This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-121891 filed on Jul. 16, 2020. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an outboard motor.
An outboard motor includes a bracket and an outboard motor body. The outboard motor body is attached to a boat via a bracket. For example, as disclosed in Japan Patent Laid-open Patent Publication JP-A-1-317893, the bracket rotatably supports the outboard motor body via a tilt shaft. A tilt cylinder is connected to the outboard motor body. The tilt cylinder expands and contracts to rotate the outboard motor body around the tilt shaft. The outboard motor body moves between a full trim-in position and a full tilt-up position by rotating around the tilt shaft. The full trim-in position is a position of the outboard motor body when the lower end of the outboard motor body is closest to a stern of the boat. The full tilt-up position is a position of the outboard motor body when the lower end of the outboard motor body is farthest from the stern of the boat. The outboard motor body is pulled up most upward at the full tilt-up position.
When a boat is moored, an outboard motor body is held in a full tilt-up position. In order to prevent the outboard motor body from being eroded by water, it is desirable to hold the outboard motor body as high as possible away from the water surface. Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide outboard motors each of which is able to hold the outboard motor body as high as possible away from the water surface in the full tilt-up position.
An outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a bracket, an outboard motor body, a tilt shaft, a tilt cylinder, a lower connecting pin, and an upper connecting pin. The bracket is attached to the boat. The outboard motor body is supported by the bracket. The tilt shaft rotatably connects the outboard motor body to the bracket. The tilt cylinder includes an upper connector and a lower connector. The tilt cylinder expands and contracts to rotate the outboard motor body around the tilt shaft between the full tilt-up position and the full trim-in position. The lower connecting pin connects the lower connector to the bracket. The upper connecting pin connects the upper connector to the outboard motor body.
When the outboard motor body is located in the full trim-in position, the upper connecting pin is located in a lower limit position below the tilt shaft. When the outboard motor body is in the full tilt-up position, the upper connecting pin is located in an upper limit position above the tilt shaft. The upper connecting pin rotates around the tilt shaft at a first rotation angle from the lower limit position to a horizontal position at the same height as the tilt shaft. The upper connecting pin rotates at a second rotation angle around the tilt shaft from the horizontal position to the upper limit position. The second rotation angle is larger than the first rotation angle.
In an outboard motor according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the upper connecting pin rotates from the lower limit position to the horizontal position at the first rotation angle around the tilt shaft. The upper connecting pin rotates at the second rotation angle around the tilt shaft from the horizontal position to the upper limit position. The second rotation angle is larger than the first rotation angle. Therefore, a rotation range from the horizontal position to the upper limit position is larger than a rotation range from the lower limit position to the horizontal position. Therefore, the outboard motor body is substantially tilted up. As a result, the outboard motor body is able to be held at a high position far away from the water surface in the full tilt-up position.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Hereinafter, outboard motors according to preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The outboard motor body 3 includes a cover 10, a base 11, a cowl 12, an upper housing 13, a lower housing 14, and a drive unit 15. The cover 10 is attached to the base 11. The base 11 is connected to the bracket 2. The cowl 12 is located above the base 11. The cowl 12 is attached to the base 11. The upper housing 13 is located below the base 11. The upper housing 13 extends downward from the base 11. The lower housing 14 is located below the upper housing 13. The drive unit 15 is located in the lower housing 14.
The drive unit 15 generates thrust to propel the boat 100.
The stator 19 is located radially outward of the rotor 18. The stator 19 is fixed to the lower housing 14. The stator 19 includes a plurality of coils 22. The plurality of coils 22 are located along the circumferential direction of the stator 19. By energizing the plurality of coils 22, an electromagnetic force that rotates the rotor 18 is generated. In
The bracket 2 includes a bracket body 31, upper supports 32A and 32B, and a lower support 33. The bracket body 31 is attached to the boat 100. The bracket body 31 has a plate shape. The upper supports 32A and 32B and the lower support 33 project from the bracket body 31. The tilt shaft 23 is connected to the upper supports 32A and 32B. The lower support 33 is located below the upper supports 32A and 32B. The tilt cylinder 24 is connected to the lower support 33.
The tilt cylinder 24 is located in the cowl 12. The tilt cylinder 24 is a hydraulic cylinder, for example. A hydraulic pump and a motor to drive the hydraulic pump are integrated in the tilt cylinder 24. However, the hydraulic pump and the motor may be separate from the tilt cylinder 24.
The tilt cylinder 24 includes an upper connector 35 and a lower connector 36. The upper connector 35 is located at one end of the tilt cylinder 24. The lower connector 36 is located at the other end of the tilt cylinder 24. The upper connector 35 is connected to the outboard motor body 3 by the upper connecting pin 26. Specifically, the outboard motor body 3 includes a cylinder connector 37. The cylinder connector 37 is supported by the base 11. The cylinder connector 37 projects upward from the base 11. The upper connector 35 is connected to the cylinder connector 37. The lower connector 36 is connected to the bracket 2 by the lower connecting pin 27. Specifically, the lower connector 36 is connected to the lower support 33.
The tilt cylinder 24 expands and contracts to rotate the outboard motor body 3 around the tilt shaft 23 between a full tilt-up position and a full trim-in position.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the outboard motor 1 according to the present preferred embodiment, the upper connecting pin 26 rotates from the lower limit position 26 (L) to the horizontal position around the tilt shaft 23 at the first rotation angle θ1. The upper connecting pin 26 rotates around the tilt shaft 23 at the second rotation angle θ2 from the horizontal position to the upper limit position 26 (H). The second rotation angle θ2 is larger than the first rotation angle θ1. Therefore, the rotation range from the horizontal position to the upper limit position 26 (H) is larger than the rotation range from the lower limit position 26 (L) to the horizontal position. Therefore, the outboard motor body 3 is substantially tilted up. As a result, the outboard motor body 3 is able to be held at a high position far away from the water surface at the full tilt-up position.
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above preferred embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.
The configuration of the outboard motor 1 is not limited to that of the above preferred embodiments, and may be changed. For example, the drive unit 15 is not limited to the electric motor 17, and may include an internal combustion engine. That is, the outboard motor 1 may rotate the propeller 16 by the driving force of the internal combustion engine instead of the electric motor 17. The internal combustion engine may be located in the cowl 12.
The tilt cylinder 24 is not limited to the hydraulic cylinder, and may be an electric cylinder. The structure of the bracket 2 is not limited to that of the above preferred embodiments, and may be changed. The locations of the tilt shaft 23, the lower connecting pin 27, or the upper connecting pin 26 is not limited to that of the above preferred embodiments, and may be changed.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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JP2020-121891 | Jul 2020 | JP | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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2953335 | Kiekhaefer | Sep 1960 | A |
5006083 | Sumigawa | Apr 1991 | A |
6165032 | Nakamura | Dec 2000 | A |
6220905 | Blanchard | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6325686 | Funami | Dec 2001 | B1 |
8814614 | Suzuki et al. | Aug 2014 | B2 |
20020031959 | Sadakata | Mar 2002 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
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01-317893 | Dec 1989 | JP |
Entry |
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Official Communication issued in corresponding European U.S. Appl. No. 21/167,623 4, dated Sep. 23, 2021. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220017200 A1 | Jan 2022 | US |