Boat speed control

Abstract

A control system for controlling the speed of a boat of the type including a motor having a throttle control lever coupled to a throttle of the motor provides for stable and predictable control of the speed of a boat The control system includes a position detector configured to detect the position of the throttle control lever and to generate a first signal representative of a target speed of the motor; a sensor which generates a second signal representative of the actual speed of the motor; an actuator adapted to control the throttle; and a servo controller, which in response to the first signal and the second signal, generates an output to adjust the position of the actuator.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A control system for controlling the speed of a boat including a motor having a throttle control lever coupled to a throttle of the motor and adjustable to a plurality of positions, the control system comprising: 
 a position detector configured to detect the position of the throttle control lever and to generate a first signal representative of a target speed of the motor;    a sensor which generates a second signal representative of the actual speed of the motor;    an actuator adapted to control the throttle; and    a servo controller, which in response to the first signal and the second signal, generates an output to adjust the position of the actuator.    
     
     
         2 . The control system of  claim 1  wherein the position detector and the throttle control lever are remotely located from the actuator.  
     
     
         3 . The control system of  claim 1 , wherein the first input and the second input are electrical signals.  
     
     
         4 . The control system of  claim 1 , further comprising a manual override mechanism concentrically mounted and releasably coupled to the control system.  
     
     
         5 . The control system of  claim 4 , further comprising a pin for releasably coupling the manual override mechanism to the control system.  
     
     
         6 . A control system for controlling the speed of a boat having a motor, the motor having a throttle, the control system comprising: 
 an input device adjustable to a plurality of positions;    a position sensor configured to detect the position of the input device and to generate a first input representative of a target speed of the boat;    a sensor which generates a second input representative of the actual speed of the boat;    an actuator adapted to control the throttle; and    a servo controller, which in response to the first input and the second input, generates an output to adjust the position of the actuator.    
     
     
         7 . The control system of  claim 6  wherein the position detector and the throttle control lever are remotely located from the actuator.  
     
     
         8 . The control system of  claim 6 , wherein the first input and the second input are electrical signals.  
     
     
         9 . The control system of  claim 6 , further comprising a manual override mechanism concentrically mounted and releasably coupled to the control system. {SWI—we don;t cover the manual override case at all in the text . . . We do now.} 
     
     
         10 . The control system of  claim 9 , further comprising a pin for releasably coupling the manual override mechanism to the control system.  
     
     
         11 . A method of controlling the speed of a boat, the method comprising: 
 detecting a position of an input device; and    generating a first input based on the position of the input device representative of a target speed of a motor of the boat.    
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising: 
 detecting an actual speed of the motor;    generating a second input representative of the actual speed of the motor; and    generating an output, on the basis of the first input and the second input, to minimize the difference between the first input and the second input.    
     
     
         13 . A control system for controlling the speed of a boat, the control system comprising: 
 an input device adjustable to a plurality of positions to establish a target speed of the boat; and    a position sensor configured to detect the position of the input device and to generate a first input for controlling the speed of the boat.    
     
     
         14 . The control system of  claim 13 , wherein the positions of the input device are representative of a target speed of a motor of the boat.  
     
     
         15 . The control system of  claim 13 , wherein the positions of the input device are representative of a target speed of the boat.  
     
     
         16 . The control system of  claim 13 , further comprising a servo controller adapted to receive the first input.  
     
     
         17 . The control system of  claim 13 , wherein the first input is an electrical signal.  
     
     
         18 . A motor comprising: 
 a throttle;    a position sensor configured to detect a position of an input device, the sensor generating a first input representative of a target speed of the motor.    a sensor configured to generate a second input representative of the actual speed of the motor; and    a servo controller, which in response to the first input and the second input, generates an output to adjust the position of the throttle.    
     
     
         19 . A boat comprising: 
 a control system for controlling the speed of a boat, the control system including:    an input device adjustable to a plurality of positions; and    a position sensor configured to detect the position of the input device and to generate a first control input.    
     
     
         20 . A speed control system comprising: 
 a first servo control loop to control the speed of the boat, the first servo control loop having a plurality of input signals and an output signal;    a second servo control loop to control the speed of the motor, the second servo control loop having a plurality of input signals, one of which is the output signal from the first servo control loop.    
     
     
         21 . The control system of  claim 20  further comprising a third servo control loop to control the position of an actuator coupled to a throttle of the motor.