Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Company Limited

Hiroshi Watabe

Hideaki Takada

Hiroshi Mizuguchi

Yoshinori Masubuchi

Taiichi Otobe

Shinsaku Nakayama

Toyoshi Yasuda

Yoshihisa Hirose

Shigeaki Kuwabara

Yoshio Morita

Yoshio Ohtomo

Shigeo Terada

In a boat having a seat, a steering wheel, and an outboard motor, an outboard motor steering system is provided, where the steering wheel is installed near the seat a steering angle sensor installed near the steering wheel for outputting a signal indicative of a steering angle of the steering wheel. The steering system also includes a swivel shaft connected to a propeller to turn the propeller relative to the boat, and an electric motor connected to the swivel shaft for rotating the swivel shaft in response to the detected steering angle. The steering system also includes a manipulation load regulation mechanism, such as a hydraulic damper, to produce an added load for increasing a manipulation load of the steering wheel, thereby enabling reduced operator load by using the electric motor to steer the outboard motor, while improving the operator's feel of steering wheel manipulation.

Outboard motor steering system

In an engine speed control system for an outboard motor, overrev prevention control is implemented which determines whether the engine overrevs by comparing the detected engine speed and a desired speed and responds to a determination that the engine overrevs (in which case the cause of the engine speed increase is probably reduced load caused by sucking in of air and/or exhaust gas by the propeller) by driving an electric throttle motor in the direction of reducing the throttle opening, thereby lowering the engine speed to the desired speed. Owing to this configuration, the problem of decline in thrust owing to intake of air and/or exhaust gas by the propeller can be quickly overcome irrespective of operator skill, thereby improving power performance and steerability.

Engine speed control system for outboard motor

In an outboard motor control system equipped with an electric throttle motor for moving the throttle valve of the engine mounted on the outboard motor, an electric shift motor for operating the shift mechanism to establish one from the in-gear, neutral and reverse shift positions, and a low-speed cruising switch for inputting the instruction to implement a low-speed cruising for causing the boat to cruise at a low speed, when the instruction is inputted, a throttle control is effected by controlling the operation of the motor to a set throttle opening and shift control is effected by controlling the operation of the motor to establish the in-gear position and neutral position alternatively, thereby enabling to cruise over a wide range of speeds including very slow, without requiring troublesome manual operations.

Outboard motor control system

In an outboard motor adapted for mounting on a boat and equipped with an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a battery for supplying voltage to the engine and electric motor, and a controller for controlling the operation of the electric motor, the controller is disposed near the battery. In other words, the controller is not installed on the outboard motor side where the engine and the like are present but on the boat side where the battery is installed. As a result, the effect of the vibration and heat of the engine on the controller is minimized so that the controller can utilize simpler structural features for vibration and heat resistance and is also advantageous in terms of cost.

Outboard motor

An outboard motor engine speed control system includes two outboard motors, sensors which detect a travel speed of the boat and the engine speeds of the outboard motors, and a controller which controls the engine speeds of the outboard motors to be synchronized with a highest one of the detected engine speeds when the boat travel speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, while controlling the engine speeds of the outboard motors to be synchronized with a lowest one of the detected engine speeds when the boat travel speed is lower the predetermined value. The operations involved in engine speed control of the outboard motors mounted on the boat are thereby simplified and the feel of operation is enhanced.

Outboard motor engine speed control system

A steering system of an outboard motor is provided that is mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine at its upper portion and a propeller with a rudder at its lower portion that is powered by the engine to propel the boat. The steering system includes a cowl enclosing the engine and a hydraulic cylinder connected to the outboard motor at one end and to the boat at other end to swivel the outboard motor relative to the boat to steer the cowl, the propeller, and the engine about a vertical axis. The hydraulic cylinder is located inside a vertical plane of a profile of the outboard motor when viewed along the vertical axis such that the hydraulic cylinder never projects outside the profile in any steered position of the motor.

In an engine speed control system for an outboard motor having a throttle valve that regulates air to be sucked and an actuator connected to the throttle valve to move it in an opening direction or in a closing direction, the actuator is driven to move the throttle valve in the closing direction such that the engine speed drops, if it is discriminated that a detected engine speed exceeds a predetermined speed (set to a speed at which the engine can assumably continue to run until the boat has returned to port), when a trouble has occurred in the engine. Thus, the system can lower the engine speed so as to allow the boat to return to port, without causing the engine to vibrate, when a trouble has occurred in the engine.

An outboard motor operating system, includes a shared switch for inputting operation instructions to either a steering (hydraulic) cylinder for steering an outboard motor or a PTT unit for regulating the tilt/trim angles of the outboard motor. The system also includes a first group of signal lines connected to the steering cylinder, a second group of signal lines connected to the PTT unit, and a third group of signal lines connected to the shared switch. The operating system also includes a selector switch for connecting either the first or second group of signal lines to the third group of signal lines. Thus, a shared operating system is provided for inputting operation instructions to the steering cylinder and PTT unit, and the destination of the instructions is made selectable, enabling a reduction in the number of components and a reduction in the amount of space needed for installing the operating system on the boat.

Outboard motor operating system

An outboard motor steering system for an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine at its upper portion and a propeller with a rudder at its lower portion that is powered by the engine to propel and steer the boat, having a swivel shaft connected to the propeller to turn the propeller relative to the boat and housed in a swivel case, a hydraulic actuator such as a double-acting cylinder connected to the swivel shaft to rotate the swivel shaft, a hydraulic pressure supplier connected to the hydraulic actuator to supply hydraulic pressure, and a controller that controls supply of the hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic actuator in response to a steering signal inputted by an operator such that the outboard motor is steered relative to the boat. In the system, the hydraulic actuator and the hydraulic pressure supplier are housed in the swivel case. The system is thus simply configured to avoid increase in number of components and weight, and does not cause a problem regarding space utilization and operation efficiency, while improving steering feel.

In an engine starting system for an outboard motor mounted having a propeller and a steering mechanism driven by an electric motor, including a battery connected to the engine; a starter motor and an ignition switch provided in a voltage supply circuit from the battery to the starter motor, the positions of the ignition switch is arranged to have a START position at which the starter motor, the electric motor and other electric loads are supplied with the voltage from the battery; an ON position at which the voltage supply to the starter motor is discontinued when the key is turned from the START position, a first OFF position at which the voltage supply to the electric motor and the other electric loads is discontinued when the key is turned from the ON position, and a second OFF position at which the current supply to the electric actuator is still continued when the key is turned from the ON position. With this, the system can allow the operator to operate the steering mechanism even when the engine is stopped, while effectively preventing the battery from becoming dead.

Starting system for outboard motor

In a shift mechanism for an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine and a propeller connected by a propeller shaft to the engine to propel the boat, a vertical shaft connected to the engine and transmitting an output of the engine to the propeller shaft is divided into two shaft halves and an electromagnetic clutch is provided to connect/disconnect the shaft halves. An electronic controller is provided to operate the electromagnetic clutch to disconnect the vertical shaft halves until one of the forward and reverse gears corresponding to the instruction to shift has been engaged with the propeller shaft, and then operate it to connect the shaft halves after the one of the forward gear and the reverse gear has been engaged with the propeller shaft. Alternatively, two electromagnetic clutches are provided to engage the forward or reverse gear with the propeller shaft, and the controller controls operation of the electromagnetic clutches in response to the instruction to shift such that corresponding one of the forward and reverse gears is engaged with the propeller shaft. With this, it becomes possible to decrease an impact occurring at the beginning of shift, thereby enabling to prevent the outboard motor from vibrating, while enabling to improve the operation feeling and facilitate maintenance, and to avoid a problem regarding space utilization.

Outboard motor shift mechanism

In An outboard motor mounted on a stem of a boat and having an internal combustion engine, a throttle body (that accommodates the throttle valve) is installed at a position close to the boat, and an electric motor is fastened to the throttle body so as to drive the throttle valve to open or close through a simple gear mechanism. This arrangement can mitigate operation load and offer improved operation feel. Further, it is simpler than a cable or a link mechanism, does not lead to an increase in number of components or weight, and hence the amount of required installation space can be reduced. A knob is provided and the operator can pinch and rotate it to open the throttle valve manually, when the electric motor breaks down.

In an outboard motor steering system for an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine at its upper portion and a propeller with a rudder at its lower portion powered by the engine to propel and steer the boat, a controller is connected to an actuator to rotate the outboard motor relative to the boat, and controls the actuator in such a manner that steered angle of the outboard motor relative to a steering angle inputted through a steering wheel becomes a predetermined ratio that is changed such that the steered angle of the outboard motor relative to the steering angle decreases with increasing moving speed of the boat. Alternatively, a switch is provided to be manipulated by the operator and generating a signal indicative of an instruction to change the steered angle of the outboard motor when manipulated; and the controller controlling the actuator to steer the outboard motor to an angle in response to inputted steering angle when the switch is not manipulated, while controlling the actuator to change the steered angle when the switch is manipulated. With this, the burdens of the operator are lightened and the steering feel is improved, in particular when the operator steers the boat to approach or leave a quay.

In an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine at its upper portion and a propeller at its lower portion that is powered by the engine to propel the boat, and having a shift mechanism comprising a clutch installed in the outboard motor to be engaged from with a forward gear that causes the boat to be propelled in a forward direction or a reverse gear that causes the boat to be propelled in a reverse direction, a shift rod movably installed in the outboard motor, and a shift slider connected to the shift rod to slide to a position at which the clutch is engaged with the forward gear or a position at which the clutch is engaged with the reverse gear, an actuator such as an electric motor is installed in the outboard motor to move the shift rod. The arrangement can mitigate the load than that under manual operation and offer improved operation feel, without leading to an increase in number of components or weight, and in addition, the required installation space at the hull is no longer needed.

Shift mechanism for outboard motor

An engine ignition control system comprising an ignition circuit of capacitor charge-discharge type is disclosed in which the ignition timing is determined by controlling the charge-discharge cycle of a capacitor by an output signal from an engine speed detection circuit. An overspeed control circuit stops the ignition when a detection output signal of the engine speed detection circuit exceeds a reference voltage level corresponding to a set engine speed. A slowing down control circuit is actuated in response to an engine slowing down operation start switch for realizing a hypothetical condition substantially equivalent to the one in which the engine speed detection circuit detects an engine speed higher than the actual engine speed thereby to accomplish engine slowing down operation by (a) increasing the reference voltage level gradually, or (b) increasing the output signal level of the engine speed detection circuit stepwise.

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Wako, Japan

Hiroshi Watabe