Patent ID: 8292679

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, a drive shaft that connects the engine and the propeller, a torque converter that is interposed between the engine and the drive shaft and is equipped with a lockup clutch, a water pump that is connected to the drive shaft to be driven by the drive shaft, and a shift mechanism interposed between the drive shaft and the propeller, comprising: a neutral position detector that detects the shift mechanism being set in a neutral position; a clutch ON unit that makes the lockup clutch ON to increase operation speed of the water pump when it is detected that the shift mechanism is set in the neutral position; an input rotation speed detector that detects input rotation speed of the torque converter; an output rotation speed detector that detects output rotation speed of the torque converter; a speed ratio calculator that calculates a speed ratio of the torque converter based on the detected input rotation speed and the detected output rotation speed; an input rotation speed change amount calculator that calculates a change amount of the input rotation speed; a first determiner that compares the speed ratio with a reference value and determines whether the speed ratio is equal to or greater than the reference value; and a second determiner that compares the change amount of the input rotation speed with a prescribed value and determines whether the change amount is equal to or less than the prescribed value, and the clutch ON unit makes the lockup clutch ON when the speed ratio is equal to or greater than the reference value and the change amount is equal to or less than the prescribed value.