OUTBOARD MOTOR THAT CAN BE COUPLED TO A WATERCRAFT

Abstract

The invention relates to an outboard motor (1) that is capable of being coupled to a watercraft (20) and comprises an elongate hollow body (2) that is open at its upper end (3), a propeller (5) positioned on the lower end (4) of the body (2), a system (6) for rotating the propeller (5) integrated into said body (2), and a steering bar (7) provided at its free end with an acceleration lever (8). The steering bar (7) is slidably mounted inside a longitudinal guideway (9) provided inside the body (2) for moving the steering bar (7) between an at least partially retracted configuration within the body (2) of the outboard motor (1) and a deployed configuration in which the steering bar (7) at least partially projects from said body (2). In the deployed configuration, the steering bar (7) is mounted so as to pivot about a shaft (10) transverse to the longitudinal axis of the guideway (9) in order to move said bar (7) between a raised position in which it extends in the axial extension of the guideway (9) and a lowered position in which it forms an angle (a) of between 60 and 120° with the longitudinal axis of the guideway (9).

Description

Description Title of the invention: outboard motor connectable to a boat

[0001] The present invention relates to an outboard motor coupleable to a watercraft.

[0002] It relates in particular to an outboard motor comprising an elongated hollow body open at one of its ends, called the upper end, a propeller positioned on said body at the so-called lower end of the body opposite the upper end, a system for driving the propeller in rotation integrated into said body and a steering bar equipped at its free end with an acceleration handle.

[0003] It should be noted that an outboard motor is understood to mean a motor that can be separated from the boat. Such a motor is well known to those skilled in the art.

[0004] Document US 6,213,821 describes in particular an outboard motor which can be coupled to a boat.

[0005] Due to its design, such an engine is frequently required to be mounted on a boat or, on the contrary, dismantled. These mounting and dismantling operations are generally tedious and are made very difficult due to the weight and bulk of the most recent outboard motors. Outboard motor designers are therefore looking for solutions to make it easier to transport and handle outboard motors, even when the outboard motors are powerful engines known to be heavy.

[0006] An object of the invention is to provide an outboard motor whose design allows easy carrying and transportation without compromising the ability to have a powerful outboard motor.

[0007] To this end, the invention relates to an outboard motor which can be coupled to a boat, said outboard motor comprising an elongated hollow body open at one of its ends, called the upper end, a propeller positioned on said body at the level of the lower end of the body opposite the upper end, a system for driving the propeller in rotation integrated into said body, a bar steering bar equipped at its free end with an acceleration handle, characterized in that the steering bar is mounted to slide inside a guide path provided inside the body and extending longitudinally from the upper end of said body towards the lower end of said body for movement of the steering bar between a configuration at least partially retracted into the body of the outboard motor and a deployed configuration in which the steering bar at least partially projects from said body and in that, in the deployed configuration,the steering bar is mounted to pivot about an axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of the guide path (9) for movement of the steering bar between a so-called raised position in which it extends in the axial extension of the guide path and a so-called lowered position in which it forms an angle of between 60 and 120° with the longitudinal axis of the guide path. The possibility of retracting the steering bar inside the body makes it possible to grasp the body of the motor by hand without being hindered by the bar to carry the outboard motor and handle it during the operations of assembly and disassembly of the boat. This design can also allow the production of an extractable battery which again facilitates the carrying of the outboard motor when the battery is extracted.,

[0008] According to one embodiment of the invention, the outboard motor comprises a slider to which the steering bar is pivotally coupled, this slider being movably slidably mounted in the guide path. This design allows easy construction of said outboard motor.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the invention, the body comprises at least one end stop for sliding movement of the active steering bar in the deployed configuration of the bar to prevent sliding movement of the bar in the guide path in the direction of an exit from the guide path beyond a predetermined position. Thus, any risk of the steering bar becoming detached from the body of the outboard motor is prevented.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the invention, the end-of-travel stop comprises a housing provided in the body, this housing being capable of housing a push button carried by the slider, this push button being inserted in the deployed configuration of the steering bar into the housing of the body.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the invention, the steering bar is electrically connected by a wired connection to the propeller rotation drive system.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the invention, the wire connection is formed by a spiral cord. The production of the wire connection in the form of a spiral cord allows automatic stretching and retraction of the cord under the effect of its elasticity.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the invention, the propeller rotation drive system comprises an electric motor and a battery for supplying electricity to the electric motor, said battery being a battery that can be removed from said body. This arrangement makes it possible, as already mentioned above, to lighten the outboard motor to aid its carrying and handling.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the invention, the outboard motor comprises, for fixing the outboard motor to a boat, at least one arm, and in that the body externally comprises a longitudinal slide inside which one end of the arm is able to be inserted in an adjustable manner in position, said slide extending below and preferably vertically of the steering bar in the lowered position of the steering bar and in the upright state of the body with the upper end of the body extending above the lower end.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the invention, the arm is, at its end opposite that insertable into the slide, coupleable via a connection interface to a support itself coupleable to the boat, said connection interface interposable between the arm and the support being pivotally coupleable to the arm by a so-called pivot connection comprising at least one pivot axis for movement of the arm between two extreme pivot positions, in that the connection interface is rotationally coupleable to the support by a so-called rotation connection comprising at least one rotation axis to allow, in the coupled state of the connection interface to the arm and to the support, movement of the arm and the connection interface around the rotation axis over an angular range at least equal to 160°, preferably at least equal to 180°, and in that the rotation axis and the pivot axis are orthogonal to each other. Again, this design of the device for attaching the outboard motor to the boat assists in the handling of the outboard motor in particular by allowing, for an operator, the mounting and dismounting of the outboard motor from the boat from the boat.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the invention, the guide path is delimited by rails arranged inside said body. Brief description of the drawings

[0017] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

[0018] [Fig. 1] represents a perspective view of a boat equipped with an outboard motor according to the invention in the retracted configuration of the steering bar;

[0019] [Fig. 2] represents a partially sectioned and transparent view of an outboard motor in the retracted configuration of the steering bar;

[0020] [Fig. 3] shows a partially sectional view of an outboard motor in the deployed configuration and with the steering bar raised;

[0021] [Fig. 4] shows a partially sectional view of an outboard motor in the deployed configuration and in the lowered position of the steering bar;

[0022] [Fig. 5] represents a partial perspective view of a boat equipped with an outboard motor according to the invention in the retracted configuration of the steering bar in the state positioned in the boat of the outboard motor coupled to the boat;

[0023] [Fig. 6] represents a partial perspective view of a boat equipped with an outboard motor according to the invention in the retracted configuration of the steering bar in the state positioned outside the boat of the motor coupled to the boat.

[0024] As mentioned above, the subject of the invention is an outboard motor 1 which can be coupled to a boat. The boat 20 can be any boat capable of operating with an outboard motor 1. In the example shown, the boat 20 is a semi-rigid boat. This boat 20 can be entirely rigid or flexible without departing from the scope of the invention. The outboard motor 1 is generally fixed at the transom of the boat 20, as illustrated in the figures. It is recalled that outboard motor 1 is understood to mean a motor that can be separated from the boat 20.

[0025] As illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the outboard motor 1 comprises an elongated hollow body 2 open at one of its ends called the upper end 3. This body 2 is generally made of metal. This body 2 has a lower end 4 opposite the upper end 3 at the level of which is arranged, on an external surface of the body 2, the propeller 5 of the outboard motor 1 used for propelling the boat 20. The outboard motor 1 also comprises a system 6 for driving the propeller 5 in rotation integrated in the body 2.

[0026] In the examples shown, the system 6 for driving the propeller 5 in rotation comprises an electric motor 61 and a battery 62 for supplying electricity to the electric motor 61. The battery 62 is a battery that can be extracted from the body 2. This battery can be extracted from the body 2 from the upper end of the body 2. The outboard motor 1 also comprises a steering bar 7 equipped at its free end with an acceleration handle 8, generally rotating. The acceleration data resulting from the rotation of the acceleration handle are conventionally supplied to the system 6 for driving the propeller in rotation and in particular to the control unit of the electric motor 61 to act on the rotation speed of the electric motor 61, via a wired connection 13 which electrically connects the steering bar 7 and in particular the acceleration handle of the steering bar 7 to the control unit of the electric motor 61.

[0027] In the examples shown in Figures 2 and 3, the wire connection 13 is formed by a spiral cord.

[0028] In a manner characteristic of the invention, the body 2 has internally a longitudinal guide path 9 inside which the steering bar 7 is mounted to slide. This guide path 9 is preferably delimited by two parallel rails facing each other. This guide path 9 develops longitudinally, that is to say along an axis called longitudinal of the guide path 9, from the upper end 3 of the body 2 towards the lower end 4 of the body 2 for a movement of the steering bar 7 between a configuration at least partially retracted in the body 2 of the outboard motor 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and a deployed configuration in which the steering bar 7 at least partially projects from the body 2, as illustrated in FIG. 3.In the deployed configuration, the steering bar 7 is mounted to pivot about an axis 10 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the guide path 9 or, in other words, about an axis 10 transverse to the sliding movement direction of the steering bar 7, for movement of the steering bar 7 between a so-called raised position in which it extends in the axial extension of the guide path 9 and a so-called lowered position in which it forms an angle α of between 60 and 120° with the longitudinal axis of the guide path 9. This lowered position is the conventional position for such a steering bar fitted to an outboard motor of the state of the art. In the lowered position, a portion of the steering bar 7 is housed in a notch provided at the upper end of the body 2 on the portion of the body 2 used to delimit the opening of the open upper end.This notch 21 forms a cradle inside which a part of the steering bar 7 rests to relieve the articulation.

[0029] It is understood that the retracted configuration allows easy carrying of the outboard motor 1.

[0030] To enable such sliding movement of the steering bar 7, the outboard motor 1 comprises a slider 11 to which the steering bar 7 is pivotally coupled. This slider 11 is mounted to slide in the guide path 9. This slider 1 may be in the form of a simple block of material sliding along the rails constituting the guide path 9. This block may be equipped with a pivot pin participating in the pivoting connection of the steering bar to the block. The steering bar is thus pivotally coupled to said block at its end opposite that provided with the rotary throttle handle.

[0031] To complete the assembly, the body 2 comprises at least one end stop 12 for the sliding movement of the active steering bar 7 in deployed configuration of the bar to prevent sliding movement of the bar in the guide path, in the direction of an exit from the guide path, beyond a predetermined position.

[0032] In the examples shown, the end-of-travel stop 12 comprises a housing 121 provided in the body 2. This housing 121 is capable of housing a push button 122 carried by the slider 11. This push button 122 is inserted in the deployed configuration of the steering bar 7 into the housing 121 of the body 2.

[0033] Finally, of course, it is necessary to be able to fix the outboard motor 1 to the boat. For this purpose, the outboard motor comprises, for fixing the outboard motor 1 to a boat 20, at least one arm 14. The body 2 of the outboard motor 1 externally comprises a longitudinal slide 15 inside which one end of the arm 14 is able to be inserted in an adjustable manner in position. This slide 15 extends below and, preferably, vertically of the steering bar 7 in the lowered position of the steering bar 7 and in the upright state of the body 2 with the upper end 3 of the body 2 extending above the lower end 4.

[0034] The arm 14 is, at its end opposite that insertable into the slide 15, coupleable via a connection interface 16 to a support 17 itself coupleable to the boat 20. This connection interface 16, interposable between the arm 14 and the support 17, is pivotally coupleable to the arm 14 by a so-called pivot connection 18 comprising at least one pivot axis for movement of the arm 14 between two extreme pivot positions capable of allowing lifting and lowering of the outboard motor. The connecting interface 16 is rotatably coupled to the support 17 by a so-called rotational connection 19 comprising at least one rotation axis to allow, in the coupled state of the connecting interface 16 to the arm 14 and to the support 17, a movement of the arm 14 and of the connecting interface 16 around the rotation axis over an angular range at least equal to 160°, preferably at least equal to 180°. The rotation axis and the pivot axis are mutually orthogonal.

[0035] In the examples shown, the support 17 is in the form of a block of generally parallelepiped shape with one face of the block provided with a drilling used for connecting the support 17 with the connecting interface 16. The constituent block of the support 17 has a face that can be positioned as an application on the rear deck of the boat.

[0036] The surface mounting can be done by screwing or other means.

[0037] When the rear apron is inclined relative to a vertical plane, the application face of the support on the rear apron takes up this inclination to, ideally, allow a drilling of the block used for the connection of the support 17 with the connection interface 16 to have a longitudinal axis extending vertically in the fixed state of the support to the boat.

[0038] The connecting interface 16 is rotatably coupled to the support 17 by a rotational connection 19 comprising at least one rotation axis. This rotation axis is embodied by a shaft. One end of this shaft is inserted into the bore of the support 17, while the other end of the shaft is rotatably coupled to the connecting interface 16.

[0039] This connection interface 16 is presented here in the form of a circular plate with two opposite faces which form one, called the first face, the top face of the plate facing the sky in the coupled state of the connection interface to the support 17 and coupled from the support to the boat, the other, called the second face, the bottom face of the plate facing the ground in the coupled state of the connection interface to the support 17 and coupled from the support 17 to the boat.

[0040] The shaft materializing the axis of rotation of the rotational connection 19 between the support 17 and the connection interface 16 extends projecting from the second face of the plate perpendicular to this second face from the center of this second face.

[0041] Thanks to this rotational connection 19 between the support 17 and the connection interface 16, the connection interface 16, in particular the plate of the connection interface, can rotate around the axis of rotation of said rotational connection 19 in the stationary state of the support 17 and in particular in the fixed state of the support 17 to the boat.

[0042] The arm 14 is fixed, by one of its ends, in a slide 15 arranged outside the body of the outboard motor and extending along the longitudinal axis of the body 2.

[0043] The arm 14 can thus slide in the slide until it is immobilized in the desired position of separation from the propeller. It is noted that this arm is positioned on the body of the outboard motor, on a surface of the body of the outboard motor opposite that carrying the propeller.

[0044] This arm 14 extends below the steering bar 7 and along a line substantially directly parallel to said bar in the lowered position of the steering bar 7.

[0045] This arm 14 is, at its opposite end, coupled to the connecting interface 16 by a pivoting connection 18 comprising at least one pivot axis for movement of the arm 14 between two extreme pivoting positions capable of allowing lifting and lowering of the outboard motor 1.

[0046] This pivot axis extends parallel to one of the faces of the plate constituting the connecting interface 16. In particular, the pivot axis of the pivoting connection 18 between the arm 14 and the connecting interface 16 is embodied by a shaft coaxial with said pivot axis.

[0047] This shaft coaxial with the pivot axis is carried by the first face of the plate. The rotation axis and the pivot axis are orthogonal to each other. Thanks to the design of the connecting interface 16 and its pivoting connection 18 to the arm 14 and rotation 19 to the support 17 in the coupled state of the connecting interface 16 to the arm 14 and to the support 17, the arm 14 and the connecting interface 16 are able to move around the rotation axis over an angular range at least equal to 160°, preferably at least equal to 180°.Assuming that the arm 14 and the bracket 17 are respectively pre-attached to the outboard motor 1 and the boat 20, it is possible to implement a method of attaching the outboard motor to a boat 20 by performing the following steps, namely a step of positioning the outboard motor 20 in the boat, a step of attaching the connecting interface 16 to the bracket 17, a step of attaching the connecting interface 16 to the arm 14 and a step of pivotally moving the arm 14 to raise the motor away from the bottom of the boat and obtain a configuration as illustrated in FIG. 5, a step of rotating the connecting interface and the associated arm for the passage of the outboard motor 1 from a position in which it is arranged in. the boat 20 to a position in which it is disposed outside the boat 20 as illustrated in Figure 6, before again driving the arm in pivotal movement in the lowering direction to position the motor in a sailing configuration as illustrated in Figure 1.

[0048] It should be noted that the step of fixing the connection interface to the support can be carried out before the step of positioning the outboard motor 1 in the boat or after said step. Generally, once the connection interface has been fixed once to the support, this mounting then remains permanent.

[0049] The various operations as described above make it possible to avoid any fatigue for the operator when coupling the outboard motor 1 to the boat, this coupling being able to be carried out from the boat. The operator can in fact be brought from the boat 20 to mount or dismount the motor from the boat. It is understood that for dismounting, the procedure is similar, that is to say that the outboard motor 1 is raised by pivoting the arm upwards in the direction of a separation of the connection interface. During this maneuver, the operator can grasp a handle installed on the body of the outboard motor 1 to assist in pivoting the outboard motor 1 and the arm.The arm and the connecting interface are then rotated to bring the motor inside the boat before pivoting the arm in the direction of lowering the arm to place the motor on the bottom of the boat and then uncoupling the arm from the connecting interface.

[0050] To facilitate such operations, the pivoting connection 18 between the arm 14 and the connecting interface 16 comprises a first part carried by the arm 14, and a second part carried by the connecting interface 16. The first and second parts are configured to be coupleable to each other by automatic coupling without tools, by simply bringing together and moving said parts relative to each other.

[0051] The outboard motor 1, as described above, can therefore be used as follows. It is assumed that the outboard motor 1 is not installed on the boat 20. The procedure is therefore described below to couple the arm 14 pre-equipping the body of the outboard motor 1 and the support 17 pre-equipping the boat to the connecting interface 16. Once the outboard motor 1 is coupled, the steering bar 7, which is in the position, as shown in FIG. 1, is brought into its deployed configuration by sliding movement in the guide path 9 then into the lowered position. For the control in the direction of the boat 20, the operator conventionally acts on the steering bar by pulling or pushing to generate a movement of the arm, the body of the associated outboard motor 1 and the connecting interface around the axis of the rotational connection 19 of the interface 16 for connection to the support 17 according to the desired direction for said boat.

Claims

Claims

1. Outboard motor (1) coupleable to a boat (20), said outboard motor (1) comprising an elongated hollow body (2) open at one of its ends called the upper end (3), a propeller (5) positioned on said body (2) at the so-called lower end (4) of the body (2) opposite the upper end (3), a system (6) for driving the propeller (5) in rotation integrated in said body (2), a steering bar (7) equipped at its free end with an acceleration handle (8),characterized in that the steering bar (7) is mounted to slide inside a guide path (9) provided inside the body (2) and extending longitudinally from the upper end (3) of said body (2) towards the lower end (4) of said body (2) for movement of the steering bar (7) between a configuration at least partially retracted into the body (2) of the outboard motor (1) and a deployed configuration in which the steering bar (7) at least partially projects from said body (2) and in that, in the deployed configuration,the steering bar (7) is mounted to pivot about an axis (10) transverse to a longitudinal axis of the guide path (9) for movement of the steering bar (7) between a so-called raised position in which it extends in the axial extension of the guide path (9) and a so-called lowered position in which it forms an angle (a) of between 60 and 120° with the longitudinal axis of the guide path (9).

2. Outboard motor (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the outboard motor (1) comprises a slider (11) to which the steering bar (7) is pivotally coupled, this slider (11) being mounted to slide in the guide path (9).

3. Outboard motor (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the body (2) comprises at least one end stop (12) for sliding movement of the active steering bar (7) in the deployed configuration of the bar to prevent sliding movement of the bar in the guide path (9) in the direction of leaving the guide path (9) beyond a predetermined position.

4. Outboard motor (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the end-of-travel stop (12) comprises a housing (121) provided in the body (2), this housing (121) being capable of housing a push button (122) carried by the slider (11), this push button (122) being inserted in the deployed configuration of the steering bar (7) in the housing (121) of the body (2).

5. Outboard motor (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the steering bar (7) is electrically connected by a wired connection (13) to the rotational drive system of the propeller (5).

6. Outboard motor (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the wire connection (13) is formed by a spiral cord.

7. Outboard motor (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the system (6) for driving the propeller (5) in rotation comprises an electric motor (61) and a battery (62) for supplying electricity to the electric motor (61), said battery (62) being a battery removable from said body (2).

8. Outboard motor (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises, for fixing the outboard motor (1) to a boat (20), at least one arm (14), and in that the body (2) externally comprises a longitudinal slide (15) inside which one end of the arm (14) is able to be inserted in an adjustable manner in position, said slide (15) extending below and preferably vertically of the steering bar (7) in the lowered position of the steering bar (7) and in the upright state of the body (2) with the upper end (3) of the body (2) extending above the lower end (4).

9. Outboard motor (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that the arm (14) is, at its end opposite that insertable in the slide (15), coupleable via a connection interface (16) to a support (17) itself coupleable to the boat (20), said connection interface (16) interposable between the arm (14) and the support (17) being pivotally coupleable to the arm (14) by a so-called pivot connection (18) comprising at least one pivot axis for movement of the arm (14) between two extreme pivot positions, in that the connection interface (16) is coupleable to rotation to the support (17) by a so-called rotation connection (19) comprising at least one rotation axis to allow, in the coupled state of the connection interface (16) to the arm (14) and to the support (17), a movement of the arm (14) and of the connection interface (16) around the rotation axis over an angular range at least equal to 160°, preferably at least equal to 180°, and in that the rotation axis and the pivot axis are orthogonal to each other.

10. Outboard motor (1) according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the guide path (9) is delimited by rails arranged inside said body (2).