Abstract:
A personal watercraft in which a battery is easily placed and charging and maintenance of the battery are easily performed, comprising: a body constituted by a deck and a hull; an engine room formed inside the body, for containing an engine; and a battery-accommodating portion for containing the battery for the engine, wherein the battery-accommodating portion is provided in the deck outside the engine room.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a personal watercraft having a battery for supplying power. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     In recent years, so-called personal watercraft have been widely used in leisure, sport, rescue activities, and the like. There are straddle-type personal watercraft and stand-up type personal watercraft. 
     The straddle-type personal watercraft is provided with a straddle-type seat extending substantially from a center portion to a rear portion over a deck and straddled by a rider. Straddling the seat, the rider grips a steering handle located forward of the seat and steers the watercraft. In a portion inside a body of the watercraft located just below the seat, an engine room that contains an engine is provided. In general, the straddle-type personal watercraft has a seat for one to three riders. Hereinafter, “forward” refers to the direction toward which the watercraft moves and “rearward” refers to the opposite side. 
     As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a stand-up type personal watercraft  51  is provided with a standing deck  53  at a rear portion of a deck  52 . The standing deck  53  is a space in which the rider stands and a concave portion having a flat bottom portion. FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway side view of the watercraft  51 , and FIG. 9 is a plan view thereof. In FIG. 9, for the sake of convenience, an engine hood  63  is perspectively drawn without a steering member (handle pole)  56 . The handle pole  56  is mounted by means of a hinge  55  in the vicinity of a front end of the deck  52  so as to be vertically pivotable around the hinge  55 . A steering handle  54  is attached to a rear end of the handle pole  56 . The rider stands on the standing deck  53  and grips the steering handle  54  located in front. An engine room  58  which contains an engine  57  is defined in a space inside a body which is located forward of the standing deck  53 . In general, one rider rides on the stand-up type personal watercraft. The stand-up type personal watercraft  51  is propelled by a water jet pump  59 . 
     The above-mentioned personal watercraft is equipped with a battery for starting the engine, displaying meter readings, or the like. As can be seen from the stand-up type personal watercraft  51  shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the conventional personal watercraft, a battery  60  is contained in the engine room  58 . 
     However, the engine room of the personal watercraft is limited in space, and the battery  60  is placed so as not to interfere with the engine  57 , an exhaust pipe  61 , a propeller shaft  62 , and the like. This makes it difficult for the battery  60  to be placed freely. For charging or maintenance of the battery  60 , either the engine hood  63  is opened and the battery  60  is lifted through an opening  64  (see FIG. 9) above the engine room  58 , or otherwise, an operator puts his/her upper body into the engine room  58  through the opening  64 . The similar problem remains unsolved in the straddle-type personal watercraft. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses the above-described conditions, and an object of the present invention is to provide a personal watercraft in which a battery is easily placed and charging and maintenance of the battery are easily performed. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided a personal watercraft comprising: a body constituted by a deck and a hull; an engine room formed inside the body, for containing an engine; and a battery accommodating portion for accommodating a battery for the engine, wherein the battery accommodating portion is provided in the deck outside the engine room. 
     With such a configuration, since the battery is not required to be installed in the limited space of the engine room, the battery is easily placed and charging and maintenance of the battery are easily performed. In addition, this frees space within the engine room to install and maintain other devices. 
     The personal watercraft may further comprise a straddle-type seat provided over the deck and above the engine room to be straddled by a rider, steps respectively provided on both sides of the straddle-type seat on the deck for the rider to put feet thereon, and deck fins respectively provided externally adjacent the steps that are raised from the steps, and the battery accommodating portion may be provided inside of at least one of the deck fins. 
     The above-mentioned personal watercraft is a so-called straddle-type personal watercraft. In the straddle-type personal watercraft, sidewall portions formed by deck members are provided outside the respective steps. Since the battery-accommodating portion is provided by using an extra space inside the sidewall portion, the battery can be efficiently accommodated without changing the external design appearance of the conventional personal watercraft. Maintenance or the like of the battery accommodated in the sidewall portion becomes easy as described above. 
     Preferably, the battery-accommodating portion may be provided at a position adjacent a rear end of the straddle-type seat on the deck. In this case, since the battery is accommodated in the vicinity of the rear end of the straddle-type seat, maintenance or the like is easily performed. Also, since the seat is typically placed along the longitudinal center axis of the body, the battery is correspondingly placed substantially on the longitudinal center axis. As a result, weight of the battery in right and left direction of the body is properly in balance. 
     In the personal watercraft, the engine room may be placed in a front portion inside the body, the watercraft may further comprise: a standing deck provided in the deck rearward of the engine room for the rider to stand thereon, and the battery-accommodating portion having an openable cover is provided on a front end portion of the standing deck. 
     The above-mentioned personal watercraft is a so-called stand-up type personal watercraft. The battery is easily installed on the standing deck. As a matter of course, maintenance or the like of the battery installed on the deck is easy. Also, in this case, the battery is provided substantially on the longitudinal center axis of the body. 
     Preferably, the cover of the battery-accommodating portion may be openably provided to be pivotable around a hinge provided in a deck portion which is the rear end of the engine room and located in front of the standing deck. 
     Since the cover for the battery-accommodating portion is pivotably attached onto the deck independently of the engine hood rather than integrally with the engine hood, opening/closing of the cover becomes easy. 
     Preferably, the deck has raised portions continuously raised from a right side, a left sides and a front side of the standing deck, and the battery-accommodating portion may be defined on the front portion of the standing deck by the openable cover and the raised portions. With such a configuration, since the raised portions are used as a part of the battery-accommodating portion, the cover is simply configured and the external design appearance of the conventional body need not be greatly changed. 
     Preferably, the personal watercraft may further comprise an engine hood to cover an opening formed on an upper portion of the engine room disposed in a front portion of the body, and the cover of the battery-accommodating portion may be provided continuously with a rear end of the engine hood. 
     In this configuration, the engine hood is extended rearward from the rear end of the engine hood, and the extended portion is used as the cover for the battery-accommodating portion. This configuration reduces the number of parts. 
     Preferably, the battery may be placed at a center portion of the body in a width direction thereof. 
     The above and further objects and features of the invention will be more fully apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a partially perspective view showing a personal watercraft according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the personal watercraft in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the personal watercraft in FIG. 1, perspectively showing an engine hood without a handle pole; 
     FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing another embodiment of the personal watercraft according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the personal watercraft in FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view showing a personal watercraft according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is a rear view of the personal watercraft in FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway side view showing an example of the conventional personal watercraft; and 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of the personal watercraft in FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Hereinafter, an embodiment of a personal watercraft (hereinafter simply referred to as a watercraft) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, a personal watercraft  1  is a stand-up type personal watercraft propelled by a water jet pump. A body  2  of the watercraft  1  comprises a hull  3  and a deck  4  covering the hull  3  from above. A line at which the hull  3  and the deck  4  are connected over the entire perimeter thereof is called a gunnel line  5 . Reference numeral  12  denotes a pump nozzle through which water is ejected rearward by the water jet pump. 
     A standing deck  6  having a flat floor on which a rider stands is provided on the deck rearward of an engine room  10 . The standing deck  6  is configured to be lower than an upper surface of the engine room  10 . Convex wall portions (deck fins)  7  as side wall portions are provided on right and left sides of the standing deck  6 . Each of the deck fins  7  has proper width to define an inner space. A handle pole  8  is mounted onto the deck  4  forward of the standing deck  6  so as to be vertically pivotable around its front portion as a support point. A bar-type steering handle  9  is attached to a rear end of the handle pole  8 . Standing on the standing deck  6 , the rider grips the steering handle  9  and steers the watercraft  1  while raising the handle pole  8 . 
     As indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 2, an engine  11  is disposed in the space (engine room)  10  in the body  2  surrounded by the hull  3  and the deck  4  below the handle pole  8 . A propeller shaft  13  is connected to an output shaft of the engine  11  and extends rearward inside the body  2 . Such a structure is identical to that of the conventional watercraft. 
     The personal watercraft  1  differs from the conventional personal watercraft in that a battery  14  for supplying required power (e.g., for starting the engine) is placed on the standing deck  6  in the vicinity of its front end as shown in FIG.  2 . The battery is easily installed on a flat bottom surface of the standing deck  6 . The standing deck  6  is surrounded by deck portions (raised portions) raised from the right and left sides and the front side of the standing deck  6 . Specifically, the raised portion is raised from the front side of the standing deck  6  to define a rear end of the engine room  10  and deck fins  7  are vertically provided so as to be raised from the right and left sides of the standing deck  6 . The raised portion at the rear end of the engine room  10  is called a front wall portion  15 . A battery cover  17  is provided to cover the battery  14  installed on the front portion of the standing deck  6  from above and behind. The battery cover  17 , the right and left deck fins  7 , and the front wall portion  15  define a battery accommodating portion  16 . A front edge of the battery cover  17  is attached onto the front wall portion  15  by means of a hinge  18 . The battery cover  17  is opened/closed by vertically pivoting around the hinge  18 . Irrespective of the installation of the battery-accommodating portion  16 , the standing deck  6  located behind the battery-accommodating portion  16  has a sufficient space required for the rider. 
     With such a configuration since the battery  14  is placed on the standing deck  6 , charging and maintenance of the battery become easy. Besides, the battery  14  is easily located at the center portion of the body  2  in the width direction. By placing the battery  14  and the battery cover  17  such that their centers of gravity are positioned substantially on the longitudinal center axis of the body  2 , weight of the battery  14  and weight of the battery cover  17  in the right and left direction of the body  2  are properly in balance. This allows greater freedom in placement of other devices in the engine room or the like. 
     As a matter of course, the right and left deck fins  7  are not necessarily used to define the battery-accommodating portion  16 . For example, the battery cover  17  may be shaped to cover the battery  14  from the right and left sides, and from above and behind. In other words, a gap is created between each of both side portions of the battery cover  17  and each of the deck fins  7 . Also, preferably, a seal member (not shown) is attached to the periphery of the battery cover  17  which is in contact with the surface of the deck  4  so as to function as a water seal between the deck surface and the battery cover  17 . Further, preferably, a locking device (not shown) is provided for locking the battery cover being at a closed position. Moreover, preferably, a biasing means such as a spring member is mounted for improving the water seal function by pressing the periphery of the battery cover being at the closed position against the deck surface. 
     In FIG. 2, reference numeral  19  denotes an engine hood. As shown in FIG. 3, the engine hood  19  serves to open/close an opening (hatch)  20  formed in the deck  4  portion on the upper side of the engine room  10 . A front end of the engine hood  19  is attached onto an upper surface of the deck  4  by means of a hinge (not shown). The engine hood  19  is pivotable around the hinge. The engine hood  19  pivots upwardly to open the hatch  20 , and maintenance or the like of the engine  11  or other devices is carried out through the hatch  20 . 
     A stand-up type personal watercraft  21  shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 has an integrated cover  22  comprised of an engine hood portion  22   a  and a battery cover portion  22   b  of the battery accommodating portion  16 . FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of the watercraft  21 . FIG. 5 is a plan view of the watercraft  21 , perspectively showing the integrated cover  22  without the handle pole  8 , for the sake of convenience. A front end of the engine hood portion  22   a  is attached onto the upper surface of the deck  4  by means of a hinge (not shown) so that the integrated cover  22  is pivotable around the hinge, and from the rear end of the engine hood portion  22   a , the battery cover portion  22   b  is extended. Like the battery cover  17  in FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , the battery cover portion  22   b  may cover the battery  14  from above and behind, and the right and left deck fins  7  and the front wall portion  15  surround the battery  14 , thus defining the battery-accommodating portion  16 . Alternatively, the battery cover portion  22   b  may be shaped to cover the battery  14  from the right and left sides and from above and behind. Further, alternatively, it is preferable that the above-identified seal member may be attached to the periphery of the integrated cover  22 , the above-identified locking device may be provided, and the above-identified biasing means may be mounted. 
     In the above-described embodiment, the stand-up type personal watercraft has been described, but the present invention is not intended to be limited to the stand-up type personal watercraft. For example, even in the straddle-type personal watercraft, the battery may be installed outside the engine room. 
     In FIGS. 6 and 7, a straddle-type personal watercraft  31  is shown. The watercraft  31  is also propelled by the water jet pump (not shown). A body  32  of the watercraft  31  is constituted by a hull  33  and a deck  34  covering the hull  33  from above. Reference numeral  35  denotes a gunnel line. Reference numeral  42  denotes a pump nozzle. 
     A straddle-type seat  36  which the rider straddles extends substantially from the center portion to the rear portion over the deck  34  in the longitudinal direction. Straddling the seat  36 , the rider grips a steering handle  39  located forward of the seat  36  and steers the watercraft  31 . An engine room  40  is defined in the body  32  below the seat  36  to contain the engine  11 . The seat  36  covers an opening (not shown) formed in the deck  34 , through which an operator accesses to the engine room  40 , and is adapted to open/close the opening. 
     Steps  38  are respectively provided externally adjacent the right and left sides of the seat  36  and the engine room  40 . The steps  38  are configured to be lower than the upper surface of the seat for the rider to put feet thereon. Deck fins  37  are provided externally adjacent the steps  38  such that they are respectively raised from the steps  38  as having proper width to define inner spaces. 
     A box-like container  43  as the battery-accommodating portion is provided on the deck  34  at the rear end of the seat  36 . The battery  14  is contained in the box-like container  43 . The container  43  is shaped to be substantially continuous with the seat  36 . A battery cover  41  is attached onto an upper surface of the container  43  so as to pivot upwardly to open the container  43 . Thus, by providing the battery-accommodating portion  43  on the deck  34 , charging and maintenance of the battery  14  are facilitated. Also, the battery  14  is easily located at the center portion of the body  32  in the width direction thereof. Further, the above structure allows greater freedom in placement of other devices in the engine room  40 . 
     As indicated by a bold dashed line in FIGS. 6 and 7, instead of placing the box-like container  43  at the rear of the seat  36 , a battery-accommodating portion  44  for accommodating the battery  14  may be provided inside of at least one of the right and left deck fins  37 . An upper portion of the battery-accommodating portion  44 , i.e., part of an upper surface of the deck fins  37  is opened, and a battery cover  45  may be hinged over the opening to be vertically pivotable. By positioning the battery cover  45  in this manner, the battery  14  may be placed under and close to the battery cover  45 . So, this is convenient for charging and maintenance. 
     The stand-up type personal watercraft  1  shown in FIGS. 1 to  5  also has the deck fins  7 . Therefore, the battery-accommodating portion can be provided in the deck fins  7 . 
     As should be appreciated from the foregoing description, the battery is installed outside the engine room rather than in the engine room limited in space. Thereby, charging and maintenance of the battery become easy. 
     Although the present invention has fully been described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the invention, they should be construed as being included therein.