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AssigneeOutboard Marine Corporation
InventorsRonald G. Johnson, Gerald E. Kashmerick
Estimating the term…
Disclosed herein is a lower unit for a marine propulsion device including a drive shaft housing, a gearcase housing connected to the end lower of the drive shaft housing and having an interior wall defining an elongated, axially extending cavity, a propeller shaft extending axially in the gearcase housing cavity and carrying a propeller, and a hollow bearing carrier member generally encircling the propeller shaft and carrying a bearing for rotatably supporting the propeller shaft in the gearcase housing cavity. The bearing carrier member is removably fastened by bolts or the like to a resilient, annular anchoring element which fits into and frictionally engages an internal annular groove in the gearcase housing to retain the bearing carrier against the axial displacement relative to the gearcase housing and to minimize rotation of the bearing carrier relative to the gearcase housing. The bearing carrier member includes a radially extending rib which registers with a gap provided in the anchoring element to automatically index the bearing carrier member with the anchoring element during assembly.
A lower unit for a marine propulsion device comprising a drive shaft housing having a lower end, a gearcase housing connected to said lower end of said drive shaft housing and having an interior wall defining an elongated cavity, a propeller shaft located in and extending axially through said gearcase housing cavity, means for rotatably supporting said propeller shaft inside said gearcase housing including a hollow bearing carrier member which is in encircling relation with said propeller shaft, is supported from said interior wall of said gearcase housing, and carries a bearing rotatably engaging said propeller shaft, and means for anchoring said bearing carrier member to said interior wall of said gearcase housing including an annular, internal groove in said gearcase housing, a resilient, annular anchoring element which is located in said groove and which is capable of being compressed in the plane of said anchoring element for insertion into said groove and thereafter expanded to thereby retain said anchoring element in said groove and against axial displacement relative to said gearcase housing, and means for fastening said bearing carrier member to said anchoring element when the anchoring element is in said groove.
A lower unit for a marine propulsion device comprising a drive shaft housing having a lower end, a gearcase housing connected to said lower end of said drive shaft housing and having an interior wall defining an elongated cavity, a propeller shaft located in and extending axially through said gearcase housing cavity, means for rotatably supporting said propeller shaft inside said gearcase housing including a hollow bearing carrier member which is in encircling relation with said propeller shaft, is supported from said interior wall of said gearcase housing, and carries a bearing rotatably engaging said propeller shaft, said bearing carrier member including a forward end portion having an axially extending nose portion, an annular, internal groove in said interior wall of said gearcase housing, an annular resilient anchoring element including a pair of generally semicircular opposed legs each having an outer rim portion adapted to fit into said groove and an outer peripheral edge, said legs defining a central opening for receiving said nose portion of said bearing carrier member and being integrally connected at one end and circumferentially spaced apart at the other end to form an opening therebetween such that said legs are compressible toward each other in the plane of said anchoring element to afford insertion of said anchoring element into said groove and subsequently are expandable to afford engagement of said outer rim portions with said groove, the outer dimensions of said nose portion being slightly larger than the inside dimensions of the central opening of said anchoring element so that, upon fastening together of said bearing carrier member and said anchoring element, said outer peripheral edges of said legs are wedged radially outwardly by said nose portion into tight frictional engagement with said groove, and means for fastening said bearing carrier member to said anchoring element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.