Patent ID: 8764500

Claim:
An apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a stern of a boat and having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller through a drive shaft and a propeller shaft, a transmission installed at a location between the drive shaft and the propeller shaft, the transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish gears including at least a first gear and a second gear and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established gear, and a trim angle regulation mechanism for regulating a trim angle relative to the boat through selective trim-up and trim-down operations, said apparatus comprising: a throttle opening change amount detector that detects a change amount of a throttle opening of the engine; an engine speed detector that detects a speed of the engine; a transmission controller that controls operation of the transmission to change the gear position from the second gear to the first gear when the second gear is selected and the detected change amount of the throttle opening is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value; and a trim angle controller that controls operation of the trim angle regulation mechanism, wherein the trim angle controller operates the trim angle regulation mechanism to start a trim-up operation, when the detected engine speed is equal to or greater than a first predetermined speed after the gear position is changed from the second gear to the first gear by the transmission controller.