Service door and latching assembly for cowls on marine propulsion devices
A cowling may be configured for an outboard marine drive. The cowling may include a top cowl defining a cowling interior, a service door on the top cowl, and a latching mechanism. The service door may be pivotable into and between an open position providing access to the cowling interior and a closed position enclosing the cowling interior. The latching mechanism may include a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed and open positions and an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position. The actuator assembly may be remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the top cowl.
1 . A cowling for a marine drive, the cowling comprising:
a top cowl defining a cowling interior and an air inlet configured to direct air into the cowling interior;
a service door that is movable into an open position providing access to the cowling interior and a closed position enclosing the cowling interior; and
a latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position, and
an actuator assembly configured to remotely actuate the lock assembly, wherein the actuator assembly is located in the air inlet and is accessible from outside the top cowl.
2 . The cowling according to claim 1 , wherein the actuator assembly comprises a button configured to actuate the lock assembly.
3 . A cowling for a marine drive, the cowling comprising:
a top cowl defining a cowling interior;
a service door that is movable into an open position providing access to the cowling interior and a closed position enclosing the cowling interior; and
a latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position, and
an actuator assembly comprising a rocker button that is pivotable about a pivot axis to actuate the lock assembly, the actuator assembly being remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the top cowl,
wherein the rocker button has a center of gravity located along the pivot axis.
4 . The cowling according to claim 1 , wherein the service door is on a top side of the top cowl and the actuator assembly is on a lateral side of the top cowl.
5 . The cowling according to claim 1 , wherein the lock assembly comprises a latch member and a lock member configured to retain the latch member in a latched position prior to actuation of the lock member by the actuator assembly.
6 . The cowling according to claim 5 , further comprising a biasing device configured to bias the latch member into an unlatched position.
7 . The cowling according to claim 5 , wherein the lock member is movable into an unactuated position in which the latch member is retained in the latched position and an actuated position in which the latching member is movable from the latched position to an unlatched position; and
further comprising a biasing device configured to bias the lock member into the unactuated position.
8 . The cowling according to claim 5 , wherein the lock member is movable into an unactuated position in which the latch member is retained in the latched position and an actuated position in which the latching member is movable from the latched position to an unlatched position; and
further comprising a biasing device configured to bias the lock member into the unactuated position and the latch member into the unlatched position.
9 . The cowling according to claim 1 , further comprising a flexible connector having a first end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second end coupled to the lock assembly.
10 . A cowling for a marine drive the cowling comprising:
a top cowl defining a cowling interior;
a service door that is movable into an open position providing access to the cowling interior and a closed position enclosing the cowling interior; and
a latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position, and;
an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position;
wherein the actuator assembly is remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the top cowl;
a flexible connector comprising a sleeve and a cable extending through the sleeve from a first cable end coupled to the actuator assembly to a second end coupled to the lock assembly, the cable being slidable in the sleeve, and
wherein the actuation assembly is configured to pull the first cable end to actuate the lock assembly.
11 . The cowling according to claim 10 , wherein the cable extends through a biasing device at an end of the flexible connector, the biasing device being configured to tension the cable.
12 . The cowling according to claim 9 ,
wherein the actuator assembly comprises a button pivotably mounted on an actuator bracket, and
wherein the flexible connector extends through a through-bore in the actuator bracket and is coupled to the button.
13 . The cowling according to claim 1 , further comprising a biasing device configured to bias the service door into the open position.
14 . A latching mechanism for a service door on a cowling for a marine drive the service door movable into an open position and a closed position, the latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position;
an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position, wherein the actuator assembly is remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the cowling; and
a flexible connector operatively connecting the actuator assembly to the lock assembly the flexible connector having a first end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second end coupled to the lock assembly, wherein the lock assembly is located proximate the service door on a top side of the cowling and wherein the actuator assembly is located in an air inlet on a lateral side of the cowling.
15 . A latching mechanism for a service door on a cowling for a marine drive, the service door movable into an open position and a closed position, the latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position;
an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position, wherein the actuator assembly is remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the cowling; and
a flexible connector operatively connecting the actuator assembly to the lock assembly the flexible connector having a first end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second end coupled to the lock assembly,
wherein the actuator assembly comprises a rocker button that is pivotable about a pivot axis between an unpressed position and a pressed position; and
wherein the rocker button is balanced so that a center of gravity of the rocker button is located along the pivot axis.
16 . The latching mechanism according to claim 14 , wherein the lock assembly comprises a latch member movable into a latched position in which the latch member retains the service door in the closed position and an unlatched position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open positions; and
a lock member configured to retain the latch member in the latched position prior to actuation of the lock member by the actuator assembly.
17 . The latching mechanism according to claim 16 , wherein the lock member is movable, via the actuator assembly, into an unactuated position in which the latch member is retained in the latched position and an actuated position in which the latching member is movable from the latched position to the unlatched position.
18 . A latching mechanism for a service door on a cowling for a marine drive, the service door movable into an open position and a closed position, the latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position;
an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position, wherein the actuator assembly is remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the cowling;
a flexible connector operatively connecting the actuator assembly to the lock assembly, the flexible connector having a first end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second end coupled to the lock assembly,
wherein the lock assembly comprises a latch member movable into a latched position in which the latch member retains the service door in the closed position and an unlatched position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position;
a lock member configured to retain the latch member in the latched position prior to actuation of the lock member by the actuator assembly, wherein the lock member is movable into an unactuated position in which the latch member is retained in the latched position and an actuated position in which the latching member is movable from the latched position to the unlatched position; and
a first biasing device configured to bias the lock member into the unactuated position and a second biasing device configured to bias the latch member into the unlatched position.
19 . The latching mechanism according to claim 18 , wherein the first biasing device and the second biasing device are part of a unitary double coil torsion spring.
20 . A latching mechanism for a service door on a cowling for a marine drive, the service door movable into an open position and a closed position, the latching mechanism comprising:
a lock assembly movable into a locked position in which the service door is retained in the closed position and an unlocked position in which the service door is movable between the closed position and the open position;
an actuator assembly configured to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position, wherein the actuator assembly is remote from the lock assembly and accessible from outside the cowling; and
a flexible connector operatively connecting the actuator assembly to the lock assembly the flexible connector having a first end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second end coupled to the lock assembly, wherein the flexible connector comprises a sleeve and a cable extending through the sleeve from a first cable end coupled to the actuator assembly and a second cable end coupled to the lock assembly, the cable being slidable within the sleeve,
wherein the actuation assembly is configured to pull the first cable end of the cable to actuate the lock assembly to move from the locked position to the unlocked position.
21 . The latching mechanism according to claim 20 , wherein the flexible connector includes a biasing device at one of the first end of the flexible connector and the second end of the flexible connector, and wherein the biasing device is configured to tension the cable.
22 . The latching mechanism according to claim 21 , wherein the actuator assembly comprises a rocker button and the lock assembly comprises a lock member; and
wherein the biasing device of the flexible connector is configured to bias the rocker button into an unpressed position and the lock member into an unactuated position.