Patent Application
20170101166
The present invention relates to a steering control system for a watercraft comprising a pivoting steering tiller manually operated and operatively connected to a direction changing member acting on or into the water, such as a rudder blade or an outboard motor; and means locking the steering tiller in the steering position, which can be activated for keeping said tiller in a predetermined pivoting position and can be deactivated for allowing said tiller to be moved in a pivoting position to carry out a change in direction.
Systems of this type are known, for example from patent U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,507. This document provides for the steering action, namely, the force exerted on the steering tiller or on the steering arm of the motor through said tiller, to be exerted manually by an operator. The system only exerts an action locking the motor or the rudder and therefore the steering tiller when a change in direction, that is a change in the course, is not desired. This is advantageous since, in presence of very powerful motors or with considerable surfaces of the rudder, the force that has to be exerted on the steering tiller is considerable and has to be maintained all the time, in order to avoid a spontaneous change in the orientation of the rudder blade or of the motor, which, in combination with the hydrodynamic behavior of the watercraft and of the motor, and with reference also to the shape of the propeller, tends to reach the greatest possible pivoting angle of the tiller and of the rudder or of the motor. A situation like this is very dangerous above all when cruising speed is high.
Besides such passive system, document U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,438 describes an active system wherein the steering action performed on the tiller is converted into a control pulse, changing the corresponding steering angle, by an actuator changing the rotation of the motor or of the rudder. This document shows the actuator to be a hydraulic actuator of the type known in hydraulic steering systems used in watercrafts both for moving the blades of the rudder or rudders with inboard motors and for moving the motors when those are of the outboard type.
In both documents, however, the control member, which is composed of an end grip part of the steering tiller, which part is mounted so as to pivot according to an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the motor or of the rudder blade, operates a valve that opens a circuit supplying the pressurized fluid to one or both the chambers of an actuating cylinder.
In the case of document U.S. Pat. No. 7,325,507, a circuit connects the two chambers of a double-acting cylinder. The opening of the valve, mechanically controlled by the pivoting movement of the end part of the steering tiller with respect to the part associated to the motor, enables the fluid to flow from one to the other chamber of the cylinder and, therefore, makes the tiller free to be pivoted.
In the version where the rotation of the tiller is performed by a non-manual force, the pivoting movement of the end part of the steering tiller always activates, through a control with a valve, the passage of a pressurized fluid from one pressurized tank to the chamber of the cylinder, which, therefore, by being displaced with respect to the rod causes the arm of the motor connected to the cylinder to be displaced.
By bringing back the grip part in the rest position, the valve closes the passage and the movement is locked till the end part of the steering tiller is again operated.
Currently, systems actuating the steering of rudders or outboard motors or the like are also known, which use mechanical actuators that directly transmit, by a transmission for example through cables of the push-pull type, the motion of a steering wheel to the blade or to the motor.
Moreover, systems are known that use combinations of electromechanical, electromagnetic, or electrohydraulic actuators.
The provision of valves activating the conditions locking and unlocking the displacement of the steering tiller or activating oil-hydraulic means actuating the steering require quite complicated arrangements and considerable encumbrances. Moreover, the increasing tendency in known modern steering tillers is to mount on the steering tiller a plurality of controls for different functionalities for controlling the watercraft, such as for example controls for motor tilt, controls for trim of motors, controls for the reversing gear of the motor, for controlling the number of revolutions of the motor and so on. This results in more and more reduced spaces available in the steering tiller and is increasingly difficult to avoid interferences between the several mechanisms housed in the tiller body, resulting in potential dangerous conditions or difficult maintenance conditions.
The invention aims at improving a system of the type described hereinbefore, which, by means of simple arrangements, overcomes the above described drawbacks and provides for a more flexible system that is easy to be mounted and repaired and has a small encumbrance in the steering tiller.
The invention achieves the above objects by a steering control system for a watercraft, which includes:
a pivoting steering tiller manually operated and operatively connected to a direction changing member acting on or into the water, such as a rudder blade or an outboard motor; and
means locking the steering tiller in the steering position, which can be activated for keeping said tiller in a predetermined pivoting position and can be deactivated for enabling said tiller to be moved into a pivoting position to carry out a change in direction,
wherein said locking means are switchable by way of switching actuators that are controlled by a control member provided on the arm.
In this case, by providing in the actuating tiller only a control member of an actuator, the actuator can be displaced outside of the tiller and for example placed in a oil-hydraulic version as the one described above, in the area of the actuating cylinder.
As it will be shown below, this design enables the construction of the tiller to be simpler and safer, but also to easily provide interfaces for the connection of the system to one or more remote control stations, that are not only stationary but also movable and connected by cables or wirelessly according to one or more of the currently available communication protocols, such as Wi-Fi or the like.
The actuating means that act on locking means can be mechanical, electric, electromechanical, electromagnetic, electronic, hydraulic, oil-hydraulic or the like and likewise the control means of said actuator can also be mechanical, electric, electromechanical, electromagnetic, electronic, hydraulic or oil-hydraulic.
However, advantageously, a preferred embodiment provides for the control members to be of the mechanical, electromechanical, electromagnetic, electric or electronic.
In this case a manual action on said control means can operate on a switch activating/deactivating a controller generating a power pulse driving the locking means or can close a supply circuit of said locking means.
Therefore, the steering tiller has to house simply two switches that detect the different displacement directions, for example of the end part of the tiller associated to the grip with respect to the part of the tiller fastened to the motor or directly or indirectly to the blade of the rudder or of a different control member.
The operation of one or the other switch can generate a pulse interpreted by a controller supplying the locking means to generate a signal disabling said means, or can close the supply circuit of the locking means, causing them to be temporarily disabled and therefore causing the rotational movement of the tiller and, therefore, of the motor or of the rudder blade to be released.
If the system provides active steering actuating means as in the case of document U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,438, then the control signal can be sent to the valve enabling the supply of the pressurized fluid that drives the steering actuating cylinder.
Therefore, the tiller has to house at least two switches or a three-way switch and not at the same time structures such as complicated valves and hydraulic means opening and closing them. In addition to the advantage of simplicity and space, there is the advantage of reducing risks of malfunctions since the system is simpler and above all the valves and the hydraulic control means do not require an excessive miniaturization.
Even when the locking means are electromechanical, electromagnetic or the like, the control member generating the control pulses for activating/deactivating said locking means may be composed of one or more switches that open and close a supply circuit of the actuator, which activate or deactivate the locking condition or which control an electronic circuit generating power signals.
On the contrary, in the case of a mechanical locking device, the control member transmits a control or actuating movement to a locking mechanism through a mechanical transmission, which, in a preferred solution, is composed of one or more push-pull cables. The movement of the control member is transmitted from the cable to a mechanism acting on a movable part of the locking means operatively connected to the rotation arm of the motor or to the steering tiller, the movable part being coupled to a stationary part constrained to the watercraft, for example to the transom, and the mechanism integral with the stationary part engaging the movable part and preventing it from accomplishing a relative movement.
According to another feature, the locking device can be provided in combination with a brake or can be composed of a brake acting between the movable part and the stationary part of the locking means.
The brake can be hydraulic, mechanical, electromechanical, electromagnetic or the like and can act only for changing the friction of rotation of the motor or of the rudder or also for exerting the locking action.
For example, in the case of a hydraulic system, the brake can be composed of another valve adjusting the flow rate of the fluid flow. By adjusting the flow rate, the resistance to the displacement of the steering tiller, that is, of the rotation of the motor or of the rudder blade, changes correspondingly.
Similarly. the brake in the mechanical version can be composed of one or more shoes or of one or more friction elements brought by one or the other movable or stationary parts and acting on the corresponding stationary or movable part respectively in combination with means compressing said shoes or friction elements.
In this case, the completely mechanical version is possible with a mechanical transmission between the control member and the support of the shoe or friction pad or a version is possible with hydraulic control as in motor vehicles or in motorcycles.
Alternatives to such mechanical brake are composed of the well-known electromagnetic or electromechanical brakes.
The operation of the brake occurs by way of an electric actuator or the brake acts not by friction, but by generating opposite electromagnetic forces due to electromagnetism.
For example, the electromagnetic brake is known and widely used for changing resistance in training devices such as exercise bikes, steppers and other devices.
In the version that provides the brake to be operated by an electric signal, the friction exerted on the rotation of the motor and/or of the rudder blade can be changed automatically and/or by manual control.
In this case, the control member acts by generating regulation pulses that are interpreted by a controller regulating the braking action by modifying it to achieve increase or decrease steps depending on the number of pulses.
In one embodiment, the regulation to be performed in a manner corresponding to the length of the pulse.
In one embodiment, when the control pulse exceeds a given duration, the regulation is that of maximum braking or maximum reduction in the braking action, substantially corresponding to the condition locking and unlocking the rotation.
According to a variant embodiment, a system according to the present invention provides for at least control steering remote stations.
In the version that provides for a hydraulic cylinder as the locking means, the manual control on the steering tiller can be bypassed by providing an interface that connects, to the chambers of cylinder actuating supply and return ducts, a pressurized fluid that is supplied by a conventional pump driven by a steering wheel or the like and provided in the remote station.
A combination of check valves in a multiple-way manifold enables the connection of several remote stations distributed on the watercraft to the same cylinder.
The embodiment, in which an actuating cylinder is controlled by the steering tiller, is also easily connectable to a steering remote station similarly to the above described solution.
In the case of electric, electromechanical or electromagnetic controls, since the control member acts on one or more switches or on one or more signal generators, the bypass of said switches is even simpler. However, in this case active actuators must be provided that move the motor or the blade, such as for example electric motors, electromechanical, magnetic, electromagnetic actuators and the like.
Additional features of a system according to the invention are also described hereinafter.
These and other characteristics and advantages deriving therefrom will be clearer from the following description of some embodiments shown in the enclosed drawings, in which:
The steering tiller 1 is integral with the mounted motor so as to rotate together with the tiller about a steering axis denoted by A.
According to the present invention, control members 3 and 4 are associated to the steering tiller 1.
The characteristics of the invention that will be disclosed below can be provided as an alternative or in combination with one another.
Moreover, the described embodiments relate to an oil-hydraulic arrangement. As it is already clear in the introduction of the present description, there are alternatives that may be electric, electromechanical, electromagnetic or mechanical. These alternatives will be described only with reference to the features that are required to adapt them for performing the functions described with reference to the oil-hydraulic examples. On the contrary, features considered to be known or within the general knowledge of a person skilled in the art will not be discussed.
A first feature of the invention provides for means 21 that lock the rotation of the motor and that are controlled by a control member 3, also identified as a locking actuator.
The locking actuator 21 acts on the motor or on the steering tiller 1 preventing the motor from rotating about the axis A till a control signal generated by the control member 3 causes the locking actuator to be deactivated making it possible to rotate the motor again about the axis A.
There are different possibilities for generating the control signal that can be electric, mechanical or hydraulic, that is oil-hydraulic depending on the type of locking actuator 21 that is provided.
In the case of an electric, electromechanical or electromagnetic actuator, the control member can be a simple switch that closes and opens a circuit supplying the signal supplying said actuator.
As an alternative the signals generated by the control member can be sent to transforming/processing units that in turn control the locking actuator.
Such transforming/processing unit denoted by 5 can be an electric, electronic controller or a hydraulic controller provided for example with one or more solenoid valves, or also an electric actuator motorizing a locking mechanism.
An example of such first variant using a hydraulic locking actuator 21 is shown in
In the example of
The two chambers of the cylinder are connected to each other by a bypass circuit 821 wherein at least one, preferably two solenoid valves 421, 521 are present for closing/opening the circuit.
Preferably with no control signals, the two valves 421, 521 are firmly in the closing condition of the circuit, therefore the fluid cannot pass from one chamber to the other one and, therefore, the motor is prevented from rotating about the axis A.
When, by means of a control member, a signal activating the two valves 421, 521 is generated, these are brought into an opening condition and the fluid can flow between the two chambers of the cylinder 121, allowing a rotation of the motor about the axis A.
The means generating the signal, that is the control member, can be any type and can be directly mounted on or integrated with the tiller 1.
A particular, but not limitative, embodiment provides the tiller 1 to have one end 101 pivoting about an axis B for example in two opposite directions with respect to a neutral central position as denoted by arrows C.
The pivoting movement of the end part 101 is used, for example, for controlling switches (not shown in detail) that close an electric supply circuit 301 towards the two valves, such that the two valves open when a movement of the tiller 1 in one or in the other steering direction is carried out on the tiller causing, as a first response, the end part to pivot in the movement direction and, therefore, causing the valves 421, 521 to be opened and the rotation of the motor about the axis A to be released due to the steering action exerted on the tiller 1 that moves correspondingly to the duration of the steering action exerted on it.
In the alternative, instead of a cylinder 121, locking actuators of the electromechanical, mechanical, electromagnetic type or the like may be provided.
In this case the switches controlled by the end part of the tiller 101, for example, close a supply circuit of said actuators of the electric, electromechanical, electromagnetic type or the like or control generators of signals controlling such actuators in the sense of unlocking the rotation of the motor.
Generally electric, electromechanical or electromagnetic actuators can provide two parts movable with respect to each other, of which a stationary part is the equivalent of the rod 221 and one movable part with respect to said stationary part is the equivalent of the cylinder 121. Between said two parts it is possible to provide means for mutual engagement in a predetermined relative position, and such means can be removed by supplying an unlocking signal.
The engagement means can be composed of mechanical means, such as snap-on means or friction means, or of electromagnetic forces opposing the mutual displacement of said two parts.
In
The example of
Such actuator acts on the steering arm of the motor and it is supplied by pressurized oil, fed by an oil supplying pump 621. The oil supplied to one of the chambers of the cylinder, depending on the direction of rotation of the motor, is taken from a tank 721 and the oil expelled by the other chamber is brought again to the tank.
In the circuit there are provided two solenoid valves 421 and 521 that are controlled in a like manner as described in
In particular, the example of
Even such variant can provide in the alternative for other types of steering actuators that can be mechanical, electromechanical, electromagnetic and the like, and different variants already disclosed for the embodiment of
With reference again to
With reference to the embodiment of
The delivery/return ducts 310, 410 are connected to each one of the chambers of the cylinder 121 respectively.
This embodiment is schematically shown by broken lines in
It is immediately clear that except for the possible provision of check valves to avoid pressurized oil generated by the remote station 10 to flow in the bypass circuit, no difficulties and no changes or important arrangements are required for the connection of the remote station.
As regards the possible electric, electromechanical or electromagnetic variant, with reference to
Solutions of this type are known in the prior art, for example under the name Steer by wire described in document EP1889751.
Still according to another feature, the remote steering station 10 may be associated to a remote unit controlling the number of revolutions of the motor and/or the setting of the reversing gear. In this case the solution can be mechanical, electromechanical or electronic such as for example described in documents EP 1598267 and/or EP2019036.
With reference to
The diagram of
As regards the merely mechanical solution both for the variant of
Such cables, for example each fastened to two diametrically opposite ends of a pivoting driving level, whose pivoting movement is, for example, controlled by the end part 101 of the tiller, transmit the actuating travel directly to mechanical locking means or control, for example, the valves 421, 521 of the variant of
As regards the variant of
According to another feature, in the mechanical version it is also possible to easily provide remote stations 10 preferably connected, by means of their own push-pull cables, to the actuator locking the rotation of the motor.
According to another aspect of the invention, means may be provided that generate a variable force of resistance to the rotation of the motor.
In
Said means can be hydraulic, mechanical, electromechanical, electric, or electromagnetic.
In the hydraulic or oil-hydraulic variant of
Other variants are possible, such as an electromechanical variant wherein friction means generate a higher or lower resistance to the rotation of the motor by electric control pulses generated by said control members 4.
As an alternative, in the mechanical version the friction means are controlled by a control member, for example through a transmission and possibly through one or two cables of the push-pull type controlled by the control member, which transfer a displacement generated by a travel of the control member to the friction means.
In the electromagnetic embodiment it is possible to provide an electromagnetic brake of the type used, for example, in exercise bikes or the like, such as a short-circuited electric motor and a short-circuit current regulator.
Particularly in versions that provide controls of the electric type to change the force of resistance to the rotation of the motor, said force may be regulated not only by a manual control by the user through a control member 4, but also automatically by a controller 60 that acquires signals detecting the number of revolutions of the motor and that generates, on the basis of said number of revolutions, a signal regulating the resistance to the rotation of the motor, making the rotation more or less easy depending on the number of revolutions of the motor.
Said means generating a variable force of resistance to the rotation of the motor can include a device in addition to the means locking the rotation according to
For example, in the hydraulic version, instead of the solenoid valves 421 and 521 that close or open the circuit, flow regulators may change the passage section of the fluid in a continuous and progressive manner from a complete locked condition to a condition of maximum passage for the fluid.
A similar implementation mode can be provided with the clear variants for the electromechanical or electromagnetic or mechanical solution, the resistance force may be regulated from a maximum intensity, where the rotation of the motor is practically locked, to a minimum intensity where the motor freely rotates.
The controller 60 can also be used for generating pulses activating the locking means 21, and the steering actuators 40 upon command of pulses generated by the control members 3 and 4 provided on the tiller 1 or integrated therein.
Finally, even if it is not explicitly shown or described, a system according to the present invention can be provided in combination with, or can be integrated within, a system controlling operation of the motor, wherein the control members for the operation are provided at least partially on the steering tiller 1, such as a rotatable knob to change the number of revolutions of the motor; a control of the reversing gear; a control of actuators for tilt or trim of the motor; or other possible functions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102015000061178 | Oct 2015 | IT | national |
