JP2700672B2 - Water vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water vehicle used for a personal watercraft such as a water ski, a personal watercraft, a jet-type water jet boat, and, more particularly, to a water-cooled engine. A water vehicle in which a crankshaft is intermittently connected to an impeller shaft of a jet propulsion device via a centrifugal clutch.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, a water vehicle of this type is configured as shown in FIG. 3, for example, and a base 2 of a handle pole 3 is attached to a bracket 2 fixed to a ship main part of a hull 1 by a horizontal support shaft 4. As a result, it is pivotally attached around the horizontal support shaft 4.

The handle pole 3 supports a pair of left and right handle bars 5, 5 at its free end so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction (the front-back direction with respect to the sliding direction of the hull 1).
The water vehicle is steered by the left-right rotation operation of 5.

That is, when the handlebars 5, 5 are rotated left and right, the steering cable 6 guided to the stern through the handle pole 3 and the hull 1 is displaced in the axial direction, and is fixed to the bottom 1a of the stern. The steering nozzle 8 of the jet propulsion device 7 is swung right and left to steer.

The jet propulsion device 7 converts the impeller 9 to an impeller shaft.
10 and a coupling 11 connected to an output shaft (crankshaft) of an engine 12, and the rotation of the impeller 9 by the rotation of the engine 12 causes the suction port opened at the bottom of the ship
The water from 13 is generated as a jet stream A as shown by an arrow, and the jet is strongly jetted backward from the steering nozzle 8.
The reaction force generates a propulsive force of the hull 1.

However, in such a conventional water vehicle, the crankshaft (not shown) of the engine 12 is connected to the impeller shaft 10 of the jet propulsion device 7 via the coupling 11. Therefore, there are the following problems.

1) The load at the time of starting the engine 12 is large, and starting failure or battery running out occurs.

2) In general, in this type of water vehicle, once the engine 12 is stopped on the water surface, water easily enters a cylinder (not shown) of the engine 12 and is likely to cause a failure.

Therefore, it is necessary to moor the hull 1 with the engine 12 running, but the mooring cannot be performed because the thrust of the hull 1 is generated by the operation of the engine 12.

3) If the engine 12 does not stop when the rider falls, there is a risk that the water vehicle will collide with other water vehicles, ships, people, etc. Therefore, there is a device that automatically stops the engine 12 when the rider falls. Required and the cost is increased accordingly.

4) Once the engine 12 is stopped on the surface of the water, the rider must start the engine 12 in an unstable state when re-entering, and unskilled riders are accompanied by danger and anxiety.

5) Since cooling water for cooling the water-cooled engine 12 is supplied from a jet pump (not shown), there is a problem that the water supply pipe becomes long and the structure becomes complicated.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a water vehicle capable of simplifying driving operability.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has an impeller shaft in which a pump impeller of a jet propulsion device is fixedly connected to a crankshaft of a water-cooled engine so as to be able to transmit. In the water vehicle, the impeller shaft is intermittently connected to the crankshaft via a centrifugal clutch, and the engine is cooled by a drive gear provided on an outer periphery of a clutch housing of the centrifugal clutch fixed to the crankshaft. And a driven gear provided on a pump shaft of a cooling water pump for increasing the pressure of the cooling water.

(Operation) When the engine crankshaft exceeds a set number of revolutions such as idling, the impeller shaft of the jet propulsion device is connected to the crankshaft by a centrifugal clutch, and thrust is generated in the water vehicle.

However, when the crankshaft is at or below the idling speed, such as when the engine is stopped, the centrifugal clutch
The connection between the impeller shaft and the crankshaft is released, and no thrust is generated in the water vehicle even while the engine is running.

Therefore, when the engine is started, the connection between the crankshaft of the engine and the impeller shaft of the jet propulsion device is released by the centrifugal clutch, so that when the engine is started, there is no load on the impeller shaft, starting is easy, and the battery at the time of starting is easy. Wear can be reduced.

Even when the engine is running, if the rotation speed is equal to or lower than the set rotation speed, such as idling rotation, the connection between the engine crankshaft and the impeller shaft of the jet propulsion device is again released by the centrifugal clutch. Since no motive force is generated in the hull, the hull can be moored with the engine running.

Furthermore, when the rider falls, the throttle is turned off and the engine speed drops below the set value, so the connection between the crankshaft and the impeller shaft is released by the centrifugal clutch, and no propulsive force is generated on the hull. It can prevent the hull from running away.

Therefore, there is no need for an automatic engine stop device for automatically stopping the engine when the rider falls, so that the cost can be reduced accordingly.

Furthermore, since the engine is not stopped on the water surface, it is possible to prevent water from entering the cylinder of the engine and causing a failure.

Further, since the cooling water for cooling the water-cooled engine is supplied from the cooling water pump directly connected to the engine, the cooling water can be constantly supplied to the engine during the operation of the engine, regardless of the operation speed, to cool the engine. .

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing the entire configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a crankshaft 12a (see FIG. 2) of a water-cooled engine 12 is coupled to a coupling 11 via a centrifugal clutch 20. It is characterized in that it is connected intermittently.

The centrifugal clutch 20 includes a gear case 21a as shown in FIG.
A cooling water pump 30 that pressurizes cooling water for cooling the water-cooled engine 12 and supplies water to the water-cooled engine 12 is housed in the lower part inside the gear case 21a.

The gear case 21a is fixed to an outer surface of a crankcase 21b that accommodates a tip portion (a left end portion in FIG. 2) of the crankshaft 12a of the engine 12.

The front end of the crankshaft 12a is formed as a spline shaft, and a cylindrical clutch housing 22 having a bottom and a slider dock 23 of the centrifugal clutch 20 is fitted around the outer periphery of the spline shaft.

The clutch housing 22 is fixed to the crankshaft 12a,
The slider dog 23 is externally fitted reciprocally in the axial direction of the crankshaft 12a and closely fits into the cylindrical inner bottom of the clutch housing 22, and the rotation of the clutch housing 22 at the time of this fitting causes the slider dog 23 to rotate. It is supposed to.

The slide dog 23 has ball housing recesses 25, 25,... For housing a plurality of steel balls 24, 24,.
Are provided respectively.

The ball receiving recesses 25 are formed so that the depth of the recesses gradually decreases toward the outer peripheral portion of the slider dog 23.

Further, the slider dog 23 is provided with a spring receiving recess 26 having a predetermined depth in the axial direction at an inner diameter portion of a tip portion (a left end portion in FIG. 2) of the slider dog 23, and a return spring 27 is stored in the spring receiving recess 26. I have.

The return spring 27 is fitted around the outer periphery of the distal end (the left end in FIG. 2) of the crankshaft 12a. One end of the return spring 27 is fixed to the distal end of the crankshaft 12a by a fastener, while the other free end is fixed. The slider dog 23 is in contact with the bottom of the spring accommodating recess 26 of the slider dog 23, and is constantly pressed against the clutch housing 22 by the spring force of the return spring 27 to urge the slider dog 23 to be fitted.

At the tip of the slider dog 23, a driving dog 28 is provided in an annular shape around the axis of the slider dog 23 on an outer peripheral portion outside the spring accommodating recess 26.

On the other hand, the output shaft 11a fixed to the coupling 11 is housed coaxially with the crankshaft 12 in the upper part of the gear case 21a,
It is rotatably supported.

The output shaft 11a is provided with a driven dog 29 which is intermittently meshed with the driving dog 28 on a surface (right end surface in the drawing) of the slider dog 23 which faces the driving dog 28.

Therefore, when the crankshaft 12a rotates to a required set number exceeding, for example, the idling rotational speed of the engine 12, the steel balls 24, 24,. Move to the side.

Then, as shown in the lower half of the figure from the center line O indicating the axis of the crankshaft 12a, the steel balls 24, 24 ... move the slider dog 23 to the output shaft 11a side of the coupling 11 (left side in the figure). Extrude.

For this reason, the driving side dog 28 is pushed to the driven side dog 29 side and meshes, and the output shaft 11a of the coupling 11 is connected to the clang shaft 12a.

An outer gear (drive gear) 22a is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch housing 22 in an annular shape along the circumferential direction.

On the other hand, a cooling water pump 30 is built in the lower part of the gear case 21a.

In the cooling water pump 30, a pump impeller 32 is housed in a pump swirl chamber 31 formed in an inner lower portion of the gear case 21a.

The pump swirl chamber 31 is interposed in the middle of a water supply passage for supplying cooling water to a cooling water device (not shown) of the engine 12.

Pump shaft 33 fixed to this pump impeller 32
The outer periphery of the clutch housing of the centrifugal clutch 20
A gear 34 meshing with the outer gear 22a of the 22 is externally fitted and fixed.

Therefore, the pump shaft 33 has the gear 34 and the outer gear
22a and the clutch housing 22 are always connected to the crankshaft 12a, respectively.
During operation of the pump, the pump impeller 32 constantly rotates, boosts the cooling water and supplies it to the cooling device of the engine 12, and
12 can be cooled.

 Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

First, when the engine 12 is operated at a rotational speed equal to or lower than the idling rotational speed or is stopped, the centrifugal clutch 20 shown in FIG. 1 connects the crankshaft 12a (see FIG. 2) of the engine 12 to the cup. The connection of the ring 11 to the output shaft 11a is released, and the rotational force of the engine 12 is not transmitted to the impeller shaft.

That is, when the operation of the engine 12 is stopped, the crankshaft 12a shown in FIG. 2 does not rotate, so that a plurality of steel balls 24, 24. 23 are accommodated in the respective ball accommodating recesses 25.

Therefore, the slider dog 23 is pressed against the clutch housing 22 by the spring force of the return spring 27, and the engagement between the driving dog 28 of the slider dog 23 and the driven dog 29 of the output shaft 11a of the coupling 11 is released. Then, the connection between the crankshaft 12a and the output shaft 11a is released and disconnected.

Further, even when the engine 12 is operating, if the idling speed is lower than the idling speed, the rotation of the crankshaft 12a causes the clutch housing 22 to rotate.
The slider dog 23 closely fitted in the inside 22 is rotated.

Therefore, centrifugal force acts on the plurality of steel balls 24, 24... Accommodated in the plurality of ball accommodating recesses 25, 25. Are unable to move in the centrifugal direction of the slider dog 23.

Therefore, as in the case where the operation of the engine 12 is stopped, the connection between the crankshaft 12a and the output shaft 11a of the coupling 11 is maintained in a disconnected state.

However, when the crankshaft 12a is rotating at the idling speed, the gear 34 of the pump shaft 33 always meshes with the outer gear 22a of the clutch housing 22, so that the pump shaft 33 and the pump impeller 32 rotate. The pressure of the cooling water in the pump swirl chamber 31 is increased, and the cooling water is supplied to a cooling device (not shown) of the engine 12 to cool the engine 12.

If the engine 12 is operating at a rotational speed that exceeds the set rotational speed that is equal to or greater than the idling rotational speed, the second
As shown in the lower half of the center line O in the figure, a plurality of steel balls 24, 2
The centrifugal force acting on 4 ... is greater than the spring force of the return spring 27, and the steel balls 24, 24 ...
The slider dog 23 moves in the centrifugal direction against the spring force of the slider dog 23, the opposing gap between the slider dog 23 and the clutch housing 22 is enlarged, and the slider dog 23 is pressed against the output shaft 11a side of the coupling 11 so that the driving dog 28 follower dog 2
Press against the 9 side to engage both.

Thus, the crankshaft 12a of the engine 12 is connected to the output shaft 11a of the coupling 11.

As a result, the rotational force of the crankshaft 12a of the engine 12 is transmitted to the impeller shaft 10 of the jet propulsion device, the pump impeller 9 is rotated to operate the jet propulsion device 7, and the hull 1 generates thrust.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the engine 12 is started, the crankshaft 12a is not connected to the impeller shaft 10 of the jet propulsion device, so that the engine 12 can be started without load. For this reason, the consumption of the battery for starting the engine 12 can be suppressed to a low level, and the running out of the battery can be prevented.

Even when the engine 12 is running, if the rotation speed is, for example, the idling rotation speed or less, the centrifugal clutch 20 connects the crankshaft 12a of the engine 12 to the impeller shaft 10 of the jet propulsion device 7. Since it is released, it can be easily moored, and required adjustment and leveling operation can be easily performed.

Further, if the rider falls while sliding on the water vehicle, the rotation speed of the engine 12 decreases to the idling rotation speed, so that the connection between the crankshaft 12a of the engine 12 and the impeller shaft 10 is released by the centrifugal clutch 20.
For this reason, the thrust of the hull 1 stops and the hull 1 almost stops, so that there is no fear of colliding with another ship or a person, and the safety can be improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to stop the engine 12 on the water surface, there is no danger that water will enter the cylinder (not shown) of the engine 12 and cause an engine trouble, and the life of the engine 12 can be extended.

When the engine 12 is in operation, the cooling water pump 30 is always operated regardless of the number of revolutions, so that the engine 12 can be constantly supplied with cooling water and cooled.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, by forming a step or a recess in a ball housing recess 25 for housing steel balls 24, 24,.
May be configured to jump out in the centrifugal direction at a time when the rotation speed reaches the set number of revolutions, and the driving dog 28 is engaged with the driven dog 29 at a stretch.

Further, the dogs 28 and 29 may be formed in a mountain-shaped ratchet tooth.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the impeller shaft of the jet propulsion device is intermittently connected to the crankshaft of the water-cooled engine via the centrifugal clutch, so that the water-cooled engine operates at a required set number such as an idling speed or the like. In this case, the connection between the crankshaft and the impeller shaft is released by the centrifugal clutch, so that the water vehicle can be moored while the engine is running, and the operability of the water vehicle can be simplified. .

Furthermore, a cooling water pump that supplies cooling water to the water-cooled engine is directly connected to the engine crankshaft via a gear, so that the engine can be cooled by always supplying cooling water to the engine during operation of the engine. It is possible to prevent engine overheating.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a water vehicle according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of an essential part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional vehicle. 7 ... Jet propulsion device, 9 ... Pump impeller, 10 ...
... impeller shaft, 11 ... coupling, 11a ... output shaft, 20 ... centrifugal clutch, 22 ... clutch housing, 23 ... slider dog, 24 ... steel ball, 30 ... water supply pump, 33 ... pump shaft.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A water vehicle in which an impeller shaft having a pump impeller of a jet propulsion device fixedly connected to a crankshaft of a water-cooled engine is communicably connected to the crankshaft. A driven gear provided on a pump shaft of a cooling water pump for boosting cooling water for cooling the engine is meshed with a driving gear provided on an outer periphery of a clutch housing of the centrifugal clutch fixed and connected to the crankshaft. Water vehicle characterized by the following.