Patent Application
20230219670
This invention relates to the field of marine vessels. More specifically, the invention comprises an electrically-operated jack plate configured to vary the height of an outboard motor or similar device with respect to a vessel transom.
Outboard motors, trolling motors, and other accessories are frequently mounted to the transom of a marine vessel. As an example, outboard motors customarily include a pair of mounting clamps that slip over an upper lip of a transom and secure the motor in place. Many outboard motors include a tilting mechanism that pivots the entire motor about a horizontal axis. This tilting mechanism is used to adjust the depth of the motor's propeller in the water. Tilting the motor raises the propeller and allows the vessel to travel in more shallow water. Unfortunately, tilting the motor also inclines the propeller's rotation axis and produces an increasing downward component of the forward thrust. This downward component tends to reduce the efficiency of the outboard motor, as well as reducing its ability to steer the vessel.
The use of a “jack plate” is a well-known solution to these recognized problems. A jack plate is attached to the transom. It provides a vertical offset for the position of the outboard motor without the requirement of tilting the motor. Some jack plates are fixed, while others are adjustable. The prior art adjustable units can be moved by a user-powered mechanism, an electric drive motor, or a hydraulic actuator. Some of these can only be adjusted when the outboard motor is not operating and a position locking mechanism is released. Some can be adjusted while the outboard motor is in operation.
For the powered units, it is often cumbersome to provide a suitable electrical source and a connection thereto. A trolling motor battery is often used, with spring-loaded clips attaching the battery to the jack plate drive. The battery must be placed in the bottom of the boat and this can interfere with other operations. The activation of the prior art powered units is cumbersome as well since the user must divert his or her view to the vicinity of the jack plate while driving the boat. The present invention addresses these and other concerns.
The present invention comprises a vertically adjustable jack plate configured to attach an outboard motor (or analogous device) to the transom of a marine vessel. A transom bracket is provided for connection to the vessel. A motor mounting plate is connected to the transom bracket. An electrical lift jack vertically adjusts the position of the motor mounting plate with respect to the transom bracket. The electrical lift jack is powered by a rechargeable battery that is preferably attached and detached from a controller housing. A separate remote control is provided to control the operation of the jack plate.
The present invention can be physically realized in a wide variety of ways.
In the example shown in
Friction-reducing elements may be added to the interface between the motor mounting plate 18 and receivers 14,16. In the version shown, a pair of slide rails 20 are attached to each side of motor mounting plate 18. The actual method of attaching the slide rails to the mounting plate is not particularly important. One suitable approach is the use of cap screws passing through a counterbored hole and into the motor mounting plate.
The slide rails are preferably made of a slick material such as NYLON (semi-aromatic polyamide) or DELRIN (polyoxymethylene). The addition of slide rails 20 gives the motor mounting plate an “I” cross section, with each end plate of the “I” cross section sliding up and down within a rectangular receiver 14, 16.
Returning to
Relief 66 may be provided in the forward portion of transom bracket 12. A comparable relief is provided in the aft portion (not visible in
Returning briefly to
The upper portion of electrical lift jack 74 is pivotally connected to upper bracket 22 by upper pin joint 38 (Upper bracket 22 is attached to motor mounting plate 18, such as by a welded or bolted joint). The lower portion of extension leg 86 is pivotally connected to lower bracket 40 by lower pivot pin 42. The lower bracket is attached to transom bracket 12 (such as by another welded or bolted joint).
Returning now to
Reversing relay assembly 104 provides one of three states. These are: (1) Open circuit, in which no voltage is applied to the motor, (2) Extension mode, in which voltage of a polarity configured to drive the motor in the extension direction is applied to the motor, and (3) Retraction mode, in which voltage configured to drive the motor in the retraction direction is applied to the motor.
Controller 106 controls the operation of the reversing relay assembly. The controller is preferably a processor running software. Memory 108 (which may be on-board the processor chip or separate) stores the software to be run. Communication module 110 receives wireless signals via antenna 116. This allows the controller to respond to wireless signals sent by a remote control.
Remote control 90 is a separate hand-held unit. It is preferably contained within a weather-resistant housing. Battery 120 provides electrical energy to communication module 122. Buttons 128, 130 provide signals to communication module 122 by I/O ports 124,126 respectively. In this example, button 128 commands the raising of the jack plate (via extending the electrical lift jack) and button 130 commands the lowering of the jack plate (via retracting the electrical lift jack). Once a button push is detected, communication module 122 creates an appropriate signal and sends it via antenna 118. This signal is received by antenna 116 and sent by communication module 110 to controller 106—which then acts on the signal received.
The user can employ remote control 90 from any desired location on the boat. As an example, the user may drive the boat from a center console that is some distance away from the jack plate. While driving the boat the user can press one of the buttons 128, 130 to raise or lower the outboard motor. This can be done while the boat is moving if desired.
Remote control 90 may be made small enough to fit on a key ring. This allows the remote to be kept on the same ring as the boat keys, for example. The remote control can also be configured to slide and lock into a fixed receiver—such as a receiver that is attached proximate the boat's steering station. The remote may also be placed in a housing that is itself configured to be attached to the boat.
In more sophisticated embodiments remote control 90 can be equipped with a display indicating the current position of motor mounting plate 18. In this version the motor is provided with a pulse generator that sends a control signal to controller 106. The pulse generator is used to count revolutions from a “home” position. The home position will generally be the fully retracted position—set by the closing of a limit switch within the electrical lift jack. The controller then counts pulses to determine how far the motor has traveled away from the home position. This can be equated to a “percentage of lift” value or an outright distance value. Percentage of lift is often easier to use. The boat operator will be told that the lowest possible position for the jack plate is 0% and the highest position is 100%.
Controller 106 generates a percentage of lift signal and sends this to communication module 110 which then transmits it to remote control 90. In this scenario, the communication between controller 106 and remote control 90 is two-way. Remote control 90 can be provided with a numerical display, a collection of successively illuminated LED's, or some other method of displaying the percentage of lift.
Alternatively, controller 106 can be configured to communicate with a separate smartphone or similar device. As one example, a BLUETOOTH (managed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash., U.S.A.) communication chip set could be interfaced with controller 106. This would allow a signal such as the percentage of lift to be sent to a user's smartphone (or similar device) and displayed on that device's display.
Remote control 90 is preferably provided with encryption so that the signals sent to controller 106 are limited to a particular user. Encryption can be set using DIP switches or other known devices. Alternatively, the controller 106 and the remote control 90 can be paired at the factory so that they will only communicate with each other (and possibly an authorized third party device such as a smartphone).
Inside the housing is a circuit board containing a chip socket. In this example, controller 106 and its integral memory 108 is contained in a single chip that is snapped into the chip socket on this circuit board. Reversing relay assembly 104 comprises a pair of board mounted relays or power output transistors. These are under the control of controller 106.
Battery receiver 131 is mounted to the case and wired to the circuit board. The battery receiver is preferably of the type configured to receive a high-density battery such as used on power drills and the like. For purposes of this disclosure, such a battery will be referred to as a “power tool battery.” An example is a Kobalt 24V “Max Lithium Ion” battery (Model No. KB 424-03, marketed by Lowe's Companies, Inc., of North Wilkesboro, N.C., U.S.A.). Such batteries are designed so that a mechanical and electrical connection are simultaneously made when the battery is locked into a specially designed battery receiver. Battery receiver 131 contains electrical connections for the battery and physical connections for engaging and retaining the battery's casing. Battery 102 slides into the battery receiver and locks in place. In order to remove the battery, the user must press inward on a pair of releases 132 (A release is provided on each side of the battery but only one is visible in
Once free, battery 102 can be placed in a separate line-powered charger. Such power tool batteries are widely available, and it is common for a user to maintain two or more such batteries for each powered tool. One battery can be left on the charger. The user then swaps the battery in the unit for a freshly charged one. This is conveniently done in just a few seconds.
Connector cord 80 connects the controller housing to the electrical lift jack. This cord includes the two motor leads and—if provided—a pulse counter lead or other similar control wiring. External cord 82 is optionally provided for an external charging connector 98 and remote switch 94. The external charging connector can be used to charge battery 102 while it remains in battery receiver 131. Remote switch 94 in this example is a weather-resistant rocker switch that is used to activate the electrical lift jack in a desired direction. Housing switch 92 is also provided to activate the electrical lift jack.
These additional control devices are shown in the block diagram of
The controller housing can be mounted to the jack plate assembly as shown in the embodiment of
The electrical lift jack is preferably one designed to operate in a marine environment. Such units are often made of stainless steel, galvanized steel, or powder-coated steel. Some units feature an aluminum chassis and extension leg, though the shafts and gears are customarily steel for these units. The other components are also preferably made for a marine environment, though this is not essential to the invention.
Additional options and features can be added and/or combined in the invention, including:
1. The DC motor described could be a different type of drive motor, such as an AC motor driven by an inverter drive;
2. A battery charge state indicator could be provided on the controller housing, the handheld remote control, or both;
3. The battery receiver could be provided outside the weather resistant controller housing;
4. The electrical lift jack could be secured to the balance of the jack plate assembly using removable pins, so that the electrical lift jack can be easily removed for cleaning and maintenance; and
5. The electrical lift jack could be an electro-hydraulic type of lift jack in which an electrical motor drives a hydraulic pump and hydraulic valves control the extension and retraction of the extension leg (which is simply the rod of a hydraulic cylinder). The control features for this version are the same as those used in the purely electrical embodiment, except that the reversing relay assembly controls solenoid-actuated hydraulic valves and the electrical motor driving the hydraulic pump is only driven in one direction. As used in this disclosure, the term “electrical lift jack” encompasses both a purely electrical version and an electro-hydraulic version.
Although the preceding description contains significant detail, it should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the art may easily devise variations on the embodiments described. Thus, the scope of the invention should be fixed by the claims rather than the examples given.
