Patent Application
20240278896
The present disclosure relates to pleasure boats and more specifically to a removable remotely controllable device for rotating the steering wheel of a boat or the like.
It is well known that some types of vehicles, such as farm vehicles, can be equipped with automatic steering system to automatically steer along a predetermined path.
In the case of marine vehicles, many systems exist that allow remotely control the steering of a boat. Among the most well-known systems are remote-controlled steering device for outboard vehicles, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,002,398, issued on Oct. 3, 1961, to Beamer. Such system is configured for mounting to an outboard motor and is used mainly when a single passenger is in the boat and that such passenger wishes to do some trailing fishing. The system is, however, not adapted for a boat equipped with a steering wheel.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,618, issued on Apr. 21, 1981, and titled “Remote Control Steering Attachment for a Steering Wheel”, VanDerZee proposes a variation on the system by Beamer, which can be mounted to a steering wheel via an attachment assembly, which includes a cross member that is releasably mountable to the steering wheel of a boat. However, the cross member requires fasteners for its mounting, which may take some times and a minimum of dexterity to install.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,581, issued on Apr. 1, 1997. and titled “Remotely Controlled Device for Rotating the Steering wheel of a Motor Vehicle and then Taking it Back to the Starting Position”, Cordioli teaches a system that can be coupled to a steering wheel via an assembly of hook-shaped jaws. A drawback of such system is that the assembly is not readily mountable on a steering wheel, is very complex and therefore costly to manufacture, and is not compatible with different types of steering wheels.
Other systems or mechanisms exist that are even more difficult to install, as they are mountable directly to the steering shaft. An example of such a system is described by Kulischenko in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,316, issued on Jan. 13, 1981, and titled “Marine Vessel Safeguard Steering Mechanism”.
According to an illustrative embodiment, there is provided a removable remotely controllable device for rotating a steering wheel having an outer edge, the device comprising:
According to another illustrative embodiment, there is provided a removable remotely controllable device for rotating a steering wheel having an outer edge, the device comprising:
According to still another illustrative embodiment, there is provided a removable universal controller for a steering wheel, the controller comprising:
a body having rotating elements for hanging the body onto the rim of the steering wheel and for rotating the steering wheel; at least one of the rotating elements being remotely controllable.
Other objects, advantages and features of the removable remotely controllable device for rotating a steering wheel will become more apparent upon reading the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the appended drawings:
In the following description, similar features in the drawings have been given similar reference numerals, and in order not to weigh down the figures, some elements are not referred to in some figures if they were already identified in a precedent figure.
The use of the word “a” or “an” when used in conjunction with the term “comprising” in the claims and/or the specification may mean “one”, but it is also consistent with the meaning of “one or more”, “at least one”, and “one or more than one”. Similarly, the word “another” may mean at least a second or more.
As used in this specification and claim(s), the words “comprising” (and any form of comprising, such as “comprise” and “comprises”), “having” (and any form of having, such as “have” and “has”), “including” (and any form of including, such as “include” and “includes”) or “containing” (and any form of containing, such as “contain” and “contains”), are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements.
A removable remotely controllable device 10 for rotating a steering wheel 11 according to an illustrative embodiment will be described with reference to
The device 10 comprises a body 12, first and second motorized wheels 14 and a friction-reducing element 16, all mounted to the body 12, a controller 18 housed in a briefcase 20, for connecting to the first and second motorized wheels 14 for their control, and a remote control 22 for remotely controlling the first and second motorized wheels 14 via the controller 18.
As will become more apparent upon reading the following description, the motorized wheels 14 defines hooks with the body for mounting the body 12 on the steering wheel 11 via the upper edge 23 of its rim 13 so that the body 12 rests on the front of the steering wheel 11 while the motorized wheels 14 transmits their rotation to the steering wheel 11.
A person skilled in the art will now appreciate that the body 12 can be readily mounted to the steering wheel 11 simply by placing the wheels 14 onto the steering wheel 11, the body 12 contributing to adding weight to the overall device to add friction on the motorized wheels 14 so as to better their transmission of rotational movement to the steering wheel 11. As such, no tools or adjustment of either the device 10 or steering wheel 11 are required for installing the device 10.
Also, as will also become more apparent hereinbelow, the fact that the device 10 can be installed simply by placing the motorized wheels 14 on the upper portion 23 of the steering wheel 11 allows using the same device 10 on different configurations of steering wheels, none withstanding their configuration within their outer edge 23, the minimum diameter of steering wheels that can be accommodated by the device 10 depending on the distance between both motorized wheels 14. As such, the device 10 can be seen as being universal.
The body 12 is in the form of a generally triangular-shaped casing 24, which is closed by a complementary shape cover 26. More specifically, the casing 24 has a peripheral wall 28, defining the thickness of the casing 24, and a bottom 30, defining the back wall of the device 10 when it is mounted on the steering wheel 11, and the cover 26 defining the front wall thereof. The peripheral wall 28 includes a generally flatten C-shaped top portion 32, a relatively smaller bottom portion 34 that is centered with the top portion 32, and two elongated side portions 36 connecting the top and bottom portions 32-34 of the peripheral wall 28.
The cover 26 has a peripheral rim 38 that allows to removably attach the cover 26 to the box using fasteners 40.
The cover 26 can be secured to the casing 24 using other means than fasteners and can also be pivotably or slidably mounted to the casing 24.
The shape of the casing 24 is dictated by the relative positions of the components housed therein but is not limited to such illustrative embodiment. The casing 24 can have any other configuration and size, allowing mounting the motorized wheels 14 and friction reducing element 16 thereto and the other components therein as will be described hereinbelow in more detail. For example, the casing 24 can be rectangular, round, or else. Its thickness may also vary along its length and width.
The top portion of the back wall 30 includes a rounded elongated opening 42, which defines a handle for the casing 24. According to another illustrative embodiment, the handle is in the cover 26 and/or takes another form than an opening.
Turning now briefly to
According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the number, location and configuration of the drain holes are different than illustrated.
Each of the first and second motorized wheels 14 are mounted to the casing 24 near respective top corner 44 and 46 thereof.
With reference more specifically to
The U-shaped wheel 48 is adapted to receive therein the outer edge 23 of the steering wheels 11 of various thickness and geometry. For example, the central groove 56 of the wheel 48 is tapered. According to another illustrative embodiment, the wheel 48 has another configuration, such as V-shaped, flat rim or concave. The diameter of the wheel 48 may also be different than illustrated.
The wheel 48 is made of metal and can be covered or rubber or of another friction-promoting material (not shown).
The rotary actuator 50 is secured to the mounting plate 54 using fasteners 58. According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the actuator 50 is secured to the mounting plate 54 using other fastening means, mechanism or assembly. According to still another illustrative embodiment, the rotary actuator is secured directly to the casing 24.
The plate 54 is secured to the casing 24 using fasteners 60. According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the plate 54 is secured to the casing 24 by welding or using other fastening means, mechanism or assembly.
The mechanical drivetrain 52 comprises a first gear 62 fixedly mounted to the output shaft 64 of the rotary actuator 50 and a second gear 66, wider than the first gear 62, that is mounted to the axle 68 of the U-shaped wheel 48 and operatively coupled to the first gear 62.
According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the number and size of the gears of the drivetrain 52 can be different than illustrated. According to still another illustrative embodiment, the drivetrain 52 has another configuration than illustrated, allowing to operatively couple the rotary actuator 50 and the wheel 48. According to yet another illustrative embodiment, the drivetrain 52 is omitted and the wheel 48 is directly mounted to the rotary actuator 50.
According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), only one of the two wheels 14 is motorized, the other being simply driven by the rotation of the steering wheel 11 and acting as a balancing support for the body 12.
The rotary actuator 50 is not limited to any type, size and configuration.
With reference now to
The arm 74 includes an enlargement 76, which defines the upper end thereof, and which receives three (3) handle knob screws 78 in a generally triangular configuration therein. The back wall 30 of the casing 24 is provided with three (3) parallel slots 80-84, each for receiving a respective screw 78. A person skilled in the art will now appreciate that such an arrangement of the arm 74, screws 78 and slots 80-84 allows slidably adjusting the position of the arm 74 relative to the casing 24 so as to yield a friction-reducing abutment for the lower portion 25 of the steering wheel 11 when the device 10 is mounted thereto, which allows adapting the device for steering wheels of different diameter.
According to another illustrative embodiment, the roller 70 can have another configuration than illustrated or be mounted to the casing 24 differently than illustrated. For example, the roller 70 can be fixedly mounted to the casing 24.
Another friction-reducing element 16 than a roller 70 can also be provided, such as a fixed element (not shown). According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), the friction-reducing element is omitted.
More than one friction-reducing element 16 can also alternatively be provided for contacting the steering wheel 11 and/or be differently positioned on the casing 24 and relative to the wheels 14 than illustrated.
The lower end portion 86 of the arm 74 defines a hook, which is adapted to receive and support the briefcase 20 via its handle 88 so that the weight of the briefcase 20 contributes to adding weight onto the wheels 14 and therefore friction between the wheels 14 and the steering wheel 11, thereby improving adherence therebetween. This has been found to prevent slippage therebetween and therefore improve the precision of the control of the steering wheel 11.
With reference to
The briefcase 20 further comprises a connecting port 94, that is accessible from the outside of the briefcase 18 and that is wired to the controller 18 for allowing the connection to the body 12 and more specifically to the motorized wheels 14, so that they can be controlled by the controller 18. For that same purpose, the body 12 is provided with a connecting port 95, that is connected to both motorized wheels 14 via wires 96, and that allows connecting the body 12 to the controller 18 using a removable cable 98.
The cable 98 and connecting ports 94-95 can be of the RCA type as illustrated or of another type.
The top corners 100-102 of the casing 24 are provided with respective indicator lights 104-106, which provide, in use of the device 10, a visual indication of the rotational direction of the steering wheel 11, depending on the rotational direction of the motorized wheels 14.
The indicator lights 104-106, which can be for example LEDs or other type of lights, are connected to the port 95 via wires 108-110, allowing their connection to the controller 18, similarly to the motorized wheels 14.
As can be seen for example in
According to the illustrative embodiment, the battery 90 is of the lead type to increase the weight on the wheels 14. According to another illustrative embodiment, the battery is of another type.
The controller 18 is configured for wireless communication with the remote control 22 and for energizing the motorized wheels 14 and the indicator lights 104 and 106 in accordance with the signals received from the remote control.
It is to be noted that any of the illustrated wire connections can be replaced by wireless connections and vice versa.
According to another illustrative embodiment (not shown), any one or both of the controller 18 and battery 90 can be integrated in the casing 24.
The controller 18 can be configured for connection to and wireless control by a smartphone or computer via a dedicated application or program.
The configuration and programming of such an application or program will not be described herein since it is believed to be within the reach of a skilled programmed to conceive such an application or program.
The configuration and programming of the controller 18 are also believed to be within the reach of a person skilled in the art.
In operation of the device 10, the body 12 is mounted to the steering wheel 11 simply by placing the wheels 14 on the upper edge 23 of its rim 13. Before or after this step, the position of the arm 74 can be adjusted so that the lower portion of the steering wheel 11 is in contact with the roller 70. Also, it has been found that the lower the position of the briefcase 20 hung to the hook portion 86, the greater the stability of the body 12 as a result of a lever effect.
The briefcase 20 is then hung to the hook portion 86 of the arm 74 and connected to the body 12, as described hereinabove. The handle portion 42 of the casing 24 can be used to that effect. Also, the weight onto the body 12 will cause the body 12 to self-balance onto the steering wheel 11.
The remote control 22, which is provided with right and left buttons 112 and 114, can then be used to cause via these buttons 112-114, to command the rotation of the motorized wheels 14 (see arrows 116 in
The remote control 22 can further be equipped with accelerometers or with other sensors allowing to detect the position and orientation of the remote control 22 relative to the body so as to reverse the function of the left and right buttons 114 and 112 thereof to allow the user (not shown) a more intuitive use of the remote control 22 according to its orientation relative to the body 12, and therefore of the steering wheel 11.
After or while being used, the body 12 can be readily removed from the steering wheel 11 by raising it therefrom, using for example the handle 42.
It is to be noted that many modifications could be made to the removable remotely controllable device 10 described hereinabove and illustrated in the appended drawings. For example:
Although a removable remotely controllable device for rotating the steering wheel of a boat of the likes has been described hereinabove by way of illustrated embodiments thereof, it can be modified. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that the scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustrative embodiments but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
