Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Mitsuaki Kubota

Shinichi Ide

Makoto Yazaki

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Masahiro Akiyama

Akiko Ichikawa

Koji Yasuda

Hideaki Shimamura

Takeshi Inaba

Hikaru Ikeda

Yoshio Ohtomo

Toyoshi Yasuda

Shigeo Terada

In an apparatus for controlling a speed of an internal combustion engine installed in an outboard motor and having an actuator connected to a throttle valve of the engine to open and close the throttle valve, and up/down command signal outputting devices that output an up/down command signal to increase/decrease the engine speed when manipulated by an operator, the engine speed is controlled to change in response to the up or down command signal with an engine speed change amount per unit time made different depending on whether the detected engine speed exceeds a reference speed or not, thereby enabling to finely and precisely control the engine speed in the low speed range, while facilitating speed regulation.

Engine speed control apparatus for outboard motor

An operating handle of an outboard motor is provided with a rotatable grip and a low-speed mode switch unit. A controller performs control so that when the low-speed mode switch unit is 'on,' the ratio at which the target speed varies with the manipulated variable of the grip is reduced in comparison with when the low-speed mode switch unit is 'off.'

Outboard motor

An outboard motor S has a first drive shaftdirectly interlocked with an engine E, a second drive shaft, an intermediate gear mechanisminterlocking the first drive shaftand the second drive shaft, an output gear mechanismdriven by power transmitted thereto through the second drive shaft, a propeller shaftdriven for rotation by power transmitted thereto through the output gear mechanism, and a gear caseholding the output gear mechanism. The second drive shaftextends downward beyond a vertical position corresponding to the lower end of the first drive shaft. The gear caseis provided with water intakesthrough which a water pumpsucks water in a space between the first drive shaftand the output gear mechanismwith respect to a vertical direction on the front side of the second drive shaft. The space for the water intakescan be easily secured because the second drive shaftis disposed on the rear side of the first drive shaft

Marine propulsion machine provided with drive shaft

In an outboard motor S, a first drive shaftand a second drive shaftare interlocked by an intermediate gear mechanismincluding a drive gearmounted on the first drive shaftand a driven gearmounted on the second drive shaft. The second drive shaftis supported in an upper bearingand a lower bearingdisposed on the upper and the lower side of the driven gear. The upper bearingsupports an upper end partof the second drive shaftextending upward from the driven gearand the upper bearingis at a vertical position coinciding with that of the drive gear. The lower bearingis placed at a position on a lower end partof the second drive shaft. The lower end partextends between the driven gearand an input gearincluded in the output gear mechanism. The first drive shaftdrives an oil pumpfor supplying moving parts requiring lubrication and placed in a gear caseholding the output gear mechanisminterlocked with the second drive shaft. The second drive shaftis short and light, the outboard motor can be manufactured at a low manufacturing cost and the oil pumpis small.

Marine propulsion machine having drive shaft

An outboard motor S has: a first drive shaftinterlocked with an internal combustion engine, a second drive shaftinterlocked with the first drive gear, an output gear mechanismdriven by the second drive shaft, a propeller shaft, and a gear caseholding the output gear mechanismand the propeller shaftand having a normally submerged gearing holding portion. The second drive shaftis disposed rearward of the first drive shaftwith respect to a longitudinal direction. The gearing holding portionhas a tapered partextending forward from a position corresponding to the second drive shaftand having a front end. The tapered partis tapered toward the front. The disposition of the second drive shaftrearward of the first drive shaftenables forming the gear casein a small size and reduces underwater resistance to the gear case

An outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a stern of a boat and having a propeller to propel the boat, a power source which produces rotational output, a drive unit including a vertical shaft which transmits the rotational output of the power source to the propeller through a gear mechanism, and an interlock unit which detachably interlocks the power source to the drive unit. The changeable power source includes one of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a combination of the engine and the motor. The interlock unit interlocks one of the engine, the motor and the combination of the engine and the motor to the drive unit as the power source for propelling the boat, thereby enabling to freely change its power source as desired in accordance with a user's current needs and purposes.

An outboard motor is provided with a bar handle equipped with a throttle grip enabling push-pull operation and rotate operation by the boat operator, and one or the other of the engine and the motor is connected to the propeller in accordance with the push-pull operation of the throttle grip. Owing to this configuration, switching between the power sources can be performed using the throttle grip of the bar handle. In addition, the engine speed and motor speed are regulated in accordance with the rotating operation of the throttle grip, thereby avoiding degradation of operability and increase in outboard motor size.

In an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat, comprising a power source and a driven unit including a drive shaft connected to the power source and a propeller connected to the drive shaft through a gear mechanism, wherein the power source is detachably connected to the driven unit through an interlock unit, i.e., the outboard motor can be separated into a power unit housing the power source and the driven unit. Owing to this configuration, it becomes possible to provide the outboard motor that is improved in transportability or portability, can be easily mounted on a boat, and minimizes the amount of space required for storage.

An outboard motor includes an elastic seal lid attached to an under cover to form a hermetic seal between the under cover and an exhaust release pipe while closing an opening of the under cover from which an outlet portion of the exhaust release pipe projects outwardly. The seal lid includes a tubular seal portion projecting from at least one surface of a plate-like body of the seal lid. The tubular seal portion has annular seal lips fitted around an outer circumferential surface of the exhaust release pipe. The tubular seal portion is elastically deformable relative to the lid body to thereby take up or absorb an offset between the exhaust release pipe and the opening of the under cover produced due to cumulative manufacturing and assembling tolerances of relevant parts of the outboard motor.

Outboard motor having seal structure for exhaust release pipe

An outboard motor having an intake passage unit for introducing air into an engine compartment is provided. The intake passage unit has two intake passage portions disposed at the left and the right of an engine, extending vertically, to reduce the fore-and-aft length of an engine cover. The left and right intake passage portions communicate at their upper portions with air introduction openings formed in the engine cover.

An outboard motor includes an under cover covering a part of an engine, a mount case supporting the engine, and an oil pan provided below the mount case. The under cover has an opening formed at a place opposite to a drain unit provided at a lower portion of the oil pan. The opening can be opened and closed by a drain cover having first and second locks. A release of the first lock is operated to allow the drain cover to be attached and detached to and from the opening with a single motion.

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Saitama, Japan

Mitsuaki Kubota