Boat positioning and anchoring system

A system for substantially controlling the position of a boat in water at a geographic location selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• a thruster attached in proximity to the bow of the boat, said thruster rotatable about an upright shaft axis and driven by a power source for producing a steering thrust vector capable of moving the boat to the selected location within the water, said thruster providing a thruster heading feedback signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster;
• a DGPS or WAAS-enabled receiver and antenna located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of said antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver, said compass and a feedback thruster steering signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster, said controller providing control signals to said thruster to produce the steering thrust vector for steering and propelling the boat to the selected anchoring location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller providing audible responses to inform an operator as to actions taken by said controller.

A system for substantially establishing and controlling the position of a boat in water at a selected geographic location by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• a thruster attached at or in close proximity to the bow of the boat, said thruster rotatable about an upright shaft axis and driven by a power source for moving the boat to a selected location within the water, said thruster providing a thruster heading feedback signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster;
• a DGPS or WMS-enabled receiver located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of the thruster in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the true heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said DGPS capable receiver, said compass and a feedback thruster steering signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster, said controller providing control signals to said thruster for steering and propelling the boat to the selected location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range and are expressed substantially as:
• [range*K1]−[range rate*K2]+[average range error*K3]
• wherein K1, K2 and K3 are independently adjustable constants, range rate is the velocity toward or away from the selected location, and average range error is taken over a time period of at least five seconds;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller producing audible responses relative to action taken by said controller.

A system for establishing and substantially controlling the position of a boat in water with respect to a geographic location selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• a thruster attached in proximity to the bow of the boat, said thruster rotatable about an upright shaft axis and driven by a power source for moving the boat to a selected location within the water, said thruster providing a thruster heading feedback signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster;
• a DGPS or WMS-enabled receiver located onboard the boat and having a signal receiving antenna spaced a substantial distance from said thruster, said receiver for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of the antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the true heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver, said compass and a feedback thruster steering signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster, said controller providing control signals to said thruster for producing a steering thrust vector which steers and propels the boat to the selected geographic location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• said controller programmed to modify the position information signals of said antenna by performing mathematical transformations thereon based upon the distance of said antenna from said thruster or another point of interest on or near the boat to produce a new position information signal being that of said thruster or other point of interest for use in providing the control signals;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller and for receiving audible responses relative to action taken by said controller.

A system for substantially controlling the position of a boat in water as selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• a thruster attached in proximity to the boat, said thruster rotatable about an upright shaft axis and driven by a power source for moving the boat to a selected location within the water;
• a DGPS or WAAS-enabled receiver and antenna located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of said antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver, said compass and a feedback thruster steering signal equal to the relative angle between the heading of the boat and that of said thruster, said controller calculating range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information based upon the difference between the selected position and present position of said antenna, said controller providing control signals to said thruster for steering and propelling the boat to a selected anchoring position, the control signals being related to calculated range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range computations, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller providing audible responses to inform an operator as to actions taken by said controller;
• said controller programmed to selectively operate said system in an anchor mode, a trolling mode or a manual mode.

A system for establishing and maintaining a position of a boat in water as selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• two spaced apart thrusters each attached to the boat, each said thruster independently driven by a power source for moving the boat to a selected geographic location within the water;
• a DGPS or WMS-enabled receiver and antenna located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of said antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the true heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver and said compass, said controller providing control signals to each said thruster for producing a net steering thrust vector which steers and propels the boat to the selected geographic location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller providing audible responses to advise an operator as to actions taken by said controller.

A system for establishing and maintaining a position of a boat in water at a geographic location selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• two spaced apart thrusters each attached to the boat, each said thruster independently driven by a power source for moving the boat to the selected geographic location within the water;
• a DGPS or WMS-enabled receiver and antenna located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of said antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the true heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver and said compass, said controller providing control signals to each said thruster for producing a net steering thrust vector which steers and propels the boat to the selected geographic location and for maintaining a selected orientation of the longitudinal axis of the boat with respect to the selected geographic location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller providing audible responses to advise an operator as to actions taken by said controller.

A system for establishing and maintaining a position of a boat in water as selected by an operator of the boat, the system comprising:

• two spaced apart thrusters each attached to the boat, each said thruster independently driven by a power source for moving the boat to a first selected geographic location within the water;
• a DGPS or WAAS-enabled receiver and antenna located onboard the boat for receiving signals from GPS satellites and differential correction signals from another source, said receiver providing position information signals indicative of the position of said antenna in a differential GPS mode of operation based on said signals from the GPS satellites and the differential correction signal source;
• an electronic compass for providing current heading indication signals representative of the true heading of the boat;
• a controller receiving input signals from said receiver and said compass:
• said controller programmed to modify the position information signals of said antenna by performing a mathematical transformation thereon based upon the distance of said antenna from another point of interest on or near the boat to produce a second position information signal being that of the other point of interest for use in providing the control signals;
• said controller providing control signals to each said thruster for producing a net steering thrust vector which steers and propels the boat to position the antenna at the first selected geographic location and to also position the other point of interest at the second selected geographic location, the control signals based upon the range, bearing, magnitude and rate of change in range information, said control signals including a variable thrust signal whose magnitude is dependent on the direction, magnitude and rate of change in range;
• a wireless manually actuated remote interface for transmitting control signals to said controller, said controller providing audible responses to advise an operator as to actions taken by said controller.