Outboard motor with handle bar
AssigneeYamaha Marine Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorYoshihiko Okabe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An outboard motor has a drive unit and a bracket assembly mounted on an associated watercraft to carry the drive unit. The drive unit has a steering shaft supported by the bracket assembly for pivotal movement about a steering axis that extends generally vertically. An engine of the outboard motor has throttle valves that regulate an amount of air to combustion chambers of the engine. A handle bar extends from the steering shaft. The handle bar includes a throttle valve control grip disposed at an end portion of the handle bar for pivotal movement about an axis of the handle bar. The control grip is connected to the throttle valves to operate the throttle valves. A lock mechanism can inhibit the control grip from rotating. The lock mechanism is positioned at a terminal end of the end portion.
Claims22
An outboard motor comprising a drive unit and a bracket assembly adapted to be mounted on an associated watercraft to carry the drive unit, the drive unit comprising a steering shaft supported by the bracket assembly for pivotal movement about a steering axis that extends generally vertically, a prime mover, a regulating device configured to regulate output of the prime mover, and a handle bar extending from the steering shaft, the handle bar comprising an operating member disposed at an end portion of the handle bar for pivotal movement about an axis of the handle bar, the operating member connected to the regulating device to operate the regulating device, and a lock mechanism arranged to inhibit the operating member from rotating, the lock mechanism positioned at a terminal end of the end portion.
An outboard motor comprising a drive unit and a bracket assembly adapted to be mounted on an associated watercraft to carry the drive unit, the drive unit comprising a steering shaft supported by the bracket assembly for pivotal movement about a steering axis that extends generally vertically, a prime mover, a regulating device configured to regulate output of the prime mover, and a handle bar extending from the steering shaft, the handle bar comprising an operating member disposed at an end portion of the handle bar for pivotal movement about an axis of the handle bar, the operating member connected to the regulating device to operate the regulating device, and a lock unit arranged to provide friction between the housing and the operating member, the lock unit including a lock member disposed at a terminal end of the end portion.
An outboard motor comprising a drive unit and a bracket assembly adapted to be mounted on an associated watercraft to carry the drive unit, the drive unit comprising a steering shaft supported by the bracket assembly for pivotal movement about a steering axis that extends generally vertically, a prime mover, a regulating device configured to regulate output of the prime mover, and a handle bar extending from the steering shaft, the handle bar comprising an operating member disposed at an end portion of the handle bar for pivotal movement about an axis of the handle bar, the operating member connected to the regulating device to operate the regulating device, and means for inhibiting the operating member from rotating and disposed at a terminal end of the end portion.
A method for controlling an outboard motor that has a drive unit including a prime mover, comprising regulating output of the prime mover by an operating member that is disposed at an end portion of a handle bar, and inhibiting the operating member from rotating by a lock mechanism that is disposed at a terminal end of the end portion while not regulating output of the prime mover.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.