US2127744A - Outboard motor - Google Patents

Description

0. C. LINTHWAITE OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed May 22, 1955 s Sheets- Sheet 1 I'll INVENTOR. v OWEN Q. I-IHTHWAITK" fga/Mm/ ATTORNEY Aug. 23, 1933.

0. c. LINTHWAITE OUTBOARD MOT OR Filed May 22, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 23, 1938. I o. c. LIINTHWAITAE I OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed May 22. 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ill mmvrozi. OWEN 'C. LmTHwmTK A TTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 23, 1938 PAATENT' OFFICE OUTBOARD MOTOR Owen C. Jtinthwaite, South Bend, Ind., assignor to Bendix Products Corporation, South Bend, Did, a corporation of Indiana Application May 22, 1935, Serial No. 22,709

9 Claims; (01. -18) This invention relates to outboard motors, and

is more particularly directed to means for fixing an outboard motor to a boat, and novel means for steering the boat. a

In the operation of motors of this type it is desirable that convenient adjustable means be provided whereby the motor may be attached to various types of boats having supporting transoms set at different angles. It is therefore desirable to provide means whereby the angle between the engine drive shait and the transom of the boat can be varied with the greatest ease.

It has been found that considerable torque vibration, inherent in-the motor, is transmitted to the steering mechanism where the axis about which the motor is turned for steering is coincident with the engine drive shaft. This vibration r'endersit difficult to steer any desired course, andrenders it practically impossible to adjust the steering mechanism whereby minimum force will be required for normal steering operations of the boat, without having the adjustment so loose that it is impossible to steer a predetermined course without .the operator constantly manipulating the steering mechanism.

-It is therefore an object of this invention to provide means for fixing an outboard motor to a boat in such a manner that variations in the angle between the engine drive shaft and the transom of the boat can be quickly and easily made.

Another object of the invention is to provide a steering mechanism wherein the axis of rotation'of the motor is non-concentric with the axis of the engine drive shaft, to decrease the effect of normal engine vibration upon the steering mec hanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable co-pilot mechanism whereby any predetermined course may be steered without the attention of the operator.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bracket of simple design and construction whereby all of the pieces may be formed by die-casting, for fixing an outboard motor to a boat. 4

Another object of the invention is to provide a strong, but extremely simple and light, bracket of the class hereinafter described.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the vibrations of the engine from being transmitted to the boat.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bracket wherein the motor may be securely clamped to the transom of the boat even though the transom may be slightly out of line or warped.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, submitted for purposes of illustration only, and not intended to define the scope of the invention, reference being had for that purpose to the subjoined claims.

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views:

Figure l is a view in'side elevation of an outboard motor incorporating the present invention; Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of Figure 2 taken on the line 3-3 of Figure};

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, showin a modified form of the invention;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a detail view of a portion of Figure; 5, showing a modified form of the invention;

Figure 7 is a detail view showing a modified form of the bracket adjusting means;

Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a still further modified form of the invention;

and

I Figure 9 is a top plan view of Figure 8.

Referring more particularly to Figure 1, there is shown an outboard motor indicated as a whole by the reference numeral l0, fixed to the transom l2 of a boat. The outboard motor Ill includes a hooded internal combustion engine l4 provided with a fuel tank It, and adapted to drive a propeller IB by means of an engine drive shaft 20 extending through an upper housing section 22 and a lower housing section 24. The

propeller is protected from injury, due to striking against an object, by a protecting fin 26. The lower housing section 24 carries an anticavitation plate 28, adapted to overlie the propeller l8 to prevent cavitation of the propeller. A stream-lined fin 30, carried by the housing 24, and overlying the anti-cavitation plate 28, is

adapted to facilitate steering operations of the boat. a

Steering operations of the boat are efiected by turning the outboard motor In about an axis de- 32 is provided with a pressure arm 34 formed integral therewith.

As indicated above, the motor III is fixed to the pressure plate 32 and is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of this plate. The pressure arm 34 is rotatably mounted upon a stud 36 projecting therethrough, so that as the pressure arm 34 is moved in a vertical plane the angle between the drive shaft 20 of the motor, and the transom I2 of the boat is varied. The stud 36 passes through a pair of brackets 38 having transom-engaging projections 40, and provided with arms 42 adapted to receive manually operable adjusting screws 44 to securely clamp the brackets 38 to the transom I2 of the boat. The arms 42 are provided with web sections 45 provided with a plurality of apertures 46 designed to receive a bolt 48, which in turn is engaged by a hook 50 carried by the pressure arm 34. To vary the angle at which the motor I operates, it is only necessary to move the bolt 48 to a different aperture 46.

If the propeller protecting fin 26 should strike an object, the motor I0 will be rotated about the axis of the stud 36 to move the propeller IEI to such a position that damage thereto will be avoided. This is possible in view of the fact that the book 50 carried by the pressure arm 34 merely disengages the bolt 48 and rotates in a clockwise direction about the stud 36 until its movement is restricted by contact with the transofn I2 of the boat.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 4 the bolt 48 and hook 50 of Figure 2 have been replaced r by a snap joint, wherein the pressure arm I34 is provided with a cross member I35 having pins I31 adapted to fit into the apertures I46 to determine the position of the pressure arm I34 with reference to the webs I45 carried by the arms I42. The cross member I35 is hollow and is provided with slots I31 to receive levers I39 pivoted to the pressure arm I34 by pins IN. The levers I33 operate the pins I3? and are yieldingly urged in a direction to hold the pins I31 into the apertures M6" by means of springs I43 interposed between the pressure arm I312 and the levers I39. In this embodiment, it is necessary only to compress the levers I 39 and move the pins I31 to a different aperture I46 to vary the angle between the drive shaft 23 of the motor It, and the transom I2 of the boat.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 6, the pins I31 are actuated by means of a single coiled spring I43 fixed to the pressure arm I34 by means of apin I41. In this embodiment a stop ring I49 is provided intermediate the pins I31 to prevent the force exerted upon the spring I43 from being applied to remove only one pin, in

the event that the other pin should become stuck, or for any other reason fail to slide out of the aperture I46.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 7, the pins I31 are yieldingly urged to the extreme position by means of a spring II. The pins I31 are actuated by means of knobs I53 fixed in the body of the pins, and slldable in the slots I31 to actu ate the pins.

In the embodiments shown herein, the angle between the motor and the boat can be adjusted with the greatest of ease, and it is therefore believed that more eflicient operation of the motor will result because of the accessibility and the ease with which this adjustment can be made.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the pressure plate 255 is secured to the motor I0 in the same manner as the pressure plate 32 of the other embodiments. A pressure arm 251 is pivotally mounted on a stud 259 passing through the pressure plate 255. The pressure arm 251 is provided with a foot 26I designed to engage a pad 263 of the pressure plate 255.

A pair of clamping brackets 265, carried by the stud 259, are provided with boat-engaging projections 261 adapted to cooperate with manually ad- J'ustable studs 269 carried in arms 21I of the bracket 265 to securely fix the bracket to the transom 2I2 of the boat. A pressure bar 213 extends between the arms 21I of the bracket 265 to securely tie the bracket members together. An adjustable stud 215 projects through the pressure bar 213 and is screwed into the pressure arm 251 as clearly shown in Figure 8.

In this embodiment the thrust of the motor is transmitted through the pad 263 to the foot 26I of the pressure arm 251-. The thrust is then transmitted through the adjustable stud 215 to the pressure plate 213, and from the pressure plate 213 to the arms 21I of the brackets 265 fixed to the transom 2 I2 of the boat. The motor is rotatable about the stud 259, and the angle between the engine drive shaft and the transom 2I2 of the boat may be adjusted by manipulating the adjustable stud 215, so that the motor may be set atany desired angle with respect to the transom of the boat.

It has been found that when the motor is turned about the 'axis of the engine drive shaft to effect the steering of the boat, that considerable vibration and torque interference is transmitted through the steering mechanism. The motor will therefore exert a turning moment which must be constantly resisted by the operator, in order to follow any predetermined course. This turning moment varies between rather wide limits and is dependent in part upon the speed of the engine.

It has been found that torque interference of the motor with the steering mechanism is completely eliminated when the steering axis is nonconcentric with the axis of the engine drive shaft.

In the present invention, the steering of the boat is effected by rotating the motor I6 about the longitudinal axis of the pressure plate 32, which of course is non-concentric with the axis of the engine drive shaft 28.

The pressure plate 32 is rotatably mounted in the upper housing section 22, and is insulated therefrom, at the lower end, by the resilient washers 34 to prevent vibration of the motor II] from being transmitted to the boat. The upper end of the plate 32 is journalled in a clamping bracket SI resiliently connected to the upper housing section 22 by any suitable means, such as the bolts 93 passing through the resilient washers 95. A manually operable tiller 60, fixed to the bracket SI, operates to rotate the motor In about the axis of the pressure plate 32.

The bracket 9| is provided with a so-called co-pilot or manually operable adjusting screw 91 to vary the amount of force required to be exerted on the tiller 60 to rotate the motor I0 2,127,744 my co-pending application Serial No. 2,085,, filed January 16, 1935.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention to the embodiments described,

nor otherwise than by the terms of the following claims.

.I claim: v

1. In an outboard motor for a boat, a drive shaft, means including a bracket for turning the motor about an axis for steering, a resiliently mounted tiller forturning the motor about said axis for steering, and manually operable clamping means including spaced oppositely disposed conica1 resilient means interposed between the bracket and the motor for varying the-resistance to steering movements. a

2. An outboard motor having a drive shait, a housing surrounding the drive shaft, a pressure plate including a bracket pivotally mounted with respect to the housing, a pressure arm mounted on the bracket and engaging the pressure plate, clamping means pivotally mounted on said bracket to fix the motor to a boat, and

- gaging the pressure plate at one end, clamping means carried by said bracket to fix the motor to a boat, and adjustable means associated with I the clamping means and adapted to be engaged by one end of the pressure arm to vary the angle between the drive shaft and the boat in one direction only and to permit pivotal. movement aboutsaid bracket.

4. In an outboard motor assembly for a boat having atransom, an internal combustion engine, a propeller, a housing extending between the engine and the, propeller, a pressure plate pivotally mounted non-concentrically with re- 'spect to the housing, a bracket adapted to engage the transom, a web having a plurality of spaced apertures carried by the bracket, a pin extending through the apertures, and a pressure arm carried by the pressure plate, a portion of l the arm beingshaped in the form of a hook to engage said pin to limit the angle between the housing and the transom in one direction.

5. In an outboard motor assembly for a boat having a transom, an internalmombustion engine, a propeller, a housing extending between the engine and the propeller, a pressure plate so to the housing, a bracket having spaced pivotally and eccentrically mounted'with respect adapted to engage the transom, aweb having, a plurality of spaced apertures carried by said arms,-a pin extending through the apertures, and a pressure arm carried by the pressure plate, a

portion of the arm being designed to engage the' pressure plate at a point remote irom'the pivotal mounting and another portion being designed to engage the pin to vary the anglev between the housing and the transom in one direction asthe pin is moved to diiferent of thespaced apertures.

6. In an outboard motor assembly for a boat having a. transom, an internal combustion engine, a propeller, a housing extending between the engine and the propeller, a drive shaft positioned in the housi a pressure plate rotatably mounted on the housing eccentrically with reference to the drive shaft, a bracket having spaced arms adapted to engage the transom, a web having a plurality of spaced apertures carried by said arms, a pin extending through the apertures, a pressure arm carried by thepressure plate, means to rotatably mount the pressure arm with respect to the bracket, one end of said arm being designed toengage the pressure plate and the other end being designed to engage the pin to vary the angle between the housing and the transom in one direction as the pin is moved to different of the spaced apertures, and means including a manually operable tiller to rotate the mlggr assembly about the axis of the pressure P 7. A bracket having a pair of spaced boaten aging members, webs having a plurality of spaced apertures carried by said members, a

pressure plate adapted to be pivotally and remembers, one endof said arm being adapted to engage the pressure plate, andmearis including a pin extending through the spaced apertures and adapted to be engaged by one end 01 the arm to vary the angle. between the pressure plate and said members in one direction.

8. In an outboard motor for a boat'having a. transom, an internal combustion engine, a propeller, a housing extending between the engine and the propellena drive shaft in the housing, and means to attach the outboard motor to the transdm of the boat, said means including a pair of spaced boat engaging members, webs having a plurality of spaced apertures carried by said members, a member pivotally and resiliently mounted,to the housing eccentrically with respect to the drive shaft, a projection on said plate rotatably mounted between said members, and means carried by said projection and cooperating with said apertures to limit the angle between the drive shaft and the transom in onedirection only.

9. In an outboard motor for a boat having a transom, an internal combustion engine, a propeller, a housing extending between the engine and the propeller, a drive shaft in'th'e housing,

and means to fix the outboard motor to the transom o! the boat, said means including a ,pair of spaced boat-engaging members, webs having a plurality of spaced apertures carried by said members, a plate rotatably mounted with respect'to the housing, a projection on said plate rotatably mounted between said members, and means including a bolt extending between the webs to restrict the movement of the projection in one direction only to determine the angle be-v tween the drive shaft and the transom oi the boat.

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