Watercraft

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to watercrafts.

A watercraft including a speaker is known (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 11,459,071 B2). The watercraft outputs sounds from the speaker when moving or at rest.

A watercraft according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a watercraft body; a speaker supported by the watercraft body and exposed to an external environment; and processing circuitry supported by the watercraft body, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: acquire status information indicating a status of the watercraft; acquire sound information; based on the sound information, generate a speaker driving current that allows the speaker to emit a sound; and modify the speaker driving current based on the status information.

The above and further objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

is a partially cut-away side view of a watercraftaccording to an exemplary embodiment.is a top view of the watercraftof. The watercraftincludes a watercraft body. The watercraftdescribed in the present embodiment is a personal watercraft designed to accommodate three or less persons including an operator.

The directions as mentioned in the following description are those coinciding with the directions in which the operator seated on a later-described seatfaces. The up-down direction and the transverse direction with respect to the watercraft bodyat rest on the water will be respectively referred to as the “vertical direction” and the “horizontal direction” of the watercraft body. The left-right direction of the watercraft bodymay be referred to as the “watercraft body width direction”.

The watercraft bodyincludes a hulland a deckcovering the upper portion of the hull. The watercraft bodyincludes a front bumper, two side bumpers, and a rear bumper. The front bumperis located forward of and covers the front end portions of the hulland the deck. The side bumpersare located lateral to and cover the side end portions of the hulland the deck. The rear bumperis located rearward of and covers the rear end portions of the hulland the deck.

As shown in, the interior of the watercraft bodyincludes an engine room R, which accommodates an internal combustion engineserving as a drive source. Hereinafter, the internal combustion enginewill be simply referred to as the “engine”. The output shaft of the engineis connected to a propeller shaftextending rearward. The rear end of the propeller shaftis connected to a pump shaftof a waterjet pumplocated in the rear of the hull. An impelleris mounted to the pump shaftA stator vaneis located rearward of the impellerA pump casingis located radially outward of the impellerand encloses the impeller

A water inletopens at the bottom of the hull. The water inletand the pump casingare in communication via a water passageThe pump casingis provided with a pump nozzlefacing rearward of the watercraft body. The pump nozzledecreases in diameter from front to rear, and an ejection orifice opens at the rear end of the pump nozzleTo the ejection orifice of the pump nozzleis connected a steering nozzlewhich is swingable in the left-right direction. A bowl-shaped reverse bucketis located in the vicinity of the steering nozzle. The reverse bucketis pivotally supported by the hulland pivotable between an advanced position where the reverse bucketcovers the ejection orifice of the steering nozzlefrom behind to cause water ejected from the pump nozzleto be redirected forward and a retracted position where the reverse bucketallows the ejection orifice of the steering nozzleto be open in the rearward direction.

In the personal watercraft, water drawn into the hullthrough the water inletlocated at the bottom of the hullis pressurized and accelerated by rotational power of the impellerof the water jet pumpdriven by the engine. The flow of water is regulated by the stator vaneand ejected rearward through the ejection orifice of the pump nozzleand the steering nozzleto produce propulsion power.

As shown in, the deckincludes a seat supportand a pair of foot rests. The seat supportprojects upward from the deck floor on which users can walk. The seat supportsupports from below the seatexposed to the external environment. The seatis a straddle seat on which a user is seated in a straddling position. A coveris located forward of the seatto cover from above a steering post and a space around the steering post. The two foot restsare located to the left and right of the seat support, respectively. The foot restsconstitute a part of the deck floor.

A steering assemblyis located forward of the seat. The steering assemblyincludes a bar-shaped handlelocated above the deck. The handleincludes an accelerator leveras an accelerating action receiver. The accelerator levermay be referred to as “throttle lever”. As shown in, the accelerator leveris located to the right of a center plane C of the watercraft bodythat divides the watercraft bodyinto left and right halves. Once the operator performs an action on the accelerator lever, the flow rate of air supplied to the enginefrom outside the watercraft bodyis adjusted, and accordingly the rotational power of the impellerof the water jet pumpis changed. The handleis pivotable relative to the deck. When the operator tilts the handleto the left or right, the steering nozzleswings to the left or right in conjunction with the tilting of the handle, thereby changing the movement direction of the personal watercraft.

The watercraft bodyis equipped with a meter displayof meter equipment. The meter displaymay be simply referred to as “display”. As shown in, the displayis located forward of the handleand above the watercraft body. The displayis located at the center in the watercraft body width direction. In other words, the location of the displayis such that the center plane C dividing the watercraft bodyinto left and right halves passes through the display.

The displayis located on the upper surface of the cover. More specifically, the steering assemblyincludes: a steering shaft having an upper end connected to the handle, the steering shaft extending obliquely forward and downward from the point of connection to the handle; and a steering post pivotally supporting the steering shaft to allow the steering shaft to pivot relative to the deck. The steering post is located below the handleand above the foot rests, and the covercovers from above the steering post and the space around the steering post. The displayis located on a portion of the upper surface of the cover, the portion of the upper surface being forward of the handle.

The watercraft bodyis equipped with speakers. Each of the speakersincludes a magnet, a coil, and a diaphragm. In the present embodiment, each of the speakersis embodied as a dynamic speaker. Specifically, in each of the speakers, a current (hereinafter referred to as “speaker driving current”) flows through the coil to vibrate the coil relative to the magnet. In each of the speakers, the vibration of the coil entails vibration of the diaphragm, with the result that air is vibrated to produce a sound. The diaphragm is enclosed in a housing, and this prevents emission of any reversely directed sound generated from the diaphragm. The speaker driving current flowing through the coil has a frequency and a current value which depend on the sound to be produced and is generated by an amplifierwhich is an electric circuit. The amplifiergenerates a current that allows each of the speakersto emit a sound represented by a sound signal provided from a sound source device described later. In other words, the amplifiergenerates an amplified current that allows the diaphragm to produce a vibration represented by the sound signal provided from the sound source device. The speakersare located above the hulland supported by the watercraft body. Like the seat, the speakersare exposed to the external environment. In the present embodiment, the speakersinclude two first speakersand two second speakers.

The two first speakers, together with the display, are located on the upper surface of the cover. The two first speakersare symmetrical about the center plane C dividing the watercraft bodyinto left and right halves. The two first speakersare located to the left and right of the display, respectively. The two first speakersare located forward of the handlein the front-rear direction.

Each of the two second speakersis supported by the front end portion of a corresponding one of the pair of foot rests. The two second speakersare symmetrical about the center plane C dividing the watercraft bodyinto left and right halves. The two second speakerare located below the two first speakersand outward of the two first speakersin the watercraft body width direction; that is, the two second speakersare farther from the center plane C than the two first speakers.

Each of the speakersis directional. As shown in, in side view, the sound emission direction in which the first speakerfaces relative to the watercraft bodyand the sound emission direction in which the second speakerfaces relative to the watercraft bodydiffer from each other. That is, a sound axis Lextending from the first speakeralong the central axis of the first speakerand a sound axis Lextending from the second speakeralong the central axis of the second speakerare not parallel to each other. As shown in, when the watercraftis at rest on the water, both the first speakerand the second speakerare located such that the sound axes Land Lpass through the vicinity of the head of the operator seated on the seat. In side view, the sound axis Lof the first speakerand the sound axis Lof the second speakerintersect above a front portion of the seat, i.e., in the vicinity of the head of the operator seated on the seat.

As shown in, in top view, the sound axes Lof the two first speakersintersect behind the handleand in the center plane C of the watercraft body. In top view, the sound axes Lof the two second speakersintersect behind the handleand in the center plane C of the watercraft body. In, only the sound axis LI of the left first speakerand the sound axis Lof the left second speakerare shown by dashed-double dotted lines for clarity of the figure. In this example, the point of intersection of the sound axes Lof the two first speakersand the point of intersection of the sound axes Lof the two second speakersare at the same location in top view. In top view, the sound axes Lof the first speakersintersect with the sound axes Lof the second speakersabove the front portion of the seat, i.e., in the vicinity of the head of the operator seated on the seat. The point of intersection of the sound axes Lof the two first speakersand the point of intersection of the sound axes Lof the two second speakersneed not coincide with each other in top view but may be at different locations in top view.

is a partially enlarged perspective view of the watercraftof, showing the steering assemblyand its vicinity as viewed from the left rear side. The watercraft bodyis equipped with a meter-related action receiverand an audio-related action receiver.

The meter-related action receiveris located on a portion of the upper surface of the cover, the portion of the upper surface being rearward of the steering assemblyand forward of a central front endof the seat. The meter-related action receiverincludes a rotatable adjusting knoband push buttonsThe audio-related action receiveris located on the upper surface of the coverand to the left of the display. The audio-related action receiverincludes a rotatable adjusting knoband push buttons

is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control system of the watercraftof.

The watercraftincludes at least one sensor or switch. For example, the watercraftincludes an accelerator position sensor, a fuel sensor, a reverse position sensor, a trim switch, and a location sensor.

The watercraftincludes a fuel injection electronic control unit(hereinafter referred to as “FI-ECU”) and an electric reverse electronic control unit(hereinafter referred to as “R-ECU”). The meter equipment, the FI-ECU, and the R-ECUare communicatively connected to one another via a controller area networkwhich may be called a CAN.

The FI-ECUincludes a CPU (Central Processing Unit)and a memory. The CPUand the memoryare communicatively connected to each other. The CPUcontrols the operations of the FI-ECU. The memorystores various programs and data required for the operations of the FI-ECU. The memoryfurther stores information received from various sensors. The memoryneed not be a single storage device but may be constituted by two or more storage devices. For example, the memorymay be any one of different storage devices such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, and a flash memory or may be a combination of two or more of these storage devices. For example, the operations of the FI-ECUare implemented by the CPUexecuting the programs stored in the memory.

The accelerator position sensoris electrically connected to the FI-ECU. The engine, which is an object to be controlled by the FI-ECU, is also electrically connected to the FI-ECU.

The accelerator position sensordetects the amount of an accelerating action performed by the operator on the accelerator lever. The CPUof the FI-ECUreceives accelerating action information indicating the amount of the accelerating action and controls the enginebased on the accelerating action information.

A buzzeris also electrically connected to the FI-ECU. The FI-ECUincludes a buzzer driving circuit that outputs a buzzer driving current to the buzzer. The buzzeris configured to emit a sound using a piezoelectric element. For example, the FI-ECUdoes or does not cause the buzzerto output a buzzer sound depending on the status of the engine. The CPUdetermines whether a given alert condition for activation of the buzzeris satisfied. Upon determining that the alert condition is satisfied, the CPUoutputs a buzzer driving current from the buzzer driving circuit to the buzzerand activates the buzzerby the buzzer driving current, thus causing the buzzerto output a buzzer sound. The speakersdescribed above can emit louder sounds than the buzzer. Preferably, the speakerscan emit sounds over a wider range of frequencies than the buzzer.

For example, the alert condition may be that the remaining amount of the fuel of the engineis equal to or smaller than a given threshold. In the present embodiment, the fuel sensoris electrically connected to the FI-ECU. The fuel sensordetects the remaining amount of the fuel of the engineserving as a drive source. The CPUof the FI-ECUreceives remaining fuel information indicating the remaining amount of the fuel of the enginefrom the fuel sensorand determines whether the remaining amount is equal to or smaller than a given threshold. Upon determining that the remaining amount is equal to or smaller than the threshold, the CPUcauses the buzzer driving circuit to output a buzzer driving current to the buzzerand causes the buzzerto output a buzzer sound in order to inform the operator that the remaining amount of the fuel of the engineis small.

For example, the alert condition may be that the engineis malfunctioning. For example, upon acquiring information about a fault or malfunction of a component such as a fuel injector or igniter of the engine, the CPUof the FI-ECUmay cause the buzzer driving circuit to output a buzzer driving current to the buzzerand cause the buzzerto output a buzzer sound.

The FI-ECUsends the remaining fuel information received from the fuel sensorto the meter equipmentvia the CAN.

The R-ECUincludes a CPUand a memory. The CPUand the memoryare communicatively connected to each other. The CPUcontrols the operations of the R-ECU. The memorystores various programs and data required for the operations of the R-ECU. The memoryfurther stores information received from various sensors. The memoryneed not be a single storage device but may be constituted by two or more storage devices. For example, the memorymay be any one of different storage devices such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, and a flash memory or may be a combination of two or more of these storage devices. For example, the operations of the R-ECUare implemented by the CPUexecuting the programs stored in the memory.

The reverse position sensorand the trim switchare electrically connected to the R-ECU. The R-ECUis electrically connected to a reverse actuatorand a trim actuatorwhich are objects to be controlled by the R-ECU.

The reverse position sensordetects an action performed by the operator to switch the watercraftbetween forward movement and rearward movement. Specifically, the handleincludes a reverse lever that receives the operator's action, and the reverse position sensordetects an action performed by the operator on the reverse lever. The reverse actuatorchanges the position of the reverse bucket. The CPUof the R-ECUreceives, from the reverse position sensor, reverse action information indicating an action performed by the operator to switch the watercraftbetween forward movement and rearward movement, and operates the reverse actuatorbased on the received reverse action information. The reverse actuatormoves the reverse bucketbetween the retracted and advanced positions previously described, thus allowing the watercraftto move forward or rearward.

The trim actuatoris an actuator that adjusts the trim angle of the watercraft body. The trim angle is the angle of the front-rear direction of the watercraft bodywith respect to a horizontal plane. The trim angle, which is the angle in the direction of pitching of the watercraft body, may be referred to as “pitch angle”. The bow of a watercraft might be uplifted as the movement speed of the watercraft increases. In the present embodiment, the watercraftcan adjust the position of the bow while moving; that is, the watercraftcan adjust the trim angle while moving. Specifically, the steering nozzleis pivotable relative to the watercraft bodyabout an axis extending in the left-right direction. The trim actuatormoves the steering nozzleabout the axis extending in the left-right direction of the watercraft bodyrelative to the front-rear direction of the watercraft body, thus adjusting the angular position of the steering nozzleabout the axis.

The trim actuatoroperates in response to an action performed by the operator on the trim switch. The trim switchis located on the handle(see) and receives an action performed by the operator to change the trim angle. The trim switchsends to the R-ECUa trim angle command value corresponding to the action performed by the operator on the trim switch. The CPUof the R-ECUoperates the trim actuatorbased on the trim angle command value to change the direction in which the steering nozzleextends. Thus, the trim angle of the watercraft bodyis adjusted.

The R-ECUsends the trim angle command value, which corresponds to the action performed by the operator on the trim switch, to the meter equipmentvia the CAN.

The meter equipmentpresents various pieces of information to the operator. The meter equipmentincludes a CPU, a memory, a display, and a communicator. The components,,, andare communicatively connected to one another.

The CPUcontrols the operations of the meter equipment. The memorystores various programs and data required for the operations of the meter equipment. The memoryneed not be a single storage device but may be constituted by two or more storage devices. For example, the memorymay be any one of different storage devices such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk, and a flash memory or may be a combination of two or more of these storage devices. For example, the operations of the meter equipmentare implemented by the CPUexecuting the programs stored in the memory.

The CPUcontrols the contents displayed on the displaybased on received information. In the present embodiment, the displayis a liquid crystal display that displays information in digital form. The meter equipmentmay include an instrument that indicates the moving speed or the like in analog form, instead of or in addition to the display.

The meter-related action receiveris electrically connected to the meter equipment. The meter-related action receiverreceives actions performed by the operator in relation to the meter equipment. For example, the meter-related action receiverreceives an action related to on-screen image switching of the display, an action related to switching between drive modes described later, or any other related action. For example, like the audio-related action receiver, the meter-related action receivermay receive actions performed by the operator in relation to sounds output by the speakers.

In the present embodiment, the meter equipmenthas not only the meter display function of presenting various pieces of information to the operator but also an audio control function of controlling sounds output by the speakers. The meter equipmentis electrically connected to the speakersvia the amplifier. The meter equipmentoutputs a current to the amplifierbased on sound information to be output by the speakers. The sound information is, for example, an audio content such as music, and the current output to the amplifieris tailored to the audio content. An audio player serving as a sound source device may be electrically connected to the meter equipment. In this case, the meter equipmentmay acquire a sound signal such as music information from the audio player and provide the sound signal to the amplifier. A mobile terminal serving as a wireless communicator may be electrically connected to the meter equipment. In this case, the meter equipmentmay acquire a sound signal such as a telephone signal from the mobile terminal and provide the sound signal to the amplifier. For example, the meter equipmentincludes a digital-analog conversion circuit that converts audio contents from digital signals to analog signals. The amplifieramplifies the input current and outputs the amplified current to the speakers.

In the present embodiment, the meter equipmentreceives sound information, which is to be output by the speakers, from an external entity via the communicator. The communicatoris a module including a communication circuit that enables wireless communication with a mobile terminalcarried by a person on board the watercraft. The mobile terminalis, for example, a smartphone. The communicatoris embodied, for example, as an antenna or a RF (Radio Frequency) circuit. In the present embodiment, the wireless communication between the communicatorand the mobile terminalis near field communication such as Bluetooth™ communication, and the communicatorand the mobile terminalare enabled to wirelessly communicate with each other through pairing. Alternatively, the communicatorand the mobile terminalmay be communicatively connected to each other by wire.

Once the user performs an action on the mobile terminalto select an audio content to be output by the speakers, the selected audio content is sent from the mobile terminalto the meter equipmentvia the communicator. The volume of the sounds output by the speakerscan also be controlled by using the mobile terminal. That is, once the user performs an action on the mobile terminalto designate a sound volume, a sound volume command indicating the designated sound volume is sent from the mobile terminalto the meter equipmentvia the communicator. The meter equipmentadjusts the speaker driving current based on the received sound volume command, thus adjusting the volume of the sounds output by the speakers.

The audio content selection and the sound volume adjustment can be accomplished not only through actions on the mobile terminalbut also through actions on the audio-related action receiver. The audio-related action receiveris electrically connected to the meter equipment. The audio-related action receiverreceives actions performed by the operator in relation to sounds output by the speakers. For example, the audio-related action receiverreceives an action to adjust the sound volume, a skip-forward action to play the next piece of music, a skip-backward action to play the previous piece of music, a muting action, an action to switch between audio modes described later, or any other related action.

A command corresponding to a manual action on the audio-related action receiveris sent from the meter equipmentto the mobile terminalvia the communicator. The mobile terminalperforms control based on the received command. For example, in a case where an action such as the skip-forward action is performed on the audio-related action receiverto selectively change the audio content from one audio content to another, a command corresponding to the performed action is sent to the mobile terminal, and the mobile terminalchanges the audio content to be sent to the meter equipmentbased on the command.

When the watercraftis moving, the meter equipmentblocks reception of action information indicating an action performed on the meter-related action receiver. The meter equipmentreceives action information indicating an action performed on the audio-related action receiver, regardless of whether or not the watercraftis moving. Since the meter equipmentreceives action information indicating an action performed on the audio-related action receivereven when the watercraftis moving, the operator can change the music or adjust the sound volume while maneuvering the watercraft.

shows an example of a meter image G displayed on the displayof the watercraftof. The meter image G includes a drive mode area R, a moving speed area B, a trim angle area B, a fuel amount area B, and an audio area B.

The drive mode area Ris an area that displays a drive mode of the watercraft. In the present embodiment, the engineis controlled in accordance with a drive mode selected from predetermined drive modes. The drive mode area Rdisplays the currently selected drive mode. In the present embodiment, the drive mode can be switched in response to an action performed by the operator on the meter-related action receiver.