Patent ID: 8740659
Filing Date: 2014-06-03
Classification: B63H

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine equipped with a plurality of cylinders, the outboard motor being configured to switch a shift position between an in-gear position that enables driving force of the engine to be transmitted to a propeller by engaging a clutch with one of a forward gear and a reverse gear and a neutral position that cuts off transmission of the driving force by disengaging the clutch from the forward or reverse gear, comprising: a neutral operation detector adapted to detect a neutral operation in which the shift position is switched from the in-gear position to the neutral position; a driving force controller adapted to conduct driving force decreasing control to decrease the driving force of the engine when the neutral operation is detected; and a cylinder number changer adapted to detect a variation range of a speed of the engine during the driving force decreasing control and determine and change number of the cylinders with which the driving force decreasing control is to be conducted out of the plurality of the cylinders based on the detected variation range, wherein the neutral operation detector includes: a shift shaft adapted to be rotated in response to manipulation by an operator to switch the shift position between the in-gear position and the neutral position; a neutral switch adapted to produce an output when a rotational angle of the shift shaft is within a first operation range indicative of the neutral position; and a shift switch adapted to produce an output when the rotational angle of the shift shaft is within a second operation range including the first operation range and additional ranges successively added to both sides of the first operation range, and detects the neutral operation based on the outputs of the neutral switch and the shift switch.