Abstract:
According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and system for indicating a status of a subsystem controlled by a switch provided on a steering wheel of a marine vehicle. The method and system comprise: providing a switch for the subsystem on the steering wheel of the marine vehicle; providing a status indicator for the switch; detecting an activation of the switch; transmitting a command to the subsystem in the marine vehicle in response to the activation; detecting an operation status of the subsystem in response to the command; and activating the status indicator to indicate information of the operation status.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) of U.S. provisional patent applications 60/516,757, filed on Nov. 4, 2003, entitled “Status Light on a Marine vehicle Steering Wheel Switch”; 60/512,089, filed on Oct. 20, 2003, entitled “Contactless Steering Wheel Switch Powering”; and 60/512,100, filed on Oct. 20, 2003, entitled “Contactless Steering Wheel Switch Powering”; by applicant, the specifications of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 

   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to switches made available on steering wheels of marine vehicles. More specifically, it relates to switches for activating subsystems that comprise indicators for confirmation of subsystem functionality. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Prior art systems which provide lights on switches allow a user to be sure that the switch has been activated, a good example of this is the small light that is activated on the rear window defroster button in many car models when the defroster button is pressed down. Such visual indicators confirm that the command was requested. The way they function is that when the switch is not activated, electric current reaches neither the indicator, nor the subsystem. Whereas when the switch is activated, both the indicator and the subsystem are powered. Similar switches are provided on the dashboard of marine vehicles. 
   When the switch is activated and there is a problem with the subsystem, the indicator stays lit and the problem may remain unnoticed by the operator; thereby creating a potentially dangerous situation for the operator and the other people on the marine vehicle. This is especially true in the case of actuating a bilge blower to evacuate fuel fumes. If the indicator is lit even though the blower is malfunctioning, the user might believe that the bilge blower is functioning, and start the marine vehicle even though gas fumes are still present. Ignition of the fuel fumes by a spark during motor startup may lead to serious injury or death of the marine vehicle occupants. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an indication of the actual status of a subsystem controlled by a switch instead of only providing an indication that the subsystem is under tension. 
   According to a first broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for indicating a status of a subsystem controlled by a switch provided on a steering wheel of a marine vehicle, comprising: providing a switch for the subsystem on the steering wheel of the marine vehicle; providing a status indicator for the switch; detecting an activation of the switch; transmitting a command to the subsystem in the marine vehicle in response to the activation; detecting an operation status of the subsystem in response to the command; and activating the status indicator to indicate information of the operation status. 
   According to another broad aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for indicating a status of a subsystem controlled by a switch provided on a steering wheel of a marine vehicle, comprising: a switch for the subsystem on the steering wheel of the marine vehicle; a status indicator for the switch; an activation detector for detecting an activation of the switch; an activation transmitter for transmitting a command to the subsystem in the marine vehicle in response to the activation; an operation detector for detecting an operation status of the subsystem in response to the command; and an indicator activator for activating the status indicator to indicate the operation status. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  comprises  FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B , and is an example of a prior art system, in  FIG. 1A  the switch is open, whereas in  FIG. 1B , the switch is closed. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the main components of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the main steps of a preferred method of the present invention; 
       FIG. 4  is plan view of the steering wheel assembly with some switches of the present invention; 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Concurrently with the present invention, an energy accumulator can be provided in the steering wheel assembly of a marine vehicle. The energy accumulator has enough energy to allow powering a switch in the steering wheel assembly, and transmitting data from the steering wheel assembly towards the dashboard or anywhere else in the main body of the marine vehicle whether the ignition is turned on or off. The data and energy transmission can be done without electrical connection between the main body of the marine vehicle and the steering wheel assembly. The details of such data and energy transmission methods and systems are found in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/961,297, filed on Oct. 12, 2004 by Applicant, which is incorporated herewith by reference. 
   In the description of the present invention, it will be assumed that the energy provided in the steering wheel is managed by a power management system and that having sufficient energy to operate the system described and carry out the steps of the method described is not an object. 
     FIG. 1  is an example of a prior art system. A battery  100  supplies energy. In  FIG. 1A , the switch  102  is open, therefore the subsystem  104  and the LED (Light Emitting Diode)  106  are not powered. In  FIG. 1B , the switch is closed, the subsystem and the LED are energized. 
   In the following description, please note that the term ‘steering wheel assembly’ comprises all components which are assembled to the steering wheel. In the preferred embodiment, the steering wheel assembly comprises the steering wheel, switches, the switch processor, indicators and other electronic circuitry. 
   With reference to  FIG. 2 , a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail. Switches  208  are provided on a steering wheel of a marine vehicle. The switches  208  can be used to control a plurality of subsystems of the marine vehicle, such as the lights, the horn, the fan, the windshield wipers and washer, the bilge pump, the bilge blower, the emergency start, the electric anchor, the hazard warning, the radio, the trim tab, the power trim, etc. The switches  208  are preferably provided on a keypad that is affixed to the steering wheel. This keypad should be weather resistant if the steering wheel is not protected from the weather. The switches will typically bear pictograms or logos representing the subsystem that they control. They can also bear the name of the subsystem. Switch standards exist for marine vehicles and should be used when appropriate. 
   A switch processor  210  reads the electrical signals from the switches  208  of the steering wheel assembly. The switches are provided to a user, and activating a switch is meant to activate a corresponding subsystem. The switch processor  210  then transmits an activation data train, created by an activation data driver  212 , via IR (infrared) transmission using an activation IR emitting diode  214 . The activation data train identifies the switch(es) activated in the steering wheel and therefore contains an indication of the command to which the system must react. The activation data train is captured by an activation phototransistor  216 , is then received by an activation receiver  218  and is thereafter sent to a subsystem processor  220  for communication with the proper subsystem of the marine vehicle via the interface  222 . 
   The interface  222  has at least as many outputs as there are switches  208  on the steering wheel. The interface  222  can have solid state switches or electromechanical relays. It is possible to use the interface  222  to communicate on a data network of the marine vehicle, in which case the interface  222  also comprises a multiplexer. The National Marine Electronics Association has introduced the NMEA 2000 interface standard. The standard contains the requirements of a serial data communications network to inter-connect marine electronic equipment on vessels. It is multi-master and self configuring, and there is no central network controller. Equipment designed to this standard have the ability to share data, including commands and status with other compatible equipment over a single channel. If the interface  222  is compliant with the NMEA 2000 standard, it can allow communication between the switches  208  and the devices of the network. The infrared activation data train, discussed in the previous paragraph, or any infrared data train is considered the physical layer in data communications. The physical layer is the most basic network layer, providing the means of transmitting raw bits rather than packets over a physical data link connecting network nodes. Therefore, the infrared activation data train can be deployed using the NMEA 2000 interfacing standards mentioned above or any error checking data transmission encoder/decoder scheme. 
   Similarly, inputs  224  contain status signals indicating the operation status of the different subsystems of the marine vehicle. Each subsystem for which an operation command was given by a user activating a corresponding switch may either be ‘functioning’ or ‘malfunctioning’, which is referred to as the operation status of the subsystem. The status information signals are first received by the subsystem processor  220  which transmits a status data train, created by a status data driver  226 , via IR transmission using a status IR emitting diode  226 . The status data train identifies the status of each subsystem of the marine vehicle corresponding to its activation by a switch in the steering wheel and therefore contains an indication of whether the switch command was successful or not. The status data train is captured by a status phototransistor  230 , is received by the status receiver  232  and is sent to the switch processor  210  for analysis. 
   Status indicators preferably provided on or near the switches for immediate interpretation are used to indicate the operation status of the subsystems to a user. Usually, LEDs  234  next to the switches are used, but other types of indicators may also be used as will be discussed further on. Typically, the status LED  234  is lit when the corresponding switch  208  has been pressed and the subsystem is functioning normally, thus executing the command. If the switch has not been pressed, no operation takes place, and the status LED  234  stays unlit. If the switch has been pressed but the corresponding subsystem is not responding, cannot execute the command, or is otherwise malfunctioning, it has proven advantageous to have the status LED flash or to otherwise indicate the malfunctioning operation status. In case of vital subsystems, this LED will preferably be combined with other visual indicators or with an audible indicator. 
   Backlighting of the switches  208 , backlighting of a portion of the switches, like a backlighting ring around the switches, or backlighting the keypad on which the switches are provided can advantageously be combined with or substituted to the LED(s) as alternate or additional visual indicators. Use of backlighting is made by using a backlighting circuitry  236 . Furthermore, differently colored LEDs or flashing LEDs corresponding to different operation statuses may also be used. Distinctive combinations of colored LEDs, flashing LEDs, backlighting and other lights can also be used for indicating operation statuses. For example, a green backlighting of a switch could indicate that the corresponding subsystem is functioning correctly while a flashing red light next to the switch could indicate a malfunction status. Audible indicators may be substituted or combined to visual indicators, either to confirm the subsystem is functioning, such as using a chime or a beeping sound, for instance, or to alert the user that the subsystem is malfunctioning, such as using a buzzer, an audible alarm or the like. Hence, various combinations of indicators may be used to indicate the status of the subsystem to a user. An indicator that the switch has been activated may be combined to the subsystem status indicator, for example, a beep may indicate the switch has been depressed, and a double beep may sound once the subsystem is detected to be functioning. 
   In the present discussion, the preferred means of transmitting information to and from the steering wheel has been described as being infrared transmission. However, other means of data transfer are also possible and may demonstrate to be advantageous depending on the applications. For instance, use of electromagnetic transmission of data using the existing contactless power transfer device of a marine vehicle might prove to be very advantageous. Other types of transmission may be radio frequency transmission, ultrasonic transmission, etc. As will be readily understood, one type of transmission can be used for transmitting the command from the steering wheel to the sub-system and other type can be used for the status information from the sub-system to the steering wheel. Indeed, in a preferred embodiment, the command from the steering wheel to the sub-system is transmitted via infrared transmission while the feedback or status from the sub-system to the switch is sent via radio-frequency transmission. 
   With reference to  FIG. 3 , the main steps of the preferred method will now be described. The steering wheel assembly switches are scanned by the switch processor to verify if they have been activated  340 . The switch processor continues to scan the switches for activation  340  until activation of a switch by a user is detected  342 , and then transmits  344  an IR (infrared) message containing the information on the command corresponding to the switch which was activated, from the steering wheel to the hub/dash using the activation transmitter. 
   The switch command is then received by the subsystem processor. The subsystem processor instructs the proper subsystem on the marine vehicle to execute the switch command using the interface  346 . The command is then received by the proper subsystem, and is executed (the subsystem functions), or the command fails and the subsystem does not execute the command properly (the subsystem malfunctions). The processor then awaits a confirmation from the subsystem that the command was executed  348 . If the confirmation is received and the command was executed successfully, an IR message is created by the subsystem processor and transmitted  350  to the switch processor, and the appropriate status LED is lit  352 . The system then returns to scanning the steering switches for activation  340 . 
   If the confirmation from the subsystem is not received or if a confirmation that the subsystem is malfunctioning is received by the subsystem processor, the subsystem processor transmits  354  an IR message that the subsystem does not operate properly (error message) from the dash to the steering wheel assembly. The switch processor receives the error message and makes the appropriate status LED flash to indicate the error  356 . The system then returns to scanning the steering switches for activation  340 . 
   It is also possible for the subsystem processor to constantly monitor the subsystems so that if malfunction appears after a period of adequate functioning, it will not go unnoticed. In this last application, the malfunction indicator will be triggered upon detection of the malfunction. A timer can be used to monitor the activated subsystems at regular intervals. 
   It will be readily understood by a person skilled in the art that a status of some subsystems of the marine vehicle is apparent to an operator of the marine vehicle. For example, if the horn switch is pressed and there is no horn sound emitted, the operator will know right away that there is a problem with the form subsystem. However, for certain subsystems, the operator has no quick and safe way of determining the status and will benefit from an indication of the status directly on the steering wheel. 
     FIG. 4  is a plan view of the steering wheel  460  which has a keypad  462  with switches ( 464 ,  466 ,  470  and  472 ). Three types of switches are illustrated. The first type is a backlit button  464  which is lit or flashes depending of the operation status of the subsystem. This can be achieved by backlighting the button with a LED. The second type is a simple button  466  that has a LED  468  next to it. A third type of button is a button surrounded by a backlighting ring  470 . A fourth type of button is a combination of the two previous ones: a button surrounded by a backlit ring  472  that has a LED  474  next to it. The light ring is backlit and the button is lit or flashes depending on the status of the subsystem. Other combinations of backlighting, switches and LEDs may be used to indicate the operation status of a subsystem. 
   It will be understood that numerous modifications to the preferred embodiments will appear to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description and accompanying drawings should be taken as illustrative of the invention and not in a limiting sense. It will further be understood that it is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features herein before set forth, and as follows in the scope of the appended claims.