Marine drive transmission

A coupling for a power transmission having a drive shaft and a driven shaft extending in series with each other, the coupling comprising a first member rotatable together with one of the drive shaft and the driven shaft and having at least one tooth extending in an axial direction, a second member rotatable together with the other shaft and having at least one tooth extending in the axial direction to engage with the tooth of the first member, the tooth of the first member and the tooth of the second member being placed in a generally fully meshing position with each other when the drive shaft ceases driving the driven shaft, and a damper disposed next to the first member, the first member moving in the axial direction opposite to the second member to compress the damper and the tooth of the first member being placed out of the generally fully meshing position with the tooth of the second member when the drive shaft begins to drive the driven shaft.

A marine drive comprising a housing, a shaft including a first section driven by a prime mover and a second section driven by the first section to drive a propulsion mechanism, the first and second sections being journaled by the housing to extend in series with each other, a first coupling member connected to one of the first and second sections by a first spline connection, a second coupling member connected to the other one of the first and second sections by a second spline connection, the first and second coupling members defining a clutch having engageable teeth, the respective teeth having oblique surfaces that are placed in a generally fully meeting position with each other for a unified rotation of the first and second sections, and a shock absorber disposed adjacent to the first coupling member, the first coupling member contacting the shock absorber and the oblique surfaces being slipped off from the fully meeting position when the first section rotates relative to the second section.

A marine drive comprising a housing, drive and driven shafts both journaled by the housing to extend in series with each other, a first coupling member slideably disposed on one of the drive and driven shafts and rotatable together with the associated drive or driven shaft, a second coupling member disposed on the other one of the drive and driven shafts and rotatable together with the associated drive or driven shaft, the first and second coupling members being engageable with each other to transmit torque from one of the first and second coupling members to the other one of the first and second coupling members, and a damper disposed on one of the drive and driven shafts next to the first coupling member, the first and second coupling members generally fully engaging with each other under a first condition that the drive shaft does not drive the driven shaft, the first coupling member sliding toward the damper to compress the damper and the first and second coupling members less engaging with each other than the first condition under a second condition that the drive shaft begins to drive the driven shaft.

A power transmission system for a marine propulsion unit having a powering element and a propulsion device, the system comprising a first shaft driven by the powering element, a second shaft driven by the first shaft and driving the propulsion device, the first and second shafts extending in series with each other and having a common rotational axis, a coupling combination defined on the first and second shafts to couple the first and second shafts together for rotation, and a damper disposed next to the coupling combination, the coupling combination including at least one coupling member axially moveable along the common axis relative to the first and second shafts in a direction toward the damper in response to movement of the first shaft relative to the second shaft, the coupling combination being generally fully completed when the coupling member does not move toward the damper, and the coupling combination being incompleted when coupling member moves toward the damper.