JP5392360B2 - Outboard motor handle structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a handle structure for an outboard motor.

The outboard motor is generally mounted on the hull via a swivel bracket and a clamp bracket. The swivel bracket is fixed to the outboard motor, the clamp bracket is fixed to the hull, and the swivel bracket is pivotally supported by the clamp bracket via the pilot shaft so as to be able to rotate in the left-right direction.

  For example, a steering bracket is pivotally integrated with the upper end of the pilot shaft, and a steering handle that extends forward is attached to the front end of the steering bracket. By swinging the steering handle left and right, the outboard motor can be steered left and right around the pilot shaft with respect to the bracket device.

  In general, a throttle grip is provided at the tip of the steering handle so that the throttle operation and the steering can be performed at the same time. However, in recent years, operability has been improved by attaching a shift operation unit and switches to the steering handle. (For example, see Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3).

Japanese Patent No. 3470547 Japanese Patent No. 2718149 JP 2002-70594 A

  However, in the steering handle described in Patent Document 1, the throttle operation is a rotation operation method (grip type), whereas the shift operation is a lever method, and the shift lever is provided at the center of the side surface of the handle. On the other hand, since the throttle adjuster is provided on the opposite side of the shift lever, it is separated from the throttle operating part that is normally gripped, so both hands must be used for shifting operation. It is hard to say that the property is good.

  Further, the steering handle described in Patent Document 2 has both a throttle operation and a shift operation in a rotational operation system, and an operation unit is coaxially arranged adjacently. However, disclosure relating to other devices such as a throttle adjuster is disclosed. Absent. In addition, since the throttle operation unit is located at the tip of the steering handle, when the shift operation unit is required while the traveling throttle operation unit is gripped, the shift operation unit is behind the throttle operation unit, that is, the user's little finger side. Therefore, it is necessary to re-grip the steering wheel during the shift operation, resulting in poor operability.

  Further, in the steering handle described in Patent Document 3, a throttle using a rotating operation method and an opening holding device for the throttle are arranged adjacent to each other on the same axis, but the structure is complicated, the number of parts is large, and the steering handle is excellent. It is difficult to obtain an adjustment effect. There is no disclosure regarding other devices such as a shift device and a steering adjuster.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has a simple structure and a plurality of functions, improves operability, and prevents the user from operating incorrectly, thereby improving the durability of the engine and the mission. An object is to provide a handle structure for an outboard motor.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an outboard motor handle structure according to the present invention, as described in claim 1, attaches the outboard motor to the hull through a bracket device so as to be steerable left and right. In the outboard motor handle structure in which a steering handle for steering extending forward in the traveling direction is provided on a steering bracket attached to the outboard motor, the shift device moves forward and neutral at the front end portion in the traveling direction of the steering handle. The shift operation unit for operating the reverse and the throttle operation unit for operating the throttle device are arranged adjacent to each other in the traveling direction, and the shift operation unit and the throttle operation unit adopt a rotation operation method, and the operation units are the same. with a place on the rotating shaft, and positioning the shift operation section ahead in the traveling direction of the handle leading end side of the steering wheel of the throttle operating unit, A shift grip which constitutes a serial shift operation unit, in which the shift device provided with projections facing vertically upward when the neutral state.

  Further, in order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 2, a shift rod is disposed on the rotation shaft of the shift operation portion, and the shift operation portion is provided at the front end of the shift rod, A shift drum having a spiral groove formed on the outer peripheral surface is integrally provided at the rear end of the rod, and a slit extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the upper surface of the handle housing of the steering handle. A shift pin is slidably fitted to both, the shift rod is rotated by a rotation operation of the shift operation portion, and the shift pin whose movement direction is regulated by a slit of the handle housing is inserted into the spiral groove. A shift operation conversion means that converts the movement into a linear motion in the longitudinal direction along the steering direction, and the shift operation conversion means is steered more than the throttle operation section. Those arranged in bundle proximally.

Further, in order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 3, the shift pin is positioned forward and backward in a portion of the throttle rod that covers the shift drum of the throttle rod disposed on the rotation shaft of the throttle operation unit. A center notch formed between the front and rear notches in which the throttle pin can be rotated to a predetermined opening position while the shift pin is in a neutral position, while the notch that can rotate the throttle to the fully open position is formed at the front and rear. By forming the front and rear and center notches and the shift pin , the shift operation is restricted in the throttle open state where the throttle is operated from the fully closed position to the predetermined opening, and the shift position is A restriction mechanism is provided that restricts the opening operation of the throttle when the vehicle is not in a predetermined position for forward, neutral and reverse .

  According to the handle structure of an outboard motor according to the present invention, each operation section can be arranged in a compact manner, the operability is improved, and the operation error of the user is prevented, and the durability of the engine and the transmission is improved. Furthermore, the adjustment performance can be improved with a simple structure.

The left view of the outboard motor which shows one Embodiment of the handle | steering-wheel structure of the outboard motor which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a handle unit including a steering handle and its peripheral devices, as viewed in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1. Sectional drawing which follows the III-III line | wire of FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the VV line | wire of FIG. The top view which shows 2nd embodiment of a handle unit. Sectional drawing which follows the VII-VII line of FIG. The enlarged plan view of the principal part of FIG.

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

  FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an embodiment of an outboard motor to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the outboard motor 1 is provided with a bracket device 2. The bracket device 2 mainly includes a clamp bracket 3 and a swivel bracket 4. The clamp bracket 3 is fixed to the transom 5 a of the hull 5, and the swivel bracket 4 is fixed to the outboard motor 1.

  The swivel bracket 4 is pivotally supported by a tilt shaft 6 installed between a pair of left and right clamp brackets 3 such that the swivel bracket 4 can tilt in the vertical direction, and a pilot shaft 7 can be rotated in the vertical direction in the swivel bracket 4. It is pivotally supported. A steering bracket 8 is pivotally integrated with the upper end of the pilot shaft 7.

  A steering handle 9 extending forward is attached to the front end of the steering bracket 8. By swinging the steering handle 9 left and right, the outboard motor 1 can be steered left and right around the pilot shaft 7 with respect to the bracket device 2. Further, tilt and trim operations can be performed upward with the tilt shaft 6 as a center.

  FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1 and is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a handle unit 10 including a steering handle 9 and its peripheral devices. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. Further, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rear end portion of the handle housing 11 constituting the steering handle 9 is pivotally mounted on the front side of the steering bracket 8 via the handle bracket 12 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. Further, for example, an engine stop switch 13 and an oil warning lamp 14 are provided on the side surface of the handle housing 11, and an engine starter switch 16 is provided on the upper surface of the handle cover 15 constituting the handle housing 11 support portion of the handle bracket 12.

  At the front end portion of the handle housing 11, there are a shift grip 17 as a shift operation portion, a throttle grip 18 as a throttle operation portion, and a throttle adjustment operation portion in order from the front side in the traveling direction (left side in FIG. 2) to the rear side. A throttle adjustment knob 19 and a steering adjustment knob 20 which is a steering adjustment operation unit are disposed adjacent to each other. In addition, each of the operation units 17 to 20 adopts a rotation operation method and is disposed on the same rotation shaft 21.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a shift rod 22 is disposed on the rotation shaft 21 of the operation unit. The shift grip 17 is provided at the front end of the shift rod 22, and the shift drum 23 is provided at the rear of the shift rod 22 so as to rotate together. A throttle rod 24 is disposed on the rotation shaft 21 of the operation unit. The throttle rod 24 is formed of a pipe-like member, and the shift rod 22 is inserted through the throttle rod 24. The throttle grip 18 is provided at the front end of the throttle rod 24, and the throttle drum 25 is provided integrally at the rear end of the throttle rod 24.

  The shift rod 22 and the throttle rod 24 are supported by the handle housing 11 via the deformed bush 26 so that the respective shaft centers are supported. The deformed bush 26 has a non-rotating structure with respect to the handle housing 11 and suppresses the rotation of the shift rod 22 and the throttle rod 24. Further, the rear end of the shift rod 22 projects out of the handle housing 11, and the projecting end 22 a of the shift rod 22 engages with the handle cover 15 during normal use of the steering handle 9. Thereby, since the load applied to the steering handle 9 is received by the rigid shift rod 22, the rigidity of the steering handle 9 can be lowered.

  One end of two shift cables 27 is connected to the shift drum 23, and one end of two throttle cables 28 is connected to the throttle drum. The other ends of these cables 27 and 28 are provided in the outboard motor 1, respectively. It is configured to be connected to a shift device and a throttle device (not shown) to transmit the operation of the vessel operator.

  The steering handle 9 is provided with a throttle adjustment knob 19 for adjusting the rotation weight of the throttle grip 18. The throttle adjustment knob 19 is rotatably attached to the handle housing 11 behind the throttle grip 18. The rear edge portion of the throttle grip 18 extends rearward in a flange shape, and is arranged so that the front side of the inner peripheral surface of the throttle adjustment knob 19 overlaps the outer peripheral surface of the rear edge portion. Further, the throttle adjusting knob 19 is formed such that the center of the rotating shaft 29 is offset by a predetermined distance 30 from the center of the rotating shaft 21 of the throttle grip 18 (operating portion), and when the throttle adjusting knob 19 is operated to rotate by the offset 30. The inner peripheral surface of the throttle adjust knob 19 and the outer peripheral surface of the rear edge of the throttle grip 18 come into contact with each other, and the rotational weight of the throttle grip 18 can be adjusted by the frictional force. In addition, the throttle grip 18 can be fixed at a predetermined opening.

  On the other hand, the steering wheel unit 10 is provided with a steering adjustment device 31 that can adjust a steering load when the outboard motor 1 is steered. As shown in FIG. 5, the steering adjustment device 31 includes a steering adjustment lever drum 32 between the handle bracket 12 that supports the handle housing 11 and the swivel bracket 4 on the outboard motor 1 side, and this steering adjustment lever drum 32. , The friction plate 33 provided on the handle housing 11 side sandwiches the steering adjustment plate 34 provided on the swivel bracket 4 side, and the steering load is adjusted or the steering of the outboard motor 1 is fixed. .

  The steering adjustment lever drum 32 is rotated by a remote operation by a steering adjustment knob 20 provided in the handle housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the steering adjustment knob 20 is rotatably attached to the handle housing 11 behind the throttle adjustment knob 19. A steering adjustment drum 35 is rotatably provided at the rear end of the shift rod 22. The steering adjustment knob 20 and the steering adjustment drum 35 are coupled by a steering adjustment rod 36 as a rotation transmission means, and one end of two steering adjustment cables 37 is connected to the steering adjustment drum 35. The other end of the steering adjustment cable 37 is connected to the steering adjustment lever drum 32 so as to transmit the operation of the vessel operator.

  Further, the steering adjustment rod 36 is disposed below the shift rod 22 and the throttle rod 24 in parallel with the rods 22 and 24, and the steering adjustment rod 36 is inserted into a guide member 38 supported by the throttle rod 24. Thus, the steering adjustment rod 36 is prevented from being twisted, and the rotation of the steering adjustment knob 20 can be reliably transmitted to the steering adjustment drum 35.

  It should be noted that, instead of the combination of the steering adjustment rod 36 and the guide member 38 as the rotation transmission means, the rigidity of the rotation transmission means is obtained by using a long plate material in the circumferential direction of the steering adjustment knob 20 although not shown in detail. It may be allowed.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the handle unit 40. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the main part in FIG.

  The handle unit 40 shown in the second embodiment basically has the same structural concept as the handle unit 10 shown in the first embodiment, but the handle unit 10 shown in the first embodiment is shifted by two pull-pull cables. In contrast to adopting an operation transmission mechanism, the handle unit 40 shown in the second embodiment employs a shift operation transmission mechanism using a single push-pull cable.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the front end of the handle housing 42 constituting the steering handle 41 has a shift grip 43 as a shift operation unit in order from the front side in the traveling direction (left side in FIG. 6) to the rear side. A throttle grip 44 as a throttle operation unit, a throttle adjustment knob 45 as a throttle adjustment operation unit, and a steering adjustment knob 46 as a steering adjustment operation unit are disposed adjacent to each other. Further, the operation units 43 to 46 adopt a rotation operation method and are arranged on the same rotation shaft 47.

  A shift rod 48 is disposed on the rotation shaft 47 of the operation unit. The shift grip 43 is pivotally integrated with the front end of the shift rod 48. A throttle rod 49 is disposed on the rotation shaft 47 of the operation unit. The throttle rod 49 is formed by a pipe-like member, and the shift rod 48 is inserted into the throttle rod 49. The throttle grip 44 is provided at the front end of the throttle rod 49, and the throttle drum 50 is provided at the rear end of the throttle rod 49, respectively.

  A shift drum 51 is provided integrally with the shift rod 48 in the handle housing 42, and a spiral groove 52 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the shift drum 51. On the other hand, a slit 53 extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the upper surface of the handle housing 42, and a shift pin 54 is slidably fitted into both the slit 53 and the spiral groove 52. One end of a shift cable 55 is connected to the shift pin 54, and the other end of the shift cable 55 is connected to a shift device (not shown) provided in the outboard motor 1.

  When the shift rod 48 is rotated by the rotation operation of the shift grip 43, the shift pin 54 whose movement direction is regulated by the slit 53 of the handle housing 42 is converted into a linear motion in the front-rear direction along the spiral groove 52. A shift cable 55 connected to the shift pin 54 is configured to perform a push-pull operation and transmit the shift operation of the operator.

  In addition, the shift grip 43 is provided with a protrusion 43a so that the shift device faces vertically upward in a neutral state. The state of the shift device (forward / neutral / reverse) can be easily confirmed by viewing or touching the position of the protrusion 43a. Although not shown in detail, the protrusion 43a is also applicable to the shift grip 17 of the handle unit 10 shown in the first embodiment.

  Further, in the handle unit 40 shown in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, F (forward), N (neutral), and R (reverse) are displayed on the side of the slit 53 of the handle housing 42. Thus, the state of the shift device can be easily confirmed at the position of the shift pin 54.

  In addition, a shift pin 54 covers the shift rod 48 and covers the shift drum 51 of the cylindrical throttle rod 49 that rotates coaxially with the shift rod 48. A notch 56F and a notch 56R that can be rotated up to are formed, while a notch 56N is formed in which the throttle pin can be rotated to a predetermined opening when the shift pin 54 is in a neutral position, and these notches 56F, 56R, and 56N open the throttle. Configure the degree control mechanism. That is, when the shift pin 54 shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 is in any of F (forward), N (neutral), and R (reverse) positions corresponding to the notches of the shift drum 51, the throttle is fully closed. It is possible to operate each notch position over a predetermined opening, but when the shift pin 54 is in a halfway position other than the F (forward), N (neutral), or R (reverse) position, the user Even if the throttle operation part 44 is rotated by mistake, the shift pin 54 comes into contact with the side wall part in the rotation direction other than the notch of the shift drum 51 and the throttle operation cannot be performed, thereby restricting the throttle opening. Conversely, when the shift pin 54 is in the F (forward), N (neutral), or R (reverse) position, the throttle operation unit 44 is rotated to turn the throttle from the fully closed state to the predetermined notch position. Even if the user accidentally rotates the shift operation unit 43 in the state where the operation is performed over a range of opening degrees, the shift pin 54 is indented in the notch of the shift drum 51, so that the shift pin 54 Remains in the notch and cannot move back and forth, and as a result, the shift operation is restricted during the throttle operation. In short, the notch 56F, 56R, 56N, the shift pin 54, and the spiral groove 52 formed in the shift drum 51 provide a mechanism for restricting the shift operation when the throttle is open and a mechanism for restricting the throttle operation when the shift position is halfway. Configure.

  Note that the structures of the throttle adjustment knob 45 and the steering adjustment knob 46 are the same as those shown in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  A shift operation part (shift grip 17), a throttle operation part (throttle grip 18), a throttle adjustment operation part (throttle adjustment knob 19), and a steering adjustment operation part (steering adjustment knob 20) are advanced to the front end of the handle housing 11. Since the steering handle 9 is arranged adjacent to the direction, the operation units 17 to 20 can be arranged in a compact manner, and the shift operation unit 43 is provided at the tip of the steering handle 41 rather than the throttle operation unit 44. When a shift operation is required when the throttle operation unit 44 is held, the shift operation unit 43 is positioned on the user's thumb side, so that the shift operation can be performed while the throttle operation unit 44 is held. Operability is improved. In particular, the operability is remarkably improved by arranging the steering adjustment operation portion (steering adjustment knob 20), which has been conventionally arranged on the outboard motor 1 main body side, on the steering handle 9 side.

  Further, by adopting a rotation operation method for each of the operation units 17 to 20 and arranging them on the same rotation shaft 21, there is no protrusion and it becomes compact. Furthermore, since the rotation shaft 29 center of the throttle adjustment operation portion (throttle adjustment knob 19) and the rotation shaft 21 center of the throttle operation portion (throttle grip 18) are arranged with an offset 30, the number of parts can be reduced and the compactness can be achieved. In addition, a large contact surface can be secured with a simple structure, and the adjustment performance is improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outboard motor 2 Bracket apparatus 5 Hull 8 Steering brackets 9 and 41 Steering handles 11 and 42 Handle housings 17 and 43 Shift operation part (shift grip)
18, 44 Throttle operating part (throttle grip)
19, 45 Throttle adjustment operation part (throttle adjustment knob)
20, 46 Steering adjustment operation part (steering adjustment knob)
21 and 47 Rotating shafts 22 and 48 of each operation section Shift rods 24 and 49 Throttle rod 29 Rotating shaft of the throttle adjusting operation section

Claims (3)

An outboard motor is attached to the hull so that it can be steered to the left and right via a bracket device, and an outboard motor is provided with a steering handle for steering that extends forward in the traveling direction on a steering bracket attached to the outboard motor. In the steering wheel structure, a shift operation unit that operates forward, neutral, and reverse movement of the shift device and a throttle operation unit that operates the throttle device are disposed adjacent to each other in the forward direction at the front end portion in the traveling direction of the steering handle. And the throttle operation unit are arranged on the same rotation axis, and the shift operation unit is located at the front end of the steering handle in the forward direction of the steering handle. while disposed on the side, the shift grip constituting the shift operation unit, the shift device is oriented vertically upward when in the neutral state projections Handle structure of the outboard motor, characterized in that the provided. A shift rod is disposed on the rotation shaft of the shift operation portion, the shift operation portion is provided at the front end of the shift rod, and a shift drum having a spiral groove formed on the outer peripheral surface is provided at the rear end portion of the shift rod. On the other hand, a slit extending in the front-rear direction is formed on the upper surface of the handle housing of the steering handle, and a shift pin is slidably fitted into both the slit and the spiral groove,
A shift in which the shift rod is rotated by a rotation operation of the shift operation portion, and the shift pin whose movement direction is regulated by a slit of the handle housing is converted into a linear motion in the front-rear direction along the spiral groove. 2. The handle structure for an outboard motor according to claim 1, further comprising operation conversion means, wherein the shift operation conversion means is disposed closer to the steering handle base end side than the throttle operation portion. On the front and rear sides of the throttle rod disposed on the rotation shaft of the throttle operating portion, a notch is formed so that the shift pin can rotate the throttle to the fully open position at the forward and backward positions in the forward and reverse positions. , the throttle forms a notch in the center which is formed between the cutout of the front and rear rotatable above up to a predetermined opening degree, the configuration of each notch and the shift pin of the longitudinal and central above shift pin neutral position, the throttle When the throttle is open from the fully closed position to the predetermined opening, the shift operation is restricted, and when the shift position is not forward, neutral, or reverse, the throttle opening operation is restricted. 3. The outboard motor handle structure according to claim 2, wherein a restriction mechanism is configured.

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