US3808851A

US3808851A - Outboard motor lock

Info

Publication number: US3808851A
Application number: US00242584A
Authority: US
Inventors: E Kargus; J Zolkoske
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1972-04-10
Filing date: 1972-04-10
Publication date: 1974-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-07

Abstract

The invention relates to an improved locking device for preventing the theft, and/or the accidental dislodgment during use, of outboard motors. The device consists of a one piece, slotted tubular member which is adapted to slide over and to engage and lock against movement the heads of the clamp screws for the motor supporting bracket. This tubular member is provided with a series of aligned holes adapted to receive the shackle of a padlock or equivalent locking means, in such manner that removal of the tubular member from locking engagement with the heads of the clamping screws is effectively prevented.

Description

United States Patent 1191 I I '11 1 ,808,851

Kargus et al. I May 7, 1974 OUTBOARD MOTOR LOCK 1945.

[76] Inventors: Eugene H. Kargus, 747 London St.;

Joseph Zolkoske 928 Thlrd Primary ExaminerJoseph H. McGlynn both of Menasha 54952 Assistant ExaminerRichard P. Tremblay [22] Filed; Apr, 10, 1972 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Paul J. Glaister [21] Appl. No.: 242,584

57 ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 70/232 1 Int. Cl. The invention relates to an improved locking device [58] Field of Search 70/14 for preventing the theft, and/or the accidental dislodg- 70/232 ment during use, of outboard motors. The device consists of a one piece, slotted tubular member which is [56] References Cited adapted to slide over and to engage and lock against UNIT STATES PATENTS movement the heads of the clamp screws for the 2,984,096 5/1961 Putman etal 70/232 motor supporting bracket. This tubular member is 3,693,383 9/1972 provided with a series of aligned holes adapted to re- 2,556,90 5 ceive the shackle of a padlock or equivalent locking 1,169,557 1/1916 means, in such manner that removal of the tubular 23791006 4/1942 member from locking engagement with the heads of 3,422,570 l/l969 Vorst et al. 24/262 UX the p g screws is effectively prevented OTHER PUBLICATIONS New Tube Extractor", p. 20, Aero Products, Sept. 1 Claim, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTEDm 11914 SHEET 2 OF 2 l l l 7" FIG. 8

OUTBOARD MOTOR LOCK The present invention as indicated in the foregoing is concerned with the provision of an improved locking device for use with outboard motors. Outboard motors by their very nature are inherently portable, and large numbers of these motors are stolen each year. Some also become loosened or dislodged during use and this may result in personal injury, damage to the boat or even loss of the motor.

To avoid theft many boat owners use complicated or cumbersome chain and padlock arrangements, which are inconvenient to use and not always effective. Also, a number of locking devices have been proposed by prior inventors. These, however, are also complicated and/or expensive to build, and none has either proven suitable or acceptable for the intended use.

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an improved locking device for preventing the theft of outboard motors, and especially a locking device for this purpose that shall be simple in design, that shall be inexpensive to manufacture, that shall be easy to use and that shall be reliable and effective as a lock.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of an improved outboard motor locking device in accordance with the aforesaid principle object that will consist of only one piece and that will fit and can be used with most of the outboard motors presently on the market.

These and other objects and various further advantages of the invention will be made more apparent in the accompanying drawings and the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings, I

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view showing the manner in which the outboard motor locking device of the invention is used to prevent the unauthorized removal of an outboard motor from a boat, a display stand or other location,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the Iockingdevice shown in use in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, end elevational view of the locking device,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, sectional view on the line 44 of FIG. 2, I

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the general line 55 of FIG. 1. A portion of the lock structure has been cut away to better illustrate the relationship of the various parts,

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an auxiliary locking ring that can be used in conjunction with the locking device of the invention to provide, under certain circumstances, a somewhat more secure lock,

FIG. 8 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 5, showing the auxiliary locking ring of FIG. 7 in use in conjunction with the locking device of the invention, and

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the combined lock and auxiliary locking ring structure shown in FIG. 8.

Outboard motors, almost without exception, are provided with a combination bracket and screw clamp means for supporting the motor on, and for releasably attaching the motor to, the boat with which it is to be used. A typical such support structure is shown in FIG. 1, and as there illustrated, the motor support bracket 11 includes two, integrally formed C-clamp units, 13, each of which is provided with a threaded clamping screw 15, designed to engage the stern board or transom 17 of the boat.

The clamp screws used in connection with the support brackets for most of the more popular outboard motors are of about the same size and have similarly dimensioned, transversely extending, generally cylindrically shaped head portions, as illustrated at 19 in the drawings. This is to facilitate the easy tightening and loosening of these screws by hand. There is, however, some difference in the transverse spacing of the clamp screws, the dimension A of FIG. 5, as between the differing makes and even between different models in the same line.

Hence, an acceptable and useful outboard motor lock must be capable of accommodating itself automatically to this differing spacing, while at the same time maintaining a secure and effective locking action. Both of these requirements are fully met by the one piece outboard motor locking device of the invention.

That device, as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, consists of an elongated, tubular body member 21, which preferably has the form of a hollow cylinder and which is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 23 that is closed at one end. Conveniently the tubular locking member 21 isfabricated of steel tubing one eighth to three sixteenths of an inch thick, but other suitable, structurally strong materials can be used.

' During use, the tubular member 21 is adapted to he slid over the transversely extending, cylindrically shaped, head portions 19 of the clamp screws 15 used in conjunctionwith the motor support bracket 11. The head portions :19 will, of course, be located in substantial alignment with each other before the lock member 21 is slid into place. Adjustment of either or both head portions 19, if necessary, can be effected by first sliding the tubular lock member 21 over only one head portion and then using the tubular lock member as a wrench to turn either or both of the heads 19 to the desired position. The capability of the locking device to be used as a wrench is also useful in effecting secure attachment of the motor suport bracket to the boat structure or in loosening clamp screws which have become unduly hard to turn by hand.

Since most motor bracket clamp screws are not larger in diameter than about onehalf or seven sixteenths of an inch the slot 23 will have a width of about five eighths of an inch. To fit most present day commercial outboards Evinrude, Johnson, Mercury, etc. the tubular lock 21 itself should be about twelve inches long, and it should have an internal diameter of approximately 1 inch. This will receive with an easy sliding fit the transverse head portions of the clamping screws used on most outboards. Also, in order that the threaded shank portions of the spaced clamp screws of the various makes and models may be entirely contained within the tubular lock 21, the slot 23 should have a length of not less than about ten and one half inches.

The tubular lock 21 is conveniently held in locking position by the shackle 27 of a padlock 25, or equivawith a series of sets of aligned holes 29, each about one fourth to five sixteenths of an inch in diameter.

Desirably, the two holes 29 in each set are positioned at the opposite ends of a transverse diameter of the ho]- low cylindrical lock member 21, and as illustrated particularly in FIG. 4, that diameter, the diameter 31, is angularly spaced at an angle, the angle a, of from about 30 to 90 from the diameter 33 which intersects the clamp screw receiving slot 23. This arrangement locates the shackle 27 of the padlock 25 in the most effective position transversely of the central passageway in the lock member '21, and relative to the head portions 19 of the clamp screw'l5, to prevent removal of the lock from locking engagement with the ,clamp screws.

In the illustrated structure, there are three sets of the padlock shackle receiving holes 29, and these sets are spaced axially of the lock member at intervals of about 1% inches, with the first set being located about three eighths of an inch from the open slot end of the lock member 21. Other spacings for the holes 19 can be used, and in instances where the lock is to be used with one model line only, or even with one particular unit in a model line, the number of the sets of the padlock shackle receiving holes can be reduced as appropriate. For -a unit which will fit most models of the various makes of outboards listed above, the number of sets and the dimensions'stated above should be followed;

When the locking device of the invention is being used, the hollow cylindrical locking member 21, as pre viously stated, is slipped into place over the axially aligned, transversely extending head portions 19 of the two clamp screws 15, as shown particularly in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. The slot 23 receives the threaded shank portions of the two, transversely spaced, clamp screws 15, as shown, and the closed end of the slot 23 should contact or nearly contact the side of the threaded shank portion of one of the clamp screws.

With the tubular locking member 21 so positioned, the shackle 27 of the padlock 25 is passed through the aligned set of holes 29 that is outward of the clamp screw nearest the open end of the slot 23, as close as possible to the head of that clamp screw, ss shown particularly in FIG. 5. Locking the padlock 25in this position will effectively prevent removal of the lock 21 and- /or loosening of the clamp screws 15, and will thereby prevent the theft or other unauthorized removal, and- /or the accidental dislodgment during use, of the outboard motor with which the locking device is used.

Particularly when the tubular lock 21 of the invention is utilized to prevent loosening of the motor supporting bracket clamp screws during use of an outboard motor, it may be desirable to coat at least the inner surface of the lock member 21 and the edges of the slot 23 with a rubber-like or other plastic'coating. Such a coating will prevent mechanical damage to the clamp screws and their threads, and will minimize the vibration and noise that might otherwise accompany use of the lock in conjunction with an operating motor.

A plastic coating of the type applied to the wire, drainage racks used for holding dishes in a kitchen sink is suitable, and a fragmentary section of such a coating is illustrated at 35 in'FlG. 4. The coating may, if desired, extend over the entire surface of the tubular lock, and for appearance or other reasons such as overall coating may be advantageous.

The perspective view FIG. 7 illustrates a ring member 37 which can be used in conjunction with the locking device 21 of the invention as an auxiliary locking means, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the member 37 in use for this purpose. Generally, but not necessarily, this ring member will be slotted, and a slotted versionof the device will be described hereinafter.

The form and the internal dimensions of the auxiliary locking ring member 37 are such that that member will engage the hollow cylindrical locking member 21 with a free, sliding fit. Also, the dimensions of the slot 39 formed in the auxiliary ring member 37 are such that the slot 39 will have the same width as, and can be brought into alignment with, the slot 23 in the associated locking member 21.

When'it is to be used, the auxiliary locking ring 37 will be slid over the lock member 21, after that member has been placed in locking position on the motor clamp screws 15, with the

slots

23 and 39 in alignment, to a position outside and adjacent the clamp screw 15 which is farthest from the closed end of the slot 23. The locking ring 37 can then be rotated to bring one of the sets of aligned holes 41 formed therein into alignment with one of the sets of aligned holes 29 in the main locking member 21, and the'shackle 27 of the padlock 25 can then be passed through both the auxiliary locking ring 37 and the main locking member 21, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. r

The holes 41 desirably are of about the same dimensions as the holes29 in the main locking member 21, and they are similarly located at the opposite ends of transverse diameters which are'angularly spaced, similar to the diameter 31 of FIG. 4, from the diameter which intersects the center of the clamp screw receiving slot 23 formed in the lock member 21. By virtue of this angular displacement of the axis of the sets of

holes

29 and 41, proper rotation of the ring member 37 to bring cooperating sets of the

holes

29 and 41 into alignment with each other will cause the ring member to extend across and to close the outer end of the slot 23 outside the outer clamp screw 15, as shown.

The cooperating sets of holes 41 are spaced lengthwise of the longitudinal axis of the ring member 37, as illustrated in FIG. 7, at varying distances which, in the illustrated embodiment, are respectively equal 'to about one half and three fourths the longitudinal spacing of the sets of holes 29. This arrangement facilitates the locating of the auxiliary locking ring 37 in close proximity to the shank of the clamp screw 15 which is nearer the open end of the slot 23. This can produce a resulting increase in the effectiveness and the security of the locking action. Further, the useful range of the locking device of the invention may be extended as a result of the increased flexibility of adjustment made possible by the use of the auxiliary locking ring 37 in conjunction with the hollow cylindrical locking device of the invention.

The slotted version of the auxiliary locking ring may also be used inside the clampingscrews, under certain circumstances, to further extend the useful range of the lock means of the invention. Without the slot 39 the auxiliary ring can be used only outside the clamping screw 15 which is nearer the open end of the slot 23.

The structure described in the foregoing provides an improved locking device for preventing the'theft and- /or the unauthorized dislodgment during use of an outboard motor. The lock is of simple, inexpensive, one piece construction, yet at the same time it can be used reliably and effectively with most of the outboard motors-presently on the market.

We claim: 1

1. In combination, a locking device for outboard motors which consists of a one piece, tubular locking member having the form of an elongated, hollow cylinder of such crosssectional dimensions that said tubular locking member will receive with an easy sliding fit the transverse head portions of the two, transversely spaced, clamping screws which constitute a part of the support bracket for the outboard motor with which the locking device is to be used, said tubular locking member having an overall length which is substantially greater than the transverse spacing of the said two clamping screws and being provided with a longitudinally extending slot of sufficient width to receive with a easy clearance fit the shank portions of the said two, transversely spaced, clamping screws, said slot being closed at one end of said tubular locking member and said tubular locking member being provided at the other end thereof with a plurality of sets of holes for receiving the shackle of a padlock, the two holes comprising each set of the shackle-receiving holes being located at the opposite ends of a transverse diameter of the said tubular locking member and the said transverse diameters and the said sets of shackle-receiving holes being spaced at uniform intervals longitudinally of the said tubular locking member and said transverse provided in the said tubular locking member, whereby when said tubular locking member has slid over the heads of the previously tightened and longitudinally aligned clamping screws for the motor support bracket, the shackle of a padlock can be passed through the two holes comprisingone of said sets of holes, beside the head portion of the clamping screw which is nearest the open end of the slot in the tubular locking member, thereby to lock that member in place, and an auxiliary locking ring for use in conjunction with said tubular locking member, said auxiliary locking ring consisting of a hollow cylindrical section of such cross sectional form and dimensions that said ring member can be slid over said tubular locking member with an easy sliding fit, said ring member being of substantially less length than said tubular locking member and being provided with a longitudinally extending slot which is open at both ends and which has substantially the same width as the longitudinal slot in the said tubular locking member, said ring member being also provided with a plurality of sets of padlock shackle-receiving holes which are located at opposite ends of transverse diameters of the said ring member, and the said transverse diameters I holes in the said tubular locking member.

Claims

1. In combination, a locking device for outboard motors which consists of a one piece, tubular locking member having the form of an elongated, hollow cylinder of such cross sectional dimensions that said tubular locking member will receive with an easy sliding fit the transverse head portions of the two, transversely spaced, clamping screws which constitute a part of the support bracket for the outboard motor with which the locking device is to be used, said tubular locking member having an overall length which is substantially greater than the transverse spacing of the said two clamping screws and being provided with a longitudinally extending slot of sufficient width to receive with a easy clearance fit the shank portions of the said two, transversely spaced, clamping screws, said slot being closed at one end of said tubular locking member and said tubular locking member being provided at the other end thereof with a plurality of sets of holes for reCeiving the shackle of a padlock, the two holes comprising each set of the shackle-receiving holes being located at the opposite ends of a transverse diameter of the said tubular locking member and the said transverse diameters and the said sets of shackle-receiving holes being spaced at uniform intervals longitudinally of the said tubular locking member and said transverse diameters being rotated relative to the longitudinal slot provided in the said tubular locking member, whereby when said tubular locking member has slid over the heads of the previously tightened and longitudinally aligned clamping screws for the motor support bracket, the shackle of a padlock can be passed through the two holes comprising one of said sets of holes, beside the head portion of the clamping screw which is nearest the open end of the slot in the tubular locking member, thereby to lock that member in place, and an auxiliary locking ring for use in conjunction with said tubular locking member, said auxiliary locking ring consisting of a hollow cylindrical section of such cross sectional form and dimensions that said ring member can be slid over said tubular locking member with an easy sliding fit, said ring member being of substantially less length than said tubular locking member and being provided with a longitudinally extending slot which is open at both ends and which has substantially the same width as the longitudinal slot in the said tubular locking member, said ring member being also provided with a plurality of sets of padlock shackle-receiving holes which are located at opposite ends of transverse diameters of the said ring member, and the said transverse diameters and the said sets of shackle-receiving holes being spaced along the central longitudinal axis of said locking ring at non-uniform distances, which distances are within the range of about one-half to three-fourths the longitudinal spacing of the sets of shacklereceiving holes in the said tubular locking member.