Outboard motor including one or more of cowling, water pump, fuel vaporization supression, and oil tank features

Abstract

Embodiments of outboard motors and related systems and components thereof, as well as arrangements of marine vessels implementing same, as well as related methods of operation, use, assembly, and manufacture, and related improvements, are disclosed herein. In at least some embodiments, the outboard motor includes a cowling system in which at least one divider portion separates an interior region into first and second portion, with the transmission and engine respectively being situated in the first and second portions, respectively. Additionally, in at least some embodiments, the outboard motor includes a water pump system in which a water pump is integrated with the transmission. Further, in at least some embodiments, the outboard motor includes a fuel vaporization suppression feature, or an oil tank feature that allows for desirable oil drainage from the engine of the outboard motor particularly when the outboard motor is in particular (e.g., storage) positions.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An outboard motor having a front surface and an aft surface and configured to be mounted on a marine vessel having a front to rear axis, such that the front surface would face the marine vessel and the aft surface would face away from the marine vessel when in a standard operational position, the outboard motor comprising:
 a housing having an upper and a lower portions and having an interior;   an internal combustion engine disposed within the housing interior and that provides rotational power output via a crankshaft that extends horizontally or substantially horizontally in a front-to-rear direction when the outboard motor is in the standard operational position and the engine is further disposed substantially or entirely above a trimming axis and is steerable about a steering axis, the trimming axis being perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the steering axis, and the steering axis and trimming axis both being perpendicular to or substantially perpendicular to the front-to-rear axis of the marine vessel;   a tank positioned within the housing and connected to a crankcase of the engine;   wherein the tank is configured such that little, if any, of an amount of the lubricant is in or provided to the tank when the engine is in the standard operational position.   
     
     
         2 . The outboard motor of  claim 1 , wherein the tank is positioned along or on a front of the engine, nearer the front surface of the outboard motor than the aft surface thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The outboard motor of  claim 1 , wherein, the outboard motor configured to be tilted about the trimming axis away from the standard operating position to at least one additional operating position and at least one additional position suitable for storing, transporting and/or limited operation of the outboard motor. 
     
     
         4 . The outboard motor of  claim 1 , wherein the standard operating position is a position in which the trimming axis is at least substantially horizontal and the steering axis is at least substantially vertical, and with the steering axis being at least substantially parallel to and/or in line with a vertical plane passing through a center of the engine, and wherein the outboard motor is configured to be tilted from the standard operating position to at least one of:
 (i) a second operating position that corresponds to a position in which the outboard motor is tilted, rotated or otherwise moved about the trimming axis such that a steering axis of the outboard motor as rotated is at an angle  13  relative to at least one of a vertical axis and to the steering axis of the outboard motor when in the standard operating position;   (ii) a third operating position that corresponds to a position in which the outboard motor is tilted, rotated or otherwise moved about the trimming axis such that a steering axis of the outboard motor as rotated is greater than the angle β up to a maximum angle of ψ+β relative to the vertical axis, and rotated at an angle from β up to a maximum angle ψ+β relative to the steering axis of the outboard motor when in the standard operating position;   (iii) a first storage position that corresponds to a position in which the outboard motor is tilted, rotated or otherwise moved about the trimming axis such that a steering axis of the outboard motor as rotated is greater than the angle ψ+β up to a maximum angle of Ω+ψ+β relative to the vertical axis, and rotated at an angle from ψ+β up to a maximum angle Ω+ψ+β relative to the steering axis of the outboard motor when in the standard operating position; and   (iv) a second storage position that corresponds to a position in which the outboard motor is tilted, rotated or otherwise moved about the trimming axis and is also further tilted, rotated or otherwise moved about the steering axis.   
     
     
         5 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle β is fifteen (15) degrees off of the vertical axis. 
     
     
         6 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle β is the maximum rotational position of the outboard motor away from the vertical axis at which the outboard motor is in the second operating position, and wherein the outboard motor is in the second operating position if it is rotated a lesser amount less than the angle β. 
     
     
         7 . The outboard motor of  claim 4  wherein the second operating position encompasses positions of the outboard motor suited for shallow water drive operation of the outboard motor in which the outboard motor can be operated at, or substantially at, full propulsion or full power. 
     
     
         8 . The outboard motor of  claim 7 , wherein the tank is configured or structured so that the lubricant/oil utilized by the engine remains in the crankcase during shallow water drive operation, and very little or none of the engine lubricant/oil enters or remains within the tank. 
     
     
         9 . The outboard motor of  claim 8 , wherein the tank is connected to the engine via one or more oil lines that having a relatively low positioning relative to the remainder of the tank and the relatively high positioning of at least most of the tank relative to the one or more oil lines as well as relative to large sections of the internal combustion engine. 
     
     
         10 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle ψ is ten (10) degrees off of the steering axis, and the angle ψ+β is twenty-five (25) degrees off of the vertical axis. 
     
     
         11 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle ψ+β is the maximum rotational position of the outboard motor away from the vertical axis at which the outboard motor can still be considered to be in the third operating position in this embodiment, and wherein the outboard motor is in the third operating position if it is rotated a lesser amount less than the angle ψ+β down to the angle β. 
     
     
         12 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the third operating position encompasses positions of the outboard motor in which the outboard motor can be operated at limited propulsion or limited power, and wherein the tank is configured or structured so that all or substantially all of the lubricant/oil in the crankcase remains in the crankcase during such shallow water drive operation. 
     
     
         13 . The outboard motor of  claim 12 , wherein the tank is connected to the engine via one or more oil lines having a relatively low positioning relative to the remainder of the tank and to the relatively high positioning of at least most of the tank relative to the one or more oil lines as well as relative to large sections of the internal combustion engine. 
     
     
         14 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle Ω is forty-five (45) degrees off of the steering axis, and Ω+ψ+β is seventy (70) degrees off of the vertical axis. 
     
     
         15 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the angle Ω is the maximum rotational position of the outboard motor away from the vertical axis at which the outboard motor can still be considered to be in the first storage position, and wherein the outboard motor is in the first storage position if it is rotated a lesser amount less than the angle Ω+ψ+β down to the angle ψ+β. 
     
     
         16 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 , wherein the first storage position corresponds to a position of the outboard motor in which the outboard motor is serviced, or transported, from one location to another, and wherein the second storage position corresponds to a position of the outboard motor that is particularly suitable when the outboard motor is being stored, serviced, or transported from one location to another. 
     
     
         17 . The outboard motor of  claim 4 ,
 wherein the tank is configured to receive some or all of the lubricant from the crankcase when the outboard motor is positioned in one or both of the first and second storage positions, or   wherein the tank is sized to hold a quantity of oil or other lubricant needed to prevent one or more of the cylinders from filling up with oil/lubricant, when the outboard motor is positioned in one or both of the first and second storage positions.   
     
     
         18 . The outboard motor of  claim 4  wherein the tank is configured such that an amount of lubricant can flow into the tank when the engine is tilted to the one or both of the first and the second storage positions and the amount of lubricant can flow out of the tank when the engine is repositioned to at least one of the standard, second and third operating positions. 
     
     
         19 . The outboard motor of  claim 1 , wherein the internal combustion engine is an automotive engine suitable for use in an automotive application. 
     
     
         20 . The outboard motor of  claim 19 , wherein at least one of: (a) the internal combustion engine is one of an 8-cylinder V-type internal combustion engine; (b) the internal combustion engine is operated in combination with an electric motor so as to form a hybrid motor; (c) the rotational power output from the internal combustion engine exceeds 550 horsepower; and (d) the rotational power output from the internal combustion engine is within a range from at least 557 horsepower to at least 707 horsepower.