Abstract:
An outboard motor comprises an engine holder, an engine disposed above the engine holder in a mounted usable state of the outboard motor, the engine being an in-line multi-cylinder type and comprising a crankcase in which a crankshaft extends vertically perpendicularly, a cylinder block disposed rear side of the crankcase, and a cylinder head disposed rear side of the cylinder block, an oil pan disposed below the engine holder, an electrical equipment, and an electrical equipment holder having an electrical equipment holding portion for holding the electrical equipments. The electrical equipment holder is mounted to the engine through a fixing portion, and the electrical equipment holding portion and the fixing portion are integrally formed of an elastic material.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an outboard motor provided with an electrical equipment holder which is mounted to an outer portion of an engine of the outboard motor in consideration of countermeasure against vibration or like. 
     In a technical field of an outboard motor, when it is required to mount electrical equipments or parts to an outer surface of an engine of the outboard motor in a manner for preventing the electrical equipments from being vibrated, the electrical equipments are fitted in a holder formed of an elastic material such as rubber and the holder is then fixed to the outer surface of the engine through a metallic bracket or like, or the electrical equipments are directly fixed to the metallic bracket, which is then fixed to the outer surface of the engine through a cushioning member formed of an elastic material. 
     However, in the electrical equipment holding structures mentioned above, many elements or parts are required to fix the electrical equipments to the engine outer surface, and hence, a manufacturing cost is inevitably increased. Moreover, the metallic bracket has a heavy weight and occupies a wide mounting space, also providing a disadvantageous problem. Furthermore, in the conventional structure for mounting the electrical equipment, in order to prevent erroneous arrangement or location of the electrical equipments or wires (wirings), there are also provided problems of mounting direction of the electrical equipments and arranging the wires or like extending from the electrical equipments. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art mentioned above and to provide an outboard motor having an improved electrical equipment holder of an outboard motor having a reduced parts or elements, a light weight and compact structure. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an outboard motor having an improved electrical equipment holder having an improved a vibration-proof property and capable of preventing electrical equipments or parts from being erroneously assembled or arranged and from being wetted. 
     These and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing an outboard motor comprising: 
     an engine holder; 
     an engine disposed above the engine holder in a mounted usable state of the outboard motor, the engine being an in-line multi-cylinder type and comprising a crankcase in which a crankshaft extends vertically perpendicularly, a cylinder block disposed rear side of the crankcase, and a cylinder head disposed rear side of the cylinder block; 
     an oil pan disposed below the engine holder; 
     an electrical equipment; and 
     an electrical equipment holder having an electrical equipment holding portion for holding the electrical equipments, 
     wherein electrical equipment holder is mounted to the engine through a fixing portion, the electrical equipment holding portion and the fixing portion being integrally formed of an elastic material. 
     In preferred embodiments, the fixing portion is positioned to substantially intermediate portion of the electrical equipment, in a length direction thereof, which is held by the electrical equipment holding portion. 
     The electrical equipment holding portion is provided with an assembling direction defining means for defining the assembling direction of the electrical equipment and also provided with a wiring (wire) holding means for holding a wiring extending from the electrical equipment. The electrical equipment holding portion may further be provided with a wiring direction defining means for defining the wiring extending from the electrical equipment. 
     The holder includes a plurality of electrical equipment holding portions. The plurality of electrical equipment holding portions are formed with stages or steps so as to form a recessed portion therebetween. The fixing portion is disposed in the recessed portion between the staged electrical equipment holding portions. 
     The holder is detachably provided with a cover member covering a terminal portion of the electrical equipment. 
     According to the present invention of the structures and characters mentioned above, since a metallic bracket which has been used for the conventional structure is not needed, the number of the elements or parts can be eliminated, and hence, the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the whole weight of the outboard motor can be made small and the size thereof is made compact. According to the specific location of the fixing portion to the engine, the vibration of the electrical equipment due to the engine operation can be significantly reduced or eliminated, thus improving the vibration-proof property of the electrical equipments. 
     Furthermore, according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, erroneous assembling of the electrical equipments can be assembled with less error and the wiring can be easily and surely made. 
     The location of the plurality of electrical equipment holding portions can further contribute the reduction of the number of the elements or parts, the reduction of the manufacturing cost, and moreover, the whole weight of the outboard motor can be made small and the size thereof is made compact. The staged arrangement of the holding portions makes easy the arrangement of the wiring of the electrical equipment, and since the electrical equipments can be effectively disposed in the recessed portions between the staged portions, the balanced arrangement thereof can be achieved and the vibration-proof property can be attained. 
     Still furthermore, the provision of the cover covering the terminals of the electrical equipments can improve the water-proof property and a property for preventing short-circuiting as well as improvement of an outer appearance. 
     The nature and further characteristic features of the present invention will be made more clear from the following descriptions made with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the accompanying drawings: 
     FIG. 1 is a left side view showing one example of an outboard motor of the present invention in a state to be mounted to a hull, for example; 
     FIG. 2 is a left side view showing an engine and an engine holder of the outboard motor of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a left side view of a crankcase of the engine; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of an electrical equipment holder and a PTT relay according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the electrical equipment holder and the PTT relay; 
     FIG. 6 is a view seen from the arrow VI in FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the electrical equipment holder; 
     FIG. 8 is a view seen from the arrow VIII in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX—IX in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 10 is a view seen from the arrow X in FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 11 is a front view showing the electrical equipment holder, the PTT relay and a cover member; 
     FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of the cover member taken along the line XII—XII in FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is a backside view showing another example of the cover member; 
     FIG. 14 is a side view showing the other example of the cover member; 
     FIG. 15 is a front view of the electrical equipment holder which is formed such that the cover member shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 can be mounted; 
     FIG. 16 is a front view showing another embodiment of the electrical equipment holder; and 
     FIG. 17 is a view seen from the arrow XVII in FIG.  16 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be explained hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     With reference to FIG. 1, an engine  2  arranged to the upper portion of an outboard motor  1  is an in-line three-cylinder four-stroke-cycle gasoline engine, for example. A crankshaft  3  of the engine  2  rises uprightly in the vertical direction, and a crankcase  4 , a cylinder block  5 , a cylinder head  6  and a head cover  7  are placed on a flat plate-like engine holder  8  in this order from the front side of the outboard motor (i.e. hull side). 
     An oil pan  9  is fixed to a lower surface of the engine holder  8 . A drive housing  11  and a gear housing  12  are fixed to a lower portion of the oil pan  9  in this order. The engine  2 , the engine holder  8  and the oil pan  9  are covered with an engine cover  13  for waterproofing. 
     A drive shaft  14  is connected to a lower end of the crankshaft  3  of the engine  2  such that the drive shaft  14  rotates in unison with the crankshaft  3 . The drive shaft  14  extends downward, vertically passes through the engine holder  8 , the oil pan  9  and the drive housing  11  and then reaches inside of the gear housing  12 . A propeller shaft  15  is pivotally supported within the gear housing  12  in the horizontal (longitudinal) direction and is provided, at its rear end, with a screw propeller  16  so that the screw propeller  16  rotates in unison with the propeller shaft  15 . 
     A bevel gear mechanism  17  and a clutch shifter  18  are provided at a portion at which the drive shaft  14  and the propeller shaft  15  are intersecting. The rotation of the drive shaft  14  is transmitted to the propeller shaft  15  through the bevel gear mechanism  17  so that the screw propeller  16  is rotated to generate a propulsion force for the hull. The rotational direction of the drive shaft  14  is switched between normal direction and reverse direction, and the rotation is transmitted to the propeller shaft  15  so that the forward movement or backward movement of the outboard motor  1  (i.e. hull) is selected. 
     The outboard motor having the above-described structure is provided, at its front portion, with a clamp bracket  21  fixed to a hull (stern plate) of a boat or like. The clamp bracket  21  is provided with a swivel bracket  23  through a tilt shaft  22 , and a steering shaft  24  vertically pivotally supported in the swivel bracket  23 . The steering shaft  24  is provided, at its upper end and lower end, with an upper mount bracket  25  (steering bracket) and a lower mount bracket  26 , respectively, to be rotatable together. 
     A pair of left and right upper mounts  27  provided in the vicinity of a front edge of the engine holder  8  are connected to the upper mount bracket  25 . A pair of lower mounts  28  disposed on left and right opposite sides of the drive housing are connected to the lower mount bracket  26 . With this structure, a body of the outboard motor  1  can be turned (steered) leftward and rightward around the steering shaft  24  and can be tilted up around the tilt shaft  22  with respect to the clamp bracket  21 . 
     FIG. 2 is a left side view of the engine  2  and the engine holder  8 . Units such as an exhaust system  31 , an electrical equipment box  32  and an ignition unit  33  are disposed on the left side surface of the engine  2  for example. A flywheel  34  is disposed on an upper surface of the engine  2 , and a starter motor  35  and an oil filter  36  are disposed on a front surface of the engine  2 . 
     FIG. 3 is a left side view of the crankcase  4 . As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of left and right starter fixing bosses  37  and  38  are provided on upper and intermediate portions of the crankcase  4 , and the starter motor  35  is fixed to the bosses  37  and  38  through bolts  39 . An oil filter  36  is mounted to a filter mount  40  provided on a lower portion of the crankcase  4 . 
     Further, a plurality of part-fixing bosses  41  to  44  projecting from a left side surface of the crankcase  4  include the part-fixing bosses  41  and  42  located between the starter fixing bosses  37  and  38 . The part-fixing bosses  41  and  42  are provided with two PTT (power trim and tilt) relays  47  and  48  through the electrical equipment holder  46  of the outboard motor of the present invention as shown in FIG.  2  and FIGS. 4 to  6 . The electrical equipment box  32  is fastened to the part-fixing boss  43  through a bolt  49 , and a starter relay  50  is fastened to the part-fixing boss  44  through a vis  51 . 
     The PTT relays  47  and  48  are examples of electrical equipments and are relays for operating a PTT apparatus (power trim and tilt apparatus), not shown, but the relays are not limited to the PTT relays  47  and  48 , and other electrical equipment may be provided in the electrical equipment holder  46 . The PTT apparatus is a mechanism for turning the swivel bracket  23  in the counterclockwise direction around the tilt shaft  22  with respect to the clamp bracket  21  so as to tilt up the body of the outboard motor  1  and for finely adjusting an angle of the outboard motor  1  with respect to the hull. 
     As shown in FIGS. 7 to  10 , the electrical equipment holder  46  is integrally formed of an elastic material such as rubber and is provided with two electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  for respectively holding the two PTT relays  47 ,  48 , and a pair of tongue like engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  fixed to the engine  2 . The electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  are formed into substantially cylindrical shapes for enveloping outer peripheral surfaces of the substantially columnar PTT relays  47 ,  48 . Flanges  60 ,  61  formed around the outer peripheral surfaces of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  are fitted into inner peripheral grooves  58 ,  59  (see FIGS. 6 and 9) formed to the inner peripheral surfaces of the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54 . 
     Further, inner peripheral flanges  62 ,  63  are formed to the ends of the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  on the opposite sides from the engine  2  so as to surround peripheries of end faces  64 ,  65  of the PTT relays  47 ,  48 . The inner peripheral flanges  62 ,  63  are formed with notches  66 ,  67 , which are examples of assembling direction defining means, and the orientation of each of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  is determined by engaging positioning projections  68 ,  69  (see FIG. 5) formed on the end faces  64 ,  65  of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  with the notches  66 ,  67 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the upper PTT relay  47  is located outward of the lower PTT relay  48  with respect to an outer surface of the engine  2  because a staged portion (step) T is formed between the two electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54 . The lower electrical equipment holding portion  54  is formed with a wire (wiring)-holding clamp  71  and the upper electrical equipment holding portion  53  is formed with two rotation-stop (rotation-preventing) projections  72 ,  73 . The wire-holding clamp  71  is an example of wire-holding means, and the rotation-stop projections  72 ,  73  are examples of wire-direction defining means. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, the engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  are positioned in recesses between the two electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  which are arranged in an  8  (letter)-shape and are formed with bolt-insertion holes  74 ,  75 . As shown in FIG. 6, positions of the engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  relative to the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  are set so that the engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  are positioned near the intermediate portions of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  held by the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  in the longitudinal direction L. 
     Further, as shown in FIG. 6, hat-like spacer washers  76 ,  76  made of steel are tightly fitted in the bolt-insertion holes  74 ,  75  of the engine fixing portions  55 ,  56 , and bolts  77 ,  77  inserted into the spacer washers  76  are fastened to the part-fixing bosses  41  and  42  of the crankcase  4  (see FIG.  2 ). The fastening forces of the bolts  77 ,  77  are applied to the part-fixing bosses  41  and  42  through the spacer washers  76 ,  76 . However, since the forces do not reach the engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  which have elastic bodies, the entire electrical equipment holder  46  can be fixed to the crankcase  4  in a vibration-proof manner. 
     The end faces  64  and  65  of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  are provided with three terminals  79   a  to  79   c  and  80   a  to  80   c , respectively. Terminals  83   a  to  83   c  and  84   a  to  84   c  of three wires (wirings)  81   a  to  81   c  and  82   a  to  82   c  are fastened to the terminals  79   a  to  79   c  and  80   a  to  80   c  through nuts  85 , respectively. The intermediate portions of the two wires  81   a ,  81   b  connected to the terminals  79   a ,  79   b  of the upper PTT relay  47  are fitted to the wire-holding clamp  71  formed to the lower electrical equipment holding portion  54  and held thereby. 
     When the terminals  83   a  to  83   c  and  84   a  to  84   c  of the wires are fastened by the nuts  85 , the terminals tend to be rotated together with the nuts in the clockwise direction. However, the terminals  83   a ,  83   b  of the wires  81   a ,  81   b  abut against the rotation-stop projections  72 ,  73  at a time when they are fastened by the nuts  85  and the rotation of the terminals can be prevented, and the direction of the terminals  83   a ,  83   b  are limited as shown in FIG.  4 . The terminal  84   a  of the wire  82   a  connected to the lower PTT relay  48  abuts against the wire holding clamp  71  and the corotation thereof can be prevented. Therefore, the wire holding clamp  71  also functions as the wiring direction defining means. 
     Further, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a cover member  87  is detachably mounted so as to cover the (terminal) end portions  64 ,  65  of the two PTT relays  47 ,  48  held by the electrical equipment holder  46 . This cover member  87  made of a hard resin or the like has a cover body  88  for covering the terminal surfaces of the PTT relays  47 ,  48 , and a back surface of the cover body  88  is formed with two fitting projections  89 ,  90 . If the two fitting projections  89 ,  90  are press-fitted between the terminals  79   a  to  79   c , and  80   a  to  80   c  of the PTT relays  47 ,  48 , the mounting operation of the cover member  87  is completed. Alternatively, fitting projections  95 ,  96  projecting from a back surface of a cover body  94  of a cover member  93  may be press-fitted into fitting holes  91 ,  92  provided in both ends of the electrical equipment holder  46  on a diagonal line as shown in FIGS. 13 to  15 . 
     In the electrical equipment holder  46  having the above-described structure, the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  holding the PTT relays  47 ,  48  and engine fixing portions  55 ,  56  fixed to the crankcase  4  are integrally formed with each other by using of the elastic material. Therefore, the PTT relays  47 ,  48  can be disposed without using metal bracket or the like, which makes it possible to reduce the number of parts to thereby reduce the manufacturing costs and to reduce the weight and the location space thereof. These effects can further be enhanced according to the present invention because two electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54  are provided on one electrical equipment holder  46 , and the engine fixing portion  55 ,  56  are provided in the recesses between the two electrical equipment holding portion  53 ,  54 . 
     Since the engine fixing portion  55 ,  56  are positioned near the intermediate portions of substantially the columnar PTT relays  47 ,  48  in the longitudinal direction L, the width of the swinging operation of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  caused by the engine vibration is minimized. Therefore, the vibration-proof performance of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  can be enhanced. 
     The assembling directions of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  are defined by engaging the positioning projections  68 ,  69  of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  with the notches  66 ,  67  formed to the inner peripheries  62 ,  63  of the electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54 . Therefore, the erroneous assembling of the PTT relays  47 ,  48  can be prevented. 
     Furthermore, since the wire-holding clamp  71  is located to hold the wires  81 a,  81 b of the PTT relay  47  and the rotation-stop projections  72 ,  73  is disposed to prevent the corotation at a time when the terminals  83   a ,  83   b  are fastened to define the directions of the wires  81 ,  81   b , the wires  81   a ,  81   b  are reliably held and the mounting directions thereof can be suitably defined. Accordingly, as a result, the erroneous wiring can be effectively prevented and the wiring operation can be facilitated. 
     Since all the notches  66 ,  67 , the wire-holding clamp  71  and the rotation-stop projections  72 ,  73  are integrally formed to the electrical equipment holder  46 , the number of parts can be reduced, and the shapes of the notches  66 ,  67 , the wire-holding clamp  71  and the rotationstop projections  72 ,  73  are not limited to those of the embodiment mentioned above and these members may be formed into other shapes. 
     Because the staged-portion (step) T is provided between the two electrical equipment holding portions  53 ,  54 , the wires  81 a to  81 c extending from the upper PTT relay  47  can be led above the lower PTT relay  48 , thus preventing the wiring of the two PTT relays  47 ,  48  from colliding against each other and facilitating the wiring operation. Especially, since the high-pressure wires connected to the PTT relays  47 ,  48  have large diameters, it is difficult to bent these wires. Therefore, the wiring operation can be also facilitated. 
     In addition to the above effects, since the cover member  87  is detachably mounted to cover the terminal portions of the two PTT relays  47 ,  48 , it is possible to remarkably enhance the water-proof performance and the short-circuiting performance and improve the outer appearance. Since the cover member  87  can easily be detached, the wires can be easily attached or detached. 
     As an electrical equipment holder  100  shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, only one electrical equipment holding portion  101  may be provided. In this electrical equipment holder  100 , the electrical equipment holding portion  101  and engine fixing portions  102 ,  103  are integrally formed with the elastic material such as rubber, and the engine fixing portions  102 ,  103  are positioned near intermediate portions of a PTT relay  104  in the longitudinal direction L thereof. A positioning projection  107  of the PTT relay  104  is engaged with a notch  106  formed to an inner peripheral flange  105  of the electrical equipment holding portion  101 , and the electrical equipment holding portion  101  is provided with a wire-holding clamp  108  and a rotation-stop projection  109 . The operations and effects of this structure are substantially the same as those of the abovedescribed electrical equipment holder  46 . A detachable cover member for covering a terminal of the PTT relay  104  may be provided separately. 
     As mentioned above, according to the electrical equipment holder of the outboard motor of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of parts to reduce the manufacturing cost and to reduce the weight and the location space as well as to enhance vibration-proof performance of the electrical equipment. Furthermore, the assembling error of the equipment and the wiring error of the wires extending from the electrical equipment can be prevented from causing, thus defining the wire direction to facilitate the wiring operation and enhancing the water-proof performance, the short-circuiting performance. The outer appearance of the electrical equipment can be improved. 
     It is to be noted that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments and many other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scopes of the appended claims.