US-12617515-B2 - Marine vessel including steering mechanism for marine vessel

US12617515B2US 12617515 B2US12617515 B2US 12617515B2US-12617515-B2

Abstract

A marine vessel including a steering mechanism that includes a steering wheel including shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to a course holding mode to hold a course of the marine vessel, and a traveling direction maintaining mode to maintain a traveling direction of the marine vessel.

Inventors

Yoshikazu Watanabe
Takuya Murayama

Assignees

YAMAHA HATSUDOKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221031
Priority Date: 20211117

Claims (11)

1 . A marine vessel comprising: a steering mechanism including a steering wheel; wherein the steering wheel includes shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to a course holding mode to hold a course of the marine vessel, and a traveling direction maintaining mode to maintain a traveling direction of the marine vessel; the steering wheel further includes course adjusting switches to adjust the course of the marine vessel navigating in the course holding mode or the traveling direction maintaining mode; the course adjusting switches include first and second course adjusting switches corresponding to starboard and port of the marine vessel; the first course adjusting switch to change the course toward the starboard is located on a starboard side of the steering wheel when the marine vessel is moving straight; a the second course adjusting switch to change the course toward the port is located on a port side of the steering wheel when the marine vessel is moving straight; and when a marine vessel operator rotates a wheel portion of the steering wheel by a predetermined amount or more, the course holding mode or the traveling direction maintaining mode is released.
2 . The marine vessel according to claim 1 , wherein the shift switches are located within reach of fingers of a marine vessel operator who is gripping the wheel portion of the steering wheel.
3 . The marine vessel according to claim 1 , wherein each of the shift switches is operable to emit a digital signal to a controller configured or programmed to control at least one of propulsion devices or steering units of the marine vessel according to an operation on the shift switches.
4 . The marine vessel according to claim 1 , wherein the steering wheel includes a central portion supported rotatably around a rotation fulcrum with respect to a hull of the marine vessel, the wheel portion, and spoke portions that connect the central portion and the wheel portion; and the shift switches are located on the spoke portions.
5 . The marine vessel according to claim 4 , wherein the spoke portions including the shift switches are positioned above a virtual plane passing through the rotation fulcrum and parallel to a left/right direction of the marine vessel, and are positioned within an angle range from about 0° to about 60° with respect to the virtual plane in a circumferential direction about the rotation fulcrum.
6 . A marine vessel comprising: a steering mechanism including a steering wheel; and the steering wheel includes shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to a position maintaining mode to keep the marine vessel at a predetermined position, a bow direction maintaining mode to maintain a bow direction of the marine vessel in a predetermined direction, and a fixed point holding mode to keep the marine vessel at the predetermined position and maintain the bow direction of the marine vessel in the predetermined direction.
7 . The marine vessel according to claim 6 , wherein each of the shift switches is operable to emit a digital signal to a controller configured or programmed to control at least one of propulsion devices or steering units of the marine vessel.
8 . The marine vessel according to claim 6 , wherein the steering wheel further includes thrust level setting switches to set a thrust level to adjust a position of the marine vessel in the position maintaining mode, the bow direction maintaining mode, or the fixed point holding mode.
9 . The marine vessel according to claim 6 , wherein the steering wheel includes a central portion supported rotatably around a rotation fulcrum with respect to a hull of the marine vessel, an annular wheel portion, and a spoke portion that connects the central portion and the wheel portion; and the shift switches are located on the spoke portion.
10 . The marine vessel according to claim 9 , wherein the spoke portion including the shift switches is positioned below a virtual plane passing through the rotation fulcrum and parallel to a left/right direction of the marine vessel.
11 . A marine vessel comprising: a steering mechanism including a steering wheel; wherein the steering wheel includes a shift switch to cause the marine vessel to shift to at least one of a course holding mode to hold a course of the marine vessel, a traveling direction maintaining mode to maintain a traveling direction of the marine vessel, a position maintaining mode to keep the marine vessel at a predetermined position, a bow direction maintaining mode to maintain a bow direction of the marine vessel in a predetermined direction, or a fixed point holding mode to keep the marine vessel at the predetermined position and maintain the bow direction of the marine vessel in the predetermined direction; the steering wheel further includes course adjusting switches to adjust the course of the marine vessel navigating in the course holding mode or the traveling direction maintaining mode; the course adjusting switches include first and second course adjusting switches corresponding to starboard and port of the marine vessel; the first course adjusting switch to change the course toward the starboard is located on a starboard side of the steering wheel when the marine vessel is moving straight; the second course adjusting switch to change the course toward the port is located on a port side of the steering wheel when the marine vessel is moving straight; and when a marine vessel operator rotates a wheel portion of the steering wheel by a predetermined amount or more, the course holding mode or the traveling direction maintaining mode is released.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-187174, filed on Nov. 17, 2021. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a marine vessel including a steering mechanism. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the aim of reducing the burden on a marine vessel operator, a marine vessel is configured to be able to set an autopilot mode in which the marine vessel automatically holds its course or the marine vessel automatically maintains its traveling direction without the marine vessel operator having to operate a steering wheel or a remote controller. In addition, when a passenger fishes, the marine vessel is configured to also be able to set a fixed point holding mode which automatically controls the movement of the marine vessel when the marine vessel is stopped so that the marine vessel stays at one point (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (kokai) No. 2011-140272). Conventionally, although automatic maneuvering switches that cause the marine vessel to shift to the autopilot mode and the fixed point holding mode, respectively, are provided on a panel or a joystick located at a maneuvering seat, since there is not much space for the panel or the joystick located at the maneuvering seat, providing the automatic maneuvering switches on the panel or the joystick located at the maneuvering seat will make it difficult to provide other switches, etc. on the panel or the joystick located at the maneuvering seat. Therefore, there is room for improvement in terms of flexibility in the layout of switches. In addition, when shifting the marine vessel to the autopilot mode or the fixed point holding mode, since the marine vessel operator needs to operate the steering wheel with one hand and operate the automatic maneuvering switch provided on the panel or the joystick, which is spaced away from the steering wheel with the other hand, it is not easy for the marine vessel operator to operate the automatic maneuvering switch accurately. Therefore, there is also room for improvement in terms of operability of the switches. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide marine vessels including steering mechanisms that are each able to not only improve the flexibility in the layout of switches but also improve the operability of the switches. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a marine vessel includes a steering mechanism including a steering wheel. The steering wheel includes shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to a course holding mode to hold a course of the marine vessel, and a traveling direction maintaining mode to maintain a traveling direction of the marine vessel. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a marine vessel includes a steering mechanism including a steering wheel. The steering wheel includes shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to a position maintaining mode to keep the marine vessel at a predetermined position, a bow direction maintaining mode to maintain a bow direction of the marine vessel in a predetermined direction, and a fixed point holding mode to keep the marine vessel at the predetermined position and maintain the bow direction of the marine vessel in the predetermined direction. According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a marine vessel includes a steering mechanism including a steering wheel. The steering wheel includes a shift switch to cause the marine vessel to shift to at least one of a course holding mode to hold a course of the marine vessel, a traveling direction maintaining mode to maintain a traveling direction of the marine vessel, a position maintaining mode to keep the marine vessel at a predetermined position, a bow direction maintaining mode to maintain a bow direction of the marine vessel in a predetermined direction, or a fixed point holding mode to keep the marine vessel at the predetermined position and maintain the bow direction of the marine vessel in the predetermined direction. According to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the steering wheel includes the shift switches to cause the marine vessel to shift to the course holding mode, the traveling direction maintaining mode, the position maintaining mode, the bow direction maintaining mode, and the fixed point holding mode. As a result, since there is no need to necessarily provide the shift switches on the panel or the joystick, which is located at the maneuvering seat, it becomes easier to provide other switches on the panel or the joystick, which is located at the maneuvering seat, and the flexibility in the layout of the switches is improved. In addition, since it is possible for the marine vessel operator to operate the s