Operation support system for personal watercraft and personal watercraft

Abstract

An operation support system for a personal watercraft includes: a personal watercraft including a display unit and a detection unit; and a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with the detection unit and attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft. The display unit includes a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-006984, filed on Jan. 17, 2025, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a personal watercraft that slides over water and an operation support system for the personal watercraft.BACKGROUND ART

[0003] A personal watercraft (PWC) that slides on water such as the sea, a lake, and a river is known. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2024 / 0124109 discloses an operation support system that supports water navigation of a personal watercraft.

[0004] The personal watercraft is boarded by not only the operator but also passengers, items, and the like. It is necessary for the operator to grasp the loading situation of an onboard object and to promptly take actions, such as stopping or collecting, when the onboard object falls overboard or a similar situation occurs. However, conventionally, there has been a case where an operator cannot grasp a situation of an onboard object, for example, a fall overboard from a personal watercraft in a timely manner.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an operation support system for a personal watercraft and a personal watercraft, which enable an operator to accurately grasp a situation of an onboard object.

[0006] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a personal watercraft including a display unit and a detection unit; a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with the detection unit and attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, in which the display unit includes a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed.

[0007] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes: a personal watercraft including a display device and a detection unit; a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with the detection unit and attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, in which the display device includes a display area where presence information of the wireless terminal is displayed.

[0008] A personal watercraft according to still another aspect of the present disclosure is a personal watercraft capable of wirelessly communicating with a wireless terminal attached to a loaded object, the personal watercraft including: a watercraft body; a display unit equipped on the watercraft body and including a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed; a detection unit that is disposed in the watercraft body and performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal; and a seat on which a passenger is seated, in which the seat includes a front seat on which an operator of the personal watercraft is seated and a rear seat on which an occupant other than the operator is seated, and the detection unit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an operation support system for a personal watercraft and a personal watercraft that enable an operator to accurately grasp a situation of an onboard object.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of an operation support system including a partially cutaway side view of a personal watercraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the personal watercraft;

[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation support system;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display panel of the personal watercraft;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another display example of the display panel of the personal watercraft;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of display levels of fall overboard detection display;

[0016] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the fall overboard detection display and an example of an icon;

[0017] FIG. 8 is a tabular diagram illustrating a relationship between the icon of the fall overboard detection display and display content thereof; and

[0018] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of fall overboard detection processing.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of a personal watercraft 1 and an operation support system NS according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, front, rear, left, and right direction indications are attached. These directions coincide with directions viewed from an operator MI boarding the personal watercraft 1. In the embodiment described below, an example will be described in which the personal watercraft 1 is a jet propulsion personal watercraft that navigates on the water in reaction to water flow being ejected backward.Overall Structure of Personal Watercraft

[0020] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a configuration of an operation support system NS including a partially cutaway side view of the personal watercraft 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the personal watercraft 1. The operation support system NS includes the personal watercraft 1 and a wireless terminal 6 attached to the operator and occupants. FIGS. 1 and 2 exemplify the personal watercraft 1 for three passengers on which the operator M1 and two occupants M2 and M3 can board. The personal watercraft 1 is a straddle-type jet propulsion watercraft that jets a water flow backward and navigates in reaction to the water flow. The wireless terminal 6 is attached to the operator M1 and the occupants M2 and M3. The attachment of the wireless 6 to the operator M1 may be omitted. The wireless terminal 6 may be attached to an object such as a luggage loaded on the personal watercraft 1.

[0021] The personal watercraft 1 includes a watercraft body 10, a main propulsion device 2, a controller 4, and a detection unit 5. The watercraft body 10 is equipped with a display panel 16 as a display unit of the present disclosure. The main propulsion device 2 includes an engine 21 and a jet pump 3 which are sources of propulsive force. The detection unit 5 is disposed inside the watercraft body 10. The wireless terminal 6 can wirelessly communicate with the detection unit 5.

[0022] The watercraft body 10 includes a hull 11 and a deck 12 covering the upper surface of the hull 11 and is propelled with jet water flows. The hull 11 and the deck 12 are connected to each other over the entire circumference by a gunwale line 10G. A handlebar 13, a seat 14, a rear floor 15, and the display panel 16 are disposed on the deck 12. The handlebar 13 is provided with an accelerator 17, an operation unit 18, and a stop switch 19.

[0023] The handlebar 13 is operated by the operator MI to steer the personal watercraft 1. The handlebar 13 is attached to a front portion of the deck 12. The seat 14 is disposed at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the deck 12. The seat 14 is a seat on which a passenger is seated. The seat 14 includes a front seat 14A on which the operator M1 is seated and a rear seat 14B on which occupants M2 and M3 other than the operator M1 are seated. The seat 14 may be a two-passenger seat including the operator M1, a four-passenger seat, or the like. The rear floor 15 is a flat portion located behind the seat 14. The rear floor 15 is used as, for example, a luggage space or a platform for the operator MI or the occupants M2 and M3 to ride on the seat 14 from the water.

[0024] The display panel 16 is also attached to the front of the handlebar 13 in the left-right direction of the watercraft body 10, that is, near the center in the width direction of the watercraft body 10. The display panel 16 displays various types of information related to the navigation of the personal watercraft 1, such as the cruising speed, the engine speed, the remaining amount of fuel, and the traveling direction of the personal watercraft 1. Further, the display panel 16 of the present embodiment has a display area where the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 is displayed. The display area will be described in detail later.

[0025] The accelerator 17 is a throttle lever that adjusts the output of the engine 21. The cruising speed of the personal watercraft 1 is adjusted by a grip operation of the accelerator 17 by the operator M1. The operation unit 18 includes buttons, dials, levers, and the like for performing various operations on the personal watercraft 1. The operation unit 18 includes a start switch of the personal watercraft 1, a display switching button of the display panel 16, and the like.

[0026] The stop switch 19 is operated to forcibly stop the engine 21. When the operator M1 rides on the personal watercraft 1, one end of a string-like tether 101 is connected to the stop switch 19. The other end of the tether 101 is attached to an arm or the like of the operator M1. When the one end of the tether 101 is detached from the stop switch 19, the stop switch 19 is activated to stop the engine 21. Therefore, when a fall overboard or the like of the operator M1 occurs, the personal watercraft 1 can be stopped.

[0027] The main propulsion device 2 generates a driving force for sliding the personal watercraft 1. In addition to the engine 21 and the jet pump 3 described above, the main propulsion device 2 includes a reverse bucket 37, a battery 23, and a shift motor 25 illustrated in FIG. 3. The engine 21 is accommodated in an engine room provided inside the hull 11. The engine 21 is, for example, a water-cooled 4-stroke multicylinder engine using gasoline as fuel, and generates a driving force for driving the jet pump 3. The engine 21 is supplied with fuel from a fuel tank 24. The engine 21 includes a crankshaft 22 extending in the front-rear direction.

[0028] A water intake 31 and an impeller passage 32 are provided in a rear region of the hull 11. The water intake 31 is open to the ship bottom of the watercraft body 10. The impeller passage 32 extends rearward from the water intake 31 and reaches the rear end side surface of the hull 11. In order to apply a propulsive force to the personal watercraft 1, the jet pump 3 pressurizes and accelerates the water taken into the impeller passage 32 from the water intake 31, and jets the water rearward. The jet pump 3 is disposed behind the engine 21.

[0029] The jet pump 3 includes an impeller shaft 33, an impeller 34, a jet nozzle 35, and a reverse bucket 37. The impeller 34 is attached to the rear end of the impeller shaft 33. A front end of the impeller shaft 33 is connected to a rear end of the crankshaft 22. The impeller 34 rotates around an axis to generate a jet water flow. The driving force of the engine 21 is transmitted to the impeller 34 via the crankshaft 22 and the impeller shaft 33.

[0030] The jet nozzle 35 has a jet outlet port 36 through which a jet water flow generated by the impeller 34 is jetted. The jet nozzle 35 is rotatable about an axis extending in the vertical direction. By the steering of the handlebar 13, the jetting direction of the jet water flow from the jet outlet port 36, that is, the propulsion direction of the personal watercraft 1 is changed to the left and right. The discharge port of the impeller passage 32 is the jet outlet port 36. The impeller passage 32 is a water passage for pressurizing water sucked from the water intake 31 by the impeller 34 and injecting the water from the jet outlet port 36.

[0031] The reverse bucket 37 is disposed to be swingable in the vertical direction near the jet outlet port 36. The reverse bucket 37 can change its posture between an upper forward position not covering the jet outlet port 36 and a lower reverse position covering the jet outlet port 36. When the reverse bucket 37 is in the forward position, the jet water flow is ejected rearward to advance the watercraft body 10. On the other hand, when the reverse bucket 37 is in the reverse position, the jet water flow is bent forward by the reverse bucket 37 and the watercraft body 10 moves backward. When the position of the reverse bucket 37 is in a neutral position between the forward position and the reverse position, the movement of the watercraft body 10 substantially stops.

[0032] The shift motor 25 (FIG. 3) drives the reverse bucket 37. The reverse bucket 37 is posture-changed to any one of the forward position, the reverse position, and the neutral position by the shift motor 25. The shift motor 25 is driven in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 18. The battery 23 supplies electric power to various electric devices equipped on the watercraft body 10 including the shift motor 25.

[0033] The controller 4 is a control device including, as a main part, a microcomputer including a processor that performs calculation, memories such as a ROM and a RAM, and various input / output buses. The detection unit 5 includes a transceiver which performs a wireless communication operation with respect to the wireless terminal 6 in order to recognize whether or not the wireless terminal 6 exists within the communicable range. The detection unit 5 is data-communicably connected to the controller 4 via an input / output bus. Controller 4 and the detection unit 5 as disclosed herein may be implemented using circuitry or processing circuitry which includes general purpose processors, special purpose processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (“Application Specific Integrated Circuits”), FPGAs (“Field-Programmable Gate Arrays”) and / or combinations thereof which are programmed, using one or more programs stored in one or more memories, or otherwise configured to perform the disclosed functionality. Processors and controllers are considered processing circuitry or circuitry as they include transistors and other circuitry therein. In the disclosure, the circuitry, units, or means are hardware that carry out or are programmed to perform the recited functionality. The hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein which is programmed or configured to carry out the recited functionality. The functional configurations of the controller 4 and the detection unit 5 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

[0034] The wireless terminal 6 is a wireless transceiver that directly performs wireless communication with the detection unit 5 mounted on the personal watercraft 1 without a base station. The radio wave transmitted from the wireless terminal 6 is a relatively weak radio wave recognized by the detection unit 5 on the condition that the separation distance from the detection unit 5 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. For example, the wireless terminal 6 and the detection unit 5 perform wireless communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark) or LF long wave communication. The wireless terminal 6 is a small device that is easily attached to and detached from a passenger or a loaded object of the personal watercraft 1. FIG. 1 illustrates, as wireless terminal 6, an operator wireless terminal 60 worn by operator M1, a first wireless terminal 61 worn by first occupant M2, and a second wireless terminal 62 worn by second occupant M3.

[0035] An arrangement position of the detection unit 5 on the watercraft body 10 will be described. Externally, the detection unit 5 includes a housing incorporating a communication device. The detection unit 5 is disposed below the rear seat 14B of the seat 14. More specifically, the detection unit 5 is disposed below the rear seat 14B near the middle between the two rear seats 14B on which the occupants M2 and M3 are seated and in the vicinity of the center of the watercraft body 10 in the width direction.

[0036] When the detection unit 5 is disposed as described above, the wireless terminals 61 and 62 attached to the occupants M2 and M3 not holding the tether 101 are disposed near the detection unit 5. As described above, the wireless terminals 61 and 62 have a short communicable distance. By reducing the distance between the wireless terminals 61 and 62 and the detection unit 5, the communication accuracy between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminals 61 and 62 can be improved. Note that the detection unit 5 may be disposed below the rear seat 14B on the front side or below the rear seat 14B on the rear side, or may be disposed offset to the right or left from the center in the width direction. When the wireless communicable distance between the wireless terminals 61 and 62 is relatively long, the detection unit 5 may be disposed at any position of the watercraft body 10.

[0037] The detection unit 5 is disposed above the engine 21. That is, the detection unit 5 is disposed inside the watercraft body 10 between the rear seat 14B of the seat 14 and the engine 21. With such an arrangement, the engine 21 is not interposed between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminals 61 and 62 attached to the occupants M2 and M3. Therefore, the wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminals 61 and 62 is hardly hindered by noise or the like generated by the operation of the engine 21. In addition, since the detection unit 5 is disposed in the watercraft body 10, there is also an advantage that design of the personal watercraft 1 is not affected.Configuration of Operation Support System

[0038] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical functional configuration of the operation support system NS. The display panel 16 includes a wireless terminal display area DA in a display screen. The wireless terminal display area DA is a display area where the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 is displayed. The recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 is determined based on the state of wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6. For example, the wireless terminal display area DA displays that a fall overboard of the occupants M2 and M3 or other loaded objects has occurred due to interruption of the wireless communication, that the fall overboard has not occurred due to the normal wireless communication, and the like. A display mode of the wireless terminal display area DA will be described in detail later.

[0039] The personal watercraft 1 includes a sensor group 26 and a buzzer 27 as a notification device as components not illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sensor group 26 includes various sensors that detect an operation status and state information of the personal watercraft 1. The sensor group 26 includes, for example, a sensor that detects the engine speed of the engine 21, a speed sensor that detects the cruising speed of the personal watercraft 1, a seat pressure sensor that detects the seating of the passenger on the seat 14, and a fuel sensor that detects the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank 24.

[0040] When a predetermined alarm activation condition occurs, the buzzer 27 generates a warning sound for notifying the operator M1 of an abnormality or alerting the operator M1. In addition to the wireless terminal display area DA, the buzzer 27 may serve to notify absence information indicating the absence of the wireless terminal 6. The absence of the wireless terminal 6 is caused by, for example, a fall overboard of the occupants M2 and M3 or a loaded object. In this case, in addition to the display on the display panel 16, the operator MI can recognize falling of the occupants M2 and M3 or the loaded object by the warning sound emitted by the buzzer 27.

[0041] The display panel 16 may have a notification function equivalent to that of the buzzer 27 in addition to the display in the wireless terminal display area DA. That is, the display panel 16 may also serve as a notification device for the absence of the wireless terminal 6. Examples of the notification function include provision of an electronic sound notification function to display panel 16, blinking of the display screen, and a change in background color.

[0042] The controller 4 functionally includes a main control unit 41, a display control unit 42, and a drive control unit 43 by operation of a predetermined program. The main control unit 41 comprehensively controls the overall operation of the personal watercraft 1. The main control unit 41 controls the operation of the personal watercraft 1 based on operation information from the operation unit 18 and the stop switch 19 and detection information from the sensor group 26.

[0043] The display control unit 42 controls a display operation on the display panel 16. The display control unit 42 controls a fall overboard display operation in the wireless terminal display area DA based on the information regarding the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 given from the detection unit 5. The drive control unit 43 controls the operation of the main propulsion device 2 including the engine 21 and the shift motor 25. The drive control unit 43 operates the main propulsion device 2 based on operation control information given from the main control unit 41 and operation information of the accelerator 17.

[0044] The detection unit 5 performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal 6 for recognition of the wireless terminal 6, and notifies the controller 4 of the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6. The wireless terminal 6 is a communication device independent of the personal watercraft 1, and includes a battery 6B serving as an operation power source independently. The wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 may be, for example, communication of an inquiry signal and a reply signal. For example, the detection unit 5 is on the master side, the wireless terminal 6 is on the slave side, and the detection unit 5 transmits the inquiry signal along the cycle of the clock pulse. The wireless terminal 6 that has received the inquiry signal transmits a reply signal. In order to improve the communication quality, an error correction code may be described by providing redundant bits in a transmission signal, or interference in a period may be suppressed by making a transmission period random.

[0045] The detection unit 5 functionally includes a communication control unit 51, a trigger detection unit 52, and a determination unit 53. Note that the trigger detection unit 52 and the determination unit 53 also play a part of the functions of the “communication control unit” in the present disclosure. The communication control unit 51 controls wireless communication for recognition of the wireless terminal 6. The communication control unit 51 controls an operation of outputting an inquiry signal with an identification code for each cycle of a clock pulse and an operation of receiving a reply signal to the inquiry signal.

[0046] The trigger detection unit 52 detects whether the current operation status of the personal watercraft 1 meets a trigger condition that is a predetermined recognition start condition for the wireless terminal 6. The determination unit 53 executes recognition processing for recognizing the wireless terminal 6. The recognition process is a process of determining whether or not the wireless terminal 6 is present within the communicable range of the detection unit 5 based on whether or not communication by wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is established. The establishment of the communication is determined based on the reception of a reply signal to the inquiry signal transmitted to the wireless terminal 6 by the communication control unit 51. The determination unit 53 starts the recognition processing when the trigger detection unit 52 detects a predetermined trigger condition. Specific examples of the trigger condition will be described later.Specific Example of Display on Display Panel

[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example on a display screen 7 displayed on the display panel 16 of the personal watercraft 1. The display control unit 42 of the controller 4 controls the display state on the display screen 7. The display screen 7 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a speed display area 71, an engine speed display area 72, a fuel remaining amount display area 73, a shift display area 74, a traveling direction display area 75, a trim angle display area 76, and a fall overboard detection display area 77 as a display area of the present disclosure. The fall overboard detection display area 77 is an example of the wireless terminal display area DA illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0048] The speed display area 71 digitally displays the cruising speed of the personal watercraft 1. The engine speed display area 72 displays the engine speed of the engine 21 in a bar graph format. The fuel remaining amount display area 73 displays the remaining amount of fuel stored in the fuel tank 24 in a bar graph format. The shift display area 74 displays the traveling direction of the personal watercraft 1 in simplified symbols. The traveling direction display area 75 displays the traveling direction of the personal watercraft 1. The trim angle display area 76 displays the vertical inclination angle of the bow of the watercraft body 10. The fall overboard detection display area 77 displays information on a fall overboard of an object which is loaded on the personal watercraft 1 and to which the wireless terminal 6 is attached as an icon.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display screen 7A of the display panel 16 according to another display example. The display contents of the display screen 7A are the same as those of the display screen 7 in FIG. 4. However, the display screen 7A is different from the display screen 7 in that display modes of the speed display area 71, the engine speed display area 72, and the fuel remaining amount display area 73 are in an analog meter format. The fall overboard detection display area 77 is set inside a circular display of engine speed display area 72. The display screens 7 and 7A in FIGS. 4 and 5 are merely examples, and the display screen of the display panel 16 can be set by appropriately combining analog display, digital display, icon display, moving image display, and the like.

[0050] In the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, as an example of the display of the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6, the fall overboard detection display area 77 is provided on the display screens 7 and 7A. As a result, the operator M1 can visually confirm, on the display panel 16, a fall overboard from the personal watercraft 1 of the occupants M2 and M3 and onboard objects such as luggage to which the wireless terminal 6 is attached, and a status where no fall overboard has occurred. During operation of the personal watercraft 1, the operator M1 normally faces forward, and an engine sound and a water flow sound of the jet pump 3 are also generated. Therefore, even if the occupants M2 and M3 in the rear seat 14B fall, the operator M1 may not be aware of the fall overboard. By providing the fall overboard detection display area 77 on the display panel 16 that can be easily visually recognized by the operator M1, the operator M1 can easily recognize the fall overboard of the occupants M2 and M3. By sounding the buzzer 27 when the fall overboard is displayed, it is easier to recognize the fall overboard.

[0051] The display of the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 is to display whether the communication between the wireless terminal 6 attached to some loaded object and the detection unit 5 in the watercraft body 10 is established or not, and does not necessarily need to be the display of the presence or absence of the occurrence of the fall overboard. For example, the display may be a display indicating only that the wireless terminal 6 exists within the communicable range of the detection unit 5, or a display indicating that the wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is valid. Also by these displays, the operator M1 can check at least whether the wireless terminal 6 is correctly attached to the occupants M2 and M3, whether a malfunction such as a failure or a battery exhaustion occurs in the wireless terminal 6, and the like on the display panel 16.

[0052] In a case where the information regarding the fall overboard is displayed as the display of the recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to adopt an aspect in which the fall overboard display or the non-fall overboard display is performed in the fall overboard detection display area 77. The fall overboard display is a display indicating that loaded objects including the occupants M2 and M3 have fallen overboard from the personal watercraft 1. The non-fall overboard display is a display indicating a situation other than the fall overboard. With such an alternative display, the operator M1 can also confirm, on the display panel 16, falling of the onboard objects from the personal watercraft 1 and a situation where the onboard objects have not fallen overboard.

[0053] The fall overboard display is not particularly limited as long as it can clearly express the occurrence of a fall overboard. As a display mode of the situation other than the fall overboard in the non-fall overboard display, various examples can be given. For example, (1) display indicating that the wireless terminal 6 is present, (2) display of the identification number of the recognized wireless terminal 6, (3) display indicating that the wireless terminal 6 cannot be recognized although it is not a fall overboard, (4) display of the remaining level of the battery 6B of the wireless terminal 6, (5) display of a situation in which an error occurs in wireless communication, (6) display of a failure of the wireless communication device, (7) display related to the boarding positions of the occupants M2 and M3 to which the wireless terminal 6 is attached, and the like can be exemplified as the display mode of the situation other than the fall overboard.

[0054] The display mode (1) is a mode of displaying that the wireless terminal 6 is effectively present within the communication range of the detection unit 5 in some form. The display mode (2) is an example of the display mode (1). The display mode (3) is a display indicating that the fall overboard detection process for the wireless terminal 6 is disabled regardless of the cause. The display mode (4) is a display of the remaining capacity or battery exhaustion of the battery 6B. The display mode (5) is a display of a communication error caused by erroneous recognition of wireless communication data, malfunction of data transmission / reception, superimposition of noise, or the like. The display mode (6) is a display indicating occurrence of a failure in the detection unit 5 or the wireless terminal 6. The display mode (7) is a display indicating that the wireless terminal 6 is out of the communication area of the detection unit 5 because the occupants M2 and M3 are not normally seated on the rear seat 14B of the seat 14. In the display of the display mode (7), the detection result of the seat pressure sensor incorporated in the seat 14 may be referred to.

[0055] The non-fall overboard display can be roughly classified into the following two categories (A) and (B).(A) Display of a situation where the wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is established and no fall overboard has occurred(B) Situation where wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is not established

[0056] The category (A) is a display indicating that the fall overboard detection is normally continued. The above display modes (1) and (2) are displays of category (A). In the display mode (4), the remaining amount display other than the battery exhaustion can be treated as an alternative display indicating that the fall overboard detection has been normally executed. The category (B) is a display indicating that normal fall overboard detection has not been executed. The display factor of the category (B) is, for example, that the wireless terminal 6 is not attached to a loaded object in the first place, or that wireless communication is malfunctioning due to a communication failure, a device failure, or the like. The category (B) generally results in an error in the wireless communication in the above display mode (5). The display modes (3), (6), and (7) are displays of the category (B) as a specific example of a communication error. In the display mode (4), the display of battery exhaustion is also the display of the category (B).

[0057] It is desirable that categories (A) and (B) are distinguished and displayed in the fall overboard detection display area 77. In this case, the operator M1 can distinguish a fall overboard of a loaded object, a state in which a fall overboard detection is active and a fall overboard has not been detected, and an OFF state where it has been unable to detect a fall overboard. For example, the operator M1 can distinguish a fall overboard from an error in wireless communication due to battery exhaustion or insufficient remaining capacity of the wireless terminal 6, or malfunction of the wireless terminal 6.

[0058] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of display levels of the fall overboard detection display on the display panel 16. FIG. 6 illustrates a first level screen DP1 and a second level screen DP2 of the display panel 16 selected at the time of registration of the wireless terminal 6. The registration of the wireless terminal 6 means that the wireless terminal 6 is set to enable wireless communication with the detection unit 5 of the personal watercraft 1.

[0059] The first level screen DP1 of the display level 1 is a display mode selection screen in the display panel 16. When “setting” is selected from the selection elements of the first level screen DP1, the display of the display panel 16 transitions to the second level screen DP2 of the display level 2. When “fall overboard detection” is selected from the selection elements on the second level screen DP2, the display of the display panel 16 transitions to the display level 3. The registration processing of the wireless terminal 6 can be performed in the display level 3.

[0060] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a level screen DP31 of the display level 3-1 and a level screen DP32 of the display level 3-2 as display examples of the fall overboard detection display in the display level 3. The level screen DP31 is an example of displaying that the registration of the “terminal 1” and the “terminal 2”, which are the two wireless terminals 6, is normally performed and the fall overboard can be detected. The “terminal 1” and the “terminal 2” are, for example, the first wireless terminal 61 and the second wireless terminal 62 illustrated in FIG. 1. The level screen DP31 includes an identification number display field 78 and an icon display field 79.

[0061] The identification number of the wireless terminal 6 recognized by the detection unit 5 is displayed in the identification number display field 78. On the level screen DP31, “terminal 1” with an identification number 123F and “terminal 2” with an identification number 00A3 are recognized. In the icon display field 79, an icon representing a recognition status of the wireless terminal 6 is displayed. When the wireless terminal 6 is unregistered, the default display such as “0000” is performed in the identification number display fields 78 of “terminal 1” and “terminal 2”, and the icon display field 79 is blank.

[0062] On the right side of the level screen DP31, an icon group displayed in the icon display field 79 is illustrated as a legend. The icon group includes a remaining amount display icon AN of the battery 6B and a fall overboard detection icon BN. One of these icons is displayed in the fall overboard detection display area 77. The remaining amount display icon AN includes icons A1 to A4 indicating the remaining battery level in stages. The icon A1 indicates that the battery 6B of the wireless terminal 6 is fully charged. The icons A2, A3, and A4 indicate that the remaining level of battery 6B is ¾, 2 / 4, and ¼ with respect to the full charge, respectively.

[0063] On the level screen DP31, the icon A1 indicating that the battery 6B is fully charged is displayed in the icon display field 79 of “terminal 1” and “terminal 2”. The remaining amount display icon AN also indicates that the fall overboard detection can be normally executed for “terminal 1” and “terminal 2”. The remaining amount display icon AN is also a display example of the category (A) described above. Note that the icons A2 to A4 have a meaning indicating to the operator M1 that the battery 6B is less than the fully charged state. In particular, the display of the icon A4 indicates to the operator M1 the possibility of erroneous detection due to the insufficient remaining battery level, and has a meaning of encouraging the operator M1 to charge or replace the battery 6B.

[0064] The fall overboard detection icon BN includes a fall overboard display icon B1 and a fall overboard detection OFF icon B2. The fall overboard display icon B1 indicates that the fall overboard of the occupants M2 and M3 or the loaded object has occurred due to the interruption of the wireless communication between the wireless terminal 6 of “terminal 1” or “terminal 2” and the detection unit 5 in the state where the fall overboard detection can be normally executed. The fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 indicates that the wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is not established. The fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 is a display example of the category (B) described above. For example, when battery exhaustion of the battery 6B has occurred or a wireless communication error occurs, or when the wireless terminal 6 is not attached to the loaded object, the fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 is displayed in the icon display field 79. The level screen DP32 of the display level 3-2 shows an example in which the fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 is displayed for the “terminal 2”.

[0065] FIG. 8 is a tabular diagram illustrating a relationship between icons displayed in the icon display field 79 and display contents of the wireless terminal 6 of “terminal 1” or “terminal 2”. The display example here is also a display example in the fall overboard detection display area 77 on the display screens 7 and 7A of FIGS. 4 and 5. Display example 1 is a case where “terminal 1”=icon A1 and “terminal 2”=icon A4. In this case, the operator M1 recognizes that the battery 6B of “terminal 1” is fully charged and operating normally, and that the remaining battery level of “terminal 2” is low and there is a possibility of erroneous detection.

[0066] Display example 2 is a case where “terminal 1”=icon B1 and “terminal 2”=icon B2. In this case, the operator M1 recognizes that the loaded object to which the wireless terminal 6 of the “terminal 1” is attached has fallen overboard and that the fall overboard detection has not been executed for the “terminal 2”. Display example 3 is a case where “terminal 1” =icon A3 and “terminal 2”32 icon B1. In this case, the operator M1 recognizes that the remaining battery level of the “terminal 1” has decreased to ½ but the “terminal 1” is operating normally, and that the loaded object to which the wireless terminal 6 of the “terminal 2” is attached has fallen overboard. Display example 4 is a case where “terminal 1”=no icon is displayed, and “terminal 2”=icon A2 is displayed. In this case, the operator M1 recognizes that the “terminal 1” is unregistered, and that the remaining battery level of the “terminal 2” has decreased to ¾ but is operating normally.

[0067] The operation unit 18 can perform an operation to hide the fall overboard display as illustrated in FIG. 8 in the fall overboard detection display area 77 (icon display field 79) of the display panel 16. For example, as in Display Examples 2 and 3, after the fall overboard of the loaded object has been recognized, the fall overboard display in the fall overboard detection display area 77 may be felt bothersome. In such a case, the operator M1 can hide the fall overboard display in the fall overboard detection display area 77 by operating the operation unit 18.Flow of Fall Overboard Detection

[0068] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the fall overboard detection processing executed by the controller 4 and the detection unit 5 illustrated in FIG. 1. The controller 4 waits until the start key included in the operation unit 18 of the personal watercraft 1 is turned ON (step S1). When the start key is turned ON (YES in step S1), each unit of the personal watercraft 1 is activated and the detection unit 5 is also activated (step S2).

[0069] When the detection unit 5 is activated, the wireless terminal recognition mode is started (step S3). In the wireless terminal recognition mode, pairing processing between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 is executed. Specifically, the communication control unit 51 of the detection unit 5 outputs an inquiry signal to which a unique ID symbol is attached, and the wireless terminal 6 that has received the inquiry signal outputs a reply signal to which the ID symbol is superimposed. When the communication control unit 51 receives the reply signal, recognition of the wireless terminal 6 is achieved. When the communication control unit 51 does not receive the reply signal, a pairing processing error occurs in which the wireless terminal 6 cannot be recognized.

[0070] When the wireless terminal 6 has been recognized (YES in step S4), the trigger detection unit 52 waits to detect a recognition trigger as a recognition start condition for fall overboard detection (step S5). When the trigger detection unit 52 detects the recognition trigger (YES in step S5), the determination unit 53 determines that it is the fall overboard detection ON mode in which the fall overboard detection of the loaded object to which the wireless terminal 6 is attached is started (step S6). Note that step S4 may be omitted, and a state of waiting for detection of a recognition trigger in the middle of the wireless terminal recognition mode may be adopted. Alternatively, step S5 may precede step S4. That is, it may be determined whether or not the wireless terminal 6 can be recognized after the recognition trigger is detected.

[0071] The recognition trigger may be set based on various situations related to the operation of the personal watercraft 1. Preferably, the fact that the personal watercraft 1 reaches a predetermined traveling state can be used as a recognition trigger. Examples of the predetermined traveling state include a state where the cruising speed of the personal watercraft 1 exceeds a predetermined threshold and a state where the personal watercraft 1 starts traveling. When the fall overboard detection processing of the loaded object is started in a state where the personal watercraft 1 does not travel, the fall overboard is recognized even when the occupants M2 and M3 forget to carry the wireless terminals 61 and 62, for example. The above problem can be avoided by starting the fall overboard detection with the detection of the recognition trigger.

[0072] The predetermined traveling state serving as the recognition trigger may be detected based on the state information of the engine 21. Based on the state information of the engine 21, the traveling state of the personal watercraft 1 can be clearly evaluated. The trigger detection unit 52 can acquire the state information of the engine from the drive control unit 43 of the controller 4. The drive control unit 43 acquires various types of detection data related to engine state information from the sensor group 26.

[0073] The state information of the engine may be, for example, information including activation of the engine 21, neutral release of the reverse bucket 37, or excess of the threshold of the engine speed. The activation of the engine 21 is nothing other than the standby state for the launch of the personal watercraft 1, and can be used as a recognition trigger. The activation of the engine 21 can be grasped by the operation information of the start switch of the operation unit 18. The neutral release of the reverse bucket 37 means the start of forward movement or backward movement of the personal watercraft 1. The neutral release information can be acquired from the operation status of the shift motor 25. Since the engine rotation speed and the traveling speed of the personal watercraft 1 are closely related to each other, the engine rotation speed and the traveling speed of the personal watercraft 1 are easily used as a recognition trigger.

[0074] When entering the fall overboard detection ON mode in step S6, it is sequentially confirmed whether or not a shutdown command for forcibly stopping the mode is given from the operation unit 18 (step S7) and whether or not a fall overboard is detected (step S8). When there is no shutdown instruction (YES in step S7) and the determination unit 53 determines that a fall overboard has not been detected (NO in step S8), the display control unit 42 of the controller 4 displays an icon indicating that a fall overboard is being detected in the fall overboard detection display area 77 of the display panel 16 (step S9). The icon to be displayed is, for example, the remaining amount display icon AN according to the remaining amount of the battery 6B of the wireless terminal 6 as exemplified in FIG. 7.

[0075] When the determination unit 53 determines that the fall overboard of the loaded object to which the wireless terminal 6 is attached has occurred due to the interruption of the wireless communication between the detection unit 5 and the wireless terminal 6 or the like (YES in step S8), the display control unit 42 displays the fall overboard display in the fall overboard detection display area 77 (step S11). The icon to be displayed is, for example, the icon B1 illustrated in FIG. 7.

[0076] On the other hand, when the wireless terminal 6 cannot be recognized in step S4 (NO in step S4), the determination unit 53 determines that the fall overboard detection OFF mode of the category (B) described above is set (step S10), and transmits the determination result to the controller 4. In response to the determination result, the display control unit 42 of the controller 4 displays the fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 in the fall overboard detection display area 77 of the display panel 16 (step S12). When the trigger detection unit 52 does not detect a recognition trigger in step S5 (NO in step S5) and when a shutdown command is given in step S7 (NO in step S7), a fall overboard detection OFF icon B2 is displayed in the fall overboard detection display area 77 (step S12). After step S12, the process returns to step S4.Summary of Present Disclosure

[0077] The specific embodiments described above include a disclosure having the following configurations.

[0078] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a personal watercraft including a display unit and a detection unit; a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with the detection unit and attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, in which the display unit includes a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed.

[0079] According to the first aspect, the operator can always check the recognition status of the wireless terminal attached to the loaded object on the display unit. For example, when it is displayed in the display area that the wireless terminal cannot be recognized, the operator can grasp that there is a possibility that some kind of abnormality has occurred in the loaded object.

[0080] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a second aspect is the operation support system according to the first aspect, in which display of the recognition status includes a fall overboard display indicating that the loaded object has fallen overboard from the personal watercraft, and a non-fall overboard display indicating a situation other than the fall overboard.

[0081] According to the second aspect, the operator can check, on the display unit, the fall overboard of the onboard object from the personal watercraft and a status that the onboard object has not fallen overboard from the personal watercraft.

[0082] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a third aspect is the operation support system according to the second aspect, in which the non-fall overboard display includes an error in wireless communication between the detection unit and the wireless terminal.

[0083] According to the third aspect, the operator can confirm, on the display unit, that the wireless communication is disconnected between the personal watercraft and the wireless terminal. That is, the operator can distinguish between an error in wireless communication, for example, a communication error caused when the wireless terminal is not attached to the loaded object, and a fall overboard.

[0084] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a fourth aspect is the operation support system according to the second aspect, in which the wireless terminal includes a battery serving as an operation power supply, and the non-fall overboard display includes a remaining amount display of the battery.

[0085] According to the fourth aspect, the operator can confirm the remaining battery level of the wireless terminal on the display unit. That is, the operator can distinguish between an error in wireless communication due to battery exhaustion or insufficient remaining capacity of the wireless terminal and a fall overboard.

[0086] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a fifth aspect is the operation support system according to the second or third aspect, in which the personal watercraft further includes an operation unit, and the operation unit is operable to hide the fall overboard display.

[0087] According to the fifth aspect, the operator can hide the fall overboard display on the display unit by his / her own will. For example, in a case where the operator feels annoyed about the fall overboard display on the display unit after the fall overboard of the loaded object has been recognized, the operator can operate the operation unit to hide the fall overboard display.

[0088] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a sixth aspect is the operation support system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which the detection unit includes a communication control unit, and the communication control unit starts a recognition process for recognizing the wireless terminal after detecting a predetermined recognition start condition.

[0089] According to the sixth aspect, unnecessary recognition processing of the wireless terminal can be suppressed by setting the recognition start condition.

[0090] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a seventh aspect is the operation support system according to the sixth aspect, in which the recognition start condition is that the personal watercraft reaches a predetermined traveling state.

[0091] According to the seventh aspect, the recognition processing of the wireless terminal is started on condition that the watercraft has reached the predetermined traveling state. Examples of the predetermined traveling state include a state where the cruising speed of the watercraft exceeds a threshold and a state where the watercraft starts traveling. If the recognition processing is started in a state where the watercraft does not travel, useless recognition processing is executed; for example, in a case where a passenger forgets to carry the wireless terminal, the system fails to recognize the wireless terminal, and may display “fall overboard”, for example. Such a problem can be avoided by setting the recognition start condition as described above.

[0092] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to an eighth aspect is the operation support system according to the seventh aspect, in which the personal watercraft includes an engine that is a source of a propulsive force, and the predetermined traveling state is detected based on state information of the engine.

[0093] According to the eighth aspect, since the predetermined traveling state is detected based on the state information of the engine, the traveling state can be clearly grasped.

[0094] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a ninth aspect is the operation support system according to the eighth aspect, in which the state information of the engine is information including activation of the engine, neutral release of a reverse bucket, or an engine speed exceeding a threshold.

[0095] According to the ninth aspect, the engine state information can be grasped by attaching a simple sensor to the personal watercraft.

[0096] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a tenth aspect is the operation support system according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, in which the personal watercraft includes a seat on which a passenger is seated, and the seat includes a front seat on which an operator is seated and a rear seat on which an occupant other than the operator is seated, the wireless terminal is attached to the occupant, and the detection unit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat.

[0097] According to the tenth aspect, the detection unit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat on which the occupant is seated. Thus, a distance between the wireless terminal held by the occupant and the detection unit becomes short. Therefore, the communication accuracy between the detection unit and the wireless terminal can be improved.

[0098] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to an eleventh aspect includes: a personal watercraft including a display device and a detection unit; a wireless terminal capable of wirelessly communicating with the detection unit and attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, in which the display device includes a display area where presence information of the wireless terminal is displayed.

[0099] According to the eleventh aspect, the operator can always check on the display unit that the wireless terminal attached to the loaded object is on the personal watercraft. For example, when the presence of the wireless terminal is displayed in the display area, the operator can grasp that the loaded object is on the personal watercraft.

[0100] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a twelfth aspect is the operation support system according to the eleventh aspect, further including a notification device that notifies absence information indicating absence of the wireless terminal.

[0101] According to the twelfth aspect, the operator can recognize the absence of the wireless terminal based on the absence information emitted by the notification device in addition to the display on the display unit.

[0102] An operation support system for a personal watercraft according to a thirteenth aspect is the operation support system according to the twelfth aspect, in which the display device also serves as the notification device.

[0103] According to the thirteenth aspect, information on the presence and absence of the wireless terminal attached to the loaded object can be transmitted from the common display device to the operator.

[0104] A personal watercraft according to a fourteenth aspect is a personal watercraft capable of wirelessly communicating with a wireless terminal attached to a loaded object, the personal watercraft including: a watercraft body; a display unit equipped on the watercraft body and including a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed; a detection unit that is disposed in the watercraft body and performs wireless communication with the wireless terminal; and a seat on which a passenger is seated, in which the seat includes a front seat on which an operator of the personal watercraft is seated and a rear seat on which an occupant other than the operator is seated, and the detection unit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat.

[0105] According to the fourteenth aspect, the detection unit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat on which the occupant is seated. Thus, a distance between the wireless terminal held by the occupant and the detection unit becomes short. Therefore, the communication accuracy between the detection unit and the wireless terminal can be improved. Further, since the detection unit is disposed in the watercraft body, the design of the personal watercraft is not affected.

[0106] A personal watercraft according to a fifteenth aspect is the personal watercraft according to the fourteenth aspect, further including an engine that is a source of propulsive force, in which the detection unit is disposed above the engine.

[0107] According to the fifteenth aspect, the wireless communication between the detection unit and the wireless terminal is hardly hindered by noise or the like due to the operation of the engine.

Claims

1. An operation support system for a personal watercraft, the operation support system comprising:a personal watercraft including a display and a detection circuit; anda wireless terminal to wirelessly communicate with the detection circuit, whereinthe wireless terminal is attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, andthe display includes a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed.

2. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 1, wherein display of the recognition status includes a fall overboard display indicating that the loaded object has fallen overboard from the personal watercraft, and a non-fall overboard display indicating a situation other than the fall overboard.

3. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 2, wherein the non-fall overboard display includes an error in wireless communication between the detection circuit and the wireless terminal.

4. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 2, whereinthe wireless terminal includes a battery serving as an operation power supply, and the non-fall overboard display includes a remaining amount display of the battery.

5. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 2, whereinthe personal watercraft further includes an operation interface, andthe operation interface is operable to hide the fall overboard display.

6. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 1, whereinthe detection circuit includes a communication control circuit, andthe communication control circuit starts a recognition process for recognizing the wireless terminal after detecting a predetermined recognition start condition.

7. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 6, wherein the recognition start condition is that the personal watercraft reaches a predetermined traveling state.

8. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 7, whereinthe personal watercraft includes an engine that is a source of a propulsive force, andthe predetermined traveling state is detected based on state information of the engine.

9. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 8, wherein the state information of the engine is information including activation of the engine, neutral release of a reverse bucket, or an engine speed exceeding a threshold.

10. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 1, whereinthe personal watercraft includes a seat on which a passenger is seated, andthe seat includes a front seat on which an operator is seated and a rear seat on which an occupant other than the operator is seated,the wireless terminal is attached to the occupant, andthe detection circuit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat.

11. An operation support system for a personal watercraft, the operation support system comprising:a personal watercraft including a display and a detection circuit; anda wireless terminal to wirelessly communicate with the detection circuit, whereinthe wireless terminal is attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, andthe display includes a display area where presence information of the wireless terminal is displayed.

12. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 11, further comprising:a notification device that notifies absence information indicating absence of the wireless terminal.

13. The operation support system for the personal watercraft according to claim 12, wherein notification device includes the display.

14. A personal watercraft to wirelessly communicate with a wireless terminal attached to an object loaded on the personal watercraft, the personal watercraft comprising:a watercraft body;a display equipped on the watercraft body, the display including a display area where a recognition status of the wireless terminal is displayed;a detection circuit disposed in the watercraft body, the detection circuit is configured to perform wireless communication with the wireless terminal; anda seat on which a passenger is seated, whereinthe seat includes a front seat on which an operator of the personal watercraft is seated and a rear seat on which an occupant other than the operator is seated, andthe detection circuit is disposed below the rear seat of the seat.

15. The personal watercraft according to claim 14, further comprising:an engine that is a source of propulsive force, whereinthe detection circuit is disposed above the engine.

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