US2596802A

US2596802A - Lock device

Info

Publication number: US2596802A
Application number: US767292A
Authority: US
Inventors: Will George William
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-08-07
Filing date: 1947-08-07
Publication date: 1952-05-13
Anticipated expiration: 1969-05-13

Description

May 13, 1952 e. w. WILL LOCK DEVICE Filed Aug. 7, 1947 INVENTOR.

GEORGE WILLJAM \Nhl.

Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED STATES LQQ DE IQE Q er cwil amV L-Qle darigQb e emriicatiengiu usii FiLS Q1NW %93. 1 Claim. (01. 70--..239)

My invention relates to lock devices generally, and more particularly to a lock device for an outboard motor.

Anobject of my invention is to provide means to deter the removal of an outboard motorfrom a boat.-

Another'object of my invention is to lock an outboard motor againstremoval from a'boat by locking the mounting screwsof the motor against rotation.;

Still another object of 1 my inventionis to prevent; relative adjustment between a threaded bodyand. threaded stud by vibration.

Yet another object of my invention is-to prevent accidental loss of an outboard motor-by looseningof the holding screws or the-outboard motor,

Other objects and a fullerunderstanding of my invention may be had by referring to the following description andclaims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure I is the'cross sectional view through a boat looking towards the rear of the boat toward a conventional outboard'motor, and illustrating my improved lock device;

Figure 2 is an exploded erspective view of my improved look as illustrated in use in the Figure l;

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the lock body assembled with the stud of an adjustable locking member and locking plate, the location of the sections of'the componentparts being indicated by the lines 33 inithe-explodediperspective view ofFignre 2: and

Figure 4 is an alternate type turn lockwhich may be used in place of the flexible turn lock illustrated in the Figure 1.

Substantially all outboardmotors are equipped with a mounting bracket H) which is adapted to hook overthe back-board of a small boat. This bracket is tightly secured to the boat by means of suitable winged tightening bolts ll having winged finger grip ears I 2. Thus, the motor may be quickly and easily mounted upon the boat or removed from the boat by tightening and loosening the winged bolts II. The motor would be very difficult to remove from the boat, of course, if it were impossible to turn the winged bolts ll after they were once tightly screwed down to clamp the bracket l onto the back of the boat. Therefore, I have provided my improved lock member which may be placed between the bolts II and prevent turning the bolts l l and thereby prevent releasing the bracket [0 from the boat.

In llhdFlgllIQ 2-01? the drawing myimpro-ved lockingmeans is illustrated in larger perspective detail; It will be seen that my lock compr-ises alockbody portion IS; an interference locking member I4 having a prong portion l5 anda. threaded stud l6; and a second interference locking member l1 having a prongportion l8 and asmooth stud I9. A longitudinal opening 20 extends the full length of -the body l3, in the preferred embodiment ofmy-invention. In actual practice, I thread the opening- ZO-fromend to; end, although actuallyan amount of thread equal to the length or the stud-16- is" all that is reoui-red; -As illustrated-inthe Figure 2; the stud i6 "is threaded; to match the threads in the opening20,;but the stud l-9 is smooth and-is dimen' sioned -to fit snugly buteasily within the opening 20. Therefore, it will beseen thatthe body l3 and-the stud -l 6-may be rotated relative to one another-and thereby adjust the'distance between the prong portion l5 and the prongportion iii.

Bv threading the stud l 8- well into the opening 20, thelock device may be inserted betweenthe winged bolts I! on the bracket in and the body l 3-may thereafter be rotated to increase the distance between the prong portions l4 and I1, and thereby extend to grip the winged bolts l I. In thepreferred embodiment illustrated, the prong portion I4 is provided with a gripping slot 2l, and the prong portion, l 1' is provided with. a gripping slot 22. By rotating the body I3, the slots 2,] and 22 will be,moved around the threaded portion of the; winged bolts II, and thelwin gs 12 of the bolts will be tightlyugrippedand prevented from being further adjusted to remove the bracket H1 fromthe boat. Thus, any person attemptingto remove the motor will be confronted wi h e sk of fi em ingt l k: e ice,-

Such del y wil i cou a motor heft b ause of the delay involved, and the noisezresultant from attempting. to remove thelcek without a key.

In order to prevent an unauthorized person from reversing the direction of rotation of the body l3 and removing the look from the winged bolts II, and also to prevent vibration of the boat during use from vibrating the body l3 in a reverse direction and allow the lock member to become loose, I haveprovided means to lock the body against rotation relative to the stud l8. As illustrated in the Figure 2, and also shown in the Figure 3, the stud I6 is provided with flat sides 23. A look slot 24 extends through the body [3 in such a manner that an object passing through the slot 24 will pass through an edge of the opening 20. By this means, the body 13 may be adjusted relative to the stud I6, and placed in the relative position illustrated in the Figure 3. That is, the body I3 is adjusted to present a flat side 23 to the slot area 24 within the opening 20. Thereafter, a lock strip 25 may be inserted through the opening 24 to block oif a portion of the opening 20, and therefore further rotation of the stud I 6 will be impossible.

To complete the locking structure, I have provided an opening 28 through the end of the strip 25 to receive the hasp of a conventional pad-lock 27. With the hasp of the lock 2'? through the opening 26, the lock strip 25 cannot be withdrawn through the opening 24. Also, the lock strip 25 is provided with a depending portion 28 which will prevent the strip 25 from being withdrawn through the slot 24. By this provision of interlocking surfaces between the stud I6 and strip 25 within the body I3, I have provided a lock which is simple to construct and positive in its locking action in prevent unauthorized removal, and to prevent accidental removal by vibration.

Although this lock structure 1. particularly adaptable for locking an outboard motor on a boat, it is useful for other applications, such, for example, as turnbuckle construction, to prevent loosening of the turnbuckle by vibration.

Outboard motors are generally provided with a handle for guiding. In the Figure 1 of the drawing, I illustrate an outboard motor of the type having a foldable handle 39. The handle 30, in this type motor, folds up in an out-of-theway position when not in use. The handle 30 is placed in conjunction with the motor in such a manner that the handle extends out at an angle relative to the forward motion of the boat when the motor is driving the boat straight forward. Thus, the operator can sit to one side of the motor and reach out with either arm in a comfortable manner to grasp the handle 33. Therefore, when the handle 30 is moved to a straight forward position along the longitudinal axis of the boat as illustrated in the Figure 1, the driving propeller 3| will be turned sharply and will drive the boat in a tight circle.

Therefore, I have provided turn locking means to prevent an unauthorized person from starting the motor and taking both the boat and the motor, rather than simply removing the motor from the boat. In the Figure 1, I illustrate this additional locking means as a flexible wire coil 32. The wire coil 32 is provided with loop ends 33 which are therefore adapted to be secured by the lock 21. As illustrated in the Figure 1, the wire loop 32 will hold the handle 32 and prevent the motor from being moved out of its turn position. Therefore the boat cannot be driven away under its own power.

In the Figure 4 of the drawing I illustrate an alternate type lock to prevent turning of the motor to steer the boat. In this modification, a solid piece of strap iron is bent into the form of a hook, and is provided at the lower end thereof with a slot 34. The slot 34 is adapted to receive the end of the lock strip 25 therethrough, and is thereby held in place by the lock 21. I find either the wire loop 33 or the solid hook 35 to be entirely satisfactory for use with my lock device to prevent free steering movement of an outboard motor.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity in its preferred form, it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

A. lock for an outboard motor having spaced mounting screw means with engagement portions, comprising a lock body portion having a threaded opening, a first locking member having a prong portion and a stud portion, said stud portion having threads thereon to threadably engage said threaded opening of the lock body, said prong portion being adapted to engage the engagement portion of one mounting screw means in an interfittin manner to prevent rotation of the screw means, said body having a lock slot intersecting said threaded opening, said stud portion of the first locking member having a lock engagement surface, and lock strip means adapted to extend through said lock slot and engage said lock engagement surface to hold said first locking memher and body portion against relative rotation, a second locking member carried by said body and adapted to engage the engagement portion of another mounting screw means in an interfitting manner to prevent rotation of the screw means, said body being rotatable relative to said threaded stud of the first locking member to thereby force said first and second locking members apart and into tight engagement with said spaced mounting screw means, and being lockable by said lock strip against reversal to release the mounting screw means.

GEORGE WILLIAM WILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

Binz Aug. 16, 1949