Patent ID: 9284032
Filing Date: 2016-03-15
CPC Classification: B60R,B63B,B63H,F02B,G05D,G07C,Y02T

Claim Text:
1. A control system for deterring theft of a marine vessel having a plurality of engine control circuits that are selectively connectable to a network bus, each engine control circuit controlling operation of a respective marine engine in a plurality of marine engines, the control system comprising: a security control circuit that receives a first transponder identification code from a first transponder; wherein each engine control circuit has a first stored identification code; wherein each engine control circuit that is connected to the network bus has an individual status that is based on a comparison of the first stored identification code with the first transponder identification code; wherein the individual status of the engine control circuit is locked if the first stored identification code does not match the first transponder identification code and wherein the individual status of the engine control circuit is unlocked if the first stored identification code does match the first transponder identification code; and wherein the security control circuit performs a conjunctive analysis of each of the individual locked and unlocked statuses of each of the engine control circuits in the plurality of engine control circuits that are connected to the network bus so as to determine an overall arbitrated lock status of the control system, and in response to an outcome of the conjunctive analysis, generates an indication specifying the arbitrated lock status to an operator of the marine vessel.