US20070243775A1 - Outboard motor - Google Patents
Outboard motor Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20070243775A1 US20070243775A1 US11/617,545 US61754506A US2007243775A1 US 20070243775 A1 US20070243775 A1 US 20070243775A1 US 61754506 A US61754506 A US 61754506A US 2007243775 A1 US2007243775 A1 US 2007243775A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- electric component
- outboard motor
- engine
- surge tank
- cowling
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
- F02B—INTERNAL-COMBUSTION PISTON ENGINES; COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL
- F02B61/00—Adaptations of engines for driving vehicles or for driving propellers; Combinations of engines with gearing
- F02B61/04—Adaptations of engines for driving vehicles or for driving propellers; Combinations of engines with gearing for driving propellers
- F02B61/045—Adaptations of engines for driving vehicles or for driving propellers; Combinations of engines with gearing for driving propellers for outboard marine engines
Definitions
- the present inventions relate to outboard motors, and more particularly, to outboard motors which have an engine disposed in an upright position so that the crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising.
- Outboard motors have long been known in the marine propulsion arts.
- One commonly used design is one in which the crankshaft of the engine in the outboard motor extends generally vertically.
- a surge tank can be provided in an intake passage of the engine located in front of the engine (the propeller side is defined as the rear side). Additionally, an electric component such as an engine control unit (ECU) can be mounted in front of the surge tank in the cowling.
- ECU engine control unit
- An aspect of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein includes the realization that in the outboard motor described in JP-A-Hei 9-88623, there are constrains on the assembly because the electric component must be attached after the intake manifold and the surge tank have been connected because the electric component is attached to a member integrated with an intake manifold and the surge tank. Also, unless the electric component is removed, the surge tank or the intake manifold cannot be removed since the electric component interferes with the removal of them.
- an outboard motor can comprise a cowling, an engine disposed in an upright position in the cowling such that a crankshaft of the engine thereof extends generally vertically during cruising, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion for an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank.
- an outboard motor can comprise a cowling, an engine disposed in the cowling, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion configured to connect with an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank
- FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of an outboard motor in accordance with an embodiment.
- FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic side elevational view of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of an engine within the outboard motor.
- FIG. 3 is a schematic top plan view illustrating the configuration of the engine of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 4 is a schematic front elevational view of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 5 is a partial sectional and top plan view of a portion of the induction system of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 6 is a partial schematic sectional and side elevational view of the induction system of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an attachment of an electric component a surge tank of the induction system.
- FIG. 8 is a top plan view of an exhaust guide member of the outboard motor of FIG. 1 .
- FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the exhaust guide.
- FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X of FIG. 9 .
- the front side of the outboard motor 1 is defined as hull side
- the rear side of the outboard motor 1 indicates the side opposite the hull side
- a direction perpendicular to a horizontal direction is defined as vertical direction.
- an outboard motor 1 can have a propulsion unit 2 having a housing portion consisting of a cowling 3 , an upper case 4 and a lower case 5 .
- An engine 10 can be housed in the cowling 3 on the upper side with its crankshaft 10 a extending vertically, and a propeller 6 which can be rotatably driven by the engine 10 , can be attached to the lower case 5 on the lower side.
- the engine 10 can be disposed with the crankshaft 10 a disposed on the hull side of the engine 10 and with its cylinders 10 b on the opposite side from the hull side.
- a power transmission mechanism 11 and an exhaust passage (not shown) extending from the engine 10 , and so on, can be housed in the upper case 4 in the middle and the lower case 5 .
- the propeller 6 can be rotatably driven by the engine 10 via the power transmission mechanism 11 .
- the power transmission mechanism 11 can be constituted of a drive shaft 12 , a shift switching mechanism 13 , a propeller shaft 14 , and other components.
- the cowling 3 can be considered as forming an engine room 15 .
- the cowling 3 can comprise a top cowling 3 a and a bottom cowling 3 b .
- Air can be introduced into the engine room 15 through an air intake port 3 a 1 for the engine 10 formed through a rear part of the top cowling 3 a .
- An exhaust guide 16 can be disposed at the upper end of the upper case 4 , and the engine 10 can be secured to the top surface of the exhaust guide 16 .
- the bottom cowling 3 b can be secured to an upper periphery of the exhaust guide 16 with bolts.
- the upper end of the upper case 4 can be secured to a lower periphery of the exhaust guide 16 with bolts.
- An apron 17 can be attached to surround an upper part of the upper case 4 and the exhaust guide 16 .
- the top cowling 3 a covering the engine 10 from above can be openably attached from above to the bottom cowling 3 b secured to the exhaust guide 16 , and removably joined to the bottom cowling 3 b.
- the outboard motor 1 can be attached to the rear end of the hull 20 .
- the hull 20 can have a transom plate 20 a to which a clamp bracket 21 can be secured.
- a swivel bracket 22 can be rotatably pivoted to the clamp bracket 21 by a tilt shaft 23 , and the propulsion unit 2 can be pivoted to the swivel bracket 22 for rotation about a steering shaft 24 .
- the engine 10 can be a four-cycle V-type eight-cylinder engine.
- engines having other cylinder configurations e.g., inline, opposed, W
- operating on other combustion principles e.g., diesel, 2 stroke, rotary, etc.
- having other numbers of cylinders can also be used.
- the outboard motor 1 can be mounted on the transom plate 20 a for swinging movement between a cruising state in which the crankshaft 10 a extends vertically and a retracted position in which the crankshaft 10 a extends generally horizontally.
- a crankcase 31 can be joined to the front mating face of the cylinder block 30 of the engine 10 , and a crankcase cover 31 a can be joined to the crankcase 31 .
- Cylinder heads 32 can be joined to the rear mating faces of the cylinder block 30 , and each of the cylinder heads 32 has a cam chamber side opening covered with a head cover 33 . In the cruising state, the head covers 33 and the cylinder heads 32 of the engine 10 face backward in the longitudinal direction of the hull.
- a flywheel 100 connected to the crankshaft 10 a can be disposed on the engine 10 .
- right and left cylinders 10 b are formed with their axes forming a V-bank and extending toward the crankshaft 10 a .
- intake valve openings 32 a and exhaust valve openings 32 b are formed for each cylinder, and each of the intake valve openings 32 a and the exhaust valve openings 32 b can be communicated with its corresponding combustion chamber 32 d in the V-bank.
- Each of the exhaust valve openings 32 b can be communicated with its corresponding one of exhaust manifolds 34 through its corresponding exhaust port 32 c extending to the V-bank, and exhaust gas can be discharged into the water below the engine through exhaust manifolds 34 .
- Each of the intake valve openings 32 a opens in a side wall of its corresponding cylinder head 32 through its corresponding intake port 32 e .
- Each of the intake ports 32 e can have an external connecting opening 32 f which can be connected to its corresponding one of intake manifolds 36 .
- the intake ports 32 e and the intake manifolds 36 can form curved portions 39 extending forward toward the hull from the intake valve openings 32 a in a generally arcuate form, and the curved portions 39 can be connected to a surge tank 200 to form intake passages A extending forward.
- a throttle body 37 including a throttle valve 37 a can be connected to the surge tank 200 .
- An intake silencer 38 can be connected to the upstream side of the throttle body 37 .
- the intake silencer 38 which can be located in front of the engine 10 , can be of a size extending almost across the entire width of the cowling 3 and can have an intake opening 38 a through which air can be introduced.
- the surge tank 200 which can consist of a first surge tank 200 a and two second surge tanks 200 b , can be of a vertically elongated shape corresponding to the intake manifolds 36 formed by aluminum die-casting and has a prescribed capacity. However, other configurations can also be used.
- Each of the intake manifolds 36 connected to the surge tank 200 can have long intake pipes 36 a and short intake pipes 36 b .
- the first surge tank 200 a can be located in front, that is, on the hull side, of the engine 10 , and the first surge tank 200 a can be communicated with each of the long intake pipes 36 a .
- Each of the long intake pipes 36 a can be communicated with the intake port 32 e of its corresponding cylinder 10 b .
- the intake ports 32 e can be formed on the outside of the cylinder banks of the V-type engine 10 .
- the two second surge tanks 200 b can be communicated with the first surge tank 200 a and located along the inside, that is, the engine side of the long intake pipes 36 a .
- the two second surge tanks 200 b on both sides of the first surge tank 200 a can be communicated with each other to ensure a larger capacity.
- the long intake pipes 36 a are located outside the cylinder banks, and dead spaces are formed among the cylinder banks, the crankcase 31 and the long intake pipes 36 a .
- the two second surge tanks 200 b extend from the crankcase cover 31 a to a midportion of the crankcase 31 to ensure the capacities of the second surge tank 200 b without increasing the size of the outboard motor 1 .
- Each of the short intake pipes 36 b extends into its corresponding second surge tank 200 b , and can be located on the inside, that is, the engine side, of an intermediate portion of its corresponding long intake pipe 36 a .
- Each of the short intake pipes 36 b can also have an opening 200 c communicated with the second surge tank 200 b .
- Each of the short intake pipes 36 b can also be provided with an on-off valve 201 for opening and closing the short intake pipe 36 b at its opening 200 c to the long intake pipe 36 a.
- the on-off valves 201 can be attached to their corresponding one of valve shafts 202 extending vertically, and an actuator 203 can be disposed at the upper end of each of the valve shafts 202 .
- the valve shafts 202 can be rotated by the actuators 203 to open and close the openings 200 c with the on-off valves 201 .
- the actuators 203 are located coaxially with the valve shafts 202 for the on-off valves 201 , the number of parts can be small and the costs can be reduced. Also, since the actuators 203 can be directly connected to the valve shafts 202 , the reliability of operation can be improved.
- the on-off valves 201 are butterfly-type valves and can be connected to their corresponding valve shafts 202 extending along the crankshaft 10 a .
- Driving motors used as the actuators 203 at the upper ends of the valve shafts 202 can be negative pressure diaphragms, DC motors, stepping motors or the like.
- the actuators 203 are located immediately above the on-off valves 201 , they can also be located immediately below the on-off valves 201 and coaxially with the valve shafts, or other locations.
- the actuators 203 When the actuators 203 are located immediately above the on-off valves 201 as described above, the actuators 203 can be disposed in a dead space surrounded by the uppermost intake manifold 36 , the flywheel 100 , and the top cowling 3 a . When the actuators 203 are located immediately below the on-off valves 201 , the actuators 203 can be disposed in a dead space between the lowermost intake manifold 36 and the bottom cowling 3 b . In either case, the actuators 203 can be installed without increasing the external dimensions of the cowling 3 .
- the engine 10 can be provided with an electric component 300 such as a controller and an electric auxiliary component 301 including a relay and a fuse.
- an electric component 300 such as a controller and an electric auxiliary component 301 including a relay and a fuse.
- other electric devices can also be considered as the “electric component”.
- the electric component 300 which can be attached to an upper central portion of the front wall of the surge tank 200 and located in the cowling 3 , can receive detection values from sensors (not shown) such as an engine rotational speed sensor, a hull speed sensor, a throttle opening sensor, an intake pressure sensor, an O2 sensor and so on.
- the electric component 300 can be configured to control the fuel injection amount, the injection timing and the ignition timing based on the detection values and according to various operation control maps incorporated therein.
- the electric component 300 can be configured to control the actuators 203 to open and close the openings 200 c with the on-off valves 201 .
- the electric auxiliary component 301 including a relay and a fuse can be attached to an upper right portion of the front wall of the surge tank 200 and located in the cowling 3 .
- the intake pipe length can be selected between a length suitable for low- and intermediate-speed operation and a length suitable for high-speed operation. In other words, an intake pipe length suitable for the operating condition of the engine 10 can be obtained. Therefore, an inertia supercharging effect can be achieved and target torque characteristics can be obtained in all the operating ranges of the engine 10 .
- the open/close control of the on-off valves 201 can be performed based on the engine rotational speed and the load although it can also depend on the operating range, and the open/close speed of the on-off valves 201 can be arbitrarily set depending on the operating range.
- the curvature of the long intake pipes 36 a can be minimum. Also, since the first surge tank 200 a located on the hull side of the engine 10 has less restrictions in shape than the intake manifolds 36 , the gap between the long intake pipes 36 a and the engine 10 can be used to the maximum extent for the surge tank 200 and the distance between the surge tank 200 and the engine 10 can be narrowed. As a result, the outboard motor 1 can be prevented from increasing in size.
- the on-off valves 201 for opening and closing the short intake pipes 36 b can be located on the inside, that is, the engine side, of the long intake pipes 36 a
- the actuators 203 for driving the on-off valves 201 can be located on the engine side of the outside of the long intake pipes 36 a as viewed in a top plan view. Therefore, it can be possible to prevent the actuators 203 from protruding to the extent that the outboard motor 1 can be increased in size, and the effective pipe length of the intake pipes can be changed with a simple structure without increasing the size of the outboard motor.
- dead spaces K 3 and K 4 are formed between the cylinder block 30 of the engine 10 and the right and left long intake pipes 36 a as viewed in a top plan view.
- a large-size electric component 400 such as a starter motor, as an auxiliary component, can be disposed in the dead space K 3
- a fuel system component 401 can be disposed in the dead space K 4 . Since the dead spaces K 3 and K 4 between the engine 10 and the long intake pipes 36 a are used effectively to dispose auxiliary components, the outboard motor 1 can be prevented from increasing in size.
- Fuel injection valves 40 for each cylinder can be inserted into the portions of the cylinder heads 32 corresponding to the intake ports 32 e .
- Each fuel injection valve 40 can have an injection nozzle facing its corresponding combustion chamber 32 d , and cylindrical fuel supply rails 41 which can extend along the crankshaft 10 a , can be located outside the cylinder heads 32 .
- a fuel supply device 50 for supplying fuel to the fuel injection valves 40 can be constituted as follows: a fuel filter 57 , a low-pressure primary pump 52 housed in a sealed container 58 for supplying fuel, and a vapor separator 53 can be attached to a front part of a side wall of the engine 10 .
- fuel in a fuel tank 55 mounted on the hull can be supplied to the vapor separator 53 through a low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a , the fuel filter 57 , a low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b , and a primary pump 52 by driving the low-pressure primary pump 52 .
- Excessive fuel discharged from a delivery port 52 a of the primary pump 52 can be returned to the side of a suction port 52 c of the primary pump 52 through a return passage 52 b.
- the fuel can be supplied to a high-pressure secondary pump 42 through a fuel pipe 56 by driving the primary pump 52 incorporated in the vapor separator 53 .
- the fuel pressurized by the secondary pump 42 can be supplied to the upper ends of the right and left fuel supply rails 41 through a high-pressure fuel pipe 43 and right and left branch hoses 44 .
- the injection nozzles of the fuel injection valves 40 are opened, the fuel can be injected into the combustion chambers 32 d .
- the present fuel injection system can be considered as a “direct” fuel injection system.
- other types of fuel injection systems can also be used, such as, for example, induction injection systems in which fuel is injected into air traveling through the induction system of the engine.
- a canister 60 can be fixedly attached to the vapor separator 53 .
- the canister 60 can be made up of a case 60 a directly connected to the vapor separator 53 and filled with an adsorptive activator 60 b such as activated charcoal.
- the vapor in the vapor separator 53 flows into the canister 60 , and fuel in the vapor can be adsorbed therein.
- the air separated from fuel by adsorption can be discharged into the cowling 3 through a discharge pipe 61 .
- the canister 60 can be located below the left intake manifold 36 , and the vapor separator 53 and the canister 60 constituting the fuel system component 401 can be disposed in the dead space K 4 formed on the left side of the cylinder block 30 by the V-bank in a compact manner as shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 .
- the fuel filter 57 can be located on the opposite side of the cylinder heads 32 with respect to the crankshaft 10 a of the engine 10 in the cowling 3 consisting of the top cowling 3 a and the bottom cowling 3 b .
- the fuel filter 57 can have a main body 57 a , a cap 57 b and a filter 57 c , and the main body 57 a can be fixedly fastened to a bracket 59 .
- the bracket 59 can be secured to the hull side of the surge tank 200 .
- the main body 57 a can have a recess with female threads and the cap 57 b can have a mounting portion with male threads so that the cap 57 b can be removably attached to the main body 57 a by a thread structure.
- the main body 57 a can have a supply port 57 a 2 and a discharge port 57 a 3 .
- the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a can be connected to the supply port 57 a 2 and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b can be connected to the discharge port 57 a 3 .
- the fuel filter 57 can be covered with at least a heat insulating material 70 .
- the heat insulating material 70 can have a shape consistent with the shape of the fuel filter 57 .
- the heat insulating material 70 can consist of a plurality of portions.
- the heat insulating material 70 can comprise a portion 70 a covering the main body 57 a and a portion 70 b covering the cap 57 b .
- the heat insulating material 70 can be made of a foamed rubber, however, other materials can also be used.
- the portion 70 a covering the main body 57 a can be shaped in advance into a shape consistent with the external shape of the main body 57 a .
- the portion 70 b covering the cap 57 b can be shaped in advance into a shape consistent with the external shape of the cap 57 b.
- the fuel filter 57 can be covered with at least the heat insulating material 70 , the fuel filter 57 can be prevented from being heated by the engine 10 and the fuel therein can be prevented from being evaporated. Also, the heat insulating material 70 can have a shape consistent with the shape of the fuel filter 57 . Since the heat insulating material 70 can be consistent with the filter shape, a gap is unlikely to be formed between the fuel filter 57 and the heat insulating material 70 . Therefore, heat-insulating efficiency can be improved.
- the heat insulating material 70 can comprise a plurality of portions and the fuel filter 57 can be covered with the plurality of portions.
- the portion 70 a for the main body 57 a and the portion 70 b for the cap 57 b can be easily attached to the main body 57 a and the cap 57 b , respectively.
- the heat insulating material 70 can be easily attached to the fuel filter 57 . Therefore, the fuel filter 57 can be easily assembled, and the work for replacement or maintenance thereof can be improved.
- the fuel filter 57 can be located in the hull side of the engine 10 in the cowling 3 , a worker can easily remove the top cowling 3 a from the bottom cowling 3 b and attach the top cowling 3 a to the bottom cowling 3 b from the hull side. Therefore, the fuel filter 57 can be easily assembled, and the work for replacement or maintenance of the fuel filter 57 can be improved.
- the fuel filter 57 can be located on the opposite side of the cylinder heads 32 with respect to the crankshaft 10 a of the engine 10 in the cowling 3 , the fuel filter 57 can be apart from the exhaust manifolds 34 extending from the cylinder heads 32 and prevented from being heated more reliably.
- At least a part of the fuel pipe 54 can be connected to the fuel filter 57 , that is, the fuel pipes 54 a and 54 b can also be covered with heat insulating materials 71 and 72 , respectively.
- the fuel pipe 54 a can extend through a front right part 3 b 11 of the bottom cowling 3 b into an inner right part of the bottom cowling 3 b , extend in a curve in the vicinity of and below the surge tank 200 , can be bent upward from a position below the fuel filter 57 , and can be connected to the supply port 57 a 2 from the left side of the fuel filter 57 .
- the fuel pipe 54 b can be connected to the discharge port 57 a 3 on the right side of the fuel filter 57 , extend downwardly from the right side of the fuel filter 57 along the fuel filter 57 , extend leftward below the fuel filter 57 , and can be connected to the primary pump 52 housed in the sealed container 58 .
- the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a for supplying the fuel in the fuel tank 55 mounted on the hull and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b from the fuel filter 57 to the primary pump 52 can be installed around the fuel filter 57 using a dead space K 2 below the surge tank 200 , and since the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a for supplying the fuel in the fuel tank 55 mounted on the hull and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b from the fuel filter 57 to the primary pump 52 can be covered with the heat insulating materials 71 and 72 , respectively, not only the fuel filter 57 but also at least some part of the fuel pipe 54 can prevent the fuel therein from being heated.
- the section of the fuel pipe 54 up to the low-pressure primary pump 52 can be covered with the heat insulating materials 71 and 72 . Since a negative pressure can be produced and the fuel tends to be evaporated in the fuel pipes 54 a and 54 b as well as in the fuel filter 57 when the low-pressure primary pump 52 is driven, the heat insulating materials 71 and 72 covering the fuel pipes 54 a and 54 b prevent the fuel therein from being heated more reliably.
- the heat insulating materials 71 and 72 can be made of a foamed rubber, although other materials can also be used. Although water is likely to enter the cowling 3 , even if water enters, their heat insulating properties and durability are not deteriorated. In addition, the heat insulating materials 70 , 71 and 72 can be produced inexpensively and can be easily attached. Therefore, the heat insulating materials 70 , 71 and 72 can be easily assembled, and the work for replacement or maintenance thereof can be improved.
- an electric component 300 such as a controller including an IC integrated circuit, resistors, a printed circuit board, memory devices, processors, and so on, is shown as the electric component E.
- the electric component E is not limited thereto and may include electric auxiliary components such as a relay and a fuse or any other electric device.
- the electric component E can be housed in an electric component box 500 .
- the electric component box 500 can comprise a box body 500 a and a lid 500 b .
- Mounting portions 500 a 1 and 500 b 1 formed respectively thereon can be removably fastened with screws 500 c .
- the electric component E can be supported by and attached to mounting bosses 500 a 2 in the box body 500 a.
- the surge tank 200 can be made of aluminum, and formed by, for example, aluminum die-casting. Since the surge tank 200 can be made of aluminum, the surge tank 200 can be strong and lightweight.
- the surge tank 200 can have four mounting portions 200 f for the electric component E formed integrally therewith at top and bottom of both sides.
- the box body 500 a can have grommets 501 at positions corresponding to the mounting portions 200 f .
- the box body 500 a can be fixed by fastening bolts 502 with the grommets 501 placed on the mounting portions 200 f . Therefore, the electric component E can be attached by first attaching the box body 500 a , to which the electric component E has been attached, to the surge tank 200 and then attaching the lid 500 b to the box body 500 a.
- the surge tank 200 can be located on the hull side of the engine 10 in the cowling 3 , and the electric component E can be attached to the front side of the surge tank 200 . Since the surge tank 200 has the mounting portions 200 f for the electric component E formed integrally therewith, there is no need for a mounting stay or the like. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembly steps can be reduced.
- the fuel filter 57 can be located in front of, that is, on the hull side of the electric component box 500 . Since the fuel filter 57 can be located in front of the electric component E as described above, the fuel filter 57 can be located apart from the engine 10 to prevent the fuel therein from being heated. In addition, maintenance of the fuel filter 57 can be carried out easily without interference of the electric component E.
- the electric component E can be housed in the electric component box 500 , it is only necessary to attach the electric component box 500 to the surge tank 200 . Therefore, the number of the mounting portions can be minimized and the work efficiency can be improved.
- the surge tank 200 can be connected to the intake manifolds 36 after the electric component E has been attached to the surge tank 200 . Therefore, the flexibility in assembly can be improved. Also, since the intake manifolds 36 can be removed from the surge tank 200 with the electric component E attached to the surge tank 200 , the maintainability can be high.
- the surge tank 200 can be located between the electric component E and the engine 10 , the influence of the heat from the engine 10 on the electric component E can be reduced. Also, since the front side of the surge tank 200 faces the hull, when the top cowling 3 a of the cowling 3 is removed from the bottom cowling 3 b for maintenance of the electric component E, the worker can easily reach the electric component E from the hull side. Therefore, the maintainability can be improved.
- a pair of right and left dampers 601 can be provided in a mount bracket 600 , and fixing bolts 602 can be inserted through the paired right and left dampers 601 .
- the mount bracket 600 can be located at the center in a space surrounded by a guide rib 16 a of the exhaust guide 16 .
- a mount cover 610 can be used to cover the mount bracket 600 from above and can be fixedly secured with four fixing bolts 611 .
- the fixing bolts 602 can extend through the swivel bracket 22 via collars 612 , and can be fixedly fastened with nuts 613 .
- the exhaust guide 16 can be thereby secured to the swivel bracket 22 , making the propulsion unit 2 rotatable about the steering shaft 24 .
- the exhaust guide 16 can have a drive shaft through hole 16 b in front of the mount cover 610 and a pair of right and left exhaust passages 16 c behind the mount cover 610 , that is, on the other side of the drive shaft through hole 16 b with respect to the guide rib 16 a.
- the mount cover 610 can have a pawl 610 a extending toward an exhaust passages 16 c side portion 16 a 1 of the guide rib 16 a , and a damper 630 can be interposed between the mount cover 610 and the exhaust passages 16 c side portion 16 a 1 of the guide rib 16 a .
- the damper 630 can be made of a rubber material or the like, although other materials can also be used.
- the damper 630 can also have a laterally extending portion 630 a facing heads 602 a of the fixing bolts 602 , a backwardly extending portion 630 b engaged with a recess 16 a 2 of the guide rib 16 a , and a forwardly extending portion 630 c engaged with a lower side of the pawl 610 a of the mount cover 610 .
- the damper 630 can be fixed with the laterally extending portion 630 a facing the heads 602 a of the fixing bolts 602 .
- the heads 602 a of the paired right and left fixing bolts 602 abut against the laterally extending portion 630 a of the damper 630 to protect the guide rib 16 a of the exhaust guide 16 and prevent generation of unpleasant noise.
- the damper 630 when the damper 630 is inserted between the guide rib 16 a and the mount cover 610 with the backwardly extending portion 630 b engaged with the recess 16 a 2 of the guide rib 16 a and the forwardly extending portion 630 c engaged with a lower side of the pawl 610 a of the mount cover 610 , the laterally extending portion 630 a faces the heads 602 a of the fixing bolts 602 and the damper 630 can be attached easily.
- the forwardly extending portion 630 c of the damper 630 can be engaged with a lower side of the pawl 610 a of the mount cover 610 and can be prevented from coming off upwardly, and the backwardly extending portion 630 b can be engaged with the recess 16 a 2 of the guide rib 16 a to prevent the damper 630 from moving laterally.
- the damper 630 since the damper 630 has the laterally extending portion 630 a formed integrally therewith and facing the heads 602 a of the fixing bolt 602 , the number of parts can be reduced.
- the present inventions are applicable to outboard motors in which an engine is disposed in an upright position so that the crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising, and allows an electric component to be attached easily with a simple structure.
Abstract
An outboard motor can be mounted on a transom plate of a hull, and can have an engine disposed in an upright position in a cowling so that a crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising. A surge tank can be located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion for an electric component can be provided on a front face of the surge tank.
Description
- This application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-114817, filed Apr. 18, 2006, the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
- 1. Field of the Inventions
- The present inventions relate to outboard motors, and more particularly, to outboard motors which have an engine disposed in an upright position so that the crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Outboard motors have long been known in the marine propulsion arts. One commonly used design is one in which the crankshaft of the engine in the outboard motor extends generally vertically.
- In more recent designs, a surge tank can be provided in an intake passage of the engine located in front of the engine (the propeller side is defined as the rear side). Additionally, an electric component such as an engine control unit (ECU) can be mounted in front of the surge tank in the cowling. Such an outboard motor design is disclosed in Japanese Patent Document JP-A-Hei 9-88623.
- An aspect of at least one of the inventions disclosed herein includes the realization that in the outboard motor described in JP-A-Hei 9-88623, there are constrains on the assembly because the electric component must be attached after the intake manifold and the surge tank have been connected because the electric component is attached to a member integrated with an intake manifold and the surge tank. Also, unless the electric component is removed, the surge tank or the intake manifold cannot be removed since the electric component interferes with the removal of them.
- Thus, in accordance with at least one embodiment, an outboard motor can comprise a cowling, an engine disposed in an upright position in the cowling such that a crankshaft of the engine thereof extends generally vertically during cruising, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion for an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank.
- In accordance with at least another embodiment, an outboard motor can comprise a cowling, an engine disposed in the cowling, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion configured to connect with an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank
- The above-mentioned and other features of the inventions disclosed herein are described below with reference to the drawings of the preferred embodiments. The illustrated embodiments are intended to illustrate, but not to limit the inventions. The drawings contain the following Figures.
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FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of an outboard motor in accordance with an embodiment. -
FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic side elevational view of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of an engine within the outboard motor. -
FIG. 3 is a schematic top plan view illustrating the configuration of the engine of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 4 is a schematic front elevational view of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional and top plan view of a portion of the induction system of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 6 is a partial schematic sectional and side elevational view of the induction system of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an attachment of an electric component a surge tank of the induction system. -
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of an exhaust guide member of the outboard motor ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 9 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the exhaust guide. -
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X ofFIG. 9 . - The embodiments disclosed herein are described in the context of a small watercraft powered by an outboard motor because the embodiments disclosed herein have particular utility in this context. However, the embodiments and inventions herein can also be applied to other boats having other types of propulsion units as well as other types of vehicles.
- In the following description, the front side of the outboard motor 1 is defined as hull side, the rear side of the outboard motor 1 indicates the side opposite the hull side, and a direction perpendicular to a horizontal direction is defined as vertical direction.
- As shown in
FIG. 1 , an outboard motor 1 can have apropulsion unit 2 having a housing portion consisting of acowling 3, anupper case 4 and alower case 5. Anengine 10 can be housed in thecowling 3 on the upper side with itscrankshaft 10 a extending vertically, and apropeller 6 which can be rotatably driven by theengine 10, can be attached to thelower case 5 on the lower side. - The
engine 10 can be disposed with thecrankshaft 10 a disposed on the hull side of theengine 10 and with itscylinders 10 b on the opposite side from the hull side. Apower transmission mechanism 11 and an exhaust passage (not shown) extending from theengine 10, and so on, can be housed in theupper case 4 in the middle and thelower case 5. Thepropeller 6 can be rotatably driven by theengine 10 via thepower transmission mechanism 11. Thepower transmission mechanism 11 can be constituted of adrive shaft 12, ashift switching mechanism 13, apropeller shaft 14, and other components. - The cowling 3 can be considered as forming an
engine room 15. Thecowling 3 can comprise a top cowling 3 a and a bottom cowling 3 b. Air can be introduced into theengine room 15 through anair intake port 3 a 1 for theengine 10 formed through a rear part of the top cowling 3 a. Anexhaust guide 16 can be disposed at the upper end of theupper case 4, and theengine 10 can be secured to the top surface of theexhaust guide 16. - The bottom cowling 3 b can be secured to an upper periphery of the
exhaust guide 16 with bolts. The upper end of theupper case 4 can be secured to a lower periphery of theexhaust guide 16 with bolts. Anapron 17 can be attached to surround an upper part of theupper case 4 and theexhaust guide 16. The top cowling 3 a covering theengine 10 from above can be openably attached from above to the bottom cowling 3 b secured to theexhaust guide 16, and removably joined to the bottom cowling 3 b. - The outboard motor 1 can be attached to the rear end of the
hull 20. Thehull 20 can have atransom plate 20 a to which aclamp bracket 21 can be secured. Aswivel bracket 22 can be rotatably pivoted to theclamp bracket 21 by atilt shaft 23, and thepropulsion unit 2 can be pivoted to theswivel bracket 22 for rotation about asteering shaft 24. - As shown in
FIG. 2 toFIG. 7 , theengine 10 can be a four-cycle V-type eight-cylinder engine. However, engines having other cylinder configurations (e.g., inline, opposed, W), operating on other combustion principles (e.g., diesel, 2 stroke, rotary, etc.), and having other numbers of cylinders can also be used. - The outboard motor 1 can be mounted on the
transom plate 20 a for swinging movement between a cruising state in which thecrankshaft 10 a extends vertically and a retracted position in which thecrankshaft 10 a extends generally horizontally. Acrankcase 31 can be joined to the front mating face of thecylinder block 30 of theengine 10, and acrankcase cover 31 a can be joined to thecrankcase 31. -
Cylinder heads 32 can be joined to the rear mating faces of thecylinder block 30, and each of thecylinder heads 32 has a cam chamber side opening covered with ahead cover 33. In the cruising state, the head covers 33 and thecylinder heads 32 of theengine 10 face backward in the longitudinal direction of the hull. Aflywheel 100 connected to thecrankshaft 10 a can be disposed on theengine 10. - In the
cylinder block 30, right andleft cylinders 10 b are formed with their axes forming a V-bank and extending toward thecrankshaft 10 a. In eachcylinder head 32,intake valve openings 32 a andexhaust valve openings 32 b are formed for each cylinder, and each of theintake valve openings 32 a and theexhaust valve openings 32 b can be communicated with itscorresponding combustion chamber 32 d in the V-bank. - Each of the
exhaust valve openings 32 b can be communicated with its corresponding one ofexhaust manifolds 34 through itscorresponding exhaust port 32 c extending to the V-bank, and exhaust gas can be discharged into the water below the engine throughexhaust manifolds 34. - Each of the
intake valve openings 32 a opens in a side wall of itscorresponding cylinder head 32 through itscorresponding intake port 32 e. Each of theintake ports 32 e can have an external connecting opening 32 f which can be connected to its corresponding one ofintake manifolds 36. Theintake ports 32 e and theintake manifolds 36 can formcurved portions 39 extending forward toward the hull from theintake valve openings 32 a in a generally arcuate form, and thecurved portions 39 can be connected to asurge tank 200 to form intake passages A extending forward. - A
throttle body 37 including athrottle valve 37 a can be connected to thesurge tank 200. Anintake silencer 38 can be connected to the upstream side of thethrottle body 37. Theintake silencer 38, which can be located in front of theengine 10, can be of a size extending almost across the entire width of thecowling 3 and can have anintake opening 38 a through which air can be introduced. - The
surge tank 200, which can consist of afirst surge tank 200 a and twosecond surge tanks 200 b, can be of a vertically elongated shape corresponding to theintake manifolds 36 formed by aluminum die-casting and has a prescribed capacity. However, other configurations can also be used. - Each of the
intake manifolds 36 connected to thesurge tank 200, can havelong intake pipes 36 a andshort intake pipes 36 b. Thefirst surge tank 200 a can be located in front, that is, on the hull side, of theengine 10, and thefirst surge tank 200 a can be communicated with each of thelong intake pipes 36 a. Each of thelong intake pipes 36 a can be communicated with theintake port 32 e of its correspondingcylinder 10 b. Theintake ports 32 e can be formed on the outside of the cylinder banks of the V-type engine 10. - The two
second surge tanks 200 b can be communicated with thefirst surge tank 200 a and located along the inside, that is, the engine side of thelong intake pipes 36 a. The twosecond surge tanks 200 b on both sides of thefirst surge tank 200 a can be communicated with each other to ensure a larger capacity. Also, in the V-type engine, thelong intake pipes 36 a are located outside the cylinder banks, and dead spaces are formed among the cylinder banks, thecrankcase 31 and thelong intake pipes 36 a. Thus, the twosecond surge tanks 200 b extend from thecrankcase cover 31 a to a midportion of thecrankcase 31 to ensure the capacities of thesecond surge tank 200 b without increasing the size of the outboard motor 1. - Each of the
short intake pipes 36 b extends into its correspondingsecond surge tank 200 b, and can be located on the inside, that is, the engine side, of an intermediate portion of its correspondinglong intake pipe 36 a. Each of theshort intake pipes 36 b can also have anopening 200 c communicated with thesecond surge tank 200 b. Each of theshort intake pipes 36 b can also be provided with an on-offvalve 201 for opening and closing theshort intake pipe 36 b at itsopening 200 c to thelong intake pipe 36 a. - The on-off
valves 201 can be attached to their corresponding one ofvalve shafts 202 extending vertically, and anactuator 203 can be disposed at the upper end of each of thevalve shafts 202. Thevalve shafts 202 can be rotated by theactuators 203 to open and close theopenings 200 c with the on-offvalves 201. - Since the
actuators 203 are located coaxially with thevalve shafts 202 for the on-offvalves 201, the number of parts can be small and the costs can be reduced. Also, since theactuators 203 can be directly connected to thevalve shafts 202, the reliability of operation can be improved. - In some embodiments, the on-off
valves 201 are butterfly-type valves and can be connected to theircorresponding valve shafts 202 extending along thecrankshaft 10 a. Driving motors used as theactuators 203 at the upper ends of thevalve shafts 202 can be negative pressure diaphragms, DC motors, stepping motors or the like. Although theactuators 203 are located immediately above the on-offvalves 201, they can also be located immediately below the on-offvalves 201 and coaxially with the valve shafts, or other locations. - When the
actuators 203 are located immediately above the on-offvalves 201 as described above, theactuators 203 can be disposed in a dead space surrounded by theuppermost intake manifold 36, theflywheel 100, and thetop cowling 3 a. When theactuators 203 are located immediately below the on-offvalves 201, theactuators 203 can be disposed in a dead space between thelowermost intake manifold 36 and thebottom cowling 3 b. In either case, theactuators 203 can be installed without increasing the external dimensions of thecowling 3. - The
engine 10 can be provided with anelectric component 300 such as a controller and an electricauxiliary component 301 including a relay and a fuse. However, other electric devices can also be considered as the “electric component”. - The
electric component 300, which can be attached to an upper central portion of the front wall of thesurge tank 200 and located in thecowling 3, can receive detection values from sensors (not shown) such as an engine rotational speed sensor, a hull speed sensor, a throttle opening sensor, an intake pressure sensor, an O2 sensor and so on. Theelectric component 300 can be configured to control the fuel injection amount, the injection timing and the ignition timing based on the detection values and according to various operation control maps incorporated therein. Also, theelectric component 300 can be configured to control theactuators 203 to open and close theopenings 200 c with the on-offvalves 201. The electricauxiliary component 301 including a relay and a fuse can be attached to an upper right portion of the front wall of thesurge tank 200 and located in thecowling 3. - By controlling the
actuators 203 to open or close theopenings 200 c with the on-offvalves 201, for example, to open the on-offvalves 201 in the high-speed operation range and close the on-offvalves 201 in the low- and intermediate-speed operation range, the intake pipe length can be selected between a length suitable for low- and intermediate-speed operation and a length suitable for high-speed operation. In other words, an intake pipe length suitable for the operating condition of theengine 10 can be obtained. Therefore, an inertia supercharging effect can be achieved and target torque characteristics can be obtained in all the operating ranges of theengine 10. - The open/close control of the on-off
valves 201 can be performed based on the engine rotational speed and the load although it can also depend on the operating range, and the open/close speed of the on-offvalves 201 can be arbitrarily set depending on the operating range. - Since the
second surge tanks 202 are located along the engine side of thelong intake pipes 36 a as described above, the curvature of thelong intake pipes 36 a can be minimum. Also, since thefirst surge tank 200 a located on the hull side of theengine 10 has less restrictions in shape than theintake manifolds 36, the gap between thelong intake pipes 36 a and theengine 10 can be used to the maximum extent for thesurge tank 200 and the distance between thesurge tank 200 and theengine 10 can be narrowed. As a result, the outboard motor 1 can be prevented from increasing in size. - Also, since the on-off
valves 201 for opening and closing theshort intake pipes 36 b can be located on the inside, that is, the engine side, of thelong intake pipes 36 a, theactuators 203 for driving the on-offvalves 201 can be located on the engine side of the outside of thelong intake pipes 36 a as viewed in a top plan view. Therefore, it can be possible to prevent theactuators 203 from protruding to the extent that the outboard motor 1 can be increased in size, and the effective pipe length of the intake pipes can be changed with a simple structure without increasing the size of the outboard motor. - Also, as shown in
FIG. 5 , dead spaces K3 and K4 are formed between thecylinder block 30 of theengine 10 and the right and leftlong intake pipes 36 a as viewed in a top plan view. A large-sizeelectric component 400, such as a starter motor, as an auxiliary component, can be disposed in the dead space K3, and afuel system component 401 can be disposed in the dead space K4. Since the dead spaces K3 and K4 between theengine 10 and thelong intake pipes 36 a are used effectively to dispose auxiliary components, the outboard motor 1 can be prevented from increasing in size. -
Fuel injection valves 40 for each cylinder can be inserted into the portions of the cylinder heads 32 corresponding to theintake ports 32 e. Eachfuel injection valve 40 can have an injection nozzle facing its correspondingcombustion chamber 32 d, and cylindrical fuel supply rails 41 which can extend along thecrankshaft 10 a, can be located outside the cylinder heads 32. - A
fuel supply device 50 for supplying fuel to thefuel injection valves 40 can be constituted as follows: afuel filter 57, a low-pressureprimary pump 52 housed in a sealedcontainer 58 for supplying fuel, and avapor separator 53 can be attached to a front part of a side wall of theengine 10. - In the
fuel supply device 50, fuel in afuel tank 55 mounted on the hull can be supplied to thevapor separator 53 through a low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a, thefuel filter 57, a low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b, and aprimary pump 52 by driving the low-pressureprimary pump 52. Excessive fuel discharged from adelivery port 52 a of theprimary pump 52 can be returned to the side of asuction port 52 c of theprimary pump 52 through areturn passage 52 b. - The fuel can be supplied to a high-pressure
secondary pump 42 through afuel pipe 56 by driving theprimary pump 52 incorporated in thevapor separator 53. The fuel pressurized by thesecondary pump 42 can be supplied to the upper ends of the right and left fuel supply rails 41 through a high-pressure fuel pipe 43 and right and leftbranch hoses 44. Then, while the injection nozzles of thefuel injection valves 40 are opened, the fuel can be injected into thecombustion chambers 32 d. Thus, the present fuel injection system can be considered as a “direct” fuel injection system. However, other types of fuel injection systems can also be used, such as, for example, induction injection systems in which fuel is injected into air traveling through the induction system of the engine. - A
canister 60 can be fixedly attached to thevapor separator 53. Thecanister 60 can be made up of acase 60 a directly connected to thevapor separator 53 and filled with anadsorptive activator 60 b such as activated charcoal. The vapor in thevapor separator 53 flows into thecanister 60, and fuel in the vapor can be adsorbed therein. The air separated from fuel by adsorption can be discharged into thecowling 3 through adischarge pipe 61. Thecanister 60 can be located below theleft intake manifold 36, and thevapor separator 53 and thecanister 60 constituting thefuel system component 401 can be disposed in the dead space K4 formed on the left side of thecylinder block 30 by the V-bank in a compact manner as shown inFIG. 2 ,FIG. 4 andFIG. 5 . - The
fuel filter 57 can be located on the opposite side of the cylinder heads 32 with respect to thecrankshaft 10 a of theengine 10 in thecowling 3 consisting of thetop cowling 3 a and thebottom cowling 3 b. Thefuel filter 57 can have amain body 57 a, acap 57 b and a filter 57 c, and themain body 57 a can be fixedly fastened to abracket 59. Thebracket 59 can be secured to the hull side of thesurge tank 200. - The
main body 57 a can have a recess with female threads and thecap 57 b can have a mounting portion with male threads so that thecap 57 b can be removably attached to themain body 57 a by a thread structure. Themain body 57 a can have asupply port 57 a 2 and adischarge port 57 a 3. The low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a can be connected to thesupply port 57 a 2 and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b can be connected to thedischarge port 57 a 3. - The
fuel filter 57 can be covered with at least aheat insulating material 70. Theheat insulating material 70 can have a shape consistent with the shape of thefuel filter 57. Theheat insulating material 70 can consist of a plurality of portions. For example, theheat insulating material 70 can comprise aportion 70 a covering themain body 57 a and aportion 70 b covering thecap 57 b. Theheat insulating material 70 can be made of a foamed rubber, however, other materials can also be used. - The
portion 70 a covering themain body 57 a can be shaped in advance into a shape consistent with the external shape of themain body 57 a. Similarly, theportion 70 b covering thecap 57 b can be shaped in advance into a shape consistent with the external shape of thecap 57 b. - Since the
fuel filter 57 can be covered with at least theheat insulating material 70, thefuel filter 57 can be prevented from being heated by theengine 10 and the fuel therein can be prevented from being evaporated. Also, theheat insulating material 70 can have a shape consistent with the shape of thefuel filter 57. Since theheat insulating material 70 can be consistent with the filter shape, a gap is unlikely to be formed between thefuel filter 57 and theheat insulating material 70. Therefore, heat-insulating efficiency can be improved. - In addition, the
heat insulating material 70 can comprise a plurality of portions and thefuel filter 57 can be covered with the plurality of portions. Thus, theportion 70 a for themain body 57 a and theportion 70 b for thecap 57 b can be easily attached to themain body 57 a and thecap 57 b, respectively. Also, when thecap 57 b is removed from themain body 57 a to clean the filter 57 c or replace the filter 57 c with new one, theheat insulating material 70 can be easily attached to thefuel filter 57. Therefore, thefuel filter 57 can be easily assembled, and the work for replacement or maintenance thereof can be improved. - Also, at the time of such maintenance, since the
fuel filter 57 can be located in the hull side of theengine 10 in thecowling 3, a worker can easily remove thetop cowling 3 a from thebottom cowling 3 b and attach thetop cowling 3 a to thebottom cowling 3 b from the hull side. Therefore, thefuel filter 57 can be easily assembled, and the work for replacement or maintenance of thefuel filter 57 can be improved. - In addition, since the
fuel filter 57 can be located on the opposite side of the cylinder heads 32 with respect to thecrankshaft 10 a of theengine 10 in thecowling 3, thefuel filter 57 can be apart from theexhaust manifolds 34 extending from the cylinder heads 32 and prevented from being heated more reliably. - In the
engine room 15, air X introduced through theair intake port 3 a 1 and air Y heated by theengine 10 flow to theintake opening 38 a of theintake silencer 38. However, since thefuel filter 57 can be located below theintake opening 38 a of theengine 10 opening in thecowling 3, where it is not affected by the flow of the air Y, thefuel filter 57 can be prevented from being heated. - In some embodiments, at least a part of the
fuel pipe 54 can be connected to thefuel filter 57, that is, thefuel pipes heat insulating materials fuel pipe 54 a can extend through a frontright part 3b 11 of thebottom cowling 3 b into an inner right part of thebottom cowling 3 b, extend in a curve in the vicinity of and below thesurge tank 200, can be bent upward from a position below thefuel filter 57, and can be connected to thesupply port 57 a 2 from the left side of thefuel filter 57. Thefuel pipe 54 b can be connected to thedischarge port 57 a 3 on the right side of thefuel filter 57, extend downwardly from the right side of thefuel filter 57 along thefuel filter 57, extend leftward below thefuel filter 57, and can be connected to theprimary pump 52 housed in the sealedcontainer 58. - As shown in
FIG. 2 andFIG. 4 , since the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a for supplying the fuel in thefuel tank 55 mounted on the hull and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b from thefuel filter 57 to theprimary pump 52 can be installed around thefuel filter 57 using a dead space K2 below thesurge tank 200, and since the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 a for supplying the fuel in thefuel tank 55 mounted on the hull and the low-pressure fuel pipe 54 b from thefuel filter 57 to theprimary pump 52 can be covered with theheat insulating materials fuel filter 57 but also at least some part of thefuel pipe 54 can prevent the fuel therein from being heated. For example, the section of thefuel pipe 54 up to the low-pressureprimary pump 52 can be covered with theheat insulating materials fuel pipes fuel filter 57 when the low-pressureprimary pump 52 is driven, theheat insulating materials fuel pipes - The
heat insulating materials heat insulating material 70, can be made of a foamed rubber, although other materials can also be used. Although water is likely to enter thecowling 3, even if water enters, their heat insulating properties and durability are not deteriorated. In addition, theheat insulating materials heat insulating materials - Referring next to
FIG. 2 toFIG. 4 andFIG. 7 , the attachment of an electric component E is described in greater detail. In the outboard motor 1, anelectric component 300 such as a controller including an IC integrated circuit, resistors, a printed circuit board, memory devices, processors, and so on, is shown as the electric component E. However, the electric component E is not limited thereto and may include electric auxiliary components such as a relay and a fuse or any other electric device. The electric component E can be housed in anelectric component box 500. Theelectric component box 500 can comprise abox body 500 a and alid 500 b. Mountingportions 500 a 1 and 500 b 1 formed respectively thereon can be removably fastened withscrews 500 c. The electric component E can be supported by and attached to mountingbosses 500 a 2 in thebox body 500 a. - The
surge tank 200 can be made of aluminum, and formed by, for example, aluminum die-casting. Since thesurge tank 200 can be made of aluminum, thesurge tank 200 can be strong and lightweight. - The
surge tank 200 can have four mountingportions 200 f for the electric component E formed integrally therewith at top and bottom of both sides. Thebox body 500 a can havegrommets 501 at positions corresponding to the mountingportions 200 f. Thebox body 500 a can be fixed by fasteningbolts 502 with thegrommets 501 placed on the mountingportions 200 f. Therefore, the electric component E can be attached by first attaching thebox body 500 a, to which the electric component E has been attached, to thesurge tank 200 and then attaching thelid 500 b to thebox body 500 a. - As described above, the
surge tank 200 can be located on the hull side of theengine 10 in thecowling 3, and the electric component E can be attached to the front side of thesurge tank 200. Since thesurge tank 200 has the mountingportions 200 f for the electric component E formed integrally therewith, there is no need for a mounting stay or the like. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of assembly steps can be reduced. - Also, the
fuel filter 57 can be located in front of, that is, on the hull side of theelectric component box 500. Since thefuel filter 57 can be located in front of the electric component E as described above, thefuel filter 57 can be located apart from theengine 10 to prevent the fuel therein from being heated. In addition, maintenance of thefuel filter 57 can be carried out easily without interference of the electric component E. - In addition, since the electric component E can be housed in the
electric component box 500, it is only necessary to attach theelectric component box 500 to thesurge tank 200. Therefore, the number of the mounting portions can be minimized and the work efficiency can be improved. - Since the electric component E can be attached by fixedly securing the
electric component box 500 only on the front side of thesurge tank 200 as described above, thesurge tank 200 can be connected to theintake manifolds 36 after the electric component E has been attached to thesurge tank 200. Therefore, the flexibility in assembly can be improved. Also, since theintake manifolds 36 can be removed from thesurge tank 200 with the electric component E attached to thesurge tank 200, the maintainability can be high. - In addition, since the
surge tank 200 can be located between the electric component E and theengine 10, the influence of the heat from theengine 10 on the electric component E can be reduced. Also, since the front side of thesurge tank 200 faces the hull, when thetop cowling 3 a of thecowling 3 is removed from thebottom cowling 3 b for maintenance of the electric component E, the worker can easily reach the electric component E from the hull side. Therefore, the maintainability can be improved. - Referring next to
FIG. 8 toFIG. 10 , the constitution of theexhaust guide 16 of the outboard motor 1 is described. In some embodiments, a pair of right and leftdampers 601 can be provided in amount bracket 600, and fixingbolts 602 can be inserted through the paired right and leftdampers 601. Themount bracket 600 can be located at the center in a space surrounded by aguide rib 16 a of theexhaust guide 16. Amount cover 610 can be used to cover themount bracket 600 from above and can be fixedly secured with four fixingbolts 611. - The fixing
bolts 602 can extend through theswivel bracket 22 viacollars 612, and can be fixedly fastened with nuts 613. Theexhaust guide 16 can be thereby secured to theswivel bracket 22, making thepropulsion unit 2 rotatable about the steeringshaft 24. - The
exhaust guide 16 can have a drive shaft throughhole 16 b in front of themount cover 610 and a pair of right and leftexhaust passages 16 c behind themount cover 610, that is, on the other side of the drive shaft throughhole 16 b with respect to theguide rib 16 a. - The
mount cover 610 can have apawl 610 a extending toward anexhaust passages 16c side portion 16 a 1 of theguide rib 16 a, and adamper 630 can be interposed between themount cover 610 and theexhaust passages 16c side portion 16 a 1 of theguide rib 16 a. Thedamper 630 can be made of a rubber material or the like, although other materials can also be used. Thedamper 630 can also have a laterally extendingportion 630 a facing heads 602 a of the fixingbolts 602, a backwardly extendingportion 630 b engaged with arecess 16 a 2 of theguide rib 16 a, and a forwardly extendingportion 630 c engaged with a lower side of thepawl 610 a of themount cover 610. - When the backwardly extending
portion 630 b is engaged with therecess 16 a 2 of theguide rib 16 a and the forwardly extendingportion 630 c is engaged with a lower side of thepawl 610 a of themount cover 610, thedamper 630 can be fixed with the laterally extendingportion 630 a facing theheads 602 a of the fixingbolts 602. - Even if the paired right and left
dampers 601 of themount bracket 600 are displaced largely when the outboard motor 1 is driven in reverse or hit some driftwood, theheads 602 a of the paired right and left fixingbolts 602 abut against the laterally extendingportion 630 a of thedamper 630 to protect theguide rib 16 a of theexhaust guide 16 and prevent generation of unpleasant noise. - As described above, when the
damper 630 is inserted between theguide rib 16 a and themount cover 610 with the backwardly extendingportion 630 b engaged with therecess 16 a 2 of theguide rib 16 a and the forwardly extendingportion 630 c engaged with a lower side of thepawl 610 a of themount cover 610, the laterally extendingportion 630 a faces theheads 602 a of the fixingbolts 602 and thedamper 630 can be attached easily. Also, the forwardly extendingportion 630 c of thedamper 630 can be engaged with a lower side of thepawl 610 a of themount cover 610 and can be prevented from coming off upwardly, and the backwardly extendingportion 630 b can be engaged with therecess 16 a 2 of theguide rib 16 a to prevent thedamper 630 from moving laterally. In addition, since thedamper 630 has the laterally extendingportion 630 a formed integrally therewith and facing theheads 602 a of the fixingbolt 602, the number of parts can be reduced. - The present inventions are applicable to outboard motors in which an engine is disposed in an upright position so that the crankshaft thereof extends generally vertically during cruising, and allows an electric component to be attached easily with a simple structure.
- Although these inventions have been disclosed in the context of certain preferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present inventions extend beyond the specifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the inventions and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof. In addition, while several variations of the inventions have been shown and described in detail, other modifications, which are within the scope of these inventions, will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art based upon this disclosure. It is also contemplated that various combination or sub-combinations of the specific features and aspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within the scope of the inventions. It should be understood that various features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with or substituted for one another in order to form varying modes of the disclosed inventions. Thus, it is intended that the scope of at least some of the present inventions herein disclosed should not be limited by the particular disclosed embodiments described above.
- This application is based on and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-114817, filed Apr. 18, 2006, the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
Claims (15)
1. An outboard motor comprising a cowling, an engine disposed in an upright position in the cowling such that a crankshaft of the engine thereof extends generally vertically during cruising, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion for an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank.
2. The outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein the mounting portion for the electric component is formed integrally with the surge tank.
3. The outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein the surge tank is made of aluminum.
4. The outboard motor according to claim 2 , wherein the surge tank is made of aluminum.
5. The outboard motor according to claim 1 additionally comprising an electric component box, the electric component being housed in the electric component box.
6. The outboard motor according to claim 2 additionally comprising an electric component box, the electric component being housed in the electric component box.
7. The outboard motor according to claim 3 additionally comprising an electric component box, the electric component being housed in the electric component box.
8. The outboard motor according to claim 1 additionally comprising a fuel filter, the fuel filter being located in front of the electric component.
9. The outboard motor according to claim 2 additionally comprising a fuel filter, the fuel filter being located in front of the electric component.
10. The outboard motor according to claim 3 additionally comprising a fuel filter, the fuel filter being located in front of the electric component.
11. The outboard motor according to claim 5 additionally comprising a fuel filter, the fuel filter being located in front of the electric component.
12. An outboard motor comprising a cowling, an engine disposed in the cowling, a surge tank located on the hull side of the engine in the cowling, and a mounting portion configured to connect with an electric component provided on a front face of the surge tank.
13. The outboard motor according to claim 12 , wherein the mounting portion for the electric component is formed integrally with the surge tank.
14. The outboard motor according to claim 12 additionally comprising an electric component box, the electric component being housed in the electric component box, and the mounting portion being configured to connect with the electric component box.
15. The outboard motor according to claim 12 additionally comprising a fuel filter, the fuel filter being located in front of the electric component.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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JP2006114817A JP2007285229A (en) | 2006-04-18 | 2006-04-18 | Outboard motor |
JP2006-114817 | 2006-04-18 |
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US20070243775A1 true US20070243775A1 (en) | 2007-10-18 |
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US11/617,545 Abandoned US20070243775A1 (en) | 2006-04-18 | 2006-12-28 | Outboard motor |
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US20120289104A1 (en) * | 2011-05-12 | 2012-11-15 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Outboard motor |
US20150090523A1 (en) * | 2013-09-27 | 2015-04-02 | Suzuki Motor Corporation | Intake apparatus of engine for outboard motor |
US20160032877A1 (en) * | 2014-08-01 | 2016-02-04 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Vehicle, jet propelled watercraft, and engine unit |
US10648432B2 (en) | 2017-01-26 | 2020-05-12 | Man Truck & Bus Ag | Device for attaching a control unit to an internal combustion engine |
US11215005B2 (en) * | 2016-12-13 | 2022-01-04 | HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA | Vehicle flap cover system and a method for automatically actuating the flap cover |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP5827815B2 (en) * | 2011-04-26 | 2015-12-02 | 株式会社ミクニ | Outboard motor intake system |
JP2016217217A (en) * | 2015-05-18 | 2016-12-22 | ヤマハ発動機株式会社 | V type 8-cylinder engine and outboard engine |
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Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120289104A1 (en) * | 2011-05-12 | 2012-11-15 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Outboard motor |
US8715020B2 (en) * | 2011-05-12 | 2014-05-06 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Outboard motor |
US20150090523A1 (en) * | 2013-09-27 | 2015-04-02 | Suzuki Motor Corporation | Intake apparatus of engine for outboard motor |
US9303602B2 (en) * | 2013-09-27 | 2016-04-05 | Suzuki Motor Corporation | Intake apparatus of engine for outboard motor |
US20160032877A1 (en) * | 2014-08-01 | 2016-02-04 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Vehicle, jet propelled watercraft, and engine unit |
US10100724B2 (en) * | 2014-08-01 | 2018-10-16 | Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha | Vehicle, jet propelled watercraft, and engine unit |
US11215005B2 (en) * | 2016-12-13 | 2022-01-04 | HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA | Vehicle flap cover system and a method for automatically actuating the flap cover |
US10648432B2 (en) | 2017-01-26 | 2020-05-12 | Man Truck & Bus Ag | Device for attaching a control unit to an internal combustion engine |
EP3354891B1 (en) * | 2017-01-26 | 2021-03-10 | MAN Truck & Bus SE | Motor vehicle with internal combustion engine and device for mounting a control unit on the internal combustion engine |
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