Outboard motor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016137279-A1
Application number	US-201514938142-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 11, 2015
Priority date	Nov 14, 2014
Publication date	May 19, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The outboard motor includes a lower unit that rotatably supports a propeller shaft and a shift unit that switches a shift position. A drive shaft that transmits rotational power to the propeller shaft has upper and lower drive shafts provided coaxially and in series side by side. The shift unit has an upper gear rotating in synchronization with the upper drive shaft, a lower gear provided rotatably with respect to the lower drive shaft, an intermediate gear that transmits rotation of the upper gear to the lower gear, and a bearing that rotatably supports the middle shaft provided with the intermediate gear. The intermediate gear and the bearing are modularized and are detachably installed to the lower unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An outboard motor comprising:
an upper unit where an engine is housed; a lower unit that rotatably supports a propeller shaft where a propeller is installed; a middle unit provided between the upper and lower units to house a part of a drive shaft that transmits rotational power from the engine to the propeller shaft; and a shift unit that switches a shift position, wherein the drive shaft has first and second drive shafts coaxially provided in series side by side, the shift unit has
a first gear rotating in synchronization with the first drive shaft,
a second gear provided coaxially with the second drive shaft and rotatably with respect to the second drive shaft,
an intermediate gear that meshes with the first and second gears to transmit rotation of the first gear to the second gear, and
a bearing that rotatably supports a middle shaft provided with the intermediate gear,
the shift unit is housed in a shift unit chamber, and the intermediate gear and the bearing that supports the intermediate gear are modularized and are detachably installed in the shift unit chamber.

2 . The outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein the shift unit chamber is formed in the lower unit and has an upper opening,
the shift unit chamber is provided with a lid member that covers the upper opening, and a dividing surface between the lid member and the shift unit chamber is provided over the middle shaft and is perpendicular to an axial direction of the drive shaft.

3 . The outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein the bearing of the middle shaft has
a pair of tapered roller bearings arranged to face each other in an axial direction, and a first preload member that applies an axial preload to the pair of tapered roller bearings.

4 . The outboard motor according to claim 3 , wherein the first preload member is a nut screwed to a male thread provided in the middle shaft.

5 . The outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein the bearing of the second drive shaft has
a double row type tapered roller bearing, and a second preload member that applies an axial preload to the double row type tapered roller bearing.

6 . The outboard motor according to claim 5 , wherein the second preload member is a nut screwed to a male thread provided in the second drive shaft.

7 . The outboard motor according to claim 5 , wherein the lower unit is provided with a bearing storage chamber having an upper opening, and
the double row type tapered roller bearing is housed in the bearing storage chamber and is held in the storage chamber by using a holding member.

Assignees

• Suzuki Motor Corp

Inventors

• Sugiyama Shuichi
• Daikoku Keisuke

Classifications

• B63H20/20

  with provision for reverse drive · CPC title

• B63H2005/106

  with drive shafts of second or further propellers co-axially passing through hub of first propeller, e.g. counter-rotating tandem propellers with co-axial drive shafts · CPC title

• B63H23/30 Primary

  characterised by use of clutches · CPC title

• B63H20/14 Primary

  Transmission between propulsion power unit and propulsion element · CPC title