JP2006036026A - Motor-driven outboard motor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrically driven outboard motor enabling a sufficient area of electricity generation to be secured for each solar cell and of preventing the solar cells from being damaged. <P>SOLUTION: The electrically driven outboard motor 1 is equipped with an electric motor 14, a battery 34 to supply the electric power to the electric motor 14, and a control unit 35 to control the revolving speed etc. of the electric motor 14, wherein the arrangement further includes a charger 36 to charge the battery 34 and the solar cells 46 and 47 to supply the electric power to the charger 36. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric outboard motor.

  Generally, an outboard motor uses an internal combustion engine that uses gasoline or the like as a power source, a so-called gasoline engine or the like. A gasoline engine has a complicated structure, a large number of parts, and many parts that cause various problems, such as a fuel system, intake / exhaust system, electrical system, lubrication system, and drive system.

  Furthermore, in recent years, environmental problems have been highlighted, and there are many problems with outboard motors equipped with gasoline engines, such as leakage of gasoline and lubricating oil and exhaust of exhaust gas into water. In view of these problems, an outboard motor having an electric motor as a power source has been devised (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, although an electric motor is driven by a battery, since an outboard motor travels on water without an oil supply facility or a charging facility unlike an automobile or the like, the battery cannot be charged on the way. Therefore, the outboard motor must be equipped with a battery with sufficient capacity from departure to return. In addition, since the power consumption increases with the increase in the size of the electric motor, it is necessary to install a large battery with a large capacity or a spare battery in order to extend the cruising distance. It is not preferable especially for a small ship because it is bulky or requires extra space.

As one of the means for solving the above problems, a technique for charging a battery using a solar cell is known technology, and examples of the installation location of the solar cell include, for example, a solar cell installed on the hull side, (For example, refer to Patent Document 2), and the like (see Patent Document 3, for example) in which a solar cell is installed on the surface of a cover constituting the outer shape of the outboard motor.
JP 59-45296 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-221281 JP 59-25078 A

  However, when the solar cell is installed on the hull side, there is a problem that the space in the ship is narrowed, and when the battery is mounted in the main body of the outboard motor, there is a problem that wiring for charging is necessary.

  In addition, when installing solar cells on the surface of the cover that constitutes the outer shape of the outboard motor, there is a problem that a sufficient solar cell power generation area cannot be secured, and the outboard motor is removed from the hull during maintenance of the outboard motor. When it is placed on the cover, there is a problem that the solar cell on the cover surface may be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electric outboard motor capable of sufficiently securing a power generation area of a solar cell and preventing damage to the solar cell. .

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an electric outboard motor according to the present invention includes an electric motor, a battery that supplies electric power to the electric motor, and the rotational speed of the electric motor. An electric outboard motor provided with a control unit for controlling the above and the like includes a charger that charges the battery and a solar cell that supplies power to the charger.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 2, a storage chamber capable of storing the solar cell is provided around an outboard motor case that covers the periphery of the outboard motor. .

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 3, the solar cell is configured to be deployable so as to obtain a power generation area that is at least twice as large as the housed state.

  And, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, as set forth in claim 4, the control unit is set so that the rotational speed of the electric motor does not rise above a predetermined value during the deployment of the solar cell. It is.

  And in order to solve the subject mentioned above, as described in Claim 5, the said solar cell developed from the said outboard motor is arrange | positioned in the upper position from the transom upper edge part of a hull.

  According to the electric outboard motor according to the present invention, sufficient power generation can be secured, so that it is possible to eliminate the worry of insufficient battery power remaining and to remove the outboard motor from the hull during outboard motor maintenance. Even if placed on the floor, the solar cell will not be damaged.

  Further, while the solar battery is being deployed, it is possible to run the ship at a low speed, and the solar battery is not damaged during running or steering.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric outboard motor according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the outboard motor. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the outboard motor 1 is divided into three upper parts, an upper unit 2, a middle unit 3 and a lower unit 4 from the top in the vertical direction. Are covered by outboard motor cases 5-7.

  The upper unit 2 located at the upper part is composed of an upper case 5 constituting a synthetic resin outboard motor case having a left and right split structure with the uppermost part opened, and a lid member 8 for closing the opening of the upper case 5. The lid member 8 is attached so as to be freely opened and closed via a hinge 9 provided at the rear edge of the opening of the upper case 5.

  On the other hand, the middle case 6 constituting the outboard motor case constituting the middle unit 3 located in the middle part is provided with a mount case 10 at the upper part thereof, and the upper mount 11 constituting the mounting device is accommodated in the mount case 10. At the same time, the upper case 5 is placed on the mount case 10. A lower mount 12 constituting another mounting device is attached to the lower part of the middle case 6.

  A partition wall 13 is provided above the lower mount 12 to partition the inside of the middle case 6 vertically. The inside of the middle case 6 above the partition wall 13 is set as a motor room, and an electric motor 14 as a power source of the outboard motor 1 is stored in the motor room.

  A lower case 7 constituting an outboard motor case constituting the lower unit 4 is provided at the lower part of the middle case 6. A propeller shaft 15 is pivotally supported inside the lower case 7 and a propeller 16 is provided at the rear end thereof. The upper mount 11 and the lower mount 12 are supported by the swivel portion 18 of the bracket device 17 that supports the outboard motor 1 on the hull 20 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction, and the clamp portion 19 of the bracket device 17 is supported by the hull 20. The swivel portion 18 is fixed to the transom 21 and is pivotally supported by the clamp portion 19 via a tilt shaft 22 so as to be tiltable in the vertical direction.

  Further, a steering bracket 23 is formed on the upper part of the swivel portion 18 to which the upper mount 11 is attached, and a steering handle 25 is attached to the steering bracket 23 via a handle bracket 24. The steering handle 25 extends forward (leftward in the figure), and is configured so that the hull 20 can be steered by changing the direction of the outboard motor 1 as a whole by swinging the steering handle 25 in the horizontal direction. The

  On the other hand, the partition wall 13 also serves as a motor mounting base. Between the upper mount 11 and the lower mount 12 in the motor room, the electric motor 14 has an output shaft 26 in a substantially vertical direction above the motor mounting base 13. It is provided vertically so as to face, and is fixed by, for example, a bolt 27. A drive shaft 28 is coupled to the output shaft 26 of the electric motor 14 and extends downward in the middle case 6 and the lower case 7. The lower end of the drive shaft 28 is connected to the propeller shaft 15 via a bevel gear 29. The output of the electric motor 14, that is, the rotation of the output shaft 26 is transmitted to the propeller shaft 15 through the drive shaft 28 and the bevel gear 29 to rotate the propeller 16.

  A throttle grip 31 for adjusting the output of the electric motor 14 is provided at the tip of the handle housing 30 constituting the steering handle 25, and a variable resistor for converting the rotation of the throttle grip 31 into an electric signal in the handle housing 30. 32 is arranged. A shift switch 33 is provided on the upper surface of the handle housing 30 to switch the electric motor 14 between forward and reverse.

  On the mount case 10 in the upper case 5, a rechargeable battery 34 such as a lithium ion battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor 14 and a control unit 35 for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 14 are arranged in the vertical direction. Is done. The battery 34 is disposed above the control unit 35. Further, a charger 36 for charging the battery 34 is disposed below the battery 34, in this embodiment, and further below the control unit 35. The charger 36 may be set so as to be detachable so that it can be charged at a place other than the outboard motor 1 (for example, a marina or a home).

  The battery 34 is attached to the battery base 37, for example. The battery base 37 is operatively connected to the lid member 8 via a link mechanism (not shown), and the battery 34 is tilted forward in conjunction with the opening operation of the lid member 8 to facilitate the attachment / detachment of the battery 34. In addition, the position of the battery 34 in the state which opened the cover member 8 is shown with a dashed-two dotted line in FIG. Further, a display panel 38 is integrally provided on the front surface of the lid member 8.

  Although not shown in detail, the display panel 38 is provided with a remaining amount indicator lamp for the battery 34, a temperature warning lamp for the electric motor 14, and a key type main switch 39. For example, the key (not shown) is set to be detachable at the center OFF position. When the key (not shown) is turned to the ON position in one direction, it can be operated. When the key (not shown) is turned to the OPEN position in the other direction, the lid member 8 is locked. Configured to be released. That is, the key of the main switch 39 also serves as a lock opening / closing operation key of the lid member 8, and the battery 34 cannot be attached / detached (exchanged) unless the main switch 39 is in the OFF position.

  The cooling device of the outboard motor 1 shown in the present invention is a water cooling type. A motor cover 40 is attached around the electric motor 14, and a water jacket 41 through which cooling water flows is formed between the electric motor 14 and the motor cover 40. On the other hand, for example, a volume-variable cooling water pump 42 driven by the rotation of the drive shaft 28 is provided on the upper surface of the lower case 7 in the middle case 6, and the cooling water pump 42 faces the lower surface of the upper partition wall 13. A cooling water pipe 43 extends in the middle case 6 along the drive shaft 28. A communication passage 44 is formed in the partition wall 13 and the motor mounting base 13 to communicate the cooling water pipe 43 and the water jacket 41 of the electric motor 14.

  When the drive shaft 28 rotates with the rotation of the electric motor 14, an impeller (not shown) in the cooling water pump 42 rotates to take external water as cooling water from a water intake 45 provided in the lower case 7, and this cooling Water is pumped to a water jacket 41 formed around the electric motor 14 to forcibly cool the electric motor 14. Moreover, the cooling water after cooling the electric motor 14 is discharged into the middle case 6 from a cooling water discharge passage (not shown) formed in the partition wall 13 and discharged from the lower case 7 to the outside. .

  The electric outboard motor 1 according to the present invention includes solar cells 46 and 47 that supply electric power to a charger 36 that charges the battery 34. The solar cells 46 and 47 are, for example, in the form of panels, and are stored in storage chambers 48 and 49 provided around the upper case 5, in the present embodiment, a total of three locations on both sides and the rear of the upper case 5. The In each of the storage chambers, a plurality of solar cells 46 and 47 are overlapped so that the solar cells 46 and 47 can obtain a product of the power generation surfaces 46a and 47a at least twice as large as the storage state. 48, 49.

  Each of the storage chambers 48 and 49 has a lower end defined by a lid member 51 and 52 attached to the upper case 5 via a hinge 50 so as to be freely opened and closed and an inner wall of the upper case 5. The solar cells 46 and 47 are slid and deployed by pulling out the stacked solar cells 46 and 47. A well-known technique is applied to the slide structure of the solar cells 46 and 47.

  The solar cells 46 arranged on both sides of the upper case 5 are integrally attached to the inside of the lid member 51, for example. The lid member 51 is opened in a substantially horizontal state slightly upward, holds the power generation surface 46a of the solar cell 46 facing upward, and the solar cell 46 slides to the side of the outboard motor 1, 2 is expanded as shown on the right side.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the solar cells 46 deployed on both sides of the outboard motor 1 are arranged at a position above the upper edge of the transom 21 of the hull 20. Note that the left side of FIG. 2 shows a state in which the solar cell 46 is stored in the storage chamber 48 on the side of the upper case 5.

  On the other hand, the solar cell 47 arranged at the rear part of the upper case 5 is attached to the upper case 5 side, for example, and only the lid member 52 is opened alone. The lid member 52 is opened rearward, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the solar cell 47 has a vertical direction along the shape of the rear surface of the upper case 5 with its power generation surface 47 a facing rearward. It slides in a slightly tilted state and is deployed.

  It should be noted that the solar cells 46 and 47 are slightly attached to the lid member 51 and the upper case 5 (not shown) so that the power generation surfaces 46a and 47a of the solar cells 46 and 47 can receive solar light efficiently. Angle adjustment function (not shown).

  Above the middle case 6 constituting the middle unit 3 in the space above the electric motor 14 and below the battery 34, the charger 36 is disposed, and the base of each solar cell 46, 47 and the charger 36 are also charged. The device 36 and the battery base 37 are connected by wiring. Note that the control unit 35 or the battery base 37 for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 14 and the charger 36 may be integrated (not shown).

  Charging from the solar cells 46 and 47 to the battery 34 via the charger 36 is set to automatically start simultaneously with the deployment of the solar cells 46 and 47. As an example of an automatic charging start structure, for example, an opening / closing position switch 53 is provided at a portion where the lid members 51, 52 are attached to the upper case 5, and a signal is output when the lid members 51, 52 are opened. This output signal is detected by the control unit 35 and the charger 36 to recognize that the solar cells 46 and 47 have been deployed, and the charger 36 automatically charges the battery 34.

  In addition, when the control unit 35 receives a signal indicating that the lid members 51 and 52 are opened, the control unit 35 controls the electric motor 14 regardless of the rotation position of the throttle grip 31 so that the rotation number of the electric motor 14 does not increase to a predetermined value or more. It is set to control the rotation speed.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  When a ship equipped with the outboard motor 1 with the electric motor 14 is used for leisure such as fishing, for example, since the outboard motor 1 is not normally used in a fishing spot, the battery is developed by deploying the solar cells 46 and 47 therebetween. 34 can be charged. As a result, the power of the battery 34 consumed in traveling to the fishing spot can be replenished during fishing, and the fear of insufficient battery 34 power remaining can be solved.

  Further, since the solar cells 46 and 47 are provided not in the hull 20 side of the ship but in the periphery of the upper case 5 on the outboard motor 1 side, for example, on both sides and the rear part of the upper case 5, space on the hull 20 side is provided. Do not use. As a result, the solar cells 46 and 47 do not get in the way during leisure such as fishing. Furthermore, since the battery 34 is also mounted on the outboard motor 1 side, the wiring can be shortened and it is not necessary to attach or detach the wiring when the outboard motor 1 is attached or detached. Further, since the solar cells 46 and 47 are stored in the storage chambers 48 and 49 of the upper case 5, the outboard motor 1 is detached from the hull 20 and placed on the floor or the like during maintenance of the outboard motor 1. However, the solar cells 46 and 47 are not damaged.

  Further, a plurality of, for example, three solar cells 46, 47 are stored in the respective storage chambers 48, 49 so as to obtain a power generation area that is at least twice as large as that of the stored state. Since it is configured such that it can be deployed outward during use, sufficient power generation can be ensured.

  By the way, there is a case where a ship travels during fishing such as trolling. Therefore, while the solar cells 46 and 47 are being deployed (that is, while the battery 34 is being charged), the electric motor 14 is operated to allow the ship to travel. However, when the vehicle travels at a high speed, the solar cells 46 and 47 deployed due to wind pressure or the like, for example. Therefore, the control unit 35 does not increase the rotational speed of the electric motor 14 beyond a predetermined value during the deployment of the solar cells 46 and 47, regardless of the rotation position of the throttle grip 31. By setting to control the number of revolutions, it becomes possible to run the ship at low speed even when the solar cells 46 and 47 are deployed, and the solar cells 46 and 47 are stored one by one when trolling or moving the fishing spot. You don't have to.

  Further, during low-speed traveling, the hull 20 may be steered by changing the direction of the entire outboard motor 1 by operating the steering handle 25. For example, the solar cells 46 deployed on both sides of the outboard motor 1 are connected to the hull. The solar cell 46 does not interfere with the hull 20 even if it is steered when the solar cell 46 is deployed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the solar cells 46 and 47 are accommodated in a total of three locations on both sides and the rear portion of the upper case 5, and each of the solar cells 46 and 47 is in a state in which the three solar cells 46 and 47 overlap each other. 49, the number and position of the storage chambers 48, 49 of the solar cells 46, 47 and the number of the solar cells 46, 47 are the size of the outboard motor 1 used and the electric motor 14. It can be set as appropriate according to the output. Moreover, although the solar cells 46 and 47 are shown as being slid when deployed, they may be foldable like a three-sided mirror, for example.

  Further, although not shown in detail, the solar cells 47 arranged at the rear part of the upper case 5 may be provided so as to extend substantially horizontally rearward similarly to the solar cells 46 arranged on both sides of the upper case 5. . In the above-described embodiment, the solar cell 47 disposed at the rear portion of the upper case 5 is tilted slightly forward in the vertical direction along the shape of the rear surface of the upper case 5 with the power generation surface 47a facing rearward. In this case, when the outboard motor 1 is tilted up, the power generation surface 47a of the solar cell 47 faces upward and can receive sunlight efficiently.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of an electric outboard motor according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the outboard motor shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electric outboard motor 5 Upper case (outboard motor case)
14 Electric motor 20 Hull 21 Transom 34 Battery 35 Control unit 36 Charger 46, 47 Solar cell 48, 49 Storage chamber 51, 52 Lid member 53 Open / close position switch

Claims (5)

In an electric outboard motor comprising an electric motor, a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor, and a control unit for controlling the rotational speed of the electric motor, a charger for charging the battery, and the charger An electric outboard motor comprising a solar cell for supplying electric power to the vehicle. The electric outboard motor according to claim 1, wherein a storage room capable of storing the solar cell is provided around an outboard motor case that covers the periphery of the outboard motor. The electric outboard motor according to claim 2, wherein the solar battery is configured to be deployable so as to obtain a power generation area that is at least twice as large as that of a stored state. 4. The electric outboard motor according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the control unit controls and sets the rotational speed of the electric motor so as not to exceed a predetermined value during deployment of the solar cell. 5. The electric outboard motor according to claim 1, wherein the solar cell deployed from the outboard motor is disposed above a transom upper edge of the hull.

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