US-12623766-B2 - Thruster control for a boat

US12623766B2US 12623766 B2US12623766 B2US 12623766B2US-12623766-B2

Abstract

Techniques for thruster system control for a pontoon boat or other watercraft. A thruster system may comprise a plurality of thrusters used to control movement of the pontoon boat in addition to an outboard prime mover. The thrusters may be fixed and/or steerable thrusters. In examples, the thrusters may be retracted based on identifying a condition in which the thrusters may be damaged. The thrusters may be deployed based on identifying a condition in which the thrusters may be used to recharge an associated energy source. User input to control the thrusters may be adapted to account for external forces acting on the pontoon boat. A user interface is provided with which to control the thruster system, via which an operator manipulates a movement intent line to control the thruster system. The user interface may further comprise obstacle indicators, thereby enabling the operator to maneuver the pontoon boat accordingly.

Inventors

James J. Endrizzi
Jacob L. Stock
Austin R. Bartz
Michael J. Fuchs
Erik W. Rogers
Michael T. Yobe
Joseph P. Nuxoll
Kevin P. Blair
John E. KRAUS

Assignees

POLARIS INDUSTRIES INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220808

Claims (17)

1 . A pontoon boat comprising: a plurality of pontoons; a deck supported by the plurality of pontoons, the deck having an outer perimeter; a propulsion system having at least one prime mover that propels the pontoon boat through water; a thruster system including a first thruster and a second thruster, wherein at least one thruster of the first thruster or the second thruster has a deactivated position and an in-use position; a plurality of sensors supported by the plurality of pontoons, the plurality of sensors configured to generate one or more signals; and a controller communicatively coupled to the first thruster and the second thruster, the controller configured to: identify a first condition; based on the first condition, configure the at least one thruster to be in the in-use position; detect an environmental condition proximate at least one of the plurality of pontoons based on the one or more signals from the plurality of sensors; identify a second condition; and based on the second condition, configure the at least one thruster to be in the deactivated position.
2 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , further comprising a removable thruster input control removably coupled to an operator console of the deck, wherein the removable thruster input control is communicatively coupled to the controller.
3 . The pontoon boat of claim 2 , wherein the first condition is identified based on a user indication received via the removable thruster input control to enable the thruster system.
4 . The pontoon boat of claim 2 , wherein the second condition is identified based on a user indication received via the removable thruster input control to disable the thruster system.
5 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein identifying the first condition comprises determining a speed of the pontoon boat is below a predetermined threshold.
6 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein identifying the first condition comprises: determining a power source of the thruster system is below a predetermined threshold; and based on determining the power source is below the predetermined threshold, configuring the thruster system to charge the power source using current generated by the thruster system when the at least one prime mover propels the pontoon boat through the water.
7 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors are supported by the plurality of pontoons and wherein the second condition is identified based on sensor data from at least one of the plurality of sensors.
8 . The pontoon boat of claim 7 , wherein: the plurality of sensors comprises at least one of a global positioning system or an inertial measurement unit; and the controller is further configured to: determine an actual motion using the plurality of sensors; determine the actual motion differs from a target motion, and based on determining the actual motion differs from the target motion: adapt the target motion based on the actual motion to generate an adapted target motion; and provide, to at least one of the first thruster and the second thruster, a command based on the adapted target motion.
9 . The pontoon boat of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to: determine the target motion based on user input received from a removable thruster input control.
10 . The pontoon boat of claim 8 , wherein: the actual motion is at least one of translational motion or rotational motion; and the target motion is at least one of translational motion or rotational motion.
11 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to a propulsion controller of the propulsion system via a network connection.
12 . The pontoon boat of claim 11 , wherein identifying the second condition comprises: obtaining propulsion system information via the network connection to the propulsion controller; and determining the propulsion system information exceeds a predetermined threshold.
13 . The pontoon boat of claim 11 , wherein identifying the second condition comprises determining a power source of the propulsion system is below a predetermined threshold.
14 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein the first thruster is a fixed thruster and the second thruster is a steerable thruster.
15 . The pontoon boat of claim 14 , wherein: the first thruster is positioned at a forward of the pontoon boat; and the second thruster is positioned at an aft of the pontoon boat.
16 . The pontoon boat of claim 15 , wherein the first thruster and the second thruster are positioned along a longitudinal centerline of the pontoon boat.
17 . The pontoon boat of claim 1 , wherein the controller is communicatively coupled to the first thruster and the second thruster using a network bus of the pontoon boat.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS The present disclosure claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/231,452, filed Aug. 10, 2021, titled THRUSTER CONTROL FOR A BOAT, the entire disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE Pontoons and other types of multi-hull boats may have one or more outboard motors for propelling and steering the boat. However, maneuvering such boats using an outboard motor may be difficult, especially in confined or challenging environments, such as when docking or navigating around obstacles. It is with respect to these and other general considerations that embodiments have been described. Also, although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the embodiments should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE As set forth above, embodiments provided herein relate to recreational vehicles. Exemplary embodiments include but are not limited to the following examples. In one aspect, a pontoon boat is provided. The pontoon boat comprises: a plurality of pontoons; a deck supported by the plurality of pontoons, the deck having an outer perimeter; a propulsion system having at least one prime mover that propels the pontoon boat through the water; a thruster system including a first thruster and a second thruster, wherein at least one thruster of the first thruster or the second thruster has a deactivated position and an in-use position; and a controller communicatively coupled to the first thruster and the second thruster, the controller configured to: identify a first condition; based on the first condition, configure the at least one thruster to be in the in-use position; identify a second condition; and based on the second condition, configure the at least one thruster to be in the deactivated position. In another aspect, a thruster system for a pontoon boat is provided. The thruster system comprises: a first thruster; a second thruster; a plurality of sensors; and a controller configured to: obtain, via a network bus of the pontoon boat, propulsion system information associated with a propulsion system of the pontoon boat; identify, based on the propulsion system information, a condition; and based on the identified condition, configure at least one thruster of the first thruster and the second thruster to be in either an in-use position or a deactivated position. In a further aspect, a method for generating a user interface associated with a thruster system is provided. The method comprises: presenting an outline associated with a pontoon boat; receiving a user input indicating a target movement for the pontoon boat; generating, based on the received user input, a movement intent line in association with the outline, wherein the movement intent line indicates at least one of a target movement direction, a target movement magnitude, or a target movement rotation; and updating the user interface to comprise the generated movement intent line. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A illustrates a front view of a pontoon boat having a deck supported by three pontoons. FIG. 1B illustrates a front view of another pontoon boat having a deck supported by two pontoons. FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of a pontoon boat having a deck and seating. FIG. 3A illustrates a representative top view of the pontoon boat of FIG. 1A including a thruster system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B illustrates a representative top view of the pontoon boat of FIG. 1B including another thruster system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 3C illustrates a representative top view of the pontoon boat of FIG. 1B including yet another thruster system according to aspects of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an example thruster input control for controlling a thruster system. FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of the example thruster input control of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of example control systems for a pontoon boat as described herein. FIG. 7 illustrates an overview of an example method for controlling movement using a set of thrusters. FIG. 8 illustrates an overview of another example method for c