Marine outboard gear assembly
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorJames A. Meyer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention contemplates a marine outboard gear assembly, usable in an outboard motor or an inboard-outboard drive, and featuring (a) constant drive of the meshing gears which transfer power to the propeller-shaft axis, and (b) selective spring-clutching direct to the propeller shaft, thereby (c) utilizing the meshing gears for lubricant circulation as long as the engine is operating and whether or not the clutch is engaged and (d) reducing to an absolute minimum the drag and inertial effects operative upon the propeller shaft when the boat is moving in the declutched condition, i.e., propeller windmilling. Also featured is a particular subassembly of gear and clutch parts on the propeller shaft whereby desired axial clearance can be readily pre-adjusted and selected, prior to assembly to the gear case.
Claims14
A marine outboard gear assembly, comprising a gear case having an upstanding drive bore with a drive shaft mounted for rotation therein, the lower end of said case having a propeller-shaft bore communicating with the lower end of the drive bore and open to the rear of said case, a propeller shaft and means supporting the same for rotation in the propeller-shaft bore and otherwise closing the open end of the propeller-shaft bore, meshing drive and driven gears on said respective shafts, said drive gear being fixed to said drive shaft and said driven gear being rotatably overlapped and axially captive with respect to a portion of said propeller shaft, and one-way-engaging clutch means coacting between said driven gear and said propeller shaft, said clutch means including selectively operable means for effectively enabling and disabling the one-way-engageability thereof, whereby said meshing gears are both driven as long as said drive shaft is driven, and whereby essentially only said driven shaft rotates when the propeller is "windmilling."
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.