US3757549A

US3757549A - Outboard motor clamp screw lock

Info

Publication number: US3757549A
Application number: US00248435A
Authority: US
Inventors: C Mullis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-04-28
Filing date: 1972-04-28
Publication date: 1973-09-11
Anticipated expiration: 1990-09-11

Abstract

This is a device for locking an outboard motor on the transom of a boat so as to make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for a thief to steal the outboard motor from the boat transom. Outboard motors are usually mounted on the boat transom by having a pair of spaced apart C-clamps secured over the transom. With this device, an elongated housing consisting of a tough metal strong box, partly open in its real wall, is hung over the clamping screw handles, the handles having alignable transverse apertures therethrough, and a tough metal bolt is extended through apertures in the confronting and side walls of the strong box and through the aligned apertures in the clamp screw handle ends. A tough metal lock nut is threaded on at least one end of the bolt, a key being needed and used to unlock the nut before it can be unthreaded. The nut is of the same type that is used for locking demountable automobile wheels on their hubs to prevent theft thereof. The tough metal of the bolt and nut, and also the strong box, is such as is used in the metal walls of a safe or vault. To increase the security, the bolt head and the lock nut may also be countersunk within a guard ring extending externally of the confronting end walls or, for maximum security, a guard thimble is countersunk with the confronting end walls, thus making it impossible to get access thereto with a bolt cutter or hacksaw or other burgler tool.

Description

United States Patent [191 Mullis, Jr.

[ 1 Sept. 11, 1973 1 OUTBOARD MOTOR CLAMP SCREW LOCK Carson Mullis, Jr., 2071 SW 68th Way, Miramar, Fla. 33023 1221 Filed: Apr. 28, 1972 21 Appl. No.: 248,435

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 70/232, 70/14, 70/58, 70/211,137/383 [51] Int. Cl. G05b 73/00, G05g 5/00, F16b 41/00 [58] Field of Search 70/14, 58, 198, 199, 70/200, 211, 230, 232, 229; 137/383 10/1970 Mauro 70/230 UX Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Assistant Examiner-Richard P. Tremblay Att0rneyGustave Miller [57] ABSTRACT This is a device for locking an outboard motor on the transom of a boat so as to make it extremely difficult,

if not impossible, for a thief to steal the outboard motor from the boat transom. Outboard motors are usually mounted on the boat transom by having a pair of spaced apart C-clamps secured over the transom. With this device, an elongated housing consisting of a tough metal strong box, partly open in its real wall, is hung over the clamping screw handles, the handles having alignable transverse apertures therethrough, and a tough metal bolt is extended through apertures in the confronting and side walls of the strong box and through the aligned apertures in the clamp screw handle ends. A tough metal lock nut is threaded on at least one end of the bolt, a key being needed and used to unlock the nut before it can be unthreaded. The nut is of the same type that is used for locking demountable automobile wheels on their hubs to prevent theft thereof. The tough metal of the bolt and nut, and also the strong box, is such as is used in the metal walls of a safe or vault. To increase the security, the bolt head and the lock nut may also be countersunk within a guard ring extending externally of the confronting end walls or, for maximum security, a guard thimble is countersunk withthe' confronting end walls, thus making it impossible to get access thereto with a bolt cutter or hacksaw or other burgler tool.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures OUTBOARD MOTOR CLAMP SCREW LOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Outboard motors are usually secured to the transom of the boat by C-shaped clamps, and the clamp screws are rotatable by handles pivoted thereto about an axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the clamp scress, the handles having alignable apertures at their other ends. Various means have been provided for locking the clamp screw handles, such as a bolt through the handles and a padlock through the bolt end, as in U. S. Pat. No. 2,677,264, or similar devices such as illustrated in U. S. Pat. Nos. 1,741,205; 2,479,300; and 2,703,501. All these devices have one element in common, a padlock, which can be easily and quickly cut by a bolt cutter or hacksaw by the thief, with hardly any delay in completing the theft.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a locking means for the outboard motor clamp which does not use a padlock that may be easily cut by a bolt cutter or hacksaw, but which uses a tough metal wheel locking nut on the end ofa bolt of tough metal, and wherein the bolt may be further protected against access thereto by a bolt cutter or hacksaw by being encased, with the clamp handles, in a tough metal strong box. A further object of this invention is to provide an outboard motor clamp which is substantially theft proof, or which, at worst, takes an extremely long time to overcome, much more time than a thief would expect to have available in a public marina without arousing suspicion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tough metal bolt for locking the clamp screw handle of the motor clamp and which resists the action of a bolt cutter or hacksaw. Still a further object of this invention is to provide a locking means for an outboard motor clamp which cannot be overcome by the use a bolt cutter or hacksaw or even by a sledge hammer.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a locking means for the clamp screws of an outboard motor which can be unlocked only by use of the locking key provided for the lock.

Yet, a further object of this invention is to provide a tough metal strong box housing for enclosing the handles of the mounting clamps of the outboard motor and for enclosing a tough metal bolt through the handles, the bolt being locked by a lock nut, and the bolt head and the lock nut both being enclosed or countersunk on or in the housing against access by a bolt cutter or hacksaw, the tough metal being such as stainless steel or casehardened steel or other similar material such as used in the wall of a safe or vault.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE. FIGURES FIG. 1 is a sectional view through the locking means of this invention as applied to the clamp screws of an outboard motor clamp.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the locking housing with countersink guards on the outer end walls of the housing.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the bolt head end guard ring or thimble countersunk within the end walls.

FIG. 4 is a partially sectional view of the opposite end of FIG. 3, with the nut lock countersunk in a guard thimble or ring countersunk within the end wall of the guard box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION There is shown at 10 a conventional outboard motor of any conventional style provided with a pair of conventional spaced apart C-clamps 12, each clamp 12 having its conventional clamping screw 14 rotatably threaded against the boat transom 16 by its conventional handle 18 pivoted at 20 thereon at right angles to the axis of rotation of the screw 14. Each handle 18- has its pivoted end 22 project somewhat above the handle pivot 20, and the other end 24 of the handle 18 conventionally has an aperture 26 therethrough. Conventionally, a bolt may be placed through the apertures 26 with a padlock through the bolt end to lock the handles against rotation for theft of the motor, as illustrated in above mentioned US. Pat. No. 2,677,264, and prevents the motor from being too easily stolen, particularly by an amateur. However, a professional thief may use a bolt cutter or hacksaw on either the bolt or the padlock, in a very few seconds of time, and be only very slightly delayed in the theft.

With this invention, a bolt 28 is likewise used, but, instead of being an ordinary bolt, it is made of a very tough metal, such as stainless steel or case-hardened steel, or of other similar materials such as used in the walls of a safe or vault. The bolt head 30, instead of being conventional, may be seven sided, as shown for cooperating with a special seven sided socket wrench, which may be provided with this device. Instead of a padlock, an automobile wheel locking nut 32 is used. This nut can be opened only by a special key 34 before the nut may be rotated in the unlocking direction. The lock nut will preferably also be of similar tough metal. This tough metal bolt and lock nut are probably sufficient against the usual bolt cutter, but to enhance the protection, a safe box or lock box 36 is used as a housing for the bolt 28 and the clamp handles 18.

This strong box or housing 36 is made of similar tough metal, such as stainless steel or case-hardened steel, or of such metal as the walls of safes or vaults are usually made, and its walls may be made of suitable thickness to enhance its toughness. This housing 36 is an elongated parallelepiped in shape. It has two ends walls38 and 40 connected together by a solid front wall 42, an elongate bottom wall 44, and elongate top wall 46 and a back ledge 48, leaving an opening so that the box 36 may hang over the top ends 22 of handles 18 and enclose the handles 18 completely therewithin, and then the bolt 28 may be inserted through the end wall apertures and handle apertures 26. The nut 32 is then threaded onto the threaded end 50 of bolt 28. As thus already described, a great deal of security is provided to the motor, because the main part of the bolt is inaccessible to a bolt cutter, and neither the bolt head 30 or lock nut 32 can be readily actuated to release the bolt.

An additional step of security is provided by countersinking the bolt head 30 and nut 32 within a guard ring 52 secured about the bolt apertures in the

end walls

38 and 40.

In one form, shown in FIG. 2, the guard rings 52, of similar tough metal, are secured to and external of the

end walls

38 and 40, thereby making the bolt head 30 and nut 32 completely inaccessible to a bolt cutter or even a sledge hammer.

Maximum security is provided by mounting the guard rings or thimbles 54 entirely within and on the inner sides of the

end walls

38 and 40, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this case, the guard rings or thimbles 54 are thus countersunk entirely within

end walls

38 and 40 of the housing 36, making the bolt head 30 and nut 32 entirely inaccessible to any type of jimmy, bolt cutter or hacksaw, and thus probably completely discouraging any would-be thief.

ABSTRACT OF THE DRAWING In the drawing, like numbers refer to like parts, and for purposes of explication, marshalled below are the numbered parts of the improved outboard motor clamp screw lock.

CONVENTIONAL FEATURES conventional outboard motor 12 motor mounting C-clamp l4 clamp screw 16 boat transom 18 pivoted clamp screw handles 20 pivot of 18 on 14 22 handle end projecting beyond pivot 20 24 opposite end of handle 26 apertures in handle ends 24 IMPROVEMENT FEATURES 28 bolt of tough metal 30 head of bolt 28 32 wheel lock nut 34 key for lock nut 32 36 housing or strong box of tough metal one end wall of 36 i 40 other end wall 42 solid front wall 44 bottom wall 46 top wall 48 back wall ledge 50 threaded end of bolt 28 52 outwardly extending guard rings on

end walls

38 and 40 54 inwardly extending guard rings or thimbles countersunk within the

end walls

38 and 40.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed. Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed 1. Locking means for the spaced apart clamp screws (14) of an outboard motor (10) clamp bracket (12) having handles (18) pivotally connected (20) each adjacent one end (22) to the outer end of an associated clamp screw (14) for pivotal movement about an axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the associated clamp screws (14) and each handle (18) having a transverly extending aperture (26) adjacent its other end; the improvement comprising an elongated parallelepied strong box (36) of tough metal of a length somewhat longer than the distance between the handles (18), of a height slightly greater than the length of the handles (18), of a depth greater than the depth of the handles (18), its back wall having an opening to admit the handles (18) therewithin when in depending position, said back wall providing a ledge depending behind the upper ends (22) of the handles 18) projecting above their pivotal connections, the confronting end walls (38, 40) of said box (36) having apertures aligning with the apertures (26) of said handles (18) when said handles are in depending position, and a tough metal bolt (28) extendible through said aligned apertures (26) and threaded on at least one end to receive a lock nut thereon.

2. The means of protecting the metal boltand lock nut from bolt cutters, hacksaw and hammer a ring guard wherein ring guards (52,54) are secured on said confronting end walls (38,40) about said bolt apertures for countersinking the bolt ends (30,50) therewithin, said bolt apertures being of a diameter to receive the bolt (28) therethrough, but not to permit the lock nut to pass therethrough.

3. The locking means of claim 2, said ring guard (54) being countersunk within said confronting end walls.

4. The locking means of claim 2, said ring guard (52) extending outwardly from said confronting end walls (38, 40).

5. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being stainless steel.

6. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being case-hardened steel.

7. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being vault-wall metal.

Claims

1. Locking means for the spaced apart clamp screws (14) of an outboard motor (10) clamp bracket (12) having handles (18) pivotally connected (20) each adjacent one end (22) to the outer end of an associated clamp screw (14) for pivotal movement about an axis perpendicular to the rotational axis of the associated clamp screws (14) and each handle (18) having a transverly extending aperture (26) adjacent its other end; the improvement comprising an elongated parallelepied strong box (36) of tough metal of a length somewhat longer than the distance between the handles (18), of a height slightly greater than the length of the handles (18), of a depth greater than the depth of the handles (18), its back wall having an opening to admit the handles (18) therewithin when in depending position, said back wall providing a ledge depending behind the upper ends (22) of the handles (18) projecting above their pivotal connections, the confronting end walls (38, 40) of said box (36) having apertures aligning with the apertures (26) of said handles (18) when said handles are in depending position, and a tough metal bolt (28) extendible through said aligned apertures (26) and threaded on at least one end to receive a lock nut thereon.

2. The means of protecting the metal boltand lock nut from bolt cutters, hacksaw and hammer a ring guard wherein ring guards (52, 54) are secured on said confronting end walls (38,40) about said bolt apertures for countersinking the bolt ends (30,50) therewithin, said bolt apertures being of a diameter to receive the bolt (28) therethrough, but not to permit the lock nut to pass therethrough.

4. The locking means of claim 2, said ring guard (52) extending outwardld from said confronting end walls (38, 40).

5. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being stainless steel.

6. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being case-hardened steel.

7. The locking means of claim 1, said tough metal being vault-wall metal.