Electrically controlled shift and throttle system

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a throttle and shift control system for marine craft and more particularly for such a system for marine craft having two or more control stations at which throttle and shift control functionality is desired.

[0003] Many larger marine craft will often have more than one control station where an operator can control the craft. If full operation is to be carried out at each control station, then the shifting of the transmission among forward, neutral, and reverse operating modes must be possible, as must control of the throttle system of the engine or engines. There have been mechanical systems available in the past which carry out this functionality, but the mechanical linkages were often complex and cumbersome, particularly if the distances between control stations and the engine were great. Also, such mechanically complex systems for multiple control stations were usually quite expensive.

[0004] Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved shift and throttle control system for a marine craft having multiple control stations which is capable of providing control from any one of the stations, but which does not require the mechanical interconnection among the control stations and the engine or engines.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved shift and throttle control system whereby the operating mode and throttle control can be carried out by a single pivotable lever arm at each station.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system whereby the control station that is selected becomes the master station, which then controls the shift and throttle speed, and the other control stations are controlled to have their lever arms in substantially the same position as the master during operation.

[0007] A related object of the present invention is to provide a master control selection switch at each control station which enables each control station to be selected as the master, with all others being slaved control stations.

[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a shift and throttle control system which reduces the activation distance of mechanical linkage.

[0009] Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an improved system which includes an engine warm-up switch that can be activated and which enables the master control station to have throttle control only, with the operating mode being neutral.

[0010] These and other features of the present invention will be more fully disclosed when taken in conjunction with the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment(s) in which like numerals represent like elements and in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the present invention, particularly illustrating the shift and throttle control system of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a single control unit;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a side view of a portion of the control unit, particularly illustrating the privotable lever arm of the control unit;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 4—4 in FIG. 2;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a right side view of the rotatable base portion of the control unit shown in FIG. 4 including a worm gear mechanism of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a side view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a selected master control unit being advanced into forward operating mode from a neutral mode;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a side view similar to FIG. 2, but illustrating a slave control unit moving after having completed its movement to the same position as the master control unit shown in FIG. 6; and

[0018] FIG. 8 is a side view similar to FIG. 2 and illustrating the master control unit being moved to increase the operating speed.

[0019] Broadly stated, the present invention has its maximum effectiveness for use with an electrical system for controlling the shifting of a transmission and controlling the throttle for an engine of a marine craft, such as a boat, where two or more operating stations are provided. However, many of the principals of the invention are also applicable to a boat having a single operating station. For a multi-operating station boat, it is desirable for each operator station to have full control of the operating mode and speed of the boat and, to this end, the system of the present invention permits shifting to be achieved among the forward, neutral, and reverse operating modes and also the operating speed of the engine to be controlled. An operator can select any one of the control units to be the master control unit and the remaining control units are then automatically operated as slave control units as is desired. With the electrical interconnection of the control units and engine(s), rather than the prior art mechanical-type interconnection, all control units have pivotable lever arms with an angular orientation that is identical regardless of whether the control unit is a master or a slave control unit at the time. This enables master control to be changed from one control station to another, and can be done merely by activating a switch that designates a control station as the master control station. The system is also adapted for use in controlling more than one engine, if desired, and the simplicity of the design enables the operator to use a single elongated pivotable lever arm to both shift and control the throttle so as to control the operating speed of the engine or engines.

[0020] Turning now to the drawings, and particularly FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of the system embodying the present invention is shown and includes three control units, indicated generally at 10, 12, and 14, which are electrically connected to a controller 16 that is preferably a microprocessor having internal memory and analog-to-digital conversion capability, The controller has several inputs and outputs and is powered by a battery 18. The controller has an output line 20 that is connected to a shift gear motor 22 which is adapted to drive a linkage 24 to a gear-shifting lever 26 that is shown in the neutral position, but which can be moved to a forward position, indicated generally at 28, or a reverse position, indicated generally at 30. A suitable position-sensing device 32, such as a microswitch, a resistor network, or potentiometer tap, provides an input to the controller 16 via line 34, which indicates when the forward operating mode is selected. Similarly, second position-sensing device 36, such as a resistor network, a microswitch, or potentiometer tap, together with line 38, provides an input to the controller 16 for determining when the linkage is in the neutral position. A third position-sensing device 40, such as a potentiometer tap, a microswitch, or a resistor network, is coupled by line 42 to the controller 16 provides a signal that the transmission is in the reverse operating mode. The controller is also connected to a throttle motor 44 that has a drive linkage 46 for adjusting a throttle linkage 48 of the engine for varying the operating speed. The throttle motor is operated via line 50 and a potentiometer 52 associated with the throttle linkage 48 provides a feedback signal on line 54 to the controller so that the position of the throttle linkage 48 is known.

[0021] It will be appreciated that the electronic controller 16, shift gear motor 22, and throttle motor 44 may be physically placed or located at any suitable location. It is especially advantageous that the shift gear motor 22 and the throttle motor 44 be very close to the gear shift lever 26 and throttle linkage 48 respectively so as to keep the activation distance of the mechanical linkage to a minimum. One preferred location for shift gear motor 22 and throttle motor 44 would be under the outboard motor or engine cowling 56 as is indicated by dashed lines in FIG. 1. It may also be convenient to locate the electronic controller 16 under the cowling. If throttle motor 44 and shift gear motor 22 are located under the cowling, only electrical wiring needs to be routed to the outboard motor or engine, and disconnection can be made by one or more watertight connectors, such as connectors 58A and 58B.

[0022] There are several inputs and outputs to the control units 10, 12, and 14, which are identical and therefore will only be described for a single control unit. As best shown in FIG. 2, each control unit has two switches 60 and 62 that are connected to the controller 16 via respective lines 64 and 66. The switch 60 is intended to be used to select the particular control unit to be a master control unit. When a control unit, such as control unit 10, is selected by actuating its associated switch 60, it becomes the master control unit and all others, such as control units 12 and 14, will then become slave control units that cannot be used to control the operation of the system until they are selected by operating their switch 60. The switch 62 is for use in warming up the engine or engines of the watercraft and, more particularly, for increasing the throttle or operating speed of the engines during warm-up without changing the operating mode from neutral to either the forward or reverse operating mode. The activation of the switch 62 disables the operating mode shifting by the control unit by any switch or well-known means such as, for example, disabling or interrupting the control signals on line 20 from the controller to the shift gear motor 22 and enables the control unit to increase the operating speed of the engine by moving the lever arm without shifting the transmission.

[0023] Each of the control units, such as control unit 10, has a drive motor 68, which is controlled by lines 70 from the controller 16, and the drive motor 68 has an output shaft 72 carrying a worm gear 74 that meshes with worm gear 76 located on a rotatable base portion 78. The control unit 10 has an elongated lever arm 80 which is pivotable around an axis 82 and the lever arm 80 is pivotable relative to the pivotable base portion 78 and is also pivotable with the pivotable base portion 78. There is a stationary base portion 84 that has upper and lower wiper assemblies 86 and 88 (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 5) that respectively cooperate with resistive surfaces 90 and 92 for providing a variable resistance value that is proportional to the angular position of the lever arm 80 and the pivotable base portion 78. The wiper assemblies 86 and 88 are attached to the stationary base portion 84 so that pivotable movement by the lever arm 80 will cause the resistance value in circuit to be changed to provide either a variable voltage or current depending upon the type of circuit that is utilized, with both types of circuits being known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Referring to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, three lines 93 are shown to extend from the wiper assembly 86 and resistive surface 90 to the controller 16, and lines 94 extend from the wiper assembly 88 and resistive element 92 to the controller 16. The schematic diagram of FIG. 1 simply shows these lines as single lines 93 and 94.

[0024] As is best shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8, the lever arm 80 is pivotable relative to the pivotable base portion 78 and both the lever arm 80 and pivotable base portion 78 are pivotable relative to the stationary base portion 84 having the wiper mechanisms 86 and 88 attached thereto. A pair of coil springs 95 are provided to interconnect opposite sides of the lover aim 80 with the pivotable base portion 78 and each spring has one end fitted within a recess of each of these components. The pivotable base portion 78 has radially oriented surfaces 96 and 98 which are adapted to contact similar radial surfaces 100 and 102 of the lever aim 80. As the lever arm is rotated to the left, the surfaces 100 and 96 can be made to contact one another and, similarly, if the lever arm is rotated to the right or clockwise direction, the surfaces 102 and 98 may be moved into contact with one another. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the stationary base portion 84 has a recess 104 located in the top center thereof and a small ball 106 is provided and is biased in a downward position by a spring 108 located in a recess 110 of the lever arm 80 and is ill a center position when the ball 106 fits into the depression 104. The ball 106, biased by spring 108, provides a detente and physical indication when the lever arm 80 is in a center position. Therefore, a slight additional forward force is required for the initial movement of the handle from the center position.

[0025] During operation and referring to FIGS. 3 and 6, if the lever arm 80 is pivoted to the left as shown, the position of the resistive surface 90 moves relative to the wiper mechanism 86 to generate a different voltage (or current value) that is input to the controller 16 indicating that the transmission has been shifted to the forward direction and the controller actuates the shift gear motor 22 into the forward position Further movement to the left also is input to the controller 16 and the throttle motor 44 is actuated to move the throttle linkage to increase the operating speed of the engine. However, as soon as the resistance value changes from the neutral position, the controller activates the drive motor 68 and causes it to move the pivotable base portion 78 to a position whereby the voltage generated by the resistive surface 92 and wiper mechanism 88 creates a voltage that is substantially identical to the voltage generated by the position of the lever arm 80. This results in the lever arm 80 and pivotable base portion 78 reaching the position shown in FIG. 7. Further leftward pivoting of the lever arm 80 will change the voltage generated and will similarly cause the throttle motor 44 to change the throttle linkage to increase the speed of the engine, as shown in FIG. 8. This will also result in the controller again actuating the drive motor 68 so as to cause the drive motor to move the pivotable base portion 78 to a position whereby to voltage generated by the resistive surface 92 and wiper mechanism 88 is substantially identical to the voltage generated by the resistive surface 90 and wiper mechanism 86.

[0026] While the above-described action is occurring with respect to the control unit that is selected as the master, it is important to understand that the controller 16 is applying the same drive signals to the drive motors 68 of the nonselected control units so that they will be repositioned in the virtually identical position as the selected control unit. In this manner, the control units of all control stations will be virtually identical so that if it is desired to change the selected one of the control stations and operate it as the master control station, all that is necessary is for the switch 60 to be activated at one of the previously nonselected or slave control units so that it will then become the master control station.

[0027] From the foregoing description, it should be understood that an improved electronically controlled shift and control system has been shown and described which offers many advantages over similar mechanical prior art systems. The system has the same operating characteristics as one which mechanically couples each of the control units, but is much easier to install and maintain. The interconnection of the control units is achieved merely by the electrical wires which extend from the control units to the controller 16 rather than unwieldy and cumbersome mechanical means. Similarly, the interconnection with the shift gear motor and the throttle motor is also achieved by electrical connections which offer similar simplicity and advantages.

[0028] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed.