Boat control system and boat

• US 8,112,190 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha (Yamaha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha (Yamaha Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, LUAT T
• Application Number:
  US12/109,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20080269970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,383 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701 34- 36, 701/48, 701/21, 340438-439, 440/2, 440/84
• US Class Current: 701/21
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 20/00 Outboard propulsion units, e.g. outboard motors or Z-drives; Arrangements thereof on vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 21/213 Levers or the like for controlling the engine or the transmission, e.g. single hand control levers
• CPC Class Codes: B63H 21/22 the propulsion power units being controlled from exterior of engine room, e.g. from navigation bridge; Arrangements of order telegraphs

Abstract

A boat control system detects a wire break status in a duplicated communication system. A hull of a boat is provided with a main remote control side ECU and a subremote control side ECU, and the subremote control side ECU communicates with an engine side ECU via the main remote control side ECU. Both of the remote control side ECUs are provided with storage buffers in which communication status confirmation data transmitted between nodes is stored. A broken wire detection section of the engine side ECU starts a determination when a system is started, and broken wire detection sections of both of the remote control side ECUs start a determination when communication status confirmation data is received from another node. Data indicating that communication is in an abnormal status is stored as an initial value in a main remote control data storage buffer.

Claims

1. A boat control system for a boat propulsion system having an engine for providing a propulsive force to a boat, comprising:

an engine side ECU arranged to control an operation status of the boat propulsion system;

a main remote control side ECU, provided in a main remote control device of the boat, arranged to transmit a command signal on the basis of a boat operation command from an operator to the engine side ECU; and

a communication line connecting a node of the engine side ECU and a node of the main remote control side ECU;

wherein

the engine side ECU and the main remote control side ECU each include;

a confirmation data storage buffer in which communication status confirmation data is stored to confirm whether or not communication between the nodes can be performed by communicating between the nodes; and

a broken wire detection device arranged to monitor communication time of the communication status confirmation data and determine, as a result of the monitoring, that the communication line connecting the nodes, for which communication is not confirmed, is broken if communication of the communication status confirmation data is not confirmed between the nodes within a predefined period of time;

wherein

the broken wire detection device of the engine side ECU determines the result when the boat control system is started; and

the broken wire detection device of the main remote control side ECU starts determination when the communication status confirmation data is received from the other node.

2. The boat control system according to claim 1, further comprising a subremote control device separate from the main remote control device, wherein a subremote control side ECU provided in the subremote control device is connected to the engine side ECU via the main remote control side ECU by connecting a node of the subremote control side ECU to the main remote control side ECU via a communication line.

3. The boat control system according to claim 2, wherein the subremote control side ECU includes a confirmation data storage buffer arranged to store data whose initial status indicates that communication between the nodes is in an abnormal status as the communication status confirmation data, and the subremote control side ECU includes a broken wire detection device arranged to overwrite the communication status confirmation data stored in the confirmation data storage buffer with data indicating that communication is in a normal status when the communication status confirmation data is received from one of the other nodes and transmits the overwritten communication status confirmation data to the other one of the nodes.

4. The boat control system according to claim 3, wherein the confirmation data storage buffer and the broken wire detection device in the main remote control side ECU and the subremote control side ECU have a similar construction, and each of the broken wire detection device of the main remote control side ECU and the subremote control side ECU performs determination respectively by using selected data among the data stored in the confirmation data storage buffer.

5. The boat control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line connecting the nodes includes two communication lines, and the boat control system further comprises:

an operation status switch device arranged to set a warning mode for giving a warning in a status in which the boat propulsion system can operate when the broken wire detection device determines that only one of the two communication lines is broken, and to set a fail mode as a status in which propulsive force of the boat propulsion system is not generated when the broken wire detection device determines that both of the communication lines are broken.

6. The boat control system according to claim 5, wherein the operation status switch device is arranged to interrupt setting the fail mode when the broken wire detection device determines that the two communication lines connecting the main remote control side ECU and the subremote control side ECU are broken at a start of the boat control system.

7. The boat control system according to claim 5, wherein the operation status switch device is arranged to forcibly shift a throttle of the boat propulsion system to a fully closed status at a time of the fail mode and forcibly shift a gear of the boat propulsion system to a neutral status.

8. A boat comprising the boat control system according to claim 1.