System for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel
First Claim
1. A system for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device along a route comprising a plurality of waypoints, the system comprising:
- a controller in signal communication with the marine propulsion device;
an input source that provides the plurality of waypoints to the controller, each individual waypoint in the plurality of waypoints being manually associated by an operator of the marine vessel with a respective numerical value of a desired speed of the marine propulsion device;
a position determination device that determines an actual geographical location of the marine vessel; and
a speed sensor that determines an actual speed of the marine propulsion device;
wherein the controller receives a given waypoint and its respective desired speed from the input source, the actual geographical location from the position determination device, and the actual speed from the speed sensor;
wherein the controller compares the actual geographical location to the given waypoint and the actual speed to the respective desired speed, and outputs commands to propel the marine vessel to the given waypoint and concurrently to operate the marine propulsion device at the respective desired speed;
wherein the input source is a user interface that allows the operator to associate each given waypoint with its respective desired speed; and
wherein the user interface includes a user-selectable function by which the controller flags any waypoints for which the respective desired speed exceeds a known waterway speed limit for a geographical area containing the waypoint.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and non-transient computer readable medium for executing a method for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device along a route including a plurality of waypoints are disclosed. An input source provides the plurality of waypoints to a controller, each individual waypoint being associated with a respective operator-selected desired speed of the marine propulsion device. A position determination device determines an actual geographical location of the vessel, and a speed sensor determines an actual speed of the marine propulsion device. The controller receives a given waypoint and its respective desired speed from the input source, the actual geographical location from the position determination device, and the actual speed from the speed sensor. The controller compares these values and outputs commands to propel the marine vessel to the given waypoint and concurrently to operate the marine propulsion device at the respective desired speed.
103 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device along a route comprising a plurality of waypoints, the system comprising:
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a controller in signal communication with the marine propulsion device; an input source that provides the plurality of waypoints to the controller, each individual waypoint in the plurality of waypoints being manually associated by an operator of the marine vessel with a respective numerical value of a desired speed of the marine propulsion device; a position determination device that determines an actual geographical location of the marine vessel; and a speed sensor that determines an actual speed of the marine propulsion device; wherein the controller receives a given waypoint and its respective desired speed from the input source, the actual geographical location from the position determination device, and the actual speed from the speed sensor; wherein the controller compares the actual geographical location to the given waypoint and the actual speed to the respective desired speed, and outputs commands to propel the marine vessel to the given waypoint and concurrently to operate the marine propulsion device at the respective desired speed; wherein the input source is a user interface that allows the operator to associate each given waypoint with its respective desired speed; and wherein the user interface includes a user-selectable function by which the controller flags any waypoints for which the respective desired speed exceeds a known waterway speed limit for a geographical area containing the waypoint. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transient computer readable medium programmed with computer readable code that upon execution by a processor causes the processor to execute a method for controlling position and speed of a marine vessel propelled by a marine propulsion device along a route comprising a plurality of waypoints, the method comprising:
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accepting the plurality of waypoints from an input source, each individual waypoint in the plurality of waypoints being manually associated by an operator of the marine vessel with a respective numerical value of a desired speed of the marine propulsion device; rendering a screen on a user interface that allows the operator to associate each individual waypoint in the plurality of waypoints with its respective desired speed; and sending the plurality of waypoints and the respective desired speeds to a marine propulsion system controller, which thereafter outputs commands to propel the marine vessel to a given waypoint and concurrently to operate the marine propulsion device at the respective desired speed; wherein the screen on the user interface allows the operator to one of manually associate each given waypoint with a potentially unique respective desired speed, and manually associate each of the waypoints in the plurality of waypoints with a single desired speed; and wherein the screen on the user interface allows the operator to select each of the waypoints in the plurality of waypoints, which comprises a subset of all the waypoints in the route, by one of individually selecting each waypoint to be included in the subset from a map rendered on the screen, and drawing a perimeter around the subset on the map rendered on the screen. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification