JPS5920518B2 - motion transmission device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] ■0 This invention relates to a steering device for an inboard/outboard motor.

A propulsion device for a ship that utilizes an inboard engine that transmits power through the ship's stern plate to a propulsion device mounted outside the stern plate is commonly referred to as an outboard motor. The .35 inboard/outboard motor is highly preferred because it incorporates the advantageous features of both inboard and outboard motors.

In particular, inboard/outboard motors use large and heavy inboard edgins and can generate high output. At the same time, steering can also be achieved by controllably directing the thrust of the propeller, thereby eliminating the need for the rudder used in inboard engines, and furthermore, in The thruster tilts upward when it hits an underwater obstacle, thus eliminating the stiffness of the rudder and propeller used in inboard motors to incorporate one of the features of outboard motors.
However, even with all these advantages, there are problems, and the main problem with steering systems for inboard/outboard motors is steering. Currently, many different steering devices are used to accommodate the various turning and tilting effects of this type of propulsion device.

One type of conventional steering system is a push-pull cable variant.

This device usually consists of a flexible tubular casing locked at both ends and carrying a core element of flexible wire.
Acts on the propulsion section of an inboard/outboard propulsion device that can be moved axially in the casing by pushing or pulling at one end, and a corresponding force can be operably attached to the other end of the core element of the wire. I try to do that. The core element of this type of wire undergoes high tensile and compressive loads;
Attempts to alternately lengthen or shorten wire elements. The alternating loads on the core elements of the wires result in the core elements becoming stuck within the tubular casing, which results in premature failure of the steering device. Additionally, if this steering device is used, a back gap will be created in the device when the core element of the wire bends or deforms. Another type of conventional steering system is the pull cable variant.

This device usually consists of a combination of a flexible tubular casing locked at its ends, such that a flexible wire core element can be moved axially into the casing by pulling at only one of its ends. It's becoming like that. When the wire core element is pulled at its ends, a corresponding force will be exerted on the propulsion section of the inboard/outboard propulsion system, which can be operably attached to the other end of the wire core element. This type of wire core element will only be loaded in tension when it operates in tension, and any compressive loads on the wire core element will be removed. Although conventional pull-pull cable steering systems have been improved over typical push-pull cable steering systems, they still have significant operational deficiencies. Conventional pull cable steering systems typically consist of many moving parts, are bulky, difficult to equip and maintain, are inefficient to use, and are expensive to manufacture. The main purpose of this invention is to improve a pull-pull cable steering device! Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a steering device for an inboard/outboard motor that is simple in design, easy to install and maintain, can be used efficiently, and is inexpensive to manufacture.

The steering device has a locking device secured to at least one of the ends thereof, the flexible conduit cable hose being attached to the bracket member by the locking device and operably connected to the bracket member. a steering force transmission member, a cable core movable axially within the conduit cable hose and operably connected to the steering force transmission member; and a cable core movable in the conduit cable hose and operably connected to the steering force transmission member; changing the distance between the engaging locking device and the steering force transmitting member that engages the locking device so as to contact the bracket member and move the locking device axially, thereby It includes a tension adjustment device to adjust the tension of the core.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a steering force input device, a flexible cable core operably coupled to transmit a steering force in response to a steering force of the input device, and a flexible cable core that is operable to transmit a steering force in response to a steering force of the input device; a rotation device operably driven by the cable core to rotate in response to a force transmission; and a rotation device operably coupled to the rotation device and the drivably movable member, the An object of the present invention is to provide a steering device for an inboard/outboard motor, which is comprised of a torque applying device that changes the torque applied to the member in response to rotational motion, and applies variable torque to a pivotally movable member. The details of the invention, as well as other objects and advantages, may be made clearer by reading the description of the accompanying drawings.

First, explanation will be given based on FIG.

A pull-7 cable housing 10 is mounted between a pair of spaced support brackets 12 and 14. Bracket 12 is adapted to be attached to a steered wheel control head assembly comprising an input device such as steered wheel 16 mounted on input shaft 18. Cable drum 20 is mounted to one end of shaft 18 which is rotatably mounted to bracket 12. A similar cable drum 22 is mounted for rotation on bracket 14 on an IIC-mounted output shaft 23. The output shaft 23 can be coupled to a device that can be remotely controlled by an input device, such as a steering wheel 16. It can be seen that rotating the steering wheel 16 causes a corresponding rotation of the output shaft 23.

This steering force is transmitted by the running portions of a pair of cable cores 24 movably provided within the housing 10. Cable core 24 has adjacent ends connected to cable drums 20, 22 by suitable connection devices. The cable drum therefore acts like a pulley, thus maintaining a constant pulling cable tension. As shown in FIG. 4, the housing 10 consists of a tubular plastic inner sleeve 26, reinforcing wire 28 and an outer casing 30.

The cable core 24 can be constructed from a tightly wound bundle of stainless steel. A number of circumferentially wrapped reinforcing wires 28, preferably suitably tempered spring wires, are laid in a correct long pitch helix and are each helically wrapped around a pair of inner sleeves 26 of plastic. They form a group. A plastic outer casing 30 provides a flexible outer cover and surrounds a pair of wire reinforced inner sleeves 26. Inner sleeve 26 can be constructed from a flexible synthetic resin material, such as thermoplastic, nylon, polyethylene or linear polyethylene. If desired, the inner sleeve 26 may be provided with a self-lubricating liner consisting of a sticky resin and a mixture of powdered or fluffy polytetrafluoroethylene or knitted polytetrafluoroethylene fibers embedded in this resin. can do. Sliding friction between the cable core and the inner sleeve can also be reduced by using small amounts of lubricants such as molybdenum disulfide. The plastic outer casing 30 is
This suppresses the wire 28 from bulging outward under compressive load.

The inner sleeve 26 prevents the surrounding helical wire from bulging inwardly under tension. The preferred material for casing 30 is linear polyethylene, which can be extruded around the inner sleeve.

The diameter of cable core 24 is adapted to be made sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of sleeve 26 to provide flexibility to the sleeve assembly. As seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the housing or end of the hose 10 is connected to the brackets 12, 1.
It is fixed at 4.

Each end of the hose 10 has a generally rectangular cross section.
Closely attached tubular cable conduit locking device 3
2. Since the ends of both locking devices 32 are the same, only one will be described in detail. Cable core 24 operably extends through an aperture 33 provided in locking device 32 . An end block 34, preferably made of plastic, is secured to one end of the locking device 32 by a locking pin 35. A pair of outwardly diverging truncated conical recesses 36 serve as guiding bearing surfaces for the cable core 24 . Cable locking device 32 is constructed from a light die-cast material such as aluminum, zinc, or magnesium, and end block 34 is constructed from a plastic material such as nylon or an acetyl polymer such as Delrin. be able to. The end of the locking device 32 attaching the end block 34 is inserted into a socket opening 38 at one end of the bracket 14.

It can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3 that the socket opening 38 has a rectangular cross-section that is slightly larger than the cross-section of the locking device 32. The locking device 32 is free to move axially within the socket opening, but cannot rotate. As shown in FIG. 3, the locking device 32 has a pair of curved outer surface portions 39 that are threaded and adapted to engage a threaded hole threaded into the interior of the tension nut 40. As shown in FIG.

The tension nut 40 has at one end a cylindrical surface with a smooth internal bore that abuts a cylindrical bearing surface 42 of the bracket 14. By rotating the nut 40, the locking device 32 is moved axially, thereby shortening or increasing the distance between the cable drums 20 and 22 of the hose 10 and at the same time controlling the tension in both cable cores. do. The recess 36 of the end block 34, which is frustoconically shaped, guides the cable core 24 in the tensioned position of the different locking devices 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the input shaft 18 is attached to a bearing sleeve support 46. As shown in FIG.

The bearing sleeve support 46 can be secured to the inside of the partition plate 44 by an attachment device such as a pair of bolts 48 . Bolts 48 can also position and attach a spacer sleeve 50 between the partition plate and one side of bracket 12. A number of screws 52 (only one shown) secure spacer sleeve 50 to bracket 12. The input shaft 18 is also mounted in a pair of bearing members 54, such as ball bearings, in recesses in the wings of the end bracket. Each wing of the bracket has a hollow arm-like extension 56 which is aligned with respect to the other. Tightening bolts 58 pass through both extensions 56. Natsuto 6
0 engages one end of bolt 58 and holds the two wing sections together. A similar bracket 14 is located at the output end of the cable assembly. As can be seen in Figures 1, 3 and 5, each cable drum 20, 22 has a number of grooves around its periphery, around which the cable core runs are wrapped.

The cable core runs first contact a groove in the center of each cable drum, and then secure the ends of each cable core in the side pockets 62 of one drum and axially outwardly in opposite directions. It is wrapped around. Each cable core 24 has a cylindrical end fitting 64 mounted at each end.
This fitting fits within the side pocket 62 and connects the end of the cable core to the drum. The side pockets 62 are on opposite sides of the drum and are spaced substantially 1808 degrees apart. The present invention is characterized in that the input section shown in FIG. 1 is configured as shown in FIG. 7.

A modified control head is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in which the input cable drum 20 is replaced by a combination gear wheel 66.

Pulley gear 66 has a hollow hub 68 that is mounted in a pair of sockets 70 in bracket 72. The steering input power shaft 74 has a pinion gear 76 attached to one end thereof. The teeth of gear 76 engage teeth 78 of large pulley gear 66. This gear reduction allows the pulley at the output end of the cable to make one complete revolution to impart more rotation to the steered wheel. Of course, each of the outputs can be the same as shown in the previously described embodiments. One pulley portion of the combined pulley gear 66 is provided for each running portion of the cable core 24.
It has a pair of individual guide grooves. Buichiri-66
The length of one cable core that can be wrapped around the wire is limited to one wrap. The advantage of using this larger diameter pulley compared to the previously described cable drum is that less force is required to rotate pulley 66. Furthermore, the fatigue life of the cable core is extended by reducing the number of turns and their strength. Gear reduction further reduces the back gap,
This will give the operator a better operational feel. A triangular core guide 82 forms part of the end bracket and is adapted to guide the pair of cable runs between the pulley gear 66 and the hose locking device. A recess 83 is provided in the core guide and contacts one end of the input shaft 74 so as to support it. In FIG. 8, one side pocket 84 is radially inward about pulley 66.

The ends of the cable core are guided into the side pockets 84 by a pair of tracks 86,88. One bolt 90 and key washer 92 secures the end of each cable core to pocket 8.
Tighten to within 4.

The single nut tensioning device previously described can be used in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8. A further unique feature of the steering system of the present invention is the variable torque output mechanism shown in FIG.

The previously mentioned output end support bracket 14 is attached to the ship's stern plate 94. A conventional drive motor 96 at the stern is connected to the ship's propulsion system 9 which is pivotally mounted to the stern plate 94.
Drive 8. Attached to the bracket 14 is the previously mentioned cable drum and output shaft 23. Shaft 2
A small gear 100, non-rotatably mounted on one end of 3, meshes with a larger diameter gear 102 which can be attached to the sternplate by a pair of support arms (not shown). A crank arm 104 is integrally attached to the gear 102 so as not to rotate. The helm 106 passes through an opening in the transom and is connected to the vessel's propulsion system 98. Moving the rudder handle causes the ship's propulsion device 98 to pivot around the steering axis S. The connecting rod 108 connects the crank arm 104 to the rudder handle 1.
It is connected to 06. The crank arm 104 is shorter than the rudder handle 106. In FIG. 6, the crank arm 10
4 is at the point where it imparts a minimum torque to the helm 106.

Conversely, crank arm 104 is adapted to provide maximum torque when it is rotated any 90° from its minimum torque position. The position of the crank arm 104 is controlled through the rotational movement of the input shaft by the operation of the steering wheel, and this movement is controlled by the gear reducer 10 by the cable 10.
0,102. The connecting rod 108 is the crank arm 1
In response to the position 04, a variable torque is applied to the rudder handle, thereby converting rotational motion into rocking motion.
The variable torque mechanism described above is particularly useful when steering to the 7-heavy right and 2-heavy left positions. This is to provide the operator with increased steering torque when the helm swings into its fully extended position. The output cable drum 22 and reduction gear set 100, 102 are also one large diameter with a cable core run 24 connected thereto with a crank arm 104 attached to the output shaft of this large diameter output pulley. output pulley (
(not shown).

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(a) The small diameter pinion gear and the large diameter gear are meshed together, so that the rotation of the small diameter pinion gear causes the larger diameter gear to decelerate and rotate, so even if the input shaft is rotated a large amount, the This has the effect of being able to obtain output rotation and allowing easy steering and maneuvering.

Since the cable core is wound around the pulley only once, the fatigue life of the cable core can be extended.

(c) Since the tension force of the cable hose can be adjusted by the cable hose locking device, an appropriate tension force can be applied to the cable core.

(d) Since the speed reduction mechanism is provided, backlash can be reduced, and the steering operation of the ship becomes safe and reliable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an improved pulling cable device for transmitting steering force, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side elevational view of the cable device shown in FIG. 1. 3 is a plan view, partially in section, of the cable system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the hose of the double-track cable system taken along line 4--4 in FIG. , Figure 5 shows the first
6 is an enlarged end view of the cable drum used in the cable system shown in FIG. 6; FIG. 7 is a plan view of the end of the rudder handle of the same steering device as that of FIG. 2 along plane 7--7 of FIG. 8, to show its variability; FIG. FIG. 8 is a view along line 8-8. 0 (Figs 1 to 6) 10...Cable housing (hose), 18...Input shaft, 20,2
2... Cable drum, 23... Output shaft, 16... Steering wheel, 24... Cable core, 26... Sleeve, 30・・・・・・
External casing, 32... Locking device, 40...
...Tension nut. 0 (Figs 7, 8) 66... Pulley one gear, 74... Steering wheel drive shaft, 70... Socket, 96... Drive motor 94・・・・・・
... Stern plate, 98 ... Propulsion device, 106 ...
...Rudder handle, 104...Crank arm.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An input shaft, a small diameter pinion gear driven by the input shaft, a large diameter gear driven by the pinion gear, and operable on the large diameter gear. a first rotatable pulley of large diameter coupled to a rotatable pulley; a second pulley rotatably mounted on an output shaft spaced from the first pulley; and between the first and second pulleys. a flexible double-wire conduit cable hose interposed therein; a cable hose locking device for adjusting the tensile force of the cable hose; and a cable hose locking device that is wound once around each of the first and second pulleys and attached to the cable hose. longitudinal movement of one cable core in one direction causes longitudinal movement of the other cable core in the opposite direction within the hose; two flexible cable cores adapted for movement in a direction, the maximum length of movement of one cable core being substantially equal to the circumference of said first pulley; A rudder handle attached to a propulsion device pivotally connected to the stern plate and the rudder handle are operably connected to the output shaft, and the torque at the rudder handle is changed from a minimum torque to a maximum torque in response to movement of the input shaft. a device for changing the torque and thereby pivoting the propulsion device, with a reduced backclearance, such that a large rotation of the pulley near the limit results in a small output rotation. 2. The steering device according to claim 1, wherein the device for changing the torque includes a crank arm that rotates in relation to the rotation of the output shaft, and a pivot arm that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the output shaft, and a pivot that is attached to both the crank arm and the rudder handle. A steering device for an inboard/outboard motor including a dynamically connected connecting rod.