or directly to the stern of the boat). These clamp arrangements include one or more screw bolts that must each be manually turned by way of a small handle and tightened until a firm fit is achieved between the motor mounting clamp and the transom of a boat.

Whilst much of the weight of the motor will be carried by the transom of the boat whilst the clamp(s) is adjusted, it is typically necessary for the person fixing the motor to have one hand on the motor whilst they tighten the clamps. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art it can be difficult to hold the motor in place with one hand while tightening the aforementioned screw bolts with the other. Another drawback with the existing arrangement is that it can take a considerable amount of time to properly tighten the screw bolts when coupling a motor to a boat.

The present invention has been devised with the foregoing problems in mind.

Summary of the Invention

In one illustrative implementation of the teachings of the invention, there is provided a system for coupling an outboard motor to a vessel, the system comprising: a first part configured for coupling to an outboard motor, and a second part configured for coupling to a vessel; wherein the first part includes a first part of a two-part complementary engagement mechanism, and the second part includes a second part of said two-part engagement mechanism, said first and second parts of said engagement mechanism being engageable to couple said first part of said coupling system to said second part of said coupling system.

Other features, aspects and embodiments of the invention are set out below and elsewhere in the application.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Various aspects of the teachings of the present invention, and arrangements embodying those teachings, will hereafter be described by way of illustrative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of the coupling system; Fig. 2 is a schematic exploded representation of a first part of the coupling system; and Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded representation of a second part of the coupling system.

Detailed Descrirtion of Preferred Embodiments Illustrative implementations of the teachings of the invention will now be described with particular reference to a system for coupling an outboard motor to a watercraft such as a vessel or a boat. However, as aforementioned, it should be remembered that this particular application is merely illustrative, and that the teachings of the present invention may equally be applied to systems for coupling other objects together.

With the above proviso in mind reference will now be made to Fig 1 of the accompanying drawings in which there is depicted a coupling system 1 that comprises a first coupling part 3 and a second coupling part 5 (the first 3 and second 5 parts being shown in Fig. 1 as being engaged with one another). In this particular implementation the first coupling part 3 is configured for coupling to an outboard motor 7 and the second coupling part 5 is configured for mounting to a boat, in this particular example to a transom 9 reinforcing the stern 11 of the boat.

As shown, the first part and second part each include a respective part of a two-part engagement mechanism. In this particular example, the first part includes a male part of the aforementioned engagement mechanism, and the second part includes a female part having a complementary shape to that of the male part. It will be appreciated, however, that the male and female parts may be reversed so that the first part 3 carries a female part which can be engaged with a complementary male part carried by the second part 5.

Fig. 2 is a schematic exploded view of the first part 3 of the coupling system shown in Fig. 1. The first part 3 comprises a plate 13 that is configured to be bolted to a pair of clamps 15 that form part of the outboard motor 7. The plate 13 is coupled by means of a top plate 17 to a male part 19 of the two-part engagement mechanism. The male part 19 may be wholly or partly hollow to reduce the weight of this part of the coupling system. Further more, whilst in this particular implementation the male part comprises a square section cone (that is to say, a cone with a square cross-section), it will be appreciated that the male and female parts may have alternative complimentary shapes. For example the male part could be rectangular or indeed round or elliptical in section, and the female part could be shaped accordingly. As shown in Fig. 1, when the plate 13 is bolted to the clamps 15 of the outboard motor 7, the male part 19 extends forwards of the clamps (i.e. in a direction away from the motor).

Referring now to Fig. 3, the second part 5 comprises a bracket for coupling the second part to the transom or stern of a boat. The bracket comprises a first part 21 with a hooked end portion that fits over the top edge of the stern of the boat, and a second part 23 that abuts against an inside wall of the stern. Bolts may then be passed through the first part, the stern and through slots in the second part 23 to securely couple the bracket to the boat.

The second part of the bracket has a pair of parallel spaced plates 25 that are configured to slide between or outside of a pair of similar plates 27 that are coupled to the female part 29 of the engagement mechanism. As shown in Fig. 3, the first and second pairs of plates can be moved relative to one another to adjust the distance between the female part and the bracket. Once the female part has been properly located in the boat (in this instance inboard of the stern), the first and second plates can be bolted together to secure the female part in the desired location.

In a preferred implementation, the female part 29 includes a notch 31 in which a rib 33 (Fig. 2) projecting downwardly from the top plate 17 locates when the male part is properly aligned with the female part.

The female part may also be configured to carry a locking arm 35 that can be separated from the female part and (one the male and female parts have been interengaged) slid through opposite lateral slots in the male and female parts (only one 37 of which is visible in Fig. 2) to lock the one part to the other. The arm 35 may also include one or more holes through which the arm of a padlock may be passed to resist removal of the arm from the male and female parts..

It will be appreciated that whilst various aspects and embodiments of the present invention have heretofore been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular arrangements set out herein and instead extends to encompass all arrangements, and modifications and alterations thereto, which fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, whilst the foregoing description refers to components being bolted together, it will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art that other fixing mechanisms may instead be employed without departing from the teachings of the invention. Similarly, whilst the male and females parts depicted in the drawings each have a generally square cross-sectional shape, it will be appreciated that these part may have other complementary shapes. It will also be appreciated that the male and female parts need not necessarily be generally conical, but could instead have a generally constant cross-section.

It will further be appreciated that the particular male/female engagement mechanism herein disclosed is merely an illustrative example of many different types of male/female engagement mechanisms that could instead be employed. For example, the motor part could include a barbed male part that is configured to be pushed into a female socket with an opening that expands to allow the barbed part to pass into the socket before retracting to secure the barbed part in the socket.

It will also be apparent, that whilst it is preferred for the second part to be arranged so that it projects inboard of the stern, the second part could instead be configured so that it projects outwardly from the stern of the boat.

Lastly, it should also be noted that whilst the accompanying claims set out particular combinations of features described herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular combinations hereafter claimed, but instead extends to encompass any combination of features herein disclosed.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for coupling an outboard motor to a vessel, the system comprising: a first part configured for coupling to an outboard motor, and a second part configured for coupling to a vessel; wherein the first part includes a first part of a two-part engagement mechanism, and the second part includes a second part of said two-part engagement mechanism, said first and second parts of said engagement mechanism being engageable to couple said first part to said second part.
2. A system according to Claim 1, wherein the two-part engagement mechanism comprises a male part and a complementary female part.
3. A system according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the male part comprises a square-section cone, and the female part comprises a conical square-section socket.
4. A system according to any preceding claim, comprising means configured to lock the first and second parts of said engagement mechanism together once engaged.
5. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said first part of the coupling system comprises said first part of said two-part engagement mechanism, and means for coupling said first part of said two-part engagement mechanism to an outboard motor.
6. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said second part of the coupling system comprises said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism, and means for coupling said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism to a boat.
7. A system according to Claim 6, wherein said coupling means is adjustable to vary the relative distance between said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism and a part of said boat.
8. A system according to Claim 5 and Claim 6, wherein said first part of said engagement mechanism comprises a downwardly depending male part, and said second part of said engagement mechanism comprises an upwardly opening female part.Amendments to the Claims have been filed as follows:CLAIMS1. A system for coupling an outboard motor to a vessel, the system comprising: a first part configured for coupling to an outboard motor, and a second part configured for coupling to a vessel; wherein: a) the first part includes a first part of a two-part engagement mechanism, and the second part includes a second part of said two-part engagement mechanism, said first and second parts of said engagement mechanism being engageable to couple said first part to said second part; and b) the two-part engagement mechanism comprises a male part and a complementary female part.2. A system according to Claim 1, wherein the male part comprises a square-section cone, and the female part comprises a conical square-section socket.3. A system according to any preceding claim, comprising means configured to lock the first and second parts of said engagement mechanism together once engaged.4. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said first part of the coupling Q system comprises said first part of said two-part engagement mechanism, and means for coupling said first part of said two-part engagement mechanism to an outboard motor.5. A system according to any preceding claim, wherein said second part of the coupling system comprises said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism, and means for coupling said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism to a boat.6. A system according to Claim 5, wherein said coupling means is adjustable to vary the relative distance between said second part of said two-part engagement mechanism and a part of said boat.7. A system according to Claim 4 and Claim 5, wherein said first part of said engagement mechanism comprises a downwardly depending male part, and said second part of said engagement mechanism comprises an upwardly opening female part.