JP2748276B2 - Outboard motor power steering system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a power steering device for reducing the steering load of an outboard motor, and more particularly, to a power unit for applying a steering assist force to a manual steering device. The present invention relates to an improved outboard motor power steering device.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as an example of this type of outboard motor steering apparatus, there is one configured as shown in FIG.

When the operator rotates the steering wheel 2 in the driver's seat of the hull 1, the gear in the gear box 4 is rotated via the steering shaft 3, and the steering of this gear is performed. The rotation causes the inner cable 6 of the steering cable 5 to move forward or backward (push-pull) in the axial direction.

The distal end of the inner cable 6 penetrates the outer cable 7 coaxially and extends slightly to the outside.
Is connected to one end of the drag link 9. The link mechanism 8 is configured by rotatably connecting the other end of the substantially L-shaped drag link 9 to one end of the steering bracket 10.

The other end of the steering bracket 10 is the main body 12 of the outboard motor 11
It is stuck to.

The outboard motor body 12 has a drive shaft housing 13 containing a drive shaft (not shown), and a swivel bracket 14 via a pilot shaft (not shown) fixed to the outboard motor body 12 around the pilot shaft. It is supported so that it can rotate (steer) in the horizontal direction.

The swivel bracket 14 is vertically rotated (tilted) as shown in FIG. 5 by a clamp bracket shaft 15 laid between a pair of right and left clamp brackets 16 in the figure.
It is freely supported. The outboard motor body 12 is mounted on the transom 1a by gripping the transom 1a of the hull 1 with a pair of right and left clamp brackets 16.

Accordingly, the push-pull of the inner cable 6 of the steering cable 5 during the turning operation of the steering wheel 2 causes the outboard motor main body 12 to swing horizontally around the pilot shaft (not shown) via the link mechanism 8 to be steered. You.

However, in such a conventional manual steering device, the steering load increases during steering of the outboard motor 11 due to the navigation conditions of the hull 1, for example, wind and waves, the hull speed, the trim angle of the outboard motor 11, and the like. In some cases, steering requires a great deal of effort.

Therefore, to reduce such steering load,
A power steering device including a power unit that generates a steering assist force is conceivable.

As an example of the power steering system, a system in which a power unit 22 is linked to a manual steering system 21 as shown in FIG. 6 can be considered. This manual steering system 21 is configured in the same manner as the steering system shown in FIG. At the same time, the sensor box 23 is fixed to one clamp bracket 16.

The sensor box 23 has a built-in torque sensor for detecting a reaction force applied to the outer cable 7 (see FIG. 4) of the manual steering device 21, that is, a steering load.

On the other hand, the power unit 22 has a motor box 24 in which a motor for generating a steering assist force is built.

The motor receives a steering load signal detected by the torque sensor and supplies it to a controller (not shown). The motor receives an operation signal exchanged by required signal processing such as amplification, and rotates to generate a steering assist force. Has become.

Further, a gear box 25 having a built-in reduction gear for reducing the rotational force of the motor, and the rotational force reduced by the reduction gear are transmitted to the track link 9 of the link mechanism 8 via a stay 26.
Box with built-in rack and pinion for power transmission
27 is integrally connected to the motor box 24
It is configured by being fixed to the front of the swivel bracket 14, that is, to the swivel bracket 14.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a power steering device, the power unit 22 is provided in front of the outboard motor 11, that is, in front of the swivel bracket 14, so that the power unit 18 is located closer to the transom 1a of the hull 1. It protrudes inward, and the inside of the ship narrows by that much.

Further, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
When tilting up by rotating around the clamp bracket shaft 15, the power unit 22
It is necessary to set a large space in advance in the ship ahead of.

Therefore, there is a problem that this power steering device cannot be mounted on a small motor boat or the like.

In addition, it is difficult to secure a space for mounting the power unit 22 in a ship with a lifter, a ship in which a special bracket is mounted on the transom 1a, and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a power steering apparatus for an outboard motor that can be applied to various small boats and the like without reducing the space inside the boat. It is in.

[Configuration of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention prevents the space inside the ship from being narrowed by disposing the power unit outside the hull, and is configured as follows.

That is, the present invention provides an outboard motor including a clamp bracket for fixing the outboard motor body to the outside of the hull, a manual steering device for manually operating a steering member such as a steering wheel to steer the outboard motor, A power unit that applies a steering assist force to the manual steering device to reduce a steering load applied at the time of the steering; and a storage bracket that stores substantially the entire power unit, wherein the storage bracket is disposed outside the hull. The clamp bracket of the outboard motor is fixed to the hull via the storage bracket.

(Operation) Since almost the entire power unit is housed in the housing bracket and arranged outside the hull, it is possible to prevent the power unit from protruding inboard and narrowing the space inside the boat.

Therefore, according to the present invention, versatility can be improved, for example, the present invention can be applied to a small boat such as a small boat where there is not enough room in the boat.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, almost the entire power unit 22 shown in FIG.
30 on the outer surface of the transom 1a of the hull 1
Is characterized in that it is mounted, and the other configuration is the same as that shown in FIG. 6, so that in FIGS. 1 to 3,
Parts common to those shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The power unit 22 rotates (steers) the steering wheel 2 (see FIG. 4) of the manual steering device 21.
At the time of operation, a steering assist force for reducing the steering load applied to the steering wheel 2 is applied to the link mechanism 8.

That is, the power unit 22 gives a steering load detection signal detected by a sensor rod that detects a steering load applied when steering the steering wheel 2 to a controller (not shown), and performs necessary signal processing such as amplification. The operation signal is supplied to a motor in the motor box 24, and the operation signal is rotated to generate a steering assist force.

The rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the pinion 27a and the rack 31 via the planetary gear 25a, which is a reduction gear built in the gear box 25, and the input and output bevel gears 25b and 25c, respectively.
The rack 31 is reciprocated in its axial direction.

The reciprocating operation of the rack 31 is given to the drag link 9 of the link mechanism 8 via the stay 26, and the link mechanism 8 swings the outboard motor main body 12 left and right in the horizontal direction to steer.

The reciprocating operation of the rack 31 is performed by the manual steering device 21
Since the direction is the same as the push-pull operation of the inner cable 6, the steering load of the steering wheel 2 is reduced, and the turning (steering) operation is facilitated.

The entire power unit 22 is shown in FIGS.
It is arranged below the swivel shaft 15 as shown in the figure,
One end of the stay 26 is fastened to the L-shaped bent end 9a of the drag link 9 together with the tip of the inner cable 6 by a bolt or the like.

The other end of the stay 26 extends further below the joint portion and is fixed in a direction orthogonal to the outer end of the rack 31.

One outer end of the rack 31 is a portion that penetrates the inside of the rack box 27 in the axial direction and slightly extends outside.
The pinion 27a meshes on the axial middle part of
The shaft tip of the pinion 27a extends into the gear box 25.

The gear box 25 is fixed to the lower part of the rack box 27, and one end of the motor box 24 is fixed to one side surface (the right side surface in FIG. 3).

Almost the entirety of the power unit 22 configured as described above is stored in, for example, a rectangular storage bracket 30,
27 are fixed in the storage bracket 30 by tightening bolts (not shown) inserted into, for example, four mounting holes 27b, 27b, 27b, 27b (see FIG. 3). However, both outer ends of a pair of left and right extendable bellows 27a, 27a coaxially fixed to the left and right ends in the axial direction of the rack box 27, respectively, extend slightly outward from the outer surface of the storage bracket 30. The bellows 27a, 27a are configured to be able to expand and contract, and the entire stay 26 is exposed to the outside from the storage bracket 30.

The width of the storage bracket 30 in the width direction may be equal to or longer than the axial length of the rack 31.

The storage bracket 30 has its front plate 30a fixed to the outer surface of the transom 1a of the hull 1 by, for example, bolting, and then has its plate 30b fixed to the inner surface of the clamp bracket 16 by, for example, bolting.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, since the power unit 22 is housed in the housing bracket 30 and attached to the outer surface of the transom 1a of the hull 1, the outboard motor body 12 is mounted around the clamp bracket shaft 15 as shown in FIG. The power unit 22 does not protrude inward of the hull 1 even when tilted up to a low level, so that it is possible to prevent the space inside the boat from becoming narrow.

In addition, since the power unit 22 does not protrude into the hull 1, the power steering device of this embodiment can be mounted on a small boat such as a small motor boat, and the versatility can be improved.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, almost the entire power unit that generates a steering assist force is stored in the storage bracket and attached to the outer surface of the hull, so that the power unit protrudes into the hull and narrows the space inside the hull. In addition, it can be mounted on a small boat or the like, and its versatility can be enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a power steering apparatus for an outboard motor according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the storage bracket before being attached to the hull as viewed from the direction of arrow III in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a conventional manual steering device, and FIG. 5 is an outboard shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing before and after tilting up of the machine body, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an example of the power steering device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hull, 1a ... Transom, 2 ... Steering wheel, 6 ... Inner cable, 7 ... Outer cable, 8 ... Link mechanism, 11 ... Outboard motor, 12 ... Outboard motor main body, 21 ... Manual steering device, 22 ... Power unit , 24… Motor box, 25… Gear box, 27… Rack box, 30
... storage bracket, 30a ... front plate, 30b ... rear plate.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An outboard motor having a clamp bracket for fixing the outboard motor body to the outside of the hull; a manual steering device for manually operating a steering member such as a steering wheel to steer the outboard motor; A power unit that applies a steering assist force to the manual steering device to reduce a steering load applied at the time of the steering; and a storage bracket that stores substantially the entire power unit, wherein the storage bracket is disposed outside the hull. A power steering apparatus for an outboard motor, wherein a clamp bracket of the outboard motor is fixed to the hull via the storage bracket.