1. A vessel propulsion apparatus comprising:
an engine including a plurality of combustion chambers in which a mixed gas of air and fuel is combusted;
a catalyst that purifies an exhaust generated in the plurality of combustion chambers;
an exhaust passage including a plurality of exhaust ports respectively connected to the plurality of combustion chambers, an exhaust collecting passage connected to each of the plurality of exhaust ports, and a catalyst housing passage connected to the exhaust collecting passage and that guides the exhaust, discharged from the plurality of combustion chambers into the exhaust collecting passage via the plurality of exhaust ports, to the catalyst housed in the catalyst housing passage;
a water pump that takes water outside the vessel propulsion apparatus as cooling water into an interior of the vessel propulsion apparatus; and
a cooling water passage including an upstream water passage that guides the cooling water taken into the interior of the vessel propulsion apparatus by the water pump and a first parallel water passage and a second parallel water passage that are connected in series to the upstream water passage and connected in parallel to each other, the cooling water passage supplying the cooling water from the upstream water passage to each of the first parallel water passage and the second parallel water passage to cool the catalyst housing passage by the first parallel water passage being disposed along the catalyst housing passage and to cool the exhaust collecting passage by the second parallel water passage being disposed along the exhaust collecting passage.
2. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the engine is a V-type engine that includes two cylinder banks disposed along V-shaped lines; and
the catalyst and the plurality of exhaust ports are disposed at an inner side of the V-shaped lines.
3. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an exhaust pipe including the exhaust collecting passage and the second parallel water passage and mounted on the two cylinder banks.
4. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the two cylinder banks include a plurality of first cylinders aligned rectilinearly and a plurality of second cylinders aligned rectilinearly and are disposed along the V-shaped lines defined by a first plane passing through center lines of the first cylinders and a second plane passing through center lines of the second cylinders; and
the exhaust pipe includes a first exhaust manifold, including a plurality of first branch pipes respectively connected to a plurality of cylinders that include at least one of the first cylinders and at least one of the second cylinders, and a second exhaust manifold including a plurality of second branch pipes respectively connected to a plurality of cylinders that include at least one of the first cylinders and at least one of the second cylinders.
5. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a catalyst case including the catalyst housing passage and the first parallel water passage and mounted on the exhaust pipe.
6. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the upstream water passage is provided in the exhaust pipe, and the first parallel water passage and the second parallel water passage branch from the upstream water passage at the exhaust pipe.
7. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a gasket that defines, between the exhaust pipe and the catalyst case, a portion of the cooling water passage that guides the cooling water that flows from an opening portion of the exhaust pipe to an opening portion of the catalyst case and including a flow passage area smaller than a flow passage area of the opening portion of the exhaust pipe.
8. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the two cylinder banks include two cylinder heads that define the plurality of combustion chambers; and
the exhaust ports, the exhaust collecting passage, and the second parallel water passage are provided in the two cylinder heads.
9. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a flow passage area of the second parallel water passage that cools the exhaust collecting passage is greater than a flow passage area of the first parallel water passage that cools the catalyst housing passage.
10. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the exhaust passage is made of a material containing aluminum; and
at least a portion of the cooling water passage is made of a material containing aluminum.
11. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an engine supporting member disposed below the engine and supporting the engine in an attitude such that a rotational axis of the engine is vertical or substantially vertical.
12. The vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the exhaust passage further includes an exhaust opening that opens underwater; and
the engine supporting member is disposed lower than the catalyst.
13. A vessel comprising:
the vessel propulsion apparatus according to claim 1; and
a hull propelled by the vessel propulsion apparatus.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A single use lancet device comprising:
a) a housing,
b) a lancet movably disposed within said housing and including a piercing tip,
c) an actuation assembly mounted on said housing and releasably and drivingly connected to said lancet,
d) said actuation assembly selectively movable to dispose said lancet at least into a cocked orientation,
e) a driving assembly disposed in driving engagement with said lancet and structured to move said lancet from said cocked orientation at least temporarily into a piercing orientation, and
f) a restriction assembly disposed and structured to restrict movement of said lancet from said piercing orientation into said cocked orientation,
g) said restriction assembly including at least one restrictor member and at least one stop member, said one restrictor member connected to said actuation assembly and movable therewith, said stop member fixedly secured to said housing and disposed in abutting relation to said one restrictor member as said lancet moves from said piercing orientation towards said cocked orientation.
2. A lancet device as recited in claim 1 wherein said driving assembly is further structured to orient said piercing tip into a retracted orientation subsequent to said lancet being disposed in said piercing orientation.
3. A lancet device as recited in claim 2 wherein said driving assembly comprises a biasing member disposed in biasing engagement with said lancet on said lancet is in said cocked orientation.
4. A lancet device as recited in claim 3 wherein said biasing member is disposed and structured to move said lancet out of said piercing orientation and dispose said piercing tip into said retracted orientation.
5. A lancet device as recited in claim 1 wherein said driving assembly is disposed and structured to force said lancet into said piercing orientation upon release of said lancet from said actuation assembly.
6. A lancet device as recited in claim 5 wherein said driving assembly is further structured to orient said piercing tip automatically into a retracted orientation subsequent to said lancet being disposed in said piercing orientation.
7. A lancet device as recited in claim 1 further comprising a positioning assembly movably and releasably interconnecting said actuation assembly and said lancet.
8. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said positioning assembly is disposed in concurrent engagement with both said actuation assembly and said lancet as said lancet is being disposed into said cocked orientation.
9. A lancet device as recited in claim 8 wherein said driving assembly and positioning assembly are cooperatively disposed and structured to force said lancet into said piercing orientation upon release of said positioning assembly from at least one of said actuation assembly or lancet.
10. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said lancet is positioned from said cocked orientation into said piercing orientation upon disposition of said positioning assembly out of concurrent engagement with said lancet and said actuation assembly.
11. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said positioning assembly comprises at least one positioning member movably and releasably interconnecting said lancet and said actuation assembly.
12. A lancet device as recited in claim 11 wherein said positioning member is disposed in concurrent engagement with both said lancet and said actuation assembly as said lancet moves into said cocked orientation and said positioning member is disconnected from at least one of said lancet and actuation member upon moving into said piercing orientation from said cocked orientation.
13. A lancet device as recited in claim 12 wherein said positioning member is movable relative to both said lancet and said actuation assembly.
14. A lancet device as recited in claim 12 wherein said positioning member is fixedly secured to said actuation assembly and disposed in movable and detachable relation to said lancet.
15. A lancet device as recited in claim 12 wherein said positioning member comprises a gear structure.
16. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said positioning assembly is movable relative to both said lancet and said actuation assembly.
17. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said positioning assembly is fixedly secured to said actuation assembly and disposed in movable and detachable relation to said lancet.
18. A lancet device as recited in claim 7 wherein said positioning assembly comprises a gear structure.
19. A lancet device as recited in claim 1 wherein said one restrictor member is secured to said lancet and movable therewith.
20. A lancet device as recited in claim 1 wherein said restriction assembly comprises a first restrictor member and a first stop member and a second restrictor member and a second stop member, said first and second restrictor members each connected to a different one of said lancet or actuation assembly and movable therewith, said first and second stop members fixedly secured to said housing and disposed in abutting relation to a corresponding one of said first or second restrictor members as said lancet moves from said piercing orientation towards said cocked orientation.
21. A single use lancet device comprising:
a) a housing,
b) a lancet movably disposed within said housing and including a piercing tip,
c) an actuation assembly movably mounted on said housing in driving relation to said lancet,
d) a positioning assembly movably and releasably interconnecting said actuation assembly and said lancet,
e) said actuation assembly selectively positionable to dispose said lancet at least into a cocked orientation,
f) a driving assembly disposed in biasing relation to said lancet and structured to position said lancet at least temporarily into a piercing orientation, and
g) said driving assembly and said positioning assembly cooperatively disposed and structured to force said lancet into said piercing orientation upon release of said positioning assembly from at least one of said actuation assembly or said lancet, and
h) said positioning assembly including at least one positioning member movably and releasably interconnecting said lancet and said actuation assembly, and disposed in concurrent engagement with both said lancet and said actuation assembly as said lancet moves into said cocked orientation and said positioning member is disconnected from at least one of said lancet and said actuation assembly upon moving into said piercing orientation from said cocked orientation.
22. A lancet device as recited in claim 21 wherein said driving assembly is disposed and structured to move said lancet out of said piercing orientation and dispose said piercing tip into said retracted orientation.
23. A lancet device as recited in claim 21 further comprising a restriction assembly disposed and structured to restrict movement of said lancet from said piercing orientation into said cocked orientation.
24. A lancet device as recited in claim 23 wherein said restriction assembly comprises at least one restrictor member and at least one stop member, said one restrictor member connected to one of said lancet or said actuation assembly and movable therewith, and said stop member fixedly secured to said housing and disposed in abutting relation to said one restrictor member as said lancet moves from said piercing orientation towards said cocked orientation.
25. A single use lancet assembly comprising:
a) a housing,
b) a lancet movably disposed within said housing and including a piercing tip,
c) an actuation assembly movably disposed in driving engagement with said lancet,
d) at least two engagement elements disposed to operatively interconnect said actuation assembly and said lancet at least upon engagement therebetween,
e) said actuation assembly structured to position said lancet at least temporarily into a cocked orientation upon actuation thereof concurrent with said engagement between said engagement elements,
f) a driving assembly drivingly engaging said lancet,
g) said actuation assembly further structured to effect dis-engagement between said engagement elements upon continued actuation thereof after said lancet is disposed in said cocked orientation, and
h) said driving assembly structured to move said lancet at least temporarily into a piercing orientation upon said disengagement between said engagement elements.