Patents by Inventor Jeffrey Paul Lefebvre

Jeffrey Paul Lefebvre has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6026759
    Abstract: Method and apparatus for leveling or adjusting a power-boat's average angle of bank or list about its roll axis RA regardless of side wind or off-center loading to improve passenger comfort, increase fuel efficiency, and smooth hull passage through waves with reduced pounding. Improved operating characteristics are accomplished by adjusting steering force angle-of-attack of a small fin-rudder mounted under a forward portion of the boat's keel. The boat's heading is maintained by applying an opposite steering force by altering thrust direction of the driving and steering mechanism. Altering thrust direction occurs either by a pilot steering the helm or automatically by adjusting thrust direction independently of pilot steering. In an optional automatic mode, an electronic gravity inclinometer adjusts a fin-rudder servo. An electronic filter processes the inclinometer signal to control the boat's average attitude around its roll axis RA.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Hazelett Strip-Casting Corporation
    Inventors: R. William Hazelett, Jeffrey Paul Lefebvre, Timothy D. Kaiser