Watercraft propulsion system, and watercraft

Abstract

A watercraft propulsion system includes a bow thruster to generate a propulsive force laterally of a hull, a propulsion device to generate a propulsive force anteroposteriorly of the hull, a steering to change the course of the hull, a joystick tiltable from a neutral tilt position in all directions, and twistable leftward and rightward from a neutral twist position about its axis, and a controller configured or programmed to control the bow thruster, the propulsion device, and the steering according to an operation of the joystick. The controller is configured or programmed to cause the bow thruster to generate a propulsive force according to a lateral component of the tilt amount of the joystick, to cause the propulsion device to generate a propulsive force according to an anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick, and to control the steering according to a twist amount of the joystick.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A watercraft propulsion system comprising:
 a bow thruster provided at a bow of a hull to generate a first propulsive force laterally of the hull;   a propulsion device provided on the hull to generate a second propulsive force anteroposteriorly of the hull;   a steering to change a course of the hull;   a joystick tiltable from a neutral tilt position in all directions, and twistable leftward and rightward from a neutral twist position about an axis of the joystick; and   a controller configured or programmed to control the bow thruster, the propulsion device, and the steering according to an operation of the joystick; wherein   the controller is configured or programmed to cause the bow thruster to generate the first propulsive force according to a lateral component of a tilt amount of the joystick, to cause the propulsion device to generate the second propulsive force according to an anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick, and to control the steering according to a twist amount of the joystick.   
     
     
         2 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured or programmed to reduce the first and second propulsive forces of the bow thruster and the propulsion device to zero when the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls within a predetermined anteroposterior insensitive zone and the lateral component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls outside a predetermined lateral insensitive zone. 
     
     
         3 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the controller includes a plurality of control modes including a neutral mode in which no propulsive force is applied to the hull, a bow turning mode in which the bow of the hull is turned, and an anteroposterior mode in which the hull is moved anteroposteriorly; and   the controller is configured or programmed to be in the neutral mode when the joystick is in the neutral tilt position and the neutral twist position, to be switched from the neutral mode to the bow turning mode when the joystick is twisted from the neutral twist position in the neutral tilt position, and to be switched from the neutral mode to the anteroposterior mode when the joystick is tilted from the neutral tilt position in the neutral twist position.   
     
     
         4 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 3 , wherein, when the controller is in the anteroposterior mode, the controller is configured or programmed to cause the bow thruster to generate the first propulsive force according to the lateral component of the tilt amount of the joystick, to cause the propulsion device to generate the second propulsive force according to the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick, and to control the steering according to the twist amount of the joystick. 
     
     
         5 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 3 , wherein, when the controller is in the bow turning mode, the controller is configured or programmed to cause the bow thruster to generate the first propulsive force according to the twist amount of the joystick, to actuate the steering according to the twist amount of the joystick, and to cause the propulsion device to generate the second propulsive force according to the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick. 
     
     
         6 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 3 , wherein, when the controller is in the neutral mode, the controller is configured or programmed to be maintained in the neutral mode when the joystick is tilted laterally from the neutral tilt position and the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls within a predetermined anteroposterior insensitive zone. 
     
     
         7 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 3 , wherein, when the controller is in the bow turning mode, the controller is configured or programmed to be switched into the anteroposterior mode when the joystick is diagonally tilted. 
     
     
         8 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 3 , wherein, when the controller is in the anteroposterior mode, the controller is configured or programmed to continue the anteroposterior mode when the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls outside a predetermined anteroposterior insensitive zone, and to also continue the anteroposterior mode even if the anteroposterior component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls within the anteroposterior insensitive zone when the lateral component of the tilt amount of the joystick falls outside a predetermined lateral insensitive zone. 
     
     
         9 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 1 , wherein the propulsion device includes a single propulsion device provided on a stern of the hull or a plurality of propulsion devices provided on the stern of the hull and configured to be steered at a same steering angle. 
     
     
         10 . The watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 1 , wherein the bow thruster is fixed to the hull in an unsteerable manner. 
     
     
         11 . A watercraft comprising:
 a hull; and   the watercraft propulsion system according to  claim 1 .