Abstract:
A tilt helm for use with a boat having a dashboard and a steering system includes a first housing adapted to be mounted in a fixed position with respect to the dashboard and a second housing having a plurality of teeth. The second housing is selectively pivotable with respect to the first housing. A tilt lock is used to hold the second housing in a selected position.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 60/540,701 filed Jan. 30, 2004; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Technical Field  
         [0003]     The present invention generally relates to nautical helms and, more particularly, to nautical tilt helms. Specifically, the present invention relates to an adjustable tilt helm that connects a steering wheel to a hydraulic steering system.  
         [0004]     2. Background Information  
         [0005]     Various tilt helms exist in the art. Problems with existing tilt helms also exist. The present invention seeks to solve some of these problems while providing an attractive tilt helm that does not need to be covered with a protective boot or molded cover.  
         [0006]     One problem with existing tilt helms is that the mechanism for releasing the locking device is difficult to access while the user is driving the vehicle using the tilt helm. The art desires a locking mechanism that is readily accessible.  
         [0007]     The art also desires a locking mechanism that securely maintains the selected position of the tilt helm while being subjected to significant shock and vibration forces such as those created when a boat is traveling at a high speed across choppy water.  
         [0008]     The art also desires a tilt helm that will not loosen over time as parts frictionally wear together.  
         [0009]     The art also desires a tilt helm that is manufactured entirely from a corrosion-resistant material that is also attractive.  
         [0010]     The art also desires a tilt helm that aligns the tilt axis with the axis point of the universal steering column.  
         [0011]     The art desires a tilt helm that may be used with a standard steering unit.  
         [0012]     The art also desires that the tilt helm will allow the steering column to directly engage the standard steering unit without couplers.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]     The present invention provides a tilt helm that allows the steering wheel of a vehicle to be selectively positioned in any of a plurality of different angles with respect to a dashboard. The tilt helm of the invention allows the steering wheel to be pivoted about a horizontal axis.  
         [0014]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm that may be readily modified to work with a variety of dashboard thicknesses and a variety of spaces between the steering unit and the dashboard.  
         [0015]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm that aligns the pivot point of the universal steering column with the tilting axis of the tilt helm.  
         [0016]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm that is manufactured from stainless steel.  
         [0017]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm that securely locks its positions to avoid undesired movement.  
         [0018]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm that uses tapered bushings that reduce friction and allow the connection between the bearing housing and lever housing to be adjusted over time.  
         [0019]     In one embodiment, the invention provides a tilt helm having a lever configuration that is secured against vibration forces by positioning the pivot axis of the lever perpendicular to the pivot axis of the tilt helm. The invention provides further security by positioning the spring that holds the locking lever in its engaged position entirely within the lever housing in direct engagement with the lever. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the tilt helm installed in the dashboard of a boat.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is a longitudinal section view of the tilt helm of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a section view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a section view taken along line B-B of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 5  is a section view of the bearing housing.  
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a section view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0026]      FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of the box labeled with the letter B in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 8  is a section view of the steering wheel mount.  
         [0028]      FIG. 9  is an end view of the steering wheel mount.  
         [0029]      FIG. 10  is a front elevation view of the lever housing.  
         [0030]      FIG. 11  is a side view of the lever housing.  
         [0031]      FIG. 12  is a front elevation view of the spacer.  
         [0032]      FIG. 13  is a side view of the spacer.  
         [0033]      FIG. 14  is a front view of the tilt locking lever.  
         [0034]      FIG. 15  is a section view taken along line A-A.  
         [0035]      FIG. 16  is a top view of the tilt locking lever. 
     
    
       [0036]     Similar numbers refer to similar parts throughout the application.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0037]     The tilt helm of the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral  100  in the accompanying drawings. Tilt helm  100  allows the user to adjust the position of a steering wheel  102  with respect to a dashboard or other mounting surface  104 . Tilt helm  100  provides the adjustment while not interfering with or taking away from the performance of steering wheel  102  or steering system  106 . In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, steering system  106  is a hydraulic steering system that requires a rotational input from steering wheel  102 . Tilt helm  100  allows the user to adjust the position of steering wheel  102  simply by moving a tilt locking lever  8  from an engaged position (shown in solid lines in  FIG. 3 ) to a disengaged position (shown in dashed lines in  FIG. 3 ). Tilt locking lever  8  is configured to interact with a bearing housing  1  to securely hold the selected position of steering wheel  102 .  
         [0038]     Tilt helm  100  generally includes a lever housing  3  adapted to be mounted to dashboard or mounting structure  104 . A tilt locking lever  8  is carried by lever housing  3  in a manner that allows it to pivot between the engaged and disengaged positions. The bearing housing  1  is pivotably carried by lever housing  3  such that bearing housing  1  pivots about a horizontal axis. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, bearing housing  1  may pivot through a 50 degree arc. Tilt helm  100  may optionally include a spacer  4  that is positioned between steering unit  106  and the rear surface of dashboard or support structure  104  to maintain the desired two inch spacing between the front surface of dashboard or support structure  104  and the front surface of steering unit  106 . In other embodiments of the invention, this space may be maintained in other manners. Tilt helm  100  may also optionally include a steering wheel mount  2  that attaches steering wheel  102  to bearing housing  1 . Tilt helm  100  also includes a universal steering column  108  that transfers the movement of steering wheel  102  to steering unit  106  in all of the potential positions of steering wheel  102 . Steering column  108  is keyed to steering wheel mount  102  with an appropriate key  29 . Column  108  is rotatably supported within bearing housing  1  by a pair of sealed ball bearing units  17  and  18 . Column  108  is also held to steering wheel mount  2  by a jam nut  26  that engages a washer  27 . The output end of column  108  is directly splined to steering unit  106 . The pivot center of universal steering column  108  is disposed on the same plane as the pivot axis of bearing housing  1 .  
         [0039]     Bearing housing  1  is pivotably supported by a pair of pivot set screws  7  that have tapered inner ends  110 . The tapered inner ends  110  of set screw  7  engage tapered bearings  28  and allow the tightness of the connection between bearing housing  1  and lever housing  3  to be adjusted by rotating pivot set screws  7 .  
         [0040]     As discussed above, tilt helm  100  includes tilt locking lever  8  that is pivotably carried by lever housing  3  between engaged and disengaged positions. Tilt lock lever  8  pivots about an axis  112  that is disposed substantially perpendicular to the front surface of dashboard or support structure  104 . The inner end  114  of tilt lock lever  8  includes at least one tooth  116  (see  FIGS. 14-16 ) that is configured to securely engage any one tooth  118  that is defined by bearing housing  1  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . Teeth  116  and  118  are preferably tapered to ensure a tight, rattle-free, secure fit with each other so that the person holding steering wheel  102  will not feel any play or looseness in steering wheel  102  while the boat is in use. Tapered teeth  116  and  118  also reduce friction between tilt lock lever  8  and bearing housing  1  that would cause undesirable wear in tilt helm  100 . In the preferred embodiment of the invention, bearing housing  1  defines six teeth  118  thus providing five potential positions for steering wheel  102 . In other embodiments of the invention, different numbers of teeth  118  may be provided as desired.  
         [0041]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , tilt lock lever  8  is biased to the engaged position with a spring  30  that has an inner end that directly engages lock lever  8  while an outer end directly engages lever housing  3  or a spring retainer  11  that engages lever housing  3 . Spring  30  may be a coil spring that is entirely retained by lever housing  3  so that it is trapped between lock lever  8  and housing  3  thus eliminating the chance that spring  30  will become disengaged from lock lever  8  during operation of tilt helm  100 . The position of lock spring  30  is important because a boat using tilt helm  100  may be traveling at high speeds across choppy water creating a significant amount of vibration and shock forces on tilt helm  100 . The strength and security of lock lever  8  and locking spring  30  thus create a safety issue for tilt helm  100 .  
         [0042]     Tilt helm  100  also allows the end  12  of lock lever  8  to extend from housing  3  in a position that is accessible to the user of tilt helm  100 . Lock lever  8  may be moved to the disengaged position with one hand while allowing the other hand to remain securely on steering wheel  102 . Lock lever  8  and lever housing  3  may be configured to allow lock lever  8  to extend from either the left or right hand side of housing  3 .  
         [0043]     Lever housing  3  defines a bolt hole pattern that matches the hole pattern of steering unit  106  so that common bolts  23  may be used to mount tilt helm  100  to steering unit  106 .  
         [0044]     All of the elements of the tilt mechanism (except the bearings and bushings) may be fabricated from stainless steel. The stainless steel provides excellent corrosion resistance and provides the tilt helm with an attractive exterior appearance so that the visible elements of the tilt helm do not have to be covered.  
         [0045]     In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom be yond the requirement of the prior art because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.  
         [0046]     Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is an example and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.