Control apparatus for small boat
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling a small boat having a hull, at least one outboard motor driven by an internal combustion engine and adapted to be mounted on a stem of the hull, and an actuator adapted to open/close a throttle valve of the engine for regulating speed of the engine, comprising:
- an acceleration sensor installed on the boat to generate an output indicative of acceleration acting on the boat in a direction of gravity axis;
a correction amount calculator that calculates a correction amount of the engine speed based on the output of the acceleration sensor so as to change behavior of the boat; and
an actuator controller that controls operation of the actuator based on the calculated correction amount.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an apparatus for controlling a small boat having a hull and two outboard motors mounted on a stem of the hull and an actuator adapted to open/close a throttle valve of each engine of the motors for regulating speed of the engine, acceleration acting on the boat in a direction of gravity axis when the boat ascends or descends the ocean wave and angular acceleration about the gravity is detected and a correction amount of the engine speed is calculated based on the detected acceleration so as to change behavior of the boat, thereby mitigating a burden on the operator and improving stability of the boat.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling a small boat having a hull, at least one outboard motor driven by an internal combustion engine and adapted to be mounted on a stem of the hull, and an actuator adapted to open/close a throttle valve of the engine for regulating speed of the engine, comprising:
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an acceleration sensor installed on the boat to generate an output indicative of acceleration acting on the boat in a direction of gravity axis; a correction amount calculator that calculates a correction amount of the engine speed based on the output of the acceleration sensor so as to change behavior of the boat; and an actuator controller that controls operation of the actuator based on the calculated correction amount. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of controlling a small boat having a hull, at least one outboard motor driven by an internal combustion engine and adapted to be mounted on a stem of the hull, and an actuator adapted to open/close a throttle valve of the engine for regulating speed of the engine, comprising the steps of:
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detecting acceleration acting on the boat in a direction of gravity axis; calculating a correction amount of the engine speed based on the detected acceleration so as to change behavior of the boat; and controlling operation of the actuator based on the calculated correction amount. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification