Boat Drive Mounting Collar Alignment for Hull Thickness Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mounting arrangements for outboard drive units do not prevent the drive unit from being mounted to hulls of insufficient thickness and complicate the manufacturing process, as they require complex formations like vertical wells and additional components for vibration damping.
Innovation Solution
A mounting arrangement comprising a mounting collar and clamping collar with alignment members and frustoconical surfaces, where the clamping collar ensures the drive unit is securely attached to the hull by matching the thickness of the hull, preventing insufficient mounting and simplifying the manufacturing process by using compressible rings and fasteners for secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a vertical well with internal flange is formed in the hull to mount the drive unit, then the drive unit can be securely mounted with vibration damping, but the manufacturing complexity of the hull increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting arrangement is divided into separate components: a mounting collar with alignment members, a clamping collar, compressible rings, and fasteners. These modular components can be manufactured independently and assembled during installation, eliminating the need for complex hull modifications while achieving secure mounting with vibration damping capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting collar and clamping collar act as intermediary components between the drive unit and the hull. These collars provide the necessary mounting security and vibration damping without requiring the hull itself to be complex, thereby decoupling the mounting functionality from the hull manufacturing complexity.
2Device complexity
If no thickness verification mechanism is provided, then the mounting arrangement is simpler, but the drive unit may be mounted to hulls of insufficient thickness causing structural failure
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment members are designed to verify hull thickness before the mounting process is completed. During assembly, the alignment members must pass through or align with corresponding features in the hull, which preliminarily confirms that the hull has sufficient thickness to support the drive unit, preventing structural failure before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting arrangement includes built-in alignment members that automatically verify hull thickness during the mounting process itself. The design of the alignment members and their interaction with the hull structure provides self-verification of adequate thickness, eliminating the need for separate verification steps while ensuring structural integrity.
3Strength
If complex formation of the hull with vertical wells is required, then the drive unit can be mounted with proper support, but the manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into removable mounting collars and clamping collars that can be manufactured separately and assembled during installation. This eliminates the need for time-consuming hull modifications such as forming vertical wells, thereby maintaining hull support capability while significantly improving manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The complex support structure is extracted from the hull itself and replaced with separate, pre-fabricated mounting components. The mounting collar and clamping collar provide the necessary support capability without requiring the hull to be modified into complex shapes, thus preserving strength while enhancing productivity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures the drive unit is securely attached to a hull of sufficient thickness, preventing structural failure and simplifies the manufacturing process by ensuring the drive unit is mounted correctly, while also providing effective vibration damping and sealing.
Implementation Method 1
compressible rings between surfaces of the mounting plate and the flange and between surfaces of the screw-down plate and the flange. The rings damp vibrations from the drive to the hull.
Implementation Method 2
A mounting plate of the drive unit and a screw-down plate are fastened to opposite sides of the flange, with compressible rings between surfaces of the mounting plate and the flange and between surfaces of the screw-down plate and the flange.
Data Source
AI summary
A mounting arrangement is provided for mounting a boat drive to a boat hull and includes a mounting collar including a first plate having a first opening therein and a first wall extending from a top surface of the first plate around the first opening and defining a first cylinder. The mounting arrangement also includes a clamping collar including a second plate having a second opening therein and a second wall extending from a top surface of the second plate around the second opening and defining a second cylinder, an external shape of at least a top end of the first cylinder substantially matching an internal shape of at least a bottom end of the second cylinder. The first wall of the mounting collar has a first alignment member and the second wall of the clamping collar has a second alignment member, the first alignment member and the second alignment member being positioned so that, when the first plate is mounted against an exterior of the boat hull and the second plate is mounted against an interior of the boat hull with the first cylinder received in the second cylinder, the first alignment member and the second alignment member align when the boat hull is at least a predetermined thickness.