Marine propulsion inventions 02/09

20090053944 - Propulsion system for a ship or seagoing vessel: A marine drive is engaged with and is driven by a vessel's engine drive shaft. The drive includes: a universal joint secured to the vessel's hull; a first screw shaft supporting a first screw; a first gear set driven by the first screw shaft; a second screw shaft driven by... Agent: Patent Law & Venture Group

20090053945 - Underwater propulsion apparatus performance enhancement device and associated methods: A device that when fitted to a motor vessel's existing propulsion gear improves the performance and reduces potential damage and wear of underwater propeller shaft bearings, commonly referred to as “cutlass bearings” that are used on boats, ships, etc. Designed with radially mounted impeller blades around the periphery of the... Agent: Jacqueline E. Hartt, Ph. D. Lowndes Drosdick Doster Kantor & Reed, P.A.

20090047847 - Marine vessel propulsion drive module: A drop in-module consisting of a mass produced engine coupled to a drive system by use of a common mid-section mounting platform. The module provides a single assembly that can be easily installed and removed from a vessel. The drive system is based on motors using a vertical crankshaft orientation... Agent: Mchale & Slavin, P.A.

20090047848 - Control device for sailboats: A control device for boats, particularly sailboats, includes a control member, which regulates the operating conditions of an operating unit such as a motor, and which can be moved along a predetermined path and for a predetermined range between two extreme stop positions. The device is configured to be coupled... Agent: Themis Intellectual Property Counsel

20090047849 - Marine engine exhaust system with cooling arrangement: A marine engine exhaust system is provided. The system includes a first and second manifold. A first conduit is in fluid communication with the first manifold so that a first gas is transferred into a first gas passageway of the first conduit. The first conduit has a first cooling fluid... Agent: J. Bennett Mullinax, LLC

20090042459 - Control device for marine engine: A control device for a marine engine comprised so that a section of an angle sufficiently narrower than a crank angle corresponding to each stroke of a combustion cycle of the engine is set as an instantaneous speed detection section, a crank angle position that appears every time the engine... Agent: Pearne & Gordon LLP

20090042458 - Multiple-cylinder engine for planing water vehicle: A multiple-cylinder engine for a planing water vehicle includes an operation control device which changes the number of deactivated cylinders step by step in response to an engine speed when the engine speed exceeds a preset speed. The operation control device can have a plurality of cylinder deactivation order maps... Agent: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP

20090042460 - Status indicators for use with a watercraft propulsion system: Status indicators for use with a watercraft propulsion system are described. An example indicator includes a light operatively coupled to a propulsion system of a watercraft, wherein an operation of the light indicates a status of a thruster system of the propulsion system.... Agent: Hanley, Flight & Zimmerman, LLC

20090042461 - Watercraft with selectively retractable and stowable propulsion device: A watercraft includes a hull having a hull bottom with an opening and a trunk surrounding the opening. The watercraft also includes a propulsion device pivotally mounted to a portion of the hull other than the trunk. The propulsion device can include a transmission and a propeller on an end... Agent: Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

20090042462 - Swimming propulsion device: A swimming propulsion device. The swimming propulsion device includes a fuselage having a forward section and an aft section, at least one propulsor pivotally connected to the forward section of the fuselage, and in some embodiments, at least one stabilizer affixed to the aft section of the fuselage. The device... Agent: Michelle Saquet Temple

20090042463 - Small planing boat: A small planing boat can include a multi-cylinder engine, and a propulsion unit driven by the engine, such as a jet pump, for propelling a hull by drawing up and jetting out water. The engine can be configured to change the number of deactivated cylinders in a phased manner corresponding... Agent: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP

20090042464 - Water jet propulsion system: A highly efficient watercraft propulsion system that relies on a positive displacement pump to generate a water jet. The pump is fully submerged at all times and its inlet is positioned so as to cause water to be forced into the pump as the watercraft moves through the water. The... Agent: Fulwider Patton LLP

20090042465 - Dual propulsion steering and control system for watercraft: A dual propulsion steering and control system for a watercraft which utilizes simple movement of an operator's feet to independently vary thrust from a pair of propulsion units, each mounted on opposite sides of the centerline of a watercraft. By varying the amount and direction of thrust on each side,... Agent: John Zimmerlee

20090036005 - Universal electrical linear motor propulsion system and method: Aspects of the invention relate to an electrical linear motor propulsion system and method for propelling an object through a medium. According to one aspect of the invention, the electrical linear motor comprises electrical windings and permanent magnets in close proximity so that electrical current energizing the coil windings creates... Agent: Oleg Kotlyar

20090036006 - Drive shaft sealing device for small watercraft: A sealing member can include a radially-working lip which contacts a drive shaft in a radial direction to seal a gap between the drive shaft and the housing in the radial direction, an axially-working lip extending in an axial direction, and a contact member which contacts the axially-working lip to... Agent: Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP

20090036007 - Sculling oar handle cover: The sculling oar handle cover is used to reduce friction between a sculling rower's fingers/hands and the existing sculling oar handle during rowing, thereby reducing the risk of blisters and other damage to the skin. The cover is affixed to the existing oar handle by sliding it over the handle... Agent: Constance T. Cannady