Marine drives and methods for clearing debris from a cooling water intake on a marine drive
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorsDavid J. Belter, Nicholas E. Nida, Brett Bielefeld, Robert Dreyer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A marine drive includes a drive assembly which is operable in a neutral mode, in a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and in a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water. A water intake is configured to receive cooling water from the body of water for cooling at least one component of the drive assembly, and an electric pump configured to draw the cooling water into the drive assembly via the water intake. A control system is configured to modify a speed and/or a direction of the electric pump to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake.
Claims24
A marine drive comprising:
- a drive assembly operable in a neutral mode, a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water,
- a water intake configured to receive water from the body of water for cooling at least one component of the drive assembly;
- an electric pump configured to draw the water into the water intake;
- and
- a control system configured to modify an existing speed of the electric pump to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake the control system being configured to modify said existing speed based upon whether the drive assembly undergoes a shift change into one of the neutral mode, the forward mode, and the reverse mode.
A marine drive comprising;
- a drive assembly operable in a neutral mode a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water;
- a water intake configured to receive water from the body of water for cooling at least one component of the drive assembly;
- an electric pump configured to draw the water into the water intake;
- and
- a control system configured to modify an operation of the electric pump based upon an operational characteristic of the marine drive to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake, wherein the control system is configured to facilitate the clearance of debris from the water intake by causing the electric pump to pulse the water into the water intake by alternately decreasing and increasing a speed of the electric pump.
A method of operating a cooling system on a marine drive, the method comprising:
- operating a drive assembly in a first one of a neutral mode, a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water;
- operating an electric pump to draw water from the body of water through a water intake for cooling at least one component of the marine drive;
- and
- modifying an existing speed of the electric pump to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake based upon whether the drive assembly undergoes a shift change into a second one of the neutral mode, the forward mode, and the reverse mode.
A method of operating a cooling system on a marine drive, the method comprising:
- operating a drive assembly in one of a neutral mode, a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water;
- operating an electric pump to draw water from the body of water through a water intake for cooling at least one component of the marine drive;
- and
- modifying an operation of the electric pump based upon an operational characteristic of the marine drive to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake;
- and
- controlling the electric pump to facilitate the clearance of debris from the water intake by causing the electric pump to pulse the water into the water intake by alternately decreasing and increasing a speed of the electric pump.
A method of operating a cooling system on a marine drive, the method comprising:
- operating a drive assembly in one of a neutral mode, a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water;
- operating an electric pump to draw water from the body of water through a water intake for cooling at least one component of the marine drive;
- and
- modifying a speed of the electric pump to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake based upon how a pressure of the water in the cooling system compares to a stored threshold pressure.
A marine drive comprising;
- a drive assembly operable in a neutral mode, a forward mode for generating a forward thrust force in a body of water, and a reverse mode for generating a reverse thrust force in the body of water;
- a water intake configured to receive water from the body of water for cooling at least one component of the drive assembly;
- an electric pump configured to draw the water into the water intake;
- and
- a control system configured to modify a speed of the electric pump to facilitate a clearance of debris from the water intake based upon how a pressure of the water in a cooling system of the marine drive compares to a stored threshold pressure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.