JP3014486B2 - Outboard motor steering mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering mechanism for an outboard motor used for propulsion of a small boat, and more particularly to a steering mechanism using a hydraulic cylinder as a driving source for steering.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of steering mechanism, various methods have been adopted for the arrangement of hydraulic cylinders. As a first example, a hollow support provided as a central axis for rotating (tilting up) the outboard motor main body with respect to a mounting bracket fixed to the hull when the propeller portion of the outboard motor is pulled up from the water surface. The body of the hydraulic cylinder is fixed with the piston rod passed through the rod, and the tip of the piston rod is connected to the steering bracket provided on the outboard motor with a link, so that the steering bracket at the time of steering is shaped like an arc. That absorbs the movement of the subject. In addition, there can be mentioned, for example, one in which a tip fitting fixed to a piston rod is swingably connected to a steering fitting, and an end of the cylinder body opposite to the rod is swingably attached to the hull. . However, these steering mechanisms have a large width as a steering mechanism because the cylinders protrude greatly from the outboard motor to the side.
There is a problem that a relatively large installation space is required.

The applicant of the present application has provided a steering mechanism having a configuration shown in FIG. 1 as a device capable of reducing the width required for installation (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-190090). In this steering mechanism, a cylinder support arm 54 is swingably mounted on both ends of a support rod 53 that connects a main body of an outboard motor 59 to a mounting bracket 51 fixed to a hull 50 in a tiltable manner. Piston rod 55 so as to connect the cylinder support arms 54
Is fixed. Further, a piston (not shown) is fixed to a substantially central portion of the piston rod 55, and the piston rod 5
5 is provided with a cylinder tube 56 having a piston chamber extending to both sides of the piston so as to be able to slide on the left and right directions. Then, the cylinder support arm 54 and the piston rod 55 are formed hollow, and the hydraulic oil is guided from the hydraulic hose 52 to the piston chamber through the cylinder support arm 54 and the piston rod 55 to move the cylinder tube 56 left and right, and the link 57 By cylinder tube 5
The steering bracket 58 connected to the sixth side is driven.

However, in this configuration, when the outboard motor 59 is tilted up, the cylinders 55 and 56 also rotate around the support rod 53 in accordance with the tilting. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an operating space for the cylinders 55 and 56 at the time of tilting up. There was a problem that had to be.

When two outboard motors are mounted on a hull, the steering mechanism is often configured by diverting parts of a single specification from the viewpoint of suppressing an increase in cost.
For example, when the steering mechanism described as the first example is configured as a two-unit specification, the piston rod is separated from the outboard motor connected to the steering bracket by a link by the operating space of the piston rod, and the other outboard motor is mounted. The outboard motors are mounted, and the steering hardware of both outboard motors are connected by tie rods so that the second outboard motor follows the operation of the first outboard motor. However, in this configuration, in addition to the cylinder body being arranged so as to protrude out of the outboard motor, the outboard motors must be arranged apart from each other by a space in which the piston rod moves, which is necessary for installation. There is a problem that the width dimension becomes very large.

In order to reduce the installation space in the width direction, the length of the cylinder tube 56 is increased by extending the length of the cylinder tube 56 so that the steering mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-190090 can be adapted to the two-unit specification. It is conceivable to connect the outboard motors of the respective outboard motors with links, but in that configuration, for example, even if one of the outboard motors fails during maneuvering, it is not possible to tilt up only one outboard motor.
A problem arises in that it is necessary to continue maneuvering as it is. The problem of not being able to tilt up only one of the tie-rod types described above, except for the steering mechanism specifically designed for two outboard motors, similarly arises.

As described above, the conventional steering mechanism tends to require a relatively large installation space, and it is difficult to tilt up each outboard motor separately when two or more outboard motors are used by utilizing the configuration. There was a problem. Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is a steering mechanism having a configuration that can reduce the installation space, and when using a single-unit configuration and using two-unit specifications, each outboard motor is separately tilted up. It is to provide a steering mechanism that can be used.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, a steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to the present invention is configured as follows. That is, the hydraulic cylinder is composed of a cylinder body, a piston rod integrally holding a piston slidable in the cylinder body, and a piston rod projecting from both sides of the cylinder body. The aircraft is fixed to the hull substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of attachment to the hull. Further, the piston rod has holding means for holding a fulcrum shaft located on an extension of the rotation center of the outboard motor main body when the propeller portion of the outboard motor is raised above the water surface so as to be rotatable around its axis. I have. The steering bracket of the outboard motor and the fulcrum shaft are connected by a swingable connecting means corresponding to the arc-shaped operation of the steering bracket during steering. In this configuration, the cylinder body is fixed to the hull, but actually, in order to maintain a certain dimensional relationship between the fulcrum shaft held by the holding means of the piston rod and the steering bracket, the hull of the outboard motor is required. It is preferable to fix it to the hull by fixing it to a mounting bracket.

In the above configuration, when hydraulic oil is supplied to the hydraulic cylinder to reciprocate the piston rod left and right, the steering bracket is driven left and right via the connecting means.
Since the connecting means is swingably connected between the fulcrum shaft of the holding means of the piston rod and the steering bracket, the circular movement of the steering bracket when the outboard motor changes its direction is determined by the connecting means. Is absorbed by swinging. When the outboard motor body is tilted up, the steering bracket and the fulcrum shaft rotate about the center of rotation of the outboard motor, so that the connecting means also rotates about the center of rotation.

As described above, even when the outboard motor is tilted up, the cylinder itself does not rotate with respect to the rotation center of the outboard motor. Can be arranged. Further, since the cylinders are arranged on the left and right sides with respect to the mounting center of the outboard motor, the cylinders do not protrude significantly left and right of the outboard motor. Therefore, the steering mechanism can be installed in a very small space.

This steering mechanism is configured as a two-unit specification corresponding to a case where a first outboard motor having a first steering bracket and a second outboard motor having a second steering bracket are mounted on a hull. The fulcrum shaft comprises a first fulcrum shaft located on an extension of the rotation center outside one of the outboard motors, and a second fulcrum shaft located on an extension of the rotation center outside the other outboard motor. The holding means for the piston rod comprises a first holding means for holding a first fulcrum shaft and a second holding means for holding a second fulcrum shaft, and the connecting means further comprises a first steering bracket and a piston. First connecting means slidably connected to the first holding means of the rod, and second connection swayably connected to the second steering bracket and the second holding means of the piston rod. Means.

With this configuration, when the first and second outboard motors are tilted up, the first connecting means and the second connecting means rotate separately around the first fulcrum axis and the second fulcrum axis. I do. Therefore, each outboard motor can be tilted up separately, and steering can be performed with only one side tilted up. In addition, since the fulcrum shaft is located outside the center of rotation of the outboard motor, the outboard motors can be arranged close to each other. The installation space can be made extremely small in combination with being fixed to the hull.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.
The outboard motor steering mechanism according to the embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the steering mechanism, FIG. 3 is a plan view, FIG. 4 is a side view, FIG. 5 is a side view at the time of tilting up,
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional front view. In this steering mechanism, the directions of the two outboard motors 1a and 1b change simultaneously by rotating the handle 2a of the hydraulic pump 2. Therefore, the hydraulic pump 2 is connected to the hydraulic cylinder 4 via the hydraulic pipes 3a and 3b.
The piston rod 20 of the hydraulic cylinder 4 that moves left and right by the hydraulic oil pumped from the pump 2
Tip fittings 5a, 5b fixed to both ends thereof, stays 6a, 6b as holding means, and links 7a, 7b as connecting means.
Are connected to steering hardware 30a, 30b of the outboard motors 1a, 1b.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed configuration of the hydraulic cylinder 4. The cylinder 4 has cylinder covers 11, 13, 15
A double-acting double-rod type is constituted by a cylinder body composed of the cylinder tubes 12 and 14 and a piston rod 20 to which a piston 19 is fixed by welding or the like. In this cylinder body, the cylinder tube 12,
Male screw formed at both ends of the cylinder cover 1
It is screwed into the female screw formed in 1,13,15,
Cylinder covers 13, 15 and cylinder tubes 12, 14
Are provided with lock nuts 17 and 16 for adjusting the length. Elbow-type pipe joints 9, 10 for connecting the above-mentioned hydraulic pipes 3a, 3b and air release valves 29a, 29b are attached to the cylinder covers 11, 13, respectively. Also, the cylinder covers 11, 13,
A seal ring is mounted on the piston 15 and the piston 19 to prevent oil leakage.

Screws are provided at both ends of cylindrical mounting portions 1e and 1f provided integrally with the outboard motors 1a and 1b, and mounting brackets 1c and 1d formed separately from the outboard motors 1a and 1b. The support rods 28a, 28b formed of pipes having the holes are inserted, and the nuts 26a, 26b and 27a, 27b are fastened to the screws at both ends, whereby the main bodies of the outboard motors 1a, 1b and the mounting brackets 1c, 1d rotate. It is connected as possible. The cylinder support arms 8a, 8b are integrally held on the nuts 26a, 26b side of the mounting brackets 1c, 1d, respectively. These cylinder support arms 8a and 8b have a cylinder cover 1
1, 15 are mounted using nuts 18a, 18b.

At both ends of the piston rod 20, stays 6a and 6b are fixed via tip fittings 5a and 5b. The tip fittings 5a and 5b have through holes vertically different from each other by 90 ° in order to fix the piston rod 20 and the stays 6a and 6b, and are formed in two at the top and bottom of each through hole. . Then, the piston rod 20 and the stays 6a, 6
The bolts 21a and 21b and the bolts 22a and 22b are inserted and the bolts 21a and 22b are tightened to fix them. Stay 6a, 6
At the tip of b, pins 24a, 24b (extending the center lines of the support rods 28a, 28b) (to ensure that the centers of the pins 24a, 24b are aligned with the centers of the support rods 28a, 28b,
Although not shown, the piston rod 20 is provided with a detent for the cylinder bodies 11 to 15 by an appropriate method), but is inserted into the bushs 23a and 23b capable of receiving loads in both the thrust and radial directions. In this state, it is rotatably held by nuts 25a and 25b. One ends of the links 7a, 7b are fixed to the pins 24a, 24b. Rod ends 7e, 7f are fixed to the other ends of the links 7a, 7b by lock nuts 7c, 7d so that their positions can be finely adjusted. The rod ends 7e and 7f are
The bushes 7g and 7h, the steering hardware 30a and 30b, and the washers 7i and 7j are superimposed thereon, and the bolts 7m and 7n are passed therethrough. Are linked. Link 7a,
7b can swing with respect to the stays 6a, 6b and the steering brackets 30a, 30b.
The arc-shaped movements a and 30b can be absorbed.

The operation of the steering mechanism will be described. Turning the handle 2a to X ₁ direction in FIG. 2, the hydraulic oil to the cylinder 4 from the pipe 3a through the elbow 9 is pumped, the piston rod 20 moves to the right in FIG. Therefore, the steering hardware 30a, 30b moves to the right via the stays 6a, 6b and the links 7a, 7b, and the directions of the outboard motors 1a, 1b change. Further, since the hydraulic fluid turning the X ₂ direction the handle 2a on the contrary the piston rod 20 is transmitted from the elbow 10 to the cylinder 4 is moved to the left, the outboard motor 1a, 1b moves in the opposite direction.

On the other hand, in this configuration, when the outboard motors 1a, 1b in the boat maneuvering state shown in FIG. 4 are tilted up as shown in FIG. 5, the steering brackets 30a, 30b are connected to the support rod 2a.
8a and 28b, the pins 24a and 24b are provided concentrically with the support rods 28a and 28b as described above, so that the pins 24a and 2b are rotated even when the outboard motors 1a and 1b rotate.
The rotation of the link 4b only causes the rotation of the links 7a, 7b, and the cylinder 4 does not change its position. Therefore, there is no need to provide a space for the operation of the cylinder 4, and the installation space can be reduced by disposing the cylinder 4 below the support rods 28a and 28b as in the present embodiment. In this configuration, the cylinder 4 is connected to the outboard motor 1.
Since the links 7a and 7b are connected to both ends of the piston rod 20 while being arranged on the left and right with respect to the centers of the a and 1b, the space between the outboard motors 1a and 1b can be reduced. As a result, the installation space can be reduced in the left-right direction. Further, since the stays 6a, 6b and the links 7a, 7b are provided corresponding to the respective outboard motors 1a, 1b, the outboard motors 1a, 1b are provided.
The tilt-up of 1b can be performed separately.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 7 will be described. In this embodiment, only one outboard motor is driven with substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the same parts as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. ing. The cylinder 4 ′ has a cylinder cover 11, 1.
A cylinder body composed of 5 ′ and a cylinder tube 12 ′, and a piston rod 2 to which a piston (not shown) is fixed.
From 0 ′, it is configured to be shorter than the cylinder of the first embodiment. A tip fitting 5b is fixed to only one end of the piston rod 20 ', and is connected to a steering fitting 30b via a stay 6b, a link 7b, and a rod end 7f. The cylinder 4 'is fixed to the mounting bracket 1c by arms 8a and 8b. Thus, in this embodiment, the connection structure for the right outboard motor of the two outboard motors described in the first embodiment is applied as it is. Also in this configuration, by turning the handle 2a of the hydraulic pump 2, the direction of the outboard motor 1b can be changed left and right.

Also in the present embodiment, the installation base can be made extremely small because the cylinders are arranged almost right and left with respect to the center of the outboard motor and the cylinders do not move around the support rods. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be implemented in various other modes. For example, in the above embodiments, the cylinders 4, 4 '
Are fixed to the mounting brackets 1c and 1d by the arms 8a and 8b, but the cylinders 4 and 4 'need not necessarily be fixed to the mounting brackets 1c and 1d, and the steering brackets 30a and 30b are used.
7a, 7 connecting the piston rods 20, 20 'to the
If the pins 24a, 24b, which are the fulcrum shafts of b, are located on the extension of the rotation center of the outboard motors 1a, 1b, they may be fixed directly to the hull.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the outboard motor steering mechanism according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a steering mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the steering mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a side view when the steering mechanism is tilted up.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional front view of a steering mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a steering mechanism according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b Outboard motor 2 Hydraulic pump 3a, 3b Piping 4 Cylinder 5a, 5b Tip fitting 6a, 6b
Stay (holding means) 7a, 7b Link (connecting means) 8a, 8b
Arm 9,10 Elbow type pipe joint 11,13,
15 Cylinder cover 12, 14 Cylinder tube 19 Piston 20 Piston rod 24a, 24
b Pin (fulcrum shaft) 28a, 28b Support rod 29a, 29
b Air release valve 30a, 30b Steering bracket

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A piston rod (2) of a hydraulic cylinder (4, 4 ').
0, 20 ') to the steering hardware (30a, 30b) of the outboard motor (1a, 1b), and the reciprocating motion of the piston rod (20, 20') causes the outboard motor (1a, 1b) to move. In the outboard motor steering mechanism configured to change the direction, the hydraulic cylinder (4, 4 ′) includes a cylinder body (11 to 15, 12 ′, 15 ′) and a cylinder body (11 to 15, 12 ′). ', 1
Piston rods (20, 20 ') that integrally hold a piston (19) slidable inside 5') and project from both sides of the cylinder body (11-15, 12 ', 15') The cylinder body (11-15, 12 ', 15') is fixed to the hull substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of attachment of the outboard motors (1a, 1b) to the hull, and the piston rod (20, 20 ') is a fulcrum shaft (24a, 24b) located on an extension of the center of rotation (28a, 28b) of the outboard motor body when pulling the propeller portion of the outboard motor (1a, 1b) above the water surface. ) So as to be rotatable about the shaft center, and has a holding bracket (30a, 30b) for the outboard motor (1a, 1b) and the fulcrum shaft (24a, 24b). Is the steering bracket (30a,
30b) The connection means (7a,
A steering mechanism for an outboard motor, which is connected according to 7b). 2. A first outboard motor (1a) having a first steering bracket (30a) and a second steering bracket (30) as the outboard motors (1a, 1b).
b) is attached to the hull, and the fulcrum shafts (24a, 24b) are attached to the first and second outboard motors (1b).
a, 1b) is located on the extension of the rotation center (28a, 28b) on one outside and on the extension of the rotation center (28a, 28b) on the other outside. And a holding means (6a, 6b) for holding the piston rod (20).
b) is a first holding means (6) for holding the first fulcrum shaft (24a).
a) and second holding means (6) for holding the second fulcrum shaft (24b).
b), wherein the connecting means (7a, 7b) is connected to the first
First connecting means (7) swingably connected between the steering bracket (30a) and the first holding means (6a) of the piston rod (20).
a), the second steering bracket (30b) and the piston rod (20)
The second holding means (6b) is swingably connected to the second holding means (6b).
2. A steering mechanism for an outboard motor according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting means.