Patent ID: 11884375
Assignee: CATERPILLAR INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 8:
9. A marine vessel, the marine vessel comprising:
a hull;
an operator station; and
a marine propulsion control system, including:
an engine in electronic communication with an engine controller,
a transmission including a gearbox and an oil pressure sensor configured to measure a transmission oil pressure, the oil pressure sensor in electronic communication with the engine controller, the gearbox including a feedback sensor configured to transmit a gear state,
a propulsion device rotatably connected to the gearbox,
a shaft fixedly attached to the propulsion device and rotatably coupled to the gearbox, the shaft including a shaft rotation sensor configured to measure a rotational direction of the shaft, and
a propulsion control processor in electronic communication with the engine controller, the gearbox and the shaft rotation sensor, the propulsion control processor configured to:
receive the transmission oil pressure, the gear state of the transmission and the rotational direction of the shaft,
compare the transmission oil pressure with a predetermined engaged pressure threshold, wherein when the transmission oil pressure is greater than the predetermined engaged pressure threshold, the propulsion control processor is further configured to analyze one or more of the gear state and the direction of rotation to determine a current gear of the marine vessel, and
when the transmission oil pressure is less than or equal to the engaged pressure threshold, compare the transmission oil pressure with a predetermined disengaged pressure threshold, wherein when the transmission oil pressure is greater than or equal to the transmission disengaged pressure threshold, the propulsion control processor is configured to analyze one or more of the gear state and the direction of rotation to determine the current gear of the marine vessel.