Automatic thruster control of a marine vessel during sport fishing mode
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsFu P. Yuet, Hashim Marzuq, Merritt P. Callaghan, Patrick Lee, Andrew Hutchison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A marine vessel is disclosed having a control system for automatically controlling thrusters for steering the marine vessel for the purpose of aiding an angler who has hooked a fish. The control system will automatically control the thrusters based on the positions of the propulsion unit control levers if the control levers are split. The control system may also control the thrusters if the propulsion unit control levers have moved past a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold can be set by the operator of the marine vessel.
Claims20
A method for steering a marine vessel having a thruster system and a first and second propulsion unit comprising:
- receiving a first signal from a first control lever corresponding to a first setting for a first propulsion unit;
- receiving a second signal from a second control lever corresponding to a second setting for a second propulsion unit;
- and
- activating said thruster system to produce a clockwise turning moment if the first signal is greater than the second signal and a counter-clockwise turning moment if the second signal is greater than the first signal.
A control system for steering a marine vessel comprising:
- an electronic controller configured to
- receive a first signal from a first control lever corresponding to a first setting for a first propulsion unit;
- receive a second signal from a second control lever corresponding to a second setting for a second propulsion unit;
- and
- activate a thruster system to produce a clockwise turning moment if the first signal is greater than the second signal and a counter-clockwise turning moment if the second signal is greater than the first signal.
A marine vessel comprising:
- an electronic controller configured to
- receive a first signal from a first control lever corresponding to a first setting for a first propulsion unit;
- receive a second signal from a second control lever corresponding to a second setting for a second propulsion unit;
- and
- activate a thruster system to produce a clockwise turning moment if the first signal is greater than the second signal and a counter-clockwise turning moment if the second signal is greater than the first signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.