JPH06107286A - Steering device for marine propulsion machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of a fluid pressure switching device, in forming the fluid pressure switching device of a steering device for marine propulsion machine, by preventing a switching part from a malfunction due to deviation, load or the like which works upon an outer tube end part in its radial direction. CONSTITUTION:In this steering device for marine propulsion machine 10, a spool valve 42 (switching part) which forms a fluid pressure switching device 41 is arranged coaxially with the axis of a cable guide, and the end part of the outer tube 13B of a steering cable 13 is connected to the spool valve 42.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering device for a ship propulsion device such as an outboard motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a steering device for a ship propulsion device as described in JP-A-61-1599. In this steering device, a swivel bracket is swingably supported by a clamp bracket fixed to the hull, a propulsion unit is fixed to a steering shaft rotatably supported by the swivel bracket, and a steering handle is provided inside the hull. A steering cable connected to the steering wheel is guided by a cable guide, an end of the steering cable is connected to a steering arm, and a steering cylinder is fixed to a swivel bracket, and a piston rod of the steering cylinder is fixed to the steering arm. And a fluid pressure switching device that is driven in conjunction with the displacement of the steering cable to switch the fluid pressure supply state to the steering cylinder so as to move the piston rod of the steering cylinder in the operating direction of the steering cable. It is equipped with.

In the prior art, the switching portion (spool valve) that constitutes the fluid pressure switching device is arranged on the left or right side of the cable guide and the steering cylinder, and the outer tube end of the steering cable is arranged. A displacement transmitting member coupled to the portion is connected to the spool valve by extending radially outward of the steering cable to connect the displacement of the steering cable to the spool valve.

[0004]

However, in the prior art, the deflection, load, etc. acting in the radial direction of the outer tube end portion of the steering cable is transmitted to the spool valve via the displacement transmission member, and the smooth operation of the spool valve is achieved. There is a risk that it may cause a malfunction.

Further, in the prior art, the spool valve is arranged so as to project to the left or right side of the cable guide and the steering cylinder, and the outer diameter around the propulsion unit becomes excessively large.

According to the present invention, when constructing a fluid pressure switching device for a steering device for a ship propulsion device, malfunction of the switching portion due to runout, load, etc. acting on the outer tube end portion in the radial direction is prevented, and fluid pressure switching is performed. The purpose is to improve the operability of the device. Another object of the present invention is to make the fluid pressure switching device compact.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a tilting bracket is tiltably supported by a fixed bracket fixed to a hull via a tilt shaft, and a steering shaft rotatably supported by the tilting bracket is provided. The propulsion unit is fixed, a steering handle is provided inside the hull, the steering cable connected to the steering handle is guided by a cable guide, the end of the steering cable is connected to the steering arm, and steering is performed with respect to the hull or fixed bracket. The steering cylinder is fixedly mounted in the direction, the piston rod of the steering cylinder is connected to the steering arm, and is driven in conjunction with the displacement of the steering cable,
A steering device for a marine vessel propulsion device, comprising a fluid pressure switching device for switching a fluid pressure supply state to the steering cylinder so as to move a piston rod of the steering cylinder in an operation direction of the steering cable. The switching unit that constitutes the switching device is coaxially arranged on the cable guide shaft core, and the outer tube end of the steering cable is connected to the switching unit.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there are the following actions. The switching unit was coaxially arranged on the cable guide, and the outer tube end of the steering cable was connected to the switching unit. Therefore, the displacement of the outer tube end portion is transmitted to the switching portion substantially only in the axial direction without passing through the displacement transmitting member extending in the radial direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation of the switching portion due to runout acting on the end portion of the outer tube in the radial direction, load, etc., and improve the operability of the fluid pressure switching device.

By arranging the switching unit coaxially on the inner diameter side or the outer diameter side of the cable guide and juxtaposing it with the steering cylinder, it is possible to prevent the switching unit from protruding to the left or right side of the propulsion unit. The fluid pressure switching device can be made compact.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a steering device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the overall structure of the steering device.

The steering device 10 enables the propulsion unit 12 of the outboard motor 11 to be steered by the steering cable 13.

Here, the propulsion unit 12 supports a swivel bracket 17 swingably through a tilt shaft 16 on a clamp bracket 15 fixed to the hull, and a steerable unit rotatably supported by the swivel bracket 17. The propulsion unit 12 is fixed to the shaft 18.

However, the cable guide 101 is fitted to the front surface of the swivel bracket 17, and the steering cylinder 10
An assembly 100 in which the two are integrally molded is attached. The assembly 100 is provided separately from the tilt shaft 16 and is attached to the swivel bracket 17 on the side of the tilt shaft 16 in a state of being arranged parallel to the tilt shaft 16. At this time, a mounting plate 104 is fixed to the assembly 100 with bolts 103, and the mounting plate 104 is fixed to the swivel bracket 17 with bolts 105.

In the steering apparatus 10, a steering handle 19 is provided in the cockpit of the hull, and the other end rod end of the inner cable 13A of the steering cable 13 connected to the pinion 20 of the steering handle 19 by the rack bar 21. 22 is guided by the above-mentioned cable guide 101, and the end portion of the rod end 22 is connected via the link 23 to the steering arm 24.
Are connected to each other by a hinge 24A. The steering arm 24 is integral with the steered shaft 18.

The steering cable 13 is the outer tube 1
An inner cable 13A is inserted through the inner tube 3B, one end of the outer tube 13B is fixed to the guide housing 21A of the rack bar 21, and the other end of the outer tube 13B is also used as a spool of a hydraulic switching device 41 described in detail later. It is connected to one end of a functional cable guide 101.

Further, in the steering apparatus 10, the end portion of the piston rod 28 connected to the piston 27 of the above-mentioned steering cylinder 102 has a structure as will be described later in detail, and the link end together with the end portion of the rod end 22. It is connected to the steering arm 24 via 23.

The steering cylinder 102 has left and right chambers 30A and 30B for the piston 27, and a cap 31 is screwed to the end of the side where the piston rod 28 projects. A seal ring 32 is provided on the inner diameter of the cap 31.
A is attached, and a seal ring 32B is attached to the outer diameter portion thereof.

The cable guide 101 is a steering cylinder 10.
It is set to be parallel to 2 and the steering cable 1
The guide surface 33 with which the rod end 22 of No. 3 slides is provided. Then, in the cable guide 101, a seal ring 35 is provided on the inner diameter portion on the side where the rod end 22 projects.
Is installed.

A connecting block 36 is screwed onto the end of the piston rod 28 protruding from the steering cylinder 102. The rod end 22 of the steering cable 13 protruding from the cable guide 101 is attached to the connecting block 36 by the bolt 3.
7 are linked together. Then, the link 23 is connected to the connection block 36 by a hinge 24B.
As a result, both the end of the rod end 22 of the steering cable 13 and the end of the piston rod 28 of the steering cylinder 102 are connected to the steering arm 24 via the link 23.

Further, the steering device 10 includes the pump unit 2
A hydraulic pressure switching device 41 is provided for guiding the oil pressure-fed from the oil pump 00 through the oil cooler and the oil filter to the left and right chambers 30A and 30B of the steering cylinder 102 to assist the steering force applied to the steering wheel 19. The pump unit 200 has a motor 201, a pump 202, and a reservoir tank 203 (see FIG. 2). 204A,
204B is a hydraulic hose.

In the hydraulic pressure switching device 41, the fitting portion of the cable guide 101 in the assembly 100 is a spool housing, and the cable guide 101 is a spool.
The cable guide 101 as the spool is slidable in the axial direction within the assembly 100 as the spool housing. That is, the hydraulic pressure switching device 41 includes the spool valve 42.
The spool valve 42 is arranged coaxially with the axis of the cable guide 101 by integrally forming the (switching portion) on the outer diameter portion of the cable guide 101 as a spool.
A screw cap 43 attached to the other end of the outer tube 13B is screwed onto the outer diameter portion of the cable guide 101, which is integrated with the spool valve 42, on the side extending around the inner cable 13A. It is worn.

The spool guide housing 44 is screwed around the fitting portion of the cable guide 101 in the assembly 100, locked by the lock nut 44A, and surrounded by the spool setting housing 44.
An outer surface groove 45 is provided in the middle part of the outer surface groove 1.
Left and right pushers 46A, 46B are held therein, and a compression spring 47 is interposed between the pushers 46A, 46B. Then, the spool setting housing 44 has both pushers 46A and 46B elastically separated by the compression spring 47.
Can be held between fixed positions in the axial direction of the inner diameter portion of the housing. Therefore, the spool valve 42 included in the cable guide 101 is the assembly 100 as the spool housing.
Inside, a pusher 46 elastically repelled by a compression spring 47
By receiving the pushing force of A and 46B, when the moving external force of the steering cable 13 disappears, the steering cable 13 is always automatically returned to the central position. Cable guide 10 in spool setting housing 44
A seal ring 48 is attached to the inner diameter portion on the side where 1 projects.

Next, the operation of the steering device 10 will be described. (1) Neutral mode When the steering wheel 19 is in the neutral position, the spool valve 4
2 is set to the neutral position, and the hydraulic pressure switching device 41 balances the pressures in both chambers 30A and 30B of the steering cylinder 102. Therefore, the piston 27 and the piston rod 28 do not move, and the steering assist force is not applied to the steering arm 24.

(2) When the steering wheel 19 is steered to the left, the inner cable 13A of the steering cable 13 and the rod end 22 are moved to the left in the figure. At this time, a steering resistance force acting on the propulsion unit 12 side acts on the rod end 22 and the inner cable 13A, and tries to return the rod end 22 to the right. However, the steering cable 13 is installed in a bent state as shown in FIG. 2, and the middle portion is bendable. Therefore, the outer tube 13B of the steering cable 13 is moved rightward by the rightward moving force of the rod end 22 and the inner cable 13A. Here, the end portion of the outer tube 13B is integrated with the spool valve 42, and as a result, the spool valve 42 moves to the right as the inner cable 13A moves to the right. As a result, the hydraulic pressure switching device 41 causes the high pressure oil from the pump unit to pass through the right chamber 30B of the steering cylinder 26.
To move the piston 27 and the piston rod 28 to the left direction which is the same as the operation direction of the inner cable 13A, and applies a steering assist force for left steering to the steering arm 24.

(3) Right steering mode The operation is in the opposite direction to the left steering mode of (2) above.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The spool valve 42 was coaxially integrated with the cable guide 101, and the end portion of the outer tube 13B of the steering cable 13 was connected to the spool valve 42. Further, the cable guide 101 integrated with the spool valve 42 can be smoothly and stably moved in the axial direction so as to be guided by the long rod end 22. Therefore, the displacement of the end portion of the outer tube 13B is
It is transmitted to the spool valve 42 substantially only in the axial direction without passing through a radially extending displacement transmitting member. Therefore, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the spool valve 42 due to runout, load, etc. acting in the radial direction of the end portion of the outer tube 13B, and improve the operability of the hydraulic pressure switching device 41.

The spool valve 42 is connected to the cable guide 101.
The spool valve 42 is coaxially integrated with the outer diameter of the steering cylinder 102 and is juxtaposed with the steering cylinder 102, so that
You can avoid overhanging to the left or right of. That is, the assembly 100 as the spool housing, the cable guide 101 as the spool, and the steering cylinder 102.
Can be unitized and can be housed within the width of the clamp bracket 15 of the outboard motor 11, and the steering device 10 can be made compact.

The spool valve 42 is connected to the cable guide 101.
The number of parts can be reduced because it is integrally formed on the.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the fluid pressure switching device of the steering device for a ship propulsion device is constructed, the switching portion is erroneously caused by the runout or load acting in the radial direction of the outer tube end. It is possible to prevent the operation and improve the operability of the fluid pressure switching device. Further, the steering device can be made compact.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a steering device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a steering device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Outboard Motor 12 Propulsion Unit 13 Steering Cable 13B Outer Tube 15 Clamp Bracket 16 Tilt Axis 17 Swivel Bracket 18 Steering Axis 19 Steering Handle 24 Steering Arm 28 Piston Rod 41 Hydraulic Switching Device 42 Spool Valve (Switching Unit) 100 Assembly 101 Cable guide 102 Steering cylinder

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hull in which a tilting bracket is tiltably supported by a fixed bracket fixed to a hull via a tilt shaft, and a propulsion unit is fixed to a steering shaft rotatably supported by the tilt bracket. A steering handle is provided on the steering wheel, the steering cable connected to the steering handle is guided by a cable guide, the end of the steering cable is connected to the steering arm, and the steering cylinder is fixed in the steering direction with respect to the hull or the fixed bracket. Mounting, connecting the piston rod of the steering cylinder to the steering arm, and driving the piston rod of the steering cylinder in conjunction with the displacement of the steering cable to move the piston rod of the steering cylinder in the operating direction of the steering cable. In a steering device for a ship propulsion device, which is configured to include a fluid pressure switching device that switches a fluid pressure supply state, The switching unit constituting the pressure switching device coaxially arranged in the cable guide axis, 舶 propulsion steering system the outer tube end is characterized by being coupled to the switching portion of the steering cable.