This invention relates to a cam adjustment assembly and more particularly to an assembly that allows for proper, vertical and horizontal alignment of a throttle cam with its associated pickup lever. In a variety of marine propulsion units and in particular marine outboard engines, a pivoting throttle cam engages a throttle pickup lever and the movement of the throttle cam by a throttle link rod causes associated movement of the throttle pickup lever which, in turn varies the throttle opening in the propulsion unit.

During assembly and/or timing adjustments it is necessary to align an indicator line on the throttle cam with the throttle cam follower on the throttle pickup lever.

In the past, this was done by removing the end of the throttle link rod from the throttle cam and then loosening the mounting means on the throttle cam and moving the throttle cam within an elongated horizontal mounting slot, in order to provide vertical adjustment for the throttle cam it was necessary to loosen the mounting of the carburetor on which the throttle cam was mounted and move the carburetor on its mounting screws. Thus, horizontal adjustment required the removal of the throttle link rod and vertical adjustment required actual movement of the carburetor.

The present invention provides an adjustment assembly to provide proper vertical and horizontal alignment between a throttle cam and its associated pickup lever, said assembly comprising; a mounting

area on the throttle cam, rotatable cam adjustment means disposed within a hole in said mounting area and providing an eccentric surface on which the throt¬ tle cam rides, mounting means for releasably securing the throttle cam to an adjacent stationary structure whereby rotation of said adjustment means results in vertical and horizontal movement of the throttle cam.

With the present throttle cam adjustment assembly it is necessary only to loosen one mounting bolt. After loosening the mounting bolt, a cam ad¬ juster is rotated and the eccentric shape of the cam adjuster allows for vertical and horizontal movement of the throttle cam. Thus, the present invention greatly simpli¬ fies the procedure for adjusting both the vertical and horizontal position of the throttle cam. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a throttle cam and its associated throttle pickup lever with the throttle cam mounted on a cam adjuster and with phantom lines indicating alternate positions _? Figure 2 is an enlarged side view of the mounting of the cam on the cam adjuster with phantom lines indicating an alternate position;

Figure 3 is a sectional viewtaken along the line 3-3 in Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a rear view of the cam adjuster. As seen in Figure 1, a throttle cam 10 is mounted on the casing of a carburetor 12. A throttle link rod 14 is connected to pin 13 on throttle cam 10 and translates movement of a throttle control (not shown) into pivotal movement of throttle cam 10. The pivotal movement of throttle cam 10 results in movement of throttle pickup lever 16 caused by the movement of roller 18 within the curved slot 20 of cam 10.

As throttle pickup lever 16 moves, the throttle opening within carburetor 12 is varied.

During assembly and/or timing adjustments it is necessary to align etched indicator lines 22 5 with the approximate center of roller 18. This align¬ ment assures proper timing between the spark advance and the throttle opening in the carburetor. In order to facilitate this alignment procedure, throttle cam 10 is provided with a.hole in upper mounting area 19

10 and is mounted on carburetor body 12 by means of a cam adjuster 24. Cam adjuster 24 includes a base portion 26 and a cylindrical shoulder 28 that ex¬ tends outwardly from base 26 and includes an ec¬ centrically located hole 30. A screw 32 or other

15 mounting device is inserted through hole 30 and re- leasably secures throttle cam 10 and cam adjuster 24 to carburetor body 12. Figure 3 also shows the use of a spacer 33. However, the use of such a device is not required by the invention.

20 In order to vertically or horizontally ad¬ just the position of throttle cam 10, screw 32 is loosened so as to allow rotational movement of cam adjuster 24. A tool such as a wrench can be applied to the flats 34 on the circumference of cam adjuster

25 24 or cam adjuster 24 can be rotated manually. To facilitate manual rotation of cam adjuster 24, a series of serrations 36 are provided about the cir σumference of cam adjuster 24. Due to the eccentric¬ ity of the position of hole 30, rotational movement of

30 cam adjuster 24 results in both a vertical and hori¬ zontal movement of throttle cam 10. Thus, the po¬ sition of indicator lines 22 may be varied slightly in both a vertical and horizontal plane in order to bring them into proper alignment with the center of 5 roller 18. The variation in position of cam adjuster

24 and the resulting variation in the position of throttle cam 10 is best shown in phantom in Figure 2. Thus, the vertical and horizontal position of throttle cam 10 and its associated indicator lines 22 may be adjusted by merely loosening screw 32 and rotating cam adjuster 24.