Marine maneuvering system and marine vessel

Abstract

A marine maneuvering system for maneuvering a vessel body includes a steering including a steering wheel, a manual operator on the steering to cause predetermined functions to the vessel body to be executed, and a controller configured or programmed to change the predetermined functions executed by an operation of the manual operator in accordance with maneuvering modes in which behaviors of the vessel body are mutually different.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A marine maneuvering system for maneuvering a vessel body, the marine maneuvering system comprising:
 a steering including a steering wheel;   at least one manual operator on the steering to cause predetermined functions to the vessel body to be executed; and   a controller configured or programmed to change the functions executed by an operation of the at least one manual operator in accordance with a plurality of maneuvering modes in which behaviors of the vessel body are mutually different.   
     
     
         2 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , wherein an operation motion of the at least one manual operator is same regardless of a maneuvering mode among the plurality of maneuvering modes. 
     
     
         3 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the plurality of maneuvering modes include a first maneuvering mode; and   the controller is configured or programmed to execute a forward movement and a backward movement of the vessel body by the operation of the at least one manual operator in the first maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         4 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the at least one manual operator includes a pair of manual operators protruding from the steering; and   the controller is configured or programmed to execute the forward movement of the vessel body by an operation of one of the pair of manual operators and execute the backward movement of the vessel body by an operation of another of the pair of manual operators in the first maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         5 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the plurality of maneuvering modes include a second maneuvering mode different from the first maneuvering mode; and   the controller is configured or programmed to execute a speed change of the vessel body by the operation of the at least one manual operator in the second maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         6 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured or programmed to in a stepwise manner change a speed of the vessel body in accordance with any one of conditions of a number of operations of the at least one manual operator, a length of a time period of one operation to the manual operator, or an amount of one operation to the at least one manual operator. 
     
     
         7 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the vessel body includes a propulsion device controlled by the controller to generate a propulsion force to propel the vessel body; and   the controller is configured or programmed to change a speed of the vessel body by changing a magnitude of the propulsion force of the propulsion device based on the operation of the at least one manual operator.   
     
     
         8 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 5 , wherein
 the at least one manual operator includes a pair of manual operators that protrude from the steering; and   the controller is configured or programmed to increase the speed of the vessel body by an operation of one of the pair of manual operators and reduce the speed of the vessel body by an operation of another of the pair of manual operators in the second maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         9 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 5 , wherein the controller is configured or programmed to switch from the second maneuvering mode to the first maneuvering mode in a case where the speed of the vessel body decreases and reaches a predetermined value in the second maneuvering mode. 
     
     
         10 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 3 , wherein
 the plurality of maneuvering modes include a third maneuvering mode that is different from the first maneuvering mode; and   the controller is configured or programmed to execute at least one of a movement of the vessel body in a right-left direction and a movement of the vessel body in obliquely right-left-forward-backward directions by the operation of the at least one manual operator in the third maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         11 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 10 , wherein
 the vessel body includes a propulsion device controlled by the controller to generate a propulsion force to propel the vessel body, and a direction converter controlled by the controller to change a traveling direction of the vessel body; and   the controller is configured or programmed to control the propulsion device and the direction converter based on the operation of the at least one manual operator to move the vessel body in the right-left direction or in the obliquely right-left-front-back directions.   
     
     
         12 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 10 , wherein
 the at least one manual operator includes a pair of manual operators protruding from the steering; and   the controller is configured or programmed to move the vessel body in a left direction by an operation of one of the pair of manual operators and move the vessel body in a right direction by an operation of another of the pair of manual operators in the third maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         13 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 10 , wherein
 the at least one manual operator includes a pair of manual operators protruding from the steering; and   the controller is configured or programmed to move the vessel body obliquely left forward or obliquely left backward by an operation of one of the pair of manual operators and move the vessel body obliquely right forward or obliquely right backward by an operation of another of the pair of manual operators in the third maneuvering mode.   
     
     
         14 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a notifier to notify a setting state of each of the plurality of maneuvering modes. 
     
     
         15 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 14 , wherein the notifier includes a display to notify the setting state of each of the plurality of maneuvering modes with an image. 
     
     
         16 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 14 , wherein the notifier is operable to notify the setting state of each of the plurality of maneuvering modes by changing an operation force required for the operation of the at least one manual operator according to each of the plurality of maneuvering modes. 
     
     
         17 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured or programmed to change a rotatable range of the steering wheel in accordance with each of the plurality of maneuvering modes. 
     
     
         18 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the vessel body includes a propulsion device controlled by the controller to generate a propulsion force to propel the vessel body; and   the controller is configured or programmed to not perform a control to the propulsion device or to perform a control to reduce a change rate per a unit time period of the propulsion force of the propulsion device in a case where an operation speed of the at least one manual operator is more than a predetermined value.   
     
     
         19 . The marine maneuvering system according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the steering includes a column to rotatably support the steering wheel; and   the at least one manual operator includes a paddle or a lever that protrudes from the column.   
     
     
         20 . A marine vessel comprising:
 a vessel body; and   a maneuvering system to maneuver the vessel body and including:
 a steering including a steering wheel; 
 a manual operator on the steering to cause predetermined functions to the vessel body to be executed; and 
 a controller configured or programmed to change the predetermined functions caused by an operation of the manual operator in accordance with a plurality of maneuvering modes in which behaviors of the vessel body are mutually different.