Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63H—MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING
  • B63H20/00—Outboard propulsion units, e.g. outboard motors or Z-drives; Arrangements thereof on vessels
  • B63H20/08—Means enabling movement of the position of the propulsion element, e.g. for trim, tilt or steering; Control of trim or tilt
  • B63H20/10—Means enabling trim or tilt, or lifting of the propulsion element when an obstruction is hit; Control of trim or tilt
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63H—MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING
  • B63H20/00—Outboard propulsion units, e.g. outboard motors or Z-drives; Arrangements thereof on vessels
  • B63H20/08—Means enabling movement of the position of the propulsion element, e.g. for trim, tilt or steering; Control of trim or tilt
  • B63H20/12—Means enabling steering

Definitions

• TITLE Steering System for Planing Watercraft
• the present invention relates to an arrangement in a steering and propulsion system for a planing type motorboat, which boat is provided with means for adjusting the trim position, whereby the steering mechanism for the boat is provided with a sensor for detecting rudder displacement, which sensor is connected to said trim position adjustment means.
• Planing motorboats are normally driven at relatively high speeds. The difference in speed compared to sailing boats and other non-planing motorboats is therefore appreciable. Since the steering characteristics for planing boats differ somewhat from conventional boats, inexperienced helmsmen experience difficulties at such high speeds. Near-accidents can have many different causes within the common expression "poor captain". It would however be desirable if the steering characteristics of planing motor boats were more similar to those of conventional boats.
• the rudder If the rudder is moved to e.g the right, the bow of the boat does not immediately turn towards the desired direction.
• the stern is not however moved immediately out to the left since the boat's inertia provides resistance.
• the side forces gradually start to take effect so that the stern is drawn to the left, whereby the longitudinal extension of the boat begins to deviate from the original course.
• the angular deviation implies that water pressure is exerted on the head of the boat from the side so that the bow and the stern move in different directions, i.e. the turn has now commenced.
• the effect of this procedure is normally that the boat first moves a little to the left of the original course before the right turn occurs.
• One object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which offers improved steering characteristics on a boat of the planing type.
• the arrangement according to the invention is characterized in that the sensor is connected to the adjustment means via a microprocessor for recording the degree of steering displacement, which microprocessor is adapted to trim down the bow of the boat in the water when a certain steering displacement is exceeded.
• This arrangement is applicable to most planing-type boats, irrespective of whether the adjustment means for the trim position is separately located on the boat or integrated with the propulsion unit.
• Fig. 1 schematically illustrates in a sequence of pictures from left to right how a conventional planing boat normally reacts during a turn
• Fig. 2 shows schematically the arrangement according to the invention applied to a so-called aquamatic drive with a trimmable propellor angle.
• the boat 10 shown in Fig. 1 in a sequence of five pictures moves in the left hand picture along the chain-line 11.
• a turn to the right from the chain- line is initiated by pivoting the propulsion unit 12 of the boat.
• the water pressure begins to act on the hull of the boat, though the boat is now entirely to the left side of the chain-line 11.
• the water pressure acts with full force on the port side of the boat, but the boat has continued to move in the "wrong direction" with respect to the intended course and is now positioned somewhat to the left of the original course line 11.
• the turn is almost completed and the boat begins to cross the original course line.
• the invention is shown in Fig. 2 applied to a propulsion unit 12 in the form of a so-called aquamatic drive which is mounted to the stern 13 of the boat and connected to a not shown inboard drive motor.
• the drive 12 is arranged in a conventional manner to be pivotable about a substantially vertical axis 14, whereby the drive is manoeuvered by a steering arm within the hull, which arm is connected via a wire mechanism to a steering wheel 15 located at the helm of the boat. Neither the steering arm nor the wire mechanism is shown in the drawing since these are well known in this technical field and do not need to be illustrated further.
• the trim position of the boat in the water can be adjusted in a conventional manner by pivoting the drive about a substantially horizontal axis by means of a pair of piston cylinders 16.
• This trim adjustment is normally used to adjust the rotational axis 17 of the propellor so that the boat can accelerate more quickly to its planing position, whereafter the propellor 's rotational axis is readjusted to a more energy-saving planing mode.
• the piston cyliders 16 are connected via pipes 18 to a hydraulic motor 19.
• the hydraulic motor can be operated in a known manner in both directions by means of a control located at the helm.
• the invention permits a quicker response to the helm when the boat is to turn during planing from one course to another. This is achieved by providing one of the parts of the boat's steering mechanism , i.e. the wheel, wire mechanism or the drive's steering arm, with a position sensor 20.
• the sensor is connected to a microprocessor acting as a control centre 21, which in turn is connected via leads 22 to the hydraulic motor 19.
• the centre 21 is additionally connected to a power source via a switch 23 which allows the automatic mechanism to be turned off.
• the control centre 21 is arranged to allow the steering wheel 15 to be turned within a first angular sector , for example for riding waves and small steering corrections, without activating the automatic mechanism.
• the helmsman senses this as though the planing boat's normal feeling of skidding ceases and that the boats bow instead "bites" into the water during the turn whilst the stern skids round until the new course is achieved.
• the result is that the turn can be executed without the boat ending up on the wrong side of the original course line 11.
• the system can be applied to planing boats with outboard motors.
• the microprocessor can be connected to a log for recording the speed of the boat so that the trimming effect can be adapted to the boat's speed.

Landscapes

• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)
• Steering Control In Accordance With Driving Conditions (AREA)

Priority Applications (3)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20380984

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Families Citing this family (10)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1990
  • 1990-11-23 SE SE9003727A patent/SE467694B/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1991
  • 1991-11-01 WO PCT/SE1991/000739 patent/WO1992009475A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1991-11-01 EP EP91920568A patent/EP0558580B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1991-11-01 JP JP4500096A patent/JPH06503283A/ja active Pending
  • 1991-11-01 US US08/050,378 patent/US5389016A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Patent Citations (3)

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