EP0144270A2 - Nautical apparatus with a small-power motor - Google Patents

Abstract

Nautical craft with an outboard motor (3) of relatively low power. The support (35) for the motor is mounted removably on a bracket (7) in the shape of a right angle or inverted T, a horizontal arm (73) of which rests on a substantially plane rear part (27) of the deck in the longitudinal axis of the craft, a lower vertical arm (72) is applied against the substantially vertical rear part (28) of the recess (26) formed at the rear of the deck (2), and an upper vertical arm (71) serves as a support for receiving the removable motor support (35). A single steering-control cable (43) is connected to a rack device (44) incorporated into a bore (49) formed in the bracket (7) in order to communicate, via an articulated rod (91, 93) connected to the rack (44), a movement of lateral angular displacement to the motor (3) mounted pivotably on its support (35). <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a motorized nautical vehicle comprising a hull; propulsion means constituted by a relatively low-power outboard motor mounted to pivot on a motor support attached to the rear aft part of the machine along its median longitudinal axis; a deck comprising a cockpit placed at the front of the machine with control means for directing the machine and causing it to accelerate and decelerate, at least one saddle-shaped central seat placed along the median longitudinal axis of the craft, planes slightly inclined outwards and extending from the cockpit to the transom on either side of the central seat, and a removable rear cover which surrounds, from the front and laterally, the motor arranged in a recess with respect to the rear panel of the machine.

Such a type of nautical device, in particular intended for leisure and sports, constitutes a fast device designed to present a great stability, to be unsinkable and to allow an easy driving even for a pilot little trained.

Known watercraft in this category, however, have imperfections due to their steering control means which do not always allow the desired reliability to be obtained.

Thus, due to the implementation of relatively low power outboard motors, the support means of which consist of poorly developed parts, such as legs or claws, and due to the absence of a fixed rim of appropriate configuration on the deck of the nautical craft, the means of controlling the direction of the craft, intended to give the engine and its propeller the desired pivoting movements, must include double cable or jack systems whose duration life is often limited and which easily presents failures if the use of the nautical machine is too intensive. In particular, double cable systems often lead to a steering lock and the cylinder systems are relatively expensive and heavy, which impairs the performance of the machine equipped with such a steering system.

The present invention aims precisely to remedy the aforementioned drawbacks and to produce a low-power watercraft which has a steering control as convenient, reliable and effective as the steering controls generally associated with larger size boats equipped with strong power.

These aims are achieved thanks to the fact that, according to the invention, the motor support is removably mounted on a chair in the form of an angle or an inverted T, a horizontal branch of which rests on a substantially flat rear part of the bridge in the longitudinal axis of the machine, a lower vertical branch is applied against the substantially vertical rear part of the recess formed at the rear of the bridge and an upper vertical branch serves as a receiving support for the removable motor support and the means steering control include a steering wheel connected by a single cable to a rack device incorporated in a bore formed in the chair so as to constitute a fixed point for communication, via an articulated rod connected to the rack, an angular displacement movement lateral to the motor pivotally mounted on its support.

This mode of connection of the engine to the aft part of the deck of the craft ensures both a stable and secure attachment of the engine to the boat, and a possibility of control by steering wheel and single cable whose efficiency is very much higher than those of double cable controls. The risks of breakdown are thus greatly reduced, the maneuverability of the machine is increased and the lifespan becomes much longer than that of known machines of the same kind.

The invention applies more particularly to watercraft whose outboard motor has a power less than about 22 kW (30 hp), and preferably between about 7.3 and 14.7 kW (10 and 20 hp).

Advantageously, the engine receiving chair comprises two reinforcing ribs joining the horizontal wing to the upper vertical wing.

According to a preferred embodiment, the engine receiving chair comprises a main body with a flat inclined rear face forming an angle of between approximately six and twelve degrees with the flat front face of the lower branch applied against the substantially vertical rear part of the recess formed at the rear of the bridge.

In this case, it is advantageous for the front face of the lower vertical branch of the chair and the horizontal branch to define a plate projecting laterally with respect to said main body to receive fixing means on the deck of the craft.

The engine receiving chair includes at least one outer casing made of rigid molded plastic such as polyester.

According to a preferred embodiment, the engine receiving chair comprises a rigid wooden reinforcement plate or the like fixed directly to the substantially vertical rear part of the recess formed at the rear of the bridge, and this rigid plate is incorporated in the vertical part of the chair defining the lower vertical branch and at least the lower part of the upper vertical branch.

The invention applies well to the case where the motor support comprises curved hook-shaped legs coming to rest on the upper horizontal edge of the upper vertical branch of the chair.

The mechanical resistance of the chair is improved and the configuration of the machine can be optimal if the distance between the rear face of the vertical branches of the chair and the front end of the horizontal branch is close to the distance between the upper edge of the upper vertical branch and the lower rim of the branch lower vertical.

According to the invention, the single steering control cable is secured to a worm screw arranged in said bore of the upper vertical branch of the chair, which worm is engaged with a rack extended outside .- of said bore by a horizontal rod connected to a pivot by an intermediate rod to the body of the motor in order to transmit to the latter the pivoting movements during the translational movements of said horizontal rod secured to the rack.

According to a particular characteristic, the steering control cable as well as the other cables connecting the cockpit to the engine are arranged in a corridor formed in. the axial central part of the machine under the seat and the removable cover.

• - la figure 1 est une vue générale en perspective d'un engin nautique à moteur auquel s'applique l'invention,
• - la figure 2 est une vue générale en perspective de l'engin de la figure 1, vu du côté opposé avec le capot arrière relevé de manière à faire apparaître le raccordement du moteur au pont,
• - la figure 3, est une vue schématique en élévation du dispositif de raccordement du moteur au pont de l'engin, et
• - la figure 4 est une vue en perspective montrant une chaise conforme à l'invention recevant le support de moteur et des moyens de commande de direction de l'engin.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of example, with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of a motorized nautical vehicle to which the invention applies,
• FIG. 2 is a general perspective view of the machine of FIG. 1, seen from the opposite side with the rear cover raised so as to show the connection of the engine to the bridge,
• FIG. 3 is a schematic elevation view of the device for connecting the engine to the deck of the machine, and
• - Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a chair according to the invention receiving the engine support and direction control means of the machine.

If we refer to Figure 1, we see a nautical machine of general shape picked up, that is to say whose width is relatively .important compared to its length and which is adapted to be ridden by a pilot seated on a seat 5 in the form of a saddle placed in the central part of the machine at vicinity of the median longitudinal axis. The deck 2 connected to the hull 1 by a seal 11 has a rounded front end 23 which constitutes the profiled nose of the aircraft connected to its rear part to the cockpit 4 located at the front of the seat 5. The deck 2 comprises , on either side of the cockpit 4 and of the seat 5 of the planes 21, 22 slightly inclined towards the outside and extending practically to the transom 24. On either side of the cover 40 of the position piloting 4, at the front and / or next to the seat 5; elongated pits are formed to receive the legs of the pilot. These pits 25 are of limited width and do not significantly reduce the surface of the inclined planes 21, 22.

The central seat 5 may be composed of several parts forming a pilot seat 51 and behind it, one or more raised seats 52 for passengers, each seat 51, 52 comprising a backrest 53, 54.

A removable and liftable rear cover 6 surrounds at the front and on the sides the motor 3 placed along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and connected to the rear part of the vehicle, in a recess 26 of the bridge.

The device for connecting the engine 3 to the machine and the direction control means will now be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

The motor 3 with its casing 31 and its transmission assembly 32 extended by a propeller 39, is pivotally mounted relative to a motor support 35 around a substantially vertical axis 34. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the casing of the transmission assembly 32 is equipped with flanges 33 which rest on flanges 36 of the support 35 and are crossed by the pivot axis 34. The engine support 35 has the general shape of a plate with at its part upper of the curved hook-shaped legs 37 which engage and rest on the upper horizontal edge 77 of a chair 7, the shape of which will be explained below. The parts of the motor 31, 32, 39 could naturally also be pivotally mounted around a vertical axis mounted on a substantially horizontal plate secured to the upper part of the support 35.

The chair 7 for receiving the engine support 35 has the general shape of a lying T with a main body 70 defining an upper vertical branch 71, a lower vertical branch 72 and a horizontal branch 73. Reinforcement ribs 75 connect the branch upper 71 than the horizontal branch 73, as can be seen in FIG. 4. The horizontal branch 73 projects laterally and in front with respect to the main body 70 extended by the ribs 75 in order to form a wing 79 through which orifices 80 can be formed for the passage of fastening means 81 to the horizontal part 27 of the bridge 2 on which the horizontal branch 73 rests. The horizontal branch 73 of the chair 7 has a flat underside allowing support on a large surface.

The lower vertical branch 72 of the chair 7 also has on its front face a wing 78 which projects beyond the main body 70 and makes it possible to easily apply and fix this lower branch on the substantially vertical rear part 28 of the deck 2 (FIG. 3) . The rear face 74 of the body 70 of the chair has an inclination relative to the vertical which may be of the order of approximately 6 to 12 °, the lower part tending to converge towards the front wing 78. The main support plate motor 35 comes to bear against the rear face 74 of the body 70 of the chair 7. Bolts 38 make it possible to fix the curved parts of the legs 37 of the support 35 against the front face of the upper vertical branch 71 of the chair 7. The chair 7 can for example be made by polyester molding, which gives it great rigidity.

The upper vertical branch 71 is produced in a sufficiently thick and resistant manner that a bore can be formed, parallel to the upper horizontal flange 77 in the branch 71. This bore 9 is intended to receive a rack mechanism, not shown, making it possible to control the pivoting movements of motor 3 using a single cable 43.

The upper part of the upper vertical branch 71, in which the housing 9 of the rack system 44 is produced, may be constituted by plastic material coating a reinforcement material, such as for example wood shavings.

Advantageously, a reinforcing plate 8, for example made of wood, is incorporated in the polyester envelope constituting the visible external part of the chair 7. The reinforcing plate 8, which extends inside the lower vertical branch 72 and the upper vertical branch 71 as far as the rack housing 9, is first fixed on the vertical wall 28 of the recess 26 of the bridge 2, using lag screws 82 for example, and has a lower rim 76 which preferably comes into abutment on the lip of the seal 11 located at the connection between the bridge 2 and the hull 1. The polyester envelope, open at the bottom of its vertical branch 72, then covers the plate reinforcement 8 and can in turn be fixed on the vertical 28 and horizontal 27 walls of the bridge 2 for example by gluing and screwing thanks to the fixing wings 78, 79. The reinforced mixed chair 7 formed of a vertical branch reinforced by the plate 8 and a b horizontal rake 73 stiffened by the ribs 75 constitutes a robust support that is easy to install on the machine and capable of receiving both the engine support 35 and a rack device 44.

The steering control system comprises a steering wheel 41 placed in the cockpit 4, which makes it possible to impart a rotational movement on itself to a cable 43 secured to an endless screw not shown, arranged in a fixed body 44 inserted into the bore 9. The cable 43 is disposed in a longitudinal cavity 29 in the form of a passage formed in the axial central part of the machine under the seat 5, which is preferably secured to the removable rear cover 6 as shown in the Figure 2. The central corridor 29 can also be used to house the battery connection cable placed in the cockpit 4, to the engine 3, as well as the cables connecting the lever 42 for controlling acceleration-deceleration and gear change to the engine 3. These various cables which are not embedded between the deck 2 and the hull 1, are easy to access for maintenance, as soon as the cover 6 and the seat 5 are raised, and are also protected in the folded position of the cover. The fuel tank 130 is also advantageously placed in a well-shaped housing 30 located immediately in front of the horizontal flat face 27 of the bridge on which the chair 7 rests, under the seat 5, so as to reduce the length of the connecting conduits to motor 3.

The worm screw secured to the end of the cable 43 is engaged with a rack, not shown, disposed inside the bore 9. A rod 91 secured to the rack emerges from the bore 9 on the side opposite to the end 44 of the cable 43 and has one end whose position varies in translation as a function of the rotational movements applied to the steering wheel 41. The rod 91 is connected by a pivot link 92 to a rigid rod 93 whose end free is connected to a part 39 integral with the motor 3. The displacements of the end of the rod 91 are thus communicated to the motor 3 and to the propeller 39 which pivot around the axis 34.

The chair 7 in the shape of an inverted T gives great strength to the connection between the motor 3 and the deck 2 of the machine. Preferably, the dimension between the horizontal upper rim 77 receiving the tabs 37 and the lower rim 76 is of the same order of magnitude as the distance between the rear face 74 of the vertical part 71, 72 and the front end of the horizontal branch 73. In this way, the chair 7 can be firmly anchored on the deck 2, without protruding downwards beyond the joint 11, and while reserving, in front of the chair 7, the possibility of making a well under the seat 5 out of water 30 for receiving the fuel tank 130, despite the short overall length of the machine.

The nautical machine 10 represented in FIGS. 1 and 2 may include a foam filling, for example closed cell polyurethane foam, under the deck 2 above the bonding line 11 while reserving a free space between the shell 1 and the deck '2 below the gluing line 11. This guarantees the presence of a buoyancy reserve. Furthermore, water drains can be provided at the rear of the machine, at the level of the table 24. In order to increase the rigidity of the machine, it is preferable that the seat 5 and the protective cover can be raised 6 are integral with one another, as shown in FIG. 2. Likewise, sleepers could be interposed in the corridor 29 forming a technical sheath, on either side of the well 30 for receiving the fuel tank 130.- The front cover 40 carrying the dashboard is itself preferably removable.

Naturally, other modifications and additions can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. Motorized nautical craft comprising a hull (1); propulsion means consisting of a relatively low-power outboard motor (3) pivotally mounted on a motor support (35) attached to the extreme rear part of the machine (10) along the median longitudinal axis thereof this; a bridge (2) comprising a cockpit (4) disposed at the front of the machine with control means for steering the machine and causing it to accelerate and decelerate, at least one central seat (5) in the form of saddle placed along the median longitudinal axis of the machine, planes (21, 22) slightly inclined outwards and extending from the cockpit (4) to the transom (24) on either side the central seat (5), and a removable rear cover (6) which surrounds, from the front and laterally, the motor disposed in a recess (26) relative to the rear panel (24) of the machine,
characterized in that the support (35) of the motor is removably mounted on a chair (7) in the form of an angle or an inverted T, a horizontal branch (73) of which rests on a substantially flat rear part (27) of the bridge in the longitudinal axis of the machine, a lower vertical branch (72) is applied against the substantially vertical rear part (28) of the recess (26) formed at the rear of the bridge (2) and a vertical branch upper (71) serves as a receiving support for the removable engine support (35), and in that the direction control means comprise a steering wheel (41) connected by a single cable (43) to a rack and pinion device (44 ) incorporated in a bore (9) formed in the chair (7) so as to constitute a fixed point making it possible to communicate, via an articulated rod (91,93) connected to the rack (44), a movement angular displacement lateral to the motor (3) pivotally mounted on its support (35). 2. Nautical craft according to claim 1, characterized in that the outboard motor (3) has a power less than about 22 kW (30hp) and preferably between about 7.3 and 14.7 kW (10 and 20 hp). 3. Nautical craft according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the chair (7) for receiving the engine (3) comprises two reinforcing ribs (75) joining the horizontal wing (73) to the vertical wing upper (71). 4. Nautical craft according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the chair (7) for receiving the engine comprises a main body (70) with a flat inclined rear face (74) forming an angle of between approximately six and twelve degrees with the flat front face (78) of the lower branch (72) applied against the substantially vertical rear part (28) of the recess (26) formed at the rear of the bridge (2). 5. Nautical craft according to claim 4, characterized in that the front face of the lower vertical branch (72) of the chair and the horizontal branch (73) define a plate projecting laterally relative to said main body (70) to receive fixing means (81) on the deck (2) of the machine. 6. Nautical craft according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the chair (7) for receiving the engine comprises at least one outer casing made of rigid molded plastic such as polyester. 7. Nautical craft according to claim 6, characterized in that the chair (7) for receiving the engine comprises a rigid reinforcing plate (9) of wood or the like fixed directly on the substantially vertical rear part (28) of the embedding. (26) formed at the rear of the bridge (2), and in that this rigid plate (9) is incorporated in the vertical part of the chair defining the lower vertical branch (72) and at least the lower part of the branch upper vertical (71). 8. Nautical craft according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the support (35) of the motor comprises legs (37) curved in the form of a hook coming to rest on the upper horizontal flange (77) of the upper vertical branch (71) of the chair. 9. Nautical craft according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the.-distance between the rear face (74) of the vertical branches (71,72) of the chair and the front end of the horizontal branch (73) is close to the distance between the upper rim (77) of the upper vertical branch (71) and the lower rim (76) of the lower vertical branch (72). 10. Nautical craft according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the cable (43) for steering control as well as the other cables connecting the cockpit (4) to the engine (3) are arranged in a corridor (29) formed in the axial central part of the machine under the seat (5) and the removable cover (6).

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