Patent Application
20240208622
This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-207889 filed on Dec. 26, 2022. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
There have been known technologies that change the light emission pattern of a lighting device according to the operational status of a boat, such as a technology that indicates forward and backward modes by the light emission pattern of a lamp provided on an electric outboard motor, or a technology that turns on multiple light sources in a pattern according to the operational status of a boat (see, JP Utility Model Application Publication No. JP 2021-126954 A, JP 2022-60046 A, JP 2022-60044 A, JP 2007-308040 A).
However, compared to automobiles, it is highly likely that the light emission pattern of a lighting device alone is not sufficient to communicate the operational status of a boat to, for example, those on board. Automobiles travel on land, and the passengers or drivers thereof are generally inside the vehicle. In contrast, boats travel on the sea, where the ambient environment is more prone to change than on land. In addition, in a boat, those on board (passengers) are often in the cockpit or outside the boat, such as on the deck, rather than inside the boat. Therefore, the light emission pattern of the lighting device alone may not be sufficient to communicate the operational status of the boat to the passengers and others on board.
Such a problem is not limited to the operational status of a boat but is also common to other conditions of a boat (e.g., the embarkation status and the operation status of the boat, the external environment of the boat, and the like) when communicating such conditions to passengers and other persons on board.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention disclose technologies that are each able to solve at least one of the above-mentioned problems.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a boat includes a sound emitter, a light emitter, and a controller. The controller is configured or programmed to detect a condition of the boat including at least one of a status of the boat, excluding a status of the sound emitter and the light emitter, or an external environment of the boat, and operate the sound emitter and the light emitter in a mixed pattern combining sound and light according to the condition of the boat detected by the controller.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various arrangements, such as a boat, a controller or a display provided on a boat, a notification method relating to a boat, a non-transitory recording medium including a computer program to implement the above functions or methods, among other arrangements.
With each of the boats according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the status of the boat and the external environment are able to be communicated visually and audibly to, for example, passengers by a mixed pattern combining sound and light.
The above and other elements, features, steps, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
As shown in
The jet propeller 100 includes an engine 102 to generate a rotational drive power and a jet propulsion unit 104 that uses the rotational drive power from the engine 102 to jet a water stream in a direction opposite to the direction of travel. An intake gate 106 is provided in the stern direction at the bottom of the hull 200 to supply water to the jet propeller 100.
The hull 200 includes a deck 210 on which passengers board and reside. In a preferred embodiment, the deck 210 includes a bow deck 210A, a cockpit 210B, and a stern deck 210C (see
The bow deck 210A is located at the leading portion of the hull 200 and is configured to allow passengers to board or sit. The stern deck 210C is located at the rear portion of the hull. On the stern deck 210C, there is a pair of rear seats 232 for passengers.
The cockpit 210B is located in the center portion of the hull 200 in the front-rear direction. The cockpit 210B includes a pilot seat 220 on which the pilot of the jet boat 10 sits, a control unit 222 mounted in front of the pilot seat 220, and a passenger seat 224. The control unit 222 steers the boat and includes, e.g., a steering wheel 226, a lever control 228, and the display device 230. The steering wheel 226 is used by the pilot to control the direction of travel of the jet boat 10. The lever control 228 is used by the pilot to control the throttle and shift of the jet propeller 100. The control unit 222 is an example of an operator. The detailed configuration of the display device 230 will be described below.
The hull 200 further includes a tower 234, an audio system S (see
The tower 234 includes a pair of supporting portions 234A extending to rise from the left and right side portions of the hull 200 and a connecting portion 234B located above the deck 210 (e.g., the cockpit 210B) to connect the pair of supporting portions 234A.
The audio system S includes a bow speaker SA, a cockpit speaker SB, and a stern speaker SC. The bow speaker SA is located near the bow deck 210A. In a preferred embodiment, the bow speaker SA is located, e.g., one on each side of the bow deck 210A. The cockpit speaker SB is located near the cockpit 210B. The cockpit speaker SB is located, e.g., one on each side of the cockpit 210B. The stern speaker SC is located near the stern deck 210C. The stern speaker SC is located, e.g., one on each side of the stern deck 210C.
The light system L includes a bow light LA, a cockpit light LB, and a stern light LC. The light system L is an example of a light emitter. The light system L may be, e.g., a light unit having multiple light sources (e.g., LEDs) or neon lights. The bow light LA, the cockpit light LB, and the stern light LC are examples of the individual light emitters, and the bow light LA and stern light LC are examples of a passenger light.
The bow light LA is located near the bow deck 210A. In a preferred embodiment, the bow light LA is located, e.g., one on each side of the bow deck 210A. Specifically, the bow light LA is located inside the edge of the hull 200 defining the bow deck 210A and is visible to passengers located on the bow deck 210A.
The cockpit light LB is located near the cockpit 210B. In this configuration, the cockpit light LB is located at the rear end of the tower 234. The cockpit light LB may be located near the pilot seat 220 (e.g., the control unit 222) or near the passenger seat 224.
The stern light LC is located near the stern deck 210C. In a preferred embodiment, the stern light LC is located, e.g., one on each side of the stern deck 210C. Specifically, the stern lights LC are located around each rear seat 232 and are visible to passengers located on the stern deck 210C. The stern light LC may be located, e.g., at the rear end of the stern deck 210C.
For example, the controller 240 implements various functions related to the jet boat 10 and controls the jet propeller 100 and other equipment. The controller 240 includes, e.g., a CPU, a multi-core CPU, and a programmable device (field programmable gate array (FPGA), and programmable logic device (PLD), among others).
The storage device 242 includes, e.g., a ROM, a RAM, and a hard disk drive (HDD), among others. The storage device 242 stores various programs or data and is used as a work area or data storage area when executing various processes. For example, a computer program to execute the user notification process described below may be stored in the storage device 242. The computer program is provided, e.g., as stored in a computer-readable recording medium (not shown) such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, and USB memory, and is stored in the storage device 242 by installing it in the display device 230.
The display device 230 is further provided with a touch panel 244. The touch panel 244 is a touch panel type display screen, which displays various images (e.g., images for operation) related to the jet boat 10 and enables input operations on the display screen. The touch panel 244, including a plurality of light sources, is able to emit light and is an example of the light emitter.
The display device 230 is further provided with a gyro sensor 246, a GPS (global positioning system) sensor 248, an interface (I/F) 250, and a reception device 252. The controller 240 obtains the attitude and current position of the jet boat 10 based on the respective detection signals of the gyro sensor 246 and the GPS sensor 248.
The reception device 252 determines whether or not a startup operation (an operation with the engine switch W3 described below) has been performed by the pilot on the control unit 222. The startup operation may include a key operation by inserting a key into a keyhole and turning the key, a keyless operation that does not require the key operation, or a smart entry with a smart key.
The jet boat 10 includes a battery switch W1, a system activation switch W2, and an engine switch W3 (see
The interface 250 communicates wired or wirelessly with each device provided in the hull 200. The devices may include, in addition to the jet propeller 100, a water depth measuring instrument 254, a human presence sensor 256, and an abnormality detection device 258.
The water depth measuring instrument 254 measures the water depth directly under the jet boat 10. The human presence sensor 256 is located near each of the decks 210 (210A to 210C) to detect the position and the number of persons on board, among other information with regard to the passengers located on each deck 210. The abnormality detection device 258 detects abnormalities in the jet boat 10. Specifically, the abnormality detection device 258 includes various sensors to detect the presence or absence of an abnormality and the degree of abnormality of each device, such as the jet propeller 100 and battery B.
The user notification process is used to communicate the condition of the jet boat 10 and its changes by using a mixed pattern combining sound and light. Here, the condition of the jet boat 10 includes the status of the jet boat 10 and/or the external environment of the jet boat 10. The status of the jet boat 10 includes, e.g., the operational status (operation mode), actual operational status (inclination (attitude) and speed, among others) of the jet boat 10, and the status of the passengers on the deck 210 (number of passengers and position of passengers, among others). The external environment of the jet boat 10 includes the weather and ambient environment (water depth, wave height, and presence of obstacles, among others) of the location of the jet boat 10.
The mixed pattern combines light from at least one of the touch panel 244 or the light system L with sound from the audio system S. Any pattern in which a sound emitting period and a light emitting period overlap at least partially can be referred to as the mixed pattern. The “sound” here is not limited to a single sound but includes melodies and the like.
The controller 240 can operate the sound emitting device (audio system S) and the light emitting device (touch panel 244 and light system L) in a plurality of mixed patterns in which at least one of the sound and the light differs from each other. The plurality of mixed patterns may include, e.g., mixed patterns in which at least one of the following factors (1) to (3) differs from each other.
(1) Factors related to sound: at least one of the factors including volume, pitch, tone, repetition period, number of sound sources, length, melody, or position of the sound emitted by the audio system S in the jet boat 10 differs between one mixed pattern and another. In a preferred embodiment, different sound emitting positions refer to, e.g., different sound emitting speakers among the bow speaker SA, the cockpit speaker SB, and the stern speaker SC, or different combinations of two or more speakers.
(2) Factors related to light: at least one of the factors including luminance, color, emission period, or position of the light emitted by the light system L or the touch panel 244 in the jet boat 10 differs between one mixed pattern and another. In a preferred embodiment, different light emitting positions refer to, e.g., different light emitting devices among the touch panel 244, the bow light LA, the cockpit light LB, and the stern light LC, or different combinations of two or more light emitting devices.
(3) Factors related to the sound emitting period and the light emitting period: the overlap time between the sound emitting period and the light emitting period differs between one mixed pattern and another mixed pattern.
When the system activation switch W2 is turned on, the display device 230 is activated and the controller 240 operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 with the activation notification pattern (S110). The activation notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light. Specifically, while emitting light from the touch panel 244, the controller 240 causes some or all of the speakers of the audio system S (e.g., the cockpit speaker SB) to sound a predetermined melody or the like and some or all of the lighting devices of the light system L (e.g., the cockpit light LB) to emit light in a predetermined light emission pattern. For example, by operating all speakers in the audio system S and all lights in the light system L in an activation notification pattern, not only the pilot and others in the cockpit 210B but also passengers on the bow deck 210A and the stern deck 210C can enjoy a sense of luxury through the mixed pattern of sound and light. The light emission pattern of the light emitting device may be a pattern (e.g., a lighting pattern) synchronized with the sound emission pattern (e.g., melody) of the sound emitting device.
Next, upon determining that the reception device 252 has accepted a startup operation with the engine switch W3 (S120: YES), the controller 240 starts the jet propeller 100 and operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 in the startup notification pattern (S130). The startup notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light and differs from the activation notification pattern above in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light. Therefore, the startup notification pattern can visually and audibly inform the passengers of the jet boat 10 and others that the jet propeller 100 has changed from a stopped status to a startup status.
Next, the controller 240 determines whether the operation mode has been changed by operation on the control unit 222 (S140). The operation modes may include stop mode, forward mode, backward mode, lateral movement mode, high-speed mode, low-speed mode, and eco-mode, among others. When the operation mode is switched (S140: YES), the controller 240 operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 with the operation notification pattern corresponding to the switched operation mode (S150). The operation notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light and preferably differs from the activation notification pattern and the startup notification pattern in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light. The operation notification pattern includes a plurality of mixed patterns corresponding to each of the above plurality of operation modes and differing from each other in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light. Thus, the change in the operation notification pattern can visually and audibly communicate to the passengers of the jet boat 10 and others that the operation status of the jet boat 10 is changing.
Next, the controller 240 determines whether a termination operation to the display device 230 has been performed (S160). For example, when the engine switch W3 is turned off and the system activation switch W2 is turned off (S160: YES), the controller 240 operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 in a termination notification pattern before shutting down the display device 230 (S170) and terminates this user notification process. The termination notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light and preferably differs from the activation notification pattern, the startup notification pattern, and the operation notification pattern described above in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light. Thus, the termination notification pattern can visually and audibly inform the passengers of the jet boat 10 and others that the jet propeller 100 has changed to a stop status. On the other hand, if the system activation switch W2 is not turned off (S160: NO), the controller 240 returns to the process of S140.
If the startup operation is not performed in S120 (S120: NO) or the operation mode is not changed in S140 (S140: NO), the controller 240 determines whether the embarkation notification function is enabled (S180). The embarkation notification function is a function to notify the status of the passengers in the jet boat 10. The switching of enable/disable of the embarkation notification function can be performed, e.g., by operating the control unit 222. When the embarkation notification function is enabled (S180: YES), the controller 240 detects the status of the passengers on the jet boat 10 based on the detection results of the human presence sensor 256, operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 in an embarkation notification pattern in accordance with the detected passenger status (S190), and proceeds to S160.
The embarkation notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light. The embarkation notification pattern may be a pattern that operates only the lights and speakers located on the deck 210 on which a passenger is detected. This prevents the mixed pattern from being meaninglessly executed on decks where there are no passengers. The embarkation notification pattern may be a pattern in which at least one of sound or light differs according to the number of passengers detected. For example, the change in the number of passengers on each deck can be visually and audibly communicated by executing a mixed pattern in accordance with the number of passengers on that deck.
If the embarkation notification function is disabled (S180: NO), the controller 240 determines whether the abnormality notification function is enabled (S200). The abnormality notification function is used to notify the passengers of any abnormality that has occurred in the jet boat 10. The abnormality notification function can be enabled/disabled, e.g., by operation on the control unit 222. When the abnormality notification function is enabled (S200: YES), the controller 240 detects the status of abnormality in the jet boat 10 (location of the abnormality, cause of the abnormality, type of abnormality, and degree of abnormality, among others) based on the detection results of the abnormality detection device 258, operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 with an abnormality notification pattern according to the detected abnormality status (S210), and proceeds to S160. The abnormalities herein may include:
(1) engine abnormality;
(2) oil pressure abnormality;
(3) battery abnormality;
(4) communication abnormality;
(5) engine temperature abnormality;
(6) fuel level abnormality; and
(7) water depth abnormality.
The abnormality notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light. The abnormality notification pattern includes a plurality of mixed patterns differing from each other in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light according to differences in the detected abnormality status. This allows the abnormality notification pattern to visually and audibly inform the passengers of the type and degree (urgency or priority) of the abnormality that has occurred on the jet boat 10. The abnormality notification pattern may be a pattern in which only lights and speakers near the location of the abnormality (e.g., near the jet propeller 100) are activated. This can visually and audibly inform the passengers of the location of the abnormality. The abnormality notification pattern may be a pattern that varies at least one of the lighting cycle of the light, the brightness or color of the light, the sounding cycle of the speaker, or the pitch of the speaker sound according to the degree of abnormality. This allows the degree of abnormality to be visually and audibly communicated to the passengers.
If the abnormality notification function is disabled (S200: NO), the controller 240 determines whether the water depth notification function is enabled (S220). The water depth notification function is used to indicate the degree of water depth directly under the jet boat 10. The water depth notification function can be enabled/disabled by operation on the control unit 222. If the water depth notification function is enabled (S220: YES), the controller 240 detects the water depth directly under the jet boat 10 based on the detection results of the water depth measuring instrument 254, operates the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 with a water depth notification pattern according to the detected degree of water depth (S230), and proceeds to S160.
The water depth notification pattern is a mixed pattern combining sound and light. The water depth notification pattern includes a plurality of mixed patterns differing from each other in at least one factor of at least one of sound or light according to the degree of water depth detected. This allows the water depth notification pattern to visually and audibly communicate the degree of water depth directly under the jet boat 10 to those on board, those playing on the water surface around the jet boat 10, and the like. The water depth notification pattern can be, e.g., a pattern in which the color of the emitted light or the pitch of the speaker sound is changed in accordance with the depth of the water. If the water depth notification function is disabled (S220: NO), the process proceeds to S160 without executing the process of S230.
The technologies disclosed herein are not limited to the preferred embodiments described above but can be modified in various ways to an extent not departing from the scope of the present invention, e.g., the following modifications are possible.
The configuration of the jet boat 10 and the display device 230 in the above preferred embodiments are only examples and can be modified in various ways. For example, in the above preferred embodiments, the display device 230 is configured to perform the user notification process, but a control device that does not have a display function and is provided with at least the controller 240 and the storage device 242 may be configured to perform the user notification process. The display device 230 is not limited to a touch panel system but may also be configured with a display screen and operation keys provided separately. In the above preferred embodiments, the reception device 252 is provided separately from the controller 240, but the controller 240 may be configured with a reception function (such as an immobilizer or DCM) of the reception device 252.
In the above preferred embodiments, the jet boat 10 equipped with the jet propeller 100 is illustrated as a boat, but the boat may be a water jet propulsion boat or a boat equipped with an inboard engine, an inboard/outboard engine, or an outboard engine. In the above preferred embodiments, the jet boat 10 is provided with the tower 234, but the jet boat 10 may be provided with other structures, such as a top (roof), and the structure may be equipped with a sound emitting device or a light emitting device.
In the above preferred embodiments, the audio system S with six speakers is illustrated as a sound emitting device, but any number (other than six) of speakers may be used. In the above preferred embodiments, the speakers may be arranged in the tower 234. In this specification, light emitting devices shall not include navigation lights.
In the above preferred embodiments, the light system L with five lights is illustrated as a light emitting device, but any number (other than five) of lights may be used. In the above preferred embodiments, the lights may be arranged outside the edge of the hull 200, and the light thereof may be visible from outside the jet boat 10.
In the above preferred embodiments, each mixed pattern may be a pattern in which the light emitting operation by the light emitting device continues after the sound emitting operation by the sound emitting device is completed. For example, the operation notification pattern may be a pattern in which the sound emitting operation by the audio system S and the light emitting operation by the light system L start simultaneously, and then the light emitting operation by the light system L continues after the sound emitting operation by the audio system S is completed. This allows the start of the operational status of the jet boat 10 to be communicated visually and audibly, especially to passengers, while the continuation of the operational status can be communicated visually.
Each mixed pattern may be a pattern in which the sound emitting operation by the sound emitting device continues after the light emitting operation by the light emitting device is completed. For example, the operation notification pattern may be a pattern in which the sound emitting operation by the audio system S and the light emitting operation by the light system L start simultaneously, and then the sound emitting operation by the audio system S continues after the light emitting operation by the light system L is completed. This allows the start of the operational status of the jet boat 10 to be communicated visually and audibly, especially to passengers, while the continuation of the operational status can be communicated audibly.
In the above preferred embodiments, the controller 240 may operate the audio system S, the light system L, and the touch panel 244 in a theft notification pattern when theft of the jet boat 10 is predicted. This may, for example, visually and audibly indicate to those in the vicinity of the anchored jet boat 10 that the jetboat 10 is likely to be stolen. The controller 240 determines, for example, whether the owner (owner key) of the jet boat 10 is nearby. If the owner is not near the jet boat 10 and there is shaking above a predetermined level based on the detection of the gyro sensor 246, the controller 240 determines that the jet boat 10 is likely to be stolen because a suspicious person has boarded the jet boat 10 in the absence of the owner such that theft of the jet boat 10 is highly probable. In this case, the controller 240 and the gyro sensor 246 are examples of the theft predictor.
In the user notification process (
The sound of the mixed pattern may be selected by a user from a plurality of sounds. For example, a plurality of sounds (including melodies) may be stored in advance in the storage device 242, and the controller 240 may have the user select any sound from the plurality of sounds with an operation of the control unit 222 and operate the sound emitting device with the selected sound while operating the light emitting device with the light emission pattern corresponding to that sound (such as tone or melody). The controller 240 may also download sound data from an external server via the interface 250. For example, by downloading the sound (song) of his/her choice, the user may operate the light emitting device with the light emission pattern corresponding to the sound while operating the sound emitting device with the sound of his/her choice. The controller 240 may be configured to automatically generate the light emission pattern in response to the sound by using AI (artificial intelligence).
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it is to be understood that variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention, therefore, is to be determined solely by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-207889 | Dec 2022 | JP | national |
