BOAT LIFT CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING ELECTRICALLY-INSULATED INTERFACE FOR MANUAL CONTROL OF LIFT OPERATION

A boat lift control system includes a first contactor switch and a second contactor switch. Each contactor switch, when activated, couples an AC voltage source to a boat lift motor. The first contactor switch includes a first override button. The first contactor switch is activated when the first override button is engaged. The second contactor switch includes a second override button. The second contactor switch is activated when the second override button is engaged. The first contactor switch and second contactor switch are positioned to linearly align the first override button with the second override button. An electrically non-conductive interface is adapted for user manipulation thereof resulting in engagement of the interface with one of the first override button and second override button.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to boat lifts, and more particularly to a boat lift control system that has an electrically-insulated user-manipulated interface configured for the safe manual control of a boat lift’s operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Motorized boat lifts are used at commercial and personal docks to raise a boat out of the water and to lower a boat into the water. Similar to motorized garage door openers, boat lifts typically are operated by a control system frequently referred to in the art as “boat lift remote controls” or “boat lift switches”. Regardless of its name, a boat lift control system typically has one or two momentary-touch buttons that start a boat lift raising operation or a boat lift lowering operation. That is, once one of these operations is commenced, the raising or lowering operation must be fully completed before the opposite operation can be commenced. However, there may be times when it is desired to have a boat lift stop somewhere between its fully raised or fully lowered position. Currently, this can only be accomplished by engaging an “emergency stop” control or accessing the electronics within the boat lift control system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a boat lift control system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a boat lift control system that allows a user to manually control a boat lift’s raising and lowering operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, user-accessible and electrically-insulated control interface for the safe manual control of a boat lift’s raising and lowering operations.

In accordance with the present invention, a boat lift control system includes a first contactor switch adapted to couple an AC voltage source to a boat lift motor when the first contactor switch is activated. The first contactor switch includes a first override button. The first contactor switch is activated when the first override button is engaged. The boat lift control system also includes a second contactor switch adapted to couple the AC voltage source to the boat lift motor when the second contactor switch is activated. The second contactor switch includes a second override button. The second contactor switch is activated when the second override button is engaged. The first contactor switch and second contactor switch are positioned to linearly align the first override button with the second override button. An electrically non-conductive interface is adapted for user manipulation thereof resulting in engagement of the interface with one of the first override button and second override button.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly toFIG.1, a boat lift control system equipped with a manually-operated raising and lowering interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is shown and is referenced generally by numeral10. Boat lift control system10controls the coupling of a power source to a lift motor100that is used to raise or lower a boat lift (not shown). By way of convention, lift motor100is powered to raise a boat lift when supplied with “+” polarity power or is powered to lower a boat lift when supplied with the opposite or “-” polarity power as is understood in the art. The type, size, etc., of lift motor100is not a limitation of the present invention. Power for lift motor100is supplied by an AC power source200routed through control system10to boat lift motor100as will be explained further below.

Boat lift control system10typically includes a rigid housing12configured for mounting at a dock location having a boat lift installed thereat. In some embodiments of the present invention, control system10includes a removable cover14to provide weather protection for portions of control system10that a user will access at an exterior face16of housing12. Cover14can be completely removable from housing14or coupled thereto (e.g., via hinges, a tether, etc.) without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Boat lift control system10also includes a momentary-touch button20for initiating a boat lift raising operation via lift motor100, and a momentary-touch button22for initiating a boat lift lowering operation via lift motor100. Each of buttons20and22is a touch-and-release or press-and-release button accessible at exterior face16of housing12. A variety of such buttons are well known in the art. A contactor controller24mounted in housing12is coupled to buttons20and22, and is configured to output a control signal to one of a raising contactor switch26(referred to hereinafter as “raise contactor”) or to a lowering contactor switch26(referred to hereinafter as “lower contactor”) depending on which of buttons20or22is touched/pressed. Raise contactor26and lower contactor28are mounted in housing12.

When raise button20is engaged, controller24outputs a control signal that closes an internal switch (not shown) of raise contactor26thereby activating raise contactor26so that AC power from source200is coupled to lift motor100through raise contactor26to initiate a boat lift’s raising operation. When lower button22is engaged, controller24outputs a control signal that closes an internal switch (not shown) of lower contactor28thereby activating lower contactor28so that AC power from source200is coupled to lift motor100through lower contactor28to initiate a boat lift’s lowering operation. In each case, the raising and lowering operations only cease when a boat lift reaches pre-programmed upper and lower end limits of its respective upward or downward travel. In general, a boat lift is capable of upward and downward amounts of movement that exceed what is defined by the pre-programmed upper and lower end limits. Indeed, there are many times that a boat needs to be raised above its pre-programmed upper end limit (e.g., high water times, boat maintenance operations, etc.) or lower end limit (e.g., extreme low tides, etc.). As will be explained further below, the present invention provides for safe operation of a boat lift control in any manual operation situation to include those requiring boat lift movement beyond its pre-programmed upper and lower end limits.

The use of contactors26and28allows a low-power controller24to be used even though lift motor100requires a much higher power level such as that delivered by AC power source200. For example and in a typical installation, AC power source200can be a 240 volt AC source needed to power lift motor100, while controller24requires a much smaller voltage (e.g., on the order of 24 volts) provided by a power supply25electrically coupled between AC power source200and controller24as would be understood in the art.

Each of contactors26and28has a respective manual override button27and29. When depressed, each of buttons27and29activates the respective contactor by controlling the opening/closing of the contactor’s internal switch. Each of buttons27and29is spring-biased (as indicated by respective arrows27A and29A) to thereby bias the contactor’s internal switch to an open or non-conducting position when the button is not depressed with a force that exceeds its spring bias. That is, each contactor’s internal switch remains open (i.e., no power from source200is supplied to lift motor100) unless the contactor is activated by either receipt of a control signal from controller24as described above or by its override button being depressed by a force that exceeds the spring bias of the override button. A variety of contactor switches configured to operate in this fashion are available commercially as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. In some embodiments of the present invention, contactor switches are identical types/models of contactor switches.

As long as either of override buttons27or29is depressed such that its spring bias is exceeded, the respective contactor’s internal switch remains closed such that the high-voltage AC power source200is coupled to lift motor100. Accordingly, a lift raising operation can be maintained as long as button27is depressed, or a lift lowering operation can be maintained as long as button29is depressed.

Since a raising of a boat lift (via engagement of raise button20) or a lowering of a boat lift (via engagement of lower button22) in accordance with the above-described upper and lower end limits is not always desired, the present invention provides a simple and safe user-accessible interface that allows a user to readily engage one of manual override buttons27and29on respective contactors26and28without risk of any exposure to the high-voltage AC power source200. This is achieved in the present invention by the provisional of an electrically non-conductive manual interface30in combination with adjacently-positioned contactors26and28as will be explained further below. A portion of manual interface30is user accessible from the exterior face16of housing12. Manual interface30is configured for manual manipulation as indicated by two-headed arrow32to depress either override button27or29for a user-defined period of time such that motor100is operated manually in one of a raising or lowering operation. In some embodiments of the present invention, manual interface30includes two legs34and36for depressing one of buttons27or29, respectively, based on user manipulation32. As soon as user manipulation32is removed or ceases, the spring bias27A or29A is restored and acts to respectively push leg34or leg36away from button27or29, respectively.

Since both contactors26and28are connected to high-voltage AC power source200(e.g., a 240-volt source), it is critical that the user-accessed manual interface30is electrically isolated from AC power source200. Note that this is not a problem with buttons20and22as they are connected to contactor controller24that receives a much lower voltage from power supply25as explained previously herein.

An exemplary embodiment of manual interface30will now be described with simultaneous reference toFIGS.2-7. Briefly,FIGS.2-5illustrate portions of the interface assembly in isolation.FIGS.6-7illustrate an embodiment of manual interface30mounted to adjacently-positioned contactors26and28within housing12. Contactors26and28are positioned to have their respective override buttons27and29linearly aligned with one another and in the same plane as indicated by dashed line60. Contactors26and28can be identical contactor switches that are electrically coupled to one another in a ganged configuration to support the application of respective raising (“+”) or lowering (“-”) polarity voltages to lift motor100. Electrical coupling of contactors26and28in such a ganged configuration would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

Manual interface30includes a base40(FIGS.2-4) and an inverted Y-shaped control arm50(FIG.5). Base40and control arm50are made from any electrically non-conductive material (e.g., plastic, composite, etc.) that is typically rigid. In the illustrated embodiment, base40is generally L-shaped (as best seen inFIG.4), and has a foot plate42and an arm-mounting plate44. Foot plate42has screw holes46and arm-mounting plate44has a hole (or slot)48used for the hinged coupling of control arm50to base40. It is to be understood that other shapes and configurations of the base can be used without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example and in some embodiments of the present invention, the base can be configured to snap into existing holes in the body of a contactor. It is further to be understood that the control arm can be configured in other ways without departing from the scope of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment, control arm50is a solid one-piece, three-leg structure configured in a Y-shape that lies in a common plane. More specifically, control arm50has identical legs51and52coupled to or integrated with a common leg53, all of which lie in the same plane. Control arm50is weight balanced relative to its central longitudinal axis referenced by dashed line54. That is, half of the weight of control arm50is attributed to leg52and half of leg53, and the other half of the weight of control arm50is attributed to leg52and the other half of leg53. A hole55is provided along axis54where legs51/52integrate with leg53. In use, control arm50is inverted and hingedly coupled to base40by a pinning fastener70(FIG.6) such as a bolt, rivet, etc., that passes through aligned holes48and55.

As mentioned above, raise contactor26and lower contactor28are positioned adjacent to one another in housing12with buttons27and29facing user-accessible face16of housing12and linearly aligned in the same plane along line60as illustrated inFIGS.6and7. Foot plate42is mounted to contactors26/28using, for example, screw holes46that can be positioned to use screws (not shown) typically available at the face of commercially-available contactors. Base40is configured to position control arm50such its defined plane is perpendicular to the plane in which override buttons27and29reside.

Control arm50is sized so that its leg53extends out of an opening18in user-accessible face16thereby making a portion of leg53accessible for manipulation by a user. Opening18is sized to permit user manipulation32of control arm50(e.g., rotation of control arm50in its common plane). Manual interface30is configured and positioned such that the plane defined by control arm50is aligned with line60that defines the alignment of buttons27and29, and such that outboard tips51A/52A of legs51/52are aligned over override buttons27/29. In other words, the pivot point of control arm50defined by pinning fastener70is halfway between buttons27and29. In this way, when raise contactor26is to be manually engaged, leg53is manipulated/rotated in one direction so that outboard tip51A of leg51depresses button27against spring bias27A. Conversely, when lower contactor28is to be manually engaged, leg53is manipulated/rotated in the opposite direction so that outboard tip52A of leg52depresses button29against spring bias29A. When no user-manipulation32is applied to leg53, spring forces27A and29A act in concert with the weight-balanced control arm50to return control arm50to a neutral position where neither contactor26or28is manually engaged.

The advantages of the present invention are numerous. The boat lift control system provides for both one-touch, complete-cycle boat lift raising/lowering operations, but also provides for manual control of the raising/lowering operations. Under manual control, a boat can be raised or lowered beyond the boat lift control’s pre-programmed upper and lower end limits in accordance with a user’s needs. The position of the control system’s contactors in combination with the electrically-insulated manual interface provides a simple and electrically safe solution for the manual control of motorized boat lifts.

Although the invention has been described relative to specific embodiments thereof, there are numerous variations and modifications that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. For example and in some embodiments of the present invention, activation of either manual override button27or29could be used by contact controller24to render momentary-touch buttons20and22inactive during the time that either one of override buttons27and29is activated. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.