Outboard Marine Corporation

Bombardier Motor Corporation of America

Anthony P Prince

Richard P Kolb

Myron T Stevens

Gaylord M Borst

Edgar Rose

M Jeremy Lieb

Olav Aaen

Stanley W Nerstrom

An electrically controlled shift and throttle system for a watercraft having multiple control stations is disclosed. The system has a number of control units having an elongated lever arm which can be moved in forward and reverse directions for shifting the transmission among forward, neutral, and reverse operating modes, as well as controlling the throttle of the engine for varying the operating speed thereof. The control units are electrically connected to a controller which also is electrically connected to a shift gear motor and throttle motor. Switches associated with each of the control units enables one of the control units to be selected as a master control unit and the nonselected control units then operate as slave units. During operation, the angular position of the master control unit lever arm is duplicated in the nonselected control units so that all control unit lever arms have the same angular orientation. A warm-up switch enables the throttle motor to be operated to vary the operating speed of the engine without shifting the transmission out of the neutral position.

Electrically controlled shift and throttle system

A single lever control for operating a throttle and a clutch, the control including a housing, a shaft pivotably supported by the housing, a shift mechanism operably connected to the shaft and adapted to be operably connected to the clutch, a throttle mechanism operably connected to the shaft and adapted to be operably connected to the throttle, and a hand-operable warm-up mechanism movable transversely of the shaft for permitting operation of the throttle mechanism without operation of the shift mechanism.

Single lever control

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for assisting transmission shifting in a marine propulsion device having an internal combustion engine including an ignition system, the transmission being shiftable between a neutral condition and a drive condition, which apparatus comprises a shift lever mounted remotely from the engine and operably connected with the transmission for shifting the transmission between the drive position and the neutral position, a normally closed switch mounted on said shifting lever and connected with the ignition system for interrupting operation of the ignition system in response to movement of the shift lever from the drive position to the neutral position, and an actuator moveably mounted on the shifting lever for actuating the normally closed switch in response to movement of the shift lever from the drive position to the neutral position.

Apparatus for assisting transmission shifting in a marine propulsion

A single level control comprising a housing, a control lever pivotally mounted on the housing and adapted to be operably connected to an engine throttle and to a clutch, a warning horn connected to the housing and adapted to be operably connected to an engine for providing a warning signal when an engine condition exceeds a predetermined value, a cover connected to the housing and adapted to be mounted on a generally flat mounting surface, the cover partially enclosing the housing and enclosing the warning horn, and an ignition switch mounted on the cover and adapted to be operably connected to an engine ignition system.

A single lever control comprising a housing having a first recess, a shaft pivotably supported by the housing and having an axial bore, a shift member pivotably supported by the housing coaxially with the shaft and adapted to be operably connected to a clutch, the shift member being movable relative to a neutral position and having a second recess located radially inwardly of the first recess and aligned with the first recess when the shift member is in the neutral position, a plunger housed in the bore for movement axially of the shaft between first and second positions, and a mechanism for fixing the shift member to the shaft and permitting rotation of the shift member relative to the housing when the plunger is in the first position, and for fixing the shift member to the housing and permitting rotation of the shaft relative to the shift member when the plunger is in the second position, the mechanism including a member at least partially housed in the second recess, and a mechanism for moving the member radially outwardly of the first recess and into the second recess when the shift member is in the neutral position and in response to movement of the plunger to the second position.

Lubricant container

The single lever control for operating the clutch and throttle of a marine motor has a support on which a sleeve is mounted on a pivot. A rod is mounted in the sleeve for axial movement. The distal end of the rod is actuated to move the rod and the sleeve about the pivot and also to move the rod axially relative to said sleeve. An actuating arm and a cam track cooperate to move the rod and sleeve in an arc about the pivot between first and second positions between which the clutch is operated by an operator actuated by rotation of the arm about its pivot. The actuating arm moves the rod axially relative to said sleeve when the arm is beyond the clutch operating range. The rod is connected to the throttle. A friction device acts on the rod to resist axial movement of the rod relative to the sleeve. The friction load resists change of the throttle setting but has no affect on clutch operation.

Single lever remote control-throttle dwell and friction mechanism

Disclosed herein is a throttle control for an engine including a housing supporting a control lever for rotation relative to a neutral position, a throttle lever movably mounted on the housing and adapted to actuate the engine throttle, a throttle drive member including a drive pin and mounted for rotation in response to movement of the control lever from the neutral position, and a cam member connected between the throttle lever and the throttle drive member. The cam member includes a cam track receiving the drive pin and having a shape effective to displace the cam member relative to the throttle drive member, transversely relative to the rotational axis of the throttle drive member, so as to move the throttle lever in response to rotation of the throttle drive member. In one embodiment, the control further includes a shift lever movably mounted on the housing and adapted to actuate the engine clutch and a shift drive member drivingly connected to the shift lever for actuating the engine clutch in response to movement of the control lever from the neutral position. The cam track is arranged so that the cam member, and thus the throttle lever, remains in an engine idle position during initial movement of the control lever from the neutral position to actuate the engine clutch and so that further movement of the control lever from the neutral position causes translatory movement of the cam member to advance the engine throttle.

Single lever remote control

Disclosed herein is a single lever control for marine propulsion devices and the like which control includes a main control lever mounted for rotational movement from a neutral position, a control knob including a laterally extending hand grip portion and removably fastened on the upper end of the main control lever, and a locking mechanism for releasably locking the main control lever in the neutral position. The locking mechanism includes a locking arm slidably mounted on one side of the main control lever for reciprocative movement between a locking position and a released position. The locking arm is moved to a released position by squeezing a lockout button located adjacent the hand grip portion and removably fastened to the upper end of the locking arm. The lockout button includes a pair of laterally spaced slots located on the opposite sides of the main control lever so that the hand grip and the lockout button can be conveniently mounted on either side of the main control lever without relocating the locking arm or removing the main control lever.

Disclosed herein is a single lever control for the throttle and clutch of a marine propulsion device including a housing pivotally supporting a shaft member for relative lateral or axial movement between first and second positions, a main control lever connected to the shaft member for common axial movement and for common rotary movement from a neutral position, a throttle drive member connected to the shaft member for common rotary movement and for relative axial movement of the shaft member, and a clutch shift drive member mounted on the shaft member for relative rotation and for common axial movement. The clutch shift drive member includes a drive lug which, when the shaft member is in the first position, is receivable in and drivingly engages a drive notch in the throttle drive member to provide common rotary movement of these two members in response to pivotal movement of the main control lever from the neutral position. When the shaft member is moved axially to the second position in response to outwardly lateral or axial movement of the main control lever, the clutch shift drive member is moved to a disengaged position wherein the throttle drive member can be rotated or pivoted relative to the clutch shift drive member by the main control lever so that the engine throttle can be operated independently of the clutch for engine warm-up.

Disclosed herein is a variable transmission drive pulley assembly comprising a fixed sheave connected to a drive shaft for common rotation therewith, a movable sheave carried by the drive shaft for movement axially thereof relative to a retracted position spaced from the fixed sheave, a spring urging the movable sheave toward the retracted position in the direction away from the fixed sheave, speed responsive fly weights for displacing the movable sheave toward the fixed sheave, a second spring for augmenting the effectiveness of the speed responsive fly weights and a selectively operable control including a ratchet mechanism for regulating operation of the second spring independently of the rate of drive shaft rotations.

Growing community of inventors

Waukegan, IL, United States of America

Anthony P Prince