Systems and methods for enhancing features of a marine propulsion system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11519327-B1
Application number	US-201916418470-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 21, 2019
Priority date	Dec 14, 2016
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel has an outboard motor including a cowl covering an internal combustion engine that powers the outboard motor and an accelerometer mounted to the outboard motor. A control module is communicatively connected to the accelerometer. The control module receives information regarding an acceleration of the outboard motor from the accelerometer. The control module uses the information regarding the acceleration of the outboard motor to do at least one of the following: determine an angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity; determine an amount of oil in an oil sump of the outboard motor; and determine if a reading of the amount of oil in the oil sump is accurate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel, the marine propulsion system comprising:
an outboard motor including a cowl covering an internal combustion engine that powers the outboard motor;
at least one sensor coupled to the outboard motor; and
a control module in signal communication with the at least one sensor;
wherein the at least one sensor is attached to one of the engine and the cowl;
wherein the at least one sensor provides information related to a pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl to the control module;
wherein the control module uses the information related to the pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl to do at least one of the following:
determine an angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity;
determine an amount of oil in an oil sump of the outboard motor; and
determine if a reading related to the amount of oil in the oil sump is accurate; and

wherein the control module stores a baseline pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl in response to the outboard motor being fully trimmed down and the marine vessel operating at a speed below a predetermined threshold.

2. The marine propulsion system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor is an accelerometer providing information regarding an acceleration of the one of the engine and the cowl to the control module.

3. The marine propulsion system of claim 2 , further comprising an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that contains the accelerometer.

4. The marine propulsion system of claim 3 , further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) receiver attached to the one of the engine and the cowl that provides information regarding a global position of the one of the engine and the cowl to the control module.

5. The marine propulsion system of claim 4 , wherein the IMU and the GPS receiver are integrated as a single device.

6. The marine propulsion system of claim 4 , further comprising a gauge that indicates boat performance data to an operator of the marine propulsion system;
wherein the control module uses the information regarding the acceleration and the global position of the one of the engine and the cowl to calculate the boat performance data.

7. The marine propulsion system of claim 4 , wherein the accelerometer and the GPS receiver are attached to a predetermined location on the one of the engine and the cowl, and the control module associates the predetermined location with a coordinate system origin for purposes of determining the acceleration and the global position of the one of the engine and the cowl.

8. The marine propulsion system of claim 7 , wherein the accelerometer and the GPS receiver are attached to an upper portion of the one of the engine and the cowl.

9. The marine propulsion system of claim 3 , wherein the IMU further comprises a gyrometer and a magnetometer.

10. The marine propulsion system of claim 2 , wherein the control module records operating conditions of the engine in a memory in response to the accelerometer sensing an abrupt decrease in the acceleration of the one of the engine and the cowl.

11. The marine propulsion system of claim 2 , wherein the control module uses the information regarding the acceleration of the one of the engine and the cowl to determine the angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity in response to a trim sensor failing a rationality check or in response to a comparison showing that information from the trim sensor differs from the information from the accelerometer.

12. The marine propulsion system of claim 1 , further comprising an oil level sensor that provides the reading related to the amount of oil in the oil sump to the control module, wherein the control module inputs the information related to the pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl and the reading related to the amount of oil in the oil sump into a lookup table to determine the amount of oil in the oil sump.

13. The marine propulsion system of claim 1 , wherein the control module determines that the reading related to the amount of oil in the oil sump is not accurate in response to the pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl exceeding a predetermined threshold.

14. The marine propulsion system of claim 1 , further comprising a trim sensor sensing an angle of rotation of the outboard motor with respect to a mounting assembly that couples the outboard motor to the marine vessel, wherein the control module adds the baseline pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl to the angle of rotation sensed by the trim sensor to determine the angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity.

15. A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel, the marine propulsion system comprising:
an outboard motor including a cowl covering an internal combustion engine that powers the outboard motor;
an accelerometer mounted to the outboard motor; and
a control module communicatively connected to the accelerometer;
wherein the control module receives information regarding an acceleration of the outboard motor from the accelerometer;
wherein the control module uses the information regarding the acceleration of the outboard motor to do at least one of the following:
determine an angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity;
determine an amount of oil in an oil sump of the outboard motor; and
determine if a reading of the amount of oil in the oil sump is accurate; and

wherein the control module uses the information regarding the acceleration of the outboard motor to determine the angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity in response to a trim sensor failing a rationality check or in response to a comparison showing that information from the trim sensor differs from the information from the accelerometer.

16. The marine propulsion system of claim 15 , wherein the control module uses the information regarding the acceleration of the outboard motor to do at least one of the following:
sense when the outboard motor experiences impact and responsively save operating conditions of the outboard motor in a memory;
sense when the engine misfires and responsively send a notification to an operator of the marine vessel; and
determine boat performance data that is thereafter displayed to the operator via a gauge.

17. The marine propulsion system of claim 15 , wherein the accelerometer is attached to one of the cowl and the engine.

18. The marine propulsion system of claim 15 , wherein the control module determines a pitch of the outboard motor using the information regarding the acceleration of the outboard motor.

19. A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel, the marine propulsion system comprising:
an outboard motor including a cowl covering an internal combustion engine that powers the outboard motor;
at least one sensor coupled to the outboard motor; and
a control module in signal communication with the at least one sensor;
wherein the at least one sensor is attached to one of the engine and the cowl;
wherein the at least one sensor provides information related to a pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl to the control module;
wherein the control module uses the information related to the pitch of the one of the engine and the cowl to do at least one of the following:
determine an angle of the outboard motor with respect to gravity;
determine an amount of oil in an oil sump of the outboard motor; and
determine if a reading related to the amount of oil in the oil sump is accurate;

wherein the at least one sensor is an accelerometer providing informati

Assignees

• Brunswick Corp

Inventors

• Lemancik Michael J
• Arbuckle Jason S
• Snyder Matthew W
• Osthelder Robert R
• Andrasko Steven J

Classifications

• B63H20/10 Primary

  Means enabling trim or tilt, or lifting of the propulsion element when an obstruction is hit; Control of trim or tilt · CPC title

• B63H20/002

  for handling lubrication liquids (in engines, e.g. outboard marine engines, F01M) · CPC title

• B63H20/08

  Means enabling movement of the position of the propulsion element, e.g. for trim, tilt or steering; Control of trim or tilt (initiating means for steering B63H25/02) · CPC title

• F02B61/045 Primary

  for marine engines · CPC title

• B63H20/32

  Housings {(air intakes for outboard engines F02M35/167)} · CPC title