Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100252392 | CLUTCH DETENT MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR - A clutch detent mechanism for an outboard motor includes a ball movable with a clutch dog member, a ball retainer member provided in a propeller shaft for retaining the ball in a predetermined position, and a compression coil spring acting on the ball to resiliently force the ball against the ball retainer member. The ball retainer member has a recessed portion for receiving therein the ball to thereby retain the clutch dog member in a neutral position, a front tapered portion provided on one side of the recessed portion for retaining the ball in a position to keep the clutch dog member in a forward shift position, and a rear tapered portion provided on the other side of the recessed portion for retaining the ball in a position to keep the clutch dog member in a reverse shift position. | 10-07-2010 |
20100282563 | DOG CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD MOTOR - A dog clutch mechanism incorporated in an outboard motor includes a sliding clutch dog member splined to a propeller shaft and having recesses on each end face thereof, and a row of gear teeth formed on an end face of each of a pair of driven gears rotatably mounted on the propeller shaft. Each of the recesses has a bottom surface stepped to provide a corner edge at a stepped portion thereof. Each of the gear teeth has a beveled surface formed at a rear edge as viewed from a rotating direction of the driven gear. When the gear teeth are in mesh with the recesses of the clutch dog member, the corner edge of the stepped bottom surface of each recess is in contact with the beveled surface of the mating gear tooth. | 11-11-2010 |
20110124250 | OUTBOARD MOTOR - An outboard motor includes a transmission mechanism mounted between an output shaft of an engine and a propeller drive shaft. The transmission mechanism includes a clutch. An oil pump for generating a hydraulic pressure so as to switch the clutch is disposed underneath a lowermost one of transmission gears closely thereto. An oil pan is disposed underneath the oil pump and is placed inside an exhaust channel of a gear case. | 05-26-2011 |
20110143609 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, and a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, engine speed is detected, it is determined whether acceleration is instructed when the second speed is established, and operation of the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the acceleration is determined to be instructed, and then change back the gear position from the first speed to the second speed based on the detected engine speed, thereby enabling to control the transmission optimally. | 06-16-2011 |
20110143610 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, and a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, it is determined whether acceleration is instructed to the engine when the second speed is established and whether a preset condition is met, and operation of the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the acceleration is determined to be instructed and the preset condition is met, thereby improving the acceleration performance of immediately after the acceleration is started. | 06-16-2011 |
20110143612 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine and a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including at least a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, it is determined whether acceleration is instructed to the engine when the second speed is established and operation of the engine is controlled to increase a fuel amount to be supplied to the engine when detected engine speed is greater than a predetermined speed, thereby improving the performance immediately after acceleration is started. | 06-16-2011 |
20140045393 | OUTBOARD MOTOR AND CONTROL APPARATUS THEREOF - An outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat is provided with a transmission and an oil pump. The transmission has a first-speed and second-speed gears, a first-speed gear clutch made of a mechanical dog clutch and a second-speed gear clutch made of a hydraulic clutch each adapted to engage the first and second-speed gears on a power transmission shaft, and a first-speed gear shift actuator adapted to couple the first-speed gear clutch with the first-speed gear. In the transmission, a first speed is established when the first-speed gear is engaged on the power transmission shaft and a second speed is established when the second-speed gear is engaged on the power transmission shaft while the first speed has been established such that power of the engine is transmitted to the propeller through the established speed. | 02-13-2014 |
20140057507 | OUTBOARD ENGINE UNIT - An outboard engine unit includes a water pump disposed on a lower end portion of an input shaft of a transmission, and left and right cooling water feeding passages interconnecting the water pump and a cooling water inlet of an engine. The left and right cooling water feeding passages are disposed around a plurality of transmission gears disposed on the input shaft of the transmission. A cooling water drawn by the water pump is guided through the left and right cooling water feeding passages to the cooling water inlet. | 02-27-2014 |
20140141663 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of two outboard motors mounted on a stern of a boat side by side and each equipped with an internal combustion engine to power a propeller through a power transmission shaft and a transmission having a forward first-speed and a second-speed gear and a reverse gear supported on the power transmission shaft, control is conducted at turning of the boat to operate the inner one of the outboard motors to transmit the engine power to the propeller through the reverse gear, and to operate the outer one of the outboard motors to transmit the engine power to the propeller through the forward first-speed gear, when the detected engine speed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined first speed and the detected rudder angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. | 05-22-2014 |
20140220837 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - A control apparatus for an outboard motor mounted on a boat and equipped with a transmission having at least forward first and second speed gears and a reverse gear. The apparatus functions as a rudder angle detector that detects a rudder angle, a slip ratio detector that detects a slip ratio, and a transmission controller. The transmission controller controls the operation of the transmission to select one of the gears based on the detected engine speed or the detected slip ratio according to a comparison between the detected rudder angle and a predetermined angle. | 08-07-2014 |
20140295717 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a hull of a boat and equipped with an internal combustion engine to power a propeller and a trim angle regulating mechanism adapted to regulate a trim angle relative to the hull, comprising: a throttle opening change amount calculator that calculates a throttle opening change amount of the engine; an accelerating state determiner that determines whether the boat is in an accelerating state based on the calculated throttle opening change amount; and a trim angle controller that controls operation of the trim angle regulating mechanism to increase the trim angle based on an operating parameter that indicates a state of the engine and the propeller when the accelerating state determiner determines that the boat is in the accelerating state. | 10-02-2014 |
20140370764 | CONTROL APPARATUS FOR BOAT - In an apparatus for controlling a boat equipped with an outboard motor mounted on its stem and having an internal combustion engine, a propeller to be driven by the engine and a propeller pitch changer adapted to variably change a pitch of the propeller, an opening of a throttle valve installed at an air intake system of the engine and its change amount are detected, and based on the change amount of the detected opening of the throttle valve, it is determined whether or not the pitch of the propeller is to be changed through the propeller pitch changer. | 12-18-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100099309 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, and a torque converter interposed between the engine and a drive shaft and equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to have a throttle opening detector that detects throttle opening of a throttle valve of the engine, a throttle opening change amount calculator that calculates a change amount of the calculated throttle opening, and a clutch ON unit that makes the lockup clutch ON when the calculated change amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and keeps the lockup clutch ON during a predetermined time period. With this, it becomes possible to improve acceleration performance immediately after the engine speed is accelerated. | 04-22-2010 |
20100099310 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, a drive shaft that connects the engine and the propeller, and a torque converter that is interposed between the engine and the drive shaft and is equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to have a planing determiner that determines whether the boat is planning and a clutch ON unit that makes the lockup clutch ON when the boat is determined to be planing. With this, it becomes possible to appropriately make the lockup clutch ON after completing acceleration, thereby improving speed performance. | 04-22-2010 |
20100099311 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, a drive shaft that connects the engine and the propeller, a torque converter that is interposed between the engine and the drive shaft and is equipped with a lockup clutch, a water pump connected to the drive shaft to be driven by the drive shaft, and a shift mechanism interposed between the drive shaft and the propeller, comprising a neutral position detector that detects the shift mechanism being set in a neutral position; and a clutch ON unit that makes the lockup clutch ON to increase operation speed of the water pump when it is detected that the shift mechanism is set in the neutral position. With this, it becomes possible to improve cooling performance, thereby preventing a defect such as overheat of the engine. | 04-22-2010 |
20100099538 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller and a torque converter interposed between the engine and a drive shaft and equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to, based on input rotation speed and output rotation speed of the torque converter, calculate a speed ratio of the torque converter and a change amount of the input rotation speed, and make the lockup clutch ON/OFF based on the calculated speed ratio and change amount. With this, it becomes possible to appropriately make the lockup clutch ON/OFF, thereby improving speed performance. | 04-22-2010 |
20100267293 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor mounted on a boat and having a torque converter equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to calculate a speed ratio of the torque converter based on an input rotation speed and output rotation speed of the torque converter, detect manifold absolute pressure of the engine, control the lockup clutch to ON when the calculated speed ratio has been equal to or greater than a reference value, and control the lockup clutch to OFF when the manifold absolute pressure has been decreased by a first predetermined value or more. With this, it becomes possible to prevent the boat speed from decreasing even when the resistance of water flow acting on the boat increases due to the influence of a wave etc., thereby maintaining the maximum speed. | 10-21-2010 |
20100267294 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor mounted on a boat and having a torque converter equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to have a clutch controller that controls the lockup clutch to ON when a speed ratio of the torque converter is equal to or greater than a reference value, the clutch controller being configured to determine whether a throttle valve is at about a fully-opened position and to control the lockup clutch to ON when the speed ratio becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value set smaller than the reference value before the speed ratio reaches the reference value, and the throttle valve is discriminated to be at about the fully-opened position. With this, it becomes possible to reliably make a lockup clutch ON when the acceleration is completed, so that the boat speed can reach the maximum speed. | 10-21-2010 |
20100267296 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor mounted on a boat and having a torque converter equipped with a lockup clutch, it is configured to regulate a trim angle relative to the boat by trim-up operation and trim-down operation; calculate a speed ratio of the torque converter based on an input rotation speed and output rotation speed of the torque converter; and control operation of the trim angle regulator based on the calculated speed ratio. With this, it becomes possible to mitigate a deceleration feel to be generated after the acceleration is completed, and easily sets a trim angle of after the trim-up operation to an optimal value. | 10-21-2010 |
20110217886 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine, a transmission, and a trim angle regulation mechanism, where operation of the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from a second speed to a first speed when detected throttle change amount not less than a first predetermined value and operation of the trim angle regulation mechanism is controlled to start the trim-up operation such that the trim angle converges to a predetermined angle, the operation of the trim angle regulation mechanism is controlled such that the trim angle is decreased based on the detected rudder angle when steering of the outboard motor is started, thereby enabling to appropriately prevent cavitation caused by steering of the outboard motor, so that the boat can be smoothly turned. | 09-08-2011 |
20110217888 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an engine to power a propeller, a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including a first speed and second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, and a trim angle regulation mechanism regulating a trim angle through trim-up/down operation, the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the second speed is selected and a throttle opening change amount is at or above a predetermined value; and the trim angle regulation mechanism is operated to start the trim-up operation based on engine speed. With this, the transmission can be appropriately controlled to suppress the decrease in boat speed caused by change of gear position, thereby mitigating an unnatural feel given to the operator. | 09-08-2011 |
20110294370 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine, transmission and trim angle regulation mechanism, it is configured to change a gear position to the first speed when the gear position is in the second speed and a throttle opening change amount is at or above a predetermined value, start trim-up operation when the engine speed is at or above a first predetermined speed after the gear position is changed to the first speed, change the gear position from the first speed to the second speed when the engine speed is at or above a second predetermined speed after the trim-up operation is started, and stop the trim-up operation after the gear position is changed to the second speed. It can mitigate a deceleration feel generated when the gear position is changed upon the completion of the acceleration and prevent the pitching occurrence. | 12-01-2011 |
20110294371 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, and a transmission selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including at least a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, it is configured to determine whether the transmission is in a reverse position, and control operation of the transmission to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the second speed is selected and the transmission is determined to be in the reverse position. With this, it becomes possible to prevent the thrust of the boat from decreasing. | 12-01-2011 |
20110294375 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine and transmission, it is configured to determine whether acceleration is instructed to the engine by an operator when the gear position is the second speed, detect a slip ratio of a propeller based on theoretical velocity and actual velocity of a boat, control a throttle opening to suppress increase in the slip ratio when the acceleration is determined to be instructed, and change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the slip ratio is equal to or less than a first predetermined value and the change amount of the slip ratio is equal to or less than a prescribed value. With this, it becomes possible to appropriately control operation of the engine and the transmission during acceleration, thereby improving the acceleration performance of immediately after acceleration start. | 12-01-2011 |
20110294376 | OUTBOARD MOTOR CONTROL APPARATUS - In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine, a transmission and a low-speed cruise controller controlling a rotational speed of the propeller to make the boat cruise at low speed, the low-speed cruise controller outputs an increase/decrease command of the propeller rotational speed in response to an operator's manipulation, and change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the decrease command is outputted under a condition where the gear position is in the second speed and an engine speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined speed. With this, it becomes possible to decrease the propeller rotational speed to the maximum extent, thereby making a boat cruise at very low speed. | 12-01-2011 |