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US 9,964,210 B1Granted
Transmission actuator for an outboard motor having a planetary transmission
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorsWayne M. Jaszewski, John A. Tuchscherer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An outboard motor having an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft and a planetary transmission that operatively connects the driveshaft to a transmission output shaft, the planetary transmission being operable in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes forward rotation of the output shaft, a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes reverse rotation of the output shaft, and a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause rotation of the output shaft, a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, neutral gear, and reverse gear, and a hydraulic actuator configured to actuate the band brake.
Claims18
An outboard motor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft;
- a planetary transmission that operatively connects the driveshaft to a transmission output shaft, wherein the planetary transmission is operable in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes forward rotation of the transmission output shaft, a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes reverse rotation of the transmission output shaft, and a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause rotation of the transmission output shaft;
- a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, neutral gear, and reverse gear;
- and
- a transmission actuator configured to actuate the band brake;
- wherein the transmission actuator comprises an actuator piston that is configured to activate the band brake, a pump that pumps a hydraulic fluid, and a hydraulic actuator that is positionable into and between a first position wherein the actuator piston activates the band brake and a second position wherein the actuator piston deactivates the band brake;
- wherein the actuator piston comprises an output finger that is positionable into and between an extended position in which the output finger forces the band brake into an activated position and a retracted position in which the output finger allows the band brake to move into a deactivated position;
- and
- wherein the output finger is also positionable into and between an intermediate position in which the output finger forces the band brake into a partially-activated position, wherein the planetary transmission causes the transmission output shaft to rotate at a speed, and wherein the speed is lower when the band brake is in the partially-activated position than when the band brake is in the activated position.
6 more elements
An outboard motor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft;
- a planetary transmission that operatively connects the driveshaft to a transmission output shaft, wherein the planetary transmission is operable in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes forward rotation of the transmission output shaft, a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes reverse rotation of the transmission output shaft, and a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause rotation of the transmission output shaft;
- a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, neutral gear, and reverse gear;
- and
- a transmission actuator configured to actuate the band brake;
- wherein the transmission actuator comprises an actuator piston that is configured to activate the band brake, a pump that pumps a hydraulic fluid, and a hydraulic actuator that is positionable into and between a first position wherein the actuator piston activates the band brake and a second position wherein the actuator piston deactivates the band brake;
- wherein the hydraulic actuator comprises a spool valve and a housing that contains both the spool valve and the actuator piston, wherein rotation of the spool valve into the first position opens a flow of the hydraulic fluid from the pump to the actuator piston and wherein opposite rotation of the spool valve into the second position closes the flow of the hydraulic fluid from the pump to the actuator piston;
- and
- wherein the spool valve extends along an axis that is parallel to the driveshaft.
6 more elements
An outboard motor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft;
- a planetary transmission that operatively connects the driveshaft to a transmission output shaft, wherein the planetary transmission is operable in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes forward rotation of the transmission output shaft, a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes reverse rotation of the transmission output shaft, and a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause rotation of the transmission output shaft;
- a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, neutral gear, and reverse gear;
- and
- a transmission actuator configured to actuate the band brake;
- wherein the transmission actuator comprises an actuator piston that is configured to activate the band brake, a pump that pumps a hydraulic fluid, and a hydraulic actuator that is positionable into and between a first position wherein the actuator piston activates the band brake and a second position wherein the actuator piston deactivates the band brake;
- and
- a gearset that connects the driveshaft to the pump such that rotation of the driveshaft causes the pump to pump the hydraulic fluid.
5 more elements
An outboard motor comprising:
- an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft;
- a planetary transmission that operatively connects the driveshaft to a transmission output shaft, wherein the planetary transmission is operable in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes forward rotation of the transmission output shaft, a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes reverse rotation of the transmission output shaft, and a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause rotation of the transmission output shaft;
- a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, neutral gear, and reverse gear;
- a transmission actuator configured to actuate the band brake;
- wherein the transmission actuator comprises an actuator piston that is configured to activate the band brake, a pump that pumps a hydraulic fluid, and a hydraulic actuator that is positionable into and between a first position wherein the actuator piston activates the band brake and a second position wherein the actuator piston deactivates the band brake;
- and
- a valve actuator that is operatively connected to the hydraulic actuator, wherein the valve actuator comprises a sector gear.
4 more elements
A transmission actuator for a propulsion device having a planetary transmission comprising:
- an internal combustion engine that causes rotation of a driveshaft;
- a transmission output shaft;
- the planetary transmission having a housing, wherein the planetary transmission operatively connects the driveshaft to the transmission output shaft in a forward gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes the transmission output shaft to rotate in a first direction, in a reverse gear in which forward rotation of the driveshaft causes the transmission output shaft to rotate in a second direction opposite of the first direction, and in a neutral gear in which rotation of the driveshaft does not cause the transmission output shaft to rotate, and wherein the housing comprises a plurality of hydraulic passages and a hydraulic fluid reservoir that contains a hydraulic fluid;
- a band brake configured to shift the planetary transmission amongst the forward gear, the neutral gear, and the reverse gear;
- and
- a hydraulic actuator configured to actuate the band brake, the hydraulic actuator comprising a plurality of openings that are selectively alignable with the plurality of hydraulic passages such that the hydraulic fluid is communicated between the hydraulic fluid reservoir and the hydraulic actuator;
- wherein the hydraulic actuator comprises a spool valve, wherein rotation of the spool valve opens and closes a flow of hydraulic fluid from the pump to an actuator piston configured to activate the band brake;
- and
- wherein the spool valve extends along an axis that is parallel to the driveshaft.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.