Acceleration control system for a marine vessel
AssigneeBrunswick Corporation
InventorsJeffery C. Ehlers, Michael J. Lemancik, James M. Horak
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An acceleration control system is provided which allows the operator of a marine vessel to select an acceleration profile to control the engine speed of a marine vessel from an initial starting speed to a final desired speed. When used in conjunction with tow sports, such as wake boarding and water skiing, the use of acceleration profile provides consistent performance during the period of time when a water skier is accelerated from a stationary position to a full speed condition.
Claims20
An acceleration control method for an engine of a marine vessel, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a start command;
- selecting an acceleration profile of engine speed as a function of time;
- and
- controlling the output thrust of said engine, during a period of time subsequent to receipt of said start command, according to said acceleration profile.
An acceleration control method for an engine of a marine vessel, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a signal representing a selection of an acceleration profile from a plurality of potential acceleration profiles;
- receiving a start command;
- selecting said acceleration profile, of engine speed as a function of time, as a function of said signal representing said selection;
- and
- controlling the output thrust of said engine, during a period of time subsequent to receipt of said start command, according to said acceleration profile.
An acceleration control method for an engine of a marine vessel, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a signal representing a selection of an acceleration profile from a plurality of potential acceleration profiles;
- receiving a start command;
- selecting said acceleration profile as a function of said signal representing said selection, said acceleration profile comprising a first segment associated with a first period of time and a second segment associated with a second period of time, said first segment of said acceleration profile extending from an initial engine speed to a speed which is generally equal to a desired engine speed, said second segment of said acceleration profile extending from said desired engine speed, at the end of said first period of time, to a speed which is greater than said desired engine speed by a preselected magnitude and then to said desired engine speed at the end of said second period of time;
- and
- controlling the output thrust of said engine according to said acceleration profile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.