Adjustable propeller for marine vessel drive

An adjustable pitch propeller device for marine vessels, comprising:

• a rotatable propeller having a longitudinal axis of drive rotation;
• a rotatable propeller shaft for driving said rotatable propeller;
• a plurality of propeller blades each rotatably mounted in said rotatable propeller to define a respective axis of pitch rotation extending substantially transverse to said longitudinal axis of drive rotation;
• each propeller blade of said plurality of propeller blades defining a respective adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation about said respective axis of pitch rotation in relation to said longitudinal axis of drive rotation;
• a pitch adjusting mechanism for substantially simultaneously effecting substantially uniform equal nominal adjustments of said respective adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation of each said propeller blade;
• said pitch adjusting mechanism comprising an adjustment motor;
• said pitch adjusting mechanism comprising respective connecting means operatively connecting each said propeller blade with said adjustment motor;
• each said connecting means comprising a respective pitch correction mechanism for selectively and individually modifying said adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation of each said propeller blade in relation to said substantially uniform equal nominal adjustments thereof;
• each said pitch correction mechanism comprising a correction motor;
• a respective pitch sensor associated with each said correction motor for generating a momentary pitch position signal corresponding to the momentary value of said adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation of said respective propeller blade;
• at least one drive rotation sensor for generating a respective reference signal for each said propeller blade corresponding to a desired reference value of said adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation as a predeterminable function of a momentary value of angular orientation of said rotatable propeller shaft in rotation to the hull of the marine vessel;
• a respective control device operatively associated with each said correction motor for cyclically controlling said correction motor to selectively and individually modify said substantially uniform equal adjustments of each said respective adjustably predeterminate angle of pitch rotation during rotation of said rotatable propeller;
• and
• each said respective control device comprising means for comparing said momentary pitch position signal with said respective reference signal and means for correspondingly activating each said related correction motor.