Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080233815 | OUTBOARD MOTOR - An outboard motor includes a drive shaft including a pinion gear arranged at one end of the drive shaft, a first driven gear engaged with the pinion gear, a second driven gear engaged with the pinion gear, a first propeller shaft connected to a second propeller, a second propeller shaft connected to a first propeller, and a shift change mechanism arranged to selectively engage the first driven gear with the second propeller shaft, and to selectively engage the second driven gear with the first propeller shaft and with the second propeller shaft. | 09-25-2008 |
20090181585 | OUTBOARD MOTOR - An oil supply device includes an axial oil passage and an intersecting oil passage provided in a propeller shaft, an axial oil passage and an intersecting oil passage provided in a drive shaft, and an oil guide passage. The intersecting oil passages allow oil inside the axial oil passages to be spouted radially of the shaft by centrifugal force generated as the shafts rotate. The oil is then supplied via the oil guide passage to an intermediate speed reduction device. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently lubricate an intermediate speed reduction device mounted on a drive shaft through a simple and compact arrangement. | 07-16-2009 |
20090203489 | OUTBOARD MOTOR - An outboard motor includes an engine that generates power and a transmission device arranged to change the speed of rotation of the engine and to transmit the rotation to a propeller. The transmission device includes a planetary gear type transmission mechanism arranged to shift to any of a plurality of speed positions, and the planetary gear type transmission mechanism is controlled to shift such that a sun gear and planetary gears unitarily rotate when a speed position is a normally used speed position. The outboard motor achieves a reduction in load normally caused by engagements between gears in a normally used speed position and also achieves significant improvement in durability of the gears. | 08-13-2009 |
20090209144 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system includes an engine, propellers rotated by the engine, a transmission mechanism arranged to transmit a driving force of the engine to the propellers with a speed thereof shifted to at least a low speed reduction ratio or a high speed reduction ratio in forward travel and reverse travel, and a gear shift switch operable by a user to shift speed reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism to the low speed reduction ratio in at least the reverse travel. This arrangement provides a marine propulsion system in which both of acceleration performance and a maximum speed can approach levels that a user desires. | 08-20-2009 |
20090209145 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system includes an engine, propellers arranged to be rotated by the engine, a transmission mechanism arranged to transmit a driving force of the engine to the propellers with a speed thereof shifted to at least a low speed reduction ratio and a high speed reduction ratio, a GPS sensor arranged to detect a position of a hull propelled by rotation of the propeller, and a control portion and an ECU arranged to control a shift between the speed reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism. The control portion is arranged to calculate a speed of the hull based on positional information of the hull. The control portion and the ECU are arranged to control a shift between the speed reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism based at least on the speed of the hull. This arrangement provides a marine propulsion system in which both acceleration performance and maximum speed can approach specific levels desired by an operator of the boat. | 08-20-2009 |
20090209151 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system includes a transmission mechanism arranged to transmit a driving force generated by an engine to propellers with a speed thereof changed to a low speed reduction ratio and a high speed reduction ratio; a control lever section operated by a user in controlling drive of the engine; and a control portion and an ECU controlling a shift between reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism based on operation of the control lever section by the user. The control portion and the ECU control a shift between reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism based on a transmission control map providing a reference for a shift between reduction ratios of the transmission mechanism taking into consideration an engine speed of the engine and a lever opening of the control lever section. This arrangement provides a marine propulsion system in which both acceleration performance and maximum speed can approach levels that a user desires. | 08-20-2009 |
20090215329 | PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR BOAT - A propulsion system for a boat includes propellers rotated by an engine, a transmission mechanism arranged to transmit a driving force of the engine to the propellers in a state that the driving force of the engine is changed to at least one of a gear reduction ratio for low speed and a gear reduction ratio for high speed, and a control unit arranged to output a signal to control a gear shift in the transmission mechanism on the basis of a throttle valve opening of the engine and a speed of the engine and arranged to detect cavitation generated in conjunction with rotation of the propellers on the basis of a gear shift control map. The control unit is arranged to control the output of a signal to the transmission mechanism to change the high speed reduction gear ratio when cavitation is detected. The propulsion system achieves both acceleration and maximum speed at performance levels desired by an operator of a boat. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215330 | PROPULSION SYSTEM FOR BOAT - A propulsion system for a boat includes propellers arranged to be rotated by an engine, a transmission mechanism arranged to transmit driving force of the engine to the propellers such that a speed of the driving force of the engine is changed at least with a gear reduction ratio for low speed and high speed, and a control unit arranged to output a signal to control a gear shift in the transmission mechanism on the basis of an amount of lever opening, which is based on operation of a control lever section, and speed of the engine, and the control unit being arranged to detect cavitation generated in conjunction with rotation of the propellers on the basis of a gear shift control map. The control unit is arranged to control output of a signal to the transmission mechanism for changing a reduction gear to that for high speed when cavitation is detected. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215331 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM, CONTROL DEVICE THEREOF, AND CONTROL METHOD - A boat propulsion system includes a power source, a propulsion unit, a propeller rotational speed detection section, a shift mechanism, an actuator, a control lever, a shift position detection section, an accelerator opening detection section, and a control unit. When the control lever is operated such that a shift position is changed from a first shift position to a second shift position, while the absolute value of accelerator opening varying speed becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the control unit enables the actuator to maintain the first shift position until the rotational speed of a propeller becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined rotational speed and then to change to the second shift position. This minimizes a load generated on the power source, the power transmission mechanism, and other components of the boat propulsion system. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215334 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system includes an outboard motor including an engine, a propeller, a shift position switching mechanism, an oil pump, valves, and an ECU. The shift position switching mechanism includes hydraulic clutches arranged to change the connection state between the engine and the propeller. The shift position switching mechanism is switchable among forward, reverse, and neutral. A first valve opens and closes the communication between the oil pump and a first hydraulic clutch. A second valve opens and closes the communication between the oil pump and a second hydraulic clutch. A third valve opens and closes the communication between the oil pump and each of third and fourth valves. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215335 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM, AND CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - An outboard motor includes a power source, a boat propulsion section, a shift position switching mechanism, a clutch actuator, and a control device. The shift position switching mechanism switches among a first shift position in which a first clutch is engaged and a second clutch is disengaged, a second shift position in which the first clutch is disengaged and the second clutch is engaged, and a neutral position in which both the first clutch and the second clutch are disengaged. When a gear shift is to be made from the first shift position to the second shift position, the control section causes the clutch actuator to gradually increase an engagement force of the second clutch. The outboard motor reduces the load to be applied to the power source and the power transmission mechanism at the time of a gear shift in a boat propulsion system including an electronically controlled shift mechanism. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215336 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM AND BOAT INCLUDING THE SAME - A boat propulsion system includes a shift mechanism arranged to change a shift position among forward, neutral, and reverse. A shift position detection mechanism is connected to a control lever with a wire. The shift position detection mechanism has a detected member and a position detection section. The detected member is displaced corresponding to an operation position of the control lever as the control lever is operated. The position detection section detects a position of the detected member. The position detection section outputs a shift position signal corresponding to the detected position of the detected member. A control device controls the shift position of the shift mechanism on the basis of the shift position signal. The boat propulsion system provided with the shift mechanism of an electronic control type can replace a boat propulsion system provided with a shift mechanism of a mechanical type at low cost. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215337 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM, AND CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - A boat propulsion system includes a power source, a propulsion section, a shift position switching mechanism arranged to switch among a first shift position, a second shift position, and a neutral position, a gear ratio switching mechanism, an actuator, and a control section. When switching is to be performed from the neutral position to the first shift position and the high-speed gear ratio, the control section is arranged to cause the actuator to, maintain the low-speed gear ratio, switch to the first shift position, and then establish the high-speed gear ratio when the current gear ratio of the gear ratio switching mechanism is the low-speed gear ratio, and cause the actuator to establish the low-speed gear ratio before switching to the first shift position, switch to the first shift position, and then establish the high-speed gear ratio when the current gear ratio of the gear ratio switching mechanism is the high-speed gear ratio. This arrangement improves the durability of a power source and a power transmission mechanism in a boat propulsion system including an electronically controlled shift mechanism. | 08-27-2009 |
20090215338 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system includes a power source, a propeller, a shift mechanism, a control lever, a rotational speed sensor, and a control device. The shift mechanism is switchable among three shift positions including forward, neutral, and reverse. The control lever is operable by the marine vessel operator to switch the shift position of the shift mechanism. The rotational speed sensor detects the rotational speed of the propeller. The control device controls at least one of the power source and the shift mechanism so as to reduce the rotational speed of the propeller if the rotational speed sensor detects a rotational speed of the propeller when the control lever is in a position corresponding to the neutral shift position. As a result, the propeller is prevented from rotating when a control lever is in a neutral position. | 08-27-2009 |
20090221193 | MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM - A marine propulsion system that achieves both an acceleration performance and top speed closer to the performance desired by a boat driver includes an engine, propellers rotated by the driving force of the engine, a transmission mechanism arranged to convey the driving force of the engine to the propellers at least after shifting into a low speed reduction gear ratio and into a high speed reduction gear ratio, an acceleration sensor arranged to detect the acceleration of a hull propelled by the rotation of the propellers, and a control section and an ECU arranged to carry out the control for changing the reduction gear ratio of the transmission mechanism. The control section and the ECU are configured to control the transmission mechanism to shift from the low speed reduction gear ratio into the high speed reduction gear ratio based on the acceleration of the hull. | 09-03-2009 |
20090221194 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM - A boat propulsion system that easily and finely adjusts the rotational speed of a propeller includes an outboard motor including an engine, a propeller, a shift mechanism, and a control device. The control device controls engaging states of clutches so that the rotational speed of a second power transmission shaft is substantially the same as the rotational speed of a third power transmission shaft in a first mode in which the shift position is a forward or a reverse position. The control device controls the engaging states of the clutches so that the rotational speed of the third power transmission shaft is lower than the rotational speed of the second power transmission shaft in a second mode in which the shift position is the forward or the reverse position. | 09-03-2009 |
20090221195 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM AND CONTROL UNIT - A boat propulsion system that easily and finely adjusts the rotational speed of a propeller includes an outboard motor including a power source, a propeller, a control lever to which an accelerator opening is input, an accelerator opening detection section arranged to output an operating amount of the control lever, a sensitivity switching section, and a control device. A degree of the accelerator opening relative to the operating amount of the control lever is switched by the sensitivity switching section operated by a boat operator. The sensitivity switching section outputs the degree of the accelerator opening relative to the input operating amount of the control lever as a sensitivity switching signal. The control device controls output of the power source based on the operating amount of the control lever and the sensitivity switching signal. | 09-03-2009 |
20090269997 | BOAT PROPULSION SYSTEM, AND CONTROL DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME - An outboard motor includes a prime mover, a marine propulsion unit having a propeller arranged to be driven by a rotational force of the prime mover to generate a thrust force, a shift position changing mechanism, a shift position changing mechanism actuator, and a control unit arranged to control the shift position changing mechanism actuator. When the shift position is changed to one of the first shift position and the second shift position from the neutral position, the control unit inhibits a change in the shift position to the other one of the first shift position and the second shift position until a predetermined time period elapses. The above arrangement improves the controllability of a boat propulsion system having an electronically controlled shift mechanism. | 10-29-2009 |
20090298361 | BOAT PROPULSION UNIT - A boat propulsion unit has a construction that prevents a structure near a drive shaft from becoming complicated and increased in size. The boat propulsion unit preferably in the form of an outboard motor includes a front propeller that is rotated together with a front propeller drive shaft during both forward travel and reverse travel of the boat, a rear propeller that is rotated together with a rear propeller drive shaft in an opposite direction of the front propeller during both of the forward travel and the reverse travel of the boat, and a forward-reverse drive that is arranged on an axis of the front propeller drive shaft and the rear propeller drive shaft, and that can be switched between a direction in which the front propeller drive shaft and the rear propeller drive shaft are rotated during the forward travel of the boat and a direction in which the front propeller drive shaft and the rear propeller drive shaft are rotated during the reverse travel of the boat. | 12-03-2009 |
20090298362 | BOAT PROPULSION UNIT - A boat propulsion unit minimizes a shock upon switching of an engagement state of a clutch mechanism. The boat propulsion unit includes an upper clutch mechanism that is arranged on an axis of a lower drive shaft and that can be switched between an engagement state (first engagement state) in which driving force of an engine is transmitted to a downstream side, and a half clutch state in which the driving force of the engine is reduced and then is transmitted; and an advance-reverse drive that is disposed on an axis of a front propeller drive shaft and a rear propeller drive shaft and that can be switched between a forward travel engagement state and a reverse travel engagement state (second disengagement state) in which the driving force of the engine is transmitted to a front propeller and a rear propeller in order to propel a boat, and a disengagement state (second disengagement state) in which the driving force of the engine is disengaged. | 12-03-2009 |
20100124858 | MARINE VESSEL PROPULSION UNIT - A marine vessel propulsion unit includes an engine, a drive shaft, a propeller shaft, a propeller, an intermediate shaft, and a first reduction gear mechanism. The drive shaft is arranged to be rotated by the engine. The rotation of the drive shaft is transmitted to the propeller shaft. The propeller is arranged to be rotated together with the propeller shaft. The intermediate shaft is arranged on a central rotation axis of the propeller shaft or an extension of the central rotation axis. The intermediate shaft is arranged to transmit rotation between the drive shaft and the propeller shaft. The first reduction gear mechanism is arranged on a central rotation axis of the propeller shaft or the extension of the central rotation axis. The first reduction gear mechanism is arranged to decelerate the rotation of the intermediate shaft so as to transmit the decelerated rotation to the propeller shaft during both forward propulsion and backward propulsion. | 05-20-2010 |
20100197180 | MARINE VESSEL PROPULSION UNIT - A marine vessel propulsion unit includes an engine, a drive shaft, a single propeller shaft, a single propeller, and a planetary gear mechanism. The drive shaft is arranged to extend vertically. The propeller shaft is arranged to extend in a direction intersecting the drive shaft. The rotation of the engine is transmitted to the propeller shaft via the drive shaft. The propeller is arranged to rotate together with the propeller shaft. The planetary gear mechanism is arranged at the front relative to the drive shaft and coaxial to a central rotation axis of the propeller shaft. The planetary gear mechanism is arranged to decelerate the rotation from the drive shaft and transmit the decelerated rotation toward the propeller shaft. | 08-05-2010 |
20100248565 | POWER TRANSMISSION SYSTEM FOR MARINE PROPULSION UNIT - A power transmission system for a marine propulsion unit includes a case arranged to be supported on a hull; a propeller supported at the lower end portion of the case for rotation about an axis extending in a fore-and-aft direction; a transmission housed in the case and having an axis with planetary gear trains extending vertically to receive an output from an engine, and change the speed of the output prior to transmission thereof; and an interlocking device arranged to receive the output from the transmission and transmit the output to the propeller. A speed reduction device is arranged such that it is interposed between the transmission and the interlocking device, receives the output from the transmission, and decelerates the output to transmit it to the interlocking device. This arrangement reduces the weight of a transmission unit in a power transmission system of a marine propulsion unit and decreases an external size of the transmission unit. | 09-30-2010 |
20120238400 | OUTBOARD MOTOR - An outboard motor includes an engine that generates power and a transmission device arranged to change the speed of rotation of the engine and to transmit the rotation to a propeller. The transmission device includes a planetary gear type transmission mechanism arranged to shift to any of a plurality of speed positions, and the planetary gear type transmission mechanism is controlled to shift such that a sun gear and planetary gears unitarily rotate when a speed position is a normally used speed position. The outboard motor achieves a reduction in load normally caused by engagements between gears in a normally used speed position and also achieves significant improvement in durability of the gears. | 09-20-2012 |
20140023503 | DAMPER UNIT FOR VESSEL PROPULSION APPARATUS, PROPELLER FOR VESSEL PROPULSION APPARATUS, AND VESSEL PROPULSION APPARATUS - A damper unit includes a first damper arranged to transmit a torque around a rotation axis transmitted from an input member side to an output member side, an intermediate member arranged to transmit a torque around the rotation axis transmitted from the first damper to the output member side, and a second damper arranged to transmit a torque around the rotation axis transmitted from the intermediate member to the output member side, wherein at least a portion of the second damper is disposed on a straight line that passes through the first damper and is parallel or substantially parallel to the rotation axis. | 01-23-2014 |
20140031164 | VESSEL PROPULSION APPARATUS - A vessel propulsion apparatus includes a prime mover, a propeller shaft, a planetary gear train, a lower case, a cylindrical housing, and a fixing member. The planetary gear train is disposed on a propeller axis. The propeller shaft and the planetary gear train are housed in the lower case. The housing surrounds the propeller shaft about the propeller axis inside the lower case. The housing supports a sun gear such that the sun gear is not rotatable with respect to the housing. The fixing member is fixed to both the lower case and the housing. | 01-30-2014 |
20140031166 | VESSEL PROPULSION APPARATUS - A vessel propulsion apparatus includes a prime mover, a drive shaft, a pinion, a rear gear, a propeller shaft, a front bearing, a cylindrical front housing, and a cylindrical rear housing. The front housing surrounds the front bearing about a propeller axis and supports the rear gear via the front bearing in a manner rotatable about the propeller axis. The rear housing is disposed behind the front housing. The front housing surrounds the propeller shaft about the propeller axis and supports the propeller shaft at a position more rearward than the rear gear in a manner rotatable about the propeller axis. | 01-30-2014 |