Marine propulsion control system and method with rear and lateral marine drives
A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel includes at least one steerable rear marine drive that generates forward and reverse thrusts, wherein the at least one rear marine drive is steerable to a range of steering angles, a lateral marine drive configured to generate starboard and port thrusts on the marine vessel, and a yaw sensor configured to measure yaw movement of the marine vessel. A control system is configured to control steering and thrust output of the at least one steerable rear marine drive to propel the marine vessel straight forward or straight backward and control thrust output of the lateral marine drive based on the measured yaw movement.
1 . A marine propulsion system for a marine vessel comprising:
at least one steerable rear marine drive that generates forward and reverse thrusts, wherein the at least one steerable rear marine drive is steerable to a range of steering angles;
a lateral marine drive configured to generate starboard and port thrusts on the marine vessel;
a sensor configured to measure yaw movement of the marine vessel;
a control system configured to:
control steering and thrust output of the at least one steerable rear marine drive to propel the marine vessel straight forward or straight backward; and
while the steering and thrust output of the at least one steerable rear marine drive is controlled to propel the marine vessel straight forward or straight backward, control thrust output of the lateral marine drive based on the measured yaw movement.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control the lateral marine drive to produce the thrust output that opposes the measured yaw movement.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to control a direction and magnitude of the thrust output of the lateral marine drive based on a direction and magnitude of the measured yaw movement.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the control system is configured to determine the direction and/or the magnitude of the thrust output of the lateral marine drive based on the direction and magnitude of measured yaw velocity and/or measured yaw acceleration.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lateral marine drive is positioned at a bow region of the marine vessel.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lateral marine drive is one of a discrete drive that operates only at a predetermined rotational speed and a variable speed drive wherein a rotational speed is controllable by the control system.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the lateral marine drive is a thruster and wherein each of the at least one steerable rear marine drive is positioned to extend rearward of a stern of the marine vessel.
8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least two rear marine drives and wherein the control system is configured to operate both of the at least two rear marine drives to effectuate equal forward thrusts or equal reverse thrusts.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein both of the at least two rear marine drives are steered to a centered steering position.
10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a user input device operable by a user to provide a propulsion demand input commanding straight forward movement or straight backward movement of the marine vessel; and
wherein the control system is configured to control steering and thrust output of the at least one steerable rear marine drive based on the propulsion demand input.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to control the thrust output of the lateral marine drive to oppose any uncommanded yaw movement of the marine vessel such that the marine vessel moves straight forward or straight backward.
12 . A method of controlling a marine propulsion system for a marine vessel, the method comprising:
controlling steering and thrust output of at least one steerable rear marine drive to propel the marine vessel straight forward or straight backward;
measuring yaw movement of the marine vessel with a sensor; and
controlling thrust output of a lateral marine drive based on the measured yaw movement while the at least one steerable rear marine drive is controlled to propel the marine vessel straight forward or straight backward.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving from a user input device a propulsion demand input commanding straight forward movement or straight backward movement of the marine vessel;
controlling steering and thrust output of the at least one steerable rear marine drive based on the propulsion demand input; and
controlling the thrust output of the lateral marine drive to oppose any uncommanded yaw movement of the marine vessel such that the marine vessel moves straight forward or straight backward.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lateral marine drive is controlled to produce the thrust output that opposes the measured yaw movement.
15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining a direction and magnitude of the thrust output of the lateral marine drive based on a direction and magnitude of the measured yaw movement and controlling the lateral marine drive accordingly.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the direction and/or the magnitude of the thrust output of the lateral marine drive is determined based on the direction and magnitude of measured yaw velocity and/or measured yaw acceleration.
17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lateral marine drive is positioned at a bow region of the marine vessel.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lateral marine drive is one of a discrete drive that operates only at a predetermined rotational speed and a variable speed drive wherein a rotational speed is controllable.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the lateral marine drive is a thruster and wherein each of the at least one steerable rear marine drive is positioned to extend rearward of a stern of the marine vessel.
20 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising steering both of at least two rear marine drives to a centered steering position and controlling both of the at least two rear marine drives to effectuate equal forward thrusts or equal reverse thrusts.