Patents Examined by Stephen P. Avila
  • System for maneuvering boat
    Patent number: 11097825
    Abstract: A system for maneuvering a boat including a hull and an outboard motor includes a left tilt shaft, a right tilt shaft, a steering shaft support, and a hydraulic cylinder. At least a portion of the hydraulic cylinder is between the left tilt shaft and the right tilt shaft. The hydraulic cylinder exerts a steering force on the outboard motor to rotate the outboard motor about a steering shaft. A hydraulic pump supplies hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder. One of the left tilt shaft and the right tilt shaft includes a first hole. A portion of the stroke range of the hydraulic cylinder is located within the first hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Makoto Mizutani, Tomohiro Hagi
  • Outboard motor having copilot device
    Patent number: 11097824
    Abstract: An apparatus is for steering an outboard motor with respect to a marine vessel. The apparatus includes a transom bracket configured to support the outboard motor with respect to the marine vessel; a tiller for manually steering the outboard motor with respect to a steering axis; a steering arm extending above the transom bracket and coupling the tiller to the outboard motor such that rotation of the tiller causes rotation of the outboard motor with respect to the steering axis, wherein the steering arm is located above the transom bracket; and a copilot device configured to lock the outboard motor in each of a plurality of steering positions relative to the steering axis. The copilot device extends above and is manually operable from above the steering arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventor: Donald T. M. Anderson, Jr.
  • Electric surfboard
    Patent number: 11097812
    Abstract: Disclosed is an electric surfboard that can determine whether or not a user is on board while the surfboard is working, and if not, can stop operation of the surfboard, and that can naturally cool heat generated from a control unit and a motor unit. The electric surfboard includes a surfboard housing, foot bindings which are put on a user, a step-out detecting unit for creating a magnetic field and attracted to the housing by a magnetic force, as well as being physically coupled to an ankle strap, in which if the user steps out of the surfboard, the step-out detecting unit being detached from the housing, thereby detecting step-out of the user, and a control unit receiving a step-out detecting signal outputted from the step-out detecting unit to send a signal for stopping operation of the surfboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: JETWAKE CO., LTD
    Inventor: Kuk Jin Lee
  • Outboard motor and method of manufacturing shaft for outboard motor
    Patent number: 11091242
    Abstract: An outboard motor includes a shaft including a second spline that upwardly extends from a housing. The second spline is meshed with a first spline disposed inside either an engine cowl or an upper housing. The second spline includes a distal end and a body. The distal end is provided on an upper end of the shaft. The body is provided below the distal end. In the second spline, a groove width in the circumferential direction at the distal end is larger than a groove width in the circumferential direction at the body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Ikegaya, Kenji Yukishima
  • Marine propulsion control system and method
    Patent number: 11091243
    Abstract: A propulsion system on a marine vessel includes at least one steerable propulsion device and at least one lateral thruster. A steering wheel is mechanically connected to and operable by a user to steer the at least one propulsion device. A user interface device is operable by a user to provide at least a lateral thrust command to command lateral movement and a rotational thrust command to command rotational movement of the vessel. A controller is configured to determine a difference between a steering position of the propulsion device and a centered steering position. A user interface display is controllable to indicate at least one of the steering position of the propulsion device and the difference between the steering position and the centered steering position. The controller is further configured to determine that the steering position is within a threshold range of the centered steering position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth G. Gable, Daniel E. Clarkson, Steven J. Andrasko
  • Aft-facing transom seating for a boat
    Patent number: 11091230
    Abstract: A boat including one or more seats, which may be aft-facing. The seat includes a seat bottom, which may be movable between a first position and a second position. The second position is a position in which the seat bottom is pivoted upwardly relative to the position of the seat bottom in the first position to allow access to a hidden compartment. The seat may also include a leg rest. The leg rest may extend aft of the transom, and may extend in a direction that is at a downward angle relative to the seat bottom. The leg rest may also have a length such that a gap is present between the leg rest and a surface beneath the leg rest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: MasterCraft Boat Company, LLC
    Inventors: Chadrick E. Curts, Daniel P. Vieira, Rosemary M. Bennett, David F. Ekern
  • Tiller for outboard motor
    Patent number: 11084563
    Abstract: A tiller for an outboard motor powered by an engine includes a tiller body that is elongated along a longitudinal center axis between a proximal end and a distal end. A throttle grip is on the distal end of the tiller body. An idle speed control switch is located on the tiller body adjacent the throttle grip. A microcontroller is located inside the tiller body and is in signal communication with an engine controller of the engine. The idle speed control switch is a momentary switch that can be selectively electrically connected to the microcontroller. In response to actuation of the idle speed control switch, the microcontroller sends a signal to the engine controller to change an idle speed of the engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: Madalyn G. Pielow, Paul M. Kraus, Robert A. Podell
  • Amphibious vehicle
    Patent number: 11084346
    Abstract: An amphibious vehicle comprises a buoyant hull, a boat motor affixed to the hull to propel the amphibious vehicle in water, two or more powered wheel assemblies affixed to the hull to propel the amphibious vehicle on land, and two or more selectively rotatable arms affixing each wheel assembly to the hull. One or more of the wheel assemblies are affixed to opposing sides of the hull. Two or more selectively rotatable arms affix each wheel assembly to the hull. The arms affixing each respective wheel assembly are selectively rotatable in unison to move the respective wheel assembly between a lowered position and a raised position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: CONSTANT CHASE, LLC
    Inventor: Samuel Fisher
  • Full beam superstructure lower deck
    Patent number: 11084554
    Abstract: A catamaran having two parallel symmetrical hulls of equal size spaced apart with a superstructure lower deck extending from an outer edge of the first hull to an outer edge of the second hull. The lower deck is positioned above the static waterline and provides a single, constant, flush elevation height across the entire length and breadth of the vessel, with the placement of control and propulsion machinery in the hulls. The improved catamaran has an increased freeboard, increased gross tonnage, and decreased design pressures on the superstructure scantlings of the catamaran deck as compared to a conventional catamaran having a lower deck mounted beneath the static waterline, or accommodations added to the hulls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Euro Marine Group Ltd.
    Inventors: Joseph Lazzara, Ian Ombres
  • Anisotropically flexible vibration isolating coupling mechanism
    Patent number: 11084556
    Abstract: A flexible coupling mechanism may be used to suspend a structural component, such as a propulsion pod, from a support member, such as a strut of a hydrofoil watercraft. The flexible coupling mechanism may include multiple vibration isolating mounts configured to extend through the support member to suspend the structural component. The vibration isolating mounts may include a plurality of elastomeric bushings configured to prevent direct contact between a component rigidly coupled to the support member and a component rigidly coupled to the structural component. The elastomeric bushings may include a tapered outer profile configured to provide a nonlinear force feedback profile in response to rotation of the support member relative to the structural component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: KAI CONCEPTS, LLC
    Inventors: Donald Lewis Montague, Joseph Andrew Brock, Tomasz Pawel Bartczak, Matthew Campbell Greaves, Alec Korver, Jamieson Edward Schulte, Dmitri Stepanov
  • Foam product
    Patent number: 11065837
    Abstract: A foam product includes a foam core, a soft skin covering the foam core, and a base structure on which the foam core is disposed. The foam core of expanded beads has an outer surface on which some outermost beads of the expanded beads are exposed and bulging outward with different heights to form a bubbly texture. The foam skin has an inner surface attached to the outer surface of the foam core, and has at its inner surface a plurality of concave cavities each matedly surrounding a respective one of the bulging, outermost beads on the outer surface of the foam core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: AGIT GLOBAL IP HOLDINGS, LLC
    Inventor: Tzong In Yeh
  • Wave-generating watercraft with a wave forming fin
    Patent number: 11066135
    Abstract: A wave-generating watercraft includes a craft body having an installation space receiving a wave-generating unit. A telescopic drive is mounted within the installation space and is connected to a driven unit. A wave-forming fin is connected to the driven unit and is driven by the telescopic drive to move between extended and retracted positions. The telescopic drive is aligned with a front-rear direction of the craft body and is stretchable and retractable along the front-rear direction. The wave-forming fin protrudes from the installation space when the wave-forming fin moves to the extended position and is received in the installation space when the wave-forming fin retracts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Inventor: Hudson Wang
  • Outboard motor
    Patent number: 11066142
    Abstract: When a shift member is in a first position, a first clutch couples a second drive shaft to a first drive shaft. When the shift member is in the first position, a second clutch decouples a first gear from the first drive shaft. When the shift member is in the first position, a third clutch decouples a second gear from the second drive shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuki Ikegaya, Satoru Hamada, Takahiro Oguma, Akihiro Onoue
  • Power train for an amphibian
    Patent number: 11065927
    Abstract: A power train for an amphibian operable in land and marine modes includes a prime mover, at least a first land propulsion unit, a first marine propulsion unit, a second marine propulsion unit, and at least one speed change transmission. The prime mover is arranged to drive the at least first land propulsion unit through/via the at least one speed change transmission in land mode, and the prime mover is arranged to drive the first marine propulsion unit and the second marine propulsion unit through/via the at least one, or another, or combinations of, speed change transmission in marine mode. In addition, the present invention provides an amphibian comprising the power train.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Gibbs Technologies Limited
    Inventor: Alan Timothy Gibbs
  • Collapsible mast of a yacht
    Patent number: 11066128
    Abstract: A collapsible mast of or for a yacht includes a base, a top section, and a rotation mechanism arranged between the base and the top section configured to rotate the top section relative to the base between an upright extended state, in which the top section extends in line with the base, and a collapsed state, in which the top section is rotated downward to reduce a height of the mast. The rotation mechanism comprises an axis oriented transverse through the base. Further, the rotation mechanism comprises a rotation arm, which is rotatably connected to the base via the axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: HERMITAGE FAMILY OFFICE SARL
    Inventor: Oleg Bourlakov
  • Outboard motors having resilient mounting apparatuses
    Patent number: 11066140
    Abstract: An outboard motor has a powerhead; a driveshaft housing located below the powerhead; a steering arm extending forwardly from the driveshaft housing; a steering tube extending downwardly from the steering arm; an upper mounting device that resiliently mounts the steering arm to the driveshaft housing; and a lower mounting device comprising a yoke that laterally extends from the steering tube. The yoke is clamped to the steering tube and contains port and starboard mounts that resiliently couple the steering tube to the driveshaft housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2021
    Assignee: Brunswick Corporation
    Inventors: Colin M. Huffer, Donald Anderson, Jr.
  • Trolling motor sealing system
    Patent number: 11059556
    Abstract: A downshaft assembly for supporting a motor assembly of a watercraft and for enclosing a cable of a transducer assembly fixed to the motor assembly. The downshaft assembly includes a base having an exterior surface, an interior surface, and a surface defining a hole extending between the interior surface and the exterior surface. The downshaft assembly also includes a nut and a grommet having a tapered portion at least partially disposed in the hole. The grommet is configured to receive the cable therethrough and the nut is positioned against the grommet and removably secured to the base, with the positioning of the secured nut compressing at least part of the tapered portion of the grommet against the surface defining the hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Inventor: Austin W. Ahlgren
  • Large outboard motor for marine vessel application and related methods of making and operating same
    Patent number: 11059554
    Abstract: An outboard motor for a marine vessel application, and related methods of making and operating same, are disclosed herein. In at least one embodiment, the outboard motor includes a horizontal-crankshaft engine in an upper portion of the outboard motor, positioned substantially positioned above a trimming axis of the outboard motor. In at least another embodiment, first, second and third transmission devices are employed to transmit rotational power from the engine to one or more propellers at a lower portion of the outboard motor. In at least a further embodiment, the outboard motor is made to include a rigid interior assembly formed by the engine, multiple transmission devices, and a further structural component. In further embodiments, the outboard motor includes numerous cooling, exhaust, and/or oil system components, as well as other transmission features.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: AB Volvo Penta
    Inventors: Eric A. Davis, Richard A. Davis
  • Marine outboard motor with shift mechanism
    Patent number: 11059557
    Abstract: A marine outboard motor is provided with a gear casing, a propeller shaft rotatable within the gear casing about a propeller shaft axis, a drive shaft having a drive gear, a clutch mechanism for selectively engaging the drive gear with the propeller shaft and a shift mechanism configured to operate the clutch mechanism. The shift mechanism comprises a support shaft which is fixed relative to the gear casing and which extends along or parallel with the propeller shaft axis, a shift shuttle which is slidable along the support shaft and is connected to a clutch member of the clutch mechanism, a shift finger pivotally mounted on the support shaft, and a shift rod coupled to the shift finger by a releasable coupling. The shift finger is configured to move the shift shuttle along the support shaft to operate the clutch member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: COX POWERTRAIN LIMITED
    Inventor: James Barratt
  • Trolling motor latching system
    Patent number: 11059555
    Abstract: A mounting assembly for improved latching of a watercraft trolling motor that includes a shaft assembly. The mounting assembly includes a pivot joint configured to be fixed relative to the watercraft. The mounting assembly further includes a swinging bracket assembly having: (a) a swinging bracket having a first end, a second end and a length, the first end being configured for attachment to the shaft assembly and the second end being rotatably attached to the pivot joint; and (b) a latch pin assembly including an elastic element and a latch pin mounted to the swinging bracket. The mounting assembly still further includes a stationary bracket configured to be fixed relative to the watercraft and having a protuberance and a sloped surface receiving the latch pin. Inadvertent removal of the latch pin from a sliding, latched relationship with the sloped surface is obstructed by the protuberance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Inventor: Austin W. Ahlgren