Patent ID: 8303360

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, a drive shaft connecting the engine and the propeller, and a torque converter equipped with a lockup clutch and interposed between the engine and the drive shaft, comprising: a speed ratio calculator that calculates a speed ratio of the torque converter based on an input rotation speed and output rotation speed of the torque converter; and a clutch controller that controls the lockup clutch to ON when the calculated speed ratio is equal to or greater than a reference value, wherein the clutch controller includes: a fully-opened throttle opening determiner that determines whether a throttle valve of the engine is at a fully-opened position or thereabout, and controls the lockup clutch to ON when the calculated speed ratio becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value set smaller than the reference value before the calculated speed ratio reaches the reference value, and the throttle valve is discriminated to be at the fully-opened position or thereabout, wherein the clutch controller corrects the reference value to decrease when the lockup clutch is made ON before the calculated speed ratio reaches the reference value.