Outboard motor

Abstract

In an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a stem of a boat and having a propeller to propel the boat, there are provided a power source which produces rotational output, a drive unit including a vertical shaft which transmits the rotational output of the power source to the propeller through a gear mechanism, and an interlock unit which detachably interlocks one of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a combination of the engine and the motor to the drive unit as the power source, thereby enabling to freely change its power as desired in accordance with purposes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional view showing an outboard motor according to an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partially sectional view of a region of the engine of the outboard motor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an engine attachment plate shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partially sectional view showing the vicinity of an interlock unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partially sectional view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the interlock unit shown in FIG. 4 in its state of un-interlocking the power source and a drive unit;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a view partially similar to FIG. 2 but showing the configuration in which the motor is interlocked to the drive unit as the power source;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing this change of the power source from the combination to the motor;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a motor case cap shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a view partially similar to FIG. 2 but showing the configuration in which the engine is interlocked to the drive unit as the power source; and

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing this change of the power source from the combination to the engine.

Claims

1. An outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a stem of a boat and having a propeller to propel the boat, comprising: a power source which produces rotational output;a drive unit including a vertical shaft which transmits the rotational output of the power source to the propeller through a gear mechanism; andan interlock unit which detachably interlocks one of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a combination of the engine and the motor to the drive unit as the power source.

2. The outboard motor according to claim 1, wherein the interlock unit comprises one of a first interlock unit for interlocking the engine to the drive unit, and a second interlock unit for interlocking one of the motor and the combination of the engine and the motor to the drive unit, and the first and second interlock units are made similar in shape.

3. The outboard motor according to claim 2, wherein each of the first and second interlock units comprises a first interlock member connected to the power source, a second interlock member connected to the drive unit and a fastener for detachably fastening the power source to the drive unit through the first interlock member and the second interlock member.

4. The outboard motor according to claim 1, wherein the motor is located between the engine and the interlock unit in the combination of the engine and the motor when interlocked to the drive unit.

5. The outboard motor according to claim 4, wherein the motor is interlocked to the drive unit through the second interlock unit with the engine removed.

6. The outboard motor according to claim 5, wherein the motor is covered by a motor case cap.

7. The outboard motor according to claim 1, further including: a first clutch which connects/disconnects the rotational output of the power source to be transmitted to the propeller.

8. The outboard motor according to claim 7, wherein the first clutch comprises an electromagnetic clutch.

9. The outboard motor according to claim 1, further including: a second clutch disposed between the engine and the motor which transmits the rotational output of the engine to the drive unit through an engine output shaft and a motor output shaft, when the engine is operated.

10. The outboard motor according to claim 9, wherein the second clutch comprises a centrifugal clutch.

11. The outboard motor according to claim 10, wherein the engine is started by the motor and when a speed of the engine exceeds a predetermined speed, the motor is rotated by the engine to produce electric energy that is charged by a battery.

12. The outboard motor according to claim 1, further including: a bar handle installed to be operable by an operator;a throttle grip provided at the bar handle to be rotatable by the operator to regulate an opening of a throttle valve of the engine.

13. The outboard motor according to claim 12, further including: a rotation angle sensor installed in the bar handle which outputs a signal indicative of a rotation angle of the throttle grip; anda controller installed inside the throttle grip which inputs the outputted signal of the rotation angle sensor to control operation of the motor in response to the outputted signal of the sensor.

14. The outboard motor according to claim 13, wherein the bar handle is further equipped with a mode switch that produces a signal in response to instructions inputted by the operator to start or stop the engine and the motor, and the controller controls the operation of the engine and the motor in response to the signal of the mode switch.