Marine propulsion – Screw propeller – With means effecting or facilitating movement of propulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-25
2002-01-08
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Marine propulsion
Screw propeller
With means effecting or facilitating movement of propulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06336835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a steering system of an outboard motor including a steering handle for steering the outboard motor.
Some types outboard motors are provided with steering systems or apparatus each of which is manually operated by using a bar-like steering handle.
FIG. 7
is a plan view showing a conventional steering system of the above type, and with reference to
FIG. 7
, a steering bracket
92
is fixed to a front portion, i.e. hull side, of an outboard motor body (e.g. engine holder in
FIG. 7
)
91
, a steering unit
93
is fixed to a front portion of the steering bracket
92
and a steering handle
94
extends forwardly from the side face of the steering unit
93
of the outboard motor. An engine is mounted on an upper portion of the engine holder and the like to which the steering bracket
92
is connected.
The steering bracket
92
is fixed to an upper end of a steering shaft
95
so as to be rotated together. The steering shaft
95
is rotatably supported by a clamp bracket (swivel bracket, not shown) which is fixed to a hull. If the steering handle
94
is turned to left or right, the outboard motor body
91
is turned around the steering shaft
95
and the hull is steered.
Conventionally, the steering bracket
92
is formed substantially symmetrically in a lateral direction with respect to a center line C of the outboard motor body
91
. In such steering system, a steering unit
93
is omitted, and the steering handle
94
extends directly from a side of the steering bracket
92
.
If parts, including such as oil filter, which are detachably attached to the engine of the outboard motor, are provided on a front surface of the engine, these parts are easy for a passenger to access and easy to be attached and detached, and this design facilitates maintenance. Especially, in the case of the oil filter, it is necessary to dispose the oil filter in the vicinity of an oil pump which is disposed in a lower portion of the engine, and it is ideal to dispose the oil filter on the front surface side of the lower portion of the engine.
However, in the conventional steering system, the steering bracket
92
is formed substantially symmetrically in the lateral direction with respect to the center line C of the outboard motor body
91
as described above. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to dispose the oil filter, for example, on the front surface of the lower portion of the engine which is mounted directly above the engine holder to which the steering bracket
92
is connected, it is difficult to dispose the oil filter or like due to the existence of the steering bracket
92
, and even if such part or equipment could be disposed in such a position, it is difficult to access, and therefore, the maintenance performance (attaching and detaching operability) will be deteriorated.
Furthermore, some types of the outboard motors are provided with shifting (shift) device for interrupting the rotating force from the drive shaft to the propeller shaft or changing the rotational direction.
Such shift device is controlled remotely by a shift lever, which is usually arranged as a part of a remote-control unit at a portion near a steering seat in a large-sized ship or like, and on the other hand, in a small-sized ship or like, the shift lever is usually secured to a steering handle or steering bracket to which the steering handle is mounted. These members are integrally provided for the outboard motor, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. HEI 6-144375 or No. HEI 10-218088), in each of which the shift device is operated through link means such as shift rod or shift cable extending from the shift lever.
In such conventional structure, however, in which the shift lever is secured to the sheering handle or steering bracket, no means is adopted for protecting the link means against force or impact from a horizontal side, for example.
Further, when the link means such as shift lever, shift rod or shift cable is broken, bent or cut, it is difficult to expect a suitable or steady clutching operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art mentioned above and to provide a steering system arranged so as to make it possible to dispose an oil filter or like on a front surface of a lower portion of an engine in a state of an outboard motor mounted to a hull so as to facilitate the attaching and detaching operation of the oil filter or like.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a steering system of an outboard motor capable of protecting the oil filter or like disposed on the front surface of the lower portion of the engine against damage.
It is a further object of the present invention is to provide a steering system of an outboard motor provided with an improved steering handle and other operating members on a steering bracket.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a steering system of an outboard motor to facilitate maintenance of the steering handle and associated members or portions thereof.
It is a still further object of the present invention is to provide a steering system provided with a handle structure capable of protecting a shift lever and link means against impact or damage.
These and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing, in one aspect, a steering system mounted to a body of an outboard motor comprising:
a steering bracket mounted, at one side thereof, to the body of the outboard motor which is mounted to a hull;
a steering shaft to which the steering bracket is mounted to be rotatable; and
a steering handle secured to another one side of the steering bracket,
the steering bracket being provided with a front overhang portion which extends forward from the steering shaft and supports the steering handle, the front overhang portion being arranged to be offset sideways from a center line of the body of the outboard motor as viewed in a plan view.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the steering bracket is arranged such that the steering handle is disposed to be offset on an opposite side from the front overhang portion with respect to the center line.
The front overhang portion is provided, at a front end thereof, with a yoke extending in a widthwise direction of the body of the outboard motor, the front overhang portion and the yoke are arranged so as to provide a substantially T-shape as viewed on a plane, and the steering handle is provided on one side of the yoke. A shift lever is provided on another side of the yoke, and the yoke is detachably mounted to the front overhang portion. The yoke is mounted, at one end thereof, with a steering holder to which the steering handle is attached to be rotatable.
The steering bracket is provided with a pair of rear overhang portions extending rearward from the steering shaft.
According to this aspect of the present invention, since the front overhang portion of the steering bracket, on which the steering handle is supported is offset sideways with respect to the center line of the outboard motor body as viewed on a plane, a member or part such as the oil filter can be disposed on the front surface of the lower portion of the engine, and the attaching and detaching operation thereof can be facilitated.
Furthermore, in the steering system of the outboard motor of the present invention, since the steering bracket is formed such that the steering handle is offset towards the opposite side from the front overhang portion with respect to the center line of the outboard motor body as viewed in the longitudinal direction, the parts disposed on the front surface of the lower portion of the engine can be guarded and protected against damage.
Still furthermore, the front overhang portion is provided at its front end with the yoke extending in the widthwise direction of the outboard motor, and the front overhang portion and the yoke provide a substantially T-shape as viewed on a
Morano S. Joseph
Suzuki Kabushiki Kaisha
Vasudeva Ajay
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