Abstract: A control unit of a lawn mower performs switching control for switching operation between a first control mode and a second mode. In the first control mode, during rotation of an engine at a first reference rotation speed, in the case where a change amount of rotation speed of the engine per unit time has exceeded a reference speed change amount, the rotation speed is maintained at a second reference rotation speed, and an flap angle is increased. In the second control mode, during rotation of the engine at a second reference rotation speed, in the case where an opening angle of a throttle valve has fallen below a reference opening angle, the rotation speed is maintained at the first reference rotation speed, and the flap angle is decreased. The second reference rotation speed is higher than the first reference rotation speed.

Abstract: A lawn mower includes a housing with an opened bottom, a hollow shaft extending in a vertical direction of the housing and including a lower end positioned within the housing, a cutter blade, flaps provided for at least part of the cutter blade in a manner that the flaps have a flap angle changeable along a horizontal line, an actuator for outputting an output to control the flap angle of the flap, and a transmission mechanism accommodated in the hollow shaft for transmitting the output of the actuator to the flaps.

Abstract: A lawn mower includes a housing, a drive source, flaps, a grass clippings container, a grass clippings container weight detection unit, an internal pressure detection unit, and a control unit. If it is determined that a first condition where a change amount per predetermined fixed time of the weight detected by the grass clippings container weight detection unit is below a weight change amount reference value and a second condition where a change amount per predetermined fixed time of the internal pressure detected by the internal pressure detection unit has increased to a internal pressure change amount reference value, are satisfied, the control unit implements control to place the flaps in a substantially horizontal state.

Abstract: A lawn mower includes a housing having an opened bottom, a drive source for driving the cutter blade in the housing, a flap provided for the cutter blade in a manner that the flap has a changeable flap angle, a grass clippings container storing cut lawn grass, a grass clippings container weight detection unit for detecting weight of the grass clippings container, and a control unit. The control unit controls at least one of the rotational speed of the drive source and the flap angle of the flap in correspondence with the weight detected by the grass clippings container weight detection unit.

Abstract: In a method for controlling an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a hull of a boat and equipped with an internal combustion engine to power a propeller and a trim angle regulating mechanism adapted to regulate a trim angle relative to the hull, comprising the steps of: calculating a throttle opening change amount of the engine; determining whether the boat is in an accelerating state based on the calculated throttle opening change amount; and controlling operation of the trim angle regulating mechanism to increase the trim angle based on an operating parameter that indicates a state of the engine and the propeller when it is determined that the boat is in the accelerating state.

Abstract: A belt-type continuously variable transmission capable of continuously changing a speed reduction ratio of a driven pulley to a drive pulley, has a speed reduction ratio regulation mechanism that regulates a minimum speed reduction ratio of the driven pulley to the drive pulley. The driven pulley includes a fixed sheave, a movable sheave displaceable in an axial direction with respect to the fixed sheave, and a coil spring that urges the movable sheave toward the fixed sheave. The speed reduction ratio regulation mechanism has a swing arm that adjusts an allowable range in which moving away in an axial direction of the movable sheave with respect to the fixed sheave is possible, and a regulation drive section that drives the swing distal end portion of the swing arm to swing continuously.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a technique that makes it difficult to fabricate an illegal duplicate of a semiconductor storage apparatus. In a memory controller, an address acquisition unit acquires a latency-related designated address. The latency-related designated address is an address in the semiconductor memory storing data to be transmitted with the minimum latency upon reception of a read command, and is identical with an address held by a host. A pre-acquisition unit reads the data for the latency-related designated address from the semiconductor memory and stores it in the buffer. A comparator compares the address included in the read command to the latency-related designated address. Depending on the result of the comparison by the comparator, a transmission control unit transmits the data stored in the buffer to the host at the time point of completion of a minimum latency.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine, a transmission and a low-speed cruise controller controlling a rotational speed of the propeller to make the boat cruise at low speed, the low-speed cruise controller outputs an increase/decrease command of the propeller rotational speed in response to an operator's manipulation, and change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the decrease command is outputted under a condition where the gear position is in the second speed and an engine speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed. With this, it becomes possible to decrease the propeller rotational speed to the maximum extent, thereby making a boat cruise at very low speed.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine and a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including at least a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, it is determined whether acceleration is instructed to the engine when the second speed is established and operation of the engine is controlled to increase a fuel amount to be supplied to the engine when detected engine speed is greater than a predetermined speed, thereby improving the performance immediately after acceleration is started.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling a boat equipped with an outboard motor mounted on its stern and having an internal combustion engine, a propeller to be driven by the engine and a propeller pitch changer adapted to variably change a pitch of the propeller, an opening of a throttle valve installed at an air intake system of the engine and its change amount are detected, and based on the change amount of the detected opening of the throttle valve, it is determined whether or not the pitch of the propeller is to be changed through the propeller pitch changer.

Abstract: A control apparatus for an outboard motor mounted on a boat and equipped with a transmission having at least forward first and second speed gears and a reverse gear. The apparatus functions as a rudder angle detector that detects a rudder angle, a slip ratio detector that detects a slip ratio, and a transmission controller. The transmission controller controls the operation of the transmission to select one of the gears based on the detected engine speed or the detected slip ratio according to a comparison between the detected rudder angle and a predetermined angle.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of two outboard motors mounted on a stern of a boat side by side and each equipped with an internal combustion engine to power a propeller through a power transmission shaft and a transmission having a forward first-speed and a second-speed gear and a reverse gear supported on the power transmission shaft, control is conducted at turning of the boat to operate the inner one of the outboard motors to transmit the engine power to the propeller through the reverse gear, and to operate the outer one of the outboard motors to transmit the engine power to the propeller through the forward first-speed gear, when the detected engine speed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined first speed and the detected rudder angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle.

Abstract: An outboard motor mounted on a stern of a boat is provided with a transmission and an oil pump. The transmission has a first-speed and second-speed gears, a first-speed gear clutch made of a mechanical dog clutch and a second-speed gear clutch made of a hydraulic clutch each adapted to engage the first and second-speed gears on a power transmission shaft, and a first-speed gear shift actuator adapted to couple the first-speed gear clutch with the first-speed gear. In the transmission, a first speed is established when the first-speed gear is engaged on the power transmission shaft and a second speed is established when the second-speed gear is engaged on the power transmission shaft while the first speed has been established such that power of the engine is transmitted to the propeller through the established speed.

Abstract: An outboard engine unit includes a water pump disposed on a lower end portion of an input shaft of a transmission, and left and right cooling water feeding passages interconnecting the water pump and a cooling water inlet of an engine. The left and right cooling water feeding passages are disposed around a plurality of transmission gears disposed on the input shaft of the transmission. A cooling water drawn by the water pump is guided through the left and right cooling water feeding passages to the cooling water inlet.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine, a transmission and a low-speed cruise controller controlling a rotational speed of the propeller to make the boat cruise at low speed, the low-speed cruise controller outputs an increase/decrease command of the propeller rotational speed in response to an operator's manipulation, and change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the decrease command is outputted under a condition where the gear position is in the second speed and an engine speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed. With this, it becomes possible to decrease the propeller rotational speed to the maximum extent, thereby making a boat cruise at very low speed.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling a boat equipped with an outboard motor mounted on its stem and having an internal combustion engine, a propeller to be driven by the engine and a propeller pitch changer adapted to variably change a pitch of the propeller, an opening of a throttle valve installed at an air intake system of the engine and its change amount are detected, and based on the change amount of the detected opening of the throttle valve, it is determined whether or not the pitch of the propeller is to be changed through the propeller pitch changer.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine to power a propeller, and a transmission being selectively changeable in gear position to establish speeds including a first speed and a second speed and transmitting power of the engine to the propeller with a gear ratio determined by established speed, it is determined whether acceleration is instructed to the engine when the second speed is established and whether a preset condition is met, and operation of the transmission is controlled to change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the acceleration is determined to be instructed and the preset condition is met, thereby improving the acceleration performance of immediately after the acceleration is started.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling operation of an outboard motor having an internal combustion engine and transmission, it is configured to determine whether acceleration is instructed to the engine by an operator when the gear position is the second speed, detect a slip ratio of a propeller based on theoretical velocity and actual velocity of a boat, control a throttle opening to suppress increase in the slip ratio when the acceleration is determined to be instructed, and change the gear position from the second speed to the first speed when the slip ratio is equal to or less than a first predetermined value and the change amount of the slip ratio is equal to or less than a prescribed value. With this, it becomes possible to appropriately control operation of the engine and the transmission during acceleration, thereby improving the acceleration performance of immediately after acceleration start.

Abstract: In an apparatus for controlling an outboard motor adapted to be mounted on a hull of a boat and equipped with an internal combustion engine to power a propeller and a trim angle regulating mechanism adapted to regulate a trim angle relative to the hull, comprising: a throttle opening change amount calculator that calculates a throttle opening change amount of the engine; an accelerating state determiner that determines whether the boat is in an accelerating state based on the calculated throttle opening change amount; and a trim angle controller that controls operation of the trim angle regulating mechanism to increase the trim angle based on an operating parameter that indicates a state of the engine and the propeller when the accelerating state determiner determines that the boat is in the accelerating state.

Abstract: A dog clutch mechanism incorporated in an outboard motor includes a sliding clutch dog member splined to a propeller shaft and having recesses on each end face thereof, and a row of gear teeth formed on an end face of each of a pair of driven gears rotatably mounted on the propeller shaft. Each of the recesses has a bottom surface stepped to provide a corner edge at a stepped portion thereof. Each of the gear teeth has a beveled surface formed at a rear edge as viewed from a rotating direction of the driven gear. When the gear teeth are in mesh with the recesses of the clutch dog member, the corner edge of the stepped bottom surface of each recess is in contact with the beveled surface of the mating gear tooth.