DRIVE ARRANGEMENT FOR A MARINE VESSEL

Abstract

A drive arrangement for a marine vessel. The drive arrangement includes an upper drive part configured to be mounted onto an outside of a transom of the marine vessel. A lower drive part is connected to the upper drive part to be fixed in a vertical direction in relation to the upper drive part. The lower drive part has a hydrodynamic configuration and is provided with at least one propeller. A transmission system is arranged to transfer a drive torque to the propeller from a drive source system connected to the transmission system. An outer surface of the upper drive part substantially is made up of a plurality of surface sections connected by one or more edges. Each of said surface sections has a shape corresponding to a so-called ruled surface that can be generated by the motion of a straight line.

Claims

1. Drive arrangement for a marine vessel, the drive arrangement comprising: an upper drive part configured to be mounted onto an outside of a transom of the marine vessel; a lower drive part connected to the upper drive part so as to be fixed in a vertical direction in relation to the upper drive part, wherein the lower drive part has a hydrodynamic configuration and is provided with at least one propeller; and a transmission system arranged to transfer a drive torque to the propeller from a drive source system connected to the transmission system, wherein the transmission system is arranged to be connected to a drive source system located at least partly on-board the marine vessel inside of the transom, wherein the transmission system comprises a first drive shaft member extending vertically between the upper and lower drive parts and a second drive shaft member extending substantially horizontally in the lower drive part, and wherein the second drive shaft member is connected to the first drive shaft member and to the at least one propeller, wherein the upper drive part is intended to be located behind the transom and substantially above an imaginary extension of a hull bottom of the marine vessel when mounted onto the transom, wherein the lower drive part is intended to be located substantially below the imaginary extension of the hull bottom of the marine vessel, and/or substantially below the real hull bottom of the marine vessel, when the upper drive part of the drive arrangement is mounted onto the transom, and wherein an outer surface of the upper drive part substantially is made up of a plurality of surface sections connected by one or more edges, wherein each of said surface sections has a shape corresponding to a so-called ruled surface that can be generated by the motion of a straight line, such as a planar surface or a lateral surface of a cylinder or cone.

2. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the upper drive part comprises at least two flat surface sections connected by a straight edge.

3. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the upper drive part comprises at least three, preferably more, flat surface sections connected by straight edges.

4. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the upper drive part comprises at least a part of a lateral side of a cylinder.

5. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of surface sections are arranged to generally be facing sideways, upwards and/or backwards in relation to the marine vessel when the upper drive part is mounted onto the transom.

6. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of surface sections covers at least 70% of the total outer surface of the upper drive part facing generally sideways, upwards and/or backwards in relation to the marine vessel when the upper drive part is mounted onto the transom.

7. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the upper drive part is arranged to be mounted to the transom via a hinge element so as to allow the drive arrangement to pivot from side to side.

8. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the upper drive part is arranged to be fixedly mounted onto the transom.

9. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the lower drive part is rotatable about a vertical axis in relation to the upper drive part.

10. Drive arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the drive source system forms part of the drive arrangement, and wherein the drive source system comprises i) an internal combustion engine intended to be located on board the marine vessel inside of the transom or ii) an electric motor and an electric energy storage unit for powering the electric motor, wherein at least the electric energy storage unit is intended to be located on board the marine vessel inside of the transom.

11. Marine vessel, wherein the marine vessel is provided with a drive arrangement comprising: an upper drive part mounted onto an outside of a transom of the marine vessel; a lower drive part connected to the upper drive part so as to be fixed in a vertical direction in relation to the upper drive part, wherein the lower drive part has a hydrodynamic configuration and is provided with at least one propeller; and a transmission system arranged to transfer a drive torque to the propeller from a drive source system connected to the transmission system, wherein the drive source system is located at least partly on-board the marine vessel inside of the transom, wherein the transmission system comprises a first drive shaft member extending vertically between the upper and lower drive parts and a second drive shaft member extending substantially horizontally in the lower drive part, and wherein the second drive shaft member is connected to the first drive shaft member and to the at least one propeller, wherein the upper drive part is located behind the transom and substantially above an imaginary extension of a hull bottom of the marine vessel, wherein the lower drive part is located substantially below the imaginary extension of the hull bottom of the marine vessel and/or substantially below the real hull bottom of the marine vessel, and wherein an outer surface of the upper drive part substantially is made up of a plurality of surface sections connected by one or more edges, wherein each of said surface sections has a shape corresponding to a so-called ruled surface that can be generated by the motion of a straight line, such as a planar surface or a lateral surface of a cylinder or cone.

12. Marine vessel according to claim 11, wherein the upper drive part is fixedly mounted onto the transom.

13. Marine vessel according to claim 11, wherein the lower drive part is rotatable about a vertical axis in relation to the upper drive part.

14. Marine vessel according to claim 11, wherein the drive source system forms part of the marine vessel and wherein the drive source system comprises an internal combustion engine or an electric motor located on board the marine vessel inside of the transom.

15. Marine vessel according to claim 11, wherein the drive source system forms part of the marine vessel and wherein the drive source system comprises an electric motor at least partly arranged in the upper drive part.

16. Marine vessel according to claim 11, wherein the drive source system forms part of the marine vessel and comprises an electric motor and an electric energy storage unit, wherein the electric energy storage unit is located on board the marine vessel inside of the transom.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention cited as examples.

[0036] In the drawings:

[0037] FIG. 1 shows a marine vessel provided with two drive arrangements according to this disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 2 shows a partly sectional side view of a first embodiment of a drive arrangement according to this disclosure.

[0039] FIG. 3 shows a partly sectional side view of a second embodiment of a drive arrangement according to this disclosure.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of one of the drive arrangements according to FIG. 1.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows an alternative exterior structure of an upper drive part of the drive arrangement.

[0042] FIG. 6 shows a further alternative exterior structure of the upper drive part of the drive arrangement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a marine vessel 10 in the form of a powerboat having a transom 3 and a hull bottom 11. First and second drive arrangements 1, 2 are mounted side by side onto an outside of the transom 3. The two drive arrangements 1, 2 are in this case similar. For the different embodiments and variants of the drive arrangement shown in the following figures, only reference number 1 is used. The drive arrangements shown in FIGS. 2-4 correspond to the drive arrangements 1, 2 shown in FIG. 1 as regards the outer parts and shape. FIGS. 2-3 show two alternative drive arrangements as regards the internal structure. FIGS. 5-6 show alternative exterior structures of an upper drive part of the drive arrangement. A marine vessel may be provided with one, two, three or more drive arrangements of the type described in this disclosure.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 2-3, the drive arrangement 1, 2 has an upper drive part 4 and a lower drive part 5. The upper drive part 4 is here fixedly connected to the transom 3, i.e. the upper drive part 4 is not intended to be movable in relation to the vessel 10. The lower drive part 5 is connected to, and fixed in a vertical direction in relation to, the upper drive part 4. The lower drive part 5 is provided with a propeller 6, in this example a forwardly directed double propeller, and the lower drive part 5 has a hydrodynamic configuration to reduce drag resistance. The lower drive part 5 is rotatable about a vertical axis in a pod drive manner in relation to the upper drive part 4 so that the propeller 6 can be directed in different directions for steering of the marine vessel 10.

[0045] A transmission system is arranged to transfer a drive torque to the propeller 6 from a drive source system connected to the transmission system. The drive source system is further described below. The transmission system comprises a first drive shaft member 8 that extends substantially vertically between the upper and lower drive parts 4, 5 and a second drive shaft member 9 extending substantially horizontally in the lower drive part 5. The second drive shaft member 9 is connected to the first drive shaft member 8 and to the at least one propeller 6. A further drive shaft member 7 is indicated in FIG. 2.

[0046] The transmission system may be arranged in different ways and only examples of general designs are shown in this disclosure. As an example, the first or second drive shaft members 8, 9 does not necessarily have be formed by one single drive shaft but may include several components.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 2-3, the upper drive part 4 is located behind the transom 3 and substantially above an imaginary extension of the hull bottom 11. In fact, an underside of the upper drive part 4 is aligned with the hull bottom 11 of the marine vessel 10. Consequently, the lower drive part 5 is located below the imaginary extension of the hull bottom 11 of the marine vessel 10. The lower drive part 5 is partly located also below the real hull bottom 11 of the marine vessel 10, in particular because the propeller 6 in this case is forward directed.

[0048] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4-6, and as indicated in FIGS. 2-3, an outer surface of the upper drive part 4 is substantially, in this case fully, made up of a plurality of surface sections 41-51 connected by one or more edges 60. Each of these surface sections 41-51 has a shape corresponding to a so-called ruled surface that can be generated by the motion of a straight line, such as a planar surface or a lateral surface of a cylinder or cone.

[0049] The principal shape of the outer surface of the upper drive part 4 is not affected by the drive source system, although some adaptations to certain drive source systems is possible as further described below, but an explanation of the drive source system is useful for the understanding of what kind of drive arrangements and marine vessels this disclosure relates to.

[0050] FIG. 2 shows a drive source system comprising an internal combustion engine (ICE) 20 and a (small) electric motor 21. The ICE 20 is arranged on-board the marine vessel 10 inside of the transom 3 and is connected to the propeller 6 via drive shaft members 7, 8 and 9. The electric motor 21 is arranged in the upper drive part 4 and is connected directly to the (vertical) first drive shaft member 8. The electric motor 21 is intended for low-speed operation of the marine vessel 10, whereas the ICE 20 forms the main drive source.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows a drive source system comprising a (large) electric motor 22 arranged partly in the upper drive part 4 and partly on-board the marine vessel 10 inside of the transom 3; it thus extends through an opening in the transom 3. The drive source system further comprises an electric energy storage unit (not shown), i.e. a “battery”, arranged on-board the marine vessel 10 inside of the transom 3. A cord 23 indicates an electric connection between the electric motor 22 and the electric energy storage unit. The electric motor 22 is connected to the first drive shaft 8 and forms in this case the main, and only, drive source for the propeller.

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the outer surface of the upper drive part 4 comprises all together ten flat surface sections 41, 42, 43, 44 connected by straight edges 60 and arranged to form a faceted shape. Six surface sections, three on each side, form a lower faceted shape, and four surface sections, two on each side, form an upper faceted shape in the form of a “roof” onto the lower faceted shape. As an alternative, the “roof” might be one large flat surface section placed onto the lower faceted shape. However, a raised “roof” as exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 4 provides additional room inside the upper drive part 4 for housing e.g. the electric motor located above the first drive shaft member 8.

[0053] The upper drive part 4 is preferably provided with a detachable or foldable hood and, if so, the outer surface of the hood can be provided with the ruled surface sections.

[0054] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the outer surface of the upper drive part 4 where the outer surface comprises only two flat surface sections 45, 46 connected by one straight edge 60.

[0055] FIG. 6 shows a further alternative embodiment of the outer surface of the upper drive part 4 where the lower part is a faceted shape similar to FIGS. 1 and 4 but where a flat horizontal surface section 49 forms a main roof and where a cylinder with lateral side 47 and upper side 48 forms a projecting roof and provides additional space inside the upper drive part 4.

[0056] Various other possibilities exist for arranging the outer surface of the upper drive part 4.

[0057] As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4-6, the plurality of surface sections are arranged to generally be facing sideways, upwards and/or backwards in relation to the marine vessel 10 when the upper drive part 4 is mounted onto the transom 3. Moreover, the plurality of surface sections covers in these examples 100% of the total outer surface of the upper drive part facing generally sideways, upwards and/or backwards in relation to the marine vessel 10 when the upper drive part 4 is mounted onto the transom 3. However, it is not necessary that the entire outer surface is covered with said surface sections.

[0058] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.