JP2017105282A - Remote steering mechanism of outboard motor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote steering mechanism of an outboard motor which constantly secures and maintains excellent responsiveness and effectively deals with specification changes etc.SOLUTION: A drive shaft housing 23 is disposed below an engine 11 and a drive shaft 24 is disposed in an exhaust passage formed therein. The drive shaft housing 23 is rotatably supported by a rotation support part 17 of a swivel bracket 16 through an elastic body 22 attached to an outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft housing 23. A steering bracket 53 having a connection part 54, which is connected with a steering actuator connected with a remote steering device provided at a hull side, at a front end part is attached to a lower part of the engine 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote steering mechanism that can be operated by a tiller handle specification or a remote control specification in an outboard motor.

The outboard motor has a tiller handle specification and a remote control specification. For example, in a small-sized outboard motor with a small output according to Patent Document 1, it is generally designed exclusively for the tiller handle specification.
On the other hand, in a medium-sized and large-sized outboard motor as described in Patent Document 2, a handle bracket is provided on a mounting member (clamp bracket, swivel bracket) side that fixes the outboard motor to the hull. As a result, engine vibration is absorbed even on the hull side, so no elastic body dedicated to the handle is provided.

  On the other hand, in the outboard motor according to Patent Document 2, the drive shaft housing is rotatably supported by the rotation support portion of the swivel via an elastic body disposed on the outer peripheral surface thereof. Further, a handle bracket to which the tiller handle is attached is attached to the outboard motor body via an elastic body to reduce engine vibration transmitted to the tiller handle. Therefore, the outboard motor body and the steering bracket are attached to the middle and large outboard motors. It is connected via an elastic body having softer characteristics than the case.

JP 2002-347696 A JP-A-5-319387

  By the way, there is a demand from the market to change to a remote control specification for a small outboard motor. In response to this request, if an operation cable extending from an operating device (steering handle) provided on the hull side is connected to a handle bracket attached via an elastic body, the elastic body of the handle bracket is deformed. If it is as it is, the operational feeling may be impaired due to a decrease in responsiveness.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor that can always ensure and maintain excellent responsiveness and can effectively cope with specification changes and the like.

  The remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to the present invention is disposed below an engine, and a drive shaft housing in which a drive shaft is disposed in an exhaust passage formed in the engine via an elastic body attached to an outer peripheral surface thereof. In the outboard motor that is pivotally supported by the pivot support portion of the swivel bracket, the steering bracket having a coupling portion coupled to a steering actuator connected to a front end portion from a remote operation device provided on the hull side is provided. It is attached to the lower part of the engine.

  In the remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to the present invention, the steering bracket engages with a screw member at a mounting portion including a horizontal mounting surface formed at a lower portion of the engine at least at two base end portions. The shaft portion of the screw member has a stepped portion or a spacer formed to be equal to or longer than the thickness dimension of the base end portion of the steering bracket, and the steering bracket can be freely moved to the engine mounting portion. It is attached to.

  In the remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to the present invention, an accelerator / shift bracket for supporting an accelerator and a shift operation cable is sandwiched between the steering bracket at a base end portion of the steering bracket. The accelerator / shift bracket is fixed to a mounting portion of the engine by the screw member.

According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively cope with a change from the tiller handle specification to the remote control specification.
Since the steering bracket extends directly from the engine side that constitutes the outboard motor body, the operating force of the steering actuator is directly transmitted without going through the elastic body. It is possible to improve and maintain an appropriate operational feeling.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an outboard motor according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the outboard motor in this embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view showing the circumference of an upper unit of an outboard motor mounted on a hull in the present embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the circumference of an upper unit of an outboard motor in this embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure seen from the lower unit side of the outboard motor in this embodiment of the present invention. It is a downward perspective view showing the circumference of an upper unit of an outboard motor in this embodiment of the present invention. It is an upper perspective view showing the mid unit of the outboard motor in the present embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the example of attachment structure of the steering bracket in this embodiment of this invention, and an accelerator shift bracket. It is an expanded sectional view showing the example of attachment structure of a steering bracket and an accelerator shift bracket in this embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a left side view illustrating a schematic configuration example of an outboard motor 10 as an application example of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the inside of the outboard motor 10. In this example, the outboard motor 10 is fixed to the rear plate 1 of the hull on the front side as shown. The outboard motor 10 is equipped with an engine 11, and in the following description, the front of the outboard motor 10 or the engine 11 is indicated by an arrow Fr and the rear is indicated by an arrow Rr as necessary. The right side of 10 is indicated by an arrow R, and the left side is indicated by an arrow L.

  In the overall configuration of the outboard motor 10, an upper unit (or power unit) 12, a mid unit 13, and a lower unit 14 are sequentially arranged from the upper part to the lower part with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The engine 11 is mounted on the upper unit 12, and is mounted and supported vertically so that the crankshaft 15 (crankshaft) faces the vertical direction. As the engine 11, a single cylinder engine can be typically employed. The mid unit 13 is supported by a rotation support portion 17 provided on the swivel bracket 16 so as to be horizontally rotatable. A pair of clamp brackets 18 (see also FIG. 3) are provided on the left and right sides of the swivel bracket 16, and both are connected via a tilt shaft 19 set in the left-right direction. The clamp bracket 18 is fixed to the rear plate 1 located at the rear end of the hull, and the entire outboard motor 10 is supported via the swivel bracket 16 so as to be rotatable around the tilt shaft 19 in the vertical direction.

  In the support structure around the rotation support portion 17, a handle bracket 21 to which a tiller handle 20 is coupled is rotatably attached to the rotation support portion 17 provided on the upper part of the swivel bracket 16. The handle bracket 21 is generally formed in a cylindrical shape, and a mount 22 formed of an elastic body is inserted inside the handle bracket 21, and a drive shaft housing 23 is fitted inside the mount 22. The handle bracket 21 and the drive shaft housing 23 are coupled to each other via a mount 22 in a rotating manner. The drive shaft housing 23 is rotatably supported by the rotation support portion 17. The engine 11 is mounted and supported on the drive shaft housing 23, and the entire power unit including the drive shaft housing 23 can be horizontally rotated on the rotation support portion 17 by rotating the tiller handle 20. Since the mount 22 is inserted between the handle bracket 21 coupled to the tiller handle 20 and the drive shaft housing 23 on which the engine 11 is mounted, the vibration of the engine 11 is reduced from being transmitted to the tiller handle 20. .

  The mid unit 13, more specifically, the drive shaft housing 23 has a generally cylindrical shape (see FIG. 6 and the like), and the engine 11 is integrally coupled thereon. A drive shaft 24 connected to the lower end portion of the crankshaft 15 is vertically disposed in the drive shaft housing 23, and the driving force of the drive shaft 24 is transmitted to the propeller shaft in the gear case 25 of the lower unit 14. It has become so. A propeller 26 is attached to the rear end of the propeller shaft, and the power of the engine 11 is finally transmitted to the propeller 26 through a power transmission path composed of the crankshaft 15, the drive shaft 24, the propeller shaft, and the like. Can be driven.

  In the above case, the upper unit 12 is covered with the exterior cover 27. The exterior cover 27 includes an upper cover 27A that covers the upper part of the upper unit 12 and a lower cover 27B that covers the lower part of the upper unit 12, and these are integrally joined together to form, for example, a generally egg-shaped or lemon-shaped outer form. Form.

  Here, when the engine 11 is outlined, the engine 11 may be, for example, an OHV (Over Head Valve) engine or the like, and on the drive shaft housing 23 such that the crankshaft 15 of the upper unit 12 faces the vertical direction as shown in FIG. Mounted and supported vertically. The engine 11 includes a cylinder block 29, a cylinder head 30, and a cylinder head cover 31 integrally connected to a rear portion of the engine case 28 sequentially. When the outboard motor 10 is mounted on the hull 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the cylinder axis is typically directed rearward in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

  The engine case 28 is divided into an upper engine case 28A and a lower engine case 28B each integrally provided with a cylinder block 29. Although not shown in detail, the crankshaft 15 is rotatably supported in the crank chamber 32 by bearing portions provided in the upper engine case 28A and the lower engine case 28B, as shown in FIG. A piston 33 is accommodated in a cylinder bore formed in the cylinder block 29 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the cylinder axial direction. The crankshaft 15 and the piston 33 are connected to each other via a connecting rod. The piston 33 reciprocates in the cylinder axis direction in the cylinder bore of the cylinder block 29, so that the crankshaft 15 is rotationally driven via the connecting rod.

  In the above configuration, when the outboard motor 10 has a tiller handle specification, the drive shaft housing 23 including the engine 11 is rotated by the rotation support portion 17 through the handle bracket 21 by appropriately rotating the tiller handle 20. That is, the power unit can be horizontally rotated on the rotation support portion 17 by the rotation operation of the tiller handle 20, and the propeller 26 can be steered to a desired angle.

  In the outboard motor 10 of the present invention, the tiller handle specification can be changed to the remote control specification. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a steering mechanism 50 and an accelerator / shift mechanism 51 configured to extend from the lower part of the upper unit 12 to the front (tail plate 1 side) to the side (right side) are provided. The steering mechanism 50 and the accelerator / shift mechanism 51 are remotely controlled to perform the accelerator operation and the shift operation. In this case, referring to FIG. 3 and the like, the steering mechanism 50 is connected to a steering device (handle) of the remote control device 100 provided on the hull side and is connected to a steering actuator 52 that is driven and controlled by the steering device. A steering bracket 53 having a connecting portion 54 is provided. The accelerator / shift mechanism 51 includes an accelerator device 55 of the remote control device 100 and an accelerator operation cable 55 connected to the shift device and an accelerator / shift bracket 57 for supporting the shift operation cable 56.

  The steering bracket 53 is attached to the lower portion of the engine 11, and specifically, is attached to and supported at the base end portion 53a of the drive shaft housing 23 on which the engine 11 is mounted as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, etc., the steering bracket 53 is generally made of a plate material or plate material extending from the base end portion 53a so as to gradually narrow toward the front, and its distal end. This part is pin-coupled to the steering actuator 52 via the connecting part 54. In this case, the front end of the upper end of the drive shaft housing 23 has a mounting portion 58 including a horizontal mounting surface located at the lower portion of the engine 11 as shown in FIGS. At the attachment portion 58, the base end portion 53a of the steering bracket 53 is attached by engaging with the screw member at at least two places. In this example, two stud bolts 59 are used as the screw members, and the steering bracket 53 is movably attached to the attachment portion 58 at the lower portion of the engine 11 as will be described later.

  The mounting structure and the like of the steering bracket 53 will be described more specifically. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a pair of left and right stud bolts 59 are screwed to the mounting portion 58. The stud bolt 59 includes a screw portion 59a that is screwed to the mounting portion 58 of the drive shaft housing 23, a step portion (or spacer) 59b as a shaft portion that engages with the steering bracket 53, and a screw portion that is screwed to the nut 60. 59c.

  Here, in the mounting structure of the accelerator / shift bracket 57, the base end portion 57a is mounted and supported on the drive shaft housing 23 so as to overlap the lower side of the steering bracket 53 as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. . As shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 or the like, the accelerator / shift bracket 57 generally extends from the base end portion 57a toward the side (right side in this example) and branches in a bifurcated manner in the front-rear direction. It is formed by bending a plate material or a plate material. The bifurcated tip of the accelerator / shift bracket 57 has holders 61A and 61B for guiding and holding the accelerator operation cable 55 and the shift operation cable 56, respectively.

  The accelerator operation cable 55 extending rearward from the remote control device 100 (FIG. 3) passes over the rear plate 1 as shown in FIG. 3, is guided by the holder 61A and is routed to the throttle drum 62, and its arm. 63. Further, the shift operation cable 56 extending rearward from the remote operation device 100 passes over the rear plate 1 as shown in FIG. 3, is guided by the holder 61 </ b> B, and is routed to the shift lever 64, so that the shift lever 64. Connected to.

  Now, as shown in FIG. 9, the base end portion 53 a of the steering bracket 53 is formed with an engagement hole 65 that engages with the stepped portion 59 b of the stud bolt 59. An insertion hole 66 through which the shaft portion of the stud bolt 59 is inserted is formed in the base end portion 57 a of the accelerator / shift bracket 57. By screwing the nut 60 into the threaded portion 59c of the stud bolt 59, the base end portion 57a of the accelerator / shift bracket 57 can be pressed and fixed to the side surface of the stepped portion 59b via the washer 67.

  In FIG. 9, the step 59 b of the stud bolt 59 is formed such that its length T (axial direction) is equal to or longer than the thickness t of the base end portion 53 a of the steering bracket 53. Further, as described above, the accelerator / shift bracket 57 is fixed to the attachment portion 58 by the nut 60, but is attached to be overlapped on the lower side with the base end portion 53a of the steering bracket 53 interposed therebetween. For this reason, the step portion 59b of the stud bolt 59 can be engaged with the engagement hole 65 in the axial direction with a gap therebetween, whereby the base end portion 53a of the steering bracket 53 is attached to the attachment portion 58 so as to be freely movable.

  In the above case, the tip 52a of the steering actuator 52 is pin-coupled to a connecting portion 54 attached to the tip of the steering bracket 53, as shown in FIG. A base end portion 52 b of the steering actuator 52 is connected to the rear plate 1 through a bracket 68 so as to be swingable. The steering actuator 52 extends and contracts as indicated by the double arrows in FIG.

Further, the accelerator operation cable 55 expands and contracts as shown by the double-headed arrow in FIG. 3, thereby swinging the arm 63. In response to the swing of the arm 63, the throttle drum 62 reciprocates. A throttle wire 69 is connected to the throttle drum 62 as shown in FIG. 5 and the like, and the throttle wire 69 is inserted into the exterior cover 27 (lower cover 27B) as shown in FIG. Connected to the body 34. That is, the throttle valve mounted on the throttle body 34 can be opened and closed by the throttle wire 69.
Further, the shift operation cable 56 expands and contracts as shown by the double-headed arrow in FIG. 3 and swings the shift lever 64 back and forth. Corresponding to the swing of the shift lever 64, the meshing relationship of the gears in the gear case 25 is switched, whereby the propeller 26 can be switched to the forward / reverse rotation or neutral state.

  In the case of the outboard motor 10 of the present invention, when the remote control specification is adopted, the steering mechanism 50 and the accelerator / shift mechanism 51 are driven by the operation of the remote control device 100 on the hull side. The outboard motor 10 can be remotely steered via the shift mechanism 51, or an accelerator operation and a shift operation can be performed. That is, the basic configuration of the outboard motor 10 having the tiller handle specification is maintained as it is, and the change to the remote control specification can be effectively handled as in the present embodiment.

  In this case, in particular, the steering bracket 53 is driven by the remote control device 100 by directly extending from the engine 11 constituting the main body of the outboard motor 10, more specifically, the mounting portion 58 of the drive shaft housing 23. The operating force of the steering actuator 52 is directly transmitted without going through the mount 22 which is an elastic body. Thereby, the responsiveness with respect to the operation of the remote operation device 100 is improved, and an appropriate operational feeling can be secured and maintained.

  When the outboard motor 10 is steered left and right, a steering reaction force acts on the steering bracket 53 in order to tilt the outboard motor 10 left and right and turn the hull. A rotational moment in the left-right direction is generated at the end 53a. When a relative movement occurs between the base end portion 53a of the steering bracket 53 and the screw member, that is, the stud bolt 59 due to this rotational moment, a rotational force in the direction of loosening the screwing of the screw portion 59a is generated. Once such a slack occurs, the slack proceeds at an accelerated rate. On the other hand, since the stud bolt 59 does not fasten and fix the steering bracket 53, even if there is a relative movement between the steering bracket 53 and the stud bolt 59, the force for loosening the screwing of the stud bolt 59 is minimal. Therefore, the loosening can be prevented and a strong tightening force can be maintained.

  Further, by attaching the accelerator / shift bracket 57 to the steering bracket 53 in an overlapping manner, the accelerator / shift bracket 57 serves as a guide for the steering bracket 53, and the tilt in the vertical direction (rattle) can be suppressed. Thereby, the steering force by the steering bracket 53 can be reliably transmitted to the outboard motor, and a stable and proper steering function is exhibited. In addition, the accelerator operation cable 55 for operating the accelerator transmits an extremely delicate operation compared to the steering operation cable. Therefore, the accelerator / shift bracket 57 is formed separately from the steering bracket 53 and moves relatively. Because it is possible, there is no fear that the accelerator opening degree and further the engine speed will fluctuate due to the influence of the steering wheel operation and the ride comfort will be impaired.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with various embodiment, this invention is not limited only to these embodiment, A change etc. are possible within the scope of the present invention.
For example, three or more stud bolts 59 that are screw members may be used. Further, the accelerator / shift bracket 57 may extend from the base end portion 57a toward the left side.

10 Outboard Motor, 11 Engine, 12 Upper Unit, 13 Mid Unit, 14 Lower Unit, 15 Crankshaft, 16 Swivel Bracket, 17 Rotation Support, 18 Clamp Bracket, 19 Tilt Shaft, 20 Tiller Handle, 21 Handle Bracket, 22 Mount, 23 Drive shaft housing, 24 Drive shaft, 25 Gear case, 26 Propeller, 27 Exterior cover, 28 Engine case, 29 Cylinder block, 30 Cylinder head, 31 Cylinder head cover, 32 Crank chamber, 33 Piston, 34 Throttle body, 50 Steering mechanism, 51 Accelerator / shift mechanism, 52 Steering actuator, 53 Steering bracket, 54 Connecting part, 55 Accelerator operating cable, 56 shift Cable, 57 accelerator / shift bracket, 58 mounting part, 59 stud bolt, 60 nut, 61A, 61B holder, 62 throttle drum, 63 arm, 64 shift lever, 65 engagement hole, 66 insertion hole, 67 washer, 68 bracket, 69 throttle wire, 100 remote control device.

Claims (3)

A drive shaft housing, which is arranged below the engine and has a drive shaft in an exhaust passage formed inside, is freely rotatable by a swivel bracket rotation support portion via an elastic body attached to the outer peripheral surface thereof. In outboard motors supported by
A remote steering mechanism for an outboard motor, wherein a steering bracket having a connecting portion for connecting to a steering actuator connected from a remote control device provided on a hull side at a front end portion is attached to a lower portion of the engine. The steering bracket engages with a screw member at an attachment portion including a horizontal attachment surface formed at a lower portion of the engine at least at two locations of the base end portion,
The shaft portion of the screw member has a stepped portion or a spacer formed to be equal to or longer than the thickness dimension of the base end portion of the steering bracket,
2. The outboard motor remote steering mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the steering bracket is movably attached to an attachment portion of the engine. An accelerator / shift bracket for supporting an accelerator and a shift operation cable is attached to the base end of the steering bracket so as to overlap the lower side so as to sandwich the steering bracket.
The outboard motor remote steering mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the accelerator / shift bracket is fixed to a mounting portion of the engine by the screw member.

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