Claims
- 1. A watercraft having a propulsion device and a hull defining an engine compartment, an internal combustion engine positioned in said engine compartment and having an output shaft arranged to power said water propulsion device, an air intake duct having an outlet positioned within the engine compartment, said engine having at least one combustion chamber and an intake system through which air is routed to said combustion chamber, said intake system including an intake pipe extending from said engine, a throttle valve movably positioned in said intake pipe for controlling the rate of air flow therethrough, and a throttle valve position sensor positioned above the outlet of the intake duct.
- 2. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sensor is positioned so as to shield the sensor from a source of water comprising the intake duct.
- 3. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the sensor is positioned so as to shield the sensor from a source of water comprising said output shaft extending from an end of said engine in contact with water filling a lower portion of said engine compartment.
- 4. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein said engine has a first combustion chamber and a second combustion chamber and a first intake pipe routing air to said first combustion chamber and a second intake pipe routing air to said second combustion chamber.
- 5. The watercraft in accordance with claim 4, wherein said first and second intake pipes are positioned in a front-to-rear direction along a length of said watercraft.
- 6. The watercraft in accordance with claim 5, wherein the sensor is positioned between said first and second intake pipes.
- 7. The watercraft in accordance with claim 5, wherein the sensor is mounted at a rear end of said intake pipes and said outlet is positioned forward of said intake pipes, so as to shield the sensor from a source of water comprising said air intake duct.
- 8. The watercraft in accordance with claim 4, wherein said first and second intake pipes are mounted in side-by-side relationship in a direction transverse to a length of said watercraft.
- 9. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein said throttle valve comprises a plate positioned in the intake pipe, said plate connected to a control shaft, wherein the sensor is mounted to an end of said shaft.
- 10. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein said intake pipe comprises a throttle body.
- 11. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, further including a fuel injector which injects fuel into said pipe.
- 12. The watercraft in accordance with claim 11, wherein said fuel injector is connected to a fuel rail and a protective cover covers said fuel injector at said connection to said fuel rail.
- 13. A watercraft having a water propulsion device and a hull having a longitudinal axis therethrough, said hull defining an engine compartment, an internal combustion engine positioned in said engine compartment and having a crankshaft extending generally perpendicular to said axis, an output shaft extending from a rear end of said engine, said output shaft arranged to power said water propulsion device, said engine having at least one combustion chamber and an intake system through which air is routed to said combustion chamber, said intake system including an intake pipe extending from said engine, a throttle valve movably positioned in said intake pipe for controlling the rate of air flow therethrough, and a throttle valve position sensor positioned forward from a front surface of the engine so as to be shielded from a source of water comprising the output shaft in contact with water in the engine compartment.
- 14. The watercraft in accordance with claim 13, wherein the source of water comprises the output shaft extending from an end of the engine in contact with water filling a lower portion of the engine compartment.
- 15. The watercraft in accordance with claim 13, wherein the engine has a first combustion chamber and a second combustion chamber and a first intake pipe routing air to the first combustion chamber and a second intake pipe routing air to the second combustion chamber.
- 16. The watercraft in accordance with claim 15, wherein the first and second intake pipes are positioned side-by-side.
- 17. The watercraft in accordance with claim 13, wherein the throttle valve comprises a plate positioned in the intake pipe, the plate connected to a control shaft, and wherein the sensor is mounted to an end of the shaft.
- 18. The watercraft in accordance with claim 13, further including a fuel injector which injects fuel into the intake pipe.
- 19. The watercraft in accordance with claim 18, wherein the fuel injector is connected to a fuel rail and a protective cover covers the fuel injector at the connection to the fuel rail.
- 20. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the throttle valve position sensor is positioned directly above the crankcase of the engine.
- 21. The watercraft in accordance with claim 20, wherein the throttle position sensor is arranged directly above the crankcase of the engine such that the throttle position sensor is shielded from water that may pool in a bottom of the engine compartment.
- 22. The watercraft in accordance with claim 20, wherein the engine comprises an engine body having at least one cylinder bore defining the at least one combustion chamber, the cylinder having a cylinder axis which is inclined with respect to a vertical axis.
- 23. The watercraft in accordance with claim 22, wherein the cylinder axis leans toward a front of the watercraft.
- 24. The watercraft in accordance with claim 22, wherein the cylinder axis leans towards a rear of the watercraft.
- 25. A watercraft having a water propulsion device and a hull defining an engine compartment, an internal combustion engine positioned in the engine compartment and having an output shaft arranged to power the water propulsion device, the engine having an engine body defining at least one combustion chamber, an intake system through which air is routed to the combustion chamber, the intake system including an intake pipe extending from the engine body, a throttle valve movably positioned in the intake pipe for controlling the rate of air flow therethrough, and a throttle valve position sensor positioned between the engine body and the intake pipe.
- 26. The watercraft in accordance with claim 25, wherein at least a portion of the intake pipe extends upwardly from the engine body, the throttle position sensor being positioned above an upper surface of the upwardly extending portion of the intake pipe.
- 27. The watercraft in accordance claim 25 additionally comprising an exhaust system configured to guide combustion gases from the at least one combustion chamber to the atmosphere, at least a portion of the exhaust system extending above the throttle position sensor.
- 28. The watercraft in accordance with claim 27, wherein the exhaust system includes an expansion chamber positioned above the throttle position sensor.
- 29. The watercraft in accordance with claim 25, wherein the throttle valve comprises a shaft extending through the intake pipe and a valve member mounted to the shaft, the shaft extending generally perpendicularly to the output shaft.
- 30. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the hull includes a lower portion and an upper deck portion, the throttle valve position sensor being positioned between a longitudinal axis of the hull and a portion of the upper deck portion so as to shield the throttle position sensor from splashing water within the engine compartment.
- 31. The watercraft in accordance with claim 30,wherein the lower portion and the upper deck portion of the hull cooperate to form the engine compartment.
- 32. The watercraft in accordance with claim 30 additionally comprising a crankcase connected to the engine, at least a portion of the crankshaft being rotatably journaled for rotation within the crankcase of the engine about a crankcase shaft axis, the crankshaft axis being arranged generally transverse to a longitudinal axis of the hull.
- 33. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the throttle valve is connected to a throttle valve shaft, the throttle valve position sensor being positioned at a forward end of the throttle valve shaft.
- 34. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1, wherein the throttle valve is connected to a throttle valve shaft, the throttle valve position sensor being positioned at a rear end of the throttle valve shaft.
- 35. The watercraft in accordance with claim 1 additionally comprising an intake device through which air from the engine compartment is drawn into the intake pipe, the throttle valve position sensor being positioned below the intake device.
- 36. The watercraft in accordance with claim 35, wherein the intake device comprises a filtered intake silencer.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
8-359050 |
Dec 1996 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/999,282, filed Dec. 29, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,861.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
7-237586 |
Sep 1995 |
JP |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
33 C.F.R. § 183.630, Feb. 4, 1980. |