The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 11, 1996
Filed:
Jul. 20, 1994
Joseph L Mardesich, San Jose, CA (US);
Richard J Stevens, San Jose, CA (US);
Pinpoint Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A trolling motor system and method for controlling the trolling motor, including a microcontroller, a plurality of transducers, a steering motor, and an outboard motor. The user is allowed to input commands via a keypad and the selected mode of operation is displayed via an LCD screen. The microcontroller operates the transducer to transmit sonar signals and the return signals are received and processed accordingly. In the preferred embodiment, there are five transducers arranged in a manner such that the port (left side of the boat) and starboard (right side of the boat) sides as well as the bottom of the boat are scanned continuously. The microcontroller processes the signals according to the user-selected mode, determines the steering degree and the motor speed, transmits these values to the Steering Motor And Position controller and the Power Drive And Motor controller. In the preferred embodiment there are three automatic modes of operation: creek-tracking mode, depth-tracking mode, and shore-tracking mode.