Patent Grant
9481439
The present disclosure relates to stern drives and apparatuses for mounting stern drives to marine vessels.
The following U.S. Patents, Publication and Application are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,977,923 and 3,136,287 disclose inboard-outboard mounting arrangements for marine drives.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0272321 discloses a boat hull with an outboard drive.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,294,031 discloses a marine vessel and drive combination that has upper and lower mounting plates that mount a marine propulsion device to a hull at an opening with a sealing grommet.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,011,983 discloses a marine drive that has a break-away mount mounting first and second sections of the drive and breaking-away in response to a given underwater impact against the second section to protect the first section and the vessel.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/267,441, filed May 1, 2014, discloses apparatuses for mounting a marine drive to a hull of a marine vessel. An outer clamping plate faces an outside surface of the hull and an inner clamping plate faces an opposing inside surface of the hull. A marine drive housing extends through the hull. The marine drive housing is held in place with respect to the hull by at least one vibration dampening sealing member that is disposed between the inner and outer clamping plates. A first connector extends through the hull and clamps the outer clamping plate to the outside surface of the hull. A second connector extends through the hull and clamps the inner clamping plate to the outer clamping plate. The inner and outer clamping plates are held at a fixed distance from each other so that a consistent compression force is applied to the vibration dampening sealing member.
Examples of a marine vessels and apparatuses for mounting stern drives to marine vessels are described with reference to the following Figures. The same numbers are used throughout the Figures to reference like features and like components.
A stern drive is for a marine vessel. In certain examples, the stern drive comprises a gimbal housing that is configured for connection to the marine vessel, a gimbal ring that is steerable with respect to the gimbal housing about a vertical steering axis, a driveshaft housing that is connected to the gimbal ring, and a trim actuator that is configured to trim the driveshaft housing about a horizontal trim axis. The trim actuator has a first end that is pivotably connected to the gimbal ring at a horizontal first pivot axis and a second end that is pivotably connected to the driveshaft housing at a horizontal second pivot axis. A resilient driveshaft housing vibration isolator is located along the second pivot axis. The resilient vibration isolator isolates vibration forces on the driveshaft housing. A resilient gimbal ring vibration isolator is located along the trim axis. The gimbal ring vibration isolator isolates vibration forces on the gimbal ring. The stern drive has a center of gravity that is located between the gimbal ring vibration isolator and the trim actuator vibration isolator. The gimbal ring vibration isolator can comprise port and starboard gimbal ring vibration isolators, wherein the center of gravity is further located between the port and starboard gimbal ring vibration isolators. The gimbal ring vibration isolator and the a trim actuator resilient vibration isolator operate together to isolate vibration forces on the stern drive.
Examples of a marine vessels and apparatuses for mounting stern drives to marine vessels are described with reference to the following Figures. The same numbers are used throughout the Figures to reference like features and like components.
Referring to
As shown in
The respective second ends 36 of the port and starboard trim actuators 30, 32 are connected to port and starboard ends of the pivot shaft 40. Opposing threaded nuts 54 engage with the ends of the pivot shaft 40 to secure the second ends 36 of the trim actuators 30, 32. Washers and bearings 56, 58 are disposed on opposite sides of the noted second ends 36 to retain the second ends 36 in place with respect to the pivot shaft 40 such that the second ends 36 are freely pivotable with respect to the pivot shaft 40 and the drive shaft housing 22.
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In the present description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes only and are intended to be broadly construed. The different systems and methods described herein may be used alone or in combination with other systems and methods. Various equivalents, alternatives, and modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.
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| Entry |
|---|
| U.S. Appl. No. 14/267,441, filed May 1, 2014. |
| U.S. Appl. No. 14/287,888, filed May 27, 2014. |
