WO2007109827A1

WO2007109827A1 - Joining two lever housings by a sealing member

Info

Publication number: WO2007109827A1
Application number: PCT/AU2007/000127
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Gunther Rosenkranz; Martin Robson
Original assignee: Aimbridge Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2006-03-28
Filing date: 2007-02-07
Publication date: 2007-10-04

Abstract

A control lever assembly is disclosed which comprises a number of lever housings (12, 14, 112, 114) which are joined together to form a control lever assembly for a boat. A joining and sealing member (30) is provided for joining two lever housings together after one of the lever housings is rotated 180° relative to the other. Lever housings can be connected together without rotation by providing a flange (116) on one of the housings (112) which mates with a cooperating flange (115) on another of the housings (114) to join the lever assemblies together.

Description

Joining two lever housings by a sealing member

Field of Invention This invention relates to a control lever assembly for a boat.

Background of the Invention

Conventionally single or dual engine boats are controlled by a control lever assembly which includes a pivotally mounted lever. By pivoting the lever the engine is controlled to drive the boat forward at a desired speed or in reverse . In the case of dual engine boats , a separate lever is provided for controlling each engine so that the engines can be controlled in synchronism with one another or separately to provide for turning or other manoeuvring.

Usually it is necessary for both single lever control lever systems and multi-lever control lever systems to be held in inventory to enable the appropriate assembly to be fitted to a boat depending on whether the boat is a single engine boat or a dual engine boat.

Thus, a number of different components need to be manufactured and warehoused in order to provide the required lever assembly to suit the application required. This adds to the expense in supplying these assemblies and also the expense of storing such assemblies for use.

Furthermore, problems can be encountered if inventory stocks become low and it is found that a particular lever assembly is not in stock.

Summary of the Invention The object of the present invention is to provide a control lever assembly which overcomes this problem. The invention may be said to reside in a control lever assembly for a boat, comprising: a lever housing having a lever for controlling an engine of the boat; a joining and sealing member for mounting the lever housing to a like lever housing after turning the like lever housing 180° relative to the said lever housing; and wherein a single control lever assembly can be provided by one of the lever housings and if a dual control lever assembly is required a number of like lever assemblies are joined and sealed together in side by side relationship to provide the required dual control lever assembly.

Thus, it is only necessary for a single control lever with the appropriate mounting member to be maintained in inventory and the required single lever assembly or dual lever assembly can be built up from the one lever assembly. This therefore reduces the amount of inventory required together with the storage space and reduces the likelihood of running out of a particular type of lever assembly particularly those assemblies which may be used only very occasionally.

The invention also avoids the need to simply locate two completely separate lever housings side by side because the housings are joined and sealed by the joining and sealing member. If the lever assemblies are merely located side by side, they can look somewhat unappealing, particularly on an expensive boat and also the spacing and mounting may not be adequate to provide proper control of both levers by one hand.

In one embodiment of the invention the joining and sealing member comprises a ring having a first annular surface for mating with an annular surface of the housing, an a second annular surface for mating with the annular surface of a like housing after turning the like housing 180°, to thereby position the housing and like housing in side by side relationship and space the housings so that the control levers of each housing can be manipulated simultaneously or one at a time to thereby provide simultaneous control over two engines or separate control of each of the two engines .

Preferably each surface of the ring includes a seal for sealing the ring to the respective housing.

This therefore provides a water-tight closure to the housing to prevent ingress of water into the lever housing.

In some embodiments of the invention the lever includes a handle, the handle having three switches, two of the switches being for trimming the engine or stern drive leg associated with that lever and the third for operating a clutch associated with that lever.

In this embodiment the switch is rotatable about a second axis substantially perpendicular to said axis when the like lever housing is turned 180° relative to said lever housing so that the trim and clutch switches of the lever associated with the like lever housing are configured in the same orientation as those associated with said lever housing.

A second aspect of the invention relates to producing a dual control lever assembly from a common control lever, regardless of whether one of the control levers is turned or not turned.

The invention also provides a dual control lever assembly for a dual engine boat, comprising: a first control lever having a housing defining an internal component containing cavity, the first control lever having a first pivotally movable lever for controlling operation of a first engine of the boat; a second control lever having a housing defining internal component containing cavity, the second control lever having a second pivotally mountable lever for controlling operation of a second engine of the boat; and a sealing member for sealing the cavities and joining the first and second control levers together in spaced apart disposition so that the first lever can be manipulated on its own, the second lever can be manipulated on its own, or both the first and second levers can be manipulated concurrently to thereby control the engines of the boat, the sealing member having a first sealing component for sealing to the housing of the first control lever and a second sealing component for sealing to the housing of the second control lever to thereby close and seal the cavities to prevent ingress of water and/or other foreign material into the cavities.

Thus , again like control levers can be used to form the dual control assembly.

In one embodiment of this aspect of the invention the first sealing component is formed on one side of the housing, and the second sealing component formed on an opposite side of the housing, the second control lever being identical to the first control lever and the first component of the first control lever engaging with the second component of the second control lever to join and seal the first and second control levers together.

In this embodiment the components are integral with the housing so that an additional sealing component is not needed. In a second embodiment the sealing member comprises a separate sealing member having a first surface for mating with a corresponding surface on a first of the levers, and a second surface for mating with a corresponding surface on a second of the levers .

Preferably the first and second surfaces of the separate sealing member both carry O rings for sealing against the mating surfaces of the first and second control levers .

In this embodiment the first and second control levers are identical and the first control lever is turned 180° relative to the second control lever.

In this embodiment the sealing member comprises a ring.

In one embodiment of the invention the first and second control levers each have a handle which contains trim switches and a clutch switch, the trim switches and clutch switch of the pivotally movable lever which will be on the right hand side when the dual control assembly is mounted for use, being turned 180° about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the control lever.

The invention may still further be said to reside in a method of forming a dual lever control assembly, for a dual engine boat, from two single control levers, comprising : arranging the two control levers in side by side configuration; and joining the two control levers together by a sealing member to seal an internal component containing cavity of each control lever to prevent the ingress of water and/or other foreign material into the cavities .

In one embodiment one of the control levers is turned 180° with respect to the other . Preferably the sealing member is joined to the two control levers by engaging a first surface of the sealing member with a mating surface of one of the control levers and engaging a second surface of the sealing member with mating surface of the other of the control levers .

Preferably the joining of the control levers by the single sealing member further comprises the location of an O ring between the first surface of the sealing member and the mating surface of the said of the control levers and an outer rim between the second surface of the sealing member and the mating surface of the other of the control levers.

Preferably the 0 rings are mounted on the first and second surfaces of the sealing member.

Preferably the method further comprises modifying software for controlling one of the engines to take into account the turning of one of the control levers 180° with respect to the other control lever.

Preferably the software is also modified to take into account the exchange of the up and down trim switches .

In another embodiment the control levers have a respective sealing component on each side so the control levers can be sealed by engaging one component of one control lever with the other component of the other control lever .

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which : Figure 1 is an exploded view of a control lever assembly according to one embodiment of the invention_/

Figure 2 is a view of the assembly of Figure 1 in an assembled configuration;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view through the assembly of Figure 2 ;

Figure 4 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the assembly as shown in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a control system of one embodiment of the invention; and

Figures 6 and 7 show a further embodiment of the invention .

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment The control lever assembly shown in Figures 1 to 4 utilises an optical potentiometer which operates in the manner disclosed in our International patent application PCT/AU2005/001608. The general structure of the control lever is similar to that disclosed in the above International application and therefore apart from the detail required to understand the present invention, the complete details of the control lever assembly will not be described. The contents of the aforesaid International application are incorporated into this specification by this reference .

With reference to Figure 1, the control lever assembly 10 comprises two single control levers 12 and 14 which are identical and which are turned "back to back" by turning one of the control lever assemblies 14 about its vertical axis A shown in Figure 1 by 180°.

As is apparent from the above, the control levers 12 and

14 are identical and therefore only the control lever 12 will be further described.

The control lever 12 includes a housing 16 which has a slot 18 through which a lever 19 passes. The lever 19 supports a handle 22 which has a trim up switch 24 , a trim down switch 24', and a clutch switch 26 for controlling the trim of an engine 90 (Figure 5) and a clutch 92 (Figure 5) associated with that engine 90.

The control lever 14 operates a second engine 91 (Figure 5) and the trim switches and the clutch switch of the control lever 14 operate a clutch 93 and the trim of that second engine 91.

The housing 16 of the control lever 12 has a cylindrical section 20 which is closed by a first cover 15 and by a second cover 23.

In order to form a control lever assembly for a single engine boat, the control lever 12 as described above is installed in the boat for controlling the single engine of the boat.

In order to form a dual control lever assembly for a dual engine boat, two control levers 12 are used. The covers 23 are removed from two control levers 12 to expose the internal cavity 21 of the cylinders 20 in which the operating components of the control levers 12 are contained. One of the levers 12 is turned 180° to form the control lever 14 shown in Figures 1 to 4. The control lever 14 in Figure 1 clearly shows that the cover 23 has been removed to expose the internal cavity 21 of the cylinder 20.

A sealing and connecting ring 30 is provided to locate the control levers 12 and 14 together as is shown in Figure 2 and to seal the respective cavities 21 to prevent ingress of water and other foreign material.

The connecting ring 30 has a first annular surface 31 and a second annular surface 32. The first annular surface 31 has a radial wall part 31a and a circumferential wall part 31b. Similarly, the second surface 32 has a radial wall part 32a and a circumferential wall part 32b . The wall parts 31b and 32b receive an O ring 33 which will form a seal as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The housings 16 have legs 36 which have holes (not shown) for receiving screws to bolt the control levers 12 and 14 to a surface and to hold the housing assemblies in side by side position whilst they are joined and sealed by the ring 30. This therefore places the handles 22 in side by side position so that they can be operated by a user's hand to control either both engines 90 , 91 simultaneously or each engine 90 , 91 separately .

As is best shown in Figure 3 the housing 16 of each control lever 12 and 14 has a surface 40 made up of a radial surface part 40a and a circumferential surface part 40b. The surfaces 40 are formed in a housing 16 at the location of the cover 23 when the seal is in place and are exposed when the cover 23 is removed. The surfaces 40 effectively define the entrance opening into the cavities

21. The radial surface 31a and the circumferential surface 31b of the ring 30 mate with the surface parts 40a and 40b of the control lever 12. The radial surface part 32a and circumferential surface part 32b of the ring 30 mates with the surface parts 40a and 40b of the control lever 14. As is clearly shown in Figure 3, the seals 33 seal against the circumferential surface parts 40a and 40b of the control levers 12 and 14.

As is shown in Figure 3, the cylinders 20 support bearings which rotatably support a shaft 53. The lever 19 rigidly connects with shaft 53 which rotates with lever 19 to in turn rotate a potentiometer drum 54 which supports an optical strip 55 of a potentiometer. The potentiometer has a number of detectors 56a and light emitters 56b which are held stationary on a circuit board 57 screwed to the housing 16 by screws 58. The aforesaid cover 22 covers the circuit board 57 and seals by an 0 ring 60 engaging the housing 16. Thus when the lever 19 is rotated into and out of the plane of the paper in Figure 3, the strip 55 rotates with the lever 19 so that the amount of light that passes through the strip 55 changes to thereby provide a control signal to control the engine and clutch of the boat in accordance with movement of the lever 19.

The control lever assembly 14 operates in the same manner and in Figure 3 is effectively a mirror image of the control lever 12.

Each of the handles 22 supports three switches 24, 24" and 26 as previously mentioned which control trim up and trim down of the engine or stern leg 90, 91 and the clutch 92, 93 associated with the respective engine. So that the switches are oriented in the same manner when the assembly shown in Figure 3 is formed, the switches 24, 24' and 26 can be rotated 180° about the horizontal axis B in Figure 3 so that the switches 24, 24" and 26 of the control lever

14 are in the same disposition as the switches 24, 24' and 26 of the control lever 12, notwithstanding the fact that the control lever 14 has been rotated about axis A 180°.

Each set of switches 24 and 26 is mounted on a switch plate 71 and in order to rotate the switches 24 and 26 the switch plate 71 is simply rotated within its holder cup 75.

This will therefore ensure on both of the levers 19 shown in Figure 3, the clutch switches 26 are located to the front and the trim switches 24 are located at the rear.

The trim 24 operates by up and down movement and because the plate 71 associated with the control lever 14 has been rotated 180° movement of the trim switch upwardly or downwardly to provide trim up or trim down will be reversed compared -to the switches 24 and 24' associated with the control lever 12.

Similarly, because the control lever assembly 14 has been rotated 180°, movement of the lever 19 into the plane of the paper in Figure 3 or out of the plane of the paper in Figure 3 will normally produce opposite control of the engine to the corresponding movement of the lever 19 of the control lever 12. To compensate for the reversal of the control lever 14 and switch plate 71, the software associated with the system needs to be altered so that movement of the lever 19 associated with the control lever 14 into the plane of the paper will be read as a requirement for forward speed and backward movement of the lever of the outer plane of the paper will be read as a requirement for reverse speed. Similar comments apply to the trim up and trim down caused by manipulation of the switches 24 and 24" .

Figure 5 shows the schematic control system of the preferred embodiment.

The control lever 12 and the control lever 14 are connected to separate engine controllers 100 via buses 101 and 102. The controllers 100 each control a respective engine 90 and 91 and clutch 92 and 93. The software associated with the controller 100 which is connected by bus 102 to control lever 14 is altered to account for the rotation of the control lever 14 and the plate 71.

The requirement for forward speed is generally read as engine speed = D (control function) . D is the amount of movement of the lever 19. Because the lever 19 associated with the control lever 14 moves in the opposite direction to that which is usually intended if the control lever 14 was mounted in its usual non-turned orientation, the software needs to be altered so that the engine speed is given as -D (control function) . If the levers are mounted without turning one relative to the other, no modification is needed. The software associated with the trim switch 24 is altered if one lever is rotated 180° so that movement of the trim switch produces the required up trim or down trim.

Manipulation of the software is a simple matter during installation of the control lever assembly of the boat and can be performed readily by the installer without requiring additional componentary.

Thus , the preferred embodiment of the invention enables a dual control lever assembly to be formed from two identical control levers by reversing the orientation of one of those levers relative to the other and joining the levers by the joining and sealing ring 30. This technique ensures that the trim switches associated with the handles 22 are on the outside of the handles 22 as shown in Figure 3 and therefore can be readily manipulated and that no additional componentary is required other than the provision of the ring 30.

It should be understood that not all embodiments require the switches 24 and 26. As is conventional in some application twin switches and clutch switches are located on a display panel (not shown) of the boat rather than on the control lever assembly.

As is also conventional a synchronizing switch can be provided on the display for ensuring synchronous operation of the engines if required.

Figures 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment of the invention, two like control levers 112 and 114 are used to form a dual control lever assembly. In this embodiment like reference numerals indicate like parts to those previously described. However, this embodiment does not require a separate sealing member and the sealing member is formed from a first seal component 115 on one side of the housing 16 which is in the form of an annular flange and a second sealing component 116 on the other side of the housing 20 in the form of an annular flange of larger diameter than the annular flange 115. In this embodiment the covers 15 and 23 are of different size so that they can engage with the respective flanges 115 and 116. An 0 ring 117 is provided on the cover 15 for sealing on the flange 115. However, the flange 116 carries an O ring 118 which can seal on the cover 23 and also be used as a seal when two like control levers 112 are used to form a dual control lever assembly.

Figure 7 shows the dual control lever assembly wherein the cover 15 of one housing 112 is removed and the cover 23 of another housing 112 is removed and the two housings are joined by engaging the flanges 115 and 116 together as shown in Figure 7 so that the O ring 118 seals the flanges 115 and 116. This embodiment has the advantage that a separate sealing member is not required, although the covers 15 and 23 are different. Also, as is apparent from the above description, the dual control lever assembly shown in Figure 7 is formed without turning the control lever 112 180° as is required in the previous embodiment. In this embodiment, in order to locate the trim switches and clutch switch on the outside insofar as the control lever 114 is concerned, the handle 22 can be rotated 180° about the axis of the lever 19 or the switch assembly removed and located on the opposite side of the handle 22. Still further, the trim and clutch control can be provided from the lever 19 associated with the control lever 112.

In a still further embodiment of the invention (not shown) the dual lever assembly can be formed by use of a separate sealing member of the type described with reference to Figure 1 and without turning the housings with the trim switches and clutch switch being adjusted as described above or again only the left hand control lever 112 having trim switches and clutch switch for controlling the trim and both engines or stern legs .

Furtherstill, rather than providing the trim switches and clutch switch on the handles 22 , those switches can be provided on a dash display separate from the control lever assemblies .

The embodiment of Figures 6 and 7 also provides the possibility of forming multi-control lever assemblies having more than two control levers by simply adding additional housings 112 to the housing 114 shown in Figure 7, by removing the cover 23 and the cover 15 of the additional housing 112. Thus, the dual control lever assembly can be formed as part of a multi-control lever assembly having three or more levers.

In a still further embodiment (not shown) a multi-control lever assembly can be formed from a single standard control lever and a modified control lever, in which the modified control lever has the configuration shown in

Figure 6, except that the cover 15 is not included. The standard control lever is of conventional design and has a fixed cover 15 which is not intended to be removed. In order to make the assembly the modified lever is connected to the standard lever by removing the cover 23 from the standard lever and engaging the flange 115 of the modified lever with the flange 116.

It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A control lever assembly for a boat, comprising: a lever housing having a lever for controlling an engine of the boat; a joining and sealing member for mounting the lever housing to a like lever housing after turning the like lever housing 180° relative to the said lever housing; and wherein a single control lever assembly can be provided by one of the lever housings and if a dual control lever assembly is required a number of like lever assemblies are joined and sealed together in side by side relationship to provide the required dual control lever assembly.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the joining and sealing member comprises a ring having a first annular surface for mating with an annular surface of the housing, an a second annular surface for mating with the annular surface of a like housing after turning the like housing 180°, to thereby position the housing and like housing in side by side relationship and space the housings so that the control levers of each housing can be manipulated simultaneously or one at a time to thereby provide simultaneous control over two engines or separate control of each of the two engines .

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein each surface of the ring includes a seal for sealing the ring to the respective housing.

4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the lever includes a handle, the handle having three switches, two of the switches being for trimming the engine or stern drive leg associated with that lever and the third for operating a clutch associated with that lever.

5. A dual control lever assembly for a dual engine boat, comprising : a first control lever having a housing defining an internal component containing cavity, the first control lever having a first pivotally movable lever for controlling operation of a first engine of the boat; a second control lever having a housing defining internal component containing cavity, the second control lever having a second pivotally mountable lever for controlling operation of a second engine of the boat; and a sealing member for sealing the cavities and joining the first and second control levers together in spaced apart disposition so that the first lever can be manipulated on its own, the second lever can be manipulated on its own, or both the first and second levers can be manipulated concurrently to thereby control the engines of the boat, the sealing member having a first sealing component for sealing to the housing of the first control lever and a second sealing component for sealing to the housing of the second control lever to thereby close and seal the cavities to prevent ingress of water and/or other foreign material into the cavities .

6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the first sealing component is formed on one side of the housing, and the second sealing component formed on an opposite side of the housing, the second control lever being identical to the first control lever and the first component of the first control lever engaging with the second component of the second control lever to join and seal the first and second control levers together .

7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein the components are integral with the housing.

8. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the sealing member comprises a separate sealing member having a first surface for mating with a corresponding surface on a first of the levers , and a second surface for mating with a corresponding surface on a second of the levers .

9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the first and second surfaces of the separate sealing member both carry 0 rings for sealing against the mating surfaces of the first and second control levers .

10. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the first and second control levers are identical and the first control lever is turned 180° relative to the second control lever.

11. The assembly of claim 8 wherein the sealing member comprises a ring.

12. The assembly of claim 5 wherein the first and second control levers each have a handle which contains trim switches and a clutch switch, the trim switches and clutch switch of the pivotally movable lever which will be on the right hand side when the dual control assembly is mounted for use, being turned 180° about an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of the control lever .

13. A method of forming a dual lever control assembly, for a dual engine boat, from two single control levers , comprising: arranging the two control levers in side by side configuration; and joining the two control levers together by a sealing member to seal an internal component containing cavity of each control lever to prevent the ingress of water and/or other foreign material into the cavities.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein one of the control levers is turned 180° with respect to the other.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the sealing member is joined to the two control levers by engaging a first surface of the sealing member with a mating surface of one of the control levers and engaging a second surface of the sealing member with mating surface of the other of the control levers .

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the joining of the control levers by the single sealing member further comprises the location of an 0 ring between the first surface of the sealing member and the mating surface of the said of the control levers and an outer rim between the second surface of the sealing member and the mating surface of the other of the control levers .

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the 0 rings are mounted on the first and second surfaces of the sealing member .

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises modifying software for controlling one of the engines to take into account the turning of one of the control levers 180° with respect to the other control lever .

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the software is also modified to take into account the exchange of the up and down trim switches.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the control levers have a respective sealing component on each side so the control levers can be sealed by engaging one component of one control lever with the other component of the other control lever .