960results about "Transmission with propulsive element synchronisation" patented technology

In an outboard drive or an inboard-outboard drive, power generated by a single engine is transmitted in left and right directions from a main drive shaft, thereby finally causing left and right propellers to be rotated, the left and right propellers being arranged about the main drive shaft so as to be spaced apart from the main drive shaft at approximately equal distances from the main drive shaft and facing a travel direction of a marine vessel, the outboard drive or inboard-outboard drive being provided with left and right shift cam assemblies for causing rotation situations of the propellers to be controlled dependently from each other, the rotation situations including normal rotation, reverse rotation and non-rotation situations of the propellers.

A marine drive has a break-away mount mounting first and second sections of the drive and breaking-away in response to a given underwater impact against the second section to protect the first section and the vessel.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling a propulsion system of a vessel including an engine and a propeller. In one embodiment, the method comprises independently adjusting each of an engine setting and a propeller setting responsive to real-time vessel operating data.

Rapid shaft stop devices and transmissions are described that utilize permanent magnets for coupling and/or braking and are useful for electronic propeller guards and other equipment. In an embodiment, one or more capacitive discharge pulses are used to rapidly stop a shaft. A magnetic transmission is provided having axially oriented magnets on each side of an air space junction that transmit torque across the junction with a torque/speed profile that particularly suits boat propellers. The junction may include a bearing and allows slippage when the propeller resistance exceeds a given value. This slippage acts as a variable gear reduction. One or more electromagnets may be energized and thereby add to or subtract from one or more magnetic fields and provide electronic control of torque and of gear reduction ratio for devices such as watercraft drive systems.

An electromagnetic active control device for longitudinal vibration of a marine shafting, belonging to the technical field of oceanographic engineering, comprises: an acceleration transducer, a tachometer, a signal analysis and control module, a power amplifier and an electromagnetic actuator, wherein the acceleration transducer and the tachometer are respectively located on a thrust bearing base and a middle shaft and output a measured vibration acceleration electric signal of the base and a photoelectric signal of the shafting to the signal analysis and control module; the signal analysis and control module receives the vibration acceleration electric signal and the photoelectric signal, performs spectrum analysis and characteristic signal extraction on the received signals to generate corresponding action control signals, and outputs the action control signals to the power amplifier for amplification; and the electromagnetic actuator is arranged on the middle shaft and receives the amplified control signals to generate a corresponding longitudinal actuation force applied on the middle shaft, thereby implementing the control for the longitudinal vibration of the shafting. The electromagnetic active control device for longitudinal vibration of the marine shafting effectively reduces the longitudinal vibration of the shafting, so that vibration response of a marine structure is reduced finally, and the control device not only is effective to low frequency line spectra, but also has excellent control effect on broadband random excitation.

A propulsive force controlling apparatus controls a propulsion system attached to a hull of a marine vessel. The propulsion system includes a motor, a propulsive force generating member which receives a torque from the motor to generate a propulsive force, a clutch mechanism which is switched between a coupling state which permits transmission of the torque from the motor to the propulsive force generating member with virtually no slippage and a decoupling state which prohibits the transmission of the torque from the motor to the propulsive force generating member, and a clutch actuator which actuates the clutch mechanism. The propulsive force controlling apparatus includes a target propulsive force acquiring section which acquires a target propulsive force to be generated by the propulsion system, and a clutch controlling section which controls (via intermittent coupling control, for example) the clutch actuator on the basis of the target propulsive force acquired by the target propulsive force acquiring section.

An outboard motor incorporates a driveshaft and a propulsion shaft driven by the driveshaft. The driveshaft carries a pinion. The propulsion shaft carries forward and reverse gears. The pinion always meshes with the forward and reverse gear and drives the forward and reverse gears in opposite directions relative to each other. A hydraulic forward clutch mechanism couples the forward gear with the propulsion shaft. A hydraulic reverse clutch mechanism couples the reverse gear with the propulsion shaft. A shift actuator selectively operates the forward clutch mechanism or the reverse clutch mechanism to provide forward, reverse and/or neutral running conditions for the outboard motor.

In a hybrid type marine propulsion device including a main engine and a motor, low fuel consumption is realized by a compact configuration and highly efficient drive control.

A marine propulsion device includes a clutch 7 provided on an input shaft 6 of a main engine, a horizontal input/output shaft 8 connected to the clutch, a vertical shaft 11 connected to the input/output shaft through an upper bevel gear 9, a horizontal propeller shaft 13 connected to a lower end of the vertical shaft through a lower bevel gear 12, and a propeller 14 at the other end side of the propeller shaft, in which the propeller is revolved around the vertical shaft to set a propulsion direction, wherein a motor generator 20 is mounted on a floor 3, and connected directly to the other end side of the input/output shaft. In a low rotation region, motor propulsion is performed, and in a high rotation region, hybrid propulsion in which the main engine is assisted by the motor is performed.

The invention provides a contra-rotating propeller plant of a 360-degree rotating ship. The core of the contra-rotating propeller plant is contra-rotating propeller technology for use when the speed of an inland river small ship propeller is lower. The contra-rotating propeller plate is innovated and developed according to the current ship situation in China. Tests and sailing practices of a plurality of ships in more than ten years show that the contra-rotating propeller plant can save 8 to 10 percent of energy, is safe in navigation and increases the sailing speed and propelling speed by about 10 percent. On basis of serial products, a contra-rotating propeller theoretical graph lacking in China before is made through innovation. The invention adopts a direct drive mode to improve the energy-saving index by 1 to 2 percent. The inside of the plant is provided a hydraulic clutch system, so the plant achieves reliable operation, reduces noises and expanses power range. A cellular type sealing cover support having a sealing piece and an elastic element allows an engine and the entire machine to be arranged in a cabin (together with a spiral bevel gear and environmentally-friendly lubricating oil used in the machine) solves the problems of noises and environment protection, absorbs propelling force and vibration, and exerts a cushion and protection effect on the entire machine. The product is light in weight, low in cost, small in dimension, novel in structure, convenient in installation and maintenance and suitable to be used various ships sailing in the inland river, and is a ship propelling unit which is higher in efficiency, energy-saving and environmentally-friendly.

An outboard motor is equipped with a centrifugal clutch located between the crankshaft of an engine and a rotor of an electric motor for, when the engine operates, transmitting its output to through the rotor to a propeller, and with a motor output transmission mechanism for, when the engine does not operate, transmitting the output of the motor to the crankshaft. The engine can therefore be started by the motor used to drive the propeller. As a result, there is no need to install a separate electric motor for engine starting, so that starting of the engine by electric power can be made possible with minimum increase in the size and cost of the outboard motor.

Turning gear apparatus for rotating a shaft comprises a rotary drive arrangement and a transmission system including a pivot arm. The rotary drive arrangement is fixed, for example to a vessel hull, and the pivot arm is pivotable between a first, shaft-disengaged, position and a second, shaft-engaged position where the rotary drive arrangement is operably coupled to the shaft, thereby permitting control over rotation of the shaft by the rotary drive arrangement.

Rapid shaft stop devices and transmissions are described that utilize permanent magnets for coupling and/or braking and are useful for electronic propeller guards and other equipment. In an embodiment, one or more capacitive discharge pulses are used to rapidly stop a shaft. A magnetic transmission is provided having axially oriented magnets on each side of an air space junction that transmit torque across the junction with a torque/speed profile that particularly suits boat propellers. The junction may include a bearing and allows slippage when the propeller resistance exceeds a given value. This slippage acts as a variable gear reduction. One or more electromagnets may be energized and thereby add to or subtract from one or more magnetic fields and provide electronic control of torque and of gear reduction ratio for devices such as watercraft drive systems.

A marine reduction and reverse gear unit having an output shaft disposed at an acute (or obtuse) angle with respect to an input shaft 7 comprises: a drive gear 15 for transmitting torque from the input shaft 7; first and second driven gears 30, 31 engaged with the drive gear and disposed on the right and left sides thereof to sandwich the drive gear between the first and second driven gears; a reverse gear 16 connected to the drive gear 15 via a reverse hydraulic clutch 16; a first forward speed gear 33 connected to the first driven gear 30 via a hydraulic clutch; a second forward speed gear connected to the second driven gear 31 via a hydraulic clutch; and an output gear 26 fixed on the output shaft and engaged directly with one of the reverse gear 16, first forward speed gear 33 and second forward speed gear 36, or engaged therewith via idle gears to thereby receive the transmitted torque. This marine reduction and reverse gear unit provides a stable boat speed and enhanced acceleration performance by increasing the number of engine revolutions when wakeboarding.

A two speed transmission includes an input shaft; a lay shaft spaced from the input shaft; a first gear train connecting the input shaft to the lay shaft; a second gear train connecting the lay shaft to an output shaft the gear train including a one way clutch or similar; and a clutch for engaging the input shaft with the output shaft. The transmission is arranged such that when the output shaft is disengaged from the input shaft power is transmitted to the output shaft via the first and second gear trains and the lay shaft. When the clutch is disengaged, power is transmitted from the input shaft via the gear trains and the lay shaft via the one way clutch to the output shaft which typically provides first or low gear for use in low speed maneuvering or where greater torque is required. With the clutch engaged, power may be transmitted from the input shaft directly to the output shaft to provide a second gear for when the watercraft is cruising. This transmission system has the advantage of being extremely compact and since, it requires only a single clutch, provides reduced drag compared with transmission systems incorporating more than one clutch. Advantageously, the default for the transmission has the one way clutch or similar in the first or lower gear, with the clutch normally on, so that if the system fails, it is always possible for the boat owner to get the boat home albeit at a slower speed.

A coupling joint structure for a boat where the output of an engine can be securely transmitted to a propeller shaft and centrifugal force can be reduced. The structure includes a first coupler on the driving side to an output shaft, a second coupler on the driven side to a propeller shaft, and a damper member interposed between the second coupler on the driven side and the first coupler on the driving side. The first coupler on the driving side and the second coupler on the driven side each include pawl pieces. In a first curved part of each of the pawl pieces on the driving side, the base (wall thickness t1) is made thicker than the end (wall thickness t2). In a second curved part of each of the pawl pieces on the driven side, the base (wall thickness t1) is made thicker than the end (wall thickness t2).

A marine drive includes an improved transmission and shifting mechanism to facilitate a smoother transition when shifting into a reverse drive condition. The transmission includes a positive clutch and a friction-type sub-clutch. The shifting mechanism desirably includes a shift cam with first and second cam surfaces. The first cam surface effects actuation of the positive clutch and the second cam surface effects actuation of the friction sub-clutch. The first and second cam surfaces are configured so that the shifting mechanism causes the friction sub-clutch to engage before the positive clutch engages. As a result, the instantaneous loading on an engine of the marine drive when shifting the transmission into reverse is reduced.

A vibrational damper reduces torsional vibration within a crankshaft of a marine engine. The vibrational damper is located on an end of the crankshaft opposite of the flywheel and includes an inertia ring that adds additional mass to this opposite end. In addition, the vibrational damper includes an elastic member that suspends the inertia ring about the crankshaft. The elastic member effectively dampens torsional vibrations. The torsional damper desirably is cooled by an air flow so as to maintain it's dampening efficiency. A ventilation duct, which is positioned directly above the vibrational damper, supplies the cooling air. Cooling is enhanced by locating a bilge system inlet below and slightly behind the vibrational damper. An air flow stream occurs between the duct and the bilge inlet and across the torsional damper to cool the torsional damper.

A watercraft has a pivoting, shock absorbing component that absorbs forces applied to its hull. The watercraft includes a hull, a deck coupled to the hull, an engine, and a jet propulsion system movably coupled to the engine. In one embodiment, a forward hull portion couples to the deck and a rearward hull portion movably couples to the deck and/or the forward hull portion. The jet propulsion system mounts to the rearward hull portion, while the engine mounts to the deck. A suspension element is disposed between the hull rear portion and either the deck or the hull forward portion. In another embodiment, the hull and deck are movably coupled to each other.

The present invention relates to a propulsion arrangement for a marine vessel, which propulsion arrangement comprises an internal combustion engine, a shaft arrangement and a steerable thruster unit. The marine vessel further comprises an electric generator or a combined electric generator and motor in connection with the propulsion arrangement. In order to reduce space requirements and required equipment as well as to raise efficiency, the shaft arrangement comprises a main shaft extending from the internal combustion engine to a first angle gear and a drive shaft extending from the first angle gear to a second angle gear in the steerable thruster unit. The electric generator or the combined electric generator and motor is connected to the drive shaft of the shaft arrangement after the main shaft and the first angle gear are connected thereto.