Claims
- 1. A steering device for a personal watercraft, comprising:
a handle holder mountable to a watercraft body, said handle holder including a holding member; a steering shaft passing through said handle holder, said steering shaft including a flange or a groove; and a handle mounted to an upper end of said steering shaft, wherein said holding member is fitted to said flange or said groove of said steering shaft, whereby movement of said steering shaft in the axial direction is restricted.
- 2. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein said holding member is a U-shaped member.
- 3. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein said steering shaft is made of a resin material
- 4. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein said steering shaft includes a handle fitting portion for receiving said handle, a groove for receiving said holding member, a shaft portion for being rotatably received in said handle holder, and a link fitting portion for receiving a steering link of the personal watercraft.
- 5. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 4, wherein said shaft portion includes a straight upper portion, a tapered intermediate portion, and a straight lower portion, and said handle holder includes a bearing portion having a straight upper portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a straight lower portion for respectively receiving said straight upper portion, said tapered intermediate portion and said straight lower portion of said shaft portion.
- 6. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein said handle holder includes a cylindrical portion mountable to the watercraft body, a support portion provided at an upper portion of said cylindrical portion to support said holding member, and a bearing portion extending downwards from said support portion to rotatably support said shaft portion.
- 7. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein said holding member includes a main body portion, a fitting portion provided in said main body portion for being fitting with said flange or groove of said steering shaft for rotatably supporting said steering shaft.
- 8. The steering device for a personal watercraft according to claim 7, wherein said steering shaft includes a groove, and wherein the relationship of A2=A1+α is established, where A1 is a thickness of said fitting portion of said holding member, A2 is a width of said groove of said steering shaft, and α is a clearance between said groove and said fitting portion.
- 9. A personal watercraft, comprising:
a watercraft body; an engine; a jet propeller for propelling said watercraft body, said jet propeller including an impeller driven by a drive shaft of said engine; a steering nozzle, said steering nozzle being mounted to swing in left and right directions to steer said watercraft body; a steering device, said steering device being operably connected to said steering nozzle for swinging said steering nozzle, said steering device including:
a handle holder, said handle holder being mounted to said watercraft body, said handle holder including a holding member; a steering shaft passing through said handle holder, said steering shaft including a flange or a groove; and a handle mounted to an upper end of said steering shaft, wherein said holding member is fitted to said flange or said groove of said steering shaft, whereby movement of said steering shaft in the axial direction is restricted.
- 10. The personal watercraft according to claim 9, wherein said holding member is a U-shaped member.
- 11. The personal watercraft according to claim 9, wherein said steering shaft is made of a resin material
- 12. The personal watercraft according to claim 9, wherein said steering shaft includes a handle fitting portion for receiving said handle, a groove for receiving said holding member, a shaft portion for being rotatably received in said handle holder, and a link fitting portion for receiving a steering link of the personal watercraft.
- 13. The personal watercraft according to claim 12, wherein said shaft portion includes a straight upper portion, a tapered intermediate portion, and a straight lower portion, and said handle holder includes a bearing portion having a straight upper portion, a tapered intermediate portion and a straight lower portion for respectively receiving said straight upper portion, said tapered intermediate portion and said straight lower portion of said shaft portion.
- 14. The personal watercraft according to claim 9, wherein said handle holder includes a cylindrical portion mountable to the watercraft body, a support portion provided at an upper portion of said cylindrical portion to support said holding member, and a bearing portion extending downwards from said support portion to rotatably support said shaft portion.
- 15. The personal watercraft according to claim 9, wherein said holding member includes a main body portion, a fitting portion provided in said main body portion for being fitting with said flange or groove of said steering shaft for rotatably supporting said steering shaft.
- 16. The personal watercraft according to claim 15, wherein said steering shaft includes a groove, and wherein the relationship of A2=A1+α is established, where A1 is a thickness of said fitting portion of said holding member, A2 is a width of said groove of said steering shaft, and α is a clearance between said groove and said fitting portion.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2001-333302 |
Oct 2001 |
JP |
|
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No. 2001-333302 filed in Japan on Oct. 30, 2001, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.