Control system for a marine vessel

A marine vessel communication system, comprising:

• a marine propulsion system attached to said marine vessel;
• a communication bus;
• a controller connected in signal communication with said communication bus;
• a plurality of input devices connected in signal communication with said communication bus, said plurality of input devices providing signals to said communication bus relating to status conditions relating to parameters selected from the group consisting of a position of a manual steering device, a depth of water beneath said marine vessel, a manually provided thrust command, a radar signal, a GPS signal, manually controlled switches, pitch and yaw sensors, a speedometer, a tachometer, and a chart plotter;
• a plurality of output devices connected in signal communication with said communication bus, said plurality of output devices providing signals to said communication bus relating to commands to devices selected from a group consisting of a steering actuator, a propeller pitch position, an engine speed control mechanism, trim tabs, propulsion unit trim, a transmission gear selector, and a lamp;
• a bus access manager in signal communication with said controller to regulate the incorporation of additional input and output devices to said plurality of devices in signal communication with said communication bus;
• and
• whereby said controller is connected in signal communication with each of said plurality of devices.

A method of operating a communication system of a marine vessel, comprising the steps of:

• providing a marine propulsion system attached to said marine vessel;
• providing a communication bus;
• connecting a controller in signal communication with said communication bus;
• connecting a plurality of devices in signal communication with said communication bus;
• regulating the incorporation of additional devices to said plurality of devices in signal communication with said communication bus;
• transmitting steering command signals on said communication bus from a first one of said plurality of devices which is a manually actuated steering mechanism to a second one of said plurality of devices which is a steering actuator attached to said marine propulsion system.

A control system for controlling the operation of a marine vessel, comprising:

• a communication bus;
• a controller connected in signal communication with said communication bus;
• one or more input devices connected in signal communication with said communication bus and selected from the group consisting of a manually controlled steering mechanism, an engine speed sensor, and a manually controllable propulsion thrust demand mechanism;
• one or more output devices connected in signal communication with said communication bus and selected from the group consisting of a steering actuator, at least one gauge, and an engine speed controller;
• and
• a bus access manager in signal communication with said controller to regulate the incorporation of additional input devices to said plurality of input devices in signal communication with said communication bus.

For use with an electronic controller of a marine propulsion system of a marine vessel, a marine vessel communication system, comprising:

• a communication bus connectable to said electronic controller to be in signal communication therewith;
• one or more devices selected from the group consisting of a manually controlled steering device, a manually controlled thrust command mechanism, a speedometer, a tachometer, a steering actuator, and an engine controller, said one or more devices being connected in signal communication with said communication bus to allow said one or more devices and said electronic controller to communicate via said communication bus;
• and
• a bus access manager in signal communication with said electronic controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to said one or more devices in signal communication with said communication bus;.

A marine vessel control system, comprising:

• a marine propulsion system attached to said marine vessel;
• a serial communication bus;
• a controller connected in signal communication with said communication bus;
• a plurality of devices connected in signal communication with said communication bus, whereby said controller is connected in signal communication with each of said plurality of devices on said communication bus, said plurality of devices comprising a steering transducer and a steering actuator, said steering transducer being connected to a manually actuated steering mechanism, said steering transducer providing a steering signal on said communication bus which is representative of a physical position of said manually actuated steering mechanism, said steering actuator being attached to said marine propulsion system for changing the position of said marine propulsion system relative to said marine vessel, said steering actuator receiving said steering signal from said communication bus, said plurality of devices comprising a manually actuated thrust control mechanism and an engine controller which are both connected in signal communication with said communication bus, said engine controller controlling the fueling of an engine which is connected in torque transmitting relation with said marine propulsion system, said manually actuated thrust control mechanism being a manually movable throttle control lever, said plurality of devices further comprising a course controller, said course controller being connected in signal communication with said communication bus and having an input for receiving a manually entered destination position, said plurality of devices further comprising a global positioning system which is connected in signal communication with said communication bus and having an input for receiving a signal which is representative of a current position of said marine vessel, said course controller being configured to determine a course from said current position to said destination position;
• a bus access manager in signal communication with said controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to said plurality of devices in signal communication with said communication bus;
• and
• a chart plotter connected in signal communication with said communication bus.