JP6524868B2 - Outboard motor having keyless entry system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an outboard motor having a keyless entry system.

  Some outboard motors have a keyless entry system in order to suppress theft and to improve the starting operability of the outboard motor. According to Patent Document 1, when the electronic control unit communicates with the electronic key possessed by the boat operator, acquires ID information from the electronic key, and determines that the acquired ID information and the ID information for authentication match, A keyless entry system is disclosed which permits the start of the engine of the aircraft.

  Here, in the keyless entry system, in order to be able to communicate even in the case of a portable device with a short communication distance, it is necessary to arrange the communication unit at a position close to the operator and not to be flooded. For example, in a ship equipped with a console, a communication unit can be disposed in the console to communicate with the portable device. On the other hand, since there is no position which can be arrange | positioned appropriately in the ship which does not equip a console, it was necessary to install separately a waterproof box etc. in a ship, and to arrange a communication unit in a waterproof box.

JP, 2011-121448, A

  In the outboard motor disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a technique is disclosed in which it is not necessary to install the interior of the waterproof box separately by arranging the communication unit in the engine cover. However, when the communication unit is disposed in the engine cover, the distance between the communication unit and the operator is large, and for example, in a portable device with a short communication distance, the authentication information transmitted from the portable device should be well received. There was a risk that

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to be able to favorably receive authentication information transmitted from a portable device possessed by a boat operator.

According to the present invention, an outboard motor main body, a tiller handle for turning the outboard motor main body in response to steering by the operator, an antenna for receiving authentication information transmitted from a portable operator of the operator, and the antenna receive An outboard motor having a keyless entry system , the authentication unit performing authentication processing of the authentication information, wherein the tiller handle includes a housing portion having an upper housing and a lower housing, the antenna and the authentication unit A communication unit is disposed in the tiller handle, a water draining hole is provided at the bottom of the lower housing, and the communication unit is disposed above the water draining hole .

  According to the present invention, the authentication information transmitted from the portable machine possessed by the operator can be favorably received.

It is a right side view showing the appearance of the outboard motor concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a right side view of a tiller handle. It is a top view of a tiller handle. It is a bottom view of a tiller handle. It is a bottom view of the tiller handle which removed the lower housing. It is sectional drawing of a tiller handle. It is a figure which shows the structure of the display part which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of an outboard motor according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In each figure, the front side (forward direction of the ship) of the outboard motor 10 mounted on the hull is indicated by arrow Fr, and the rear side of the outboard motor 10 (reverse direction of the ship) is indicated by arrow Rr. The right side of the machine 10 is indicated by the arrow R, and the left side of the outboard motor 10 is indicated by the arrow L.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a right side view showing the appearance of the outboard motor 10. As shown in FIG.
The outboard motor 10 includes an outboard motor main body 11, a mounting portion 31, and a tiller handle 40.
The outboard motor main body 11 has an engine holder 12, and the engine 13 is held above the engine holder 12. The engine 13 is, for example, a water-cooled four-stroke two-cylinder engine, and is a vertical (longitudinal) type engine in which a crankshaft 14 is disposed substantially vertically. The engine 13 is covered by an engine cover 15.

  A vertically disposed drive shaft 16 is coupled to the lower end of the crankshaft 14. The drive shaft 16 is housed in a drive shaft housing 17. The drive shaft 16 also extends to a gear case 18 provided at the lower end of the drive shaft housing 17. A bevel gear 19, a front gear 20, a rear gear 21, and a propeller shaft 22 are disposed in the gear case 18. The bevel gear 19 is coupled to the lower end of the drive shaft 16, and the front gear 20 and the rear gear 21 are disposed on the shaft of the propeller shaft 22. The rotation of the drive shaft 16 is transmitted from the bevel gear 19 to the propeller shaft 22 via the front gear 20 or the rear gear 21. A propeller 23 that rotates in synchronization with the propeller shaft 22 is coupled to the rear end of the propeller shaft 22.

  Further, on the front side of the drive shaft housing 17, a shift rod 24 is disposed substantially vertically. The shift rod 24 passes through a swivel bracket 33 described later. The shift rod 24 is connected to a shift device 25 whose upper end is disposed adjacent to the engine 13, and the lower end extends to the gear case 18. The shift device 25 rotates the shift rod 24 in any direction along the axis in response to the operation of a shift lever described later. When the shift rod 24 rotates, the gear transmitted from the bevel gear 19 to the propeller shaft 22 is cut between the front gear 20 and the rear gear 21 via a cam mechanism and a dog latch (not shown) disposed in the gear case 18. It changes. Therefore, the rotational directions of the propeller shaft 22 and the propeller 23 shift.

  The mounting unit 31 mounts the outboard motor main body 11 to the transom board 2 of the hull 1. The mounting portion 31 has a pair of left and right clamp brackets 32 and a swivel bracket 33. The clamp bracket 32 is fixed to the transom board 2. The swivel bracket 33 is rotatably supported in the vertical direction via a tilt shaft 34 installed between a pair of left and right clamp brackets 32. A pilot shaft (not shown) is rotatably supported in the lateral direction in the swivel bracket 33. Upper mount brackets 35 and lower mount brackets 36 are provided at upper and lower ends of the pilot shaft. Upper mount bracket 35 and lower mount bracket 36 are coupled to drive shaft housing 17. Further, a handle bracket 37 is provided on the upper mount bracket 35, and the tiller handle 40 is attached along a substantially horizontal direction via a pivot shaft 38. The tiler handle 40 is rotatable via a pivot shaft 38 in such a manner that a throttle grip 46 described later is on the upper side from the aspect of extending substantially forward (see the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 1).

  The tiller handle 40 steers when the operator changes the steering angle of the outboard motor main body 11. Specifically, when the operator turns the tiller handle 40 in the horizontal direction, the drive shaft housing 17 pivots about the axis C of the pilot shaft via the upper mount bracket 35 and the lower mount bracket 36. That is, the entire outboard motor main body 11 turns in response to steering via the tiller handle 40, and the traveling direction of the hull 1 can be changed.

Further, the outboard motor 10 according to the present embodiment receives the authentication information transmitted from the portable device 61 possessed by the ship operator, performs authentication processing of the received authentication information, and starts the engine 13 when the authentication is successful. The so-called keyless entry system is adopted.
Here, the outboard motor 10 includes a portable device 61, a communication unit 62, and an ECU (engine control unit) 65 as a keyless entry system. Communication unit 62 and ECU 65 can communicate via a harness. The portable device 61 may not be included in the configuration of the outboard motor 10 because it is not provided in the outboard motor 10.

The portable device 61 is a so-called communication key possessed by the operator. The portable device 61 incorporates a transmitter (not shown). The transmitter transmits an authentication code as authentication information used for authentication processing of the communication unit 62.
The communication unit 62 is a so-called keyless unit that performs authentication processing of the authentication code transmitted by the portable device 61. The communication unit 62 includes an antenna 63 and an authentication unit 64 (see FIG. 6 described later). The antenna 63 receives the authentication code transmitted from the portable device 61. The authentication unit 64 includes, for example, a CPU and a memory, and performs an authentication process of collating an authentication code registered in advance with an authentication code received by the antenna 63. This authentication process is a process that serves as a determination reference of whether to start the engine 13 or not. When the authentication code matches and the authentication is successful, the authentication unit 64 transmits, to the ECU 65, information indicating the success. On the other hand, when the authentication code does not match and the authentication fails, the authentication unit 64 transmits information indicating the failure to the ECU 65.

  The ECU 65 is disposed in the engine cover 15 of the outboard motor main body 11, and functions as a control unit that controls the engine 13 and the like according to the operation by the boat operator through the operation unit. When the ECU 65 receives the information indicating that the authentication is successful from the authentication unit 64, the ECU 65 starts the engine 13 in response to a start instruction of the engine 13 via the operation unit by the boat operator. On the other hand, when the ECU 65 receives, from the authentication unit 64, information indicating that the authentication has failed, the engine operator does not start the engine 13, even if the ship operator instructs to start the engine 13 via the operation unit. As described above, the ECU 65 permits the start of the engine 13 in accordance with the information received from the communication unit 62.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the communication unit 62 is arranged in the tiller handle 40 so that the authentication code transmitted by the portable device 61 can be easily received. That is, a boat operator carrying the portable device 61 is usually around the tiller handle 40 in order to steer the outboard motor main body 11 via the tiller handle 40. Therefore, by arranging the communication unit 62 in the tiller handle 40, the distance between the portable device 61 and the communication unit 62 can be shortened, and the authentication code transmitted from the portable device 61 can be favorably received. it can.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the tiller handle 40 in which the communication unit 62 is disposed will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
Here, first, the appearance of the tiller handle 40 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a right side view of the tiller handle 40. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tiller handle 40. FIG. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the tiller handle 40.

The tiller handle 40 includes a housing portion 41, an operation portion 45, and a display portion 51.
The housing portion 41 is formed long in the front-rear direction, and has a space in which the communication unit 62, the throttle cable, the shift cable, the harness, and the like are accommodated. Further, the housing portion 41 supports the operation portion 45. The housing portion 41 of the present embodiment has an upper housing 42 and a lower housing 43. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper housing 42 and the lower housing 43 are joined at the mating surface P, and are fastened from the lower housing 43 side via a screw. The mating surface P is a substantially horizontal surface parallel to the extending direction of the tiller handle 40.

  The upper housing 42 is made of, for example, an aluminum alloy, and the lower housing 43 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin. Although the inside of the housing portion 41 is surrounded by the upper housing 42 and the lower housing 43 and has a waterproof effect, water may slightly infiltrate from the mating surface P or the like. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of water drainage holes 44 are formed on the bottom surface of the lower housing 43.

The operation unit 45 is operated by the operator. The operation unit 45 of the present embodiment has a throttle grip 46, a trolling switch 47, an emergency switch 48, a shift lever 49, and an ignition switch 50.
The throttle grip 46 is rotatably provided at the front end of the housing portion 41 along an axis. The boat operator can instruct the engine 13 to increase or decrease the output by rotating the throttle grip 46.

  The trolling switch 47 is provided on the front side of the housing portion 41. Specifically, the trolling switch 47 is provided on the right side surface of the lower housing 43. By pressing the trolling switch 47, the operator can instruct increase or decrease of the output in the low rotation range of the engine 13.

  The emergency switch 48 is provided on the front side of the housing portion 41 and on the rear side of the trolling switch 47. Specifically, the emergency switch 48 is provided on the right side surface of the lower housing 43. The emergency switch 48 is connected to the boat operator, and turns on when the boat operator gets away from the water by a certain distance, for example, and can instruct to stop the driving of the engine 13. The emergency switch 48 may be a switch that instructs the driving of the engine 13 to stop when the operator presses it in an emergency.

  The shift lever 49 is provided substantially at the center of the housing portion 41 in the front-rear direction and on the rear side of the emergency switch 48. Specifically, the shift lever 49 is provided on the right side surface of the upper housing 42 so as to be capable of tilting in the front-rear direction. The operator can instruct the shift device 25 to switch the shift by tilting it in either of the front and rear directions.

  The ignition switch 50 is provided on the rear side of the housing portion 41 and on the rear side of the shift lever 49 and the display portion 51. Specifically, the ignition switch 50 is rotatably provided on the right side surface of the upper housing 42. By turning the ignition switch 50, the boat operator can instruct turning off, on, and engine start according to the turning angle. As described above, when the operator gives instructions to start the engine through the ignition switch 50, the ECU 65 starts the engine 13 when the information indicating that the authentication is successful is received, and the information indicating the failure is displayed. If it is received, the engine 13 is not started.

  The display unit 51 is provided on the rear side of the housing unit 41 and on the rear side of the shift lever 49 and on the front side of the ignition switch 50. Specifically, the display unit 51 is provided on the right side surface of the upper housing 42. The display unit 51 is an indicator, and the operator can confirm the condition of the engine 13, the number of rotations of the engine 13, and the like through the display unit 51.

Next, the internal configuration of the tiller handle 40 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the tiller handle 40 with the lower housing 43 removed. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II shown in FIG.
A communication unit 62 is disposed inside the tiller handle 40. As shown in FIG. 5, the communication unit 62 is located on the rear side of the housing portion 41 and closer to the outboard motor main body 11 than the shift lever 49. Further, the communication unit 62 is located substantially at the center of the housing 41 in the left-right direction. An ignition switch 50 is adjacent to the right of the communication unit 62. That is, when viewed from the side, the communication unit 62 and the ignition switch 50 are disposed overlapping each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the communication unit 62 is fixed to the inner upper surface of the upper housing 42 via a plurality of bolts 52. At this time, the communication unit 62 is located above the mating surface P. Specifically, the lower end of the communication unit 62 is located above the mating surface P.
The communication unit 62 includes the antenna 63 and the authentication unit 64 as described above. The communication unit 62 also communicates with the ECU 65 through a harness wired across the tiller handle 40 and the outboard motor main body 11.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, since the communication unit 62 having the antenna 63 is disposed in the housing portion 41 of the tiller handle 40, the distance between the portable device 61 and the communication unit 62 can be shortened. it can. Therefore, even if the portable device 61 has a short communication distance according to the specification, the antenna 63 can satisfactorily receive the authentication code transmitted from the portable device 61. Therefore, the authentication process of the authentication code by the authentication unit 64 can be favorably performed.
Further, the communication unit 62 can be waterproofed without requiring a separate installation place such as a waterproof box because the communication unit 62 is surrounded by the housing portion 41 and is in a position where it is difficult to be exposed to water. In the case where a waterproof box or the like is separately installed, it is necessary to wire the communication unit in the waterproof box and the outboard motor main body, but in the present embodiment, the wiring is unnecessary and there is no risk of the boat operator getting caught in the wiring. .

  Further, in the present embodiment, the housing portion 41 includes the upper housing 42 and the lower housing 43, and the communication unit 62 is disposed above the mating surface P of the upper housing 42 and the lower housing 43. Therefore, even when water intrudes into the housing portion 41 from the mating surface P, the communication unit 62 can be prevented from being covered with water. In addition, the water which has entered can be drained from the water draining hole 44 formed in the bottom of the lower housing 43.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the shift lever 49 for switching the shift of the outboard motor main body 11 is disposed in the housing portion 41, and the communication unit 62 is disposed closer to the outboard motor main body 11 than the shift lever 49. Ru. Therefore, since the shift lever 49 is disposed at a position close to the operator, even if the communication unit 62 is disposed in the housing portion 41, it is possible to prevent the operability from being lowered.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the case where the communication unit 62 itself is disposed in the tiller handle 40 has been described. In this embodiment, the case where the antenna is disposed in the tiller handle 40 and the authentication unit is disposed in the outboard motor main body 11 will be described. That is, even if the authentication unit is disposed in the outboard motor main body 11, if the antenna for receiving the authentication code of the portable device 61 is disposed in the tiller handle 40, as in the first embodiment, transmission from the portable device 61 It is possible to receive the certified code successfully. The authentication unit disposed in the outboard motor main body 11 may be integrated with the ECU 65, and the ECU 65 may also function as the authentication unit. In the present embodiment, the case where the ECU 65 also functions as an authentication unit and the ECU 65 performs an authentication process will be described.

In the present embodiment, the antenna is disposed in the display unit 51 of the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the display unit 51. As shown in FIG. Specifically, FIG. 7 (a) is a front view of the display unit 51, FIG. 7 (b) is a bottom view of the display unit 51, and FIG. 7 (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II.
The display unit 51 includes a substantially rectangular case 71 and a lid 72 closing the case 71 from the back side. The case 71 and the lid 72 are made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and have a waterproof structure by being coupled via an O-ring.

In the case 71, light sources 73a to 73c of LEDs and a screen section 74 of liquid crystal are disposed on the display surface side. The light sources 73a to 73c display the status of the engine 13 as a warning light. On the other hand, the screen unit 74 displays the number of rotations of the engine 13.
The lid 72 is provided with a grommet 75, and the cable is wired from the inside to the outside of the case 71 via the grommet 75. In addition, the cover 72 is formed with an intake hole 76, and air is taken into the case 71 through the intake hole 76.

  A space is formed in the case 71, and the circuit board 77 and the antenna 78 are disposed. The circuit board 77 causes the light sources 73 a to 73 c to emit light and controls the display content of the screen unit 74. The antenna 78 is the same as the antenna 63 of the first embodiment, and receives an authentication code transmitted by the portable device 61. The authentication code received by the antenna 78 is transmitted to the ECU 65 of the outboard motor main body 11 via a cable. The ECU 65 performs an authentication process of collating an authentication code registered in advance with the authentication code received by the antenna 78, and holds information indicating that the authentication is successful or information indicating that the authentication is failed. The ECU 65 starts the engine 13 in response to a start instruction of the engine 13 through the ignition switch 50 by the boat operator, when holding information indicating that the authentication is successful. On the other hand, when the ECU 65 holds information indicating that the authentication has failed, the engine operator does not start the engine 13 even if the operator has instructed the engine 13 to start via the ignition switch 50.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the antenna 78 is disposed in the housing portion 41 of the tiller handle 40, the distance between the portable device 61 and the antenna 78 can be shortened. Therefore, even if the portable device 61 has a short communication distance according to the specification, the antenna 78 can satisfactorily receive the authentication code transmitted from the portable device 61. Further, in the present embodiment, since the antenna 78 is disposed in the display unit 51 having a waterproof structure, the effect of waterproof can be further achieved.

  Further, since the ECU 65 that performs the authentication process can be disposed in the outboard motor main body 11, downsizing of the tiller handle 40 can be achieved. In addition, manufacturing cost can be reduced by causing the ECU 65 to function as an authentication unit. The present invention is not limited to the case where the ECU 65 functions as an authentication unit, and an authentication unit may be separately provided in the outboard motor main body 11.

  As mentioned above, although the present invention was explained with various embodiments, the present invention is not limited only to these embodiments, and can be changed etc within the scope of the present invention, and the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined timely May be

10: Outboard motor 11: Outboard motor main body 13: Engine 40: tiller handle 41: housing portion 42: upper housing 43: lower housing 45: control portion 49: shift lever 51: display portion 61: portable unit 62: communication unit 63: Antenna 64: Authentication unit 65: ECU 78: Antenna

Claims (3)

Outboard motor main body,
A tiller handle that turns the outboard motor body in response to steering by the operator;
An antenna for receiving authentication information transmitted from the operator's portable device;
An outboard motor having a keyless entry system, comprising: an authentication unit configured to perform authentication processing of authentication information received by the antenna;
The tiller handle comprises a housing portion having an upper housing and a lower housing,
A communication unit having the antenna and the authentication unit is disposed in the tiller handle,
An outboard motor according to claim 1 , wherein a drain hole is provided at a bottom portion of the lower housing, and the communication unit is disposed above the drain hole . Before SL antenna, outboard motor according to claim 1, characterized in that it is disposed above the mating surfaces of the lower housing and the upper housing. A shift lever for switching the shift of the outboard motor main body is disposed in the housing portion,
The antenna, outboard motor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is located closer to the outboard motor body than the shift lever.